Chapter 711: Humans and Pigs

Before the live broadcast began, the Live Show Phone had received a call. The scene I was looking at now was almost identical to what the woman on the phone had described.

'If this artwork was created by Teacher Zhu, then he must be connected to tonight's live broadcast.' I casually examined the wall. Pigment like fresh blood flowed through the carved grooves, seeping into the structure. Carved in the red paint was a woman—beautiful, yet carrying a hint of desolation. Staring at it for too long created the illusion that the carving was coming alive.

I committed this woman's appearance to memory, only snapping back to reality when my arm was tugged.

I looked down. Bai Ya'er had her back to me. She was gripping my sleeve with one hand, her fingers pressing so hard that the blue veins bulged on the back of her hand.

"Every time I come to Teacher's room, I get this inexplicable thrill. Look at these—so beautiful!"

Bai Ya'er had deliberately lowered her voice, but I could still hear her underlying excitement.

I peeled her hand off, pushed her aside, and scanned the entire room.

'Something's wrong. There are things missing from the room.' When I first asked the Painter for directions, I had seen through the crack in the door large and small black woven bags piled up inside. Although I didn't know what was inside them, judging by the stench they emitted and the yellowish-brown liquid seeping out, it was definitely nothing normal. The most crucial point was that now that I had actually entered the room, all those opaque black bags that had been piled by the door were completely gone.

'The Painter hid them. A classic case of three hundred taels of silver are not buried here. Clearly, those bags held things that couldn't see the light of day,' I thought to myself. 'What could it be? A painter's everyday trash? No, it wouldn't be that simple.'

Some liquid that had seeped from the black bags still remained on the concrete floor. Without either of the other two in the room noticing, I stepped on it. 'It's so sticky; this doesn't feel like dirty water from washing paintbrushes.'

While I hurried to observe my surroundings, Bai Ya'er and the Painter were also communicating silently. I saw the Painter make a few small gestures with his fingers. Though I couldn't understand their meaning for the time being, it was likely a secret code between them.

'Are they going to make a move on me?' One of the most important reasons I had survived so many live broadcasts was that I never underestimated my enemies, always maintaining a high level of vigilance.

The rented room was dead silent, the atmosphere somewhat heavy. Ultimately, it was Bai Ya'er who broke the peace. She glanced back at me, her expression somewhat bizarre, a smile I couldn't understand playing at the corners of her mouth. In a highly excited tone, she said, "Is the door closed securely? Let me introduce you. This is Teacher Zhu."

I nodded and, for the first time, took a proper look at the middle-aged man standing beside the easel. He wasn't tall, only about 1.7 meters. His appearance was ordinary, and his facial features had no distinct characteristics when viewed individually. Yet, for some unknown reason, when these ordinary features were combined on the same face, they gave off an incredibly uncomfortable feeling.

This was also my first time seeing someone like this. Just looking at him made me feel extremely ill at ease. This person seemed inherently detestable, carrying a deep-seated malice.

He wore a worn-out sweater stained with colorful paint and torn trousers. He was unkempt, and his body emitted a faint, lingering stench.

I observed him for a long time. The only bright spot on this person was perhaps his hands. His fingers were long, slender, and nimble, just like a pianist's.

"You're Zhu Li?"

"You wanted to see me?"

We spoke at the exact same time, and both of us paused for a moment after finishing.

"The guest defers to the host. You speak first." I smiled and casually raised a hand toward him.

Zhu Li had very few expressions on his face. He lowered his forehead, seemingly intentionally hiding his blood-red eyes. "I have nothing to say. If you just wanted to see me out of curiosity, you can leave now."

He was very unfriendly, his tone icy. I guessed that if he wasn't certain he couldn't beat me in a fight, he probably would have shoved me out the door by now.

"Since you're done asking, it's my turn." I completely ignored Zhu Li's cold and hard attitude. In fact, after seeing his artwork, I no longer treated him as a living human being. This was an absolute devil, and dealing with a devil required neither apology nor pity.

"How long have you lived in the Red Building? What are the taboos here?"

"What does how long I've lived here have to do with you? As for the taboos in Longchang Community, an outsider like you has no need, nor the right, to know." Zhu Li's voice was resolute. He rejected me outright without a second thought, and after speaking, he didn't forget to shoot Bai Ya'er a meaningful glance.

"Of course it has to do with me. We might just become new neighbors." A smile played at the corners of my mouth. This wasn't just empty talk. I was already prepared; to find that Streamer in Jinghai City, I was willing to pay any price. So what if I had to live in the Red Building?

"You want to live here?" Zhu Li and Bai Ya'er had different reactions to my words. Bai Ya'er discreetly made a gesture toward Zhu Li, seemingly indicating that she was in the dark about this as well.

The room was quiet for two or three seconds. Zhu Li, who had been standing motionless in place, slowly raised his head. "If you are truly willing to become a new tenant here, then there are some things I can tell you."

He stared fixedly at me with those blood-red eyes. His sharp gaze was like a Scalpel, as if he wanted to slice a person to pieces, pry them open, and clearly see the color of their heart.

"I've lived here for half a year. This place is very suitable for my creative work." He stroked the easel with his fingers as he paced around the room.

Hearing Zhu Li's first sentence, I knew he was lying. There was an artwork saved in Bai Ya'er's phone with a creation date from a year ago, and the background of that piece was inside the Ancient Building. However, I didn't expose his lie. I wasn't afraid of him lying; I was only afraid of him refusing to speak at all.

Why would he lie about the timeline? And what was his purpose for living here? For artistic creation—this reason suited him perfectly, but thinking about it carefully, something still felt wrong.

Countless thoughts spun in my head, but I didn't voice them. Relying solely on what others said was useless; truths mixed with lies could only serve as a reference. "You said this place is suitable for your creative work? I wonder if you mean this haunted Red Building, or that expanse of old houses across the way."

Hearing my words, Zhu Li stopped in his tracks. He glanced out the window and split his mouth into a grin. "Both. My artwork isn't recognized by those foolish people. They attack me, they slander me. Only here can I maintain my true self and quietly create the art I pursue."

"Art? The things you photograph can be called art?" In less than half an hour, the live broadcast would begin. I didn't have time to waste on Zhu Li, so I decided to just lay everything out in the open.

Perhaps enraged by the contempt in my words, his hand gripping the easel suddenly tightened. "You've seen my work?"

Then, his bloodshot eyes glared at Bai Ya'er. An icy voice squeezed through his teeth. "You secretly took pictures of my photos? Give me your phone!"

Bai Ya'er panicked for a moment. Even I hadn't anticipated this scene. It turned out the photos in Bai Ya'er's phone had been saved secretly; Zhu Li had no prior knowledge of it.

"Teacher, I just loved them too much! I really loved them too much!" Bai Ya'er reached out to protect her pocket. "Every time I'm alone at night, I know you are watching me. Being stared at by you from the other side of the wall, I secretly flip through your works, and that feeling..."

As she spoke, she actually squeezed her legs together. "Teacher, only your work is true art. You are different from those hypocritical, pretentious masters. You are an artist who slices open the flesh and shell to dissect the human soul!"

Bai Ya'er's fanaticism made me frown, but Zhu Li drank it in. You couldn't say he liked Bai Ya'er, only that he didn't detest this bony yet beautiful woman.

"They're both lunatics," I muttered to myself, though my gaze never left Zhu Li. Compared to Bai Ya'er, he was the key figure.

Zhu Li ultimately didn't confiscate Bai Ya'er's phone, but his expression was extremely poor. The look in his eyes when he looked at me also carried an indescribable feeling, as if he weren't looking at a person, but rather staring at a piece of raw material waiting to be processed.

'He wants to make a move on me?' I remained vigilant, unconsciously stepping closer to Bai Ya'er. If a conflict broke out, I would restrain this woman and snatch her phone at the very first opportunity.

Outside the window, the night rain fell heavier and heavier. Neither of us made any rash moves. After learning that his artwork had been seen by an outsider, Zhu Li's expression turned gloomy, and it took a long time for him to recover.

He looked at me, as if having made a certain decision. "Moving into the Pig Cage Apartments isn't hard, but if you want to stay long-term, it won't be easy at all."

"What are the conditions for a long-term stay?" I sensed there was a hidden meaning in Zhu Li's words.

"No conditions are needed. It's just that every so often in this building, a tenant will vanish without a trace, which is why I said staying long-term is hard." He revealed an extremely ugly smile. "No one knows where those missing people went. Maybe they simply moved away."

Zhu Li's smile was somewhat cruel. I thought of the photos he had taken. "Are you sure they went missing, and didn't sacrifice themselves for 'art'?"

The moment those words came out, Zhu Li's smile froze right on his face. "If you insult my art again, then I'll have no choice but to kick you out."

I didn't know which of his nerves my words had struck, so I waved my hand. "I won't insult your art, nor am I interested in it. I only want to know everything about this Red Building. Tell me everything you know, including information about the other tenants upstairs and downstairs."

As time ticked away, I began to take a harder stance. No matter what, before midnight, I had to leave these two people and go conduct the live broadcast alone.

"Red Building? People used to call the Pig Cage Apartments that in the past." Zhu Li shot a glance at Bai Ya'er. After drawing the curtains closed, he stood before the giant paintings of human bodies and spoke. "The Red Building you speak of represents misfortune. The tenants living here can roughly be divided into two categories: one is humans, and the other is pigs."