Kaleidoscope of Death

Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming sat in the hall and listened to a story about Yu Manor.

The story contained the Yu Landlady, the sacrificial son Yu Caizhe, along with many plot elements they hadn’t guessed.

After the Yu boy was sacrificed, the ceaseless rain stopped, as if the god in the river truly had been moved by the sacrifice. The townspeople were overjoyed, and as a holiday, declared the day to be the River God’s birthday. To celebrate, they even hung the streets full of red lanterns, and the whole town was rife with festive cheer.

But this celebration couldn’t last for even a few days before another incident happened.

People in the town began to die. The bodies of those who died seemed to have been gobbled up by something; not even bones were left, only bits of hair and nail strewn on the ground.

At first people thought it was some beast that had gotten into town, but very soon this speculation was dismissed. After all, no beast could eat a human so silently. The riddling deaths were very soon solved—what was eating the townspeople wasn’t alive at all. It was swollen-cheeked, sharp-toothed little ghouls from the river.

The people instantly sank into a panic. Nobody had seen anything like this before, nor did anyone know what to do about it.

Just before the fear could go to everybody’s heads, the Yu Landlady came forward. She said her sacrificed son had sent her a dream and told her a solution to this situation.

Just as the crowd grew happy again, they heard the Yu Landlady’s solution. “Only oil lamps made from humans can stop the river ghouls.”

The townspeople went silent. Human oil lamps could stop those things, but where would they get human oil…

The Landlady wasn’t in a hurry. She only waited in silence.

And very soon, her goal was achieved—people who couldn’t take the terror moved on their own kind.

“It was them, they’re the ones who said we should sacrifice children to the River God,” voices from the crowd began to say. And thoughts like this only grew increasingly fervent.

Finally, those who first brought forth the idea to sacrifice the Yu boy became the first victims.

They were mercilessly slaughtered. The Landlady rendered their bodies into oil lamps with a genteel expression on her face.

The oil lamps were distributed to citizens, and there were no more deaths at the hands of the river ghouls.

The citizens thought the issue was resolved, until the next birthday, when that endless rain started again.

The citizens sank once again into panic, but the Landlady told them a solution.

“A new River God,” she said. “We need a new River God.” Her red-nailed finger pointed—pointed at a simple, innocent child in the arms of his mother. She smiled. “Look. This adorable child. You’re very fit to be the new River God.”

The child’s mother looked stunned, then began to furiously curse, just like the Landlady had before.

When the Yu boy had been chosen to become the River God, the Landlady had cursed like this as well. But it had been to no avail—her child was still taken from her, brought to the river, and tossed into the river rapids.

He had been so small, and knew only how to call mama. He was taken from her side just like that, to never come back.

For someone else to experience what she had experienced, the Landlady was very pleased. She watched the separation of mother and child, watched the child get thrown into the river. Watched the pouring rains stop, watched the human oil lamp brightly shining in her hands.

A light breath, whew, and the Landlady blew out the human lamp. Her smile became more brilliant.

Though the rain stopped, new river ghouls appeared in town.

Then there weren’t enough human lamps to use… A vicious cycle began.

The entire town was enveloped in this hopeless recurrence; nobody could escape, until outsiders arrived.

“Since they don’t know anything, let’s use them to make lamps.” A faint voice in the crowd spoke out the dark and deep-stowed thought in everybody’s hearts. “They don’t, they don’t know anything anyways…”

“Yes, yes, what does the Lady think? Will they be fitting to make into oil lamps?” someone asked in stammers.

The Landlady, dressed in all red, sat among the crowd. She replied lightly, “sure.”

The people were ecstatic.

Over a century had passed, and the Landlady still maintained her appearance in youth. But nobody asked how she got to all this, and nobody dared question whether or not she was still human, because without her, there would be no more human oil lamps in town, and everybody… would have to die.

So, everyone tacitly pretended to not notice the Landlady’s appearance, locked in the sands of time. They behaved so cautiously toward her, as if toward an easily angered god.

As for the poor outsiders, they became the sacrifices for that year’s River God Festival. Their bodies became lamp oil, emanating warm light and protecting all the townspeople from beastly harm.

The story ended here. One part of the story, Lin Qiushi had filled in himself with other clues. But the Storyteller’s tale still provided him with the very important background and framework to fill out the entire narrative.

The clapper sounded loudly again, signaling the end of the Storyteller’s winding tale.

“It’s already dark.” By the time Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming realized, the sky outside had gradually darkened. The streets were rapidly emptied, leaving only the red lanterns spinning in the chilly air.

“Come on, let’s go back.” Gu Longming shuddered; he seemed to be cold. He was muttering, “why is it so freezing here? Back home, I never thought it was cold…”

Lin Qiushi eyed him. “That’s what happens when you wear short sleeves in this weather.” He was wearing short sleeves in twelve, thirteen degree temperatures, of course he was freezing to death.

Gu Longming, vexed, “I didn’t bring any other clothes. Or should I wear the miniskirt?”

Lin Qiushi thought better you go nude than that, actually.

The two slowly returned to the estate, where people were eating.

Compared to day one, the dining hall today was a lot emptier. The moment Lin Qiushi entered he felt Yan Shihe’s gaze dart to him.

Normal people who stole typically couldn’t help some guilty conscience. But under Ruan Nanzhu’s tutelage, Lin Qiushi had already forgotten how to spell the words “guilty conscience.” With an utter lack of remorse he stared back, and asked, “yes?”

“Nothing,” Yan Shihe smiled. “Just worried about you two returning so late. The sky’s already dark.”

“Oh,” Lin Qiushi said, and, “thanks for your concern.”

The two found some seats and began to eat dinner.

The others gradually left. Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming too finished off dinner and returned to their abode.

Because of what happened last night, their original place had its window paper all broken, so they changed to a room with undamaged window paper.

Lin Qiushi entered the room and lit the oil lamp they stole from Yan Shihe.

Fire danced on the wick, lighting the entire room. Lin Qiushi spaced out for a bit, watching the fire; he didn’t think oil rendered from the fat of his fellow humans could emanate such bright light.

After a while, Lin Qiushi took out the family genealogy they stole from Yan Shihe.

Gu Longming sat on the bedside. “You’re reading it again?” They’d read it closely many times during the day already.

Lin Qiushi, “mmh, one more time.” He kept feeling this genealogy was something very important.

With the aid of the lamplight, Lin Qiushi opened the first page. The first page was the picture of the Landlady and Yu Caizhe. Only in this photo was her smile genuine and brilliant. When they’d first seen this genealogy, Lin Qiushi had only thought it strange. Now though, all his doubts had been cleared up by the Storyteller. She wasn’t a god who’d saved the town, but simply a mother who’d lost her child.

Fingertips rubbing at the photo for a moment, Lin Qiushi sighed without much weight, and flipped to the second page.

But when he took in the photo on the second page, his breathing stopped. Shock appeared in his eyes.

Gu Longming noticed Lin Qiushi’s odd reaction, and asked, “Linlin? What’s wrong?”

Lin Qiushi didn’t speak, just waved him over.

Gu Longming stood and came behind Lin Qiushi. When he saw the changed genealogy, he also couldn’t help the widening of his eyes. “This… This photo…”

Under the illumination of the human oil lamp, the face of the woman holding the child had completely changed. The fake smile was gone, leaving only a sinister disdain. As for the child she was supposed to be cradling, it now dangled from one of her hands; she had it by the back of the neck, like she was holding an inconsequential baby chick, without even the pretension of care.

That child was completely limp. Its cheeks looked bloated with water, and its teeth-stuffed mouth hung agape as it made to bite at the person beside it.

The black and white only added to the fright of the photos. Lin Qiushi flipped a few pages further, and wasn’t surprised that the following photos were all like this. The only difference was in the backgrounds, where blood red spots of light started to appear. At first glance it looked like a result of poor photography, but as Lin Qiushi observed at the spots, he remembered the countless pairs of eyes he saw in the ceiling of the ancestral shrine.

The Landlady’s attitude toward these sacrificial children bore no softness at all. In her eyes were only spite and contempt, as if she were an avenging devil torment the masses by her own design.

Eyeing this genealogy, Gu Longming scrubbed hard at the goosebumps on his skin. He said, “I finally know why that Yan Shihe refused to keep this thing on him.”

Anyone who held it would go mental.

Lin Qiushi stared at the photos, and didn’t speak.

Gu Longming watched Lin Qiushi, who was deep in contemplation. “Linlin, what are you thinking?”

Lin Qiushi, “where the key is, of course.”

“You have some sort of idea?” Gu Longming asked. “Seems like it’s almost the River God Festival…”

Lin Qiushi, “kind of, but I’m not sure yet.”

Gu Longming, “oh…”

Lin Qiushi, “these river ghouls obviously don’t like the Landlady.”

“Who would like the person who sacrificed them? They’re already doing her a favor, not coming back for revenge,” Gu Longming grumbled. He clearly didn’t like the genealogy before them, and looked away.

“What did you just say?” Lin Qiushi’s spirit suddenly alighted.

“What?” Gu Longming looked utterly clueless. “I said… who would like the person who sacrificed them…”

Lin Qiushi, “no, after that.”

Gu Longming, “they’re already doing… Hang on, you mean?” He also understood the meaning in Lin Qiushi’s words.

Lin Qiushi’s hand hit the table. “Did you forget how the River God Festival started in the first place?”

Gu Longming, “it’s the children who were tossed in the river coming back as ghouls for revenge!”

Lin Qiushi, “exactly. Revenge, it’s revenge—” He stood. “The Landlady’s son was getting revenge, the Landlady was getting revenge. Their enemy is dead, but for these ghouls? These ghouls haven’t had their revenge yet!”

They had not been active perpetrators, but innocent victims.

Chosen by the Landlady, they were torn away from their parents and tossed into the river rapids as sacrifice.

Their resentment had persisted for all this time.

But because of the human oil lamps made by the Landlady, they couldn’t get their vengeance. Lin Qiushi felt he’d caught onto the most important clue.

Gu Longming, “you mean to say, we gotta off the Landlady? But don’t we already know she’s not human?” Something that’s survived for centuries couldn’t possibly still be human.

“Right, she’s not human anymore,” Lin Qiushi spoke lightly. “We can’t kill her, but those things can.”

Gu Longming understood. “You want to use the ghouls? Isn’t that way too dangerous?!” Those ghouls were clearly not easily manipulated; misusing a double-edged sword could mean injuring the self as well.

Lin Qiushi, “it’s almost the Festival, we can’t wait any longer.” He closed the genealogy book. “If it gets to that day, maybe neither of us can survive. If we’re lucky, one person survives—but one out of seven, you want to bet on those odds?”

Indeed, Gu Longming didn’t. He watched Lin Qiushi, and laughed helplessly. “Alright, we’ll do as you say. You’ve got way more experience than I do, after all.”

Lin Qiushi nodded, returned to bed, and lied down. He said, “sleep, or the oil lamp might light again.”

Gu Longming made a sound of acknowledgement, put out the lamp, and lied down at Lin Qiushi’s side.

Lin Qiushi slept on the outside, and could just see the window beside them. There were shadows on the window paper—a silhouette on it seemed like a tree, being blown by the wind. Upon scrutiny however, there was a large, willowy human figure inside that tree’s shadow. Lin Qiushi was quite familiar with this figure. It was the estate’s Landlady. Lin Qiushi closed his eyes, and could recall exactly how she looked in that red dress, standing in the center of the courtyard, silently watching their room.

The wind blew harder and harder, its gusts like human moaning. The night had gotten dark. Lin Qiushi closed his eyes, and forced himself into a deep sleep.

This night, Lin Qiushi finally didn’t wake up halfway, sleeping into the next morning, when the noises of Gu Longming getting up woke him.

Lin Qiushi rubbed his eyes, changed his clothes, and simply washed up. Then they hurried to the dining hall. He wasn’t actually that hungry. He just wanted to know if anything happened the night before.

When they got to the restaurant and counted the heads, Lin Qiushi confirmed nothing happened last night.

But he didn’t have much of an appetite, sipping off and on at the porridge before him. Gu Longming was the complete opposite, with his hands blissfully cupped around his bowl and his whole face practically buried in it.

After breakfast, Lin Qiushi planned to go to the Landlady’s. Though it was a particularly dangerous place, he had a detailed plan in mind.

Gu Longming followed behind, asking Lin Qiushi where he was planning to go and what he was planning to do.

“Find a large bag,” Lin Qiushi said. “Steal all her lamps.”

Gu Longming startled. “Steal her lamps? Why are we stealing her lamps?”

Lin Qiushi, “did you forget what the lamps do?”

Gu Longming realized, “you mean that woman’s not dead only because of the lamps? But if we steal them, and she discovers us, won’t she hack us to death on the spot?”

Lin Qiushi, “…there’s a possibility.” He turned and looked at Gu Longming. “So this is a choice: choose to be eaten by the ghouls, or be hacked to death by the Landlady.”

Gu Longming gave it some thought, then relented: “let’s go get hacked to death then. At least there will a body leftover.” If they were eaten, there’d be nothing left.

Lin Qiushi, “there might not be. Maybe you’ll get rendered into lamp oil.”

Gu Longming, “then I’m willing to light your way, become the spring mud to protect your blooms…”

Lin Qiushi thought friend, those poetics really weren’t meant to be used like that.

The two sneakily approached the Landlady’s courtyard, and Gu Longming stuck his head inside. “Doesn’t look like she’s here.”

The door was open like before.

It was indeed silent inside. Lin Qiushi said, “stand guard for me outside, I’ll go in first.”

Gu Longming, “nah, let’s go together—”

“No,” Lin Qiushi said. “If something were to really happen, at least there’s still someone on the outside.”

Gu Longming had more to say, but saw Lin Qiushi’s determined attitude, so could only give in. He could only stand outside the courtyard and watch as Lin Qiushi went in.

As soon as Lin Qiushi entered the yard, he quickly honed in on the house they’d entered previously. He didn’t dare dawdle, and began shoving the oil lamps into his bag as soon as he got inside. He did this until his bag was stuffed. Then he took the lamps left on the shelves and started tossing them into the nearby fire that heated the wok.

When the lamps met the flames, a thick fatty scent emanated into the air. Without knowing, perhaps the smell wouldn’t be anything. But as soon as you knew this was the scent of human fat, it was hard not to think it disgusting.

This was true for Lin Qiushi too. He held back a gag by force of will, and finished tossing the lamps into the fire. Just as Lin Qiushi threw the last lamp, a child’s cries started further inside the house. These cries were piercing, to the point where Lin Qiushi’s ears felt stung. Just as he was about to go look at the crying thing, he heard Gu Longming’s voice.

Gu Longming, who’d been watching the front door, had begun to cuss—a whole loping series of curses in that unabashed Dongbei accent.

Lin Qiushi immediately understood Gu Longming’s meaning, and didn’t go further in. Bag shrugged on, he ran for it—not for the courtyard door, but further out first.

As expected, a woman in a red dress appeared in the doorway. She seemed to have heard the infant’s cries coming from inside the house. That pair of black eyes glared wider and wider, until that flat expression became an insuppressible rage.

Lin Qiushi’s heart skipped a beat just looking.

The woman’s next move was to seal that lock over the courtyard door, as usual, before turning and going inside the house.

Lin Qiushi knew he only had one chance. He held his breath, and after the woman entered the house, sprinted like mad for the door with the lock on it.

Quickly, he fished out his hair pin to open the padlock before him.

Hurry, hurry… Cold sweat dotted Lin Qiushi’s forehead, but his hands were steady; he forced himself to stay calm and ignore the sound of footsteps behind him, to keep his focus completely on opening that door in front of him.

Clack! The padlock opened. The woman’s footsteps had also reached him from behind. The moment Lin Qiushi opened the door, he felt a strong gust of wind at his back. Gu Longming, standing at the door, stared at whatever was behind him in utter terror. He roared, “Linlin— Run!!!”

But it was too late. Lin Qiushi saw a shadow—it slipped behind his back as something heavy came down at him from above. In this instant, he finally realized what that shadow was. It was the long knife in that lady’s hands. And this knife had already reached his back. He felt an immense force strike, his whole body flying out and forward.

Lin Qiushi fell to the floor.

Gu Longming couldn’t help but curse, rushing up and yelling, “Yu Linlin, Yu Linlin, are you alright?!” As he looked Lin Qiushi over, he glanced at the woman, and saw that she was standing inside the courtyard and grinning wretchedly at them. She was clearly certain that Lin Qiushi was dead.

With the knife in hand, she didn’t seem like she could leave the yard. This was at least a relief to Gu Longming. But, looking back at Lin Qiushi’s situation, his heart had to sink again. From what he’d seen, to have been slashed up like this, Lin Qiushi was more likely dead than alive.

But just as Gu Longming grew convinced Lin Qiushi’s was done for, he saw Lin Qiushi cough heavily a few times, then push himself up with great difficulty.

Lin Qiushi, “I…”

“Motherfucker, you even survived that?!” Gu Longming couldn’t help but swear. “Yu Linlin, you motherfucking badass!”

Lin Qiushi had thought himself dead as well. Twisting around, he looked behind him, and saw that his backpack had been slashed open, revealing the oil lamps stuffed inside—on the lamps were a brand-new, very deep gash. Undoubtedly, it was these lamps that had blocked the fatal blow for him.

He’d successfully survived!