Today, I Will Follow Mother

As candle-like burning objects were gradually lit inside the tunnel.

The flickering firelight illuminated the rock face, which had been shrouded in darkness.

Although everyone experiences sensory enhancements in the Creation Form, I didn't find anything that matched the murals carved on the rock face.

And the murals depicted here came into everyone's view.

And under the firelight, it also had a flowing, colorful glow.

Curling clouds revealed a corner of the cold-colored moon, below which lay complete darkness—not that there was no light, but rather that it had been blackened.

As the mural extends forward, the curling clouds gradually disperse, like a stop-motion animation.

The moon gradually appeared, and as it appeared, cool light shone down upon it, while the darkness began to fade.

As the last moon fully appeared—a full moon—the darkness below vanished completely, transforming into a dark green bamboo forest.

Everything seemed normal; it was just a normal full moon illuminating the bamboo forest below.

But from this point onward, the murals take a sudden turn.

A dark figure appeared in the bamboo forest, and reached out and plucked the moon from the sky.

It swallowed it whole, and then plunged back into darkness.

But after the darkness, light returned, for the moon was once again hanging in the sky.

It was still the same full moon, but its color had changed from a cool hue to a blood red.

The red light also turned the bamboo forest below red, as if it were stained with blood.

In the last painting, a smiling face gradually emerges from within the full moon.

A strange, smiling face looked down at everything below.

After this point, the murals end.

Everyone was a bit confused by the content of the mural, completely unable to understand what it was trying to say.

All we know is that it's definitely related to the Laughing Moon Cult, but what exactly is that relationship?

Zhuge Hongjing, however, muttered to himself based on his own understanding of the content of the picture.

"The moon illuminated the darkness, and something in the darkness devoured the moon and replaced it."

"But what illuminates the earth is no longer moonlight, but the crimson glow of blood..."

As Zhuge Hongjing muttered to himself, most people turned their attention to him.

Someone even asked, "You know?"

"What is that thing in the darkness? Could it be one of the other gods? Otherwise, how could it possibly devour the moon?"

"The crimson light shining on the earth, is it an ominous sign?"

Zhuge Hongjing chuckled softly, "I'm just making speculations. Who knows what the Moon God Cult's intentions are?"

Shen Hui, however, seemed to be deep in thought.

"If you can understand it this way, then you can understand it this way too."

"The moon was normal at the beginning, which means everything is still normal."

"The shadow appeared after the darkness disappeared, so is the shadow itself the darkness?"

"Then the shadowy figure devoured the moon, but this doesn't mean it devoured it; rather, it means the moon gained the power of darkness."

"The smiley face that appears later and the change in color represent the moon becoming a deity."

After listening to Shen Hui's explanation, the others also had a sudden realization.

It was as if my mind had been opened up.

"Yes, that makes sense."

"It's just that this mural is too abstract, and there are no written labels, otherwise who would know what it means?"

"Forget about that, let's stop worrying about it and keep searching for the Laughing Moon Cult."

Everyone looked away and decided to move on rather than waste unnecessary time here.

In this dark and damp underground tunnel, no one wanted to stay for even a second longer.

However, right after Shen Hui and the others left, a strange smiling face appeared on the moon in every mural.

Between the mural depicting a shadow devouring the moon and the mural showing a red moon.

The completely black mural, meant to symbolize the disappearance of the moon and the return of the world to darkness, is now also beginning to fade away little by little.

After the darkness disappeared, there wasn't nothing beneath it; instead, there was a mural.

Furthermore, it serves as a transition, connecting the events of the previous and subsequent parts of the story with the swallowing of the moon and the appearance of the red moon.

The shadowy figure devoured the moon, but then exploded and died.

His body exploded, blood splattering everywhere, soaking and staining the bamboo forest red, and even the moon red.

The moon once again hung high in the sky, its red light emanating from the blood...

Then there's the mural with the moon showing a strange, smiling face.

It wasn't that the shadow devoured the moon and replaced it, nor that the moon gained any dark power.

Instead, the shadow that swallowed the moon died...

As Shen Hui and his companions continued walking forward, they discovered additional patterns on the stone wall behind them.

But they are all simple circular patterns, without any meaning.

Then I saw rooms arranged on both sides next to the tunnel ahead.

Everyone exchanged glances, and a sense of unease crept into their hearts.

Are there still members of the Laughing Moon Cult inside?

But they were clearly overthinking it, and together with the others, they stood guard outside the door and forced open the door that had been forcibly removed.

It was just a very Common and simple dormitory room.

A simple single bed, a table, and some basic daily necessities.

There was also a circular array carved on the ground.

However, some of the details have been erased, indicating that the formation has either been used or abandoned.

Shen Hui and some others went inside and examined the place carefully. It was very clean, with virtually no dust.

It's clear that people were living here not long ago; perhaps the Laughing Moon Cult received some information and withdrew from here?

As Shen Hui was thinking, he noticed a photo that had been covered by a water glass on the table.

Shen Hui picked it up and saw a picture of a Little Boy making a peace sign, looking very happy in a park under the full moon.

"This must be a photo of the Laughing Moon Cult who live here when they were children, right?"

Shen Hui muttered to himself, casually flipping through the photos.

There was a sentence written after the photo.

"In the Black Night, He watches over us like a warm mother; today, I will follow my mother."

"Following in the footsteps of their mother? This mother must be the goddess of the Laughing Moon Cult."

"But 'following' means joining the Laughing Moon Cult or something else?"

Shen Hui muttered to himself, but another idea quickly formed in his mind.

This explanation is somewhat similar to one of the doctrines used in the Giant God Cult...

"Brother Shen, what are you looking at? Are these photos of the Laughing Moon Cult?"

Ye Long, who had somehow gotten behind Shen Hui, asked a question.

Shen Hui nodded. "That's right, take him out and have someone investigate him; they might find some clues."

As Shen Hui spoke, he put the photo into his pocket.

Just as Shen Hui was about to continue his investigation, someone outside suddenly shouted:

"Everyone, come out and see!"