I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 128 - 128 127. Art can be down-to-earth_1

Chapter 128: 127. Art can be down-to-earth_1 Chapter 128: 127. Art can be down-to-earth_1 If Xu Duchong thought watching a movie was too terrifying, then the opening of the Poem Festival completely convinced him that ordinary folks really couldn’t organize such an eerie event.

In the past, when Xu Duchong watched those horror games and movies, at most he saw things like zombies, ghosts, blood splattering everywhere, and chilly breeze gusting—those gave a strong visual impact.

But now, on his computer screen, those monsters dancing to what seemed like sad music from Yellow Springs, those human-shaped things contorting into inhuman postures, Xu Duchong felt a different kind of terror.

It was the horror of normal things inching towards destruction, and the helplessness of knowing the outcome but not being able to do anything about it.

Like being hit by a car while walking down the road doesn’t sound too terrifying because one moment you’re alive, and the next, everything’s over.

But if you tripped on the road for some reason and, while still conscious, saw a skidding dump truck rolling towards you, that would feel very oppressive.

If you weren’t killed by the first roll and had to watch other vehicles continue to roll over you with your own eyes, that would be truly horrifying.

What made it even harder for Xu Duchong to accept was that as he watched these monsters dance, he felt a strange sense of beauty!

He thought of himself as generally a good person, albeit occasionally having some dark thoughts, but that messed up, eerie, twisted dance paired with the variations of the songs he had heard before, made Xu Duchong start to doubt if there was something wrong with his brain.

He should have felt scared, fearful, disgusted by those scenes, but instead, he found them… beautiful.

[Once you get used to this netherworld performance, it seems kind of cool.]

[Art can be down-to-earth, but please don’t get too down-to-netherworld.]

[Am I a pervert? Am I actually enjoying this scene???]

[Surely I can’t be the only one who finds this scene disgusting.]

[Strongly recommend kids under eighteen not to watch this movie, it’s too horrifying.]

[It’s over for me, I feel like I have no hope left, I actually find that monster kind of cute.]

[Those who think it’s pretty should take a look in the mirror; maybe you’ve already turned into monsters yourselves.]

The moment Xu Duchong saw this comment, he immediately paused and picked up his phone to check the selfie camera.

He saw himself in the phone’s camera, without any change.

“Thank goodness…!!!”

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Xu Duchong noticed that a piece of skin on his face seemed to start peeling away, revealing green, slime-like flesh underneath.

Just like the monsters in the movie.

“Damn!”

He couldn’t help but curse out loud, throwing his phone down and hurrying to the bathroom to look in the mirror.

In the mirror, he was back to his regular appearance, as if what happened just now was all an illusion.

“Yo, checking yourself out in the mirror, huh? Noticed you’ve gained weight, have you?”

His mother, who was watching TV, teased him.

Xu Duchong didn’t argue and hurried back to his room.

“It’s all my own delusion, the scenes must just be too impactful, that must be it.”

He murmured to himself, not even paying attention to the plot unfolding behind, as he had already reached the climax where a dense fog enveloped Red Leaf and Lu Ban as well as the painter who had just reverted to human form.

Xu Duchong felt the pain in his throat again, but surprisingly, he found he was getting used to it.

He saw flames ignite on Red Leaf’s body and listened to her narration.

A series of flashbacks accompanied by a mournful piece of music followed in quick succession.

This music was also a variation of the original ballad, only this time, the enigmatic and chilling ballad possessed a power that tugged at the heartstrings.

Although the flashbacks were only a few scenes, Xu Duchong could quickly conjure up Red Leaf’s past experiences in his mind.

Oddly enough, although the film was just over an hour long, he felt as though he had spent a whole day in that world; despite having little interaction with Red Leaf, he felt she was like an old friend with whom he could share anything.

Those emotions, like insects, burrowed into Xu Duchong’s brain through his nostrils, eyes, mouth, and ears, causing such strong resonance that he wept as if he had personally witnessed the end of Red Leaf.

Xu Duchong was reminded of a saying: tragedy is about showing the shattered pieces of something beautiful to the audience.

And in this film, Red Leaf was that something beautiful.

A girl, fragile and tender-hearted, tried to protect everyone but faced ruthless betrayal and, after prolonged torment, finally found her redemption.

However, this redemption turned out to be her own destruction.

When death becomes the best possible conclusion, one can imagine how pitiful the story is.

Xu Duchong wept manly tears.

At the end of the film, Lu Ban sat again in the small boat, with the painter lying beside him, drifting away on the boundless ocean toward the distant horizon, and ultimately, under a stunning sunset glow, the film came to a close.

Xu Duchong remained out of sorts even after the credits had ended and the video stopped.

Rarely did a movie resonate with him to such an extent, giving him the feeling of having experienced an adventure for himself, with encounters, perils, laughter, and farewells.

Especially Red Leaf, who, even though she didn’t have much space to showcase herself, still managed to convey her sadness with just a segment of narration and flashbacks at the end.

Such a strong yet tragic girl was the most pitiable of all.

Xu Duchong scrolled through the comment section; the film had been released at seven o’clock, and some people had already watched it, so naturally, there were top-rated comments.

[This film is different from the traditional horror movies that scare people directly with visual effects. It uses atmosphere, foreshadowing, and even music. Many of the sequences actually evoke fears deep within us. I think this method of expression is really good and worth learning from!]

[I re-watched several scenes, the ones where everyone felt controlled by the plot of the movie, their bodies involuntary. I believe this may be because the director included some infrasounds or ultrasounds in the music that we can’t catch with our ears, but they resonate with our internal organs, achieving an unsettling effect. Everyone, believe in science!]

[When we first met Red Leaf, it felt a bit too convenient that she sought out the protagonist to investigate, but as seen later, the whole movie might be a dream the protagonist has after encountering the fog. Since it’s his dream, it’s natural that Red Leaf would know what’s special about him, so it doesn’t seem abrupt.]

[I’ve tried to summarize the logic of the entire film, and it seems that hundreds of years ago, Red Leaf came to the island as a Shrine Maiden, the island encountered the Undefined Fog which caused Mutations, Red Leaf tried to control it but was captured by the islanders and sacrificed, turning the whole island into monsters, falling into the dreamscape of the fog, the painter stumbled into the fog and was turned into a monster, the protagonist arrives, encounters the consciousness of Red Leaf, and begins to investigate, the ending should be the protagonist and the painter breaking free from the fog, but honestly, I think there might be a deeper meaning to the ending. Just like in the story, the monsters can’t tell if they are monsters themselves, so is the protagonist still in the dream in the end?]

[Red Leaf, my Red Leaf, my waifu]

“?”

Upon reading this comment, Xu Duchong could no longer hold back, he clicked dislike, then typed a reply.

[Get lost, Red Leaf is my waifu!!!]