The hostess' studio was on the seventh floor.
Little Su, who had previously disappeared on the seventh floor, had not entered the hostess' studio according to her companion. They had only looked at some other paintings nearby.
Ruan Nan Zhu and Lin Qiu Shi climbed up to the seventh floor and once again saw the corridor shrouded in shadows. The corridor on the seventh floor was very long, still covered in a thick carpet that extended from the stairs to both sides, finally stopping in front of the studio at the end.
The studio was a little different from the other rooms. Its door was tightly covered with a black cloth, as if the owner did not want any light seeping through the cracks.
"Where is she now?" Tang Zao Zao felt a little afraid, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms as she whispered, "It would be so awkward if we went in and saw her painting."
"Hopefully she's not in the studio now," said Ruan Nan Zhu. "You guys wait here, I'll go knock on the door first."
He strode over to the studio door as soon as he finished speaking and knocked forcefully.
Tang Zao Zao's eyes widened in shock at his boldness. She heard Ruan Nan Zhu banging loudly on the studio door and exclaimed, "Damn - how can he be so brave?"
Lin Qiu Shi was calmer: "He has always been very bold."
There was no response from inside after the knocks. Ruan knocked again and finally determined there was no one currently in the studio.
"Let's go in," Ruan Nan Zhu said.
"But didn't you lock it just now?" asked Tang Zao Zao. "How do we get in?"
Ruan Nan Zhu fished out a hairpin from his pocket and naturally bent over to work on the lock.
Tang Zao Zao: "..." She had almost forgotten he had this awesome skill.
After fiddling for a while, the door lock made a soft click and Ruan Nan Zhu got it open. He gripped the door handle, gently pulled it open, and first observed the interior layout of the studio before beckoning Lin Qiu Shi: "Come in with me. Tang Zao Zao, you stand guard at the door and shout if anything happens."
Tang Zao Zao obediently nodded.
Lin Qiu Shi stepped forward into the studio with Ruan Nan Zhu.
The studio was not big. The lighting was very poor - the windows were tightly covered by black curtains, leaving only a not-so-bright ceiling lamp for illumination. One had to strain hard to clearly see the room's contents.
In the middle of the studio an easel held a painting covered by a cloth. The whole room was permeated by a strange smell characteristic of paints and pigments.
Ruan Nan Zhu was always decisive in his actions - he went straight to the easel and flipped up the cloth cover.
Seeing the unfinished painting exposed, Lin Qiu Shi was taken aback: "This is..."
"The Last Supper," Ruan Nan Zhu stated.
At first glance it did resemble The Last Supper - it depicted a group of people at a banquet table. But looking closely, one realizes the people were not Christ and his twelve disciples, but themselves - Ruan Nan Zhu, Lin Qiu Shi, Tang Zao Zao and the others, sitting by the long table, heads lowered eating or conversing softly.
That alone would have been fine, but the figures in the painting were mostly faceless - Lin Qiu Shi could only identify them by their clothing.
"Her face got painted," said Ruan Nan Zhu, pointing to a girl in the corner. "That's Little Su, right?"
Lin Qiu Shi also saw what Ruan referred to. In the corner of the long table, a girl's face had been rendered, but not with an expression of dining pleasure and relaxation. Instead it showed unspeakable terror - even through the painting Lin Qiu Shi could feel that aura of despair.
Besides this painting, there was nothing else of particular note in the studio. After a quick survey, Ruan Nan Zhu did not dare linger. He took Lin Qiu Shi and exited the room, carefully locking the door.
Seeing them emerge, Tang Zao Zao hurriedly asked what they saw inside.
"A painting," said Lin Qiu Shi. "One of us having supper." He described the more unusual parts of the painting, and after hearing it Tang Zao Zao swallowed nervously and asked in a trembling voice, "Was Little Su really put inside the painting?"
"Yes," said Ruan Nan Zhu. "That should be the case. I want to go check the sixth floor too."
"Let's go," said Lin Qiu Shi.
Something noteworthy about the sixth floor was the unfinished works exhibition room that the butler had barred them from entering. As the name suggested, it likely contained paintings that were not yet complete.
Ruan Nan Zhu quickly located the room and easily unlocked the door. He and Lin Qiu Shi entered.
The environment inside the exhibition room was slightly better than the studio - at least the windows were not covered. The spacious room was filled with paintings, densely packed together. Lin Qiu Shi randomly looked at some, noticing they all had unfinished sections. Most of the canvases had large blank spaces left.
As usual, Ruan Nan Zhu's powers of observation were strong. His gaze swept over hundreds of works until it fixed onto something he wanted. He softly called Lin Qiu Shi over.
Going behind Ruan Nan Zhu, Lin Qiu Shi saw what had caught his attention - and felt a chill creep up his back. He muttered after a brief silence: "This is... my bedroom?"
"Yes. Your bedroom," Ruan Nan Zhu confirmed.
Identical layout, even the outdoor scenery visible through the window. The painting before them was undeniably Lin Qiu Shi's bedroom, door open, floor marked by conspicuous water stains like that terrifying night - only part of this painting near the door remained blank, almost as if deliberately left for Lin Qiu Shi himself.
"If you hadn't recognized the fake Tang Zao Zao that night," said Ruan Nan Zhu very calmly, "this section probably would have been filled in with you."
Lin Qiu Shi: "...Mm."
Ruan Nan Zhu remarked, "This painting is rather interesting. Wonder if we can take it out." But he made no move to touch the canvas, only turned and said, "Let's go, we've seen enough."
Lin Qiu Shi asked, "Did you memorize what's inside?"
Ruan Nan Zhu replied, "Mostly."
As expected, Ruan Nan Zhu's "mostly" was tantamount to everything. After they exited, he explained: "Remembering is useless anyway. The scenes in those paintings cover almost every corner of this castle. There's no escape."
Lin Qiu Shi sighed.
"Just be more careful and there'll be no big issues," said Ruan Nan Zhu. "After all this is a low-level door, the death conditions are still quite harsh."
Tang Zao Zao grumbled, what part of it was harsh? If it had been her that night, she would have long been six feet under the ground. How could anyone stay calm and notice anomalies in that situation?
Ruan Nan Zhu gave her an uncommon look of comfort and reassurance: "Don't worry, if you get turned into a painting... we'll definitely carry on your dying wish so you can rest in peace."
Tang Zao Zao: "..." Not feeling comforted at all, thank you very much!
They had gone to two places. By the time they descended from upstairs, it was around dinner time.
Everyone gathered in the dining room to eat. After the meal commenced, Lin Qiu Shi noticed there was one less person - only seven sat at the long table.
"Where's the other one?" asked Lin Qiu Shi.
"He said he wasn't feeling well," someone answered, "so he's resting in his room."
Lin Qiu Shi: "Not even coming for dinner?"
The person replied, "I don't know... I'll go check on him later."
Lin Qiu Shi gave an "mm".
The castle was so big, everyone was quite scattered about. Meal times were the only chance to get an accurate head count and check if anything had happened.
The one who answered Lin Qiu Shi also seemed uneasy. He hurriedly left halfway through the meal, returning minutes later with a ghastly pale face, trembling as he announced: "He...he's gone. Not in his room either."
Everyone fell silent.
"Did you search the surrounding corridors and bathrooms?" asked Lin Qiu Shi.
"I did," the man replied. "No response."
Ruan Nan Zhu dabbed his mouth with a napkin: "Was there anything extra in his room? Like paintings or such?"
The man said, "...I didn't notice."
"Let's go take a look together," said Ruan Nan Zhu.
The man nodded gratefully at Ruan Nan Zhu, evidently also scared out of his wits and unwilling to go back alone.
The group left the dining room for the missing comrade's room. Upon entering, Lin Qiu Shi immediately smelled that unpleasant fishy odor he knew too well. Undoubtedly, the room's original occupant had likely met the same fate, only his luck was not as good.
"There used to be a painting hanging here," observed Ruan Nan Zhu, looking at the wall. "Now it's gone."
"What does the missing painting mean?" Knowing Little Su's case, everyone grasped the implications, but still the questioning man shook in fear. "Don't tell me Jiang Jie is..."
Jiang Jie was the name of the missing man.
"Hard to say for sure," said Ruan Nan Zhu, shaking his head. "We'll need to search more."
The group combed through several floors but found no painting of Jiang Jie. It was a relief yet also worrisome at the same time.
Because Jiang Jie remained missing, neither Lin Qiu Shi nor Tang Zao Zao had much appetite even when lunch time came.
Tang Zao Zao dejectedly said she wanted to rest in her room for a bit then continue searching in the afternoon. Seeing her low spirits, Lin Qiu Shi agreed.
But when they returned to the room, they astonishingly discovered Ruan Nan Zhu napping in bed - that leisurely appearance did not seem like someone who had met trouble at all.
"Ruan Nan Zhu!!!" Tang Zao Zao barely stopped herself from shrieking. "Where did you go?? You made us look all over for you!!"
Ruan Nan Zhu opened his eyes lazily and yawned: "Had some things to take care of."
"What things? Why didn't you say anything—" exclaimed Tang Zao Zao. "Do you know how worried we were about you? We searched for you all morning!"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "I didn't know it would take so long either."
Tang Zao Zao: "Where on earth did you go?"
Ruan Nan Zhu replied, "Into a painting."
Stunned speechless by this, Tang Zao Zao fell quiet for a good while before tentatively asking: "A painting? You mean... that kind of painting?"
Ruan Nan Zhu nodded.
Lin Qiu Shi said in astonishment: "How did you end up going in... wasn't the picture frame already gone..."
"No," said Ruan Nan Zhu. "We were mistaken about something. Little Su might be gone but her picture frame still exists. When Jiang Jie disappeared, his frame didn't vanish either. Or to put it another way, the old frames get embedded into paintings, while new empty ones appear."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..."
Ruan Nan Zhu continued, "The one hoping for our deaths used a new frame." He gave a faint smile. "Fortunately, it's been taken care of now."
Lin Qiu Shi: "What do you mean..."
Ruan Nan Zhu stated matter-of-factly: "Exactly what it sounds like. Also, I found a new clue slip."
Too much new information left Lin Qiu Shi and Tang Zao Zao struggling to fully comprehend. Bewildered expressions covered their faces, minds seemingly unable to keep up anymore.
Seeing their looks, Ruan Nan Zhu's own visage held a rather benevolent air. He said gently, "No rush, take your time thinking it through."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." Was this tolerance for their inadequate intelligence?
No no, this was a fatherly affection and compassion, Tang Zao Zao sorrowfully grasped the meaning in Ruan Nan Zhu's eyes.
Perhaps noticing they were still foggy about the whole thing, Ruan Nan Zhu sighed and sat up from the bed to briefly recount what exactly happened last night.
It turned out Ruan Nan Zhu had woken up in the middle of the night after Lin Qiu Shi fell asleep. Sensing something amiss in the room, he got out of bed and discovered another picture frame mysteriously next to his window.
Concealed in the darkness of night, Ruan Nan Zhu would likely have missed it if not for his sharp vision. His instincts screamed something was very wrong about that frame. Ruan Nan Zhu hurriedly exited the room, intending to retrieve it, but while going downstairs he saw a woman dressed in black silently watching him at the landing.
Any ordinary person would have been scared witless by now, but Ruan Nan Zhu had seen enough tricks like these. Showing not an ounce of fear, he stared back at the woman steadily for a few minutes until she faded away on her own.
"Holy sh*t!!" At this point of the story Tang Zao Zao could no longer restrain herself. "You weren't afraid at all? Just staring at her like that?"
Ruan Nan Zhu replied matter-of-factly: "What's there to be scared of? In the end she's the one who left first."
Tang Zao Zao: "..." *Kowtows in awe*
Ruan Nan Zhu continued, "She appeared several more times after that. I had wanted to hurry out and remove the picture frame, but something felt off." He explained, "I felt she was trying to herd me somewhere specific."
Lin Qiu Shi listened quietly.
"I carefully thought about where she showed up - it was always near stairwells yet she made no move to attack me. Could she be preventing me from going upstairs instead of outside?" deduced Ruan Nan Zhu. "The only place she didn't appear was the exit, so I guessed she wanted me to leave."
"Which leads into the painted world, right?" said Tang Zao Zao. "Is that it?"
"Probably," nodded Ruan Nan Zhu. "I have to thank Qiu Shi for the information he provided. I noticed the outdoor scenery really was reversed." The exterior was pitch black with identical ominous bushes extending endlessly, impossible for ordinary people to detect anything amiss. But thanks to Lin Qiu Shi's experience, Ruan Nan Zhu made sure to scrutinize carefully before attempting to exit. In the end he confirmed the outdoor vista was indeed reversed.
"I didn't go out. Just waited inside the room for a bit," said Ruan Nan Zhu, shrugging. "Who knew it would take so long."
"You scared me half to death!" Now understanding what happened, Tang Zao Zao heaved an immense sigh of relief. "You have no idea, Qiu Shi and I thought you got turned into a painting!"
Lin Qiu Shi nodded.
"I'm fine," Ruan Nan Zhu gave a faint smile.
Though Ruan Nan Zhu recounted the events quite briefly, Lin Qiu Shi clearly grasped the grave danger present - Ruan Nan Zhu had been mere steps away from being trapped forever in that world.
"What did you mean by finding a new clue slip?" This was what Lin Qiu Shi cared about most right now.
"Oh right." Ruan Nan Zhu took out the slip from his pocket.
Lin Qiu Shi accepted it and saw a short poem written on the paper:
You stand on the bridge watching the scenery,
While others watch you from windows above.
Moonlight adorns your window sill,
You adorn another's dreams.
Lin Qiu Shi was shocked: "This is... a clue about the door?"
"Yes," affirmed Ruan Nan Zhu. "I got this clue off someone."
"Someone?" asked Tang Zao Zao.
Ruan Nan Zhu answered, "The newcomer who originally wanted to team up with me."