"Ghoul?"
The bearded man followed Li Zu's gaze. It was a famous painting titled The Starry Night.
The entire canvas was swallowed by a blue-green torrent. Curling nebulae made the night sky unusually lively. It was a mad, unsettling work, a direct reflection of the artist's inner madness.
"This is a work by the great nineteenth-century painter Vincent van Gogh. All I see is the starry sky." Another man walked over, glancing at Li Zu from the corner of his eye. Either there was something wrong with Li Zu's eyes, or there was something wrong with his head. Otherwise, he should not have seen a Ghoul in a world-famous painting.
"Mm, mm, mm." Li Zu nodded vigorously, though no one knew what he was agreeing with.
A few seconds later, he laughed as if he had guessed something. Then, as if deeply puzzled, he raised a hand and scratched his cheek.
"Madman."
The people who had finished gathering the "contraband" converged nearby. After seeing Li Zu laugh loudly at a painting, several of them gave the most fitting assessment.
"The Church will be here soon! Hurry, retreat!" The bearded man picked up his gun. "Men, stay and hold off those bastards with me! Everyone else, retreat immediately!"
They split up. The women and children fled with the "contraband." Those who remained knew they had little chance of surviving, but none objected to the arrangement. Their eyes held nothing but resolve.
The bearded man turned and noticed Li Zu still leaning against the wall, laughing.
"Hey, you should leave. You have a greater purpose!"
"What about this one?" Li Zu grabbed a painting with one hand, a strange smile curling across his lips as he asked, "Man, woman, or van Gogh's Sunflowers?"
"Sunflowers." The man answered while snatching the painting away,