"How do we trigger it?" Wei Dong asked hastily.
"Maybe sing along with the male praying mantis?" Qin Ci suggested.
"Uh... okay, I'll try," Wei Dong said hesitantly, "I'm a little tone-deaf, will that prevent me from opening the hidden world door?"
"I'll go with you," Zhu Haowen said.
"Ah, Haowen, you can sing?" Wei Dong asked with relief.
Zhu Haowen replied expressionlessly, "I can play the guitar."
Wei Dong: ...So being tone-deaf is cured by musical instruments...?
The two didn't linger any longer and quickly rushed back into the world of Black Cat Detective.
"Then Luo Wei and I will go to the world of 'Meijianchi' again," Qin Ci said, taking the paper that Ke Xun and Mu Yiran had been using to analyze the clues. "Let's try them one by one according to the key points listed on this paper. It's always faster for two people to work together than one."
Only Ke Xun and Mu Yiran remained in the initial room. Avoiding the blood and corpses scattered on the floor, the two sat in a relatively clean corner. Mu Yiran held the paper filled with clues, and Ke Xun clung to him, continuing their study together.
The cat's tail brushed against Mu Yiran's thigh intermittently, and Ke Xun yawned widely.
"Sleepy?" Mu Yiran tilted his head to look at him.
"Extremely sleepy," Ke Xun said in cat language. "Maybe it's because I have a cat's constitution, I really want to sleep during the day. It's a miracle I've lasted this long… yawn…"
"Then take a nap. I'll take care of things here," Mu Yiran said.
Ke Xun rubbed his cheek against Mu Yiran's shoulder: "Time waits for no one, I'll hold on a little longer... heh... yawn... Yiran... think of a way to give me a thrill, to make me... heh... yawn... feel better."
Mu Yiran lowered his eyes slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then let out a low, magnetic voice: "I gave myself three days off, Ke Xun. I heard your pasta is pretty good?"
Ke Xun's eyes widened, his ears perked up, and his tail stretched out. His whole body instantly entered an extremely excited state—"Quickly break out of this predicament and get out of this painting!" He sat up, snatched the paper from Mu Yiran's hand, and stared at it with unprecedented concentration.
Mu Yiran: "..."
Magic Paintbrush Ma Liang → Hailibu → Fire Boy → Nezha Conquers the Dragon King → Eyebrow Ruler
The Legend of the Heavenly Book (speculation) → Tiger Learns Skills → Good Cat Mimi → Black Cat Detective Fisherman
Boy → The World of Zhao Haicui's Death
Laoshan Taoist
Snow Child
Ke Xun pointed to the contents listed on the paper: "Qin Ge Luo Wei went to 'Eyebrow Ruler,' Dong Zi Hao Wen went to 'Black Cat Detective.' Since the world of Zhao Haicui's death is an animated film that none of us have seen, we can put that aside for now. Let's think about the hidden worlds that 'Laoshan Taoist' and 'Snow Child' can trigger."
Mu Yiran, who hadn't seen the animated film, said: "Hmm."
Ke Xun: "The plot of 'Snow Child' should be the simplest. The characters are only a mother rabbit and her child, and a snowman. The locations are only the rabbit's house and the forest. The forest scenes are also very simple, because it's winter, with only withered branches and snow."
"I considered that the scenery might be a trigger for the hidden world. The snowy scenery is the world where Zhao Haicui died, but you, me, and those newbies all spent time in that world, especially the newbies, who got lost in the snow. If it were possible to trigger a hidden world, they probably would have already done so. So I don't think the forest and snow are trigger points.
"So, aside from the snowy scenery, the key might lie in elements like the rabbit, the snowman, and the house. The snowman is too unique; it doesn't appear in other animated films, so we can rule it out.
"I remember the rabbit's house is just one room, with a bed, a fireplace, maybe chairs and a table. Such simple furnishings, and so clearly defined, don't seem like a trigger point. If it were that easy to trigger a hidden world, we would have already cleared the game."
"Aside from the home, that leaves only the rabbit. The rabbit character appears in several animations, such as *Good Cat Mimi*, *Black Cat Detective*, *Ma Liang and His Magic Brush*, and the world of Zhao Haicui's death.
*But the world of *Black Cat Detective* only tells the story of the praying mantis, which doesn't involve rabbits, so *Black Cat Detective* is excluded.
*While the world of Zhao Haicui's death features a rabbit, it's Zhao Haicui's character, not the trigger point, so that world is also excluded.
* *Good Cat Mimi* has already been triggered by the tiger's apprenticeship, and it also triggered *Black Cat Detective*. A world can only be associated with one world that triggered it and one world that was triggered by it. Good Cat Mimi already has both, so it's impossible for another world to be associated with it, thus excluding Good Cat Mimi.
*That leaves only *Ma Liang and His Magic Brush*. Ma Liang once drew a rabbit on a stone, so realistic it fooled the hunter. Although that rabbit's style resembled a real rabbit, given that the Snow Child only has a few characters and items, and all others are excluded, leaving only the rabbit, I think only this rabbit can be triggered."
"So, I think the rabbit in 'The Snow Child' can trigger the world of 'Ma Liang and His Magic Paintbrush.'
"In that case, there's another world that can trigger 'The Snow Child.' All the characters, items, and scenes in 'The Snow Child' besides the rabbit have already been ruled out, and the same trigger point can't connect two worlds, so the key point that can trigger the Snow Child world isn't the rabbit.
"If it's not the rabbit, it seems there's nothing in the 'The Snow Child' animation that can be triggered... There is a radish, used as the snowman's nose, but there aren't any radishes in other animations... Let me think... The 'Snow Child' animation is actually quite artistic; most of the content is the Snow Child and the rabbit skating and spinning in the snow, dancing gracefully to beautiful music... Wait! Music!"
"Yiran! Music! The music in 'The Snow Child' is the most important element of this animated film. The mantis in 'Black Cat Detective' that Dongzi and the others went to also sing—'Black Cat Detective' can trigger the Snow Child!"
Ke Xun muttered to himself on the paper, then turned his bright eyes to look at Mu Yiran, only to find the big boss staring intently at him.
"Yiran?" Ke Xun's cat-like eyes widened, his ears twitching slightly.
The big boss's gaze flickered, but he only smiled faintly: "You're actually very smart, Ke Xun."
"Love makes me an instant genius," Ke Xun said. "Then do you know how to make me an instant genius, Yiran?"
Before Mu Yiran could answer, Ke Xun leaned over and gently kissed his lips.
"Ouch—sorry! I disturbed you! Goodbye!" Wei Dong's voice came from beside a door. Ke Xun turned his head and saw him covering his own eyes with one hand and Zhu Haowen's eyes with the other as he retreated into the doorway.
Ke Xun: "...Meow!"
Mu Yiran said calmly, "Get back here."
"Okay, okay!" Wei Dong grabbed Zhu Haowen and stepped back, but Zhu Haowen shoved his hand away.
Ke Xun: "Meow?"
Mu Yiran: "How is it?"
"It triggered the world of the Snow Child." Zhu Haowen said coldly.
"It was indeed triggered by the male praying mantis singing!" Wei Dong said, "Ke'er, do you remember the background music when they were ice skating in the Snow Child? It's that..."
Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran: "Meow meow meow~"
Wei Dong: "...Why are you suddenly acting cute?"
"Hmm, you're right," Mu Yiran gently patted Ke Xun's head, "Then the rabbit in 'Snow Child' should also be able to trigger 'Ma Liang and His Magic Paintbrush'."
Zhu Haowen turned and left: "I'll go trigger it."
Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen's back in surprise: "Haowen'er is really energetic, did he get stimulated by something?" Suddenly, as if he discovered something, he exclaimed in even greater surprise, "Holy crap! Haowen'er—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ke Xun had already taken a few steps up and slapped his mouth with a paw, silencing him.
Wei Dong quickly nodded, indicating that he wouldn't say anything—at least he would wait until Zhu Haowen was far away before saying anything.
Seeing that he had disappeared from sight, Wei Dong looked anxiously at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran: "Haowen'er has grown a rat's tail too, we have to speed things up—what are we still missing?"
Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran: "Aww?"
Mu Yiran nodded: "Okay, the Taoist priest from Laoshan."
Wei Dong picked up the paper listing the clues: "The important figures among the Taoist priests from Laoshan are probably the protagonist's master, his master's two friends, and his wife. As for important props... the wood-chopping axe? The screen used to learn the art of walking through walls? Oh right, and the Chang'e who transforms into chopsticks! The wine pot that can pour wine by itself! The protagonist also keeps a dog..."
"Which one plays a crucial role here?" Mu Yiran looked at him. "What introduces the plot? What propels the plot forward? What triggers the turning point? What leads to the ending?"
Wei Dong's initially anxious and chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down and became clearer under Mu Yiran's guidance. While recalling the plot, he said, "The whole story is a dream the protagonist has. The protagonist goes up the mountain to learn Taoism, chopping wood every day. His master doesn't teach him anything. Later, he loses patience and tries to sneak away at night. However, he peeks through the door and sees his master drinking with two friends. He is attracted to them, and then..."
"Attracted by what?" Mu Yiran keenly grasped the key point of the question. "Would seeing his master drinking temporarily stop his attempt to sneak away?"
"Let me think, I can't quite remember..." Wei Dong tried hard to recall.
Ke Xun spoke in cat language: "I remember Master cut out a piece of paper, cut it into a circle, and the circle became the moon, which was then stuck high on the wall, and the protagonist was amazed."
"So, cutting out the moon is the key to the plot twist," Mu Yiran said. "Without this moon, the protagonist would have just left, and there wouldn't be any more stories."
Ke Xun: "Meow!"
Wei Dong: "The moon!"
"But the problem is..." Wei Dong scratched his head, "Which animated film has a moon? That's too difficult to judge. Who watches animated films and specifically pays attention to whether there's a moon in it, or whether the moon is round or crescent?"
"The moon in 'The Taoist Priest of Laoshan' is a major plot point, emphasized as a key element," Mu Yiran said calmly. "In other animated films, if the moon isn't involved in the main plot, then it won't be a trigger point, so we only need to filter out films where the moon plays an important role."
Ke Xun and Wei Dong tried hard to recall.
Seeing that the two were struggling to think, Mu Yiran said, "If you can't figure it out for now, you can put it aside. The moon is just a speculation. Perhaps there are other more crucial things. For example, the protagonist's thoughts changed after witnessing his master's immortal power, and he no longer wanted to leave. This is a turning point. So, how did the protagonist learn the art of passing through walls?"
"Just... verbal instruction," Wei Dong said. "His master taught him to chant incantations, and then he learned it, and then he could pass through walls."
Ke Xun: "Meow!"
Mu Yiran seemed thoughtful: "Incantations. Since music can be a trigger, incantations might not be unable to be either. Are there any incantations in other animated films?"
Ke Xun: "..."
Wei Dong: "..."
Ke Xun: "—"Meow Awoo"!"
Wei Dong: "—"The Legend of the Heavenly Book"!"