Chapter 52: Leaving

Chapter 52: Leaving

They are both group photos of Class 2; Sachiko wasnt in one of them, while Ko Shinobu and his friend are not in the other. The rest of the people in the class seemed to be standing in the very same places, but if one were to observe clearly, they could tell that these people were wearing very different expressions. Xia Rubei found a very scary discovery after looking at it: Is this photo taken with the same people in the same place?

Yes. Li Dongyuan said, Its definitely not Photoshopped in one way or the other.

So why did Sachiko leave this photo behind? Xia Rubei didnt dare to touch this photo as if it could scorch her; she quickly put it down, II still dont understand

Though, judging by Ruan Nanzhu and the other peoples expressions, it seemed that she was the only one who didnt know what was going on.

Xia Rubei gave Li Dongyuan a look that begged for help, but Li Dongyuan only responded with a pitiful pat to her head: Dont be in a hurry. In a while, you will understand.

Xia Rubei: Are you treating me like your pet?

Lin Qiushi understood why Sachiko had left behind this photo. He looked at these two photos and lightly sighed.

Bullying was something that happened in most schools, only, they havent gone so far to take someones life. Some teachers were not willing to handle such matters, but they never thought that leaving them be would only worsen the situation.

Lets go. Ruan Nanzhu looked at the time, Its almost lunchtime. We can go ahead and stop them.

Li Dongyuan agreed and rose to his feet. Lets go.

Ko Shinobus home was just next to the school. He would leave the school to have lunch at home. They found a hidden place near the schools gates and waited for Ko Shinobus arrival, but somehow, Ko Shinobu never showed up. Instead, it was that friend of his who did.

Having inquired about him before, Lin Qiushi and the others knew this persons name was Mougai. He was once in the same class with Ko Shinobu, but had gone to separate classes after the accident happened.

Mougai was more muscular in build than Ko Shinobu, and looked as if he was more hot-tempered. He said: Why are you people looking for me? I dont know anything!

Let us find a quiet place to talk. Li Dongyuan said, After all, you wouldnt want someone else to hear what we will be talking about.

Just as Mougai was about to retaliate, Ruan Nanzhu took out a group photo and waved it in front of him. His expression changed drastically upon seeing it and stopped before he agreed to Lin Qiushi and the others suggestions.

And so, the group of people walked to the little hidden forest behind the schools building. Mougai was wearing a very ugly expression while suppressing a dense sense of fear.

Ruan Nanzhu went straight to the point. You people are the ones who killed Satchan, is it?

Mougai jumped, but after a while, he angrily said: What are you talking about? I dont understand what you are talking about. She obviously died from an accident

Accident? How did she get into an accident? Ruan Nanzhu said, Arent you and Ko Shinobu

He still wanted to say something, but Li Dongyuan made a stopping gesture. He looked at Ruan Nanzhu: Mind giving me a second?

Ruan Nanzhu: Five minutes?

Li Dongyuan: Can be done.

Ruan Nanzhu reached out to take Lin Qiushis hand and both of them turned around to leave.

Lin Qiushi felt strange as he was taken away by Ruan Nanzhu, Why?

Ruan Nanzhu: Let us go. Give Li Dongyuan five minutes and he will take care of this person.

Lin Qiushi found it hard to believe. Does he really know how to hypnotise?

Ruan Nanzhu: Have you forgotten that you almost let him hypnotise you yesterday? Its not strange for the Leader of White Deer to possess their own special skills.

Both of them were outside, giving Li Dongyuan who was in the little forest a bit of time. By the end of the day, they were still competitors outside the door. Its nothing extraordinary that Li Dongyuan refused to let them see his trump card.

Five minutes was neither a brief nor long amount of time to wait. Once they return to the little forest, Li Dongyuan has already gotten his answer.

Repeat that one more time. Li Dongyuan commanded.

Presently, Mougai was not in an ordinary state. His gaze looked distant like he had lost all his consciousness and was numbly repeating what hed said just now: It was Ko Shinobu and me who killed Satchan. During that time, in order to bully her we wanted to push her onto the trash can, but we mistakenly pushed her to the centre of the road. A car drove past and broke her leg

Li Dongyuan: Could you people have saved her back then?

Mougais expression twitched a little, as if he wanted to struggle free, but failed, and honestly confessed the scenery that Lin Qiushi had heard the night before. Yes, we could have saved, but we did not. We left. Ko Shinobu pulled me away. He said we would be imprisoned for doing these sorts of things. I dont want to be imprisoned

After listening to Mougais words, Lin Qiushi grew a little angry.

It should have been a cold winter on that day; if Mougai and Ko Shinobu had called the ambulance on time, Satchan might not have to die. But they hadnt and had chosen to escape in cowardice. Satchan, who had lost a leg, could only be abandoned in the wintry cold night as she died amid despair and loneliness.

This is going too far.. Lin Qiushi furrowed his brows.

Li Dongyuan lightly snorted. The worser parts are coming. He looked at Mougai, So be it if shes dead. Why did your class compose that song that mocked her?

Speaking of the song, Mougai shivered, the fearful look on him even more obvious than before. His lips quivered, and said slowly: This This wasnt originally my intention. It was them who wanted to do this. Ko Shinobu and I wanted to stop them, but we failed.

Have you sung it? Finally, Ruan Nanzhu asked the most important question.

Mougai slowly shook his head. No. Ko Shinobu and I didnt sing. We didnt dare didnt dare to

They were, after all, the murderers who killed Satchan. How would they have no concerns about singing that strange song? Other than them, everyone else in class sang, and so, they all died.

These two were originally murderers who should be paying with their lives, but their fear of the song has allowed them to escape death.

After Li Dongyuan finished listening to the entire story, came his gentle smile. He slowly fished out a booklet from his pocket, then passed it to Mougai, Come on, you know this, surely?

Mougai looked at the words on the booklet as his forehead began to sweat. The fearful look on his face intensified as if there was something he wanted to say. Yet, Li Dongyuans whisper rang into his ears: You wanted to sing it, to begin with, so why are you so afraid? There is no need to be afraid. Its very safe here, and so, you can reassuringly, just sing it.

Mougais throat rolled, his lips parted, as he sang that song: Satchans name is actually Sachiko. But shes called herself Satchan ever since she was little. Oh, how funny! Satchan really loves bananas. But she can only eat half of her favourite bananas. Oh, how pitiful! Satchan has left for a faraway place. And shell soon forget about me. Oh, how lonely, Satchan!...

Following his singing, Lin Qiushi heard the ground shake beneath their feet. He said: Take a few steps back. Something is under our legs!

My leg is gone, so wont you give me yours? The last words made rolled out from his mouth, and from the ground, a countless number of pale-white arms reached out to tightly grab Mougais legs.

Lin Qiushi originally thought that these arms would pull him into the soil, but Sachiko had unknowingly appeared.

She was sprawling in the depths of the forest, crawling slowly towards Mougai with both her arms, and then, she caught Mougais leg

Mougai woke up from Li Dongyuans hypnosis and saw everything that happened in front of him. He let out a piercingly sharp cry as his expressions all twisted in frightful agony: Satchan, Im sorryIm sorryForgive me, Satchan

Satchan cracked a smile. She cocked her head to the side, grab Mougais left leg as she fiercely pulled.

Ka-cha! Mougais left leg fell to the ground.

Aahhhhh!!! Mougai cried in pain.

How painful, Satchan, how painful Satchan was bathing in fresh blood as she gave a satisfied smile. She said: Satchan, how painful, payback to Satchan with your leg, why dont you?

Mougais body slumped down weakly after losing a large amount of blood. Satchan hugged that leg, her eyes filled with paradise. She hadnt looked into the direction of Lin Qiushi and the others; reaching out with a hand, she pointed at a certain direction, then made a gesture that signified the number one.

After that, everything disappeared. Mougai, who died, was pulled into the ground. Other than that puddle of blood, nothing else could prove that he had once existed.

Ugh This was the first time Xia Rubei had seen such a bloody sight. She couldnt help vomiting as she supported herself on a tree trunk, while the other three still retained calm expressions.

While Xia Rubei was vomiting, Ruan Nanzhu used the chance to take out that photo Satchan had left for them. He took a look at it before passing it to Lin Qiushi.

As Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi rambled among themselves, Satchan appeared once again.

She stood next to Ko Shinobus corpse and said nothing, as well as did nothing.

Lin Qiushi thought that she looked a little disappointed. She wasnt to blame; the person she wanted so much to kill, had committed suicide on his own in the end. It must have made her feel a little bit defeated.

Ko Shinobus corpse then began to disappear, just like Mougais had, pulled into the soil with a pair of hands.

Ruan Nanzhu then fished out that photo from his bag again and could see that on the photo, someone else had been added. It was Ko Shinobu with a stiff expression, standing right next to Satchan.

And Satchans smile had become even brighter.

This photo had finally gathered all of the Class 2 students, a whole thirty-four, and not even one less.

Just as they were looking at the photo, it suddenly ignited into flames. Ruan Nanzhu was afraid of being burned, so he let go and as the photo fell to the ground, Lin Qiushi could hear the clear resounding clank of metal.

The others too seem to have heard it. Ruan Nanzhu bent down and picked up a familiar-looking key from the pile of ash. He raised a brow: This Satchan is indeed an honest person who kept their word.

Lin Qiushi: person?

Ruan Nanzhu: Alright then, an honest ghost.

Lin Qiushi:

They found the door, as well as the key; finally, they could leave.

The four of them ran towards the old dormitory, no longer wishing to stay here any longer.

Xia Rubei asked on the journey: What about the others? Should we tell them that the door is opened?

There is no need. Li Dongyuan said, If they continue to investigate, they would surely realize the door in the old dormitory. Moreover, there is nothing strange guarding the door in this world.

Lin Qiushi recalled all the times when they came out. Every time they opened the door, some creature would be guarding it. He wouldnt have known whether those people could successfully come out. However, when they were running out, they had no time to think about how the others were doingthey have already expended all their energy trying to save their own lives.

This time, Ruan Nanzhu didnt unlock the door. He gave the key to Li Dongyuan.

Li Dongyuan said: You can do it, Rubei.

Xia Rubei nodded her head as she raised the key, impatient to open the iron door in front of her.

There was a click and the iron door opened, revealing the bright-white tunnel behind it. At the same time, a piece of paper fell onto the ground. Xia Rubei immediately picked it up and rushed into the tunnel.

Li Dongyuan faintly smiled. Mengmeng, see you again.

Ruan Nanzhu looked at him expressionlessly, saying nothing.

Li Dongyuan wasnt mad about it. He retained his smile as he walked into the door in front of him. Ruan Nanzhu reached out at Lin Qiushi with a hand: Let us go.

Lin Qiushi nodded his head and took Ruan Nanzhus hand, then both of them entered the tunnel together.

A warm light dispersed the sinister air inside the door. Passing through the tunnel, Lin Qiushi completed the transition from one world to the other.

He came back, from the scary world inside the door, to the bright and sunlit bungalow. The sight ofToast and Chestnut running inside the room once again greeted his eyes.

Lin Qiushi sat on top of the sofa and brought the water in front of him to his lips.

Cheng Qianli came down from upstairs. He saw Lin Qiushi and said: Youre back?

Yup. Lin Qiushi answered.

Was it successful? Cheng Qianli asked.

It was. Lin Qiushi answered, Is Nanzhu upstairs?

Cheng Qianli nodded his head.

After spending a few days inside the door, it had only been ten minutes outside of it. Lin Qiushi rested for a while on the sofa only then he went upstairs to look for Ruan Nanzhu.

He knocked on the door and realized that the door wasnt locked. It opened with a light push.

Nanzhu? After pushing through the door, Lin Qiushi took a step into the room and froze on the spot. Ruan Nanzhu had taken off his clothes, while a blouse was placed next to him. He was changing his clothes bare-bodied.

Lin Qiushis expression suddenly turned awkward. He turned around to leave before Ruan Nanzhu slowly spoke: We are both men, so why are you freaking out?

Lin Qiushi: Oh! Only then he realized. Thats right. Both Ruan Nanzhu and him were men. There was nothing to be shy about. However, although things were said in this way, he still found it difficult to put it past him, just like feeling that Zhu Meng from inside the door and Ruan Nanzhu who was outside hadnt completely transitioned. As if looking at Ruan Nanzhu, he would recall that smile of Zhu Mengs against his will.

As he thought and thought, Lin Qiushis face turned beet red.

Am I really that good-looking? Ruan Nanzhu put on his clothes properly and turned around to see Lin Qiushis expression, Even your face has turned red.

Lin Qiushi: No. I He didnt know how to explain within such a brief time.

Ruan Nanzhu: No? Then am I not good-looking? He walked towards Lin Qiushi, imposing his domineering air that came with a figure almost 1.9 meters tall.

Lin Qiushi had even taken a few steps backwards, forcibly stomaching the sight. This is not what I meant. I was just a little unused to it.

O. Ruan Nanzhu calmly answered, then asked a question: Then do you prefer Zhu Meng, or me?

Lin Qiushi: Arent you both the same person? What nonsense of a question are you asking about?

Ruan Nanzhu: Hm?

Lin Qiushis will to continue living told him the answer. He forced his heart back in, that had practically jumped out, and answered in a completely calm manner: Of course, its big brother Ruan.

Only then Ruan Nanzhu revealed a light and faint smile. As Lin Qiushi watched his smile, he lets out a breath of relief.

Authors Comment:

Lin Qiushi: This is the first time seeing someone who gets jealous of himself

Ruan Nanzhu: Hmph, you cannot like Zhu Meng anyways.

Lin Qiushi:

Actually, everyone has their own complicated side. As long as they didnt do anything extremely, they couldnt be judged whether theyre good or bad. Li Dongyuan is such a person. He has his own standing of doing good deeds but also knows how to pit people. He didnt just only like Zhu Meng, but it was also mixed with a lot of benefits and other things.

From this point of view, Ruan Nanzhu and Li Dongyuan are actually quite alike.

Translators Comment:

Dust Bunny here. Taida will be busy for a few weeks to focus on her studies, so it will mainly be me who updates during these weeks. Wish her all the best in her studies, everyone!!

Additionally, it seems like there will be a manhua for KoD soon and it seems like an announcement will be made on 1st October OvO!!

Translated & Edited by Dust Bunny