The mood of the group was getting worse by the second due to the three-day period imposed on them. By the afternoon of the next day, another conflict arose between the members of the team. Surprisingly, it was Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke who ended up getting into a heated quarrel, simply because of a so-called awful-tasting meal. Xiong Qi lost his temper and angrily hurled the dish directly outside; in a fit of pique, Xiao Ke slammed the door and stomped away.
Cynicism and hostility permeated the atmosphere. The teammates who were once considered the most dependable were now subjects of suspicion. A single word, a slight action, and even a quick glance would cause all hell to break loose.
This was the first time Lin Qiushi clearly sensed that the others had more than enough, they were all at the end of their tether. The overwhelming pressure of their looming deaths and the noxious paranoia that overcame them became the final straw.
Ruan Baijie seemed to have already predicted such a situation, so she wasn't in the least surprised. She nonchalantly found a corner to sit herself down at and watched on as the individuals within the living room grew increasingly unstable and agitated. All of a sudden, she parted her lips and softly reminded, "Have you already forgotten that there's still a place with corpses?"
This one sentence was like the first droplets of rain falling on arid land, moisturizing the dry atmosphere at once and cleansing the scorching pressure in the air. Xiong Qi asked, "Where?"
Lin Qiushi guessed, "A cemetery? But I also went searching for one before. I just don't know where the graves in this village are located, and I never found them."
"Of course it isn't a cemetery," Ruan Baijie said. "In this world, the place where the dead are buried isn't as simple as we imagine it to be."
"Then where?" Lin Qiushi wondered.
Ruan Baijie replied, "You still remember those guys who were crushed to death from carrying the log the other day?
Lin Qiushi suddenly came to a realization. "That's right, they would be considered dead objects, wouldn't they…"
"Let's go. We'll find the time to dig up their corpses, then this issue of filling the well will be solved." Ruan Baijie added, "There's no need for everyone to be like this anymore."
The moment these words fell, the atmosphere instantly eased up, but there was still a bit of tension; after all, no one knew whether a dead body could be found in the end. It's been snowing ever since the log incident; the corpses have long been buried deep in the snow. It certainly wasn't going to be easy digging them up.
Yet, no matter how difficult this task was, it was undoubtedly less troublesome than killing another.
Everyone knew that they were short on time. Once this idea was proposed, they immediately agreed that it was best to dig up the corpses as soon as possible to guard against and prevent any changes.
Lin Qiushi didn't expect everyone to accept this idea without any qualms; not a single person raised any objections from the start.
But after careful consideration, this was indeed the best plan they could come up with at present time. Although digging up dead bodies in this snow definitely wasn't a walk in the park, it nevertheless gave everyone a common goal to strive for. Besides, even if there happened to be another victim while they dug for the corpses, it just conveniently coincided with everyone's aims—at least they didn't need to dirty their own hands to obtain a dead body to fill the well.
Half an hour later, everyone gathered at the door to the house. Every man held a shovel in his hand.
"Let's go." A cigarette dangled from the corner of Xiong Qi's mouth. This was the last joint he brought into this world, so he made sure to smoke it slowly. "We have to dig them up by today."
Cheng Wen, the man who wanted to kill Wang Xiaoyi yesterday, was red-eyed; his eyes were beyond bloodshot, and every vein was visible. He resembled a neurotic man who hadn't slept for ages. "If we don't dig them up, we'll all have to die." He cast a ferocious glare at Wang Xiaoyi and Lin Qiushi as he said this.
Lin Qiushi didn't give him any face, he rudely glared right back.
"Come on." Ruan Baijie called out.
Xiong Qi led the group to the mountain trail.
It's been snowing both day and night for the past few days. A thick layer of snow blanketed the ground, and every step they took would leave behind a soft footprint.
They all reached the familiar mountain path about ten minutes later, and they then headed up to the forest.
"It should be around here somewhere." Because there were no traces indicating the precise location, Xiong Qi could only offer a rough estimation. "Let's start digging here."
Lin Qiushi nodded. Gripping the shovel in his hands, he began digging the snow.
The path wasn't that wide, but the range they had to search through was great. Finding a corpse was rather tough; however, everyone was serious and determined, not a single man slacked off.
Ruan Baijie took a seat on a nearby stone and leisurely cracked some melon seeds. Her laid-back expression was a stark contrast to Xiao Ke's overwrought appearance. Seemingly unable to bear Ruan Baijie's blatant lack of interest any longer, Xiao Ke suddenly asked, "Aren't you afraid of dying? You know that if you die in this world, you'll also die in the real world."
Ruan Baijie lazily responded, "Yeah, I'm scared."
Xiao Ke said, "How can you say you're scared if you're wearing that kind of expression on your face?"
Ruan Baijie didn't even bother sparing her a glance. Her attitude towards the other was as if she were treating air; in fact, one might as well have called it contempt. "Everyone's reaction is different when they're scared. Some people tend to cry, others may smile and laugh, I personally like to chew on melon seeds." She stretched out her arm and sprinkled the shells of the melon seeds in her hands onto the snow-covered grounds. "And I even like to litter."
Xiao Ke: "…" She was well aware that Ruan Baijie was making a fool of her, but for a moment, she didn't know how to retort. In the end, she could only curl her lips in disdain, hatefully curse under her breath, and turn on her heels and stomp away.
A spurious smirk played around Ruan Baijie's lips. Since they'd arrived here, her eyes never strayed from Lin Qiushi's figure. It was as if something deeply fascinating about Lin Qiushi had attracted all of her attention.
Lin Qiushi, on the other hand, didn't look at Ruan Baijie. He lowered his head and continued shoveling the snow, praying in his heart to find those two corpses as quickly as possible.
Alas, there were times where even God wouldn't grant one's prayers. When they'd first set out, it was already getting late. After digging for an hour, night had already descended upon the earth.
Once again, the snow began floating down from above. Lin Qiushi hands were freezing; he blew warm air into them, then observed the sky.
Tonight's moonlight was fairly bright. A huge moon hung high in the night sky, shining upon all, and its soft light reflected off the pure white snow. Because of this, the mountain forest wasn't too dark.
Xiong Qi stood beside him, talking to Xiao Ke while shoveling the snow. The grumpy Cheng Wen also didn't relax; his mouth spewed out a vile string of profanity as he hastened his pace.
The remaining three girls stood at the side of the path. They didn't speak and just silently gazed at Lin Qiushi.
After digging for a while, Lin Qiushi suddenly sensed something was wrong. He lifted his head and peeked at Ruan Baijie's direction, making sure there were definitely three people resting there.
One tall person, and two short people. The two shorter individuals were standing side-by-side. They seemed like such close friends from the way they held each other's hands.
Seeing this, Lin Qiushi instantly paused.
"What's the matter?" Xiong Qi, who wasn't far from the other, immediately detected a change in Lin Qiushi. "Lin Qiushi?"
Lin Qiushi muttered, "It's a bit strange…"
"What's strange?" It was Xiao Ke's voice.
After hearing her voice, Lin Qiushi finally discovered what was amiss. There were only six people left: Xiong Qi, Xiao Ke, Wang Xiaoyi, Cheng Wen, Ruan Baijie, and Lin Qiushi himself.
If Xiao Ke was standing beside Xiong Qi, how could there possibly be two people holding hands next to Ruan Baijie?
Lin Qiushi's breath hitched; a lump formed in his throat, and he swallowed his thick saliva. He casually proceeded to swing his shovel back and forth and continued to dig, pretending as if nothing happened. He then called, "Ruan Baijie, come over here. There's something I want to tell you."
Ruan Baijie rose from her spot. Striding towards Lin Qiushi, she asked, "What's up?"
Lin Qiushi didn't utter a word. From the corner of his eye, he warily stared at the two people holding hands. The two people he was watching stood under the shadows of the trees, so he couldn't see them too clearly. Their heights were nearly the same, and they hands were tightly entwined together, as if they had a strong relationship that could never be broken apart. But right now, such a heart-warming scene only made one's scalp tingle.
"Lin Qiushi?" Ruan Baijie asked again. "What's wrong?"
Lin Qiushi still didn't speak. He planned to wait for Ruan Baijie to come closer before talking, but then his shovel got stuck; it seemed as though he hit something hard while digging.
Ruan Baijie finally came over to Lin Qiushi's side. She lowered her eyes and noticed a frozen corpse next to Lin Qiushi's shovel. "You found it?
"Huh?" Lin Qiushi momentarily couldn't process what Ruan Baijie was saying, and he didn't react for a while.
"You found the body?" Ruan Baijie tone was light and calm. "Not bad, your luck's pretty good."
Lin Qiushi suddenly realized he dug something up with his shovel. He bowed his head to look down and caught sight of a frozen corpse in the snow. Currently, the corpse's pale hands were the only parts that were showing, but he was certain it was one of their snow-buried comrades who had died after carrying the tree.
"Found it!" Lin Qiushi shouted at the top of his lungs. After he announced this, he glanced back to where he saw the two figures, only to see what should've been two individuals converge into one. The figure slowly approached them. It walked into the moonlight, revealing itself, and at last, Lin Qiushi recognized the other. It was Wang Xiaoyi.
Wang Xiaoyi gradually closed the distance between her and Lin Qiushi and soon came to his side. She thought the look in his eyes was rather strange. "Why are you staring at me? Did I do something?"
Lin Qiushi shook his head, "No reason, you didn't do anything."
Wang Xiaoyi expressed her gratitude. "Thank you. You're really amazing." Her eyelids drooped as she peered down to stare at the corpse in the snow pit; the expression in her eyes was ever so tender. "If it weren't for you, I might've died yesterday. And you even managed to find a dead body."
Lin Qiushi replied, "It was all luck, that's all." He abruptly reached out and grabbed Ruan Baijie, drawing her towards him. "Come over here."
Ruan Baijie slightly raised her eyebrow at Lin Qiushi's actions. She was just about to speak, when she suddenly felt Lin Qiushi's fingers lightly drawing a pattern on her palm.
He drew a total of four letters and wrote out the name 'Wang'.
At that moment, the two's hearts and minds were in sync; there were no words needed, it was tacitly understood. Ruan Baijie squeezed his hand, signaling that she got his message. She looked back down at the corpse and said, "Since we now found the dead body, let's quickly bring the corpse back."
"Perfect." Wang Xiaoyi laughed and agreed, "Let's hurry back."