Chapter 54 Canvas of Human Skin

The only reason why they recognized the figure as Lu Shu was because she had dressed up particularly unique today.

Lu Shu had a slightly chubby figure and the clothes she wore today were very bright. According to her, it was something her mom got custom made at a family store on her last birthday and she had spent a lot of money on it.

It could be said to be one of a kind.

And now, the same kind of clothes could be found worn by the figure in the painting. Her facial features were also extremely similar to Lu Shu that even Ning Meng who had only seen her a couple of times, was able to recognize her, not to mention, her good friend Qiu Keke.

Ning Meng broke the ice first, “Should we give her a call…”

Before she could even finish her words, Qiu Keke’s phone rang.

“It’s Lulu.” She answered the call with a quivering voice, “Lulu. have you reached home? Is Lu Shu there with you?”

Lulu was her childhood friend. She and Lu Shu lived on the same street. If everything were to have gone smoothly, the first one to have reached home should be Lu Shu.

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Down the road, she didn’t feel any abnormalities anywhere, but she later realized that Lu Shu had suddenly turned quiet.

They took a turn on the street.

Just as they were about to reach Lu Shu’s home, Lulu finally turned her head but all she saw behind her was a dark street lined with dim street lamps and not a soul in sight.

Lu Shu disappeared just like that.

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest in realization of this fact. She walked the original road back while calling out her name. But even when people noticed her looking for someone and  jumped in to help, they weren’t able to find a hair of her.

It was as if Lu Shu had vanished into thin air.

Feeling alarmed, she chose to give Qiu Keke a call.

Lulu’s voice was on the verge of tears, “I didn’t see where she went off to. I called out her name several times but there wasn’t any response. Could she have been kidnapped or..”

In an instant, all kinds of scenarios popped into her head.

Nowadays, news of perverts, vagrants or gangster kidnapping young girls and assaulting them before killing them off were pretty predominant.

Qiu Keke was also infected with panic.

She looked at the painting on the table and the figure in it gradually neared the forest….One could only imagine how scary it must be to be completely surrounded by darkness.

Shi Qi suddenly spoke out, “For the time being, there isn’t any danger.”

Hearing this, Qiu Keke finally heaved a breath of relief and responded, “Lulu, don’t worry. You should head home first and don’t leave home for the entire weekend. I know where Lu Shu is. She’s just playing with you.”

Perhaps, because Lulu was very frightened, she was immediately actually comforted by these words.

Qiu Keke realized today that among the girls in her circle of friends, Lu Shu and another girl named Hu Yue also received a painting.

However, they had received the painting before she did.

At that time, the paintings also didn’t have much content so the two of them didn’t regard it as anything important and simply threw them away. Never did they expect that something would happen to Lu Shu.

Qiu Keke who also didn’t regard the painting as anything important also finally noticed this abnormality.

The house auntie had just left the house, leaving only the three of them alone. Keke’s parents would only return by morning so she still had time to resolve this case.

She took the phone and gave Lu Shu’s cell phone a call.

As expected, the phone didn’t even connect so no one on the other side picked up.

Qiu Keke could only turn to call another person. Fortunately, this time round, the call connected. Hu Yue’s voice sounded very clear on the other side, “What’s going on? I just reached home so I’m reporting my safety.”

“It’s nothing. Everything’s good as long as you’ve reached home.” Qiu Keke heaved a breath of relief, “Hu Yue, when you threw the painting away before, do you remember having stained it with any blood?”

Hu Yue thought for a moment before responding, “I don’t think so. I remembered after I received the painting, I threw it away after taking one look so nothing really happened midway and I probably didn’t stain it with any blood.”

She remembered feeling as if someone was playing an evil prank on her at that time.

The people around her also shared the same sentiments so she threw it in the rubbish bin of the classroom. Later on, because she couldn’t ease her worries, she ended up throwing it in the trash outside.

Even climbing the stairs just for this particular task.

Qiu Keke said, “That’s good. Take a good long rest home. I’ll hang up first.”

After confirming that all the remaining people were safe, she finally held up the painting once again and looked at the figure in it moving slowly, feeling frightened.

Who was it exactly that sent this painting?

Ning Meng seemed to have regained her composure and asked, “How can we rescue Lu Shu from inside the painting?”

It was the first time she had seen a person sucked inside a painting and it looked like Qiu Keke might encounter the same situation in the future.

She touched the paint on the surface, feeling it very smooth to the touch as if it and the painting were one entity.

The two people’s gaze landed on Shi Qi.

Shi Qi pursed his lips, “This is also my first time encountering such a matter. First, we need to find this place. If we are able to retrieve the painting Lu Shu had thrown away, it would be even better.”

Since Lu Shu was dragged into the forest, this forest must be the focal point.

Qiu Keke shook her head, saying, “Lu Shu has already thrown the painting away early on. She doesn’t even know where it is now. We might not be able to get our hands on it now so we can only try to locate the forest.”

Lu Shu’s figure drew closer and closer to the forest.

Ning Meng felt slightly anxious. She asked the system, “Do you know what we should do?”

The system responded, “First, try to analyze the painting. Then, try to find the figure from the painting. This is the best way, because in reality, it was not a person who was sucked in, but her soul.”

This situation was slightly similar to the case they had solved previously.

Ning Meng turned her head and asked, “We don’t know who painted this painting and why she used such a sinister method. Keke, can you think of who you offended together with your friends?”

Qiu Keke’s face turned bitter, “I can’t. I simply don’t remember offending anyone. I’ve never done anything violent. Unless the other person was the first to harm me, I wouldn’t hurt a fly but I’ve never done anything all these years in senior high.”

The feeling that she was missing something important was driving her mad with anxiety.

When she received the painting, she also felt blank for a period of time, even previously assuming that an admirer had sent it to her. Now that it had come to this, it was clear that someone was trying to harm her.

However, Shi Qi reached out a hand to touch the painting before nearing it to take a sniff.

Ning Meng surmised that he must know what was used in the paint or what was added into it. After all, he often came into contact with drawings and the like.

However, she still spoke up in aid, “Is there something odd mixed in?”

Shi Qi once again sat back down on his seat, “There’s a fishy smell.”

However, it was not the fishy scent of blood but the scent of a rotting object, unpleasant to the nose like a decaying corpse, something that his uncle had brought him to see once.

Corpses weren’t objects that were commonly seen unless one had special circumstances. Moreover, unlike normal corpses, this scent smelled as if it had gone through certain care.

There was no doubt someone who had a mastery of Feng Shui was involved in this.

Qiu Keke listened to his words and suddenly felt the view before her turn blurry.

Then, as time passed, she gradually grew more dizzy as though she couldn’t see her own steps clearly anymore. She grabbed onto Ning Meng’s arm, saying, “My head’s dizzy…”

It was as if something was sucking her away. Her skull was starting to throb in pain and it felt like she was about to explode and float mid-air.

Once her words fell, Shi Qi immediately gave her a bracelet.

The bracelet wasn’t big and consisted of dark beads, looking very solid like the size of marbles. It also emitted a sweet scent which penetrated the heart deeply.

Qiu Keke fixed her gaze on it and asked in suspicion, “…..What’s this?”

And why was he giving it to her instead of Ning Ning?

Shi Qi got straight to the point, “A soul stabilizer.”

Hearing him say this, Qiu Keke immediately put it on and without delay, the dizzy feeling she felt seemed to have vanished, making her entire person feel comfortable.

Especially the area around her wrist.

Qiu Keke exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “It’s gone! Shi Qi, you’re amazing! Now, how do we rescue Lu Shu?”

She felt that if they were to keep delaying any longer, Lu Shu’s life would be at risk.

Moreover, they also didn’t know what was lurking deep within this forest. Looking at the forest was already giving them the creeps, who knows what unforeseen event would happen if they were to turn up late.

Shi Qi held up the painting and asked, “Where’s the dagger?”

Ning Meng was taken aback for a moment before taking the item he requested out of her bag, “Here.”

She had been carrying this dagger around with her everywhere, in fear that something would happen. As such, she carried it with her in case the situation demanded a weapon for her to defend herself with as well as in preparation to place it in a post office when her life was on the verge of coming to an end.

She could store it there for a very long time and wait until she had finally transmigrated into a new body to retrieve it. As long as she remembers the password, things should go very smoothly.  At the time she thought of this method, she thought that her idea was simply ingenious.

Qiu Keke neared her, “Looks very old.”

She had only seen such a dagger in movies but now that it was in front of her..Though it looked odd, it didn’t look out of place.

Ning Meng stared at it without blinking.

The broken dagger was very dark in color as opposed to Shi Qi’s hand which was very fair. The contrast in appearance only served to highlight his beauty, particularly his fingers which were long and slender, making it look as though he was an expert in handling knives.

He looked like god’s most perfect creation.

Shi Qi held the broken knife and immediately cut the edge of the painting.

The canvas was easily cut and the edge of the painting connected to the frame looked just like human skin, it had scarlet blood leaking out, quickly dyeing the surrounding canvas red.

Qiu Keke pinched her nose, “Is this blood? How disgusting.”

Ning Meng also covered her nose as the scent also assailed her nostrils, “What is this canvas made off? It looks really scary and it’s even bleeding like it’s human or something.”

The canvas began to curl after the edges were cut off, revealing what was underneath the frame. There was nothing special about the frame itself but blood was seeping in the canvas.

There wasn’t really a lot of blood but the fact that it kept bleeding frightened them a bit.

Hearing this, Shi Qi’s movements suddenly stopped and he raised his head, asking in a calm tone, “Do you really wanna know?”

Hearing him say this, Ning Meng felt that it wasn’t anything pleasant at all.

But at the same time, she still wanted to know so after struggling with her feelings for a while, she shut her eyes and with the attitude of ‘accepting death’, she said, “Tell me, just tell me. Why did you have to ask me?”

Shi Qi raised a brow and said, “It’s a canvas made of human skin.”

Ning Meng, “….”

Why did she have to open her stupid mouth?

****

The desire to know something,

Is truly terrifying.

——”Shi Qi’s secretly hidden little diary”

The author has something to say:

17: It was clearly something you asked for

The paint does not contain menstrual blood. If it did, it would be even more terrifying hahaha