Chapter 22: Li County Pear Blossom Lantern Festival (Part 4)
This realization was like a stone thrown into water, its ripples completely shattering the joyful and peaceful scene before her.
She had just felt that everything had a very strong sense of unnaturalness.
Falsehood attempting to mimic reality, like seeing a puppet that looked too much like a human, giving one goosebumps.
Liu Sheng took a deep breath, and the Soul-Stabilizing Pendant at her waist emitted bursts of clear Qi, preventing her mind from distorting further.
Looking again, the lanterns on the street were all oddly shaped, seemingly crudely made by a child who didn't know how to make lanterns; fish didn't look like fish, rabbits didn't resemble rabbits, and they weren't made of the usual gauze or oiled paper used for lanterns.
Instead, they looked more like bamboo and wooden sticks directly poked into some flesh-colored leather, stretched taut, and still streaked with blood.
Liu Sheng walked and observed along the way.
The stalls on both sides of the street no longer sold fragrant, sweet things; some were selling the bloody organs of unknown animals; others had eyes strung together in the shape of candied haws, with the stalls full of these glaring “eye haws”; the lamb soup stall was still simmering something, but when the vendor stirred with a large ladle, shapes of human hands and feet could be seen.
People on the street carried various ugly and grotesque lanterns, and there were quite a few, like the child just now, carrying human head lanterns.
The acrobat's limbs were somewhat twisted, and he seemed oblivious even when his leg fractured as he twisted it over his head.
The Dragon and lion dances were even more absurd; beneath a thin, blood-stained cover, there were countless people stuffed inside, their feet below a chaotic, stumbling mess, their bodies bulging, and every now and then a head or half an intestine would fall out.
“There’s really no aesthetic sense at all,” Little Tentacle grumbled to Liu Sheng.
Liu Sheng was speechless. “Do you, a smooth, pitch-black Tentacle, think you look good?”
Moreover, the biggest flaw just now was that there was no face of the Supreme God in the sky, but even Liu Sheng had subconsciously ignored such an utterly impossible occurrence.
One must know that in this world, even if you can’t see stars or the moon, it’s impossible for there to be no face in the sky!
Liu Sheng didn't yet know that she was able to escape the illusion so quickly because of her extremely high resilience.
Fu Ze and Song Haiyin, for example, were still deeply trapped in the illusion.
Liu Sheng walked cautiously, trying not to touch or speak to the people on the street.
After all, she already knew that these were not living people.
The omnipresent feeling of being watched became even stronger, and she could clearly sense the malice.
“Miss, want to guess a lantern riddle? One copper coin per try, guess it right and I’ll give you a lantern. My lanterns are very beautiful.”
Suddenly, a weak voice emerged from the side, sounding not very confident.
Liu Sheng originally didn't want to bother with this person, but the last sentence caught her attention.
She was good at everything, but her biggest flaw was her intense curiosity.
She wanted to see just how beautiful this lantern was.
Upon looking, her eyes were a bit assaulted; it felt like everyone really liked the patchwork style.
There was a merman lantern, but it wasn't a human body with a fish tail; instead, it had a fish head and a human body, so it should be called a fish-man lantern.
There were also rabbit lanterns with horse bodies and rabbit heads, and ghastly green vine lanterns covered in eyes…
Seeing that vine lantern, Liu Sheng felt Little Tentacle’s “eyes” light up.
“Want, want, want, want…”
Liu Sheng felt a bit helpless. Now Little Tentacle called her “Mama,” but she felt like she was raising a child, even though she was clearly the “Mama.”
No, she didn’t want to be its Mama either.
In short, “Mama” wanted it, and would throw a fit if she didn’t get it.
Liu Sheng had no choice but to take out a copper coin and give it to the vendor, then carefully read the paper strip on the ugly lantern.
【Needs half, leaves half.】
Liu Sheng thought for a while; after all, she was a top student, how could this riddle stump her?
So, she took out “World” from her Storage Pouch.
She opened it and typed:
“There’s a lantern riddle: Needs half, leaves half. What is the answer?”
【It’s the character for “thunder” (thunder).】
“It’s the character for ‘thunder’ (thunder).”
Liu Sheng looked up and answered confidently, then pointed at the ugly lantern, her meaning clear.
The vendor was still a bit confused, not understanding what this person had taken out, and then how they had answered correctly?
But the person had indeed answered correctly, and it had never seen anyone answer so quickly; many people could only have their heads twisted off in silence by it.
It dazedly took down the vine lantern and handed it to Liu Sheng.
Little Tentacle excitedly took the ugly lantern, swinging it back and forth, the dense eyes seeming to blink in the flickering firelight.
It got even uglier.
Liu Sheng was utterly disgusted.
But she noticed that ever since she picked up this lantern, the street's clamor had quieted, and the distorted darkness seemed much calmer.
A few steps forward, and there was another riddle-guessing stall.
“Miss, want to guess a riddle?”
“Yes.”
Liu Sheng, intending to verify, agreed.
She bit the bullet and chose a relatively less bloody lantern, then continued to use the same method, letting “World” answer the question.
Humanity’s greatest advantage was its ability to utilize tools, and Liu Sheng didn’t feel embarrassed at all.
If you have outside help, why not use it?
Then, she happily received another ugly lantern.
Unfortunately, this ugly lantern wasn't “Mama’s” cup of tea, so Liu Sheng had to carry it herself.
The stalls on the street had significantly decreased.
Continuing on, she saw another riddle-guessing stall.
She continued to acquire another ugly lantern.
Strangely, these stalls seemed to have no other “people” patronizing them besides her.
However, Liu Sheng also didn't want to crowd with these “people.”
But she hadn't even seen Fu Ze or Song Haiyin.
Let alone Wang Dongdong, whom she had been thinking about.
However, Liu Sheng couldn't worry about so much now.
Her Ghost Qi Detector told her that she was walking towards the place with the densest Guai Qi.
Liu Sheng continued to walk forward, constantly guessing riddles and taking lanterns, guessing riddles and taking lanterns.
The stalls around her became fewer and fewer, the street grew quieter and quieter, and the acrobatic and lion dance performances had gradually faded into the distance…
Gradually, Liu Sheng could only see a lantern riddle stall every few meters, and beyond that was endless darkness.
Pear blossoms still fell everywhere, covering the ground in snowy white, adding a sense of desolation to this dark, quiet street, where only a lone lantern remained.
Liu Sheng held at least a dozen lanterns, each ugly in its own way.
Behind her, a meter-long, wrist-thick black Tentacle stretched out from somewhere, playing with a long-extinguished vine lantern.
At this moment, the red warning on the Ghost Qi Detector grew increasingly intense, now a deep, ominous red.
It was estimated that the center of the strange phenomenon was already close at hand.
“Miss, want to guess a lantern riddle?”
The vendor’s voice was very familiar, and her appearance was also very familiar.
Liu Sheng’s usually calm and composed face finally showed a hint of shock.
It was Yue Shan, Wang Dongdong’s good friend!
She had previously gone out with Wang Dongdong and them a few times, and even eaten a few meals, and although she had some face blindness, she still recognized Yue Shan, as she was quite good-looking.
However, at this moment, Yue Shan was no longer the bright and charming, innocent young girl she once was; her face was stiff and ashen, half of it stripped of skin, one eyeball hanging out, and her rosy, flower-like lips were torn down past her earlobes, maintaining the most radiant smile.
Moreover, even through the lantern stand, a strong smell of decay emanated from her.
“Guess…” Liu Sheng sighed inwardly.
She wondered how Wang Dongdong was doing.
As she thought, she took out a copper coin and placed it in front of Yue Shan, then carefully selected among the lanterns.
After picking for a long time, she truly couldn't find a lantern more “splendid” than the ones she already held.
After this journey, Liu Sheng was a bit aesthetically fatigued from all the ugliness.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration, she pointed at Yue Shan and said, “I want your lantern.”
Although Yue Shan was surprised, her stiff face could no longer express surprise.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then, here’s the question.”
“Guess what ‘I’ am?”
“Yue Shan’s” torn lips curled upwards, her malice so dense it was almost overflowing.