I discovered a world bug.

After studying the patterns on the tortoise shell for half an hour, Lin Shu still couldn't figure out what such an omen meant.

He now truly admires those archaeologists—so how exactly did they figure out what those murals meant when they first discovered them in the cave?

Theoretically speaking, those murals should be even more abstract than what we are seeing now, right?

I can't rely on myself anymore...

Should I ask someone?

Maybe we should talk to Lingfeng. When we talked before, I felt like she studied a wide variety of things.

Even if she doesn't understand, maybe we can ask her to ask someone around her.

However, a single image on the tortoise shell is not enough.

Lin Shu plans to depict all the scenes she sees in her "hallucinations" in the same style, forming a coherent scene.

Taking out paper and pen, Lin Shu carefully recalled the scene she had witnessed.

A crowded scene, a narrow, uphill path, swirling snowflakes, rain-like lines of light, and a beam of white light that runs throughout the entire scene...

Having always worked in video production, drawing a few storyboards wasn't difficult for Lin Shu.

After finishing the drawing, he took a picture of the hand-drawn design and then sent a message to the blogger.

"Teacher, I need to trouble you for a favor."

"I found some pictures here at the hometown of the interviewee, which are said to be copies they made from murals in a cave."

"I'd like to ask you, what could these pictures possibly mean?"

"[Image][Image][Image]"

After sending the message, Lin Shu sent another red envelope as usual, but this time, the other party did not accept it.

"If you look at it this way, the symbolic meaning of this picture is quite clear."

"The picture depicts a scene similar to a sacrificial ceremony. You see, there are a large crowd of people, all of whom are going up. Generally speaking, going up means offering sacrifices to the gods."

"Those dots should be snowflakes and rain, a description of the environment during the ritual, possibly representing disaster, and also the purpose of the ritual."

"The thick line in the last picture, the one that hit the little man, most likely represents divine punishment such as 'lightning'."

"Lightning struck the sacrifice, taking its life; that must be it."

"This is a fairly typical historical mural. Where did you see it?"

lightning?

Sacrifice?

Life and death...

Lin Shu did not rush to reply to the blogger's question.

His mind was filled with questions.

First of all, it can be confirmed that the "yarrow stalk and tortoise shell divination" ritual provided by Xu Changshun should be effective, because he did see extraordinary phenomena.

Based on this premise, whether it is a hallucination or the pattern on the tortoise shell, it should have a specific meaning in reality and be related to oneself.

The question then arises: how did I end up participating in a ritual?

In this ritual, which one of the people do I belong to?

Or is it...?

Am I one of the three sacrifices?

This seems to be the most likely possibility!

No, what I saw was my own...death?

Lin Shu shivered, as if a cold wind had blown directly into his brain from the top of his head.

But he quickly regained his composure.

Even if these two rituals are real and effective, the visions you see may not be real.

Interpretations may be wrong, and one's own memory may not be accurate.

As for "dying because of a sacrifice," that's even more absurd.

Anyway, I won't participate in those weird activities.

In short, if signs appear, you can be more careful, but you must not give up because of a bad sign.

What was that saying again?

A twitching left eye means good fortune, a twitching right eye means superstition...

He paused briefly, then typed a reply to the blogger:

"It's in a small village under Linchuan City. We can't verify its authenticity yet, but I plan to go down there in a couple of days to check it out."

"OK."

The blogger sent me a thumbs-up emoji.

"Remember to tell me if you find anything interesting like this in the future; I'm also very interested in these things."

"Definitely! Definitely!"

After a brief, polite remark, Lin Shu put down her phone.

He sat there in a daze until he truly and fully felt the impact of the new information.

Regardless of the outcome of the divination, at least it worked...

Not only "divination by yarrow stalks and tortoise shells," but also "snake farming," which Xu Changshun mentioned earlier, is effective.

And they take effect through "rituals".

So, as Xu Changshun said, certain rules of the world can be triggered through special rituals, and under the influence of "mysterious power," a certain purpose can be achieved?

This sounds like... a myth.

But what if, what if, all the so-called myths are true?

What the hell kind of world is this?!

At this moment, Lin Shu felt that her entire worldview had been turned upside down.

His upbringing taught him that the world is a materialistic, purely physical world, and that supernatural and bizarre things absolutely do not exist.

Even if something exhibits characteristics of "supernatural and bizarre phenomena," there must be a set of logic that still conforms to the laws of physics existing in some more hidden and incomprehensible corners.

But now, that perception has been shattered.

If one insists on explaining it, "snake farming" can be interpreted as a sophisticated form of psychology, or even categorized as neuroscience.

But "divination by yarrow stalks and tortoise shells" is not.

It simultaneously altered its own perception and the material world that actually exists!

----Could it be that in this world, human consciousness is actually connected to the real world in some way?

And the "bridge" that connects them is the ritual?

What exactly is the principle behind that ritual?

A higher law?

To whom do these laws belong? And who created them?

Gods?

Holy shit......

Lin Shu shook her head vigorously and looked at her phone screen again.

In the chat box, Xie Yuchi sent a new message.

"So what exactly did Xu Changshun leave you?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just curious."

Lin Shu hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Normally, everyone would be curious about a "suicide note left for a stranger".

If it were just an ordinary suicide note, Lin Shu would never hesitate to share its contents with Xie Yuchi.

After all, the two were childhood friends who grew up together, and aside from things like the difference between men and women, they had almost no secrets.

But this matter is too big, and Lin Shu doesn't know if dragging Xie Yuchi into it rashly will cause any negative consequences.

It is not without risk.

Xu Changshun was clearly "taken away," and the reason he was "taken away" was because he violated some rules when using the ritual and the special abilities it brought.

And yet, they themselves were still unaware of the rules governing the rituals they had already performed.

What if you use it too many times, or make a mistake in any step, and end up being taken away too?

So... Yu Chi, you have to understand.

It's not that I'm hiding it from you, it's just that the risks involved in my approach are just too great...

After calming herself down a bit, Lin Shu typed a reply:

"He shared his life experiences and wanted me to mention them in my reporting to explain his motives to the victims."

"I never expected him to be a college student..."

Lin Shu's reply did not arouse Xie Yuchi's suspicion at all—the contents of such a suicide note were actually entirely reasonable.

"oh oh."

"Then when you report it, try to be as objective as possible."

"After all, respect for the deceased is paramount. If this triggers a new wave of online harassment, it will also harm the family."

Xie Yuchi's suggestion was also very reasonable, Lin Shu replied:

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

After a brief chat, Lin Shu sat down in front of the computer.

He raced against time to edit the video, especially highlighting Xu Changshun's persona as a "college student," "fond of traditional culture," and "not a charlatan," in an effort to reduce what appeared to be a bizarre incident to a simple conflict caused by a cognitive misalignment.

After processing the video, I sent it to the editor-in-chief, who sent several thumbs-up replies.

That's exactly the effect he wanted—traffic is important, but the direction absolutely cannot be off.

If we continue to portray Xu Changshun negatively and create an atmosphere of mystery and superstition, it may not only provoke complaints from his family, but it will also be extremely vulnerable in the face of the scrutiny of the authorities.

He was very satisfied with this approach.

With the video's release date finalized, the editor-in-chief generously granted Lin Shu three days off, which, combined with the upcoming weekend, made it a full five-day vacation.

There's no work going on, but what should I do?

Doing nothing, just sitting around waiting?

That's obviously not going to work.

Xu Changshun's death serves as a cautionary tale. Given that the ritual has proven effective, the probability of his "natural death" has been greatly reduced.

If that power can take him away, it can also take himself away.

The "sacrifice" and "death" revealed by divination, though not very precise, are still omens and should not be ignored casually.

It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't!

I might indeed be in danger, and I have no idea how to avoid it...

and many more.

A word suddenly flashed through Lin Shu's mind.

Master Knife Arena.

In a previous interview, Xu Changshun said that he foresaw through divination that he might be taken away by a mysterious force, so he started the Master Knife Altar in an attempt to avoid disaster.

Unfortunately, his ritual was disrupted by three tourists who happened to appear.

He was unlucky, but I might not be that unlucky.

Although I have only used the ritual once and may not have reached the level of triggering the so-called "divine retribution", if I can find the legacy he left behind and master the ritual of the "Master's Knife Altar", my safety will be more guaranteed.

So what to do next became crystal clear.

----Obtain Xu Changshun's belongings!

Especially his research records!

There's a high probability that it contains crucial information on how to "avoid disaster"!

And it's very likely that Xu Changshun deliberately left this information for himself.

Because he also said that he "chose" me.

go!

Without wasting a single second, Lin Shu grabbed her phone, changed her clothes, and went outside.

Instead of going to the Second Hospital, he asked Xie Yuchi for Xu Changshun's home address.

By this time, Xu Changshun's body had already been taken home by his family.

I can use the pretext of paying my respects to go and find out more from them.

If Xu Changshun really did "choose" me, then he must have made arrangements with my family as well.

According to Xie Yuchi's previous statement, he had left a letter for his family.

So, to his family, I shouldn't be considered an "uninvited guest"...