Chapter 58: The Fourth Person

Chapter 58: The Fourth Person

As Lin Qiushi rushed downstairs, the pale white arm that reached out from inside the hat followed after him. Upon seeing this, Lin Qiushi did not dare to stay any longer in this house and dashed straight outside.

The owner of the convenient store was puzzled upon seeing Lin Qiushi frantically running out of the building, and so he asked, confused, Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?

Lin Qiushi panted heavily as he pointed towards the inside of the building.

The shop owners expression was doubtful and wanted to check inside. Lin Qiushi took out his phone and typed a few words: [Is your son really your son?]

Startled, the shop owner asked, What do you mean by that?

Lin Qiushi told him the truth: [His head fell off.]

At that, the owner immediately turned to enter the house and Lin Qiushi was unable to stop him. But when the owner opened the door, Lin Qiushi was shocked to see that the boy whose head had fallen off just a few moments ago was sitting on the sofa playing with his toys. It was exactly the sight that had greeted Lin Qiushi when he had first entered the house.

What exactly happened? Seeing that his son was fine, the shop owner turned to ask Lin Qiushi, even more puzzled than before.

Lin Qiushi looked at the boy, then the shop owner, and shook his head. At the end, he left without saying anything. Lin Qiushi didnt know whether it was just his misconception or if it was because his mental state was overly sensitive, but the feeling of the boys gaze on his back did not cease, as if he was begrudgingly watching him leave.

After leaving the convenience store, Lin Qiushi visited the homes of the other children in town.

In this time, he met with some others from the group. They didnt seem to have a good impression of Lin Qiushi, the mute girl, and hadnt even bothered to greet him. Only a girl who seemed to have a gentle temperament stopped to exchange a few words with Lin Qiushi.

We werent able to see any of the children; they seemed to all have been hidden by their parents. The girls name seemed to be Dong Tianwei. Dont go, its useless.

Lin Qiushi was somewhat puzzled: [What do you mean by hidden?]

Dong Tianwei, It just means they were hidden. All the people in this town are very closed off. If their children disappear, the entire familys ruined. In addition, it seems that divorce isnt allowed in this town so they can only live in remorse for the rest of their lives.

Lin Qiushi was surprised before he remembered something: [Theyre not allowed divorce?]

Dong Tianwei, Thats right. Wheres that person whos always with you? Why isnt he accompanying you? Youre so frail, what if you run into something?

Lin Qiushi disregarded her questions: [Are there any exceptions?]

Dong Tianwei considered it for a moment, I dont think so? The two families I had visited were at each others throats and yet they havent shown any intentions of divorcing.

Lin Qiushi nodded and thanked Dong Tianwei before leaving.

Dong Tianwei watched him leave, as if wanting to say something but she ultimately stayed silent. Her companion spoke up, Why did you say so much to her?

Dong Tianwei sighed, Is it not a good thing, if one more person can survive?

Her male companion did not reply.

Lin Qiushi walked directly towards where Laurens had lived.

After arriving and ringing the doorbell, he met with Laurens father, a middle aged man with a foul temperament and reeked of the stench of alcohol.

What do you want? Laurens father asked witl ill manners.

Lin Qiushi: [I wanted to ask when exactly your daughter disappeared.]

The father didnt answer and fidgeted, Hmph. Isnt her missing person poster hung up in the plaza? Are you not able to go there and take a look for yourself and instead insist on coming over here to ask me?

Lin Qiushi: [I just wanted to see if I can understand more of the situation from you.]

After typing these words out, Lin Qiushi remembered that he was currently in the role of a young woman. He copied Ruan Nanzhus pitiful act, wondering if it would have an effect.

Surprisingly, the act worked wonders. Laurens fathers attitude softened, Around two days ago, I think

Lin Qiushi: [Where did she go missing?]

Laurens father, Should be at home.

Lin Qiushi could hear the uncertainty in his voice: [Are you sure she disappeared at home?]

Laurens father pondered over it and said, Im not. It was only a long time after did I discover that she had gone missing. Who knows when exactly she disappeared.

Lin Qiushi: [Then may I be presumptuous and ask, when will your wife be coming home?]

Unexpectedly, Laurens fathers attitude immediately turned malicious at the mention of his wife. In addition to not answering Lin Qiushis question, he cursed and slammed the door shut in his face.

Staring at the shut door, Lin Qiushi sank into contemplation. He arrived at a terrible hypothesis.

After walking around town all day, the sky had begun to darken. Lin Qiushi decided to return to the inn before making a decision.

On his way back to the inn, Lin Qiushi passed by the small plaza. The plaza was indeed not very large, all the shops around it were closed, leaving behind only a feeling of emptiness. The signboard with the missing persons poster in the middle of the plaza especially stood out in this vacant place.

Lin Qiushi walked to the signboard and carefully examined the missing persons posters.

There were now a total of four posters, three of them from before and one newly pasted from yesterday.

Lin Qiushi didnt know what he was thinking as he suddenly reached out his hand and removed one of the posters.

The poster hadnt been stuck to the board too firmly so it was easily removed. Carefully examining the poster in his hands, Lin Qiushi suddenly discovered something new he discovered that this poster was actually made of two layers.

Thats right. The poster was made of two sheets of paper stuck onto one another.

The two sheets were quite securely stuck onto one another. Lin Qiushi tried to separate them, but was only able to remove one corner. Frustrated, Lin Qiushi decided to remove all of those missing persons posters and stuffed them into his pockets before walking off as if nothing had happened.

Of course, as he took the posters down, he made a cursory look at each of the posters, and discovered that they were all double layered.

Having walked quickly back to the inn, Lin Qiushi saw Ruan Nanzhu sitting on the sofa on the first floor concierge, deep in thought.

Lin Qiushi arrived in front of him and tapped on his shoulders.

Ruan Nanzhu looked up, Youre back?

Lin Qiushi nodded and pointed upstairs.

Ruan Nanzhu smiled, Tired? Alright, lets go sleep together.

Those beside them looked at them with weird expressions.

Using his eyes to communicate, Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu: Can you not speak in a way that causes misunderstandings?

Ruan Nanzhu shamelessly pretended not to see.

The two of them returned to their rooms. Once the door was closed, Lin Qiushi could speak again. In a hurry, Lin Qiushi said, When I took a missing person poster from the plaza down to take a closer look, I found out that theyre double layered. Lets see if we can seperate them. With this, he took out the posters from his pocket.

Taking the posters from Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu suggested a solution, If we soak it with water, we should be able to separate it, but I dont know if the words would blur.

Lin Qiushi, Lets test it out with one of them first.

Lin Qiushi, Pretty well. He crawled out of bed and walked to the window. As expected, on the glass were countless small handprints. What he had seen the night before hadnt been something his brain made up.

After getting ready, the two left for the dining hall. Upon arriving, they found out that another person had gone missing.

The person who had gone missing this time was someone they were familiar with, Wang Tianxins female companion, the one who had been beguiled by him.

When Lin Qiushi had realized she had disappeared, Wang Tianxin was still leisurely eating breakfast. He took his phone out and began typing: [Wang Tianxins female companion is gone.]

Having read what Lin Qiushi had typed, Ruan Nanzhu stood up and walked in front of Wang Tianxin.

Wang Tianxin was startled at Ruan Nanzhus sudden appearance. He had been given quite a beating by Ruan Nanzhu, unable to fight back the entire time. Although he tried to act as if he was unperturbed, his tone and wildly moving eyes gave away his innermost feelings, What, what do you want?

Ruan Nanzhu looked down on him, voice cold, Where is your companion?

Wang Tianxin swallowed, feebly looking at Ruan Nanzhu. In a quiet voice, he said, He isnt enough? Such a terrifying master crossdresser was still not enough to satisfy you?

Lin Qiushi, who was off to the side, heard everything. His expression warped for a secondwhat the fuck do you mean by isnt enough.

Ruan Nanzhu, Are you asking me questions or am I asking you?

Wang Tianxin hurriedly answered, I dont know. She didnt come back yesterday.

Ruan Nanzhu, And you didnt say anything?

Wang Tianxin, Even if I said something itd be useless its obvious that shes gone. As if he was not satisfied with that answer, he quietly added, I told her not to go to the cannery but she didnt listen.

The cannery? At this keyword, Ruan Nanzhu frowned, She went to the cannery? When?

Wang Tianxin, She left in the morning and hadnt returned at any point in the day.

Ruan Nanzhu, I was also at the cannery, how come I didnt see her?

Wang Tianxin smiled dryly, How would I know maybe she took a different route? Now that was utter nonsense. The town was only so big and there was only one road leading to the cannery. Moreover, the cannery wasnt big enough so that two people would completely miss each other if they were in it. Unless, something had happened to her on her way there.

Ruan Nanzhu asked if there had been anything abnormal about her. Wang Tianxin thought about it for a moment before answering that the night before, she had stared outside the window for a long time, saying that there was the sound of a child crying.

Lin Qiushi thought of the child who had been stuck to his window last night.

But I didnt hear anything, Wang Tianxin said. I have a pretty good sense of hearing so she probably was too anxious and misheard something.

Lin Qiushi didnt think she misheard.

Ruan Nanzhu, Is there anything else?

Wang Tianxin shook his head, No.

Lin Qiushi stood up and walked over. Wang Tianxin grew more afraid watching him approaching. The way he forced his smile made him seem like he was on the verge of tears.

Lin Qiushi typed: [She only went to the cannery yesterday?]

I think so. Wang Tianxin immediately replied. Dong Tianwei, who had been sitting to the side, stood up and pointed at him, Hes lying! Yesterday, Liu Ya did not go to the cannery at all!

Liu Ya was Wang Tianxins companions name.

Wang Tianxin immediately tried to defend himself, I didnt lie! She really did tell me that she was going to the cannery!

Bullshit. We saw her when we went to speak to the other kids in this town. There was even a girl who was seventeen or eighteen with her, Dong Tianwei said. They were holding hands and seemed to have a good relationship! Dont tell me that you didnt know!

Wang Tianxin replied angrily, What are you going on about? I didnt know from the beginningIm only repeating what shed said to me. She clearly said that she wanted to go to the cannery, how would I know where shed gone after!

The two of them had begun fiercely arguing. From their resolute attitude, neither one of them seemed to be lying.

Liu Yas original destination had been the cannery, but on the way there, she ran into something else such as a strange girl.

Everytime Lin Qiushi thought of the son of the general store owner, he would shiver.

Lin Qiushi typed on his phone to ask: [So from which family was that girl?]

I dont know Im not very sensitive to the differences in western peoples faces. Dong Tianwei seemed a little embarrassed. But I remember her hairstyle, she wore her hair in a ponytail. She wore a pink dress and looked quite cute.

Lin Qiushi suddenly thought of something and took out the missing persons posters out of his pocket. He indeed found what he was looking for: the child who had gone missing on the fourth day, the photo of Laurens sister.

Dong Tianwei looked at the photo and revealed a stunned expression: Yes, thats her. She then saw the word Missing on the poster, She, shes one of the missing children? Then how did she appear again and was holding Liu Yas hand where did she want to take her?

Who knew? A child who didnt exist leading someone who did by the hand, where she wanted to take her, definitely wasnt a happy place.

Everyone became quiet at the sight of the photograph.

We suspect that there arent any children in this town at all, Ruan Nanzhu gave them some information. So if you see children, be careful.

The crowd erupted into discussion.

Also, dont randomly bring stuff back with you, Ruan Nanzhu added. It might be a death flag.

As Ruan Nanzhu spoke, Lin Qiushi glanced outside the window and immediately stood up. Not far from the dining hall, in the sparse woods, a slender figure appeared. The figure stood in the fog, and it was difficult to see it clearly. But vaguely, it appeared to be the silhouette of the slenderman.

It quietly stood there, as if watching them, as if guarding them.

It clearly did not have eyes, but Lin Qiushi felt as they were being observed.

He reached out and pulled at Ruan Nanzhus sleeve, signalling for him to look outside. But just as Ruan Nanzhu turned his head, that creature disappeared.

Whats wrong? Ruan Nanzhu asked Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi typed: [Just now, that creature had been standing outside watching us.]

Ruan Nanzhu: Just now?

Lin Qiushi nodded.

Ruan Nanzhu: Oh. Then let it watch. Under normal circumstances, its not like it can come inside. His tone was light, as if what had happened was a small matter, not important enough to mention. If it can, then it can be considered capable.

Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu and didnt speak.

The others werent as calm as Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu. As they looked outside, a suffocating fear emerged from their expressions.

Nobody knew that in the end, when exactly they would be able to leave this terrifying hell.

Translators Comment:

I just realized KoD is actually IdentityV.

Translated by Lori

Edited by Dust Bunny