Chapter 586

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Chapter 586: Off-Screen Voice

Inside the Ming Country, there were a total of ten sky prisons and nineteen dungeons. At the same time, they were classified with letters A, B, C, and D to distinguish the severity of the criminals.

The sky prisons were used to imprison extremely wicked criminals. Those who could enter the sky prisons were at least B-level criminals.

A-level offenders, regardless of which law book was used to define them, were the type deserving of being executed by gunfire. Once put in the sky prison, being alive was only temporary, and it didn’t mean they could survive unharmed for long.

As an A-level offender, Luo Sheng thought his life had already ended when he was arrested.

He had been in prison for seven or eight years, initially with the intention to escape, but as time went on, that desire faded away.

Very few people could escape from the sky prison, and he never thought he would be one of them. But since he had escaped, he had no intention of going back.

The air is so fresh, breathing it in feels sweet.

Actually, life in the dungeon is quite good. We have food, drinks, and clothing. There are people taking care of us to prevent us from dying. Our schedule is regular, and there are many activities for entertainment. We can even study for advanced degrees like a master’s or a doctorate within the prison… And we are not completely cut off from the outside world. There is a top-class laboratory here used to cultivate high-quality and high-yield fruits and vegetables.

But… life is precious, and freedom is even more valuable. When the walls of the dungeon collapsed, this group of innocent-looking rabbits immediately tore off their disguises and turned into terrifying monsters. They decided without hesitation to start a rebellion and escape, even joking around with the guards who were also convicted felons.

The convict who used to grow vegetables directly killed three guards and turned them into fertilizer. One of them had been friends with him for eighteen years, taking care of him even more than his own father. This act was so brutal that even Luo Sheng found it inhumane. As a result, that convict also died. Luo Sheng kicked him off to divert attention, leading to his immediate execution. Reflecting on that scene left him feeling a mix of disgust and satisfaction.

It’s disgusting because the deaths were gruesome, but it’s satisfying because he was also a criminal.

Luo Sheng’s nickname in the dungeon was "the painter." His only pursuit and hobby was painting. In his younger days, he didn’t have any miraculous encounters, just a random one. He met a girl and fell in love with her at first sight. They got along well and got together. However, as time passed, he realized his feelings were one-sided. She had always treated him like a puppet. Feeling betrayed, he no longer saw her as good. He wanted to restore her beauty, so he killed her and used her as paint to create a painting. This painting contained all his emotions, both beautiful and hateful. Blood would occasionally seep from it, and the woman in the red dress would gracefully dance in the studio.

At that moment, Luo Sheng realized he had something mysterious. Mystery is called mysterious because it always has a strange beginning. Luo Sheng’s crime was perfect with no evidence left behind, and no one caught him. Afterwards, he became obsessed with including beautiful things in his paintings. To do this, he did many things. However, the things left in his paintings became more and more scary. Sometimes, he needed to add paint to his old paintings, meaning he had to get the materials. Unfortunately, his family was not wealthy, so he couldn’t afford to buy them. Thus, he had to resort to stealing. In his view, his actions were actually normal – simply encountering a problem and solving it.

I considered moral and ethical standards, but… none of them were as important as my paintings.

The things in my paintings are extremely beautiful. I want to capture the most beautiful things in them.

Luo Sheng was always very careful, and he was unlucky to get caught.

Because he saw a picture of fairies dancing with swords, he couldn’t think about anything else, he just wanted to paint it no matter what.

So he decided to get the materials for the ‘fairies’, and what happened was…

He got arrested.

There’s not much to say about the process, he pretended to visit the Fairy Realm, but he completely overestimated himself and underestimated his opponent. He encountered the Sword Sect of Shu Mountain, who carried the Sword of Demon-slaying, and got severely beaten on the spot.

The reason why the Ming Country is not suitable for activities of dark magic and demonic cultivation is mainly because the chances of going wrong are too high. Even if you just show a little bit, you will become a target and get scraped off. They have a zero-tolerance policy and even don’t hesitate to scrape off a layer of skin, spill some blood.

So, speaking of which, why did Luo Sheng come to Jinling City?

He is actually not a local of Jinling City, his hometown is not here either. As a failed artist, he can go anywhere besides the tavern.

This brings us back to what happened to him after he escaped from prison.

Soon after leaving the prison, he met a strange person. He thought they might be a tracker or a bounty hunter, but they actually wanted to talk business with him.

The person said they could offer him help and fulfill most of his wishes. They could even give him a safe ticket to leave the Ming Country.

For most serious criminals, escaping prison is not a good thing. It requires a huge price to be paid, and once they escape, they become targets, with everyone wanting to catch them. Even though the freedom may seem appealing, it’s not something they can rely on for survival.

So, choosing to survive and endure in the prison is also an option.

Luo Sheng’s first goal was to leave the Ming Country, preferably to a place that is constantly chaotic, like the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

However, it is unfortunate that the Ming Country has strong control over its waters, making it nearly impossible to sneak away.

The person promised to give him a ticket, which perfectly suited Luo Sheng’s desires. They even returned some of his belongings, including his most treasured first painting.

Just with this, Luo Sheng couldn’t refuse. The person gave him so much that he couldn’t even think about asking for more money.

The person’s request was simple and straightforward.

He agreed and then came here.

In the corner of the street, carrying his easel, he prepared to put it down and become an artist on the spot.

He planned to directly capture the entire street in his painting. It was like a ceremonial prelude. After finishing the painting, the whole street would be filled with his brushstrokes. Every color would become his fingertips, like an extension of his sense of touch. He didn’t have to worry about paint because he had already replenished it before coming.

To be safe, he also put his favorite painting in his backpack. It would protect him. As long as the figure in the red dress was by his side, he would be safe. If he hadn’t left her behind to deceive the Sword Sect, he wouldn’t have been defeated so quickly.

He lovingly touched the tube holding the painting next to him, saying, "From now on, we will never be separated."

He lifted his brush to start painting. It had been a while. When he was almost halfway done and about to paint a signboard, he suddenly noticed an extra figure in the scene.

Gurgle… Luo Sheng’s Adam’s apple moved up and down.

Ah, what a beautiful painting it was.

Beautiful, ethereal, elegant… It was his first time seeing such a vibrant painting that seemed to come to life.

Unlike his own drawings, this painting was alive, while his own drawings were dead.

He could hardly resist standing up and walking closer.

He felt a strong urge driving him forward, roaring inside him, to get her, to study her, to understand her. If he could unravel the mysteries of this painting, he would reach a higher level.

It wasn’t just him who thought this way, even she inside the paint tube couldn’t resist her saliva dropping, like a dead person yearning for life, the demon in the painting yearned for the blood of the fairy in the painting to nourish itself.

Creatures of the same kind can always sense each other’s presence. Luo Sheng realized that the painting’s fairy must have sensed his presence. He couldn’t let her escape. At this moment, he even abandoned his task and didn’t think about leaving the Ming Country. He was willing to give up everything to obtain that painting.

However, to Luo Sheng’s surprise, the fairy in the painting not only sensed danger, but also willingly walked into the half street under his control, her face pale.

Huh, she didn’t run away, but instead came straight towards me?

Rather than being startled, Luo Sheng was actually delighted. Even if this painting’s fairy had some skills, she could never be his match.

How dare she take the initiative to walk in? She will have no way out, falling into my trap. How foolish.

Luo Sheng’s right hand directly patted the canvas, and the not yet completely dried paint stained his fingertips. Some kind of mysterious power instantly spread to the canvas, and then, invisible colors spread like ripples, reaching the boundaries of his painting. Half of the street suddenly became covered in blood, but the pedestrians were completely unaware. Luo Sheng’s presence seemed to be stripped away, and no one noticed his existence.

The painter opened the paint tube, and a stunningly beautiful woman in a red dress emerged from it. She unfolded bit by bit, like a piece of skin stretching out, and tightened to form a shape. Red paint scattered like dripping blood, pooling under her skirt, solidifying into red embroidered shoes.

"Go," Luo Sheng suppressed the joy in his voice, "Bring her back to me."

The red demon woman let out a dry and hoarse laughter, like the sound of broken guitar strings being plucked. She floated forward, like a brightly colored butterfly drifting through a colorful oil painting, but there was nothing beautiful about it, only eerie.

Luo Shu couldn’t move at this moment. She saw the lamppost bend down, the wall lower its head, and half of the street pressing towards her, the pressure choking her neck like a rope. She looked pained and her face contorted, as if she was suffocating.

There was a tearing pain in her spirit, as she saw the enchanting face of the demon woman, paler and more terrified. Of course, she was afraid too. She was just a painting given life, with no ability to resist, unable to even make a difficult sound to warn others.

Luo Shu felt extremely frustrated and regretful, frustrated with her uselessness, and regretful for her impulsiveness.

This painted world took shape, and she had been successfully trapped, like a prey caught in a cage, with copper walls and iron barriers all around. There was no escape.

The demon woman floated by, about to pounce on the fairy in the painting, like a vicious dog devouring its food, her features contorted into a terrifying expression even a panda meme would struggle to keep up with.

Then she suddenly froze, like someone had pressed the brakes, her whole head stiff in place, her body inertia moving forward, with a snap, she plopped down on the ground.

The demon lady turned around, confused, and saw a hand grabbing her strand of hair.

Well, that’s quite rude.

However, that’s not the point. The point is – this hand is coming from outside the painting.

It’s as if it directly pierced through the screen, reaching into the two-dimensional world, grabbing the hair of the demon lady in the painting.

Her scalp tingled.

It’s like a Yu-Gi-Oh player seeing the duelist personally attacking a monster.

Luo Sheng was also extremely surprised, he only heard a faint voice coming from outside the painting.

"You ran a red light, go back."