Night descended deeply as the group proceeded by torchlight through the bitter cold.
The drifting snow had ceased but the wind remained frightfully icy underfoot. Bundled up with hat pulled low, Qiu Shi trudged along slightly hunched beneath the weight on his back - a lovely girl.
No one spoke the entire way, with an eerily oppressive atmosphere.
Only when the temple the carpenter had mentioned loomed ahead did the silence finally shatter.
"Is this the temple?" Zhang Zi Shuang spoke up. "It looks...rather strange."
The nocturnal temple did appear odd indeed. Seemingly decrepit at first glance yet finely crafted upon closer inspection, with intricate bas-reliefs adorning just the two entrance pillars beyond common workmanship.
Qiu Shi set Ruan Bai Jie down and raised his torch, examining the specific content of the carvings. Etched vividly across the stone were scenes of the Eighteen Levels of Hell - sinister spirits and anguished souls captured so lifelike they seemed to writhe from the pillars.
"Such exquisite pillars," Ruan Bai Jie remarked.
"Quite beautiful," Qiu Shi agreed.
Clearly not the work of this backwater village, the carvings were bordering on artistry. Had weightier matters not pressed, Qiu Shi might have studied them further.
"Who goes first?" Xiong Qi asked.
The question of who would first enter the looming darkness of the temple was met by silence. With the risk of triggering death by doing so, to go first would be to offer oneself as potential sacrifice.
"Why must someone go alone?" Ruan Bai Jie said. "What if that old man was deceiving us?"
"Yet heeding him seems safer than defying," Xiong Qi replied.
"Not necessarily," Ruan Bai Jie countered with a glance at Qiu Shi. "I'm afraid. Let's go together."
Qiu Shi hesitated briefly: "But what if entering in pairs itself triggers something?"
"We can't know either way," Ruan Bai Jie said. "I'd rather gamble on this than risk going alone with no one the wiser should something happen. After all...a person goes in, but who knows what might emerge?"
Her words raised goosebumps all around at the thought of what might transpire inside. Qiu Shi rubbed his arms uneasily before meeting her gaze and gritting out, "Alright."
Xiong Qi frowned. "Do you even know what you're doing? If a pair is what..."
Ruan Bai Jie cut him off. "And what if a single person is what does it? Who can say?"
Indeed none could, and Xiong Qi fell silent.
"We care not how the rest of you decide. It's cold - Qiu Shi, let's go first so we can all get some sleep sooner."
The mere mention of sleep reminded them of the looming horrific night, and the urgency to finish here quickly before whatever wandered in darkness found them.
"Let's go," Ruan Bai Jie took Qiu Shi's arm and pressed close as they started toward the temple. The others watched their fading forms, immersed in tense silence...
The wooden temple doors were slightly ajar. Beyond, only impenetrable darkness. Ruan Bai Jie extended a hand to gently push them open. The doors creaked softly inward, and the scent of faint incense wafted out - strangely incongruous here.
In the meager firelight, Qiu Shi made out humble adornments within - an incense altar and effigies with a huge donation box beyond. Something seemed etched onto its surface but he couldn't quite make out the words.
"Let's go," Ruan Bai Jie said softly.
They continued ahead toward the straw mats before the effigies. A Buddha statue gazed back serenely, emanating a sense of profound compassion.
Ruan Bai Jie's expression was tranquil as she knelt and bowed deeply twice before it. Qiu Shi held his breath alongside her. Only the howling wind filled the heavy silence around them.
Finally Ruan Bai Jie rose calmly, dusting off her knees. "It's fine."
Qiu Shi let out his breath and took his own turn to kneel and bow, praying deeply for salvation. A profound sense of relief washed over him as he finished and nothing happened.
"Let's go," Ruan Bai Jie turned to leave. "We're done here."
The group outside stared in surprise as the two emerged unscathed. Xiong Qi asked, "Did anything happen in there?"
Qiu Shi shook his head. "Nothing."
Though none spoke, their expressions seemed odd, hesitant.
"Why don't we just go in pairs as well since those two were fine?" Xiong Qi suggested finally. "...I'll go with you, Xiao Ke."
Xiao Ke brightened with an eager nod.
According to their decided order, next was a single man. He emerged just as calmly, similarly reporting nothing unusual, only puzzlement tinging his features as if he wanted to say something.
But the third pair had already gone in before he could speak.
"What did you see inside?" he asked Qiu Shi softly instead.
"Nothing really - just the effigy and mats," Qiu Shi replied.
The man persisted. "Don't you find the statue odd though...I've never seen anything like it."
Qiu Shi blinked in confusion, unsure of his meaning.
The man went on quietly. "You didn't notice? Its appearance was just too bizarre..."
Qiu Shi shook his head, still not grasping it. But a chilling thought struck him then. "What...did the statue you saw look like?"
"A woman," came the hushed reply. Qiu Shi's smile faded instantly, but the man rambled on obliviously. "No bodhisattva either...just smiling at me strangely, holding not any ritual objects but more like..."
"More like what?" Qiu Shi asked hoarsely.
"An axe. For felling trees." The man's gaze darted back toward the temple uneasily. "And I think...she moved, after I finished bowing." Only then did he notice Qiu Shi's expression. "Did you see something else?"
"No. We saw a Buddha," Qiu Shi said bluntly.
The blood drained from the man's face. He looked upon the temple with escalating horror and despair, trembling violently as he babbled, "That can't be...something's wrong with you, it must be you..." He glanced around warily before adding softly, "...It has to be that woman. Yes...a woman..."
The third pair, Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke, also emerged looking untroubled, seemingly having witnessed nothing unusual either.
And so it went for the fourth group...fifth group...consisting of varying numbers of men and women. But Qiu Shi soon noticed a pattern - all who entered alone looked unsettled when they emerged.
Finally when the last person exited, the truth dawned upon them all - those entering solo beheld one sight within, while pairs laid eyes on something else entirely.
Qiu Shi's group saw a Buddha. The lone entrants saw a smiling woman clutching an axe.
"It has to be us who did right, following the carpenter's word..." one began raving in mounting panic. "It can't be wrong, that woman's the true effigy...yes, a woman!"
Qiu Shi tried reassuring them. "We still can't say for certain."
Of course they all knew well no temple housed such a sinister idol.
"You're right, who knows?" Ruan Bai Jie laughed softly, twirling her hair. "And with so many having gone in now, even if it comes to dying, it may not necessarily be oneself in the end."
"Must you keep laughing like that?" Xiao Ke snapped.
"And why not?" Ruan Bai Jie retorted coolly. "Better to die smiling than weeping."
Cries rose up just then - "The carvings on the pillars - look!"
Qiu Shi raised his eyes. The vivid hellish scenes etched into the pillars had begun to slowly ripple and writhe.