I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

He needs to find critically ill patients.

Fortunately, Bi Jia had prepared in advance and memorized the structure of the mental hospital.

He sneaked into the intensive care unit, hoping to see some eerie and strange patients, but found it empty.

"Did they all go to rest?"

Bi Jia sensed something was wrong. He took a few more steps and suddenly heard some voices.

"...Take the poetry festival on Uta Island, for example. It's a grand gathering of literary figures since ancient times..."

A clear voice came from inside. Bi Jia followed the sound and saw a lot of people gathered in a room.

He peeked out and saw many patients sitting together, listening intently to someone as if they were high school students with only 100 days left until the college entrance exam.

Bi Jia found it strange, so he followed him into the house, sat in the back, and listened carefully.

He felt the story sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it before.

But as he listened, Bi Jia quickly became engrossed in the story.

Until a loud slap, the man tapped the mineral water bottle, jolting everyone out of their daze.

To find out what happens next, please read the next chapter.

He said something and then waved.

"That's all for today. Dr. Hao said we shouldn't delay everyone's exercise, so I'll keep it short."

Bi Jia looked at that person.

Suddenly I was startled.

Isn't this Lu Ban?

Although he scoffed at those kinds of commercial films, he had to admit that the art design in Lu Ban's films was quite outstanding. Therefore, Bi Jia also contributed a movie ticket to "Magic Tide".

He definitely recognized that face; it was Lu Ban!

How did he end up here?

Here we go again to gather material?

Bi Jia was about to stand up when she looked at Lu Ban's bracelet again.

The item above is genuine and is a mark indicating that the patient is critically ill.

Could it be that Lu Ban became mentally ill because he was too engrossed in filming the movie?

Bi Jia was filled with questions.

Just as he was hesitating, Lu Ban walked towards him.

"Are you new here?"

Lu Ban asked in a very kind manner.

"Uh, yes."

Bi Jia decided to pretend that she didn't know Lu Ban.

"The environment here is quite nice, so don't feel uncomfortable. Talk to people more and communicate more; it will help with your condition."

Lu Ban patted Bi Jia on the shoulder like a caring older brother.

"Actually... I've had a picture in my mind lately."

Bi Jia said, "Since Lu Ban is here, why not ask him if he has any inspiration? Maybe their ideas will meet and create a wonderful chemical reaction."

What kind of painting is it?

Lu Ban acted like a psychologist, patiently communicating with Bi Jia.

“I’m not sure either. I feel like this painting is missing something, maybe some exciting, passionate, or moving elements.”

Bi Jia shook his head.

"You want to draw it?"

"Ah."

Bi Jia nodded, and then saw Lu Ban take out a sketchbook and give Bi Jia a pen.

"Give it a try."

Bi Jia roughly knew that this was a psychological testing method that allowed people to peek into the inner world of the test subject by having them draw. Some tests also used special patterns for the test subject to identify. As a trendy painter, he was familiar with this kind of common sense.

"First, let's draw a person. You can draw whatever you want."

Lu Ban was giving instructions.

Bi Jia began to draw following Lu Ban's instructions. According to Lu Ban, he should empty his mind and only follow Lu Ban's prompts to create. When Lu Ban said to draw something, he would draw the first impression that came to his mind.

Soon, Bi Jia entered a trance-like state, feeling an extraordinary sense of pleasure, as if his soul had left his body and been released.

The unprecedentedly comfortable creative experience immersed Bi Jia in it, and before she knew it, more than ten minutes had passed.

"Okay, it's done."

Lu Ban snapped his fingers, and Bi Jia came back to his senses.

He looked at his painting and was speechless for a moment.

It was a person sitting in a chair, whose gender and age were indiscernible; they were simply sitting there.

But one can sense from the brushstrokes that the person exudes an aura of tension, fear, despair, and dread.

Some indescribable tentacles and slime spread from the other's body. Just seeing this scene made Bi Jia feel dizzy and her consciousness blurred.

Moreover, it was drawn by his own hand!

But upon closer inspection, the person also exuded a sense of sadness and pitifulness, making it unbearable to look at. The melancholy and sorrowful emotions were like a hand gently caressing Bi Jia's heart, alleviating his symptoms.

"How about it?"

Lu Ban asked with concern.

"I...I don't understand, but I'm deeply moved..."

Bi Jia felt that, in today's popular terms, she was first depressed and then cured.

He now even finds the patients around him much more endearing, like college classmates meeting for the first time, full of youthful innocence and friendliness.

However, Bi Jia soon noticed that his painting looked like a sketch.

Apart from the person, the tables, chairs, and simple background are all realistic elements.

That chair was right across from me.

It was completely empty there.

Chapter 366 One Step Away from a Grand Slam

Bi Jia decides to stay in the mental hospital and study with Lu Ban.

He was like a real critically ill patient, getting up early every day to exercise, eat, listen to Lu Ban tell stories, and then being guided by Lu Ban to draw.

In the past, Bi Jia not only had to rack his brains to come up with ideas for his paintings, but also had to deal with troublesome interpersonal relationships, and sometimes faced doubts from his peers and misunderstandings from his audience.

Now, staying in a mental hospital, all of that is gone.

We were all patients, so we were open and honest with each other. We often sat together in the afternoons to chat and share our experiences.

Bi Jia used to think of herself as a cold person, and the news on the Internet made her indifferent.

But now, as Bi Jia listened to the aunt next to him sobbing as she recounted how she and her child had been stabbed more than 120 times and were sent to a mental hospital after crawling out of the funeral hall, Bi Jia was moved to tears.

Previously, Bi Jia felt that art was aloof, elegant, and trendy, and that ordinary people could not understand it.

Now, Bi Jia realizes that art can also be warm and accessible, and that he should immerse himself in the lives of ordinary people to gain more inspiration.

"So that's how Lu Ban gathers his material!"

Bi Jia suddenly realized.

These are not the strange delusions of mentally ill patients, nor hallucinations caused by schizophrenia, but rather the genuine feelings of these patients who have broken free from the constraints of society and are showing their most authentic selves.

In everyday social interactions, people wear masks of pretense. Even when they claim to be speaking frankly, they still leave room for ambiguity. For example, if someone asks you what type of girl you like, you might answer that she is well-behaved and cute, but you certainly wouldn't tell them that you like girls with homosexual tendencies—a trait that can't even be openly expressed.

But mental hospitals are different.

Here, everyone is like a newborn baby; you can say whatever you want without anyone questioning you or looking at you strangely. Some older guys might even ask, "That's all?" after hearing your grievances.

This benefited Bi Jia greatly.

Of course, Bi Jia still keenly noticed a problem.

I'm starting to think these mentally ill people are normal.

These patients in the intensive care unit are, in theory, people who are no longer able to support themselves in a normal life in the real world and have serious mental problems. However, Bi Jia felt that she could communicate with these people very smoothly.

You won't suddenly think, "Oh, the other person seems to have some mental issues." You'll just feel like they're family, full of love and warmth.

When Bi Jia realized this, he felt that he might really be going crazy.

He came to the examination room, wanting the doctor to examine him.

However, after completing the psychological test, the doctor told him a surprising result.

“Mr. Bi Jia, you have been completely cured.”

The doctor looked at the medical report and said incredulously.

"what?"

Bi Jia found it hard to believe.

"Wait, doctor, you must be joking. I think I'm very sick. I can communicate with those critically ill patients very smoothly. Is there something wrong with me?"

"But according to the test and X-ray results, you are indeed normal."

The doctor spoke earnestly.

"It's probably because you've lived here for so long that you've gotten used to it and don't want to leave. That's very common, Mr. Bi Jia. You're perfectly normal. You don't have any psychological problems or mental illnesses. You don't even have the depression you had before."

"???"