As soon as Lin Qiushi entered the building, he spotted a scowling youth with flashy yellow hair stomping angrily and waving his hand around. The young male was dressed in alternative clothing, and a silver ring hung from his bottom lip. Just from his appearance, he looked like a delinquent, like one of the many unprincipled thugs regarded as the dregs of society. The feral youth growled and cursed at the crowd, but the rest of the crowd simply stared back at him indifferently and contemptuously, as if he was merely an insignificant clown in their eyes.
Upon seeing Lin Qiushi and the Xu Jin, who was accompanying him, step foot into the building, the youngster grew even more agitated. Baring his teeth like a caged animal, he pointed at them and, with false bravado, snarled, "Are you f.u.c.kers with these people too? What the h.e.l.l do you even want from me? You want to blackmail me? Cheat me? Get me the h.e.l.l out of here or else…or else…I-I"ll break your f.u.c.king necks!"
Lin Qiushi was truly amused hearing the young man"s bluff. "Didn"t you just say you"ll be calling the police? Yet now you"re saying that you"re going to kill us?"
"You"re courting death!" The young man"s face flushed deeper with wrath at Lin Qiushi"s words. Absolutely incensed, he roared, "Keep spouting bulls.h.i.t like that and I"ll f.u.c.king cut you! Don"t you know who I am, huh?! How dare you speak like that to me!"
Paying no more heed to the youth and his threats, Lin Qiushi casually swept his eyes across the crowd.
Just one glance made his heart sink in his chest. Behind the young man, he caught sight of thirteen individuals, some just standing around and others simply sitting. And with Lin Qiushi, Xu Jin, and that youth, that brought the total up to sixteen people.
This was the first time Lin Qiushi had seen so many people gathered together. He could hardly imagine just how difficult this world was going to be.
Most of the individuals in the crowd couldn"t care any less for the commotion. They merely ignored the ill-tempered youth and didn"t bother reasoning with him.
After all, trying to reason with a stubborn brick wall was such a troublesome task, so why should they concern themselves with this matter? There was no need to waste words on a dead man.
There were five men and eight women within the group of thirteen. Lin Qiushi soon found his targets—a teenager standing near the front of the crowd and a woman inconspicuously sitting in the corner, her facial features hidden.
Although their appearances were unfamiliar, Lin Qiushi was still able to recognize their ident.i.ty from the clothes they were wearing.
The woman was Ruan Nanzhu, and the teenager was Cheng Qianli.
Without showing any changes in expression, Lin Qiushi naturally removed his gaze immediately after finding them.
"What"s with your att.i.tude when I"m speaking to you!" The yellow-haired youth suddenly exploded when he saw Lin Qiushi"s dismissive att.i.tude. Quickly drawing a knife from his pocket, he brandished it in the air, "You"re really asking for death, you know that!"
Just when he yelled this, a calm "Now, now." resonated from within the room. No sooner, two hands pressed over the young man"s shoulders, as if trying to pacify the man, and a light, refreshing male voice drifted from behind the youth"s back, "Friend, you"re so young, and you should be having fun at your age. There"s no need to get so angry and frown like this, yes?"
Lin Qiushi followed the melodic voice and saw a handsome, masculine face. The attractive man was currently smiling soothingly at the youth, and his silky tone was ever so gentle, "Now, what"s the problem here? Tell it to us slowly."
No one knew what the man with the syrupy voice did, but the youth suddenly turned pale, as if all the blood drained from his face. He clenched his jaw and shakily put away his knife. Through gritted teeth, he lowly spat out, "Don"t try to deceive me."
The man loosened his hold on the youth and took a step forward. He then directed a lively smile at Lin Qiushi and stretched out his hand, "The name"s Meng Yu. This is my fourth time entering the doors."
Lin Qiushi received his extended hand and shook it, "Yu Linlin. This is my third time."
Still beaming brightly, he said, "Why don"t you sit down. We were in the middle of discussing the situation."
Lin Qiushi nodded.
It appeared as though Meng Yu had taken up the role of leading the team. The other had a very friendly and optimistic personality, and his smiles were extremely gentle and comforting. Unsurprisingly, he possessed a strong, influential aura, one that convinced others that he was a natural born leader.
Ruan Nanzhu, who normally took up the role of the leader, was awfully silent at this time. Pretending to have randomly taken as seat beside him, Lin Qiushi glanced over at him, only to discover that Ruan Nanzhu was looking faint and unwell.
"Are you okay, miss?" Lin Qiushi worriedly asked. "Are you feeling ill?"
Ruan Nanzhu shook his head slightly, then smiled weakly, "It"s nothing. My body has always been weak since I was a child. Thank you for your concern though."
Lin Qiushi introduced himself, "I"m Yu Linlin."
Ruan Nanzhu greeted him back, "I"m Zhu Meng."
"Nice to meet you." Afterwards, Lin Qiushi faced forward, looking away, as if minding his own business.
The Ruan Nanzhu in this world was incredibly different from how he was in the previous two worlds. His height seemed a bit shorter and he looked very weak, as if he could topple over with the slightest breeze. Although his face was still as beautiful as ever, right now, he gave off the impression of a sickly beauty.
Lin Qiushi suspected that this change was because Ruan Nanzhu had entered the door even though his body hadn"t recovered completely.
"Did you all see the woman outside?" Amidst the group, Meng Yu broke down the basics of the circ.u.mstances. "A while ago, I asked her what was going on, and she said that she was just a tour guide helping our group. That being said, it seems that we are all tourists who have come here on our travels."
This was the general setting of the story.
"Tourists?" A girl in the crowd exclaimed in confusion. "How long are we going to travel for?"
"She didn"t say. She just said that we"ll be visiting all of the designated sites and local attractions." Meng Yu added, "There should be time constraints, but it"s not entirely clear as of this moment."
"What about a place to stay?" Cheng Qianli suddenly asked. "Where would we live and sleep?"
Meng Yu strode over to the window and pointed at the row of small bamboo huts located deep in the jungle, "There."
The bamboo huts were closely and neatly arranged together, built around dense thickets and lush greenery. Some exotic decorative plants, as well as some small eye-catching flowers, dotted the surrounding area. They enriched the scenery, but Lin Qiushi couldn"t identify what species these plants were.
"Let"s split up the rooms and decide who"s sharing with whom." Meng Yu announced. "All of us certainly cannot live together."
"Why can"t we all live together?" The first-timer, Xu Jin, anxiously wondered. "Wouldn"t it be safer if all of us stuck with each other?"
"We"d all end up falling asleep unknowingly if we all stayed together." Lin Qiushi answered. "So, it isn"t any safer."
"Oh…" Although Xu Jin still couldn"t wrap her mind around this inconceivable situation, she stopped trying to get to the crux of the matter, ultimately deciding to remain pa.s.sive. Her response was far better than that yellow-haired youth"s, who had unwittingly become an eyesore by threatening others while demanding for answers; at least Xu Jin knew not to offend anyone, even if she wanted to know more of what was going on.
"Although we don"t have much information now, we will probably have more by tomorrow morning." Meng Yu said. "Anyways, it"s getting late. We should all go to bed."
And so, everyone departed for the small bamboo huts at once.
Sixteen people certainly wasn"t a small number. So, even though the skies were dark and the atmosphere, mysteriously spooky, no one was afraid since they were all walking together.
Lin Qiushi made his way toward the bamboo residences, then quickly surveyed them, briefly a.n.a.lyzing the structure of the houses.
Each residence contained three beds located on the second floor, one by the window and two by the wall. Because the weather was rather hot and humid, there was no need for heavy covers, so there was only a thin, flimsy bed sheet placed atop the beds.
With sixteen people in their group, how the beds and residences were to be divided became a major issue.
Meng Yu hadn"t even opened his mouth, before several girls came flocking to his side, ardently proposing that they live together.
"It"s too embarra.s.sing, don"t you think?" Meng Yu said with a helpless smile. "If this is the case, how about men and women live separately?"
"What"s there to be embarra.s.sed of when we"re about to die?" One girl frankly expressed her thoughts. She coquettishly purred, "Brother Meng, I really want to live with you, can"t I?" Fluttering her lashes, she leaned towards the other and wrapped her hands around his arm, deliberately pressing it to her plump chest.
Meng Yu chuckled, "Alright."
This was the first time Lin Qiushi had come across such a scene, but come to think of it, it wasn"t all that surprising. Sticking close to someone who had quite a bit of experience would increase one"s probability of surviving this world.
"h.e.l.lo. If possible, can I live with you?" Ruan Nanzhu softly called out. He slowly walked over to Lin Qiushi side; his small face was pale, and his body looked as though it was on the verge of collapse. "I"m a bit scared."
Lin Qiushi nodded and agreed without any hesitation.
"I also want to live with you." Another female voice called out. But Lin Qiushi instantly recognized this voice as Xu Jin"s. He glanced at her, only to be met with a pitiful expression and teary eyes gazing pleadingly at him. With quivering lips, she sniffed, "Yu Linlin, I"m also a bit scared."
Lin Qiushi: "…." For some reason, I"m also a bit scared and uncomfortable by this unexpected situation.
This outcome was simply too sudden for Lin Qiushi to adapt too. He hesitated for a moment, but thinking that it would be too rude and unnatural to refuse Xu Jin immediately after accepting Ruan Nanzhu, he eventually nodded and said, "Okay."
"Thank you." Xu Jin smiled at him. She then turned around and casually swept a side-glance at Ruan Nanzhu, as if scrutinizing the other, a.s.sessing the other"s abilities. Ruan Nanzhu also noticed her burning stare, and slowly curved his lips upwards, directing a faint, provoking smirk at her.
There seemed to be a tacit agreement, some sort of understood rivalry and challenge, between the two girls. But Lin Qiushi, who was too preoccupied with his own thoughts about the door, was utterly oblivious to what was happening around him.
Soon after, the groups were divided, and everyone left to their a.s.signed residences.
Lin Qiushi washed up quickly and headed to his bed to rest. His bed was nearby the window, so he simply had to turn his head to gaze at the outside scenery.
The night at this time was oddly tranquil. Deafening silence and absolute darkness enveloped the world. Not a single sound could be heard. There were no cries of animals or chirping of insects. Everything was still, frightfully still.
Ruan Nanzhu"s bed was near Lin Qiushi"s. He hadn"t gone to sleep yet; instead, he was laying on his side, quietly watching Lin Qiushi.
In all honesty, Lin Qiushi had a lot to say to Ruan Nanzhu, but because Xu Jin was inside the room with them, he had to restrain himself.
Lin Qiushi whispered, "Good night."
"Good night." The corners of Ruan Nanzhu"s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
In the dead of the night, deep within the misty forest.
Lin Qiushi was roused from his sleep by the rustling sounds from outside. He opened his eyes to pure darkness and noticed that the others rooming with him were still asleep.
The sound was ever so faint, supposedly coming from the depths of the jungle. It could not be heard clearly through the obstruction of the thick fog and dense trees; yet, even so, Lin Qiushi"s sensitive ears were vaguely able to pick up on this noise.
To Lin Qiushi, it seemed as though a young lady was singing—no, rather than singing, it was more like a woman reciting Buddhist sutras. At first, the indistinct noises sounded like ceaseless, incoherent murmurs, but as seconds pa.s.sed and the voice grew louder, the chants became clearer and clearer.
By now, Lin Qiushi was completely awake, and he swiftly sat up in his bed. He momentarily couldn"t figure out whether he was still dreaming or if all of this was real. He peered out the window and caught sight of several hazy figures through the bleak mist.
The shadows stood eerily motionless in the woods. He could only barely see their blurry figures through the darkness and thick fog.
Lin Qiushi continued gazing at the still figures, when he suddenly felt a pair of hands touch his shoulders. Startled out of his wits, he whirled his head around, only to come face-to-face with Ruan Nanzhu.
"Don"t stare." Ruan Nanzhu rested his chin on the crook of Lin Qiushi"s neck. His profound inky eyes twinkled like starlight; it was as if those captivating eyes of his held the entire universe in them. "Haven"t you noticed? They"re coming closer."
Lin Qiushi stared at the other blankly for a while. But he soon found that whatever Ruan Nanzhu was saying was true. The hazy figures were approaching them step-by-step. They weren"t walking, yet their outline was getting clearer by the minute.
"I"m a little cold." Ruan Nanzhu said. "Let"s sleep together. Put your arms around me." His voice sounded so fragile, as if he had zero strength. Lin Qiushi gripped his hand in his own and discovered it was freezing.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Lin Qiushi worriedly asked.
"My body"s just a bit weak right now." Ruan Nanzhu"s eyes fluttered; he seemed to be seconds away from falling asleep. "How inconvenient."
"Alright." Lin Qiushi reached out and gently pulled Ruan Nanzhu into his arms, embracing him protectively. To his surprise, Ruan Nanzhu"s body was as light as a feather, and his skin was ice-cold, like a corpse with no warmth.
Lin Qiushi"s heart ached in distress. He hugged Ruan Nanzhu"s body even tighter and tried to warm the other up with his own body heat.
Ruan Nanzhu seemed slightly more comfortable afterwards. He finally closed his eyes, the frown on his face slightly relaxed, and he went to sleep soundly.
Lin Qiushi continued listening for any signs of movement outside. The hushed rustling lasted for a while, before ceasing, leaving only tranquil silence behind. Lin Qiushi concluded that those shadows probably vanished. He gathered Ruan Nanzhu in his arms, drawing the other closer into his chest, and shut his eyes, eventually drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Lin Qiushi was started awake by Xu Jin"s shrill shrieks.
Xu Jin pointed accusingly at the two people with a shaking finger, "Y-y-you—w-what—how—why are you two sleeping on the bed together?!"
Before Lin Qiushi could respond, Ruan Nanzhu, who was also rudely awakened by the other, snuggled deeper into Lin Qiushi"s embrace and grumbled, "I still want to sleep…"
Lin Qiushi instinctively caressed Ruan Nanzhu"s head, tenderly stroking his hair, and said, "Sleep a while longer then, okay?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Cold…"
Lin Qiushi: "I"ll hold you."
Ruan Nanzhu wrapped his arms around Lin Qiushi"s waist naturally and buried his face into the other"s chest.
Xu Jin"s eyes were bulging out of her sockets at this scene. With a red face, she stuttered, "Y-y-you… just… how could this be…"
Ruan Nanzhu finally seemed to have become aware of his surroundings. Now wide-awake, he slowly climbed out of Lin Qiuhi"s embrace. Combing his hair with his hand and straightening his clothes, he exposed a smile. "I felt very cold in the middle of the night, so I inconvenienced big brother Yu a bit. Please don"t misunderstand us; we haven"t done anything." He then lowered his head and bashfully covered his mouth with his hands, smiling coyly.
Xu Jin didn"t reply, but her raging eyes expressed most of what she wanted to say, which was probably something along these lines: G.o.ddammit. This f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h is seriously getting on my nerves! They both slept on the same bed last night, but that s.l.u.t still has the audacity smile all innocently and say that they didn"t do anything!
"Big brother Yu is a good person." Ruan Nanzhu was, truly, way too into his role. He shyly peered up at Lin Qiushi and immediately averted his gaze, before declaring, "You shouldn"t misunderstand him."
The ignorant Lin Qiushi, who was unwittingly branded as a "good man", didn"t notice the clash of fierce gazes and the unspoken battle between Ruan Nanzhu and Xu Jin. He merely said, "Let"s grab some breakfast. Didn"t we say yesterday that we would a.s.semble at eight o"clock?"
"En," grunted Ruan Nanzhu.
And so, the three washed up and left to eat breakfast.
Soon after, they arrived at the agreed location. There were already a few people sitting there, waiting for the rest. Lin Qiushi looked around for Cheng Qianli; only after confirming that the young boy was safe and present, did he breathe out a sigh of relief.
The breakfast here was quite the experience to say the least; a unique-colored, strange-smelling, odd-flavored chow mein was served to them. Lin Qiushi only had to have a small bite to realize the fried noodles before him were utterly unpalatable. However, for the sake of his health and strength, he swallowed every bite with utmost difficulty and barely managed to finish his meal.
On the other hand, Ruan Nanzhu, who normally ate anything, was feeling rather ill, so it was only natural that he didn"t have an appet.i.te. After having a taste of the foul food, he grumpily shoved the plate aside.
Worried that Ruan Nanzhu"s body wouldn"t be able to hold up for much longer if he didn"t eat anything, Lin Qiushi went to the kitchen to find the other something else to eat. Near the kitchen, a middle-aged woman seemed to be grinding something at the mill. Lin Qiushi approached her and politely asked her a few questions.
Upon hearing Lin Qiushi"s requests, the woman pointed at the wicker basket next to her.
Lin Qiushi walked over to the wicker basket, only to find a handful of bruised apples in it. He reasoned that the apples probably didn"t taste all too bad, in spite of their somewhat unsightly appearance. And so, he picked up some apples from the basket.
As he pa.s.sed by the middle-aged woman again, he curiously inquired, "Auntie, what are you grinding?"
With her head hung low and her eyes never straying from the task before her, the woman replied, "Flour."
Lin Qiushi peeked at what the woman was grinding; indeed, there was some sort of white powder inside the mill, but there was something fishy about it.
When the woman noticed his pensive gaze, she scooped some into a small bowl and handed it to him with a smile. "Would you like to try it? This thing is very good for a person"s body, especially if that person is sick or unwell. Even a tiny sip can restore one"s health."
Lin Qiushi reflexively declined her generous offer. He kept getting the feeling that the powder was something he shouldn"t accept.
Fortunately, the elder woman did not insist any longer. She bowed her head and continued focusing on grinding.
Lin Qiushi brought the apples back to the house. When he made his way back, he caught sight of the woman who was standing at the village entrance yesterday. The woman was wearing a safari hat and holding a red flag in her hand; she truly resembled a model tour guide.
"Rise and shine, my explorers! Today, I will be taking everyone to sightsee a temple." The woman enthusiastically announced. "This temple is considered one of the most magnificent buildings in this area, and I am positive that everyone here will be so entranced by this temple"s elegance and glory once everyone lays their eyes on it. Now, without further ado, let"s set off!"
After saying this, she waved the flag in the air and signaled for the crowd to keep up with her.
Everyone glanced at each other, then heaved themselves up off their chairs and followed the woman out the door.
While walking towards their destination, the woman introduced the culture and traditional here. She said that the locals worshiped a particular religion in which they believed that the dead could resurrect; because they tended to stay true to this faith, there were quite some eccentric and unusual customs in this area.
"Such as?" wondered Meng Yu.
The woman revealed a mysterious smile, "You will know when you arrive at the temple."
She led everyone down a secluded road. The winding path extended far into the depths of the jungle.
The tall trees flanking both sides of the path grew odder the further they trudged down the trail; innumerable colorful strips were tied to the branches of these trees. The woman mentioned that this was one of the many sacrificial practices of the village, and that the multicolored strips allegedly acted as a beacon to help the dead spirits return home.
The trees surrounding the pathway were extremely dense. The thick leaves shrouded nearly all of the sunlight, leaving only speckled areas of light on the ground.
Lin Qiushi listened to the woman"s presentation; however, his mind was wandering elsewhere, recalling the song he heard.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the group was physically exhausted. Xu Jin was frightened and thought that the environment was awfully strange, but she couldn"t hold back any longer. Opening her mouth, she wearily asked, "How much longer will it take?"
The woman stated, "We"re almost there."
Not too long after she said this, a mystifying tune echoed from afar. Lin Qiushi had never heard such sounds in his life. The pitch was similar to that created by a traditional flute; yet, it was more refreshing and more pleasant to the ears than the tunes made by those flutes. The melody was strangely haunting, evoking the image of a vulture hovering in the sky, engraving one"s soul with the indelible vision of death.
The clear sound caused the crowd to quiet down.
The tour guide beamed at the group and said, "I"m a.s.suming everyone has heard that sound. This tune can only be played by a special instrument unique to this place. Such a beautiful sound can only be heard here. Everyone must listen carefully and appreciate this moment."
They soon continued onwards. At long last, Lin Qiushi spotted a secreted building through the small gaps between the dense woods.
A glorious temple towered before their eyes. Huge stones piled to the sky, forming the structure of the building, and green vines snaked around the temple; the style was rather primitive, as simple as can be, and fairly desolate.
To add, countless colored flags stood tall beside the temple.
The flags waved to and fro with the crisp breeze, as though responding to that eerie melody.
Ruan Nanzhu suddenly approached Lin Qiushi and lowered his voice, whispering, "Keep away from those flags."
"Huh?" blurted Lin Qiushi, slightly taken aback.
Ruan Nanzhu replied, "There"s something off about those flags."
Upon hearing the other"s warning, Lin Qiushi inspected the flags, only to realize that there was, indeed, something quite abnormal about those flags. The material was awfully thick; it didn"t resemble any cloths or rags, but it was still elastic and soft… An idea suddenly flashed through his mind. A cold limp settled in the pit of his stomach; he swallowed hard, his Adam"s apple bobbed up and down.
"Could it possibly be what I think it is?" Lin Qiushi thought back on the chilling context behind the song.
"Perhaps…" Ruan Nanzhu"s tone was uncertain, leaving room for doubts and speculations.
The tour guide led everyone to the temple gates, then stopped. She then spread out her palm in the direction of the temple, "The next step is for everyone to explore this temple freely for a while." She then raised her arm and looked at the time on her watch. "Before dusk, I will come again to take everyone back to the village. Please enjoy the tour and relish the exotic view. Furthermore, be mindful of your actions, folks; do not run around irresponsibly."
With that, the tour guide swiveled on her heels and marched out the area, leaving behind more than a dozen individuals looking at each other in dismay.
"That lady is really weird and annoying." The irascible blond youth from yesterday began grumbling. He crabbily spat, "We might as well take this opportunity to run away…"
"Where do you think you"re going?" The man next to him impatiently growled. "We"ve already told you several times that this isn"t a normal world. Would you just stop saying stupid things and listen for once?"
The young man also seemed a tad nonplussed by his surroundings. Nevertheless, he forced a sneer and snorted disdainfully, "Not normal, my a.s.s. You know what I think? I think you"re just too scared, you coward."
The others no longer paid any attention to him after hearing his snarky remark. They simply turned around and entered the temple. It was evident that everyone was now focused on searching for any clues on where the key could be hidden.
"Let"s head inside, too." Lin Qiushi eyed the temple before him, then turned around, looking back to face Ruan Nanzhu and Xu Jin, who were standing behind him.
"The temple looks so scary." Xu Jin"s lips quivered, and her body shuddered in trepidation. "Do you think there"ll be monsters inside…"
Ruan Nanzhu softly coughed a few times, before proposing, "Well, since you seem quite afraid, how about we go in by ourselves, and you just stay outside by yourself?"
"Nononono, I"ll stick with you guys." Xu Jin frantically refused. "I"m more afraid to stay outside by myself."
"Come on." Lin Qushi gradually climbed the tall steps made of stone, advancing inside.
Ruan Nanzhu and Xu Jin followed closely behind Lin Qiushi. Together, they entered the temple, joining everyone else.
The inside of the temple was relatively dim. There were no windows, just a couple of flickering oil lamps placed around the area, giving off a faint glow.
As soon as Lin Qiushi walked in, he was struck with a sense of incongruity and peculiarity. p.r.i.c.ked by this inexplicably odd feeling, he said, "The sound of the instrument came from the second floor, right?"
Ruan Nanzhu responded, "Seemed like it."
"Let"s go upstairs and have a look," suggested Lin Qiushi.
Ruan Nanzhu nodded in accord.
However, no matter how many times they circled the temple, painstakingly looking through each and every crevice and inconspicuous location, they simply couldn"t find any stairs that would lead them upstairs.
Lin Qiushi suddenly felt that something was wrong, horribly wrong. His keen hearing told him a dreadful fact, one so harrowing that he could no longer turn a blind eye to it… That music, it definitely wasn"t coming from the second floor. No, in fact, it was coming from the ceiling. That pitch-black ceiling above their heads that seemed to extend endlessly towards the heavens, that very abyss-like ceiling where the light couldn"t reach…
Just what exactly was up there? Just how exactly could music be playing from up there?
Having detected of Lin Qiushi"s stiff expression, Ruan Nanzhu quirked a brow and questioned, "What"s the matter?"
Cringing slightly, Lin Qiushi"s face twisted as he slowly bared his teeth. He then smiled wryly and let out a hollow laugh, before grimly pointed upwards. ""It seems that something is above our heads…"
Author"s Comment:
(Outside the door worlds) Lin Qiushi: Ruan Ge, you"re truly a good man.
(Inside the door worlds) Ruan Nanzhu: Lin Qiushi, you"re truly a good man.
They"re the type of CP that always compliments and praises each other, constantly saying the other is a truly a good person~