Once some things started and progressed, it was no longer possible to return to the beginning.
Xiao Yi's demise only seemed to signal the prelude to ruin, ominously raising the curtains to show a macabre play of death. Zeng Ruguo and Zhong Chengjian had both died tragically in just two short days; however, the sickle of Death never ceased. On the day following the woman's resurrection, a fourth victim appeared.
Except, it wasn't one of them who had died. It was one of the triplets, Xiao Shi.
This time, Xu Xiaocheng was the first to discover Xiao Shi's corpse. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she screamed her head off and instantaneously bolted out, hysterically crying out, "Another person died! Another person died!!!"
"Who died?" asked Tang Yaoyao.
"I don't know. It seemed to be one of the two little girls." Xu Xiaocheng's eyes grew rounder with terror. Although she had caught sight of the corpse, her response was much calmer than before; at least her very first reaction wasn't to puke this time. "I didn't have the guts to stare at it any longer. I just glanced at it really quickly, then immediately ran out of there."
With that said, the group headed off towards the bathroom. The moment they walked inside, they stumbled upon the remnants of a corpse scattered on the ground.
Xiao Shi's state wasn't looking any prettier than Xiao Yi's, who had been hacked to death with a knife. All of her limbs and organs were haphazardly smeared across the floor, painting a hideous mess; one could practically imagine the brutality that took place, how much the body was beaten and crushed, based on the unrecognizable remains of a body splattering the bathroom.
Yet everyone remained relatively cool upon seeing the battered corpse this time. Lin Qiushi gave the gory scene a once-over and verified that Xiao Shi was as dead as can be—she couldn't possibly be any deader.
Ruan Nanzhu didn't utter a word the entire time; he stood in still silence.
Standing beside him, Lin Qiushi asked the other in a low whisper what he was thinking.
"Nothing important." Ruan Nanzhu unconcernedly replied. "I'm just curious as to how the mother will react this time once she sees this scene."
Everyone's faces turned ugly at the thought of the woman.
And yet, it was truly as the saying went—speak of the devil and in he walks! Ruan Nanzhu had barely mentioned the woman, before she unexpectedly appeared right at the doorway to the bathroom! This time, she didn't weep outrageously. With an astonishingly calm bearing and an expression that couldn't be any more blank, she grasped a mop in one hand and a disposable bag in the other. She then lowered her head and quietly began to sweep up her daughter's corpse, ever so slowly gathering the pieces of her child's body.
Not a single spoken word broke this pantomime; only the sticky, sloshing sounds of the wet mop being dragged across the thick blood could be heard. The woman skillfully bagged her daughter's body parts, then silently lugged the full bag away.
"I have a really bad feeling." Tang Yaoyao's complexion turned pale. "What about you?"
"Same here." Zhang Xinghuo swallowed hard as he agreed. "Can we all really live to the last day?"
There were only two days left until the birthday party, but that day seemed like forever from now; after all, time crawled torturously slowly when one was feeling wretched.
No one could answer Zhang Xinghuo's question. In such a world, no one's life was guaranteed, and the fact that they were still alive was already a blessing; at this point, they were purely relying on luck to survive.
That afternoon, Tang Yaoyao fell ill, and she returned to her room early to get some rest.
Lin Qiushi recalled what happened the day before, and he tactfully reminded her to be careful and take care.
Tang Yaoyao did not take Lin Qiushi's words to heart. She merely nodded, and turning on her heels, strutted away. Xu Xiaocheng gazed at her retreating back and hesitantly parted her lips to say something, but eventually deciding against it, she closed her mouth and chose to remain silent.
"What's the matter?" Lin Qiushi asked Xu Xiaocheng upon seeing her distraught appearance.
"Nothing." Xu Xiaocheng shook her head. "I just think it might be a bit safer for everyone to stick together."
Zhang Xinghuo said, "It doesn't matter if it's safe or unsafe. Even if everyone sticks together now, we'll have to be separated when night comes."
That was, indeed, the unfortunate truth. Lin Qiushi inwardly sighed.
With the grim atmosphere ruining everyone's mood, no one had the heart to chat.
After eating a simple dinner, Ruan Nanzhu announced that he was tired. He then stood up from his seat and dragged Lin Qiushi along with him back to that coffin-like room.
"What's wrong?" Lin Qiushi wondered. "Why are you in such a hurry today?"
Ruan Nanzhu pouted, "This one just wants to stay with you for a while… Can't I?"
Lin Qiushi: "…Speak. What's going on."
Ruan Nanzhu: "I think I know where the door is."
Lin Qiushi raised his eyebrows in shock, "You know where the door is?"
"It's only a guess though." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I have to verify it first. It's going to be very dangerous, so you should just—"
"I'm going with you." Lin Qiushi already knew what Ruan Nanzhu was going to say, so he immediately interrupted him. "Even though I probably can't be of much help, at least you'll have one other person by your side; two people looking out for each other is still better than one." He pursed his lips, his voice became an octave lower, much graver. "I know that I'm weak right now, but if something happens to you…"
A faint smile played around Ruan Nanzhu lips, "Ah, that's right, if anything bad happens to me, you'd end up becoming a widower."
Lin Qiushi: "…"
Ruan Nanzhu: "And I'm not kind enough to let you find another woman. Nope, I won't allow it."
Lin Qiushi exhaled deeply, "Okay big boss, can we just stop messing around and leave already?"
Ruan Nanzhu stretched his arm and patted Lin Qiushi's buttocks, before saying, "Alrighty, let's go."
Lin Qiushi: "…" You seriously can't keep your misbehaving hands to yourself, can you?
A few minutes later, the two appeared on the roof. As before, a bulky, rusted lock, covered in unrecognizable stains, hung from the roof, and judging from the looks of it, it hadn't been used in quite a long time. However, Lin Qiushi noticed that there were some new marks on the lock that hadn't been there previously. It looked as if someone had opened it; in particular, near the area of the keyhole, there seemed to be some traces of rubbing.
"Did someone come to the roof?" Lin Qiushi instantly recalled the forbidden door that shouldn't have been opened in the fairy tale, and wondered aloud, "Is this that door?"
"Perhaps." Ruan Nanzhu responded. "I'm not too sure though, so I plan to go up and check it out. You just stay down here and be on the lookout."
Lin Qiushi nodded.
Ruan Nanzhu removed his hair pin and began to unlock the lock. When it came to this field, Ruan Nanzhu was exceptionally skillful; quickly and effortlessly, he efficiently opened the lock.
With a sharp click, the lock soon fell to the ground. The iron door issued a slight creak as Ruan Nanzhu gradually pushed it open.
With the iron door now fully opened, the view on the rooftop was clearly exposed before the two individuals. Although it was pitch black outside, Lin Qiushi could vaguely identify the situation on the roof. Countless stuffed black bags were littered across the rooftop, and these bags seemed awfully familiar. As a matter of fact, Lin Qiushi had seen a similar disposable bag just this afternoon—the same type of bag was used by that woman to carry her daughter's butchered corpse.
However, as of this very moment, there were hundreds of thousands of these disposable bags before his eyes.
"Tch." Ruan Nanzhu softly clicked his tongue, then turned his head to look at Lin Qiushi. "It seems like we're in trouble."
Lin Qiushi: "Huh?"
Ruan Nanzhu explained, "What if this door was never about the three sisters in the first place, but the eggs instead?"
Before Lin Qiushi could respond, Ruan Nanzhu stepped onto the rooftop, "But, I mean, since we've come all this way already…"
Lin Qiushi: "…" Friend, do you think you're on a vacation or something? Did we come to this motherfucking place just so you can bring some souvenirs back with you?
Ruan Nanzhu walked out onto the rooftop and scanned his surroundings, looking left and right, as if he was searching for something.
Lin Qiushi watched him circling the rooftop, scouring the area, when he finally stopped at a corner. Black bags were piled on top of each other, making people want to avoid that corner at all cost.
Lin Qiushi stood at the door, keeping watch for Ruan Nanzhu. He observed as the other bent down and began sifting through the bags, trying to find something. But just then, Lin Qiushi faintly caught the sound of light footsteps, and the source of these footsteps appeared to be heading directly towards their direction.
"Nanzhu!! Someone's coming!!" Lin Qiushi cried out in a low whisper. "Get out of there immediately—"
Ruan Nanzhu hummed in response, but he didn't show any signs of moving from his spot.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Cold perspiration dripped down Lin Qiushi's forehead and back. Although he didn't know who was approaching, he had a grave suspicion that it was best not to let the other know that they were on the rooftop.
"Here we go!" Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have finally found what he'd been looking for, and he heaved himself up from his crouched position. Fortunately, he moved swiftly; he promptly dashed back to the door, pulled the iron door shut, and hung the lock up—his actions were executed flawlessly and in less than no time.
The footstep nearly reached their location.
Lin Qiushi immediately took charge. Moving faster than lightning, he quickly seized Ruan Nanzhu's hand, pushed him against the wall, and pressed his body close to Ruan Nanzhu's. Their breaths mingled with each other, their bodies entwined with one another, their chests were glued together, allowing them to feel the beat of their hearts; they looked like a couple so caught up in their passions and intimacy.
"Who?" As the footsteps approached the side, Lin Qiushi slightly twisted his head. The feelings of dismay and anxiousness that he tried to conceal were all exposed on his face. "Who's there?"
There was no response.
Ruan Nanzhu gave Lin Qiushi a meaningful look. The two separated from each other and headed downstairs; however, they didn't catch sight of a single soul when they walked downstairs. It was as though the footsteps they'd just heard were merely figments of their imagination.
"No one?" Lin Qiushi was feeling skeptical.
Ruan Nanzhu shook his head and pointed at the corner.
Lin Qiushi followed his finger and looked in direction he pointed, only to discover gory traces of blood on the corner of the wall—traces that conjured the abysmal image of something being dragged across the ground. Looking at this scene, the first thing Lin Qiushi thought of were those disposable black bags filled with human remains.
"Not bad." Ruan Nanzhu remarked. "Linlin, your response time is impeccable."
"Fortunately." Lin Qiushi reflexively blurted. His palms were soaked in sweat, and he conveniently wiped them on his pants for a while. "So, what did you find?"
Ruan Nanzhu replied, "I'll tell you when we go back."
Thereupon, the two returned to that narrow, claustrophobic room.
Because the room had poor sound-proofing, they couldn't speak too loudly. Ruan Nanzhu leaned towards Lin Qiushi as close as he could, and in the lowest possible voice he could muster, he revealed, "I found the door."
"You found it?" Lin Qiushi didn't expect finding the door to go so smoothly. "On the roof?"
"Yes, on the floor of the roof. It was covered by those bags stuffed with corpses." Ruan Nanzhu continued. "I'm guessing the key will appear on the day of the birthday party. We must seize that opportunity when the time comes."
"En." He didn't know why, but Lin Qiushi always felt especially at ease whenever Ruan Nanzhu was around, and now that the other already found a way out of this godawful place, he could finally relax his tense shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief.
"Now, sleep." Ruan Nanzhu said. "We just have to endure a while longer, and then we'll be free."
The next morning, everyone gathered in the living room.
Because Tang Yaoyao's body had been stained with blood, Lin Qiushi paid special attention to her, but when he saw her, he found out that she hadn't met with any accidents. Completely unharmed, she arrived on time like everyone else and ate breakfast with them.
"I want to go downstairs today and check the situation out." Ruan Nanzhu suddenly announced. "Those two people downstairs should have some information."
"I'll go with you," said Lin Qiushi.
Tang Yaoyao declared that she did not wish to go anymore. She had been running downstairs for the past two days all in vain, because, in the end, she couldn't obtain any information; the other party would either slam the door in her face, or be unable to communicate coherently. Furthermore, the worst part about it was that the elevator couldn't even move downwards, so they actually had to run down more than twelve flights of stairs, and every time they ran like hell, they couldn't help but feel as though they were characters in a horror movie fleeing for their life.
"Then you can remain here. I'll head down with Yu Linlin," stated Ruan Nanzhu.
"I want to join you guys." Xu Xiaocheng hurriedly expressed. She timidly glanced at Ruan Nanzhu, before lowering her eyes to the ground, "Can I, big sister Zhu Meng?"
"Up to you." The indifferent expression on Ruan Nanzhu's face showed that he couldn't care any less.
And so, the three individuals stood up and marched out the door. As he was walking, Lin Qiushi noticed that the door to the bedroom was ajar, and the slight crack between the frame and the door revealed a pair of peering eyes. It appeared that the last of the triplets, Xiao Tu, was secretly observing them.
However, the moment her line of sight collided with Lin Qiushi's, she immediately withdrew her gaze. It wasn't long after she retreated from her spot, that the ajar door became closed, once again.
Lin Qiushi frowned upon seeing this.
Descending from the fourteenth floor all the way to the fourth floor without using an elevator was such a pain. If not all, the stairwell was dark and narrow, with a faint damp, rancid smell, typical of old buildings.
"When will I be able to leave this place?" asked Xu Xiaocheng as they made their way downstairs. "Big sister Zhu Meng, I'm very scared; everyday, I'm living in fear."
"Soon." Ruan Nanzhu said in response. "Just endure it for another two days."
Haggard and wan, Xu Xiaocheng feebly nodded.
Lin Qiushi studied her troubled appearance; yet, surprisingly enough, instead of feeling worried for her, he was feeling rather intrigued and curious. Ruan Nanzhu had mentioned previously that she was a simple client, merely someone he met through his line of work, but that she was also a famous celebrity in the real world. It's just that Lin Qiushi didn't know what exactly Ruan Nanzhu did for a living, how his job even related to Xu Xiaocheng, or how he even managed to make a connection with her in the first place.
"We're here." While Lin Qiushi was still ruminating on the matter with Ruan Nanzhu, they had reached the fourth floor. But as soon as they exited the stairwell to go to the fourth floor, the pungent stench of blood permeated the air, stinging their nostrils. This sanguinary odor was incredibly potent, to the point that even those who did not possess sensitive noses would be able to clearly detect it.
"What is this terrible smell? It's so disgusting." Utterly repulsed, Xu Xiaocheng pinched her nose with one hand and fanned the air with her other.
"The smell of blood." Lin Qiushi was more than familiar with this stench. He walked towards the front of the group, then shot a glance at the household located at the very end of the corridor.
"Holy shit." Having laid eyes on the appalling conditions of the household, Lin Qiushi let a curse slip past his lips.
The door to the residence was left wide open, and bright crimson blood was spattered all over it, chaotically dyeing the door and surrounding area red. The blood spurted everywhere and had already coagulated on the ground.
No one uttered a sound. They guardedly stepped through the door to the residence.
"Anyone here?" Lin Qiushi shouted near the doorway, despite having already given up all hopes of seeing a living person in the room.
Just as he'd expected, there was no response in the room. He cautiously stepped over the congealed blood, then swept his eyes across the entire room, only to realize the whole place was plunged into darkness. He fished out his mobile phone, turned on the flashlight and shined it around the room.
Although he had already prepared himself mentally, Lin Qiushi still instinctively took a step back when the light from his flashlight was cast upon a bloody, grisly corpse.
"Dead." Ruan Nanzhu stepped closer.
All of the windows of the room were boarded up; not even a sliver of light could seep into the place. The room was tidy, not a speck out of place. The owner of this residence was that young man who had opened up the door for them the other day.
But as of this very moment, he had lost all signs of life. His corpse lay slumped on the sofa; his head was turned up towards the heavens, with an expression of sheer terror frozen on his face.
"His eyes were gouged out," observed Ruan Nanzhu.
Lin Qiushi eventually walked over, and, standing behind Ruan Nanzhu, he glanced at the corpse again. He found that the man's eyes were gone, only leaving behind two cavernous holes, where thick, sticky blood oozed out from. This scene reminded him of how Zeng Ruguo's skull had been smashed in and how Zhong Chengjian's body had been hollowed-out.
"Why would he suddenly die like this?" Lin Qiushi questioned. "Has there been a complication?"
Ruan Nanzhu didn't speak. He walked over to the nearest wall to find the light switch to the room. After the switch was flipped on, the ceiling lights flickered and brightened the room.
"There's also blood on the window." With plenty of light illuminating the room now, it was easier to inspect the area. Lin Qiushi also detected some incongruities in the room. The boarded windows were smeared with blood, but the blood couldn't possibly be from the corpse, because the dead body was situated at least two to three meters from the window.
"Do you still remember the blood that was spilled at the door?" asked Ruan Nanzhu. "I initially believed that blood was used to ward off evil, somewhat like a protection, but now…"
"Are you saying someone wanted them dead?" Lin Qiushi suddenly came to a realization. "Someone deliberately poured blood on their doorstep?"
"Mhm." Ruan Nanzhu gave a curt nod.
"Could it be that this man died in place of Tang Yaoyao?" Lin Qiushi supposed. Tang Yaoyao's body had been stained with blood, and yet she managed to live through the night peacefully. He had originally thought that Tang Yaoyao had escaped from calamity, but he certainly didn't expect to find another deceased individual on one of the lower floors of the building.
Ruan Nanzhu narrowed his eyes, "Seems like it."
"Let's go down and check out the first floor." Lin Qiushi thought of the elderly grandmother downstairs and wanted to observe the situation there.
"Let's go." Ruan Nanzhu assented.
Thereafter, the three left the fourth floor and headed down to the first floor. They arrived at their destination, only to see that all of the doors to the rooms on the first floor were closed. And sure enough, it was as Ruan Nanzhu speculated. While the locked doors were nothing new, there was something different about the place—fresh blood had been slathered near the doorway of one of the rooms, and the blood had yet to solidify, suggesting that it was spilled quite recently.
Ruan Nanzhu extended an arm and knocked hard on the door.
In all honestly, they did not expect the person inside to respond, but who could've imagined that after a minute passed, the elderly lady actually opened the door for them. With a glum expression, she squinted her cloudy eyes and sized up the three individuals before her; and all the while, she kept mumbling something to herself.
Lin Qiushi didn't even need to hear her clearly to know that she must have been repeating that same monotonous sentence: "I have already eaten."
Previously, he had not concerned himself with the elderly lady's mechanical repetition, but thinking of it, this one sentence was inexplicable creepy and disturbing, causing one's blood to run cold.
Why was she repeating this sentence to no end? Who was it that gave her something to eat? What exactly had she already eaten? Although this grandma was old and senile, she still possessed enough awareness to express her resistance.
"Great grandmother, what exactly have you eaten?" Lin Qiushi carefully inquired.
Once this question was directed at her, the elderly woman paused, remaining silent for about two second. She then parted her lips and hoarsely answered, "I have already eaten…I have eaten the cake."
Lin Qiushi: "…"
"Don't eat. Don't eat." Stressing this, the elderly woman soon began blabbering the same words. She raised her hand to shut the door, but Ruan Nanzhu speedily reached out and caught the iron door with his hand, holding it in place. With a warm smile and gentle tone, Ruan Nanzhu asked, "Grandma, do you have any plans to attend this year's birthday party?"
Upon hearing the words 'birthday party', the elderly woman's body started to quiver uncontrollably. A strange, chilling expression flashed within her hazy eyes, and after a brief moment, she replied, "No. I won't go."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Why won't you go?"
The elderly woman said, "Those who've attended still haven't come back yet. I have to wait for them here." After she finished stating this, she reverted back to her repetitive ways, saying "I have already eaten", like a tape stuck on repeat. No matter what Ruan Nanzhu asked, she no longer responded to any more questions; with the state she was in, it was impossible to obtain any more information.
Feeling helpless and frustrated, Ruan Nanzhu released his hold on the door, allowing the elderly lady to finally close it.
Nevertheless, although they only exchanged a few words with the old woman, in the brief period they managed to speak with her, their suspicions had been confirmed. There was a reason this building was unoccupied, and the reason apparently had something to do with the birthday party of those triplets who resided on the fourteenth floor.
"So, anyone who participates in the birthday party doesn't survive?" Lin Qiushi wrinkled his brows in perplexity. "But our task in this world is to wait seven days, then celebrate the triplet's birthday once those seven days are over. Isn't this contradictory?"
Ruan Nanzhu stated, "It's highly unlikely that the world behind the door will set up a completely hopeless situation, or a deadlock, if you will. Simply attending the birthday party may not necessarily be a condition for death."
"Then what is it?" Lin Qiushi frowned.
"I don't know yet." Ruan Nanzhu uttered. "We can only wait."
As they conversed with each other, they headed back up to the fourteenth floor.
When Lin Qiushi entered through the door, he came across Tang Yaoyao sitting on the sofa aloofly and Zhang Xinghuo sitting beside her with a sour expression on his face. Despite seeing the three arrive, the two did not greet them; in fact, they barely paid them any heed.
"What happened?" Xu Xiaocheng diffidently questioned.
"Nothing." Tang Yaoyao unenthusiastically dismissed with the wave of her hand. "Just a while ago, that little brat came to us to stir up some trouble."
"She found you to stir up some trouble?" repeated Ruan Nanzhu, doubtfully. "What did she say?"
"She wouldn't stop nagging me to say her name." Tang Yaoyao puffed out through her gritted teeth. "How the fuck am I supposed to know her name? All three girls look exactly the same! Who the hell knows which one of them died! This is just the worst." As she said this, she clicked her tongue multiple times in annoyance. "Zhang Xinghuo even said not to get angry with a child. But that? Is that even a child? I say it's just a little devil!"
Zhang Xinghuo huffed in frustration, "Can you stop with that attitude? Okay, let's say she is a little devil. You think she'll let you live if you continue with this nasty attitude of yours?! Frankly speaking, that attitude will only result in you dying faster!"
"No one knows for sure who will be the very next to die!" Tang Yaoyao roared furiously. "I seriously can't comprehend what that turd-filled brain of yours is thinking. Don't tell me you could actually recognize them, huh?"
Zhang Xinghuo fell into livid silence.
It seemed that ever since Tang Yaoyao had been stained with blood, her mood was all over the place, her state of mind unstable, especially right now; even the slightest pinch would cause her to erupt.
"The last one is Xiao Tu." Ruan Nanzhu said calmly. "Don't make the same mistake next time. This may be a condition of death. Speaking of which, we just went down and found that the young man living on the fourth floor had died."
Hopping off what Ruan Nanzhu announced, Lin Qiushi discussed the situation they stumbled upon on the fourth floor and also shared some information they obtained from the elderly woman.
Who could've known that after listening to this information, Tang Yaoyao's temper grew even worse. She rose from the sofa and irascibly paced around the room like a trapped beast; her expression was incomparably fierce.
"What's the matter with you, Tang Yaoyao?" asked Xu Xiaocheng upon seeing her erratic behavior.
"There's no need to worry about me." Tang Yaoyao spat. "I'm feeling extremely…great!!!" As she said this, she began to rub her arms vehemently.
The weather here was far from freezing. Everyone wore short sleeves and light jackets, and the same applied to Tang Yaoyao; she was wearing a simple t-shirt and a lightweight jacket on top. And yet, her movements were very exaggerated and extremely rough, as if she was doing everything in her power to warm herself up.
Not a single person breathed a word. Everyone felt that there was something odd with Tang Yaoyao.
At last, Xu Xiaocheng couldn't restrain herself; she opened her mouth and softly wondered, "Tang Yaoyao, what's up with you hand…"
Feeling more than peeved, Tang Yaoyao blew up, "What's up with me?! What do you mean? There's nothing up with me! I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine!!!" After insisting that she was fine, she hoisted her sleeves up and continued to rub her arms violently.
The moment she rolled up her sleeves, Lin Qiushi caught sight of marks on her arm.
Traces of red splotched her arms, resembling splatters of blood. Tang Yaoyao began using her sharp nails to scratch at that area; it was as if there was this unbearable itch tormenting her.
Soon after, Lin Qiushi saw the crimson marks started to spread right before his eyes, gradually spreading from her arms to her shoulders. Everyone's eyes widened with horror at this alarming sight. Tang Yaoyao, who was too absorbed with her arms, was oblivious to her surroundings, and therefore missed everyone's expressions of shock. She never stopped scratching her arms, until she realized everyone was staring at her strangely.
Tang Yaoyao, whose face flushed a deep scarlet, glared at the rest and warily demanded, "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
Author's Comment:
Ruan Nanzhu: Come now…
Lin Qiushi: Where do you think you're touching?