CHAPTER 9: THE HEARTS OF OTHERS

Lin Qiushi had heard cries of agony before, but the plaintive screams that assailed his ears tonight sounded rather different, somewhat peculiar. The yells were accompanied by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, followed by booming roars of fury and lurid profanity. He could even hear someone scrambling through the corridor. Miserable cries for help flew from the person's mouth.

"Ahh! Save me! Help! Someone's trying to kill me! Save me" The voice was a bit familiar. Lin Qiushi recognized it and determined that it belonged to one of the girls on the team. She screamed at the top of her lungs, her hoarse voice made it seem as though she had exhausted all of her strength.

Lin Qiushi wasn't sure if the voice was real or if it was merely his imagination. His breathing became increasingly chaotic as those screams grew louder and louder, nearer and nearer.

"Help" The one who was shrieking seemed to have reached the second floor. She frantically ran down the corridor and relentlessly banged on every single door in this hallway. "Someone wants to kill me! Save me! I ask of you to open the door!! Please, I beg of you, open the door-"

Alas, her pleas went unanswered, for there wasn't the slightest sound of a door opening. Everyone seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep; they just couldn't hear these ear-piercing cries for help.

Lin Qiushi remained on his bed. He never stirred from his spot until the person seeking help finally arrived at his door.

"Help! Help me!" bawled the young woman as she wildly slammed her palms against the door. "Please open this door! He's crazy, he wants to kill me! I beg of you, please, I beg of you I don't want to die! I beg of you, please save me!!!"

Lin Qiushi slowly sat up from the bed, but he didn't move after that. He solemnly contemplated whether he should open the door.

Ruan Baijie, who should've been sleeping soundly at his side, softly whispered, "Do you wish to save her?"

Lin Qiushi responded with a question of his own. "Can I save her?"

Ruan Baijie blinked a couple of times. After a moment of silence, she replied, "If you'd like to."

Lin Qiushi felt that there was a big possibility the voice outside belonged to a human. Seeing that Ruan Baijie didn't intend to stop him, he swiftly shot up from the bed and bolted to the door. Clenching his teeth hard, he unlocked it then pulled it open.

This door opened up to a gruesome scene that nearly startled him out of his wits. The young woman who called for help was drenched in blood from head to toe. She wailed as she clutched her wounded arm with her other hand. Upon seeing Lin Qiushi open the door, she hysterically threw herself onto him. "Help- s-s-save me!"

Lin Qiushi asked, "What happened?"

"He wants to kill me!" The girl cried loudly. "He wants to kill me!!!"

Lin Qiushi shifted back, stepping aside to allow her into the room. "Who wants to kill you?"

The girl revealed, "Cheng Wen!"

This name barely left an impression on Lin Qiushi. It appeared to be the name of one of the males in this group. He still wanted to ask more questions, but he then heard a sharp noise coming from the stairway; it was the sound of an object smashing against the door. Situated between the first floor and the second floor was a shabby wooden door that would normally be closed when it was time for everyone to go to bed. It was most likely this door that saved the life of the girl before him.

Lin Qiushi quickly motioned for her to come into the room then casually locked the door behind him.

Spasmodic sobs wracked the young woman's body, and she trembled violently. Pure terror was prevalent in her wide eyes.

Judging from the loud crash that sounded from outside, the wooden door between the first two floors finally collapsed, unable to withstand the intensity of the constant barrage of attacks. Heavy, urgent footsteps echoed down the corridor outside their room. This man, who was called Cheng Wen according to the young woman, was evidently searching for her. Cheng Wen shouted,

"Where'd you run off to-hurry up and hand Wang Xiaoyi over, right now! Don't let her enter your rooms!"

Fear-stricken, Wang Xiaoyi whimpered as quietly as possible.

Ruan Baijie also got out of bed. In the face of such a disturbance, she actually took all the time in the world. She wasn't in the least anxious or pressed, and she slowly, exasperatingly slowly, tidied her hair.

Cheng Wen's footsteps stopped right outside of Lin Qiushi's room. The bloodstains on the corridor abruptly ended where Lin Qiushi's doorway began, this trace couldn't be any more obvious. He immediately found Wang Xiaoyi's location.

"Open the door!!! Lin Qiushi!!!" Cheng Wen thundered. "Wang Xiaoyi's in your room, isn't she!!"

Lin Qiushi didn't say a word.

Affectedly sweet, Ruan Baijie opened her mouth and said, "It's so late. What are you causing such a commotion for?"

Cheng Wen urged, "Hurry up and hand her over to me-she isn't human!! Don't be fooled by her!!!"

Lin Qiushi: "Whatever do you mean?"

Cheng Wen seemed very jittery. Filled with impatience and agitation, he stressed, "She seriously isn't human! You have to believe me-"

Having heard what was said, Wang Xiaoyi cried back, "You're the one that's not human! Cheng Wen, I can't believe you want to use this excuse to kill me! You think that if you kill me, you can still go on living, huh?!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Wen's tone suddenly grew vicious and dark. He snarled, "Wang Xiaoyi, stop fucking around. You're that monster hidden amongst us, I've already discovered your secret!!! Get out of there!" After saying this, he began pounding the door ferociously and cursing relentlessly; he didn't look as if he would stop.

The door was rather worn out, and the strength of an adult male wasn't something to joke about. If he truly insisted on knocking this door down, this door probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Standing near the doorway, Lin Qiushi reproached him. "Let's say you do kill Wang Xiaoyi and end up getting out of here alive, but you'll also be a murderer!"

Cheng Wen spat, "Lin Qiushi, just mind your own goddamn business!"

Lividly gnashing his teeth, Lin Qiushi roared, "I'm the one in fucking charge today! Come in if you dare! Don't worry, I, your father, won't kill you!" Immediately after directing his wrath towards person outside, Lin Qiushi rolled up his sleeves. Huffing angrily, he began searching the room for any tool he could use as a weapon.

Cheng Wen also sensed Lin Qiushi's rage; he gradually stopped banging on the door. At last, he gruffly said, "Lin Qiushi. I'll be the one to play the role of the villain today. Get her out, this instant. As long as that person dies, we can all return home."

Lin Qiushi: "Keep dreaming."

Cheng Wen: "You-"

Lin Qiushi cut him off, "Leave. I won't let you kill her."

A deathly stillness hung in the air for a moment, but, no sooner, the sound of retreating footsteps was heard. Lin Qiushi honestly didn't expect Cheng Wen to give up so easily. He was stunned in place for a while, then he turned to Wang Xiaoyi and announced, "He's gone."

Once again, Wang Xiaoyi burst into tears.

It was the middle of the night, yet the three people within this room didn't get much sleep. While Lin Qiushi treated Wang Xiaoyi's wound, Ruan Baijie sat near the windowsill, silently gazing outside.

Lin Qiushi asked her what she was staring at, and Ruan Baijie answered, "I'm looking at the well outside."

"Is it that good-looking?" Lin Qiushi didn't have a good impression of that awful well.

Ruan Baijie warmly replied, "It's a sight for sore eyes. The more I stare at it, the better it looks. I think I want to go to that well in the end."

Lin Qiushi stated, "I will not let you go to that well." He slowly cleaned up the blood on the floor and earnestly said, "And if you want to go, I'll be the first to go."

Ruan Baijie chuckled and remarked, "You truly are an interesting fellow."

Wang Xiaoyi managed to survive. Her right arm had been injured, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for she was ultimately able to keep her life.

Lin Qiushi had originally thought that Cheng Wen would feel guilty enough to not appear before him the next day, but who would've imagined that he would actually appear the next morning and pretend that nothing happened the night before. Without the slightest remorse, he just casually sat down and ate breakfast in the lounge of the first floor.

The moment she caught sight of him, Wang Xiaoyi flinched and hid behind Lin Qiushi's body. She nearly collapsed into sobs again.

Lin Qiushi frostily hissed, "Cheng Wen, have you no shame? You still have the face to show up?"

Cheng Wen eyed Lin Qiushi indifferently. "Why can't I show up?"

"You wanted to kill Wang Xiaoyi!" Lin Qiushi simply couldn't understand this man's logic. "She's a human being!"

Cheng Wen sneered nastily, but he no longer spoke.

The other members on the team heard the dialogue between the two men. Some of them looked at Cheng Wen with disgust, others were simply apathetic; it was as if, to them, killing a teammate was just a pesky little fly, a matter of such little significance.

Xiong Qi wasn't happy though. He said, "Well, you sure must have enough guts to kill a ghost then, seeing as though you have the nerves to treat your own teammate like that."

Remaining silent, Cheng Wen just continued to stuff his mouth with food. Lin Qiushi feared that the man would suddenly go crazy. His eyes never strayed from him, and he cautiously observed the other. He kept getting the feeling that Cheng Wen's state was a bit off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly was so odd about him.

Once they finished eating, he and Ruan Baijie returned to their room. All of a sudden, Ruan Baijie asked, "Do you suppose the ghost will kill someone in the next three days?"

"What do you mean?" Lin Qiushi was perplexed.

"That thing is obviously intelligent, more so than many of us." Ruan Baijie continued, "If I were her, I personally wouldn't kill anyone for the next three days."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Ruan Baijie's slender fingers carefully peeled the skin of the sweet potato in her hands. She lifted it to her mouth, parted her lips slightly and bit down, leaving behind a neat bite mark on the soft sweet potato. "Can you guess what would happen if we don't have any dead objects to fill the well with after three days?"

Lin Qiushi instantly caught her implication. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "There will be more than one Cheng Wen on this team."

Ruan Baijie nodded.

Lin Qiushi suddenly began to miss those police officers you could depend on to take care of these troublesome situations... Cheng Wen would be arrested, he'd pretty much be held on the charges of attempted murder, and he'd be sentenced to three to ten years in prison.

Lin Qiushi heaved a sigh. "What should be done..."

Ruan Baijie replied, "Wait it out. This show will eventually come to an end." For better or for worse.

Everyone waited for the night to fall. Though no one said anything, most were anxiously looking forward to the appearance of the first death. However, things turned out contrary to expectations. Two nights had already passed, but there wasn't a single accident that took place. What was supposed to be a dangerous evening became a peaceful and quiet night. Apart from the wind and snowfall, there was absolutely nothing else that disturbed this tranquility.

Lin Qiushi found some time to ask the carpenter what would happen if they couldn't fill the well within three days. The carpenter stated that they would have to chop down trees and pray in the temple, again.

An overwhelming sense of dread engulfed everyone's heart at this answer, the atmosphere became heavier. The clock was ticking, and they just didn't have enough time. If they repeated the steps they did before, the entire team may be annihilated.

"To be honest, there's no need to be so uptight," said Xiao Ke. "At least one person will survive in that case." She then laughed mockingly. "The only question is whether that person will be yourself."

No one uttered a sound. They clearly knew deep in their hearts that the cost of gambling with their lives was too expensive. No one could afford to bet that they would be the last survivor.

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