The others didn't seem to find anything off about Wang Xiaoyi. Instead, they focused their attention on the corpse in front of them.
"Great. I didn't expect to find a dead body this fast." Xiong Qi praised Lin Qiushi's good luck. "I thought we'd be spending the entire night outside."
"Come on. Let's take the corpse back." Upon seeing the dead body, Cheng Wen calmed down and his mood stabilized. He bent forward and spat disgustingly on the ground. Engulfed by a passionate hatred, he murderously glared at Wang Xiaoyi. "Consider your life saved for now."
Wang Xiaoyi yelped in fear and tried to hide behind Lin Qiushi's back. But this time, Lin Qiushi didn't allow her to take cover behind him. He quickly grabbed ahold of Wang Xiaoyi's wrist and said, "Don't be afraid of him, we're right here next to you. Are you that sick in the head, Cheng Wen? Why on earth would you scare a woman?"
Cheng Wen snarled, "She definitely isn't human, I've seen it all!" He seemed to have some mental problems; his moods fluctuated so fast, he was easily provoked and he was prone to bouts of anger. But, in any case, he no longer threatened Wang Xiaoyi after Lin Qiushi stated his piece. He simply lowered his head and, together with Xiong Qi, he began digging up the corpse in the snow.
The dead body was frozen stiff from being in the snow for a few days, but its appearance was as before; the area where the abdomen was supposed to be connected to the waist was severed, and the spilling viscera and spine was fully exposed for all to see. Such a gruesome sight was beyond hair-raising.
If Lin Qiushi had witnessed this scene the very moment he arrived to this world, he surely would've puked his guts out. But after spending so many days here fortifying himself with experience, Lin Qiushi gazed at this scene calmly; his heart didn't give rise to the slightest palpitations. As a matter of fact, he even wanted to examine it from a closer range.
"How should we take it back?" Xiao Ke raised this question. "Should we carry it?"
"We'll drag it back." Xiong Qi answered. "Even though we're being very disrespectful to the dead by doing so, it's still better than risking the lives of the living and creating two more deaths."
Perhaps carrying the dead wouldn't pose a great issue in the real world, but the worlds inside these doors were more than unnatural. Who knew whether these dead bodies would all of a sudden come back to life.
"Alright." Lin Qiushi nodded in approval.
Thereupon, the two men securely tied the dead body with rope, then placed a plank they'd brought with them underneath the corpse, forming a simple makeshift sled that they could conveniently drag down the snowy mountain.
"Let's go." After setting everything up, Xiong Qi and Lin Qiushi pulled the corpse from either side and trudged down the mountain path with the dead body. The ladies walked up front. While lugging the corpse, Lin Qiushi swept his eyes across Wang Xiaoyi and studied her.
In truth, he had deliberately caught Wang Xiaoyi's wrist, but once he grabbed her, he realized she didn't feel any different. Her body temperature and the sensation of her skin were completely normal. It couldn't have been that what happened in the woods was just his imagination? No… Lin Qiushi immediately cast aside his inner doubts. In this world, one couldn't overlook even the slightest misconception or hallucination; everything had to be taken to heart. They had to tread carefully; otherwise, one wrong step could lead them to their demise.
Several people continued moving forwards. Ruan Baijie walked behind Lin Qiushi. The two huddled very closely to each other. Ruan Baijie then whispered, "What did you see?"
Lin Qiushi replied, "Two figures."
Ruan Baijie hummed, obviously understanding the other's meaning.
Lin Qiushi: "Is she human?"
Ruan Baijie heard Lin Qiushi's question, smiled gently, and said, "Let's say I do say she's human. Why would you still trust me so much though?"
Lin Qiushi thought for a moment. "Probably because you look really good?"
Ruan Baijie: "Oh, how I love hearing those words." She paused for a split second, then continued, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. There's a great possibility that she's human; however, you still mustn't let your guard down. After all, even if her body itself may be human, God knows what other gnarly secrets lurk within her; it's best that we don't close our eyes to the other unconventional things around us."
Lin Qiushi felt that she was absolutely reasonable.
The mountain trail was quite narrow, but, luckily, the corpse wasn't too heavy. They all breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the bottom of the mountain; at least they didn't encounter anything strange on the road.
"Let's head back quickly." Xiong Qi looked at the sky and expressed his worry. "The day's going turn completely dark soon."
"Yeah." Lin Qiushi softly answered.
The entire village was enveloped by a deafening silence by the time dusk arrived. The faint susurrus of the snowflakes falling to the ground emphasized the deathly stillness of their surroundings.
As the group kept going, Wang Xiaoyi, who was walking up ahead, abruptly let out a sharp cough. It seemed as though she choked on something; immediately afterwards, she doubled over.
Xiao Ke, who was standing beside her, anxiously asked, "Wang Xiaoyi, are you okay?"
Wang Xiaoyi didn't reply. She shakily lifted her arm and gave a slight wave, indicating that she was fine. Who could've imagined that in the very next moment, Cheng Wen, whose emotions had long been stabilized, suddenly went mad. He tightly grasped the shovel in his hands and rushed straight at Wang Xiaoyi, intending to attack her.
"What are you doing!" Lin Qiushi blocked Cheng Wen in time, then he roared, "Cheng Wen, you're crazy!"
Cheng Wen's eyes were red as blood. He was like a lunatic who lost all his reason to insanity. He screamed with a hoarse voice, "She's a ghost!! Don't try to stop me!!"
Wang Xiaoyi's racking coughs became increasingly severe. She was already kneeling on the ground, and she even began repeatedly retching because of the violent coughing fits that assailed her.
Xiao Ke cautiously drew nearer to her. Once Xiao Ke got a clear view of what the other had vomited, she involuntarily cried out in alarm.
Lin Qiushi turned around and saw that Wang Xiaoyi's mouth was actually filled with black hair. She feebly clawed at her neck; insufferable pain distorted her whole face. Those long strands of inky hair endlessly poured out of her mouth, constantly squirming on the ground like a living creature.
"I have to kill her!! Or else she'll kill us all!!" Cheng Wen exploded. He had completely lost his mind and was out of control. The strength this man exhibited once his limits had been pushed to the greatest extent was frightening. Not even a second passed before he forcefully flung Lin Qiushi off his body. Lin Qiushi fell to the ground with a thud. He could only watch on helplessly as Cheng Wen brandished that shovel; no sooner, the shovel struck Wang Xiaoyi's skull.
"Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!!!" Wang Xiaoyi issued the most anguished, blood-curdling shriek. Her head was directly split into two. Hot blood splashed all over the untainted white snow; a sizzling sound ensued as the scalding hot liquid hit the cold ground, and spirals of hazy smoke drifted into the air. Her relentless heaving soon came to an end. Still maintaining an appearance fraught with terror and contorted in pain, she slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Haha. Hahaha. She's dead." Cheng Wen exposed a satisfied smile. He ruthlessly kicked Wang Xiaoyi's body, then laughed. "Ahaha, now we'll survive."
No one spoke. The remaining four quietly gaped at this abysmal scene
The hair that Wang Xiaoyi coughed up gradually began to fade, and it eventually disappeared. Her eyes were wide open, as if she couldn't understand why she met this kind of end.
"Haha. Hahaha." Cheng Wen loosened his grip, and the shovel painted with blood fell to the ground. He finally glanced around him and noticed the others' expressions of horror and repulsion. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? I was the one to save you all!"
"Sha sha sha…"
The atmosphere instantly froze. The sound of rustling in the snow broke this overbearing silence.
Lin Qiushi turned his head around. He distinctly heard these strange noises come from the mountain forest—it seemed as though something was rubbing against the ground, slithering towards them.
"What's this sound?" A sense of terrible foreboding plagued Lin Qiushi. "We have to leave, immediately."
"Yeah." Xiong Qi's complexion also changed slightly. He didn't have the energy to deal with the deceased Wang Xiaoyi and Cheng Wen. In sync, he and Lin Qiushi pulled the rope and dashed in the direction of their house.
This time, no one considered saving up their strength; they made sure to use every ounce of their energy to flee. But the soft snow and their thick, heavy clothing truly brought them plenty of troubles. Lin Qiushi was gasping for air, but he didn't dare stop running like hell. He clearly heard these sounds getting closer and closer.
Cheng Wen also ran for his life; he bolted ahead of the team and was the first to reach the residence.
"Cheng Wen, open the door fast!" Xiong Qi furiously hollered.
Cheng Wen opened the door in a panic. It was reasonable to say that his next move should've obviously been to rush inside, but that certainly wasn't the case. Whether he saw something was unknown, but he gripped the shovel in his hands and began hacking at the air wildly. Jumbled shouts flew out of his mouth, "Ghosts! Ghosts—"
Lin Qiushi started thinking the other had an emotional breakdown, but after observing the situation carefully, he was surprised to find that Cheng Wen didn't have any issues. Under the moonlight, his shadow actually transformed into two individuals. One was undoubtedly his own, but the other was a long-haired woman. The woman reached out and captured Cheng Wen. Side by side, the two shadows lay still on the floor, as if they'd already broken free from Cheng Wen's physical body.
"Ghosts!! Ghosts!!" Cheng Wen cried wretchedly. Intolerable fear had finally crumbled the last strand of rationality that was keeping his wits intact. At last, Lin Qiushi could no longer stand by idly and put up with this. He strode over to the other and struck the back of his neck with the edge of his hand. The other was stunned on spot, and he didn't let out another frenzied scream.
"Come in, now!!!" Ruan Baijie yelled from inside. "That thing's almost here."
Lin Qiushi and Xiong Qi began working together. One person hauled a corpse inside, while the other dragged a catatonic man inside. Just when they moved the corpse and man into their residence, they heard those harsh rustling sounds coming from the doorway.
"Knock, knock, knock." Someone rapped on the door.
The other four within the room were panting deeply; there shouldn't have been a single person on the other side.
"Knock, knock, knock." The sounds of knocking on the door continued. Apparently, the one outside seemed to have realized they wouldn't open the door. A woman's voice soon rang out. She said, "Open this door. I'm so hungry. Give me something to eat."
When Lin Qiushi heard the word 'hungry', he immediately recalled the evil deity the carpenter spoke of.
"I'm so hungry." The woman was like a broken record with her incessant nagging. Her voice grew louder with each passing second. "I'm so hungry. For God's sake, have a heart, and do some good. Give me something to eat."
"Oh, fuck!" Xiao Ke suddenly swore. "All of you, look at the fence!"
Having heard her words, Lin Qiushi swept a glance across the fence, only to see the upper half of a head and two black eyes peeking from above. The fence surrounding the courtyard was no less than two meters high, it was virtually impossible for ordinary humans to pop their heads out from the top of the fence like that.
"I'm so hungry." The pair of eyes slowly roamed around and eventually spotted them standing in the courtyard. "I'm so hungry. You guys didn't give me anything to eat, so I have no choice but to search for something to eat by myself."
"What should we do?" Lin Qiushi's mouth was dry.
Ruan Baijie: "Go. Don't mind her. We have to first throw the corpse down the well, then we'll talk about what's to be done later."
"Got it." Lin Qiushi assented to what Ruan Baijie said. He picked up the corpse with Xiong Qi and headed towards the well. Ruan Baijie followed closely behind them. It was only until they all reached the well did she have the courage to peer inside the well.
"Throw it." Ruan Baijie ordered.
Lin Qiushi and Xiong Qi released their hold at the same time. The mutilated corpse slid down the well, but they didn't hear the sound of it landing for a long time.
However, although there was no sound of the corpse landing at the bottom, a peculiar noise soon resounded from the depths of the well…a rather unpleasant chewing sound.
"So delicious." The woman at the fence suddenly cried out. "It's so delicious…"
Lin Qiushi sagged his shoulders and sighed in relief.