Qing Chen’s hands trembled the moment the two entered the Crimson Garden. It looked as though he had suddenly remembered something, and fear filled his eyes. “This is the Crimson Garden. You must remember that you cannot ever publicize that you’ve been here, and you cannot even tell anyone about this place.”
Lu Yin grew curious. “Is this place that important?”
Qing Chen answered quietly, “This place is more important than you can possibly imagine.”
“Why is no one here?” Lu Yin asked.
Qing Chen replied, “If no one’s here, then we’ll just look for them. I’ll take you to see everyone here, but if you find the Redback, say nothing. It’s practically impossible for a traitor to be hiding in this place.”
Lu Yin nodded and fell silent, and Qing Chen did not say anything further either. He led Lu Yin along a flowing stream.
If Qing Chen were replaced with a woman, the scenery that they passed through would be the most beautiful place imaginable for a date. However, despite such a scenic backdrop, the fear in Qing Chen’s eyes only grew stronger with each passing moment, and the same was also true of Lu Yin. This place was lovely to look at, but he was trying to suppress a rising sense of panic.
Red flowers rained from the sky, almost as if they were trying to bury the two men.
After a brief time walking, Lu Yin’s ears twitched, and he looked in front of them. The soil was moving there, and he instantly raised his guard.
Qing Chen’s gaze instantly focused on that patch of dirt as he stared at the ground in front of them.
Suddenly, the soil erupted, and a figure rushed towards the two men.
Qing Chen waved his hand, shattering the void as the attack swept towards the charging figure.
The attack passed through the void and struck the figure, blasting it into the distance and drawing a strange cry from it.
Lu Yin only then saw that the figure was actually a man, though his hair was unkempt, and he looked completely insane. There was a red flower in his mouth.
There was a bang as the man fell into the stream, and he then shouted, “How bold! You dare to sneak into this old ancestor’s territory? Are you seeking death? If this old ancestor wanted to attack, you would be splattered across the gate.”
Qing Chen and Lu Yin stared at the stream, and the insane-looking man gave them a strange smile as he lay flat in the water. He did not move, though it was clear that Qing Chen’s attack had not hurt the man at all. The water flowed around the man, and he stared at Qing Chen. The man then approached the two. His eyes grew bloodshot, and he looked even more mindless than before. “Are you still not kneeling and bowing after seeing this old ancestor? Once I get angry, you will have no path towards survival.”
Lu Yin was stunned.
Qing Chen solemnly said, “The Crimson Garden is a prison. This is where the Perennial World keeps our most powerful madmen imprisoned.”
The old man had never told Lu Yin exactly what the Crimson Garden was. Lu Yin had asked, but the old man had never given any response. Also, Qing Chen had never mentioned the matter while they were traveling, so this was Lu Yin’s first time discovering the purpose of the Crimson Garden: it was a unique prison that was used to incarcerate lunatics.
“Who are these madmen?” Lu Yin asked.
Qing Chen replied, “You’ll find out later.”
The older man then proceeded on his way.
Lu Yin and the madman looked at each other. The man’s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin, and Lu Yin was able to see the man quite clearly through the ripples in the water. The man was sitting in the stream as though he was sitting on a glorious throne. The man was clearly insane, but there was also a readily apparent dignity to him.
“You dare trespass on this master’s property! I will eradicate your entire family!” the crazy old man shouted, but that was all he did, as he did not move an inch.
The man under the water continued grinning as he muttered something.
“Copy this scripture a hundred times: don’t be naughty. Don’t look at the ancestors…” The soft voice grew more and more faint. Lu Yin could not stop himself from turning and glancing at the crazy old man at the bottom of the stream one last time.
“Don’t worry. While these people all have their own obsessions, all of them are completely mad,” Qing Chen tried to reassure Lu Yin.
Before they were able to walk too far, they felt a slight vibration in the ground. Off in the distance, they saw a fat old woman squatting on the ground. They could not see what she was doing.
As the two men walked closer, they were able to see clearly.
The fat old woman’s arms were close to the ground, and she acted as though she was digging for something even though she didn’t have a tool. Most of the flesh on her arms had actually already rotted away, and in many places, one could see her bones.
“Don’t worry, it’s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I’ll make them all for you! Haha.”
“Don’t worry, it’s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I’ll make them all for you! Haha.”
“Don’t worry, it’s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I’ll make them all for you! Haha.”
…
The plump old woman kept repeating the same words over and over as though they were etched into her very soul.
Lu Yin stared at the woman’s decomposing arms. For some reason, this sight roused a deep sense of sadness and discomfort from the bottom of Lu Yin’s heart. He stopped looking at the old woman and resumed walking with Qing Chen.
As they continued moving around, they passed by one mad prisoner after another. They met a little girl who ran by them while laughing heartily. She turned around to speak to someone who was not there and then resumed running, repeating this series of actions endlessly.
They saw a boy who muttered to himself while playing a game all alone. The boy’s words were coherent, and he seemed to be in a situation where he could not meet someone’s expectations, and was also afraid to fight back even when beaten.
After crossing over the mountains drowned in red, Lu Yin found that there was still a larger region off in the distance.
Lu Yin saw one lunatic after another. However, he felt that these people did not seem to be insane, but more that they were trapped within a specific illusion and were unable to free themselves.
“How is it? Have you seen what you’re looking for?” Qing Chen asked.
Lu Yin shook his head. “Not yet.”
Qing Chen seemed calm. He was unable to see anything off, so he did not actually expect Lu Yin to find anything here. He had only brought Lu Yin to this place because of a bit of hope.
“How many crazy people are in here?” Lu Yin asked.
“I don’t know.”
Lu Yin grunted.
Suddenly, they heard a shout, “Young master! Young master, you’ve returned! Young master, this old slave has missed you so much! Young master…”
Lu Yin and Qing Chen turned their heads to look somewhere, and they saw a man with messy hair and crazed eyes rushing towards them. This man was as skinny as a bamboo pole.
Lu Yin and the man stared at each other, and Lu Yin felt almost completely certain that this man was staring straight at him. Young master?
Qing Chen attacked. A wave of his hand shattered the void and threw the prisoner back.