absurd deduction game.

The gallery itself is a meticulously renovated three-story townhouse that retains typical features of Victorian architecture while incorporating unique artistic tastes.

Yu Xing instinctively took a moment to appreciate it.

The exterior walls are made of warm-toned reddish-brown sandstone, which, after weathering the elements, presents a calm and historically rich color.

The steep slate roof is adorned with exquisite cast iron decorations and several prominent dormer windows.

Its most striking feature is its street-facing facade.

The walls that originally separated the windows were largely demolished and replaced with two huge, arched floor-to-ceiling glass windows that stretched almost from the ground to the second-floor windowsill.

The glass is not completely transparent, but has a slight smoky or greenish tint, which allows natural light to pass through while obscuring the interior view to some extent, adding a touch of mystery. The heavy black teak door and window frames are carved with intricate vine and floral patterns, showcasing the craftsman's exquisite skills.

To achieve this effect in a small town like Yolikev, the artist and investors must have put in a lot of effort.

Yu Xing and Masha approached the gallery door.

There is no overly flashy sign at the entrance, only a polished brass plate embedded in one wall with the word "Radiance" engraved in elegant serif font, below which is a line of slightly smaller font indicating the opening hours—although this place is not usually open to the public—and a note that "appointment visits are required."

At this moment, the gallery's heavy black door with brass knockers was tightly closed, making it seem somewhat unapproachable.

Martha stepped forward and skillfully knocked on the door. The brass door knocker struck the wooden door, producing a dull but clear sound.

After a while, the door was opened a crack from the inside.

A young maid, dressed in a black and white maid's dress and with a few freckles on her face, peeked out and looked at them with a puzzled expression.

“Hello, we are from Mrs. Furnell’s house.” Martha stepped forward and explained her purpose gently, “This Mr. Yu Xing is Mrs. Furnell’s date for tomorrow evening. She hopes he can familiarize himself with the gallery beforehand to ensure his safety.”

The young maid glanced at the elegant Yu Xing and the well-dressed Martha, her wariness lessening slightly. She opened the door, offering a friendly smile: "I see. Please come in. Normally, our gallery doesn't accept walk-in guests, but the master has instructed us that things are a bit unsettled in town lately. If any guests interested in tomorrow night's exhibition want to check out the venue beforehand, they can come in today. However, it won't be possible tomorrow, as we'll be closing for the final setup of the exhibits."

“Thank you very much.” Martha bowed slightly.

Yu Xing stepped into the gallery.

The interior space is more spacious and open than it appears from the outside.

High ceilings, snow-white walls, smooth, mirror-like dark wood floors, and sunlight streaming in through huge floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the fine dust particles in the air.

The walls are covered with paintings, including portraits, landscapes, and still lifes.

These are likely works that were exhibited in the past but were not sold, or works that the artists kept themselves. The paintings are of different styles, with exquisite brushstrokes and bold and infectious use of color. You can really see the artist's profound skills and vigorous creativity. Most importantly, for some reason, each painting can make people feel a unique "spirituality".

Yu Xing strolled casually through the gallery, her gaze sweeping over the paintings on the walls, as if she were simply familiarizing herself with the surroundings.

Martha and the young maid followed quietly not far behind him. Since they weren't formal guests, the young maid didn't introduce the paintings as she usually did.

However, unseen by anyone, countless invisible, delicate branches have already spread silently to every corner of the gallery building, centered on Yu Xing, like a sensory network with its own life.

Tentacles brushed across the smooth floor, probed into the cracks in the walls, climbed up the supporting beams, and burrowed into the ventilation ducts... They sensed the building's structure, the texture of the materials, the flow of air, and any possible hidden energy fluctuations or unusual auras.

The first floor, the second floor, the storage room, even the small lounge and the bathroom... the structure of the entire building and every detail were presented to Yu Xing's perception as clearly as a three-dimensional map.

At present, this place seems to be just an ordinary gallery with a well-designed layout and relatively good security measures for the average person. No dark rooms, secret rooms or obvious signs of evil magic have been found.

His steps finally stopped in front of a rather large painting.

This painting is stylistically different from other works, exuding an unsettling and eerie beauty.

The painting is set against the backdrop of a stormy ocean at night, with dark waves surging and crashing. A brightly lit, luxurious cruise ship is struggling to navigate through the waves, and the figures of people on the deck are blurred, as if they are holding a carnival.

However, in the deep sea beneath the cruise ship, the scene was entirely different. Countless enormous, slippery, sucker-covered octopus tentacles were surging upwards from the endless dark abyss! These tentacles were an eerie, almost transparent pale white, coiling around the bottom of the cruise ship, some even having already silently climbed onto the ship's side, about to drag the entire ship into the icy depths.

The composition of the painting is extremely dynamic, with strong color contrasts—the warm light of the cruise ship contrasts with the cold darkness of the deep sea, the clamor of human revelry contrasts with the silent invasion of a deep-sea behemoth. The oppressive feeling of being about to be swallowed by the unknown terror is overwhelming, yet it is strangely enveloped by an ultimate aesthetic balance. The brushstrokes are so delicate that you can see the texture of each sucker on the tentacles and the foam of the seawater. The handling of light and shadow is extremely exquisite, making the whole painting full of a dynamic, almost eerie and agile feeling that seems to break out of the painting.

It is extremely captivating, drawing the viewer involuntarily, as if one can hear the roar of wind and rain in the painting, the faint music and laughter on the cruise ship, and... some indescribable, low murmur from the depths of the sea.

Yu Xing stared at the painting, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Seeing this, the young maid who had followed him assumed he liked the painting and smiled as she introduced it: "This painting, 'The Call of the Deep Sea,' was created by Master Evan two years ago, and it is one of his representative works from when he truly began to emerge. Many people wanted to buy it at the time, but Master himself liked it very much and kept it. However, this painting will not be exhibited tomorrow night. The works on display are all new works created by Master in the past year, as well as some works that were painted in the past but have never been publicly exhibited before."

Yu Xing seemed not to hear her introduction; his entire attention was focused on the painting.

In his perception, this painting was not merely a collection of paints and canvas; a faint yet exceptionally clear spiritual fluctuation was emanating from the depths of the painting!

The fluctuations carried an allure, a whisper, and a hint of barely perceptible madness, like invisible spider silk, attempting to entangle and influence the viewer's mind.

In the instant he focused his attention on perceiving the scene, the image in the painting seemed to come "alive".

The pale, enormous octopus tentacles seemed to actually twitch, wrapping themselves even more tightly around the cruise ship, while the blurry, reveling figures on the cruise ship's deck emitted extremely faint yet incredibly sharp, terrified screams that pierced directly into his mind!

This painting... houses a spirit-like monster.

Yu Xing made a judgment instantly. It was similar to a nightmare, but its form of power was different, leaning more towards bewitching and corruption, and its strength was far inferior to that of the nightmare.

Almost without hesitation, Yu Xing's mind stirred, and an extremely tiny, invisible, and intangible twig tentacle, like the most precise scalpel, silently pierced through the surface of the painting and directly probed into the strange space constructed by paint and spiritual power!

"—!"

A faint, sharp hiss and murmur, which only Yu Xing could perceive, came from the tentacle, clearer than ever before.

The invisible monster lurking in the painting, which lived by emitting mental pollution and absorbing the emotions of viewers, didn't even have time to struggle before it was instantly captured, entangled, decomposed, and absorbed by this higher-level being!
The whole process was extremely fast and silent.

Martha and the young maid following behind were completely unaware, only noticing that this gentleman with a unique air seemed to have been looking at the painting for a few extra seconds.

After finishing the small snack that was just a mouthful, Yu Xing turned her gaze back to the painting "The Call of the Deep Sea".

Even now, the painting remains exquisite, and the composition remains ingenious.

But the captivating, eerie, and ethereal feeling that had previously captivated viewers, the allure that almost drew their souls into the painting, had completely vanished.

It turned into... well, a highly skilled horror painting, nothing more, far from being something that would inspire fervent adoration or command exorbitant prices for collection.

A guess instantly formed in Yu Xing's mind.

Could it be that... the secret to the rapid success of that rising young painter, Irwin Clifford, lies in the fact that his paintings are inhabited by this kind of monster that can invisibly influence people's minds and create fascination and fanaticism?

Therefore, Evan's choice to hold this art exhibition, which brought together almost all the town's celebrities, during such a sensitive period makes one wonder about his motives.

Is it to further expand influence and gain more wealth and prestige? Or is it to use these paintings, which harbor monsters, to collectively corrupt the minds of the elite present?

Regardless of the interpretation, this art exhibition, which will be held at the Flowing Light Gallery tomorrow night, will certainly not be a simple art feast.

It will likely be the first major plot point in this instance.

Yu Xing could almost foresee that the strategists who received the news would try every means to infiltrate the art exhibition, whether to investigate clues, gain contribution points, or simply to protect potential targets.

Tomorrow night's Flowing Light Gallery is sure to be a lot of fun.

Yu Xing released more branches, his gaze subtly sweeping over the remaining paintings in the gallery.

Even the smallest mosquito is still meat. For a tree that desperately needs "nourishment," these faint spiritual entities hidden in the painting are better than nothing.

The tentacles spread silently, precisely piercing the spiritual core of each painting. Those weak spiritual monsters, which could only exude a faint alluring aura, were instantly decomposed before they could even utter a cry, turning into tiny energy flows that nourished the roots.

As he predicted, after "The Call of the Deep Sea," there were no more "masterpieces." These remaining paintings either lacked a strong enough spiritual element to attract attention, or their allure did not align with the preferences of wealthy merchants and nobles.

They became the rejected, flawed products, hanging quietly here, and now even the slightest remaining abnormality has been completely erased.

Speaking of which... those paintings that were sold and are now scattered in various wealthy apartments must be harboring monsters that are even more mentally polluting than these, right? I wonder what happened to the people who bought them.

After doing all this, Yu Xing's expression remained normal, as if she had only conducted a thorough "safety check".

He nodded slightly to the young gallery maid, his tone indifferent: "The environment is nice, and the security is adequate. Please thank Mr. Clifford for his generosity. I will accompany Mrs. Funnel tomorrow evening."

The maid respectfully agreed.

Yu Xing led Martha out of the gallery. The afternoon sun shone warmly on the reddish-brown sandstone exterior. He said goodbye to Martha at the gallery entrance. This silent and capable maid needed to go back and report to Mrs. Funer.

After watching Martha get into another rickshaw and leave, Yu Xing did not immediately return to Carlos's office. He planned to wander around the neighborhood, as he had never been to this area before.

However, he had only walked a few steps along the sidewalk, passing the old bookstore next to the Flowing Light Gallery, which exuded the smell of worn paper and leather, when a smiling voice came from inside the bookstore's open door, as if it had been precisely calculated, and called out to him.

“Ah Xing”.

The voice was clear and melodious, with a unique, meticulously crafted rhythm, and the pronunciation was so clear it was almost deliberate.

Yu Xing did not stop walking, nor did she change her rhythm at all. She simply turned her head slightly and looked into the bookstore.

A string of brass wind chimes hangs at the entrance of the bookstore, tinkling as the door opens and closes.

The store was dimly lit, but you could see that tall, floor-to-ceiling dark wooden bookshelves filled the entire space, and the air was filled with the unique smell of old books, a complex mixture of dust, mildew and paper ink.

The actor was standing next to a bookshelf near the door, holding a thick, hardcover book in his hands.

Today he was wearing a well-tailored dark gray plaid suit, which made his figure appear even taller and thinner. His long black hair was still tied low behind his head, with a few strands falling on his cheeks, making his handsome face even more exquisite, even with a beauty that transcended gender, like a male-bodied, female-looking evil Buddha.

"He's just a bit short," Yu Xing thought. Compared to him, who had grown several meters taller, the actor hadn't grown even a centimeter.

The actor probably couldn't guess what direction Yu Xing's thoughts had taken in this distorted state of mind. He had a faint smile on his lips and his gaze was on Yu Xing, as gentle as if he had encountered an old friend.

"What a coincidence." The actor closed the book, his tone natural. "Why don't you come in and take a look? This bookstore has been around for quite a while and has a lot of interesting things hidden inside."

Yu Xing: "Whether it was a coincidence or they were waiting for me here, I will make my own judgment." (End of this chapter)