The mistress' atelier was located at the upper levels of the castle, the seventh floor.
Xiao Su had subsequently vanished after visiting the seventh floor. Yet, according to the male companion who was with her, they never entered the mistress' art studio; they merely studied the paintings nearby.
After ascending the winding staircase to the seventh floor, Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi were, once again, presented with the ghostly sight of a long, tenebrous passageway. The dim corridor of this floor extended boundlessly, to where the eye could barely reach. The floors were overlaid with thick carpet, covering the whole area from the stairs and cutting off right before the door to the studio at the end of the hall.
The atelier was essentially different from the rest of the rooms in this corridor. A large black cloth enshrouded the entire doorway; it appeared that the master of that studio didn't wish for the faintest of light to pierce through any crevices in the door.
"Where could she be right now?" Tan Zaozao was afraid and hesitant. Rubbing the protruding goosebumps on her arms, she fretfully whispered, "It'd be awkward as hell if she's in the middle of painting when we barge inside the studio."
"Well, let's hope she isn't inside the studio then." Ruan Nanzhu said. "Stay here. I'll knock on the door first."
Ruan Nanzhu wasn't joking when he said he'd knock first. In three large strides, he easily bridged the distanced between him and the atelier, before coming to a full stop in front of the door. Then, he raised hand, and knocked politely.
Upon seeing Ruan Nanzhu boldly knock on the door, Tan Zaozao's eyes grew as wide as saucers. She gasped in shock, "Holy shit—just how big are his guts?!"
Lin Qiushi, who was used to this by now, didn't show much of a reaction. He calmly stated, "He's always had big guts."
Ruan Nanzhu's repeated knocks were met with hushed silence. He rapped his knuckles against the door one last time, ensuring no one was on the other side.
"Let's go in now," spoke Ruan Nanzhu.
"It's locked though." Tan Zaozao pointed out. "How are we supposed to get inside?"
Ruan Nanzhu fished out a hairpin from his pocket and stooped over, ever so naturally getting down to business.
Tan Zaozao: "..." To think she almost forgot about Ruan Nanzhu's godly skills.
Crouched down, he fiddled with the keyhole for a while. Before long, the lock issued a furtive click as it was opened by Ruan Nanzhu. He then gently gripped the doorknob in one hand and slowly twisted it open, soon revealing the room's interior. He peeked inside the studio from the doorway, before turning about and beckoning over to Lin Qiushi, "You'll come in with me. Tan Zaozao, you'll keep watch by the door, and alert us of anything suspicious."
Tan Zaozao nodded obediently.
Lin Qiushi took a step forward, and entered the atelier with Ruan Nanzhu.
The studio wasn't at all big, and the lighting was beyond poor. The windows were screened by heavy black curtains, completely blocking any stream of natural light from meandering inside. They could only rely on crepuscular glow cast by the faded, flickering lights overhead, but that wasn't nearly enough to dispel the obscuring darkness; as a matter of fact, they had to strain their vision quite a bit to observe the situation of the room.
At the center of the atelier was a draped canvas set atop an easel. The pungent fumes of acrid paint invaded the entire room, suffocating them.
As usual, Ruan Nanzhu didn't waste any time. He promptly walked over to the fixed easel and lifted the tarp at once.
YOU ARE READING
Kaleidoscope of Death
AdventureIt started off peculiarly; first, his domestic cat refused to let him cuddle it. Lin Qiushi soon found that a sense of disharmony and incongruity began to pervade everything around him. Then, one odd day, he pushed open a door, and he discovered tha...
