No one paid her any mind, and Su Qingqing talked to herself alone.
Even Yan Feng stared at the painting unblinkingly, a light flashing in his eyes that had never been seen before.
Huo Sining held her breath, feeling an intensely strong sense of familiarity in her heart, as if she had seen this scene in the painting somewhere before.
"He placed the mermaid into the pool! Is this little Taoist releasing it?" Su Qingqing couldn’t help asking curiously.
The Taoist approached the pool and released the shark into the water where it floundered a few times, its tail creating countless splashes, frantic with confusion and reluctance.
Both anxious and reluctant, the Taoist kept pushing the mermaid, seemingly trying to herd it toward the middle of the water.
It was at this moment that a flash of golden light appeared, and another person came flying down from the peak of the mountain.
"Oh, another old Taoist has appeared!" Su Qingqing exclaimed as she pointed to the elder holding a whisk.
The Taoist’s face was filled with anger, and his mouth opened and closed as if he was saying something.
Upon seeing the arrival of the old Taoist, the young apprentice showed a look of terror in his eyes and pushed the mermaid into the water with even greater urgency.
Seeing this, the Taoist became furious, swirling the whisk in his hand, forming hand seals as if ready to charge towards the pond.
Just when Huo Sining thought all the mysteries were about to be unveiled, everything suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but a blank space as if someone had simply wiped away all traces, abruptly coming to an end.
The three people in the room did not understand the meaning of the painting and looked at each other in dismay.
It was like watching a TV show reach its climax when suddenly the power goes out, stopping the narrative abruptly in a moment, leaving it hanging, making one feel both uncomfortable and uneasy.
"Why has another old Taoist popped up? What does this mean?" Su Qingqing was the first to speak, venting, "What’s with this painter? Drawing a story that ends in a cliffhanger, unclear and unfinished, is this deliberately messing with us?"
Huo Sining also felt a mix of amusement and frustration. She wanted to know what was going on too—she had felt that the answer lay in the clues below, but now the painting had abruptly stopped here.
Everyone felt a sense of unfinished business, but now that things had turned out this way, their unwillingness was in vain.
"This painting is definitely by a master. Ningning, I think you’d better find an expert in ancient painting research to take a look—maybe they can figure something out!" Su Qingqing also thought the painting was extraordinary and excitedly made the suggestion to Huo Sining.
"Yeah, we’ll see about that."
Huo Sining’s response was clearly perfunctory. If at first she had considered bringing the painting to Zhou Shitao for research, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to now.
The author of the painting had clearly intended to conceal something, and seeking someone else’s opinion rashly might risk the secrets within the painting being exposed.
Though she wasn’t a greedy person, she had a vague feeling that the strong familiarity the painting stirred in her meant it was likely profoundly connected to her.
Unable to glean any useful clues from the painting, Huo Sining decided not to look any further and proceeded to retrieve the ancient painting from the water.
Although it was unclear what material the painting paper was made of, it was an ancient painting after all. Even if it only revealed itself in water, Huo Sining was still worried that it might have been damaged from being submerged for too long.
To her astonishment, as she made an attempt to lift it, Huo Sining was struck dumb.
In the center of the painting, where it had been originally left blank, there now appeared many characters, with a red seal stamped at the end.
Since the three of them had been absorbed in observing the three-dimensional animation earlier, none had noticed the changes that occurred to the painting. Confronted with this situation, they exchanged bewildered glances.
Su Qingqing, even with her typically casual demeanor, could tell something was amiss:
"Hey, wasn’t this painting devoid of any inscriptions or seals before? Why does it have them now? And there’s a private seal, at that! But what kind of script is this? I can’t recognize a single character."
Yan Feng too gathered around, driven by curiosity, and indeed, there was a vertical strand of inscriptions in the center of the blank space in "Buzhou Mountain", with a blood-red private seal at the end of it.
Yet, what was strange was that not only Su Qingqing but also Yan Feng, who prided himself on having studied numerous ancient medical texts and was familiar with many ancient characters, showed a puzzled look upon seeing the inscriptions.
Certainly, Yan Feng did not recognize these characters either.
Just because others hadn’t seen them didn’t mean Huo Sining hadn’t. Faced with the inscriptions in the middle of the painting, Huo Sining instantly thought of the three peculiar Bagua Chart cowhide papers she had once acquired.
On the side of those Bagua Charts, there were strings of strange characters, which, judging by their shapes, used the same bizarre script as the one present in this "Buzhou Mountain" painting.
"First, we need to find out whose seal it is. I think we can ask Professor Xie; this should not be too hard for my master," Su Qingqing suggested. "Once we identify this private seal, at the very least, we can unravel the origins of this painting."
Huo Sining did not speak. Her mind was in a muddle, and she felt that many things were starting to turn peculiar.
For example, the "Buzhou Mountain" ancient painting in her hand, those three incomplete Bagua Charts, the identity of Uncle Tong, and even the strange screen in her grandmother’s room in the old house.
For some reason, she had an absurd illusion that all these things were connected in some way, and perhaps someone intentionally delivered them into her hands for the purpose of finding something or someone!
"I’ll be heading to the Imperial Capital after a while, and I’ll show it to Master Zhou then."
Huo Sining rejected Su Qingqing’s suggestion, as she subconsciously didn’t want others to see this item.
Yan Feng wasn’t part of their circle, and Su Qingqing was unguarded, so it wouldn’t matter much if these two saw it. However, if an expert from the antique circle were to see it, Huo Sining couldn’t guarantee that the secrets hidden within the painting wouldn’t be discovered, so she felt it best to be cautious.
"That works too, the object is in your hands anyway, no need to rush," Su Qingqing didn’t think too much and nodded in agreement. "We’ve seen the painting, and you’ve nothing to do, so accompany me to Antique Street. With you, an expert, around to guide me, I won’t be afraid of making any mistakes!"
Huo Sining naturally knew what this girl intended by inviting her to Antique Street. As Su Qingqing was someone who didn’t hide her straightforward intentions, it was hard for Huo Sining to refuse. With no choice, she could only nod and agree.