Is this the "Skeleton Fantasy", a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation by Li Song, a famous Southern Song Dynasty painter?
Li Fan's eyes followed Huang Hanlin's guidance in front and landed on the wall.
Like Huang Hanlin's copy work, what is shown in the center of the painting is a large skeleton wearing a futou and a transparent gauze robe. It sits casually on the ground, holding a small skeleton with its right hand, grinning.
The little skeleton was waving and dancing. Opposite it was a child who had not yet learned to walk. He was crawling on his knees, reaching out to grab the little skeleton.
Behind the child is a woman with her hands stretched out as if to block her. Behind the big skeleton sits another woman, exposing her breasts and nursing the child in her arms.
The overall composition, brushwork, and even colors are all similar, as if printed from the same mold, but I wonder if the paper and ink used have gone through a longer period of time, and some kind of reaction that can only be born after the precipitation of time has occurred, and there is an inexplicable extra layer. Unknown strange charm.
It feels like those old photos from the past life have been stored for many years. The original vivid colors have fallen off and become old and mottled.
At first, Li Fan sometimes thought that Huang Hanlin and others or previous collectors had not taken good care of the paintings, which naturally left traces of time.
But if you think about it carefully, although the preservation of famous paintings is a professional job, if the paintings are inherited in an orderly manner and do not date back to before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they will definitely not suffer such grievances.
Today's Daqian is not hundreds or even thousands of years away from that era, far from it.
Compared to nature, the traces left by time look more like the erosion of strange forces.
The overall picture is more gloomy, and the characters in the painting are more vivid, especially the two skeletons, one large and one small, which make people feel ghostly for no reason, as if they could walk out of it anytime and anywhere.
Li Fan glanced at them from the corner of his eye, and immediately landed on the inscription in the painting.
The book in the painting includes the song "Drunken Heaven" by Huang Gongwang:
No skin or flesh at all, only a burden of pain and sorrow. The puppet will also pull out the silk thread, looking for a little trick to tease the enemy. Isn't it shameful to find out? I have been alone since Wuli.
Immediately afterwards, a strange aura circulated, and the handwriting condensed with pale firelight revealed its name.
Strange treasure (skeleton fantasy picture)
"It comes from the work of Li Song, a famous artist in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is also known as the Skeleton and Baby Picture. It can see the cause and effect and control the skull and bones."
Magic (Skeleton Illusion)
"The mysterious techniques that can be performed after mastering this treasure can summon evil spirits (phantom puppets) and perform the secret play of the coexistence of reality and illusion."
It’s not the Strange Domain (Huanxi Villa)?
Although this was not the first time Li Chuan had encountered something similar, he was still slightly surprised when he saw its strange origin.
He originally thought that the identity of the mysterious realm was hidden in this painting, but he didn't expect that he was wrong.
The power possessed by this rare treasure is like no other.
But what does this deviation actually mean?
What the true Dharma Eye sees is not false, that must mean that its source has other treasures, and it may even be the treacherous realm of an evil demon!
Li Fan thought of this and cast his eyes on Huang Hanlin in front of him with some meaning. ....Huang Hanlin, who ordinary people thought must be the source of the evil spirit, actually showed this information in his eyes.
Demon (Puppet)
"A puppet that appears through magic (skeleton illusion)"
In fact, he had already discovered the evil spirit when he first stepped into the villa and saw it, but at that time Li Ao didn't know where the so-called magic (skeleton illusion) came from.
Now it seems that it is controlled by this thing.
Li Ao looked closely and found that the strange aura surrounding it was similar to the stale and stale atmosphere lingering in the painting. However, what was intriguing was that the painting did not feel like a piece of art. The rare treasure placed there as it was, instead looked like...
A rare treasure that has been controlled by others!
"Hey, do you feel it? Those two skeletons are moving?"
Huang Ying's slightly frightening voice came over, reminding Li Huan in a low voice.
"It... they seem to be looking over..."
Li Fan turned his head and looked over, and sure enough he noticed that the two skeleton heads of the incarnations, one big and one small, seemed to move slightly, and their eyes were looking in this direction.
The range of this movement is not large, as if it is an illusion caused by tension.
Huang Hanlin seemed not to care, but silently lit the candle next to him, lighting up the entire study.
Under the bright light, the gloomy and ghostly atmosphere seemed to be dissipated to a certain extent, and it was no longer stale and mottled before.
The gloomy feeling of the exotic treasure scene seemed to be reduced a bit, giving people a sense of illusion that everything they had seen before was an illusion.
But Li Fan clearly saw that the strange aura of green, white, gray and black souls was getting stronger.
They are densely packed on that painting, implying some strange rules.
"My friend, please."
The study room was always equipped with pens, inks, papers and inkstones. Huang Hanlin was an easy-going person and even planned to polish ink for Li Kuan himself.
Huang Ying saw this and hurriedly stepped forward: "Old sir, please rest aside for now, I'll be there."
"Haha, then it's time to work." Huang Hanlin glanced at her, the expression on his face seemed to be somewhat meaningful.
Li Fan glanced at her and didn't say much. He just took advantage of her to polish her ink and secretly observed the furnishings in the room.
The result was that he suddenly felt excited.
There are several valuable things randomly placed here.
Exotic treasure (Meishan ink)
"A kind of ink commonly used by Jiangnan literati. After being contaminated with weirdness, it turns into a rare treasure. It needs to be mixed with blood. It can write characters and appear in specific places."
"This item is a consumable item"
Exotic treasure (paper knife)
"The knife used for cutting paper was endowed with the characteristic of being extremely sharp after being contaminated with weirdness."
Strange Treasures (Collected Works of Wangchuan)
"A collection of essays jointly compiled by scholars from Wangchuan County, containing splendid articles that can perform strange magic (couples)"
Strange skills (couples)
"Evil demons (literary ghosts) are good at pairing couplets, and they will often come out of couplets to seek support from people they meet. Those who cannot respond will die."
"It takes energy to cast a magic spell (couplet). If you are opposed, you will be harmed."
Strange treasure (bamboo pen holder)
"An ominous relic that contains the power of bad luck and can attract evil spirits (bungui)"
Demon (Wengui)
"The soul of the scholar who resides in the strange treasure (bamboo pen holder) was once a poor scholar. After many years of failure, he threw himself into the river and died. His obsession turned into a ghost, and his appearance was manifested by the strangeness that possessed the objects in his life."
Strange magic (bringing disaster)
"Gives invisible misfortune to those who see it"
…
I didn't notice it before, but this place is actually a treasure house!
But for some reason, Li Fan inexplicably thought of the study room in his palace.
If one day he dies and leaves his study room for future generations to break into and explore, will there be a touching scene full of treasures like now?
96.
Don’t ask about the common people, ask about ghosts and gods. Remind you: remember to collect it after reading it.
