Lex didn't dwell on the magical item for too long; always a man of action, he decisively walked towards the wooden door of the room.
If he entered the painted world, what about Kaven and the others? Mrs. Christie probably wouldn't 'treat' them favorably; it's very likely they also entered the painted world, just like him.
First, find them, then figure out a way to leave.
It shouldn't be difficult. This painted world is like a 'dungeon' in a game; it can't be a boundless, limitless space. Unless this painting was made by a god, but if that were the case, it would be impossible for a mere sailor to acquire it.
Excluding that possibility, the remaining possibility is that 'Mrs. Christie' is a sealed artifact that has not yet been discovered by the Church.
There are too many such things. Although the Churches of the Seven Gods have always been collecting various items that cause disasters or strange events, sealing them, and only using them to a limited extent when needed.
But even the Churches of the Seven Gods cannot collect all such items.
Furthermore.
In the incident back then, although Hardy's father didn't know how to end it, since an ordinary sailor could end it, it means the danger level of this item wouldn't be too high.
By extension, even if this is a sealed artifact, its danger Rank should be '2' or '3'.
Most likely '3', but definitely not '1', otherwise the Churches of the Seven Gods would not have failed to notice the anomaly.
If the danger isn't high, then clearing this 'dungeon' shouldn't be difficult. Perhaps just by eliminating 'Mrs. Christie', the 'BOSS' in this space, everything will be resolved.
He pushed the wooden door, but it didn't budge. Lex raised his hand, and crimson flames surged from his palm, twisting to form a long sword.
With just one strike, this magnificent Sword of Flame split the wooden door in two.
Lex broke out of the room and entered a dim, dark corridor. The corridor was pitch black, and if it weren't for the blazing fire of the flaming long sword in Lex's hand, he wouldn't have been able to see his surroundings at all.
With a thought, the flaming long sword transformed into an ordinary fireball, only the size of a fist.
With the light of the fireball, it was not difficult to see that this corridor was unexpectedly long and winding.
The floor was covered with an endlessly long dark red carpet, and at regular intervals, there was a wooden door.
Each wooden door represented a room, and between the rooms, there was a set of knight armor, with no other decorations.
Lex found a lit torch hanging on the wall and, after lighting it, put away the fireball.
A faint white mist swirled on the ground, but thankfully, the mist was not thick, only reaching Lex's knees, so it didn't obstruct his vision.
Walking through the dim corridor, Lex arrived in front of a wooden door and gently pushed it.
It actually opened.
As the door opened, bright light poured out from the room, causing Lex's eyes to feel uncomfortable for a moment.
After a while, he adjusted to the light and realized that this seemed to be a girl's room. The room was luxuriously decorated, with a thick carpet on the floor, a fireplace with dancing flames nearby, and an open wardrobe filled with beautiful dresses.
"I won't marry him, that pig who only knows how to gamble and go to brothels!"
A clear voice suddenly rang out, and Lex's vision blurred. A tall girl, seemingly out of nowhere, walked into view. She looked about seventeen or eighteen, with a very pretty face. At this moment, she sat angrily on the bed, pouting and looking away.
"But that pig is a Viscount, my dear Airlie. He can ensure you are well-fed and clothed, and continue your father's wealth, preventing it from being taken by his brothers."
Another mature woman appeared in the room, wearing a white dress and a veiled hat, her features obscured.
The girl glared at the lady: "How can you control me? You're not even my mother, you're just my stepmother!"
Slap!
The mature lady slapped the girl across the face, leaving a red handprint.
"You cannot speak to me like that!"
"Your mother is dead, and your father is dead. Now, in this house, I am in charge!"
The lady said viciously. She seemed to notice Lex's presence and turned to look at him.
Just then, a breeze swept through the room, lifting the veil in front of her hat and revealing a middle-aged woman's face. It was a pale face, with deeply sunken, dark-rimmed eyes.
It was Mrs. Christie's face!
Mrs. Christie smiled faintly at Lex, then looked at the girl on the bed and slapped her again.
Lex wanted to see more, but with a bang, the wooden door suddenly closed, blocking him outside.
What did I see?
Mrs. Christie's memories?
No, she is not a real person; she is just a character created by a painter. How could she have such a thing as 'memories'?
Lex walked to the next wooden door, pushed it, and the wooden door opened.
As the door opened, a bloody smell immediately surged out, almost making Lex recoil.
He raised the torch to observe. The room was dimly lit, with no natural light, only a few gas lamps hanging on the walls.
Clop, clop, clop.
A rhythmic sound came from the depths of the room, sounding like a cleaver chopping on a cutting board.
Lex saw gutted pigs hanging in the room. This seemed to be a slaughterhouse, and the blood from the hanging pigs continuously flowed down, forming pools on the ground, attracting green-headed flies.
And in the depths of the room, a figure with her back to Lex, wearing an apron, was chopping meat on a cutting board, again and again.
Clop.
With another chop, the person stopped, then picked up a piece of bloody meat, put it in her mouth, and soon made chewing and swallowing sounds.
Just then, the person stopped all movements and suddenly turned around!
So Lex saw that this person was wearing a butcher's clothes, holding a cleaver in her hand, and her face and mouth were covered in blood.
But these were not important.
What was important was that this butcher was none other than Mrs. Christie!
"Want some? They're delicious." Mrs. Christie picked up a bloody piece of meat from the cutting board, looked at Lex, and then let out a maniacal laugh.
Bang!
The wooden door closed again.
Next, Lex pushed open door after door, seeing Mrs. Christie in men's clothes constantly asking her husband, 'Do you love me?', seeing Mrs. Christie injecting a syringe into a patient's eyeball, seeing Mrs. Christie dissecting a corpse in the morgue...
After pushing open more than a dozen wooden doors, Lex had a bold guess.
Mrs. Christie is actually a 'Marauder'; not only does she steal people's spiritual bodies, but she also steals people's memories, and in those memories, she replaces those people's identities. That's why there are different versions of Mrs. Christie appearing in these rooms!