108. The Nature of Madness

I spent a sleepless night.

In the early morning, slightly weary, Momiji opened the window and saw Lu Ban in the courtyard. Several birds were chirping beside him. If it were accompanied by the gradually falling cherry blossoms, it would definitely be a beautiful picture created by a master.

—If we ignore the fact that those birds have already become alienated.

Chirp chirp chirp—

The worm-like mass mimicked birds, making low chirping sounds. They stood somewhat fearfully beside Lu Ban, chirping, creating a rather bizarre scene.

Beside Lu Ban, some kind of ethereal entity was wary of the birds. Momiji couldn't tell whether it was a person or a monster. As a kind of ghost story, the shrine Air Friend, because most of the hosts were already dead when they were discovered.

Aren't you afraid of these things?

Momiji straightened her clothes, put on her boots, and walked out of the room.

"In their minds, they are still just ordinary birds, doing the same things as ordinary birds. Why should I be afraid of them? Are they going to swallow me whole?"

Lu Ban didn't take it seriously.

He had a backpack next to him and a crowbar beside him, clearly indicating that he was in a state of combat readiness.

"But no matter how you disguise yourself, or what you think of yourself, a monster is a monster."

Momiji sighed softly.

"Actually, I think it doesn't matter whether they are monsters or not. If these creatures are just ugly but harmless to people, then we don't need to be afraid of them. On the contrary, those that are beautiful but may harm others deserve more attention."

As he spoke, Lu Ban withdrew his hand from teasing the "birds." His fingers now bore marks resembling those burned by flames. He looked at them, then used a knife to cut his skin. As the dark yellow blood gushed out, more vegetation spread from his skin, entwining his fingers and healing the wound.

Under the sunlight, the grass and trees are lush and green, but when they grow on Lu Ban's body, it looks a bit creepy.

"But these birds themselves carry pollution, and through their flight, this pollution may spread to other islands, so unfortunately, they cannot continue to live either."

Hearing Lu Ban's words, Momiji felt somewhat relieved for some reason.

Although this person seems to have many secrets, and his physique and personality are different from ordinary people, he seems to have a clear understanding only in matters of the unusual.

"By the way, we can do a final investigation into the missing artist today."

Lu Ban then turned and said.

Why should we still pay attention to him?

The Momiji were puzzled.

The pollution on this island should be much more serious; if not handled properly, it could burn the entire island down. What problems might the missing artist be facing?

"Think about it, this island has become like this. Almost all the people on the island have been mutated and turned into monsters. Logically speaking, this should be a complete mess, right?"

Lu Ban plucked the grass from his hands one by one, revealing the fresh and intact skin underneath.

"Then why is the island so orderly, with only the disappearance of the artist Wan Ye causing a ripple?"

Hearing Lu Ban's question, Momiji's mind suddenly cleared up.

According to what Lu Ban just said, the bird still thinks it is a bird, so it continues to act in the manner of a bird.

The mutated humans on the island still believe they are normal humans and will continue to live their normal lives as before.

However, the person who can see the truth will discover that the island is full of monsters. He can see through everything, but in the eyes of ordinary "people", this person who discovers the truth is the madman.

"So he disappeared not because he was mutated, but because he wasn't mutated and noticed the changes on the island?"

Momiji finally understood everything.

"Yes, on this island, the people who seem the craziest are often the most rational."

Lu Ban nodded.

"Do you remember that madman we encountered on our way here yesterday?"

". he?"

I only realized how beautiful the Momiji were late in the day.

If we follow Lu Ban's logic, people who seem crazy are the most normal people. The missing painter Wan Ye could very well be the madman who was hit and killed yesterday.

"No, but he has already undergone mutation, so he should... No, if his body has been corrupted and mutated, but his mind hasn't been corrupted, then that situation would occur?"

That should be the case.

Lu Ban recalled a novel where the protagonist, who was originally the pillar of his family, suddenly turned into a giant beetle. His family went from helping him to disliking him, and in the end, he died alone in his bed.

If a person suddenly discovers that their body and the bodies of those around them have changed, turning them into monsters, and everyone around them is used to it, while only they are aware of it, then their mind will surely be severely tormented and eventually collapse.

It's like when you're chatting with some friends in a group during summer vacation, and everyone says they didn't do any summer homework and plan to quickly copy it down when school starts, which results in you slacking off for two months without touching that mountain of work. But when school starts, you find that all your group members had finished their work a couple of days before the holidays, and you're the only one who hasn't touched a single word.

I'll definitely feel like the Joker is actually me.

"If we can remain rational, there might still be room for redemption. After all, there's the saying 'disabled people can be determined,' isn't there?"

Lu Ban was full of confidence.

He and Momiji walked out of the house and saw Tachibana Masamune and Ginpei.

The two people had turned into two indescribable lumps of strange flesh and blood, their sharp teeth rubbing against the flesh, and several eyeballs rotating, finally looking towards Lu Ban.

"It seems you two had a good night."

Ginpei's chubby tentacles were still holding his fan, giving him the air of a refined scholar among monsters.

Momiji calmed herself down and did not respond.

Lu Ban smiled and followed them to the central courtyard of Anxinyuan, which was spacious and bright, and already had quite a few "people" gathered there.

Lu Ban saw that the painters and poets dressed in kimonos had all turned into twisted and bizarre monsters. These monsters, some writhing, some waving tentacles, some covered in eyes, and some piled with bones, gathered in the courtyard, resembling a painting of a hundred demons walking at night.

Combined with the floating Jingliureng Humanoid Doll in the sky, it creates an eerie atmosphere.

"Wow, this year's Poetry Festival looks really grand!"

"Although that happened before, it seems that everything is fine now. We should trust the magistrates of Song Island."

"I've been here for many days and haven't felt anything unusual. It's true that you have to see things with your own eyes to know whether they exist or not."

"I wonder what the theme of this year's poem will be. I'm looking forward to it."

The air was filled with the sounds of chattering as the monsters discussed what they had seen and heard, clearly looking forward to the festival.

Standing among these monsters, Momiji felt a sense of disorientation.

Only Lu Ban remained silent.

The Poetry Festival began amidst colorful fireworks.

*

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