In the ancient castle on this night, in the old study filled with the scent of antiquity, Duwei stood under the flickering candlelight, quietly raising his head to gaze at the painting on the wall. After a brief moment of silence between him and the portrait, Duwei received no response.
He frowned slightly. "No answer?"
The face in the painting continued to stare into Duwei's eyes.
Duwei chuckled, but there was a hint of malice in his smile. He slowly walked to the side, then pushed over a tall ladder and climbed up to the bookshelf, reaching out to try and remove the painting.
The person in the painting then showed a trace of panic. In the portrait, the eyes gazing at Duwei's face now carried a sense of alarm.
"Hoo!" Duwei exerted force to take the painting off the wall. It was clear that such a heavy object would be difficult for a slender young man like Duwei to lift. His arms felt sore. But what surprised him was that there was nothing behind the painting!
It wasn't a mechanism, nor was there someone hiding behind the painting watching him. It was the painting itself!
Duwei became more serious, carefully carrying the painting down the stairs.
The face in the painting looked bitter now, with eyes filled with unease.
"What exactly are you?" Duwei asked in a deep voice. "A figure that has come to life from a painting?"
The eyes in the painting seemed somewhat evasive.
"Hmm, this painting is a portrait of an ancestor of the Rolin family who was once an imperial marshal," Duwei continued. "You couldn't possibly be that ancestor come back to life, could you?" Duwei chuckled, then shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. Because that ancestor lived over two hundred years ago. And this painting is obviously a later creation to commemorate the ancestor. So I'll ask again... What exactly are you?"
After a while with no response, Duwei's expression turned serious. "Oh, you refuse to answer? Well then, don't regret it."
He pointed to the numerous candles around. "As you can see, there are plenty of candles here. If you don't speak, I'll set you on fire. Do you think I dare?"
With that, he picked up a lit candle and slowly approached the painting.
The figure in the painting immediately paled, displaying clear fear in their eyes, pleading urgently as they watched Duwei's candle draw closer. They could only look at Duwei with desperation written all over their face.
Just as the flame was about to touch the canvas, Duwei moved the candle away, nodding. "Hmm, it seems you truly won't speak? Can you even speak?"
The figure in the painting shook their head.
"In that case, what exactly are you?" Duwei's eyes gleamed with curiosity. A living painting! Could it be some sort of magic creation?
But the painting couldn't provide an answer to Duwei's question. After being spared from the threat of being burned, the figure in the painting seemed to relax slightly, then gazed at Duwei with a hint of interest.
Duwei tried to ask the painting several questions, but communication was difficult because the figure could only nod or shake its head. Despite their efforts, they couldn't extract any information.
One by one, they stared at each other, unable to speak.
Then, at that moment, a large clock on the study wall began to chime slowly! Midnight had arrived!
Duwei suddenly saw a faint light emanating from the figure's eyes in the painting, followed by a soft sigh echoing in his ears!
Though the voice seemed ethereal, Duwei heard it clearly—it was definitely the sound of someone sighing!
"Listen carefully! Because I am under a spell, I can only speak briefly when the clock strikes midnight. Once the chime ends, I cannot speak again! I'll only say this once! There is a hidden chamber in this study! Inside, there are treasures! I can guide you to find them. Then, I need your help. One of the treasures can break the spell on me."
Duwei widened his eyes, looking at the painting. "Are you speaking?"
"Yes! There's no time to explain," the voice from the painting hurriedly said. "Now, start examining the third painting on the wall. There are instructions on it. Follow them, and if you're not a fool, you should find what you're looking for..."
Dong!
Midnight had passed, and as the final chime sounded, the light in the figure's eyes gradually disappeared. The voice stopped as well.
Duwei glanced up and down at the painting, and the figure gazed back at him, wearing a pleading expression.
"Oh, so you're under a spell?" Duwei chuckled. "You say there's a hidden chamber in this study, and inside it, there's a treasure that can break the spell on you. Is that right?"
With each question Duwei posed, the figure in the painting would nod in response, its face carrying an expression of longing.
"Alright then, what's in it for me?" Duwei chuckled. "Why should I help you?"
The expression on the figure's face changed, and the pleading look in its eyes intensified, as if desperately trying to convey something, but unable to utter a single word.
"Never mind, I find this whole situation rather peculiar anyway. Let's just say I'm satisfying my curiosity," Duwei waved his hand dismissively. He then climbed the ladder to the bookshelf, carefully examining the third painting on the wall as instructed by the figure in the painting when the clock chimed at midnight.
The third painting depicted an ancestor of the Rolin family dressed in a naval uniform, with a serious expression on his face, his gaze fixed ahead as if staring into the distance.
Duwei inspected the painting closely but found no trace of anything unusual. He even tried to move the painting aside and check behind it, but to no avail.
After pondering for a moment on the staircase, Duwei remained patient, methodically rechecking every detail. After three unsuccessful attempts, Duwei suddenly had an idea. He carefully observed the eyes of the figure in the painting...
Yes, the eyes of the figure in the painting... staring straight ahead.
Duwei's heart skipped a beat! Immediately, he followed the direction of the figure's gaze!
It led to the opposite wall! The figure in the painting seemed to be looking at a knight's sword hanging on the opposite wall!
Duwei exerted effort to push the ladder across the room. The back and forth movement was taxing for a thirteen-year-old boy, but his intense curiosity drove him forward.
After examining the knight's sword on the wall, Duwei discovered that its blade was pointing towards a nearby bookshelf!
He followed the direction indicated by the sword and began searching the shelf.
Finally, he found it!
On the beam of the bookshelf, Duwei felt a series of uneven grooves. He carefully traced them and realized they formed a line of text. However, these words were written in reverse! So, if someone accidentally touched this spot without careful observation, they would likely mistake it for ordinary decoration.
Duwei carefully read the line of text written in reverse.
"The answer lies in the night sky, and the giant spoon is the key to guiding the way."
Duwei couldn't help but smile bitterly.
What was this? A riddle?
He sighed and slid down the ladder, sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding his head as he pondered over the riddle.
"The night sky... a giant spoon..."
Finally, Duwei stood up again, hope rekindling in his eyes.
What could be in the night sky... stars!
And the giant spoon? That must be referring to the Big Dipper! The shape of the Big Dipper in the sky resembled a giant spoon, didn't it?
With this realization, Duwei quickly began searching the bookshelf in the study.
Stars... stars...
In the study, anything related to stars... ah, it must be the bookshelf containing astrology books!
Soon, through the index, Duwei found the bookshelf dedicated to astrology books. He laboriously climbed up and searched, then, following the clue of the "spoon," carefully felt along the seventh row of books on the shelf.
He flipped through almost every book until...
When he pulled out one book, he distinctly felt that it was unusually heavy! It turned out to be a book made of metal! And after pulling it out, he heard a muffled sound of gears turning rapidly inside the wall...
Finally, with a loud noise, the entire bookshelf began to slowly rotate on its own. Behind the bookshelf, on the wall, appeared a dark entrance...