Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 313 The Illusion in the Painting

The loud noise startled Shen Shuqing.

She clutched her chest, looking at Zhou Wei in shock.

"What...what are you doing?"

Zhou Wei ignored her and rushed into the house.

Seeing this, Shen Shuqing followed without hesitation.

As soon as they went inside, they were stunned.

There was no one inside!

Shen Shuqing looked around and even squatted down to check under the bed.

She walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked out. She found that there was a narrow gap outside the window, no more than four fingers wide, almost touching the room next door, making it impossible for a person to enter.

Shen Shuqing completely panicked.

She clearly heard someone respond from inside when she was outside the door, but when she came in, she didn't see anyone at all.

After calming down, Shen Shuqing realized that the furnishings in the room did not look like someone had lived there for a long time.

The table was empty, devoid of any daily necessities, and the bed was covered in dust.

Who was the person who just spoke to them?

The door was wide open, and a sudden gust of wind made Shen Shuqing shiver.

She crossed her arms, shook her body, and moved closer to Zhou Wei.

Only then did they notice Zhou Wei looking up, staring intently at a painting.

Shen Shuqing looked up and saw that it was a portrait of a man with a handsome face, dressed in the clothes of an academy disciple, holding a folding fan, the hem of his clothes being fluttered by a breeze.

"Who is this? Why does he look somewhat similar to the Princess?" Shen Shuqing asked.

Zhou Wei had seen this painting before.

The person in the painting is Ji Zhengyao. Tan Lin has carried this painting with him for decades, but now it appears in the illusion.

“This is Ji Zhengyao,” Zhou Wei said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuqing's eyes widened as if she had heard something terrifying.

Ji Zhengyao is a disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, while the Eldest Princess is of royal blood from the Great Zhou Dynasty. The two are so similar, could it be...?

Shen Shuqing felt she had stumbled upon a royal secret and couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Seeing the cold sweat on her forehead, Zhou Wei laughed and said, "What? Afraid of being killed to silence you?"

Shen Shuqing was startled: "This...the Princess...could there really be a problem?"

"Whether there's a problem or not is none of your concern," Zhou Wei said casually.

Shen Shuqing was furious, thinking that Zhou Wei was humiliating her again, but little did she know that Zhou Wei was just telling the truth.

Shen Shuqing and Wan Qianliang were unaware of the disappearance of Wan Fengnian, the master of the Divine Doctor Valley.

Little did they know, this secret was gradually surfacing as the illusion unfolded.

"Then what's going on now? Where did Ji Zhengyao go?" Shen Shuqing asked, somewhat confused. "There's nowhere to hide in this house, and we can't escape through the windows. He just vanished into thin air?"

It certainly didn't just disappear into thin air!

Zhou Wei looked up at the painting, suddenly grabbed Shen Shuqing's hand, and rushed into the painting.

The force was so great that Shen Shuqing couldn't break free at all.

Seeing that the two were about to crash solidly into the wall, Shen Shuqing closed her eyes in terror.

The expected collision did not occur. Shen Shuqing opened her eyes and found herself and Zhou Wei standing at the academy's archway.

"What...what's going on?" Shen Shuqing looked around, not understanding what had happened.

Zhou Wei said, "Don't you understand? We've entered the illusion within the painting."

A mirage within a painting?

"Where were we before?" Shen Shuqing's mind was in turmoil.

“We were in an illusion before,” Zhou Wei explained. “To be precise, this illusion has three layers.”

Shen Shuqing was completely confused. "How did you figure it out?"

Zhou Wei looked at her in surprise: "You figured it out, it's that simple."

Is it simple?

Shen Shuqing felt completely bewildered; everything had been inexplicable since she woke up.

Then, Shen Shuqing realized that Zhou Wei had been very careful when speaking to her before, so why was she so open now?

“This is an illusion; no one is watching us, so you can speak freely,” Zhou Wei explained.

Shen Shuqing had given up struggling. She couldn't understand how Zhou Wei had made that judgment, but now that she had entered another illusion, she could only follow in Zhou Wei's footsteps.

"So, that thatched market was the first illusion?" Shen Shuqing asked.

"Indeed, the person who created this illusion separated our group into different illusions, but he couldn't complete three independent illusions; that would require a massive amount of computing power."

Shen Shuqing looked at Zhou Wei blankly. Zhou Wei chuckled and said, "You can think of it this way: the more independent the illusion, the more powerful the cultivator needs to support its operation. Even if a god who has ascended to the upper realm came, he would have difficulty operating three independent illusions."

Shen Shuqing understood when the explanation was based on cultivation level.

"If what you say is true, these three seemingly independent illusions are actually interconnected?"

Zhou Wei nodded, "You're quite clever. The connection between the thatched cottage market and the academy illusion is Jiang Zao. The connection between the academy illusion and the illusion in the painting..."

Before Zhou Wei could finish speaking, Shen Shuqing said, "It's that painting, isn't it?"

Is it a painting?

Zhou Wei wasn't sure about this yet; she always felt it wasn't as simple as just a painting.

"Let's go find the eldest princess and the others."

However, the two wandered around the academy for a long time but did not see a single person.

This puzzled Shen Shuqing. "You, me, Wan Qianliang, and Jiang Zao are all in the second illusion. According to your deduction, the three of them must be in the painting. Why is there no one else here?"

Zhou Wei thought for a moment, and a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

She took a step and headed towards Ji Zhengyao's house, with Shen Shuqing following closely behind. Judging from the direction Zhou Wei went, she had some guesses.

However, this speculation made Shen Shuqing's heart pound with unease.

When Zhou Wei kicked open the door to Ji Zhengyao's room again, the portrait on the wall made Shen Shuqing's scalp tingle!

"How could this be?" Shen Shuqing grabbed Zhou Wei's sleeve. "Why is there another painting here? Zhou Wei, are we trapped here and can't get out?"

Zhou Wei remained calm, only her brows furrowed slightly, indicating some confusion.

After thinking for a long time, she suddenly turned to Shen Shuqing and said, "I think this illusion is quite interesting. Would you dare to try it with me again?"

What to try?

Shen Shuqing's throat tightened, and she couldn't even swallow her saliva.

Following Zhou Wei's gaze, Shen Shuqing's face turned pale with fright.

"No way? You're going in?"

"Since we can't get out anyway, why don't we give it another try?"

After Zhou Wei finished speaking, she pulled Shen Shuqing and slammed her against the painting on the wall again.

Shen Shuqing closed her eyes tightly and lunged forward a few steps in an instant. When she looked around again, she found that she and Zhou Wei had returned to the archway.

Shen Shuqing was utterly terrified. She grabbed Zhou Wei and stopped her, saying, "We've entered the painting a second time. You can't try again!"

"Why?" Zhou Wei asked.

“I don’t know either, I just feel uneasy,” Shen Shuqing’s lips were bloodless. “If we keep entering the painting, will we eventually forget how many times we’ve entered?”

"Besides, we've both been caught in this picture for the second time now, and we still haven't figured out how to get out. Zhou Wei, have you thought of a way?"