I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 366 - 366 365. Painter_1

Chapter 366: 365. Painter_1 Chapter 366: 365. Painter_1 “I’m fine, just going to walk around by myself, no need to worry.”

Bi Jia waved his hand, signaling to the nurse that there was no need to follow him.

“I will just wander around the light case area, don’t worry, my wristband is on, I won’t be mistaken for someone else.”

He showed off his plastic wristband, the markings on which were similar to those of the common patients, except for a note indicating that he was here for a light case check-up.

Since Lu Ban had visited Jiangcheng Mental Hospital for research and incidentally helped an entertainment journalist recognize his own illness, and after some rest and recuperation, Jiangcheng Mental Hospital had virtually become a pilgrimage site for many artists.

Some believe that Lu Ban was able to create a hit movie like “Magic Tide” because of his experience with the mental hospital.

For instance, the appearance of those monsters might have originated from the imagination of a mental patient.

Similarly, the bizarre settings could have been someone’s dreamscapes.

The serious artists were still fine, merely having a good time.

Some performance artists, however, tried to sneak into the mental hospital to gather material for their work.

But now is not the past, and the patients in the mental hospital are not monkeys in a zoo to be visited whenever one wishes.

The mental hospital has taken a number of protective measures and driven away those journalists and artists, however, some people still manage to find loopholes.

Like Bi Jia, a painter who enjoys creating paintings that normal people don’t understand; he’s quite avant-garde.

He once created a painting using fresh fruits, and then showed the audience the process of these fruits rotting and spoiling, titled “Fruits.”

He also made a painting with still-hot glass forming twisted, bizarre shapes on the canvas, named “Melting.”

In any case, all quite ahead of their time.

This time, Bi Jia came to Jiangcheng City Mental Hospital, planning to draw inspiration from the patients here.

The reason he could enter was that he himself was a mental patient.

Bi Jia suffered from depression.

In short, he obtained a mental illness certificate and, after various operations and pulling strings, came to North Road No. 900 for a check-up, and today was the day of the check-up.

He planned to take a good walk in here, looking for inspiration.

But, after interacting with a few patients just now, Bi Jia felt somewhat disappointed.

“That’s it?”

These patients were too normal; it seemed people on Weibo having a meltdown were far more severe than them.

“This won’t do.”

Bi Jia thought that maybe these light case patients really only had very minor mental illnesses, not quite flavorful enough for his taste.

He needed to find patients with more serious conditions.

Luckily, Bi Jia had come prepared and memorized the layout of the mental hospital.

He sneaked into the heavy case area, expecting to see some ghostly and eerie patients, but to his discovery, the place was empty.

“Could they all be resting?”

Bi Jia had a feeling something was not right, he walked a few more steps and suddenly heard some voices.

“…about the poetry festival on Song Island, this has been a celebration for literati since ancient times…”

A clear voice came through, and Bi Jia walked towards it, finding many people gathered in one room.

He poked his head in and noticed that many patients were sitting together, listening as intently as high school students a hundred days before college entrance exams to someone speaking.

Bi Jia found this strange, he followed them into the room and sat in the back, listening carefully.

He found the story somewhat familiar but couldn’t quite remember where he had heard it before.

However, as he listened, Bi Jia quickly became immersed in it.

Until there was a snap, the person slapped a mineral water bottle, abruptly awakening all those who were in a trance.

“To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next part,” he said, then waved his hand.

“That’s all for today, Dr. Hao said we shouldn’t delay our exercise, so I’ll keep it brief.”

Bi Jia looked towards the person.

Suddenly, he was startled.

Wasn’t that Lu Ban?

Although he sneered at that kind of commercial cinema, he couldn’t deny that the art design in Lu Ban’s movies was quite excellent, and so, Bi Jia had also contributed to the box office of “Magic Tide.”

He definitely recognized that face, it was Lu Ban!

Why is he here?

Here to gather materials again?

Just as Bi Jia was about to stand up, he glanced at Lu Ban’s wristband.

It was genuine, the mark of a critical patient.

Could it be that Lu Ban had become too engrossed in filming the movie, resulting in a mental breakdown, turning him into a psychiatric patient?

Bi Jia’s mind was a whirl of questions.

As he hesitated, Lu Ban walked towards him.

“Are you new here?”

Lu Ban asked amicably.

“Uh, yes.”

Bi Jia decided to pretend not to recognize Lu Ban.

“The environment here is pretty good, you don’t have to feel uncomfortable. Talk more with people, interact more, it helps with the condition.”

Lu Ban acted like an understanding older brother, patting Bi Jia on the shoulder.

“Actually… I’ve had a painting in my mind recently.”

Bi Jia said, thinking that since Lu Ban was here, why not ask if he had any inspiration? Perhaps, with the meeting of their ideas like a serendipitous encounter, a wonderful chemical reaction would be triggered.

“What kind of painting is it?”

Lu Ban interacted with Bi Jia patiently like a psychologist.

“I’m not sure, I feel like the painting is missing something, maybe some provocative, passionate, moving elements.”

Bi Jia shook his head.

“Do you want to draw it out?”

“Yes.”

Bi Jia nodded and then saw Lu Ban take out a sketchbook and give him a pencil.

“Give it a try.”

Bi Jia knew that this was a form of psychological testing technique, observing a subject’s inner thoughts through their drawings. Some tests use special patterns for subjects to interpret. As an avant-garde artist, he understood this concept.

“First, let’s draw a person, just randomly.”

Lu Ban instructed.

Following Lu Ban’s guidance, Bi Jia began to draw. Following what Lu Ban said, he cleared his mind and only followed Lu Ban’s hints to create, drawing the first impression that came to mind.

Soon, Bi Jia entered a trance-like state, feeling an unusual pleasure as if his soul had left his body and reached liberation.

Bi Jia was immersed in an unprecedentedly soothing creative experience and, before he knew it, more than ten minutes had passed.

“Okay, it’s done.”

Lu Ban snapped his fingers, and Bi Jia came back to his senses.

He looked at the painting he had drawn and was speechless for a moment.

It depicted a person sitting on a chair, unrecognizable in gender or age, just sitting there.

But through the brushstrokes, one could feel a tension, fear, despair, and dread emanating from the figure.

Some indescribable tentacles and slime were spreading from the body, and just looking at the painting made Bi Jia feel dizzy and his consciousness blurry.

Moreover, he had drawn it himself!

Yet upon closer inspection, the figure also conveyed a sense of sadness and pity, causing a viewer to turn away in distress. A poignant and sorrowful emotion brushed gently across Bi Jia’s heart, easing his symptoms.

“How is it?”

Lu Ban inquired with concern.

“I, I don’t understand, but I am greatly shocked…”

Bi Jia felt that in the language of the day, he had first been depressed and then healed.

He even began to find the other patients around him much more endearing. They were like university classmates meeting for the first time, filled with innocence and friendliness.

However, Bi Jia soon noticed that his painting resembled a quick sketch.

Besides the figure, the table and chairs, and the simple background were realistic.

That chair was right in front of him.

It was empty.