Chapter 3: A Hellish Night

Chapter 3: A Hellish Night

Persisting through the bitter winds and snowfall, the four marched along the boundless path. They somehow didnt encounter any unfortunate or strange incidents on the road, and they finally returned to their residence safely.

However, when they returned home, they noticed that the atmosphere of the room didnt seem quite right. Several people were sitting in the living room; their faces were pale and drawn, and they were completely motionless. Deathly stillness hung in the air, and the atmosphere seemed even graver than when everyone had first arrived here.

Lin Qiushi swept his eyes across the others within this room and quickly counted the number of people. It was only after making sure the number of people hadnt decreased that he let out a sigh of relief.

What happened? Xiong Qi demanded.

Trembling violently, a man sitting down shakily responded, Upstairs, the corpses upstairs disappeared.

Some corpses disappeared? Thats it? Xiong Qi growled, Are you all novices? Why are you so scared of dead bodies vanishing?

Eaten. A girl blubbered at the side, tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks. Theres blood everywhere

Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke glanced at each other, they knew they wouldnt be able to get any useful information from these peoples mouths. Thereafter, the four decided to go to the third floor to observe the situation for themselves.

They started climbing the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, Lin Qiushi immediately detected something was amissthe walls of the second floor were also painted with blood.

Because the house was built of wood, the colors of the walls were mahogany. Lin Qiushi spotted some black smudges on these walls, as if something had been splattered there.

Be careful, it may be something dangerous, warned Xiong Qi who was walking up front.

They eventually reached the third floor, and Lin Qiushi finally realized what the others meant by eaten.

The area was completely bereft of the corpses that were previously laying there. But that wasnt all; the dead bodies had vanished, but there was something else in place of them. The entire ground was covered in residues of flesh and bones, as if something had ferociously torn them apart and gnawed on them to smithereens, leaving nothing but unrecognizable scraps behind.

Lin Qiushis face automatically turned white from seeing such a sight, and his stomach began to churn.

It devoured everything down to the very bones. Xiao Ke was accustomed to this. I have no idea what this is.

Hah. Xiong Qi heaved a sigh. Come on. Lock the third floor. Well start living on the second floor from today.

Okay. Xiao Ke hummed. Ill asked the others about the details.

They went back down to the first floor and questioned everyone on the particulars of what went down while they were gone.

The people downstairs explained to them what happened at the house.

After Xiong Qi and them had left, the group began searching the entire building. In the midst of searching through the second floor, they heard an unusually strange noise coming from the third floor; it sounded as if someone was chewing something, devouring it ravenously, gulping it down.

Immediately after counting the number of people and ascertaining that none of them were on the third floor, they broke out into cold sweat.

No one dared to go upstairs and take a look; they all stood stiff and watched the situation from the second floor. Only when the chewing sounds disappeared did they have the courage to go to the third floor and check it outbut all they saw were remains of ground meat and powdered bones.

This is awful. An older lady on the team was already looking rather lifeless. She whimpered, This is my third time entering these doors. How could I encounter such a world? Can we even get out alive? Just what the hell was that thing

Not a single person could answer her questions; the room was silent.

Xiong Qi sighed faintly and announced that he was hungry. He wanted to find something to eat, and he asked if anyone else would go to the kitchen with him.

Lin Qiushi offered, Ill go with you.

Ruan Baijie, who was sitting beside Lin Qiushi, softly murmured, Qiushi, Im hungry, too. I want to eat noodles.

Lin Qiushi: Ill see if there are any. If there are, Ill fix you a bowl.

Good. Ruan Baijies eyes curved, and she tenderly gazed at Lin Qiushi. Pay attention to your safety, okay.

Lin Qiushi nodded.

The kitchen was to the left of the living room. There was no natural gas here, only the most natural firewood.

Both Xiong Qi and Lin Qiushi didnt say a word along the way. When they finally arrived at the kitchen, Xiong Qi lowered his head to start the fire and revealed, I dont plan to inform them of everything.

What do you mean? Lin Qiushi blinked in surprise.

Xiong Qi silently peeked at the doorway and determined that no one was outside, then he whispered, I dont think everyone on our team is human.

Lin Qiushis back broke out into goosebumps at this sentence.

Something like this happened before. Xiong Qi stated. The members we thought were part of the team actually werent teammates; rather, they were those things.

Lin Qiushi wondered, Why do you believe in me? What if Im also one of those things?

Xiong Qi glanced at him. You dont seem like it.

Lin Qiushi:

Xiong Qi continued, Moreover, those guys certainly dont act like people whove experienced these kinds of stuff several times. They panic too easily and theyre too scared, way more than you.

Lin Qiushi felt a bit embarrassed at his acknowledgment. To be honest, Im also quite afraid.

Xiong Qi let out a self-deprecating smile at these words, What are you afraid of? The very first time I entered these doors, I peed my pants three times in one night.

Lin Qiushi thought of that horrifying woman last night, and he wordlessly glanced at his own crotch and thought to himself that he was lucky enough to be able to hold it in

Xiong Qi: I suggest that you also keep some clues to yourself and not blab everything.

Lin Qiushi nodded. I got it. Thank you for your reminder. Can I ask how many times you came here?

Xiong Qi: Six times.

Oh Lin Qiushi tried to digest all the information about the doors, the team, and the other hidden clues that Xiong Qi gave him.

Its useless thinking so much. Just try your best at getting out alive. Xiong Qi mockingly chuckled to himself. Although, I personally believe this worlds doomed.

The fire on the stove was ignited, and the water in the iron pot came to a boil.

Lin Qiushi found a basket of food and ingredients next to him; there were noodles, eggs, and some green vegetables inside. He boiled the noodles and fried an egg; the aroma of the food drifted throughout the kitchen, dispelling the fear and negativity in the air. Upon seeing this, Xiong Qi praised, You cook well.

Fortunately. Lin Qiushi grinned.

He cooked four bowls of noodles, one for Xiong Qi, one for Xiao Ke, one for Ruan Baijie, and one for himself. As for the others, Lin Qiushi simply couldnt manage that much.

Ruan Baijie was starving. She cupped the bowl in her hands and began inhaling the noodles at once. Most people often made slight noises as they ate; however, Ruan Baijie quietly ate the entire bowl of noodles clean, not even a drop of soup was left behind. She didnt utter a sound after she finished eating, she just whirled her head around and stared expectantly at Lin Qiushi.

Haunted by her fervent gaze, Lin Qiushi felt quite helpless and reluctant. You havent eaten enough?

Ive eaten. Just when these words fell, her stomach growled loudly.

Lin Qiushi: Eat. Ill go get something else.

He lay down on the bed for a moment. Seeing that Ruan Baijie had zero intentions of getting up, he had to remind her, I want to get up.

Ruan Baijie: Mhm

Lin Qiushi: Ruan Baijie?

Ruan Baijie: Last night you called this one2 darling sweetheart, but today you call this one Ruan Baijie.

Lin Qiushi:

But, in spite of saying all this, Ruan Baijie nevertheless loosened her grip, then leaned against the headboard to ogle Lin Qiushi as he wore his clothes. As he was putting on his clothes, Lin Qiushi kept getting this feeling that the atmosphere was a bit odd. After dwelling on it for a while, he finally swiveled around and looked at Ruan Baijie. Would you stop staring at me with those eyes?

Ruan Baijie: What eyes? The moneys on the table. Take it with you and hand me the cigarettes, I want one.

Lin Qiushi: Did she smoke something strange or what?

Ruan Baijie: What? Still refusing to leave, ah? We agreed on exactly five hundred yesterday. Dont even think about wanting more.

Lin Qiushi was at a loss for words. After getting dressed, he clomped down the stairs.

The others were already sitting in the living room, eating the breakfast the villagers delivered. As usual, Lin Qiushi counted the number of people. He discovered that, excluding Ruan Baijie, there were three additional people missing from the room.

Xiong Qi caught sight of him and motioned for him to take seat.

Nothing happened yesterday? Lin Qiushi asked.

Nothing. Xiong Qi responded. No one died.

Well, its a good thing nobody died. Lin Qiushi relaxed, sighing in relief.

As a matter of fact, last night was so calm that even the others didnt hear any extra noises. Lin Qiushi tentatively questioned whether they heard any signs of activity from upstairs, but the others answers were consistentthe night was extremely quiet; there were no other sounds except for the wind outside.

After we finish eating, well head out to cut some trees down and send the wood to the carpenter. We have to speed up. Xiong Qi stressed. Look at the weather, itll only get colder by the minute; if not all, there werent any incidents last night His words seemed to contain suspicions and doubts.

Well, yeah. Lin Qiushi blurted out.

One after another, the remaining three people descended the stairs; Ruan Baijie was the last to come downstairs. She was still wearing that lovely dress of hers, but she added two relatively thick coats on top and wore large, thick winter trousers underneath. Because her skirt was quite long, she walked extremely slowly, but her posture was, nonetheless, peerlessly elegant.

When Lin Qiushi noticed her coming, he awkwardly averted his gaze.

Qiushi. Ruan Baijie called out his name.

Lin Qiushi helplessly hummed back.

Why do you ignore this one. Ruan Baijie clamored. This one wishes to eat your boiled noodles.

Lin Qiushi: Ill give it to you at noon. Its too late right now.

Ruan Baijie: Thats not what you said in bed last night.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ke, who was slurping her congee, spluttered, nearly choking to death. Xiong Qis expression was also complex and indescribable. Whether it was consciously or not, his eyes rapidly shifted between Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie.

Lin Qiushi didnt know whether to cry or laugh. Okay, stop that right now. I truly thank you for last night. Ill cook you some noodles at noon, and Ill even fry two more eggs for you.

Fine. Ruan Baijie compromised. Oh, and itd be even nicer if there were some chopped green onions.

Its already a blessing to have green vegetables to eat on such a cold day. As for those chopped onions or whatnot, forget about them.

After finishing their breakfast and putting on warm clothes, the group picked up their axes and were ready to depart.

They planned to cut down trees in the mountain forest located on the outskirts of the village. There was only a single trail leading to that area. Due to the snow, the path became narrower, allowing only one person to walk at a time.

It was fairly easy going uphill, but he reckoned that it would be increasingly challenging going down the mountains while lugging some cumbersome wood behind. Lin Qiushi mulled over this as he strolled along the narrow path.

Amongst the eleven of them, there was one person who had done some woodworking. It was a middle-aged man around his thirties. He claimed to be carpenter and said that he was able to chop trees to create simple furniture. However, building a coffin wasnt something he was knowledgeable about. He walked ahead, selected a few trees, and began teaching everyone how to cut a tree down.

Most of the people here have never done this sort of thing before. Although they were guided by someone, they were still quite unfamiliar with this and werent able to master it the first time.

Lin Qiushi took up his axe and struck the tree twice. His first attempt at chopping down a tree only left a faint mark on the tree trunk.

Your technique is still wrong, ah. Ruan Baijie stood leisurely at his side. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets, and her breaths turned white in the cold air. You have to use your strength to bring it down; otherwise, how are you supposed to lift an axe that heavy?

Lin Qiushi: Have you ever cut a tree?

Ruan Baijie: Ive seen people chop trees down.

Lin Qiushi uttered, Oh.

Ruan Baijie added, Be careful, okay. Dont hurt yourself.

Lin Qiushi nodded his head and continued hacking at the tree with his axe. This was even more troublesome than theyd originally presumed. This entire morning, several large men kept switching turns to cut down the trees; while some would take a break, the others would give it their best to chop the tree down.

What should we do, Brother Xiong. Someone asked. Just what should we do?

Xiong Qi looked at the weather and gnashed his teeth. Lets go. Well carry this tree back and continue with this tomorrow.

Although it was only three oclock in the afternoon, darkness had already painted the skies black; moreover, large swaths of snow began to fall. It looked as if the evening would be plagued by heavy snowfall.

Lin Qiushi: How many logs in total do we need for a coffin?

The village chief said about three. Xiong Qi answered. Two days of hard work should suffice. Now come, someone lend a hand.

Lin Qiushi had just stepped forward to carry the tree, when he heard Ruan Baijie exclaim, Aiya, I seem to have twisted my foot. Carry me down the mountain, Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi: Hah?

Ruan Baijie: What do you mean Hah? Well, hurry up, there arent many people here. What are you causing a ruckus for?

Lin Qiushi wanted to retort, but Xiong Qi patted him on the shoulder and encouraged, Go on.

Lin Qiushi: He glanced at Ruan Baijies expression, but he couldnt make out anything else from her delicate and pitiful appearance. However, his sensitive nose sniffed a hint; his keen intuition told him that Ruan Baijies sudden, inexplicable request wasnt as simple as hed imagined.

Authors Comment:

Ruan Baijie launched her skill: The Wailing Eagle Strikes!

Lin Qiushi suffered damage from her cries. He collapsed to the ground and was dragged home by Ruan Baijie to eat.

1Idiom: Hands tied and waiting to be captured/allow oneself to be seized without putting up a fight/submit without resistance/etc.

2A cute/immature/flirty way of addressing that is strictly used by girls to refer to themselves. It just means I or me; could also be written as people or this one.New novel chapters are published on