Chapter 31: Sudden Downpour

Chapter 31: Sudden Downpour

Ruan Nanzhu paused momentarily at Lin Qiushis words. His very next response was to stop Lin Qiushi from trying to investigate anymore. In a low voice, he whispered, Just ignore this for now. Lets first find Cheng Qianli.

Lin Qiushi finally remembered that they still had one more comrade with them. He hadnt seen a shadow of Cheng Qianlis figure since arriving at the temple, and he had no clue as to where the boy had run off to, so in the end, he just put the matter to the side and accidentally forgot about the kid.

Upon seeing the two walk deeper into the temple, Xu Jin, who was trailing after them, quivered and frightfully stammered, W-where are you guys going? Dont tell me you want to keep going? This place is so scary!

Sighing, Lin Qiushi responded to Xu Jin, Yeah, were just going in to have a quick look. He continued to advance inside the temple, while observing his surroundings.

The temple itself was quite large, and a vacant and spacious main hall stood at the outmost section of the temple. A statue of Buddha and several incense altars were erected at the front of the vast hall. It appeared as though the villagers had often visited the shrine to pay their respects and pray.

Further inside were many smaller, separate rooms, most of which were locked. Through the window, Lin Qiushi spotted something that resembled a statue, but he couldnt get a clear view of it, as it was covered by a red curtain.

I really want to go in and check it out. Ruan Nanzhu inaudibly mumbled to himself.

Theres something in there. Xu Jin fiercely rubbed her arms to quell the goosebumps. Wah, this is so scary

The moment Ruan Nanzhu heard her, he turned to face Lin Qiushi and feebly leaned against his body. With eyes glistening with unfallen tears, he peered up at the other and weakly called out, Big brother Linlin, Im so scared.

Here we go again, Lin Qiushi thought to himself; he didnt even have to look at Ruan Nanzhu to know that the other was, once again, getting immersed in his weak-hearted, damsel-in-distress role. Not knowing whether to cry or laugh, Lin Qiushi simply grasped the others hand and decided to play along, gently comforting, Dont be afraid. Im here for you.

Upon seeing this, Xu Jin gnashed her teeth in hatred. No doubt she was relentlessly spitting strings of vulgar profanity in her heart and inwardly cursing this dog couple with all her passion.

The group continued onwards. After passing through a long corridor, they finally caught sight of Cheng Qianli.

As of this moment, Cheng Qianli was standing at the corner of a temple chamber, facing the wall and staring at God-knows-what.

Having heard the sound of shuffling footsteps approaching him from behind, Cheng Qianli whirled his head around, only to see Lin Qiushi and the others. He beckoned them over, Come, you guys have a look at this, too. Theres a painted wall mural here.

Lin Qiushi made his way to the others side and asked, A wall mural? Oh, and hello, little brother. Im Yu Linlin. Whats your name?

Cheng Qianli replied, Just call me Mu Yu. And these two beautiful women are?

Xu Jin and Ruan Nanzhu introduced themselves.

Oh, you poor things. Your luck is really the worst. Cheng Qianli shook his head in pity. To think such beautiful girls would also enter such a terrifying world.

Xu Jin sniveled, I know right. Im so scared. Having finally found a companion she could vent all her grievances to, she choked with emotion, This entire place is so strange and creepy. I dont even know whats going on anymore. She wiped the corners of her wet eyes and sniffed; her forlorn appearance stirred pity in the hearts of onlookers.

The painted wall mural is a local custom. Ruan Nanzhus voice pulled Cheng Qianlis attention away from everything else. He reached out and lightly touched the wall, This mural has either been painted recently, or someone frequently maintains it to keep it in good shape. The colors are quite fresh.

Huh, is that so? But whats this drawing supposed to depict? I dont really get it Cheng Qianli completely ignored the pitiful Xu Jin who was standing at his side.

Theyre celebrating the birth of a child. Ruan Nanzhu answered. There are two newborns; one symbolizes the moon, and the other, the sun He simply described the pattern on the mural. The newborn representing the moon is fond of beating drums, while the newborn that represents the sun is hiding. A look of doubt and confusion flashed over his features, before vanishing. He repeated, Hiding?

Whats it supposed to mean? Lin Qiushi couldnt understand the message behind the mural.

I dont know. Ruan Nanzhu said. Thats just how the murals been painted. Im not entirely sure what a newborn being hidden is supposed to signify, either.

Xu Jin, who was once again deprived of attention because a certain somebody stole the limelight from her, sourly remarked, Little missy1, you seem to know a lot, huh?

Ruan Nanzhu smiled slightly, You havent asked me my age yet, so why are you calling little missy? It makes it seem as though I am older than you. I am just twenty years old; how about you?

Xu Jin: Im twenty-three.

Ruan Nanzhu: Oh, so youre technically the little missy.

Xu Jin was fuming because of Ruan Nanzhu. Her lips were set into a pout, and her eyes were glaring daggers.

Lin Qiushi watched this scene from the sidelines and found it very amusing. This guy, Ruan Nanzhu, was really addicted to teasing and provoking other little girls.

Have you found any stairs that lead to the second floor? Cheng Qianli asked. I heard music playing from the top of this temple. Could it be that theres a monk in this temple?

Speaking of music, Lin Qiushi recalled the noise he heard in the main hall of the temple. As of this moment, his usual keen sense of hearing was incredibly sharp, so he could easily detect the source of the sound. And it was primarily because of his acute hearing, he was confident that the sound was coming from the ceiling of the main hall; the further away he was from that area, the fainter the noise became.

We havent found any. Ruan Nanzhu responded. Lets continue to search for it.

The original lively group of sixteen was currently separated from one another. They were all dispersed throughout this massive, empty temple, completely lost and unaware of their companions locations. Lin Qiushis group walked along the corridors path, only to encounter three to four more individuals midway. As for the others, they didnt know where they had wandered off to.

Nevertheless, at this very moment, Lin Qiushi didnt have the patience or energy to care for the others. He was far more concerned about which areas of this temple to search through and where he could find more clues that would hint at the keys location.

The four individuals marched onwards, until they finally reached an end.

The end of the temple led to an open wilderness, and scattered around the vicinity were rocks and stones, as well as towering, lofty platforms built of wood. These wooden platforms didnt seem to have any particular use; if anything, these roof-like structures were just extremely tall. They were built so high that the group of four, who stood underneath the platform, couldnt see what was on top of them.

Go up and take a look? suggested Lin Qiushi.

Sure, check it out. Ruan Nanzhu added, But together.

No. Theres no need for you to come along. Lin Qiushi wouldnt feel at ease if Ruan Nanzhu went up with him, so he insisted, Ill go by myself.

Cheng Qianli chimed in, Ill join you. Us two guys can just go together. The other two can just stay down here and keep watch. If anything happens, they can warn us.

Alright. Go up and gauge the situation. Ruan Nanzhu stressed, But if somethings wrong, come down at once.

Beside them was a wooden ladder that could lead them to the upper level, but it was extremely narrow and awfully high; it was bound to take them ages if they were to climb up this ladder. However, Lin Qiushis main purpose in climbing this ladder was to see what was on the platform above them. If not all, the towering height of the platform would practically give them full view of the scenery surrounding them. After heading up, they should, more or less, be able to assess their current predicament.

Cheng Qianli slowly followed behind Lin Qiushi and concernedly whispered, Whats up with big brother Ruan? Why is his face so pale? Why does he look so sick?

He isnt feeling too well. Lin Qiushi explained, Its probably that his body and mental state hasnt recovered completely.

Cheng Qianli: Oh. Then whats up with that Xu Jin chick?

Lin Qiushi: Another rookie. I didnt want to arouse any suspicious so I decided to bring her along.

As they conversed, the two gradually climbed the ladder, until they reached the highest step. Taking the lead, Lin Qiushi eventually stepped on the last step and made his way onto the high platform. Immediately after, he regretted even considering going up. Slabs of ground flesh, cold bones and strings of black hair were strewn across the surface of the platform. The scattered flesh and bones were still fresh, there were no traces of decay or putrefaction; it was as though these parts had been dumped here quite recently.

Dont come up. Lin Qiushi stopped the other. There are only corpses up here.

Cheng Qianli paused mid-step and let out a vulgar curse, Oh, fuck me!

Although Lin Qiushi genuinely wanted to delude himself into thinking the lumps of ground meat and bloody bones were from other creatures, he clearly spotted things resembling human skulls within this grotesque pile. The skulls were facing Lin Qiushis direction. The black, cavernous holes stared dead at him, giving him a dreadful feeling, as if the skulls were alive, as if they were looking forward to his demise.

Hurry down. A sense of foreboding soon assailed Lin Qiushi. Feeling that something was terribly wrong, he immediately retreated.

Not wasting a single second, Cheng Qianli instantly responded. He gave a brisk grunt and began to descend the ladder. Lin Qiushi was just about to turn around and follow after him, when he heard Ruan Nanzhu shouting from below, Dont turn around

However, the others warning came a bit too late. The moment Lin Qiushi turned away from the platform, he felt a pair of hands on his back. Within a blink of an eye, a violent force struck his body, and his entire body was propelled forward.

Ruan Nanzhu: Whats the matter?

Lin Qiushi: The sound of drums

If it truly was just the sound of a drum, then there would be no need to worry. However, Lin Qiushi clearly heard the sounds of something approaching them, from deep inside the corridor they had just walked through.

Ruan Nanzhu remained quite for a while, as though he was still trying to wake up from his hazy sleep. He then reassured the other, Dont be afraid. Everyone is here, and they cannot kill us all at once.

Rustle, Rustle. Before long, the others also began to hear those sounds coming from the corridor. The sound was getting nearer and nearer, louder and louder. Although the light shining within this temple was rather dim, everyone could clearly make out what was approaching them from inside the corridor.

It was a group of skinned people. Crouched on the ground and dragging a long, sharp knife on the ground behind them, they rushed towards the main hall of the temple. A look of sheer terror and panic painted the faces of those inside the main hall the moment they were met with this scene. And some who had low tolerance to such frightening experienced began shrieking at the top of their lungs.

Calm down, everyone! Meng Yu tried to pacify the panicking crowd. They will not necessarily kill us!

You goddamn motherfucker! How could you say those things will not kill people?! Just look at them! The yellow-haired rookie finally seemed to have broken down. Frenziedly swinging his arms around, the youth swore and screamed, before dashing out of the door. You fucking idiots are only waiting for your deaths in here!!! Im leaving!!!

A frightfully chilling expression flitted across Meng Yus face; it was as though the tender smiling expression that usually rested on his face was merely an illusion. But this change in his expression barely lasted a split-second, before the other resumed his gentle appearance. Dont worry, everyone. The door worlds would never leave us with no way out of this predicament. With many people here, we cant possibly trigger a death condition simultaneously. You mustnt rush out recklessly though!

As if to confirm his words, the blond youth who had just darted out of the door issues a blood-curdling shriek before red blood splattered from his body.

Ruan Nanzhu, who was laying on Lin Qiushi back, opened his mouth and declared, That is not rain.

Hah? Lin Qiushi was struck dumb.

Ruan Nanzhu: Those are blades.

Lin Qiushi: He finally seemed to have understood what was going on.

The hysterical youth who had wildly rushed out of the temple had paid a heavy price in the end. In a blink of an eye, the boys skin was torn apart by the heavy rain of blades. With each passing second, the sharp blades would hack at his body, ripping off more skin and flesh, causing thick blood to spatter everywhere; it was just like those old times, where one would be punished with a thousand cuts. Horrified, everyone watched on as the youths entire being slowly became a blur of shredded flesh and flowing blood; the incessant, wretched cries of the rookie deafened their ears.

The youth tried to run back to the temple, but to no avail. He stumbled and staggered to the ground countless times, his bones began to show through his mutilated body, and his plaintive cries would not cease. It was as though the sharp blades were intentionally avoiding striking any vital areas, as if they were slowly torturing him.

Slowly peeling him alive.

Xu Jins scalp tingled at the abysmal sight. She couldnt help but retch the contents in her stomach.

The skinless monsters, who had stampeded out of the corridor and out of the temple, hooted in excitement.

Eventually, the youths mournful screams stopped, and he fell directly onto the ground. All that was left behind of the youth was a skeleton with almost no remains of flesh.

The monsters rushed to his side and began gorging loudly. They devoured every piece of flesh and organ that had been stripped off the rookies bones thoroughly; there wasnt even a speck of blood in sight once they finished feasting on the youth.

After satisfying themselves, the monsters no longer paid any attention to the living beings inside the temple, and they soon dispersed, as though they were never there in the first place.

The mood inside the temple was indescribably dreadful and solemn. Not a single person spoke, and not a single person moved.

What just happened? At last, someone dumbly wondered. What the hell were those things

Meng Yu: Who knows.

Are we still able to leave? Xu Jin was trembling in fear. In a shrill voice, filled with horror, she asked, Will we end up dying if we try to go outside?

Probably not. Lin Qiushi murmured. We all agreed to meet the tour guide outside; not to mention, its almost time for her to arrive.

Were going to have to go outside? What if it rains again? Xu Jins heart wouldnt calm down. The mangled corpse at the doorway served to evoke fear in everyone who laid eyes on such a ghastly sight, causing their blood to run cold.

As Ive said, the door will not leave us at a dead end where we have no choice but to die. Meng Yu was unflustered by this; he calmly accepted the outcome of this situation, as though it was only natural. If everyone does the same thing, I can assure you one hundred percent that no one be met with any accidents.

Having heard what was said, Ruan Nanzhu chuckled lightly. Lin Qiushi asked him why he was laughing, but Ruan Nanzhu merely smiled and shook his head, This Meng Yu is quite an interesting fellow.

Lin Qiushi didnt not understand the meaning behind Ruan Nanzhus words, and he certainly couldnt understand why he would call the other interesting.

What do you think will happen if everyone made this same mistake as the other kid? Ruan Nanzhu posed a question in a low voice.

Wed all die? Lin Qiushi said. But didnt he say that its impossible for all of us to die?

Ruan Nanzhu: That is true. But the monster can just randomly kill whoever it wants. As long as one person is still left alive, they can do whatever they want to the others.

Lin Qiushi:

Ruan Nanzhu: Now, the question is, why is Meng Yu deliberately misleading everyone?

Lin Qiushi sank into a contemplative silence.

As the two talked amongst themselves, the tour guides clear voice echoed from outside. She cheerfully shouted, Gather around, gather around! Come out quickly, everyone! I will only wait for you all for five minutes.

Having heard the tour guides voice, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief. Believing that it was now fine to go outside, the crowd slowly walked out of the temple.

1 (xiojiji) Theres really no word in English that holds the same meaning Directly translated, it means little eldest sister/small older sister. People in China would normally call a cute, yet mature girl who looks young or who might be in the same generation as them by this; they use this when they see a young pretty woman, whose age is unknown or who they assume is slightly older, because it isnt as rude or offensive. On the other hand, just saying (xioji) is an insult thats equivalent to calling a woman prostitute and calling an older woman, who you would normally refer to as A Yi (Auntie), by jiejie (older sister) would result in your getting slapped.

2A Tibetan funeral practice where corpses are placed on a high area and left to be eaten by vultures and other scavengers. Heres a LINK.

Authors Comment:

Romance and gore is just something I randomly decided to write about. *Author coolly lights a cigar in honor of the vicissitudes of her life* Friends, lets try not to take every single detail of this novel to heart, because the novel is not really supposed to be taken too seriously.

Now then, Ill explain some of the rules of the doors in detail:

The doors are similar to an entrance exam that is divided into twelve levels, with each level increasing in difficultyLevel 1 being the easiest and Level 12 being the hardest, so to speak. Ruan Nanzhu passed his tenth exam so when he comes back to take the fifth exam (which is Cheng Qianlis door), it does not count. People can only skip doors when certain conditions have been met. They may be able to cross several doors, like how Lin Qiushi is able to do so by piggy-backing off of Cheng Qianlis door. Since Lin Qiushi basically freeloaded off of Cheng Qianlis door, Lin Qiushi directly skipped two levels (his third and fourth door) and jumped from his second door straight to his fifth door.

However, the first door for all rookies is special. This is what can be considered an aptitude test or something of the sort. The closer one is to their death, the more difficult the first door will be for them. For instance, if someone is going to die within the next few minutes, their first door may be the fifth door of another person, unlike someone who may die in a few months, whose first door may be someone elses third door. When the person survives their first door, the persons doors will also be recalculated from the start, because that person will no longer be dying immediately anymore (since passing their first door will have ultimately extended their life/time of death). In other words, the second door is technically the easiest door for everyone. Nevertheless, as a person passes through more doors, the difficulty will increase, regardless whether their life/time of death has been extended.

So, with the exception of newcomers, the people who have naturally entered their door would have passed approximately the same number of doors as the others in that same world. Meaning, most of those in the fifth door will more-or-less be on their fifth door, give or take a few doors. [Some of them might be like Lin Qiushi, skipping to his 5th door, some of them might be on their fourth door, or perhaps sixth door. But it is highly unlikely to see someone who is on their 10th door naturally entering a door with a level 2 difficulty.]

There are, of course, more exceptions and more rules and such, and whether someone else can come inside the doors with other objects and clues will be a spoiler, so we will just have to continue to read to see what happens and to understand more of these rules. Until then, however, I wont clarify or spoil anymore.

On a final note, Lin Qiushis liver cancer was actually in its advanced stages, but it changed into his early stages after he passed his first door.

Translators Comment:

The author said not to take everything in this novel seriously probably because of how sensitive, mature and controversial some parts in the novel were going to be (i.e. Sister Drum is surprisingly a rather controversial topic in Chinaand this is only the beginning of the third door). Remember, the author merely weaved a fantasy tale she thought of randomly; its not as though she herself truly holds the very same opinions or beliefs as every little thing she writes aboutotherwise, that would be quite concerning, to say the least.

That aside, she does explain the rules and address the readers confusion, based on the majority of confused and speculative comments she received at that time. Again, the rules of the doors will continue to be explained as the story progressesafter all, the author wont just give out all of the rules at the very beginning, especially since there are still over 10 doors left to go.

Additionally, Xixi has contacted me to say that she has new episodes for the KoD radio drama upplease be sure to thank her for her hard work!!!

Lastly, the last two volumes for KoD have been publishedmeaning all four are now available! Again, there are more extras in the hard copies (a total of 16-18 new extras not found on the web-version, which I will try my best to translate for you all). But aside from these new extras in the hard-copies, I will be translating all of the novel using the official VIP chapters of the web-novel, simply because many parts in the hard-copies have been edited and censored during publication. In any case, please do support the author if you can!