It was a small village in the mountains, veiled by a shroud of lush and flourishing trees.

There was but a single path leading aid village. Because of the heavy downpour, the trail was particularly muddy; one had to be especially cautious when walking down this road.

As of this moment, Lin Qiushi and a tall young woman were plodding along this path. The lady seemed to be of mixed-race. Her eyebrows were rather thick and broad, quite beautiful, and she was incredibly tall, much taller than Lin Qiushi. Wearing a long, outdated dress and with deep eyes filled with tears, the girl lightly and spasmodically sobbed, then whispered, "Just where exactly is this place?"

Lin Qiushi inquired, "Where were you before?"

The young woman: "I was inside the bathroom of my house."

Lin Qiushi: "I was in the hallway of my home."

The young woman: "Hallway...?"

Lin Qiushi raised his head and looked up at the gloomy skies. "Did you happen to open a door?"

The young woman seemed to have recalled something; there was a subtle change in her expression. She said, "Yes."

Lin Qiushi glanced back at her. "Same here."

A gust of wind blew, and the heavy leaves at the treetops rustled with the breeze. The atmosphere around grew quieter. Light flurries suddenly floated down from the skies, as if urging them to hasten their pace; they had to reach the village encompassed by groves before dark.

In the course of conversation, Lin Qiushi learned that the girl's surname was Ruan. She was called Ruan Baijie.

Lin Qiushi was stunned for about three seconds after hearing her name, and then he falsely praised, "A good name."

Ruan Baijie glared at him with watery eyes and hissed, "All men are liars."

Lin Qiushi: "Eh?"

Ruan Baijie: "Don't think I've never seen that little porn book1."

Lin Qiushi: "..." It appeared as though this girl wasn't as weak or delicate as he'd imagined. While heading towards the village, the two individuals exchanged information and gathered that the other had also opened a door before suddenly arriving at this remote wilderness.

Ruan Baijie opened the door to the lavatory, while Lin Qiushi opened the door to his own hallway.

"The door was a black, iron door." Ruan Baijie's voice was soft. "There weren't any decorations. At the time, I was a bit puzzled, just how could a door like that suddenly appear at my house? I also didn't think much of it and casually pulled it open..."

The very next second after pulling the door open, they appeared at this desolate wilderness.

Lin Qiushi: "I also opened a black iron door..." He barely finished saying this, when he caught sight of a shadowy figure on the path ahead. The figure was quite tall, most likely a grown man.

"Big brother up front!!!" Lin Qiushi greeted loudly from afar.

Seemingly having heard Lin Qiushi's voice, the man paused his steps.

Lin Qiushi hurriedly ran forward, then reached out and tapped his shoulder. "Hello, would you please tell us where this place is?"

The man turned his head around, revealing a bearded face. At first glance, he practically resembled a bear with his hairy face and tall, robust build. "Are you new here?"

Lin Qiushi wondered, "New?"

The man didn't reply. He stared at Lin Qiushi then glanced behind him at the frightened Ruan Baijie. "Come. Let's go to the village, then I'll explain everything to the both of you."

Lin Qiushi hummed in agreement. Thereafter, the three people set off to the village.

The season seemed to be winter here; dusk descended very early. Before they came here, the setting sun was clearly still hanging in the sky, but in a blink of an eye, only dark clouds and falling snowflakes remained.

Lin Qiushi chatted with the man and observed the situation around. Apart from the village, this place had no other light sources. Surrounded by the sight of vast forests that extended to where the eye couldn't see, this empty road couldn't be any more vacant and abandoned.

Lin Qiushi took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the man. The man declined it with the wave of his hand.

"Big brother, where is this place?" Lin Qiushi asked.

The man spoke, "You can call me Xiong Qi2."

Lin Qiushi thought to himself that this man truly lived up to his name. He wanted to ask another question, but he then saw Xiong Qi make a 'stop' gesture. "Don't ask. You'll understand what's going on when we get to the village."

"Oh." Lin Qiushi uttered. "Okay."

The entire trip there, they stayed silent. The three people strived to hasten on with their journey. They finally arrived at the entrance of the village just before darkness completely enveloped the skies above.

Xiong Qi visibly relaxed. He cast a glance at the darkness behind him. "Okay, it's all good. Let's go. We'll meet them first."

New. Them. Lin Qiushi caught these keywords. Although he already had a bad gut feeling ever since he'd arrived here, at this very moment, that unpleasant feeling was becoming stronger, more intense. Ruan Baijie also seemed to have sensed something. She no longer wept. Her attractive face was as pale as death, and her eyes shone with panic.

Xiong Qi continued to advance forward, and he soon brought them to a small three-storey building beside the village head's house.

He stood still before the doorway and knocked on the door. From inside came the voice of a young girl, "Who?"

"It's me, Xiong Qi," responded Xiong Qi.

"Ah, it's big brother Xiong. Come in." The girl added, "We were waiting for you."

Xiong Qi pushed the door with his hand. A slight creak sounded, and afterwards, the scene behind the doorway was fully exposed. The door opened to a spacious living room. At present time, about a dozen people more or less sat in the living room. They encircled a raging fire, and they seemed to be discussing something right now.

"Newcomers?" Someone finally noticed Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie standing behind Xiong Qi.

"Newcomers." Xiong Qi slowly walked into the room and casually found a place to sit down. "Sit down. Xiao Ke, explain to them."

Xiao Ke was the girl who opened the door for Xiong Qi. She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, and her facial features were delicate and pretty. "You two can sit down, as well. I'll briefly describe the circumstances."

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie glanced at each other. The two people then sat near the door.

"In actuality, there's nothing much to say." Xiao Ke's attitude wasn't in the least cordial. "We need to stay in this village for a period of time and resolve a few problems. That's about it."

Lin Qiushi: "What problems?"

Xiao Ke replied, "We also don't know that for the time being. We have to visit the head of the village tomorrow..." She then asked, "Are either of you materialists?"

Lin Qiushi raised his hand and declared, "Me."

Xiao Ke hinted, "Then whatever you believe in ought to change."

Lin Qiushi: "...what do you mean?"

Xiao Ke explained, "What I mean to say is that supernatural events will take place here."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Everyone was completely indifferent to the arrival of the newcomers, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie. Not a single person, aside from Xiao Ke, took the initiative to greet them.

Before he entered the room, Lin Qiushi assumed they were discussing some things, but after sitting here for a while, Lin Qiushi discovered they never said a word. Several people just sat quietly in the living room, gazing at the flames before them in a daze; others were simply holding onto their mobile phones, playing games.

All cell phones had no signal here, so it was impossible to contact the outside world; however, it was still possible to play offline single-player games.

Lin Qiushi simply began to count. He counted a total of thirteen people in this room. Nine men and four women. From the looks of their faces alone, most of them were relatively young, the eldest amongst them shouldn't have been older than the age of forty.

The firewood for the blaze crackled. Ruan Baijie sat down for a while; she appeared to be getting somewhat sleepy. She looked all around and saw that no one had any intentions of leaving just yet. With a soft voice, she inquired, "That...sorry for the inconvenience, but may I ask if there's a room to sleep in? I'm a little tired."

Lin Qiushi wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but the moment Ruan Baijie asked this question, the atmosphere within this room seemed to freeze.

"Forget about it. We should also get some rest." Xiong Qi stood up. "Otherwise, we'll end up falling asleep in the living room. The rooms will be divided." He scrutinized Lin Qiushi. "You'll be together with her. Be careful at night. Don't go anywhere or roam around..."

Ruan Baijie inserted, "I'll be sharing with him? But..."

Xiong Qi heaved a sigh, "Are men and women any different? After you've spent the first night together, you'll realize those insignificant details don't matter here. A lost life, what difference does it make whether you're male or female?"

Ruan Baijie still wanted to refute, but upon seeing everyone's mood wasn't quite right, Ruan Baijie dropped the subject and agreed to share a room with Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi saw her anxious expression and couldn't help but comfort her, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you."

Ruan Baijie nodded.

Three floors, a total of nine rooms. But judging from their designs, they never planned for separate, single-occupancy rooms. At least two people lived in one room, and there were even some rooms that housed three people.

"Here you are." Xiong Qi stated. "See you tomorrow."

The crowd dispersed, leaving to go elsewhere. Before departing, Xiao Ke suddenly went to Lin Qiushi's side and softly advised, "Don't trust others too much; you might be able to live through this first night..."

Lin Qiushi had just opened his mouth, wanting to ask her questions, but she hastily left as if she didn't intend to stick around and speak any more to Lin Qiushi.

"Come on." Ruan Baijie voiced. "Let's go to sleep."

Lin Qiushi nodded.

Their room was on the far right side of the corridor on the second floor. There was only one bed in the room, and a character poster hung near the bedside.

There was no electricity here, so they had no choice but to light the kerosene lamp. Because the emitted light wasn't bright enough, the entire room presented a sort of old-fashioned hue. A faint moldy odor permeated the air.

Lin Qiushi had originally thought Ruan Baijie would be averse to the current conditions, but he didn't expect her to adapt even faster than himself. After quickly washing up, she immediately went for the bed and flopped down on it.

On the contrary, Lin Qiushi sat on the edge of the bed, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Sleep." Ruan Baijie had her head buried in the blankets, her voice was slightly muffled. "Aren't you tired?"

Lin Qiushi admitted, "A little tired."

"Yeah, today was honestly too strange." Ruan Baijie murmured. "I even suspected that you guys were invited to some program to prank people. However, for a prank to go this far and be as detailed as this..."

Lin Qiushi took off his coat and climbed into the bed in order to avoid arousing suspicion. Although he and Ruan Baijie shared one bed, there were two separate blankets for each. "Very strange."

Ruan Baijie mentioned, "And those people. Did you notice the expression in their eyes?"

Lin Qiushi answered, "They're afraid."

"That's right." Ruan Baijie agreed. "They're afraid... But what exactly are they so fearful of?"

Lin Qiushi pondered this for a moment. He was just about to speak, when he heard slight, even breaths coming from his side. He turned his head to the side and saw that Ruan Baijie had fallen into deep sleep.

Reclining on his back, Lin Qiushi rested his head against his pillow and stared at the ceiling above him. In the dim lighting, he sank into a trance, a deep meditative state. He truly admired Ruan Baijie. Suddenly appearing in a strange place, suddenly encountering numerous strange people, but, would you look at that! She merely had to close her eyes to slumber like the dead.

But as Lin Qiushi brooded over this, drowsiness gradually engulfed his thoughts. His eyes fluttered closed, and he eventually succumbed to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Lin Qiushi woke up with a start.

Lying on the bed, he detected a faint thud.

The noise seemed to had been generated from the biting winds blowing against the dilapidated windows. The slight creaking sounds that ensued made it seem as if someone was padding along the floorboards with bare feet; the planks underneath would dip down, unable support the overwhelming pressure.

Lin Qiushi opened his eyes only to see that the entire room had been plunged into a hazy darkness.

He didn't know when the snowfall outside had stopped. A huge moon hung high in the air. Its cool-colored light caressed the headboard of the bed, delicately spilling on the floor like gauze.

Lin Qiushi's line of sight steadily moved towards the edge of the bed, then he suddenly held his breath.

Near the head of the bed was the figure of a woman. The woman sat on the bedside, her back was facing Lin Qiushi. Her long, black hair cascaded down past her shoulders, obscuring her form. She seemed to have perceived Lin Qiushi's awakening, and she slowly cocked her head to one side.

This scene was exactly like one out of a horror film; it caused Lin Qiushi's entire body to stiffen for a moment. Fortunately, his courage was comparatively large. He clenched his teeth and directly sat up, hurling abuse at the other, "Fuck this shit! Who the hell are you!!! What the hell do you think you're doing, coming into my room!!!"

The woman moved ever so slightly. Soon after, the sound of her voice was heard, "What's your name? It's me."

It was Ruan Baijie's voice.

Lin Qiushi was relieved, and he lightened his tone. He said, "It's late. What are you doing not sleeping but sitting at the bedside instead."

"Did you see the well in front of the house?" Ruan Baijie questioned. "The one in the courtyard?"

Lin Qiushi repeated, "Well? What well?" He was ready to climb up from the bed, but he inadvertently glanced to his right. This one glimpse made his blood freeze instantly-Ruan Baijie was still sleeping on the right; she had never moved a single muscle since the start.

"That well." The woman responded with a voice that sounded exactly like Ruan Baijie's. "Let's go and check it out."

Lin Qiushi: "...

The woman: "Why won't you reply?"

Lin Qiushi: "I was just awarded 'Outstanding Party Cadre' last month."

The woman: "..."

Lin Qiushi: "I am a staunch materialist."

The woman:'

Lin Qiushi: "Therefore, you should switch targets and find someone else to scare, alright?"

The woman slowly twisted her head around. Through the moonlight, Lin Qiushi managed to catch sight of her face. It was a face that was difficult to describe with mere words. It was deathly pale and quite bloated. Her eyeballs nearly popped out of her eye sockets. Her appearance was, in simpler terms, freakish. With that familiar voice, she asked, "Are you not afraid of me?"

Lin Qiushi remained silent for three seconds. He then bowed his head and looked down at his bedding. "Don't be like that. I only brought one pair of pants with me here."

The woman:"...."

Lin Qiushi wiped his face. "If you scare me again, I'll seriously piss myself." After he finished saying this, he began to slap Ruan Baijie who was still sleeping next to him. He cried out loud, "Quick! Get up!"

Ruan Baijie abruptly woke up from Lin Qiushi's slaps. Completely bewildered, she rubbed her eyes, then wondered, "Why on earth should I?" As soon as she opened her eyes wide, she noticed that a woman was sitting near the bedside. "And who is this, ah? Lin Qiushi, so instead of going to sleep at night, you went god-knows-where to find yourself a woman to bring back, huh? You're just too shameless! Tell me, where in the world do I not compare to her?!"

Lin Qiushi: .." That's what you focus on, huh?

Ruan Baijie cursed lowly a few times before sensing something was amiss. Her lovely eyes grew wider, rounder, those two black pupils dilated. "What's up with her neck, it's growing longer and longer..."

Lin Qiushi took another glance back and discovered the woman had already stood up from the bed. Her head was crooked to one side and her neck became longer by the second, practically resembling a mutated snake.

The two individuals regarded this scene with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. At last, Lin Qiushi couldn't stand it. He shouted, "Run like the fucking wind!" Immediately after, he rose from his spot, grabbed Ruan Baijie's hand and dashed madly to the door.

In the end, Ruan Baijie, who was feeble and delicate during the day, ran even faster than Lin Qiushi. Quicker than a gust of wind, they disappeared out the door.

Lin Qiushi: "Can't you fucking run slowly!"

Ruan Baijie: "I'll be dead if I run any fucking slower-"

Lin Qiushi: "..." Hah, woman.

The two people were like rabbits, fleeing all the way to the first floor. After determining that thing didn't follow them all the way down here, they sagged their shoulders in relief. Ruan Baijie miserably wailed more than anyone else, and she even ran faster than dogs. By the time Lin Qiushi gasped for breath, her eyes were glistening with tears; she was ready for round two of bawling.

"Don't cry. Don't cry." Lin Qiushi coaxed. "What'd you whisper to provoke that thing?"

Ruan Baijie: "I can't believe you're thinking about other people, you don't even care about me."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Perhaps Lin Qiushi's expression showed that he was all but repulsed, but, in any case, Ruan Baijie somehow stifled her sobs. She weakly sat down on the wooden stool located on the first floor and gently wiped the corners of her moist eyes.

As of this moment, they were situated in the living room on the first floor. The entire room was deserted. Just now, there was such a massive disturbance, yet not a single person came out to enjoy the chaotic scene; as a matter of fact, no other sounds could be heard whatsoever, including the others' breathing.

Lin Qiushi stood in place for a while and hesitated. "What should we do now?" He and Ruan Baijie had little to no experience with matters like these. They didn't know what to do, they had absolutely no idea how to deal with this. And so, they just stood in this living room like two wooden posts.

"It snowed outside." Ruan Baijie suddenly remarked, slowly walking to the door and taking a peek at the courtyard.

"It snowed in the middle of the night." Lin Qiushi stood in the doorway and gazed at the thin layer of snow that covered the courtyard. He also spotted the well the female ghost mentioned about. Indeed, it was just as she said; there was a well in the middle of the courtyard. The well's location was somewhat abrupt. Of all places, it was positioned at the very center of the courtyard, and it even happened to obstruct the entrance. In terms of feng shui, this was emphatically neither proper nor a good thing.

"There is a stone at the entrance. I've no words to say." Ruan Baijie suddenly added, "That well is quite wonderfully built, ah." She chuckled; her appearance as the corners of her eyes curved was exceptionally stunning.

"What?" Lin Qiushi said. "You also understand feng shui?"

Ruan Baijie replied, "I do this at home, learned a bit." She glanced at him obliquely. "What do you do?"

Lin Qiushi: "I design..."

Ruan Baijie: "Oh, you're not bald yet. You haven't done this for long, have you?"

Lin Qiushi: "..." You really know how to talk.

"What do you suppose I do?" Ruan Baijie flipped her hair.

Lin Qiushi: "Modeling?" He seldom saw such a tall girl as Ruan Baijie. Tall and straight in stature, good temperament; except for her nonexistent chest, it seemed that she had no other shortcomings.

"Not at all." Ruan Baijie beamed brightly and continued, "I am a fortune teller."

Lin Qiushi stared blankly.

"Allow me to calculate." Ruan Baijie instantly reckoned on the spot, "Today's moon is particularly round and full. I sense that a death shall take place."

Lin Qiushi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What kind of logic is that, ah? How is a very round full moon supposed to predict a death?"

Ruan Baijie paid no heed to Lin Qiushi. She strolled towards the courtyard and beckoned Lin Qiushi. Lin Qiushi's heart jumped out of his chest at her actions. "Why on earth are you going there? It's so late..."

Ruan Baijie answered, "I wanted to take a look at this well."

"Take a look at it tomorrow during the day. It's too dangerous to check it out right now." Although Lin Qiushi said this, he was so worried about Ruan Baijie being outside that he followed her to the courtyard.

Dressed in a long, white gown and taking lithe steps forward, Ruan Baijie resembled a graceful snow fairy. She leisurely approached the top of the well, but she never reached it. Rather, she waited until Lin Qiushi also came over.

Lin Qiushi asked, "What's wrong?"

Ruan Baijie said, "Nothing. I suddenly feel like I don't want to see it anymore. Let's head back."

Lin Qiushi was utterly baffled. "Why do we have to go back?"

"It's too cold." Ruan Baijie complained. "I'm going to freeze." Upon saying this, Ruan Baijie naturally took ahold of Lin Qiushi's arm then forcefully hauled him back into the room.

Lin Qiushi was dragged back by Ruan Baijie. He found that her strength was more than extraordinary, and he temporarily couldn't break free.

"Ruan Baijie?" Lin Qiushi was frightened by Ruan Baijie's mighty strength.

Ruan Baijie loosened her tight grip. "Go on. Too cold, ah. Must hurry back, also can sleep for a while..." She finished what she wanted to say, and with that, she once again didn't bother with Lin Qiushi. Minding her own business, she went upstairs and returned to the room.

Without any better options, Lin Qiushi followed behind her and also returned to their room on the second floor. Fortunately, that previously-seen creepy woman had disappeared. However, the windows were left ajar, and the shuddering, wintry winds poured into the room.

Ruan Baijie went directly to bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Lin Qiushi, on the other hand, couldn't fall asleep, so he rekindled the kerosene lamp and stayed up the entire night. The night here was endless and dreadful, the winds outside howled non-stop, and located inside this room was sleeping beauty. Ruan Baijie and a man she'd just met were sleeping on the same bed, yet she wasn't in the least guarded against him. Her breaths were soft and even, and a faint blush painted her fair cheeks pink; this scene looked undeniably tempting.

Lin Qiushi gazed at her for a long time before removing his eyes. Although he wasn't a gentleman, he certainly wasn't a vile scoundrel who took advantage of someone in a precarious position.

The next day, at approximately 8 o'clock, hints of dawn emerged, the shadows of the sun peeked over the sky's horizon.

The skies resumed snowing overnight, and the grounds outside were already blanketed in pure white snow.

Ruan Baijie groaned then opened her eyes. She first extended her arms, but immediately afterwards, she retracted them. "It's so cold, ah..."

Lin Qiushi saw her like this and thought in his mind, you certainly didn't seem to say so last night.

"Qiushi." Ruan Baijie started. "You go and help me find two pieces of clothes. I'm only wearing this dress...it's too cold."

Lin Qiushi agreed and said 'fine'. But, in reality, he planned to find two more clothes that he could wear, thickening and warming only himself. After all, in his own, original world, it was still a blistering, hot summer.

**

1- There is a Chinese porn novel that goes by the name, "Bai Jie" or "White and Pure". In other words, Baijie's given name is the name of a porn novel, hence Lin Qiushi's shock and false praise and all.

2- His name is literally BEHR (Paint) as in, the corporation. If you didn't know, there is a bear on the front of their products, and Xiong Qi also resembles a bear.

Once dawn came, the horrors of last night dissipated.

Lin Qiushi was walking down the corridor of the second floor to go to downstairs when he heard some hushed whispers and scuffling noises coming from the third floor. It appeared that several people were having a conversation. He didn't intend to go and take a look, but no sooner, he heard the anguished wailing of a woman. This sorrowful cry was full of grief and heartbreak, as if this woman had encountered something terribly tragic.

Lin Qiushi hesitated for a moment before turning around to follow the staircase to the third floor in order to check out what happened upstairs.

This building was entirely constructed out wood. The planks on the staircase were somewhat aged; they would suddenly creak and groan the moment one stepped on them. There were also some places that would tremble slightly, as if these boards could hardly support the weight of the human body.

Lin Qiushi arrived at the third floor and saw quite a few people standing in the corridor. However, what specifically caught his attention was the potent stench of blood in the air.

This sanguinary odor was so strong that it stung people's noses. A feeling that was all but reassuring grew inside Lin Qiushi. He gently took a couple of steps forward, cautiously walking over to stand behind their backs.

"I knew it." Xiong Qi, the large man who had greeted Lin Qiushi yesterday, spoke in a low, grave voice; he was in the middle of discussing something with the others. "Sure enough, something went wrong yesterday..."

Xiao Ke also joined in on the conversation; she added, "I also felt it, but I thought it'd be..." At this point, she turned around and glanced at Lin Qiushi who stood near her back. "Forget it."

Lin Qiushi thought, what do you mean by this? Who'd you think it'd be? Don't tell me you thought it would be Ruan Baijie and me? He raised his eyes and looked at the door behind Xiao Ke.

The door was ajar, and there were splatters of blood on the floor. Because the weather was freezing, the blood had already congealed; however, one could still see that a massive amount of blood had been split.

"What happened?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"Death happened." Xiong Qi's voice was extremely dull.

Lin Qiushi: "...Death?" If it were yesterday, he probably would've felt incredulous after hearing these people casually mention such a thing with a flat, insipid tone, as if the matter had nothing to do with them. But after experiencing yesterday's events, he clearly realized that common sense couldn't be used to explain the world he was in right now.

"Yeah," grunted Xiong Qi.

Lin Qiushi shifted around, changing his angle, and cast another glimpse at the door. At this one glance, he involuntarily sucked in a cool, startled breath. Coagulated blood caked the entire room. Two corpses were messily strewn across the floor. The degree of goriness and mutilation was beyond grotesque, to the point that one completely couldn't recognize the original bodies. Rather than saying they were human beings, it was more accurate to say they were merely two chucks of skinless meat. Blood trickled along the room, flowing all the way down to the floors outside. From the walls to the floorboards, there was hardly a single place on this third floor that was clean.

Although Lin Qiushi was mentally prepared, he was still revolted by the scene. He covered his mouth tightly and whirled around. Xiao Ke was surprisingly very understanding, and she indicated, "There's a toilet in the next room."

Without delay, Lin Qiushi rushed to the toilet and began vomiting his guts out.

While waiting for him to finish vomiting, Xiao Ke remarked, "I didn't expect you to throw up."

Lin Qiushi: "Hah?"

Xiao Ke faintly stated, "You and Ruan Baijie are already the best rookies there are. Generally, the circumstances of the first door for newcomers are especially bad, and the survival rate is no more than 20%."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Xiao Ke suggested, "Let's go downstairs and have some breakfast."

Lin Qiushi interrupted, "Are we just going to ignore the two corpses?"

A strange expression flitted across Xiao Ke's face the moment she heard this. "You want to do something about them?"

Lin Qiushi had nothing to say. As he followed the people downstairs, he suddenly recalled something. Puzzled, he wondered, "Hold on. When I was on the second floor, I heard a woman crying on the third floor..." He regarded the scene and determined that the only girl amongst the few people here was Xiao Ke. He looked at her unperturbed appearance; she didn't seem like someone who would wail.

"A woman crying?" repeated Xiao Ke. "We didn't hear anything. You must've heard wrong."

Lin Qiushi: "...I see."

Breakfast on the first floor was ready to be served; a piping hot meal was arranged on the table. The cooks were apparently regular villagers, they appeared no different from ordinary civilians.

After he ate his breakfast, Lin Qiushi borrowed several thick clothes from them then inquired about the village.

"There's nothing in our village." The villagers didn't seem to give any useful information. "Just a few tourists that come to visit every winter."

Lin Qiushi: "Oh... And what about your daily necessities?"

The villagers answered, "We go outside to buy them. Although the mountain road isn't easy to travel by, there's always a way. But if it snows, there absolutely no way to leave. The mountain road would be completely sealed off, and you'd have no choice but to stay here all winter."

Lin Qiushi contemplated for a moment, then he suddenly asked, "Are all the wells in your village situated in the middle of the courtyards?"

Lin Qiushi didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the very moment he posed this question, the villagers' faces seemed to have become tenser, more strained. However, they didn't offer any other particular information; they merely nodded their heads, agreed with a 'yes', then turned on their heels and walked away.

Lin Qiushi mused on this, but he still had no clue as to what was going on, so he simply decided to hand the clothes to Ruan Baijie first, then speak with the others again later.

When he entered the room, Ruan Baijie was sprawled across on the bed, playing with her cellphone. She saw him come into the room, and she softly humphed, "You're so slow."

Lin Qiushi laid out the borrowed clothes on the bed. "Get up. There's breakfast on the first floor."

Ruan Baijie hummed.

Lin Qiushi added, "I'll be waiting for you outside."

"Wait!" Ruan Baijie abruptly cried, "What's that on the top of your head?"

"What?" Lin Qiushi was utterly confused.

Ruan Baijie rose from the bed and beckoned him towards her; Lin Qiushi approached her.

"It's red all over..." Ruan Baijie reached out and touched Lin Qiushi's head with her flawless hand; she then turned her palm over. "What is this?"

A bad feeling engulfed his heart the instant he caught sight of that stuff on Ruan Baijie's hand, for what was on Ruan Baijie's hand uncannily resembled frozen blood.

"I'll take a look at it." Lin Qiushi hurriedly darted to the bathroom. Sure enough, it was as Ruan Baijie said. He observed that his hair was full of fragments of crushed ice and slush. The slush was dark crimson and occasionally hidden by his hair, so he didn't even notice it at the time. He also didn't know when this stuff got on his head.

"Fucking hell." Lin Qiushi cursed under his breath as he wiped his head with a towel. Yet, rubbing his hair wasn't good enough. The more he rubbed, the ghastlier and more shocking the sight became. The warm towel was practically dyed red, but his hair still wasn't as close to clean.

Now wearing thick clothes, Ruan Baijie strolled over to him and awfully bluntly commented, "Well, it's a good thing that stuff's not green."

Lin Qiushi: "...Have you ever seen green blood?"

Ruan Baijie: "That's blood?"

Lin Qiushi sighed and briefly mentioned that something happened on the third floor. Upon hearing news of two deaths, Ruan Baijie once again began to weep delicately and whispered, "Brother Lin, I'm so scared. Will we be the next ones to die?"

In the end, which person's heart could bear witnessing a beautiful girl cry so miserably like this

Lin Qiushi stepped forward to comfort her, and Ruan Baijie was also prepared to lay her head on his shoulder, but all of a sudden, she wondered, "Brother Lin, how tall are you?"

Lin Qiushi: "...180 centimeters1."

"Oh." Ruan Baijie uttered. "You're shorter than me."

Lin Qiushi: "..." You've been wronged, ah.

Lin Qiushi swiveled back around and continued washing off his hair; while doing so, he pondered over where the blood could've come from. At last, he arrived at a very frightening conjecture...it couldn't possibly be that it dripped down...from the ceiling of the third floor, right?

"I want to go to the third floor to check it out a bit." Lin Qiushi declared. "You just head on to the first floor and get yourself something to eat."

"Going alone?" Ruan Baijie said. "Let's go together."

"You're not afraid?" Lin Qiushi was in doubt. Just moments ago, this tearful Ruan Baijie was clearly weeping.

"Are you not going to be with me?" Ruan Baijie tucked her silky black hair behind her ear and smiled gently. "With you here, what's there to be afraid of?"

Lin Qiushi gave it some thought. That's right, ah. All in all, if we take last night into consideration, you can certainly run faster than I can.

Thereafter, the two individuals headed down the corridor and went to the third floor.

As before, the area was covered in blood, and the corpses that hadn't been taken care of were still laying around. But as of this moment, Lin Qiushi's attention was fixed to the ceiling above. He lifted his head and, just as expected, streaks of blood were spotted on the ceiling. It's just that these traces caused people to feel extremely unsettled; it seemed as though something had attached itself to the ceiling and slowly slithered away. Since a good while had passed, the bloodstains on the ceiling froze, but the stains created from the blood dripping to the floor were vaguely visible.

Upon seeing this scene, Lin Qiushi's scalp tingled. He honestly didn't want to think of what was stuck to the ceiling when he first appeared on the third floor...moreover, to think that none of them managed to discover it from the beginning to the end.

Ruan Baijie gazed at the ceiling for a long time.

Eventually, Lin Qiushi asked her what she was staring at.

"I'm staring at the ceiling," replied Ruan Baijie, "What else am I supposed to see besides this? A starry sky? Dreams?"

Lin Qiushi:

Her courage was also quite great. After eyeing the ceiling for a while, she strode over to study the mangled corpses. The entire time, she never showed any signs of discomfort; in fact, she even appeared rather excited.

Right then, Lin Qiushi looked at her suspiciously and questioned, "Are you not scared?" In an instant, she seemed to have remembered something, and, as usual, she began wailing like a child.

Line Qiushi: "... Stop with that crying. Do you still want to eat breakfast?"

"Eat eat eat!" Ruan Baijie exclaimed. "I'm hungry."

The two individuals went downstairs; they saw that everyone had finished eating breakfast and seemed to be waiting for them.

"Where were you guys?" Xiong Qi asked. "We were waiting for you."

Facing the crowd's scrutiny, Ruan Baijie wasn't at all nervous. She gracefully sat her body down at the table and picked up her bowl of breakfast to eat.

Lin Qiushi, on the other hand, didn't have Ruan Baijie's thick skin. He quickly explained that he had blood in his hair, and he also mentioned that they noticed some strange marks on the ceiling of the third floor.

After hearing this, everyone's complexion didn't look too well; some of them even reflexively raised their heads and glanced upwards at the ceiling.

In the midst of their conversation about the people who died last night and those weird traces on the third floor, a middle-aged man above the age of forty entered through the door. Donning a green military coat and carrying an oil lamp in his hand, the man ambled into the hall.

"Hello." The man started. "I am the head of this village. Are you the ones I requested for help?"

The moment he opened his mouth, everyone in the room fell silent.

"The day is chilly. Our village wishes to build coffins in preparation for the coming year." With a hoarse voice, the man continued, "I entrust you all with the task of helping the carpenter."

No one responded to the village chief, and it seemed that the village chief also didn't expect to receive any replies from them.

Once he finished speaking, he coughed a few times, then raised the oil lamp, lightly swinging it back and forth as he strolled out of the room. Although the snowfall had stopped, the wind unceasingly roared. At first, the eerie sounds generated by the fierce winds striking the door and rustling the treetops resembled the mournful shrieks of humans.

"Begin." Xiong Qi softly announced.

As soon as his words came down, a gust of wind blew, slamming the ajar door to the wall; at once, a deafening bang resounded, and the wooden door that looked fairly solid was directly smashed into pieces.

The entire room turned quiet. Eventually, Xiong Qi was the first to speak again. "We should build a coffin."

"How could this be! Why did this happen!!" An ear-piercing cry echoed from somewhere within this room. Lin Qiushi turned his head and swept his eyes around only to realize it was actually one of the men in this group who was having a mental breakdown. "This was actually such a difficult world -how can we even survive; who's even able to build a coffin; we'll die, we're all going to die here-"

Xiong Qi seemed accustomed to seeing such scenes; there wasn't the slightest change in his expression.

The man, who had emotionally collapsed, snarled and flung everything on the table to the ground. Tears and snot streaked his face. "Thirteen people came in, two people died on the first day...I've never encountered this level of difficulty before!!!"

"Good!" Xiong Qi impatiently roared. "Is crying going to stop you from dying? Venting all your emotions like this, you think you're still a newcomer?! Just take a look at the potential of these rookies!"

Lin Qiushi was utterly bewildered because, at this sentence, the man directed a vicious glare towards him; Lin Qiushi thought to himself, to think possessing outstanding mental aptitude turned out to be his own fault, ah!

However, it wasn't strange that this man had a nervous breakdown. This was completely different from the phenomena of the ordinary world, there were numerous harbingers of terror, all sorts of horrifying omens; it was awfully difficult to keep calm in such circumstances.

"Now then, let's first discuss what exactly we have to do."

Xiong Qi specified. "The village chief said to build coffins. This is definitely the key."

Lin Qiushi: "Pardon me, what are you referring to when you say 'key'?"

Xiong Qi glanced at him. "It's something used to open the doors. After we enter, we need to search for a key according to the clues given to us by the characters inside. After that, we have to search for an iron door, and then, we can leave this place."

Lin Qiushi: "Is there a time limit?"

Xiong Qi chuckled grimly, "Of course. It's before you die."

So it turned out to be like this. Lin Qiushi's heart was relieved, at least there was still a way to leave. What he truly feared the most were unsolvable horrors, the ones that a person couldn't escape from, the ones that a person couldn't leave behind, the ones that were doomed to futility regardless whatever one did.

"The hint is the coffin." Xiong Qi observed the weather outside. "Let's first seek the village's carpenter and inquire about the situation."

"Fine." Xiao Ke spoke. "I'll go with you."

Lin Qiushi raised his hand. "I also wish to go."

Xiong Qi nodded indifferently, "Okay." Unwittingly, he had become the leader of this team. He ordered, "You guys inspect the building and see if there are any other useful clues."

At this moment, Ruan Baijie came forward, gently tugged on Lin Qiushi's sleeves, and whispered, "I'm scared. I want to be with you."

This girl was indeed quite tall, and she certainly didn't give off the feeling of a feeble, helpless, innocent little bird who constantly relied on others, and yet, her good looks really made people feel some pity for her. In the end, Lin Qiushi was touched, and he nodded. "Fine. However, I can't guarantee your safety or protection."

Ruan Baijie beamed. "It doesn't matter." She flipped her hair. "I'm at ease whenever I'm with you."

Lin Qiushi thought, girl, you're seriously a tease.

Thereupon, the four took advantage of the young night and hurriedly departed.

On the road, Lin Qiushi asked Xiong Qi about a few details pertaining to these worlds; he learned that, in general circumstances, ghosts here didn't indiscriminately kill people. However, there were exceptions. If a problematic world was encountered, the ghosts would have no restrictions; whenever they wanted to do something, they would immediately set off to do so. In such cases, there was, without doubt, an extremely slim chance of surviving.

"For what reason do these worlds exist?" Lin Qiushi put forth the question that he was most curious about.

Xiong Qi heard this question and looked at him deeply. "You'll know the answer when you get out alive."

Lin Qiushi: "... Oh."

They figured out the address of the carpenter from the villagers. It was rather difficult to travel by these snow-covered roads; passing through took more than an hour.

In the passing, Lin Qiushi regarded the circumstances of the village.

The village wasn't large; it was surrounded by dense thickets. At normal times, it was fine, but currently, the snow practically cut off the path to leave. There weren't many people living in this village; occasionally, two to three people would be spotted walking along the roadside. It was reasonable to say that encountering foreigners at this place was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. But, judging from the villagers' expressions, they didn't seem the least bit surprised or curious about Lin Qiushi and the others' arrival.

The carpenter's house was located east of the village. From outside, they could make out the faint glow of a lit kerosene lamp.

Xiong Qi knocked on the door. After a moment, a little old man appeared from behind the door. He was between sixty to seventy years of age; his face was layered in wrinkles, his hair was thinning, and he had incomparably cloudy eyes. Wearing a shabby, grey cotton-padded jacket, he grumbled, "Is something the matter?"

"It's too cold outside. May we speak inside?" Xiong Qi asked.

The old man didn't reply; he simply turned and stepped aside from the doorway.

The four individuals outside entered through the door in a single file line.

The house was rather small; the entire place was in a complete mess. Lin Qiushi surveyed the area and noticed the window was broken; the man coarsely nailed a few planks to the window frame to cover up the hole, easily keeping out the wind.

"Elder, we were requested by the village head to build a coffin." Xiong Qi began. "But we do not understand this very well. We heard that you're a famous carpenter in the village. Would you please give me some advice?"

The old man looked coldly at Xiong Qi. "In order to build a coffin, you first cut down a tree, chop the wood, deliver the wood to me, go to the temple to pay your respects, then you're ready to start."

Xiong Qi caught this hint. "Go to the temple and pay respects?"

The old man gave a brisk nod. "There is an ancient temple next to this village. Building coffins is bad karma, so we must first go to the temple and pray, pray, pray, pray."

An indescribable feeling of unease and discomfort rose from listening to him repeatedly stress the phrase 'pray'.

"And after we finish praying?" Xiong Qi inquired.

The old man didn't utter a word.

Xiong Qi: "Elder?"

The old man still didn't respond.

Under Xiong Qi's incessant questioning, the old man finally grinned; his grin was particularly sinister under the dim light of the small blaze. He lowered his voice and hissed, "Wait for when you're still alive, then come and ask me again."

Xiong Qi's complexion instantly turned ashen.

Ruan Baijie wasn't in the least polite, and she scoffed, "Ah, just stop that, old man. Today's extremely cold. What should we do if you end up dying before we complete the task?"

The old man sneered, "This old man's tough."

Ruan Baijie: "From what I see, the only thing that's going to get tough is your life."

Old man:"...."

The others:"...."

Lin Qiushi thought to himself, just where on earth did you learn something like this, ah? Do you truly have no issues with attacking NPCs? Generally, most people would feel a bit scared or timid if they encountered a terrible person. However, judging from the way Ruan Baijie rolled her eyes so hard, she completely didn't find there to be any problems.

"Okay, okay." Lin Qiushi chimed in. "Since he doesn't want to say anything, don't force him..."

Ruan Baijie retorted, "Can't force? If we're the first to feel helpless, then we'd have to accept it. Then again, what if he's the first to feel helpless?" The girl rolled up her sleeves as she said this; her eyes roamed around the room before finally stopping on a wooden stick that was as thick as one's arm.

Lin Qiushi cursed like hell in his heart. He just knew it, she seriously planned to use violence, ah. This was a motherfucking world of horrors, yet it was still totally fine to beat up NPCs?

Who would've imagined that Ruan Baijie didn't even need to pick up the stick before the petrified old man flusteredly yelled, "After you pray, fill up the well, then the coffin will be ready!"

Ruan Baijie: "Wah wah wah, Qiushi, he glared at me~"

Lin Qiushi: "..." The look you had in your eyes just moments ago was scarier than his glare by far.

Xiong Qi apparently didn't realize they could do something like this; he and Xiao Ke were in a daze for a while. When they first entered the world, they were always polite for fear of offending someone. No one could've known that Ruan Baijie would be completely out of line; nonetheless, because of that, they easily obtained an answer-even if this answer wasn't necessarily correct.

When they came out of the carpenter's house, Xiong Qi, who was in a complex mood, hesitantly requested for Ruan Baijie's name.

Looking as lovely and pitiful as ever, Ruan Baijie replied, "My surname is Ruan. My full name is Ruan Baijie. But, elder brother, you can just call me Jiejie."

Xiong Qi addressed her as Jiejie, but he always felt that there was something inexplicably and unbelievably odd with it. In the end he just called her Baijie as Lin Qiushi did.

Nearly a whole day had passed since they arrived here, and only now did Xiong Qi learn Ruan Baijie's name. He saw yesterday's tearful Ruan Baijie wailing like a helpless heroine, and he immediately assumed Ruan Baijie wouldn't be able to survive in this world for long. As a result, he didn't even bother asking for her name.

However, after Ruan Baijie's outstanding performance, Xiong Qi felt that this girl wasn't as soft or delicate as she appeared.

"Weren't you afraid?" Xiong Qi asked her.

Ruan Baijie's answer was impressive, and it won everyone over. She responded, "Afraid? What's there to be afraid of? It's understandable if you're afraid of ghosts, but even if you're afraid, it's too bad; there's nothing you can do about it. But this person was a vital NPC. If he really died, we'd only be left with inadequate information, and if that happens, how are we supposed to survive in the end?"

The three people were stunned speechless, but they actually felt she was utterly reasonable.

In any case, they obtained some vital information from the carpenter. With everyone's minds now at peace, they decided to head off and return home to discuss this with everyone else.

Although it was daytime, the sky was shrouded by dense, dark clouds. It stopped snowing, but the shrill howls of the chilling winds lingered. Wearing that long, white dress and two thick cotton jackets on top, Ruan Baijie followed behind Lin Qiushi. Her dainty and fragile frame seemed as if it would be blown away by the winds at any given time.

Lin Qiushi's heart couldn't bear to watch any longer. He extended his arm and pulled on her, allowing her to walk in front of him while taking her place and blocking the wind behind.

Ruan Baijie was moved to tears. She slowly blinked her beautiful eyes and murmured to Lin Qiushi, "You're so kind."

Lin Qiushi: "It's common courtesy."

Ruan Baijie: "Are you this nice to everyone?"

Lin Qiushi: "...You think I'd do something like this for Xiong Qi?" He joked, "It's only because you look good."

Xiong Qi who was walking up ahead: "I heard that, ah."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Baijie exposed a thoughtful expression. "So it's fine as long as they're good-looking?"

Lin Qiushi thought she was merely kidding around, and he said, "Of course, must also be tall."

Ruan Baijie: "Hmm..."

Author's Comments:

Ruan Baijie: Wah wah wah!

Lin Qiushi: Stop with that wailing. You always remind me of this one thing

Ruan Baijie: What?

Lin Qiushi: The eagle catches the little chicks.

Ruan Baijie: Oh, then are you a chick?

Lin Qiushi: ...

**

1O riginal: 1 meter 8 or 1.80 meter. Equivalence: 180 centimeters or approximately 5'11" (feet and inches). In other words, LQ actually isn't that short. It's just that RB is taller...

2嘎嘎嘎-Yingyingying (onomatopoeia). 'Cute' sobbing of little girls and/or boys that apparently makes people's hearts clench. 'Ying' by itself is a bird's call/cry (to look for a companion), or it could just be as before, soft weeping.

3损阴德

Persisting through the bitter winds and snowfall, the four marched along the boundless path. They somehow didn't 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 didn't 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 hadn't 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? That's 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. "There's blood everywhere..."

Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke glanced at each other, they knew they wouldn't be able to get any useful information from these people's 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 amiss -the 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 wasn't 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 Qiushi's 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. We'll start living on the second floor from today."

"Okay." Xiao Ke hummed. "I'll 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 out-but 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, "I'll go with you."

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

Lin Qiushi: "I'll see if there are any. If there are, I'll fix you a bowl."

"Good." Ruan Baijie's 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 didn't 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 don't 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 don't think everyone on our team is human."

Lin Qiushi's 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 weren't teammates; rather, they were those things."

Lin Qiushi wondered, "Why do you believe in me? What if I'm also one of those things?"

Xiong Qi glanced at him. "You don't seem like it."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Xiong Qi continued, "Moreover, those guys certainly don't act like people who've experienced these kinds of stuff several times. They panic too easily and they're too scared, way more than you."

Lin Qiushi felt a bit embarrassed at his acknowledgment. "To be honest, I'm 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.

"It's useless thinking so much. Just try your best at getting out alive." Xiong Qi mockingly chuckled to himself. "Although, I personally believe this world's 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 couldn't 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 didn't 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 haven't eaten enough?"

"I've eaten." Just when these words fell, her stomach growled loudly.

Lin Qiushi: "...Eat. I'll go get something else."

Ruan Baijie: "It's fine, it's fine."

Lin Qiushi: "Is it really?" He decided to continue eating, but then, he noticed Ruan Baijie's large doe eyes grow wider. Her appearance was honestly too cute that Lin Qiushi couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you eat this. I'm good."

"Fine." This time, Ruan Baijie wasn't so polite.

After downing two bowls of warm noodles, the chilliness from walking outside finally disappeared. As he ate, Xiong Qi briefed everyone on the information they'd obtained from the elderly carpenter. Of course, he didn't let them know of everything and kept the final hint about filling the well to himself.

"Is the key inside the coffin?" There were still a few relatively calm people on the team, and amongst them was a man named Zhang Zishuang. "Since the most crucial hint lies with the coffin, I feel as though there's a huge possibility that this'll be the case..."

"Hah, I hope so." Xiong Qi exhaled. "I plan to go to the mountains tomorrow morning to chop down some trees. All of the men will come with me, and the women can also follow along if they'd like. If you can't stand the cold, then you can stay hidden in the house, but if something happens in the house, we won't be able to help you."

After the discussion was over, everyone agreed to Xiong Qi's proposal. Although there were some who thought it was dangerous to climb the mountain in this stormy weather, the most dangerous thing in this world wasn't actually the weather, but rather, those filthy things that appeared at the most unpredictable times. Building the coffin as early as possible in order to leave this place was, obviously, the best course of action.

Time passed, and the skies grew dark once again.

Once night fell, everyone brushed and washed straight-away; they also had absolutely no thoughts of doing anything else, so they simply retired to their own rooms early. Lin Qiushi asked why everyone couldn't just gather together, and Xiong Qi answered, "Because if we all just hang out together, we'll all end up falling asleep at a certain time."

"What do you mean?" Lin Qiushi was a bit perplexed. "Are

you saying that everyone will fall asleep?"

"Yeah." Xiong Qi explained. "It might just be one of the

mechanisms of this world, but as long as the number of

people in one room exceeds a certain value, everyone

will fall asleep at a set time. And when that time comes, regardless what happens, there's nothing that can be done about it."

"Then wouldn't that leave us with no choice but to die without putting up a fight1?" Lin Qiushi frowned.

"As a matter of fact, those things also can't kill as they please." Xiong Qi said. "They need specific requirements in order to kill people. The more problematic the world beyond the door is, the broader the conditions get, and some conditions are quite...difficult to understand."

Lin Qiushi: "For instance?"

Xiong Qi: "For instance, they're only allowed to slaughter people wearing shoes on their feet."

Lin Qiushi: "He silently glanced down at his shoes.

Xiong Qi saw his action and guffawed. "I'm only giving you an example. If one of the requirements of this world was to kill people who aren't wearing shoes, then you'd die if you take off your shoes. Besides, there isn't only one requirement; numerous requirements may be superimposed, endlessly stacked together. So, in summation, it's actually safer to just sleep from night 'til dawn." At this statement, he paused. "Of course, the precondition is that you must be able to fall asleep."

Because of Xiong Qi's words, Lin Qiushi recalled the events that occurred the previous night. He shot a glance towards his side at the unconcerned Ruan Baijie who was clutching a fistful of melon seeds in her hand, casually cracking them. He'd always suspected that he and Death had a brief encounter with each other last night.

It seemed that if he wasn't careful enough, he would soon become one of the two ice-cold corpses on the third floor.

"Go to bed," uttered Xiong Qi. "Good night."

Lin Qiushi nodded. "Good night." He called out to Ruan Baijie and told her they should both go to sleep.

Ruan Baijie yawned and nonchalantly placed the remaining melon seeds on the table. She rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm so tired. Let's go to bed early today."

Lin Qiushi: "Good. We'll sleep early."

The third floor was entirely useless because of yesterday's events, so everyone who had stayed there relocated to the second floor.

As before, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie slept on the same bed. This time, he was prepared, and he decided to lock the windows first. He intended to tug on the window curtains, but these curtains seemed as though they hadn't been used in quite some time; no matter how forcefully he pulled, they just wouldn't budge.

Ruan Baijie, who was dressed in her pajamas and was sprawled on top of the beddings, wriggled and whined, "Qiushi, it's so cold, ah."

Lin Qiushi was still in the process of scrutinizing the curtains. He didn't turn his head around after hearing her complaint. "Wear more clothes if you're cold."

Ruan Baijie: "...You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

Lin Qiushi was utterly baffled. "Girlfriend? Why do I need a girlfriend?"

Ruan Baijie fell silent. By the time Lin Qiushi drew the curtains and turned around to go back, she was lying stiffly on the bed like a dead fish.

Lin Qiushi simply couldn't understand her. "What is wrong with you?"

Ruan Baijie's voice was ever so soft as she crooned, "You...you don't have anything you want to say to me?"

Lin Qiushi sank into contemplation. He gazed at Ruan Baijie's beautiful face, and he finally had an epiphany. He declared, "I actually do."

Delighted, Ruan Baijie exposed a pleased smile. "What do you want to say?"

Lin Qiushi: "That, there is one thing... If we encounter another ghost today, can you run slower?"

Ruan Baijie's face grew indifferent. "Hell no."

Lin Qiushi was furious. "Then why the fuck would you ask me what I want to say?! Go to sleep!"

Thus, each person returned to their own side. They found their own blankets, and with their backs turned to each other, they started getting ready to sleep.

According to Xiong Qi, the best way to get through the night was to sleep quietly and peacefully. However, Lin Qiushi's mind was filled with countless thoughts, and he wasn't at all able to fall asleep at the time. Behind him, Ruan Baijie was snoring like a pig; the very moment she closed her eyes, she fell asleep. Lin Qiushi was so infuriated that his teeth hurt from grinding them too hard.

As the night grew deeper, the temperature dropped even more. Fortunately, the blanket was thick, and a warm, living person was slumbering at his back, so it wasn't exceedingly intolerable.

Lin Qiushi closed his eyes and sorted through the clues he got during the day. His consciousness gradually began to blur, and he wasn't far from dozing off. But just when he was about to drift off into deep sleep, he perceived a strange, vague noise. Contrarily to yesterday's knocks, this noise came from the ceiling above them. It sounded as if something viscid and heavy was sluggishly dragging itself across the roof of the third floor. Lin Qiushi's sense of hearing was exceptionally acute, and his drowsiness instantly vanished. His breath hitched, and he cautiously opened his eyes, slowly peeking up at the ceiling.

There was nothing, only aged wood.

Nonetheless, a penetrating chill soon assailed Lin Qiushi's body, for Lin Qiushi clearly heard the movements stop directly above his head.

"Thump, thump." The vibrations from the slimy tapping sounds stimulated his eardrums, and the sounds of knocking steadily increased, becoming louder and louder, causing all the hairs on Lin Qiushi's body to stand up. He clenched his teeth and was about to sit up, but just then, a hand reached out from beside him and grabbed his waist.

"What are you doing?" It was Ruan Baijie's lethargic voice.

"Did you hear that weird noise?" Lin Qiushi lowered his voice. "From the roof?"

"Noise? What noise." Ruan Baijie mumbled, "I didn't hear anything. Stop moving, I'm freezing." She gently puffed air into his ear, her wispy breath carried the scent of ice and snow.

"You..." Lin Qiushi still wanted to say something, but he then felt Ruan Baijie draw him towards herself and cling onto him tightly.

"Sleep." Ruan Baijie ordered.

Lin Qiushi had no choice but to close his eyes.

Ruan Baijie softly hooked her fingers around Lin Qiushi's waist and soothingly caressed it. Her actions were probably ambiguous and questionable, but at this moment, her actions were only relaxing, comforting.

The drumming sounds above continued, but Lin Qiushi wasn't as frightened as before. Once again, sleepiness descended on him, and he succumbed to it at last.

The following morning.

Lin Qiushi woke up in Ruan Baijie's embrace.

Ruan Baijie stretched out her arms and gathered his entire body even closer into her embrace; her chin rested on the top of his head. She was faintly tempered after being awakened, and she lazily grumbled, "Stop causing trouble. Sleep a while longer."

Lin Qiushi: "What the fuck.

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 money's 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. Don't 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, it's 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 didn't hear any extra noises. Lin Qiushi tentatively questioned whether they heard any signs of activity from upstairs, but the others' answers were consistent-the night was extremely quiet; there were no other sounds except for the wind outside.

"After we finish eating, we'll 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, it'll only get colder by the minute; if not all, there weren't 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: "I'll give it to you at noon. It's too late right now."

Ruan Baijie: "That's not what you said in bed last night."

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

Lin Qiushi didn't know whether to cry or laugh. "Okay, stop that right now. I truly thank you for last night. I'll cook you some noodles at noon, and I'll even fry two more eggs for you."

"Fine." Ruan Baijie compromised. "Oh, and it'd be even nicer if there were some chopped green onions."

It's 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 wasn't 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 weren't 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: "I've seen people chop trees down."

Lin Qiushi uttered, "Oh."

Ruan Baijie added, "Be careful, okay. Don't hurt yourself."

Lin Qiushi nodded his head and continued hacking at the tree with his axe. This was even more troublesome than they'd 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. "Let's go. We'll carry this tree back and continue with this tomorrow."

Although it was only three o'clock 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 aren't 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 Baijie's expression, but he couldn't make out anything else from her delicate and pitiful appearance. However, his sensitive nose sniffed a hint; his keen intuition told him that Ruan Baijie's sudden, inexplicable request wasn't as simple as he'd imagined.

**

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

2-人家—A 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'.