As soon as the old man opened his mouth to tell the whole story, he revealed a fact that made Pei Wende unbelievable.

He is not from the Tang Dynasty, but a remnant from the pre-Qin period.

Moreover, this "remaining old man" is not just a literal meaning, the old man is really an antique and a living fossil who has lived from the time of the pre-Qin philosophers to the present.

Or to be more precise, except for the new generation like Zhu's daughter, everyone living in this misty village, the youngest ones are the remnants of a hundred years ago.

As for why all this started?

That has to start with a certain rumor that has been circulating since ancient times.

Since the creation of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors, myths have gradually turned into legends, and legends have gradually turned into history.

However, no matter how myths, legends, or history evolve, there are always some clues that will leave traces in the records of civilization.

The legendary "mirage" is one of them.

No one knows what its origin is, just as no one knows when its legend became popular.

The only thing everyone knows is that in this land of the Central Plains, there have been endless legends and records about "mirages".

According to the old man, the mirage is inherently sacred, a spirit in the water, and a genus of dragons.

If a predestined person can form a relationship with him, he can realize his lifelong wish, and even immortality is not impossible.

Therefore, throughout the ages, there have been mortals who longed to be associated with mirages, hoping that the other party could help them realize their wishes.

Here, the old man can clearly tell Pei Wende that mirages do have the ability to satisfy the wishes of all living beings.

The law of money, power, and even the way to eternal life...

Every mortal who is connected with the mirage can realize his or her lifelong wishes, no matter how exaggerated or absurd these wishes are.

However, achieving these aspirations does not come without a price.

The mirage is willing to fulfill the wishes of the mortals it meets, but those mortals must also let the mirage draw a picture for them.

"The mirage realizes the obsession in our hearts, and we must also let this obsession be imprinted in the mirage's 'painting'."

In a sense, the deal with Mirage was a very good deal.

After mortals realize their lifelong wishes and resolve their obsessions for the rest of their lives, Mirage will use their lives and their obsessions as their brushes to draw a "painting of obsessions" that belongs only to them.

These "paintings" are collected by Mirage in this fog, and will be collected forever.

"Wait...you mean, you are the 'people in the painting'?"

Eyes widening in shock, Pei Wende was keenly aware of the subtext hidden in the old man's words.

The body was destroyed and the soul was reincarnated, but a trace of obsession was collected by the mirage in the form of a painting, and will be stored in this fog forever.

"For our ontology, this is undoubtedly a very good deal."

Ignoring Pei Wende's shock, the old man just continued speaking as usual.

"Because there is no loss of the essence, and we will even become more open-minded because of the loss of our obsessions."

"But we are different. We will live forever in the form of 'paintings' until one day we are completely devoured and assimilated by those invisible monsters."

This is the inevitable fate of all "people in the painting", and it is also the real price paid by those mortals who realize their wishes.

They will never know that at the moment they fulfill their wish, an "obsession" that holds all their memories, thoughts, and feelings will be preserved forever.

As for those invisible monsters in the fog?

In the old man's description, they are actually a collection of "people in the painting" who have completely given up on themselves and thinking.

All villagers who intend to escape the fog will, without exception, disappear shortly after leaving the fog, and then completely become a part of the fog.

The number of mirage "paintings" keeps increasing...

The number of villagers in the mist has been increasing...

Even those invisible monsters are increasing all the time...

The delicate balance maintained between the three constitutes the situation Pei Wende sees now.

"What about Zhu Nu's son? He doesn't seem to know your true situation, does he?"

Pei Wende suddenly remembered what the old man had said before, that in addition to the "people in the painting" living in this fog, there are also new generations born from the combination of the people in the painting and the people in the painting.

And judging from the boy's words and deeds, he seemed to think he was a real human being.

"If we really want to count them up, are they also considered the 'people in the painting'?"

Hearing Pei Wende's sharp question, the old man couldn't help but sigh silently.

"Alas, Zhao Mu's situation is even more special..."

Sighing silently, the old man continued to whisper expressionlessly.

"Because they don't know the truth of this world. They only know that there are invisible monsters hidden in the fog, and outside the fog is a world more terrifying than monsters."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

At the same time, on the edge of the gradually calming fog.

After the young man named "Zhao Mu" ran with the black hound for a while, he found that he was lost.

Although Zhao Mu has been trying to find his hound or the house hidden in the fog, this was the first time he was so far away from home and he still got lost in the fog.

For Zhao Mu, who has never set foot in a foggy area since he was a child, this fog is a completely unfamiliar and terrifying place for him.

The only good thing is that the invisible monsters in the fog seem to have stopped commotion and are no longer ready to devour all living creatures as before.

Besides, I don't know if it was Zhao Mu's illusion, but he always felt that this fog was not as scary as he imagined.

"This must be an illusion."

Shaking his head vigorously, Zhao Mu turned back and glanced in the direction of the village.

But even he himself didn't know whether the direction he was looking at was the direction he came from.

"What should we do now? Go back to the village?"

Out of instinctive trust in his mother, Zhao Mu decisively rejected his idea of ​​retreating from the battlefield.

No matter why the fog calmed down, Zhao Mu felt that his top priority was to find a way to leave this fog and go to the outside world.

But just when Zhao Mu was about to change direction and continue moving forward, a terrifying howl suddenly came from the fog beside him.

"roar!"

Just like a hunting beast, what appeared with a terrifying howl was a three-meter-tall skeletal giant with a bone crown on its head.

And under its hands, Zhao Mu's hound was dragged out of the fog bit by bit.
Chapter completed!