Steven lit a crude oil candle made of tung tree oil and closed the window sash. At this time, Kate was drinking tea on the porch and listening to the rain. After closing the window, the room seemed very quiet except for the faint sound of rain.
He opened the scroll, imitated the posture of the person in the painting, sat on the chair, placed the painting upright at the far end of the table, and then began to stare at the flame carefully.
The color of this flame is very layered. The inner layer is bright yellow, gradually turning into orange-red outward. There is an indescribable beauty under the light.
After a while, the flame seemed to be beating and burning. Slowly, in Steven's eyes, the flame began to twist slightly, and there were also dots of residual fire rising upwards. At this time, the flame looked very vivid!
It doesn't look like in the painting anymore, it has completely become a pure flame burning independently in the dark void...
After an unknown amount of time, and it seemed like it was just a daze, Steven suddenly woke up! He shook his head, feeling a little tired. Did he dream just now?
He looked at the scroll painting again and felt that the light was dim. He turned his head and was surprised to find that the oil candle he had just lit was almost burned out!
Looking at the flame on the oil candle that was about to go out, Steven had a feeling: the flame on the scroll painting seemed completely different from the real flame on the oil candle!
He stood up, walked to the door, opened the door and came to the porch. Kate was sitting on a wooden deck chair drinking tea. He heard the sound and turned around and said: "Steven, what are you doing in there? I was delayed all morning.
Sorry to bother you, but it’s really time to make lunch.”
Steven said to Kate: "Kate, take out your pocket watch and see what time it is now?"
Kate took out her pocket watch from her coat pocket and looked at it: "It's already half past twelve. We usually eat at twelve o'clock. What's wrong?"
Only then did Steven confirm that although it felt like it was just a moment when he was looking at the flames on the painting in the room, it actually took several hours!
He suppressed the shock in his heart and said to Kate: "Let's cook and eat first. I have something to tell you after eating."
The two finished a simple lunch quickly, and then Steven pulled Kate indoors. He sat at the table and motioned for Kate to sit opposite.
Then he spread the scroll on the table and described to Kate what he had seen in the morning when he saw the flames in the painting.
Finally, he said: "I looked at the flames in this painting. It felt like I only looked at it for a short while, but when I woke up, several hours had passed! Don't you think this is strange?! You want to say that I am
I fell asleep or had hallucinations, but I have never been so tired that I fell asleep in the morning. Besides, I slept well last night, so this will definitely not happen! And hallucinations have no basis.
Could this scroll painting cause hallucinations? We have seen this scroll painting many times before, and we have never had hallucinations, right?!"
Kate on the opposite side nodded and said: "I understand what you mean. Do you think that watching the flame pattern depicted on this scroll painting will make people enter some kind of magical state? Then why haven't we seen it so many times before?
Entering the state you just described?”
"I don't know, maybe some conditions or circumstances are not met? Thinking about the scenes when we viewed scroll paintings in the past, I feel that the scene is very different from the scene when I watched it this time! I have an idea: you were watching it just now as well.
If you observe the flames under the same circumstances, including the environment, position, etc., when you draw the scroll, the same magical phenomenon as mine may occur!”
Kate hesitated for a moment and said: "Okay, in the spirit of scientific exploration, let's do this experiment. In order to meet all the conditions for your morning viewing, we have to wait until tomorrow morning to do this experiment again. Of course, you will also do it in the afternoon."
You can continue to watch the scroll. If the same situation happens as in the morning, remember to notify me immediately."
After speaking, Kate stood up and walked to the door: "I'll drink tea outside."
Steven shook his head, and then carefully recalled the various scenes when he was looking at paintings in the morning. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, then stood up and took out another crude oil candle from the storage shelf, lit it and closed the window.
, then open the scroll and place it on the far end of the table as in the morning, and continue to look at the flame on the painting.
After watching for a while, Steven's eyelids couldn't help but start to twitch, his head kept moving down and up again, and he dozed off...
After a while, Steven shook his head and sobered up, then stood up and walked back and forth indoors, wiping his face up and down with his palms. Then he blew out the oil candle, opened the window sash, and the sound of rain outside could be heard.
.
Then he walked to the door and opened it into the porch.
Kate asked: "How was it?"
Steven shook his head and said: "It was completely different in the afternoon. I fell asleep just watching it."
Kate suppressed the raised corners of her mouth and said, "Okay, let's assume that that kind of magical situation can only occur in the morning, so let me do the experiment tomorrow morning."
Then Steven sat on another wooden recliner, took a sip of hot tea, and said to Kate: "After the experience of encountering the group of monsters that day and the phenomenon in the morning, I have already understood these things beyond my cognition.
It’s a different mentality. I used to think that the scientific knowledge we learned can explain all natural phenomena. Even if it can’t be explained reasonably, it’s just because the hidden laws haven’t been discovered yet. So I think we used to think that
The scientific knowledge that can explain everything may be too narrow. Didn't a scholar once say: The more we know about the truth of nature, the more unknown things we will find. So I tend to accept this truth.
Everything that has happened, although it cannot be explained yet, accepting it is the first step."
Kate nodded and said: "That makes sense. Do you have any plans for that ruins? Those monsters look very difficult to deal with. If we go in rashly, we will probably die."
Steven said: "At present, there is no good way. We have too little information! After the rainy season is over, we need to carefully conduct reconnaissance of the ruins and its surroundings in order to understand more information! Also, since the
We haven't practiced our sword skills well since we taught the spies to hunt. Although I feel that my physical fitness has greatly improved after these few months of testing in the rainforest, I still have to maintain it to transform it into combat effectiveness.
It just takes training.”
"Yes! After you finish your experiment tomorrow, let's start training on swordsmanship! I wonder if your improved physical fitness will enable your swordsmanship to support more moves against me?!" Kate said with a smile.
Steven gritted his teeth and said: "Besides the technical components of swordsmanship, the most important thing is strength and agility. Of course, when the strength is the same, there are more factors that determine the outcome. If my strength is stronger, then I can at least
I’ll fight you to a draw!”
Kate smiled and said: "Then you have to work especially hard! In addition to basic technical training and judgment training, you also have to lift a few more rocks every day. You must know that lifting rocks is the key factor for you to tie with me! "
The next morning, Steven and Kate began to arrange the experiment: they strictly followed Steven's arrangement the day before, lighting candles and closing the window sash in the same indoor environment. Then Kate sat in Steven's place yesterday and put the scroll Open it in the same location.
Steven walked out of the room, closed the door, sat on the lounge chair on the porch, and started making tea on the stove while waiting for the results of Kate's experiment.
Two hours later, the door was opened by Kate and he walked out. Steven stood up and asked: "How is it?! Have you entered that state?"
Kate shook her head and said: "I didn't enter any different state than usual! I forced myself to look at the flame for two hours. The flame on the painting was not different from the beginning. Later I even started to tremble. I fell asleep, so I came out quickly!"
Steven asked unwillingly: "What about the oil candle? Where did it burn?"
"Oh, I forgot to blow out the oil candle. It should be half burned. I'm a little thirsty. Let's drink some tea first. It seems that more factors are needed to enter your state."
Steven was a little disappointed. He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. The time was around 10:30. He walked into the room and blew out the oil candle, then opened the window sash and looked at the jungle in the rain outside the window, falling into thought.