The girl's voice came through in a sob. "So... is that it? Luo Chuan, she..."
"She's already been reincarnated." Ye Qing's voice was cool and distant, cutting the girl off.
Daoist Master Xuanqing hauled himself up over the edge of the pool, no longer moving with the lightness he had shown before.
"You really did find something powerful. Daoist Chongling's painting somehow survived the fire and lasted all this time. What a calamity..."
As Daoist Master Xuanqing's voice trailed off, the video went dark.
August 31, 2011. Investigated Ye Zhengyi. No other paintings of his were found. Removed online content related to Ye Zhengyi. Investigation concluded.
I turned off the video and searched for Ye Zhengyi, the man Greenleaf had investigated. None of the results matched. I tried adding a keyword, then switched keywords several times. "Yunchao," "Peach Blossom River," "beauty"—I searched them all. The results were all over the place, but none of them were right.
That should mean it was over, right?
Greenleaf had already dealt with the matter.
I put the files away and got ready to rest.
The cool air from the AC made the bamboo mat feel chilly and comfortable.
Once the spot where I lay had warmed to my body temperature and no longer felt cool, I drifted off.
I seemed to be dreaming, though the shifting images and sounds might have been nothing more than a jumble of unconscious thoughts.
My mind began imagining things without my control, sketching out the scenes I had seen during the day and letting my thoughts wander without logic.
The contents of the "Water Park" file were altered by my consciousness.
Shen Luochuan was still alive and painting. She painted a water park, but the giant octopus became a monster, and the visitors became cannon fodder