Kaleidoscope of Death

Upon seeing the deadpan expression on Lin Qiushi’s face, Ruan Nanzhu pouted, “You don’t want to kiss me?”

Lin Qiushi helplessly reproached, “Zhu Meng, stop joking around…”

Ruan Nanzhu boldly stepped towards him, “But I’m not joking. I’m quite serious, in fact.”

Lin Qiushi warily stared at his face, trying to ascertain whether he was fooling around; however, there was no laughter in the other’s dark eyes, only a clear reflection of himself. Having no other choice, Lin Qiushi bowed his head and gently swept away the stray hairs on Ruan Nanzhu’s face, softly brushing his lips against the other’s face and imprinting a warm kiss onto the other’s forehead. It was a simple peck, one without any deeper emotion or desire; it was as though he was merely complying with a younger sister’s unreasonable demand.

“There, I kissed you. Are we good now?” Lin Qiushi asked afterwards.

Ruan Nanzhu fell silent after being kissed on the forehead. He then exhaled quietly, slightly shaking his head. Without saying a word, he lifted his arm and slowly beckoned Lin Qiushi towards him, hinting that the other should come even closer to hear what he had to say.

Thinking Ruan Nanzhu was going to tell him what he and Meng Yu discussed, Lin Qiushi obediently lowered his head once again, putting his ear near the other’s lips. But who could’ve imagined that Ruan Nanzhu would suddenly wind his hand around Lin Qiushi’s nape, firmly gripping the back of his head, and drag the other’s face towards his own, forcing their lips together.

A dumbstruck Lin Qiushi: “???”

Having finally tasted the exquisite sweetness he had long been craving, Ruan Nanzhu grinned in satisfaction. Licking his lips, he chuckled, “This is a kiss. Now, we’re good.”

Lin Qiushi: “You—”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Yeah, what about me?” His mischievous eyes curved into crescents, full of mirth. “Oh, perhaps you want to do it again?”

Lin Qiushi rubbed his aching temples, “Forget it.” He finally realized that Ruan Nanzhu was teasing him, deliberately causing trouble. This person was obviously so normal in the real world, but why did he get the feeling that the other’s entire being always did a full 180 the moment he entered the door world? No longer bothering to find out what two talked about, Lin Qiushi gave up on thinking altogether and dejectedly stuffed his mouth with a steamed bun.

In the end, what Ruan Nanzhu and Meng Yu discussed was a matter left unsolved, but Lin Qiushi had zero intentions of finding out; their secret talk could remain a mystery for all he cared.

Seeing that the exhausted Lin Qiushi had feebly retreated and wanted nothing more to do with this matter, Cheng Qianli bravely stepped up to the plate and cheekily inquired about the two’s talk. But who would’ve thought that Ruan Nanzhu would simply squint at the boy, then aloofly reply, “What? You want me to kiss you too? Do I look like someone interested in children?”

A shy Cheng Qianli: “I mean, if you’re willing…”

An indifferent Ruan Nanzhu: “To think you really are the brother of Pikachu, Mister Pick-a-Shoe for me to spank you with.¹”

Cheng Qianli instantly withered, now sunken and depressed.

As they chatted amongst themselves, the tour guide arrived. She stood in an open space not too far from them, waving the small flag in her hands as before, and called out, “Gather around, everyone! Gather around!”

The crowd slowly shuffled forward, eventually grouping in a circle around the tour guide. Once everyone gathered around her, she counted the number of people, then announced, “There are twelve people here! Since everyone is present, we can set off!”

As soon as the word “twelve” fell from her mouth, a murmur of confusion and apprehension rang from the crowd. Those who didn’t understand the meaning behind her words at first, soon widened their eyes in realization.

“How could there only be twelve of us?” Someone stammered in fear. “Does that mean one of us isn’t human?”

“NPCs generally don’t lie, which means there is a monster hidden among us. But who could it be…” Their panicked clamors grew louder and louder; cynicism and suspicion spread amongst the members, like a plague, insidiously haunting the depths of their mind and stealthily embedding a poisonous sense of dread deep inside their souls.

Thirteen people left. Usually, everyone would split themselves into groups of two or three given the odd number. However, that was before; now, teams of two were looking for new partners, with each individual wanting to surround themselves with no less than two other people.

Lin Qiushi and the others had always been travelling as a group of four, so this new arrangement honestly didn’t affect them.

“Is there really a monster among us?” Xu Jin shuddered. As of this moment, her complexion was deathly pale, and her eyes darted around like those of a frightened rabbit. A loud gulp could be heard from her as she swallowed her spit, hard. Her eyes carefully strayed over to Ruan Nanzhu figure, cagily watching the other…

“What’s up” Ruan Nanzhu noticed Xu Jin’s watchful gaze. He casually strode over to Xu Jin; his lips were smiling, but his eyes clearly weren’t. “You think I’m the monster, huh?”

Xu Jin: “N-N-No! Not at all!”

Ruan Nanzhu turned back to look at Lin Qiushi, “Linlin, she’s calling me a monster wah!”

Lin Qiushi: “…” Ah, here we go again. My dude, is this really necessary? Just who are you putting on a show for?

Xu Jin hurriedly explained, “Please don’t misunderstand me! I didn’t exactly say that you are the monster; it’s just that you’re the most beautiful out of all of us…”

Ruan Nanzhu rubbed his chin, “Oho, I see. So that’s what you meant.”

Xu Jin quickly nodded.

Ruan Nanzhu: “Linlin, who do you think is the fairest of them all?”

Presently, Lin Qiushi’s heart was suffering a turmoil of emotions, from misery to denial. As a straight male, he really wasn’t willing to admit that the cross-dressing Ruan Nanzhu, who was, in reality, the very incarnation of the God of masculinity, was the prettiest out of everyone. But regardless how hard it was to admit it, this was the cold truth. As a girl, Ruan Nanzhu’s stunning appearance truly was peerless.

Ruan Nanzhu pitifully peered up at Lin Qiushi, his large, lovely eyes filling up with expectation. The sight was too much; Lin Qiushi seriously couldn’t take it anymore! Caving under the other’s pressuring hopeful gaze, Lin Qiushi nonchalantly nodded.

“Thank you, big sister Xu Jin.” Utterly pleased, Ruan Nanzhu let out a dazzling smile.

Xu Jin’s face scrunched up in bitterness, and she painfully offered a lopsided grimace in return. It was so obvious that she thought Ruan Nanzhu was the most likely suspect. Otherwise, how could someone even have the heart to fall in love in a world of horrors. And to even wantonly play around and cheat while in a relationship with a good man…

But, naturally, she didn’t dare voice her opinions. She could only hold these thoughts to herself and complain in her mind.

Today, they were going to revisit the place surrounded by pagodas.

After hours of journeying on foot, the group finally reached their destination. Because they had already toured the place two days ago, they were more prepared and their mental states were much calmer once they arrived. Rather than hastily rushing into the tower for shelter, everyone began scouring the area for any clues.

Although he knew there was an extra person on the team who shouldn’t belong, Ruan Nanzhu was extremely relaxed, as though he was in the comfort of his own home. He leisurely circled the tallest tower, and suddenly fishing out a sharp tool, he proceeded to go at the brick wall.

Startled by his unexpected actions, Lin Qiushi yelled in a half-whisper, “What are you doing?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “I just want to see if there’s anything inside the tower.”

Lin Qiushi: “See if there’s anything?”

Ruan Nanzhu faced the other, “Didn’t you say you heard scratching noises coming from inside the walls the other day?”

Lin Qiushi: “What if I was just hallucinating…”

Ruan Nanzhu coolly replied, “It doesn’t matter. I put more trust into your sense of hearing than I do into you.”

Lin Qiushi: “…”

With his head lowered, Ruan Nanzhu wholly focused on the wall before him, meticulously picking at it. Beside him, Xu Jin nervously tugged on Lin Qiushi’s clothes, “I want to go to the bathroom. Can you come with me?”

Lin Qiushi froze, “Me?”

Xu Jin nodded.

Not knowing what to make of this situation, Lin Qiushi faltered, “I-I… I don’t think that’s very appropriate. How about letting Zhu Meng accompany you…”

He barely finished saying this, when Xu Jin started shaking her head frantically. She shot a furtive glance at Zhu Meng, before lowering her voice into a hushed whisper, “Big brother Linlin, I have something to tell you.”

Seeing her anxious expression, Lin Qiushi hesitated slightly, “Is it something you can’t say here?”

Xu Jin’s voice was almost inaudible, fraught with agitation, “Don’t you think…don’t you think Zhu Meng is a bit strange…kind of, different from us…say, like not human?”

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Xu Jin continued, “Just look at her appearance and character. Just how could such a woman be like her, so brazen…”

Lin Qiushi wholeheartedly agreed with her statement. Certainly, there was no such woman like Zhu Meng, but that was because “she” was actually a “he”.

Xu Jin looked at Lin Qiushi: “Don’t you think?”

Lin Qiushi’s insides boiled with conflicting emotions. Truthfully speaking, he could genuinely sympathize with Xu Jin to some extent; after all, Ruan Nanzhu, from his looks to down to his personality, was literally a mass of mystery and suspicion. But they’ve known each other for quite a while now, and having suffered through several ordeals already, they’ve become quite close. That being said, the only two people whose identities Lin Qiushi was sure of were Ruan Nanzhu and Cheng Qianli.

“I…I don’t think so.” Lin Qiushi could only offer Xu Jin a vague answer to reassure her. “Although Zhu Meng seems suspicious, she is trying her best to help us so that we can all survive. If she really was a monster, why would she be helping us?”

Xu Jin appeared a tad awkward and embarrassed after hearing his logic. She parted her lips, seemingly wanting to refute him, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything. Nevertheless, she still looked rather reluctant. Refusing to accept his words, she continued to stick with her own opinion on the matter, and Lin Qiushi, who was unable to convince her, could do nothing but appease her in a soothing voice.

As they continued discussing amongst themselves, the subject of their talk also managed to show progress. Ruan Nanzhu finally chipped away a large section of the tower’s brick wall, exposing the interior.

Cheng Qianli, who had been watching Ruan Nanzhu from the start as he took apart the brick wall, let out a shocked gasp and cursed madly, after witnessing what lay behind it.

“What’s the matter?” Upon hearing the boy’s cry of alarm, Lin Qiushi walked over to Cheng Qianli to see what disturbed the boy so much, only to be rendered speechless by Ruan Nanzhu’s discovery.

The cement beneath the brick walls was compactly inlaid with contorted human skeletons. The skeletons were piled one after another, crushed into the cement and forced into unnatural positions. For every square feet of cement, there were about three to four bodies.

“Hmm.” Ruan Nanzhu wasn’t the least bit surprised at this scene. “I did say there must be something inside these walls.”

Lin Qiushi recalled the scratching sounds he heard coming from the walls before, and his face turned ashen.

Shivering uncontrollably, Xu Jin shrank behind Lin Qiushi’s back and started to weep out of fear.

“Well, now we know what’s within these pagodas.” Ruan Nanzhu heaved himself up and dusted off his hands, “Anyways, what were you two talking about?”

“Nothing much.” Lin Qiushi glanced at the cowering Xu Jin. “Just something unimportant.”

“Something unimportant, huh?” Ruan Nanzhu stared thoughtfully at Xu Jin, before stepping towards the frightened girl. Now at her side, he stretched out his arm and rubbed Xu Jin’s back. “Xu Jin, what are you so afraid of, ah?”

Xu Jin’s body began shaking even more violently than before; overwhelmed by terror, she couldn’t control her chattering teeth or the tears streaming down her face.

“Oh? Perhaps…you’re afraid of me?” A subtle smile crept its way onto Ruan Nanzhu’s face. It was a smile difficult to describe in mere words. Although his expression wasn’t necessarily ugly or unsightly, there was a particularly chilling quality to it. One look at his wicked smile would cause children to have nightmares that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. “Why? Am I that scary?”

Xu Jin simply shook her head, not daring to say a word for fear of speaking out of line.

Lin Qiushi didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, “Come on, stop teasing her.”

Ruan Nanzhu sighed and spread out his palms in surrender, feigning helplessness. “Fine, fine. I won’t tease her anymore.” He then went back to the side of the tower to continue examining the bones.

After a while, Xu Jin finally calmed down. Still sniveling, she glared at Ruan Nanzhu out of the corner of her eyes and woefully wiped her tears.

Lin Qiushi: “…” Is Ruan Nanzhu really that scary? To think this little girl was scared to that extent.

“This pagoda holds thousands of bones.” Ruan Nanzhu said. “Even if that little sister’s skeleton is in hiding here…”

“How would we even be able to find it?” Cheng Qianli looked at the countless bodies piled atop one another. “Even if we searched till our deaths, we definitely won’t be able to find her remains…”

“Well,” started Ruan Nanzhu, “There is another way.”

At his wit’s end, Cheng Qianli ruffled his own head until his hair became a disheveled mess, “What way?”

Ruan Nanzhu’s eyes glinted with a crafty light, and he began scrutinizing the boy. Realizing something was up, Cheng Qianli alertly stared back at him with wide eyes, his body tense and his spine straight. Sure enough, Ruan Nanzhu extended his hand out to Cheng Qianli and said, “That bone flute you secretly picked up yesterday?”

Cheng Qianli swore, “Oh fuck no! You must be joking! There’s no way you’re thinking of using that!”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Mhm.”

Sheer panic painted Cheng Qianli’s face deathly white. He fretfully cried, “You’re seriously not joking? You’re actually thinking of using it?! But it’s the bone of a human’s leg! And you don’t even know what will happen! What if something bad happens after using it…”

“Just because we don’t know what will happen doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it a try.” Ruan Nanzhu ordered, “Now, give it here.”

Cheng Qianli wordlessly took out the long bone flute he was carrying in his pouch and obediently handed it over to Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu took the flute and turned it over in his hands, inspecting it carefully. Then, ever-so-naturally, he brought the flute to his lips and blew, issuing a wafting, mellow sound.

He gracefully played Sister’s Drum on the flute. The melody was rich and pleasant, yet an inexplicable sense of desolation lingered in wake of each bright note, faintly eclipsing the harmonious tune with a bizarre feeling of eeriness and wretchedness.

“Scritch—” A slight noise came from Lin Qiushi’s side. Lin Qiushi froze momentarily, before discovering that the source of the sound unexpectedly turned out to the be the tower. The sound of someone scratching the walls from within grew louder and clearer. At first, only he was able to hear it, but no sooner, Cheng Qianli and Xu Jin both caught the noises. The expressions on their faces instantly changed.

“Zhu Meng, stop playing. Something seems to have happened.” Lin Qiushi interrupted Ruan Nanzhu, preventing him from blowing on the instrument any further.

Ruan Nanzhu paused. As he glanced up at the spire of the pagoda, he saw the circular disk that was suspended at the top of the tower quiver slightly.

“Get back, the tower looks like it’s going to collapse!” Ruan Nanzhu alerted, before turning away to distance himself from the tower.

Lin Qiushi and the others followed closely behind Ruan Nanzhu.

The rest of the members soon became aware of the tower’s abnormality and immediately scattered on all sides. Not too long after they dispersed, the tower fell to the ground with a loud crash, revealing the countless skeletons within.

Nevertheless, the pagoda’s abrupt collapse didn’t appall the others as much as what happened next. Before their stunned eyes, the skeletons began twitching and spasming, slowly contorting themselves into shape. Their movements were sluggish and somewhat jerky at first, but as seconds passed, their speed grew at an irregularly fast rate. The skeletons moaned and groaned, brokenly climbing over each other and eventually forming a single tall pagoda—a pagoda purely made out of human bones.

Those who witnessed this abysmal scene were not only rendered speechless, but also deeply terrified.

Unknowingly, the sound of drums began echoing from afar, once again. The singing voice of a young girl followed each reverberating drum beat, “An Ma Ni Ba Mi Hong, An Ma Ni Ba Mi Hong…”

Well, rather than singing, it was more precise to say it was chanting.

“We aren’t going inside that tower, are we?” Xu Jin choked out.

“Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice.” Ruan Nanzhu slowly lowered the bone flute, his fingers subconsciously trailing over it, lightly stroking it. The current expression marking his face was rather complicated; he seemed to have recalled the tale behind this folk song.

The younger sister, who dearly loved her older sister to the point of insanity, madly pursued her older sister, trailing after her and following her footsteps. It was only after she heard the chanting of Buddhist mantras, that she discovered the person she was desperately chasing after had long become the very drum she sacredly carried close to her bosom. When she learned of this fact, just how exactly did the younger sister react? How exactly did she register the cruel truth of her beloved older sister’s twisted, miserable fate?

“Let’s go.” Lin Qiushi was unexpectedly calm.

“I’m not going. I’m not going. I’m not going.” Xu Jin hysterically repeated. She seemed extremely terrified. Between her erratic wails, she howled, “I don’t want to go…”

As she said this, she staggered away without looking back, trying to get as far away as possible from this place. Even after she tumbled to the ground and her bag slipped down from her shoulder, she simply picked herself back up and scurried away, completely ignoring her fallen sack.

“Xu Jin—” Lin Qiushi tried catching up to her, but Ruan Nanzhu stopped him in his tracks. He said, “If she doesn’t want to go, then we shouldn’t force her. In any case, as long as the entrance is open, anyone can enter.”

Lin Qiushi sighed.

Cheng Qianli walked in front of them and picked up Xu Jin’s forgotten sack. Fairly surprised, he remarked, “It’s so light…didn’t she put two bottles of water in here? Why does it feel so much lighter, like there’s nothing inside?” Since they knew they were going to go out, they decided to prepare something to eat for lunch in advance. Cheng Qianli clearly saw Xu Jin stuff two water bottles into her bag. Since coming here, they hadn’t been separated until now, but thinking back on it, Cheng Qianli realized he hadn’t seen Xu Jin drink a sip of water once.

“Open it and check inside.” Ruan Nanzhu suddenly demanded.

“Are you sure it’s okay to open it?” Cheng Qianli was a tad uncomfortable. “I mean, it is her personal belongings we’re talking about.”

Ruan Nanzhu: “You still have the sense to talk about privacy in the face of death?”

Sadly, Cheng Qianli couldn’t argue against such a sound argument. No longer hesitating, he promptly opened Xu Jin’s bag to look at the contents inside. Xu Jin’s backpack was a milky white color, seemingly made out of sheepskin. It was quite an ordinary, basic-looking bag. She carried it on her back wherever she went, and occasionally packed some food and daily necessities.

But upon opening Xu Jin’s knapsack, he discovered it was completely empty. He was at a loss for words for a moment, “There’s nothing…”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Let me take a look.” He took the bag from the other and thoroughly searched it, turning it inside out and checking every compartment, before coming across an old, folded piece of paper in one of the pockets.

“What’s this?” When Cheng Qianli caught sight of the paper, he was stunned. “Isn’t this…”

“Isn’t this part of the diary we found at the top of the tower?” Lin Qiushi finished the other’s sentence. “Nanzhu, remember when you were flipping through the diary, and you noticed that a page had been torn off?”

“Right, right, right!” Thinking about the same instance, Cheng Qianli added, “I remember that too! Ruan Nanzhu immediately took the notebook and kept it hidden.”

As he listened to the two’s conversation, Ruan Nanzhu unfolded the slip of paper.

The paper was actually an old, sepia-toned photograph. On it was a pair of twins holding each other’s hands. They were both wearing long, flowing dresses, and their lips were split into a broad smile, revealing their pearly whites. At first glance, there was nothing particularly off about this photograph. But with a second glance, Lin Qiushi noticed something disturbingly unsettling about the lively twins in the portrait.

The two sisters in this photo had the same exact appearance as Xu Jin.

A chilling sense of dread seeped into Lin Qiushi’s heart, and cold sweat dripped down his spine. “She…Just when did she tear off this page?”

“Who knows.” Cheng Qianli’s voice was insipid, and his eyes, vacant. “One thing I know for sure is that she definitely didn’t come up with us to the top that time.”

As of this very moment, Lin Qiushi recalled a memory that happened during the incident at the top of the pagoda. He remembered the moment he was stuck in the illusion, specifically when Xu Jin dazedly walked over to the drum then struck it.

Suddenly, several odd discrepancies that he hadn’t noticed before flooded into his mind. As a rookie who had supposedly just entered the door world, Xu Jin performed extremely well. Although she always cried that she was afraid, she never made any mistakes. If not all, Li Qiushi would sometimes forget that such a person existed among them…

“So…she isn’t human?” Cheng Qianli swallowed hard.

Ruan Nanzhu: “That seems to be the case.”

“What if she finds out that we know she isn’t human?” Lin Qiushi glanced at the picture.

Ruan Nanzhu folded the picture once again and put it back in her bag. “It’s a bit more complicated that that. There are too many unknown factors and circumstances about this situation. We’ll talk about it in detail later.” He looked up at the bone pagoda before his eyes, and said, “It’s getting late. For now, let’s go on ahead and check inside.”

“Okay.” Lin Qiushi nodded in agreement.

When they came close to the tower, they spotted Meng Yu standing near the entrance. He was all alone, and as usual, he was smiling brightly. At the sight of them, he came over and cheerfully greeted, “There you are.”

“You were waiting for us? Do you want to go in together?” asked Ruan Nanzhu.

Meng Yu: “That’s right. The key should be inside here. I let the others go on ahead first because I felt a bit uneasy; I just can’t completely trust them, you know.” He hardly cared about how cold-hearted and condescending he sounded to other’s ears. Then again, with his imposing aura and domineering disposition, his condescending speech didn’t sound harsh or out-of-place; rather it seemed quite acceptable for a confident man like him, as if his manner of speaking was only natural.

At his words, Ruan Nanzhu tutted, “Then we won’t go. Mister Li Dongyuan, please bring out the key for us.”

An ugly expression swept across Meng Yu’s face, “How do you know my name—”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Who doesn’t know it?” Ruan Nanzhu haughtily raised his chin, his expression was cold and full of ridicule. “Everyone knows that White Deer² has received a large request with hefty compensation this time. And I’m afraid the only person in White Deer who is capable enough to take on such a grand request is you, Mister Dongyuan.”

After hearing Ruan Nanzhu, Li Dongyuan’s eyes blazed with intense interest. He curiously looked Ruan Nanzhu up and down, before musing, “To think I’ve never noticed a lady like you. Interesting, very interesting. I must have a nice, long chat with you once we leave this place.” He chuckled in amusement, “After all, such an interesting young woman is hard to come by.”

While listening in on their conversation, Lin Qiushi wryly thought to himself, Oh yes, it truly is interesting, very interesting…a shameless ‘girl’ who is even thicker than himself down there is indeed hard to come by, ah.

With that, Li Dongyuan swiveled on his heels and boldly entered the pagoda by himself.

Seeing the other recklessly enter the pagoda, Lin Qiushi exclaimed, “Will he be okay going in there alone?”

Ruan Nanzhu appeared quite uninterested. He indifferently replied, “It’d be great if he comes out safely. But even if he doesn’t come out, it’s not a big loss for us. All we have to do right now is wait.”

And so, while the three idled outside the tower, they began discussing the matter concerning Xu Jin.

None of them knew when Xu Jin would return, or what kind of expression they should wear when facing her. Lin Qiushi tactfully warned Ruan Nanzhu not to harass Xu Jin so much, but Ruan Nanzhu bluntly refused, righteously arguing that once Xu Jin revealed her identity, he definitely wouldn’t be able to mess with her anymore, so if he stopped teasing her now, he wouldn’t really be gaining anything and would only be left unentertained. From an economic standpoint, there was practically no profit or benefits in it for him, so why should he invest in something so boring and disadvantageous?

Lin Qiushi: “…Is it really that fun to pick on such a shy girl?”

Ruan Nanzhu: “Not really. If I had to be honest, picking on you is so much more fun.”

Lin Qiushi: “…”

The sun was beginning to set, and Li Dongyuan had yet to return.

Normally, Lin Qiushi would be stressing out by now, but after looking at the unperturbed Ruan Nanzhu, his heart strangely calmed down.

When there were only five minutes left on the clock before the tour guide’s arrival, an unusual sound rang from within the bone pagoda.

Crack, crunch…It was the sound of bones fracturing, rupturing spontaneously. Soon, the bone pagoda began to crumble apart, bones flying everywhere and chaotically scattering the ground.

At the entrance of the tower stood a black silhouette. Lin Qiushi focused in on the shadowed figure, only to see it was just Li Dongyuan.

But the thing that caught his eyes wasn’t Li Dongyuan’s handsome appearance, but rather, the beautiful bronze key he held in his hand.

Now that they had they key, Lin Qiushi was relieved; his body and mind significantly eased up.

Li Dongyuan walked over to them with the key, then reached out and handed the key over, “For you. I look forward to seeing you later, Miss Zhu.”

With a bright smile, Ruan Nanzhu accepted the key, grasping it in the palm of his hand, “A pleasure working with you.”

“Likewise. The pleasure is all mine,” responded Li Dongyuan.

Lin Qiushi didn’t expect the other to give up the key so easily, so he was caught off guard. On the other hand, Cheng Qianli wasn’t the least bit surprised; it was as though witnessing interactions like this was common for him.

As soon as the clock struck the last minute, the tour guide promptly arrived before the crowd. She waved the small flag in her hand and announced their departure, urging everyone to make haste. All the while, the skies grew ominously darker.

At long last, Lin Qiushi caught sight of Xu Jin who had run away in tears just moments ago. Cheng Qianli passed her belongings to her, and she naturally took her bag, utterly unaware that the contents of her bag were searched through.

“Did you guys go really go inside that tower?” Xu Jin asked in a low voice. “Did you find the younger sister’s bones?”

“No.” Ruan Nanzhu replied. “We didn’t find anything.”

“Oh.” Xu Jin sounded somewhat at a loss, rather frustrated and disappointed. Her mouth hung open, and she looked like she had something to say, but in the end, she forcibly swallowed her words down, once again deciding not to speak.

If this were any other time, Cheng Qianli would undoubtedly tell her to speak her mind and say what she wants to say. But after learning Xu Jin wasn’t human, he felt that he should keep his distance from her, for fear that he would accidentally run his mouth off and ask questions that shouldn’t be asked, probe into something that should be left alone.

The journey back was filled with gloomy silence. Not a single person spoke until they reached their residences.

As usual, the tour guide briefly mentioned their plans for the next day, then left. Everyone gathered in the dining hall to eat. As they filled their stomachs with a bland dinner, Lin Qiushi noticed Xu Jin’s eyes constantly straying to Ruan Nanzhu’s pocket, obsessively glancing at it ever so often.

There was only one important thing inside Ruan Nanzhu’s pocket. It was the bone flute, made out of the older sister’s leg.

And Xu Jin seemed awfully interested in it.

¹This is a pun on words that is completely lost in translation. And yes, RNZ actually said Pikachu. So, the original says 我看你是皮卡丘的兄弟皮在痒 (Wǒ kàn nǐ shì píkǎqiū de xiōngdì pí zài yang). Literally, it means, “I see that you’re Pikachu’s little bro, pí zài yang.” The literal translation of pí zài yang is “skin is itching” and that means “you’re asking for a spanking/beating.” I honestly couldn’t come up with any decent word plays, so I just said “pick-a-shoe (Pikachu) for me to spank you with.” But I thought that was… kind of bad lol. If anyone has a better pun, feel free to share it in the comments; I would love to hear your ideas.

²白鹿, literally means White Deer. That’s the name of the group Li Dongyuan leads. In many cultures, a white stag tends to symbolize spiritual renewal, salvation, longevity, etc. According to a Chinese legend, Chinese emperor Hsuan-Tsung, (712-756 A.D.) saw a white deer over 1000 years old, which he believed to be a prosperous sign—that’s how the white deer came to symbolize longevity and a long future ahead of the people. There’s also a famous Chinese literature classic titled White Deer Plains (白鹿原) that revolved about people’s hardships and their spiritual pursuits. Whether the author chose the name randomly or deliberately, I think it’s quite fitting given the plot of KoD.