At first, it was unclear who started, but soon the sound of cameras clicking filled the air, although the exhibition prohibited taking photos of the displayed artworks, but it didn’t say anything about taking pictures of living art. These visitors, captivated by the beauty of Tunshe Nalin, were eager to capture his image, unaware that he was not human at all.
“He is an angel!”
“With such fair skin and such a high nose, is he mixed-race?”
“No wonder Abmer Ran can cheer up, this muse is far superior to his previous ones!”
“So tall, he must be at least 1.9 meters tall, right? Is he a model by profession?”
“Dressed like this, is he here to cooperate with Abmer Ran in performance art? This is much more interesting than just looking at the paintings!”
“Did you see the car outside? The embroidery on his clothes looks pretty expensive. This person isn’t just an ordinary model, right? Is he an international celebrity? Someone, check it out…”
Visitors from all over the world seemed to have forgotten the rule against noise at the art exhibition, gathering around him like they were admiring a celebrity or worshiping a deity, completely unaware that they were placing themselves in imminent danger.
I knew that Tunshe Nalin wouldn’t punish these ignorant offenders at the art exhibition, nor would he likely do anything to me in front of everyone. But as I watched him ignore the people around, and slowly walk toward me, my legs still went weak, and I ended up sitting down on the stairs.
“Abmer, is that your new muse?” Cheng Wan’s voice, full of surprise and excitement, came from behind. “I was just wondering where he was, I want to do an interview with him! It’s so great that he appeared at YICCA, I’ll go contact the media right away!”
“Don’t…” I murmured, “Go, get the car… I want to leave here!”
There was no response from Cheng Wan; she had clearly already left.
I propped myself up, trying to stand and escape, but I found that I couldn’t move at all. The invisible force tightly bound my ankles, and I couldn’t take a single step. All I could do was stand there as he approached, bent down, and reached out, his hand wrapping firmly around my waist.
Suddenly, my body was lifted off the ground and pulled into his arms, all under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
“Ranran, didn’t I tell you to wait for me so we could come back to the city together?” His cold lips brushed against my ear, his voice low enough only for the two of us to hear.
The surrounding area erupted in a frenzy, with screams and exclamations echoing throughout the entire art gallery.
“Wow, they are lovers!”
My head was buzzing, and I was thinking about his words “otherwise” before I escaped from him.
“Teacher Qin, is your new muse in a romantic relationship with you?”
A curious voice asked from nearby.
“Have you let go of Mr. Ming, who was your former muse? As far as I know, you and he were once lovers, and you were depressed for a whole year because of his death.”
The five fingers behind my waist suddenly tightened.
I glanced to the side absentmindedly, wanting to see who was asking this fatal question, and found that it was a young reporter who came out of nowhere. The microphone in her hand was raised to Tunshe Nalin’s sideburn, and behind her, there was a photographer holding a camera.
“What is our relationship, Ranran?”
Tunshe Nalin didn’t care about the media attention and obviously didn’t know what the microphone and camera were as well. However, his low and cold voice was amplified several times by the microphone, enough for everyone in the art exhibition and even on the internet to hear it clearly.
I don’t like the media, but the media pays a lot of attention to me. When Ming Luo passed away, it became a hot topic. I dare not think about the impact today’s incident will have on my artistic career.
The sharp tinnitus came back, my brain was numb, my mouth was also numb, and I didn’t know how to deal with this situation that ordinary people would never encounter in their lifetime, I was actually questioned by a nonhuman and terrifying existence in front of the media about my relationship with him.
I was shivering and shaking my head. The hand behind my waist went up along my spine and clasped the back of my neck. The cold lips left my ear, and I saw Tunshe Nalin’s face with the blindfold slightly tilted.
He said word by word to the person behind him, “We are married and are husband and wife.”
The noise exploded.
Tunshe Nalin is a lunatic.
No, he’s not human; he can’t be judged by ordinary logic.
“Did you hear that! The same-sex marriage law had only been passed a year ago in the country, but it still hadn’t gained broad acceptance within society. As a top young artist in the domestic art world, Teacher Qin Ran is extraordinary and bold, daring to break through traditional views. He can be said to be at the forefront of the times!”
“Getting married so soon after the ex just passed away—that’s a bit heartless…”
“You don’t understand, some artists have backers, just look at that car outside!”
I was about to lose it. This was beyond anything I could handle.
“Should I carry you, or will you come with me on your own?” He whispered softly.
“To… to where?”
“You said it doesn’t count, so in your city, we’ll marry once more. Though I don’t understand many of your customs, I’ve heard that in the outer cities, men can marry each other too.”
“You… you are crazy…”
“If you don’t agree, I won’t spare those who have offended me. I’ll turn them all into corpse slaves, and by tonight, they will obediently meet their end without anyone noticing anything unusual.”
His tone was calm, yet it carried a frightening certainty and intimidation.
I believed that this was no mere threat.
After all, I had seen it with my own eyes, those corpse slaves lurking in the forest, and how, in the blink of an eye, he had wiped out dozens of heavily armed men in that clinic.
What should I do?
I suddenly remembered the earthen jar that Mo Wei sent me under my bed.
The wooden doll struck by lightning, li-fire-earth is immune to all evil. Can it help me?
“Then, go-go back to my home… to get married in the city, you need a household registration book.”
“Alright.”
“You, let me go. I won’t run away. I will go with you.”
Tunshe Nalin let go of my waist, took one of my hands, tilted his head, and seemed to look at the painting.
After a pause, he said in a deep voice, “I like it very much.”
I was led by him like a fool and walked down the stairs under the gaze of countless people.
When I got outside, I saw a brand-new black Porsche parked in the center of the art gallery square in an irregular manner. Then I understood what those people were talking about.
“Where… where did you get the car?” My teeth were chattering.
He shook his head and led me to the front of the car: “I don’t understand. The translation official asked someone to exchange it. My tribute was very valuable in the past, and it is still valuable in your city now.”
Through the windshield, I saw a pale, expressionless man sitting upright in the driver’s seat. He was obviously a corpse slave. A Porsche in good condition suddenly looked like a hearse.
Tunshe Nalin opened the back door of the car, and I was stunned by a dazzling sight, on the back seat, there was a large box of unpolished rare minerals, not to mention red agate, lapis lazuli, beeswax, malachite, etc., but there were also large pieces of jade and gold mixed in.
Although I can earn money and have been well-fed since childhood, I have never seen such a scene, and I was stunned. This box is enough for the whole family to have food and drink for a lifetime. Did he move all his tributes and all his wealth here?
“I heard that in your city, a dowry is required for marriage. I didn’t prepare any before, I will make up for it now.”
He shoved me into the car, and I sat there staring at the box of tribute like an idiot. I thought he couldn’t find this place because of the long distance. It turned out that he had been preparing these things in the past few days.
“If you don’t like it, I can trade it for paint, art supplies, or banknotes, or you can just pick out something yourself.”
My body lightened, and Tunshe Nalin held me on his lap and took off the blindfold, revealing his blood-red eyes. I shrank when he looked at me, and then he grabbed my neck.
“This city is big, and the journey is long. It took me some time to find you.” His cold hand fell on my stomach. “Have you taken medicine these days? Does it still hurt?”
I nodded, trembling.
“Is this place… also better?”
I felt a chill on my buttocks. I jumped up and was pressed tightly in his arms again, shaking my head like a rattle.
“Not-not yet.”
“That day, I was angry… and impulsive. I will be more careful… in the future.”
There’s still the future? I was both ashamed and terrified, and I was shaking even more.
My cheek was stroked by his palm. “I told you, to wait for me that day. You were so brave, that you ran away as soon as you got out the door. Now that you see me, you are scared again. You really are a little fox.” He asked softly in my ear with a slightly hoarse voice, “Have you ever thought about… how I will punish you… in the future?”
I shivered, and he hugged me tighter.
“It’s fine. We’re married anyway, and we have a long way to go.”
The car drove all the way to the downstairs of my house. I entered the elevator and pressed the 11th floor. I didn’t call a bodyguard, it was useless to call a bodyguard. It would just be a death sentence to them. But when the elevator door opened, there was still a burly bodyguard who came up to me and said, “Young Master, you’re back?”
Damn, don’t come and get yourself killed ah!
Before I could open my mouth, I saw Tunshe Nalin taking off the blindfold he had just put on. He just looked at him, and the bodyguard’s pupils dilated, and he stood there stiffly.
“Go.”
With just this one sound, the bodyguard seemed to have lost his soul and walked towards the elevator with an expressionless face.
This time I realized why those people in the village didn’t dare to look at Tunshe Nalin’s face, just one look could captivate one’s soul, but why… why didn’t it work on me?
Could it be some legendary pupil technique that he has to use deliberately to control people’s minds?
I unlocked the door with my fingerprint and looked towards the bedroom: “You, wait for me here. I’m going to change clothes, get my household registration booklet, and go get married with you. I can’t run away at home.”
His hand loosened.
I walked into the bedroom, locked the door, and immediately crawled under the bed. Reaching for the clay jar that held the wooden puppet struck by lightning, my fingers brushed against something that felt like a branch. I turned on my phone for light and looked at the jar—only to freeze in shock.
In just one day, the doll in the jar grew branches like a potted plant. The jar body was broken into pieces, and the thick roots inside were deeply embedded in the wooden floor.
With a “click”, the door opened.
I trembled and shrank to the deepest part under the bed, hoping that this wooden doll struck by lightning could protect me.
“Click”, “click”, the boots inlaid with malachite came to the side of the bed.
