The scene in darkness was indistinct yet so horrifying all eyes locked onto it.
The carvings writhed, as if something strained to break free within. Then in but a moment, a ghastly pale hand emerged, forcing its way out from the undulating stone. Gigantic and coated in gaudy red nails, it groped about wildly before seizing the nearby wooden railing.
Gripping the wood seemed to provide needed leverage, allowing the hand to steadily pull the rest of its body and head from the pillar.
The bizarre and terrifying spectacle left them scarcely able to breathe.
"Stop gawking, run!" Ruan Baijie's voice jarred them from their petrified state, as did Stone Qiu's own startled realization. But glancing back, he saw the thing had already extracted over half its body from the pillar.
"Run!" Ruan commanded. "Run!"
At her word they fled wildly, Qiu Shi racing homeward with all his might. Yet the sounds behind only grew louder - it had fully freed itself to give chase!
Qiu heard it crawling through the snow, knew he mustn't look back yet still stole a glimpse. The sight made him stumble. The ghastly female form, naked and trailing black hair, loomed impossibly large. Its spindly limbs scuttled about in freakish fashion. Though its face remained obscured, a gore-slicked axe gripped in its gigantic hands stood out starkly.
"F**k!" Qiu Shi finally cursed, no longer able to deny this was no mere hallucination - the thing was sickeningly real.
Others had turned too. All who glimpsed the horror were given a tremendous shock.
Their will to survive added speed to their flight, but dashing through the slippery village paths hindered progress. In seemingly no time at all, the thing would be upon them.
"Help me!" Xiao Ke cried out, having twisted her ankle in her panicked scramble. Unable to rise from the snow in her terror-induced paralysis, she pleaded "Brother Xiong, save me!"
Assuming her fate sealed, none expected Xiong Qi to halt his own escape to turn back. Biting his lip, he grabbed Xiao Ke up from the snow. "Hurry!"
"Brother Xiong..." Xiao Ke sobbed, tears streaming. Just as she began to thank him, their blood ran cold at the shadow looming overhead...
The axe-wielding woman had arrived. Staring down at the petrified pair, she flashed a hideous grin, revealing endless rows of teeth. As she raised the rusted blade to strike, Xiao Ke unleashed a piercing shriek and clung tightly to Xiong Qi, no longer daring to watch.
Xiong Qi clenched his jaw, seeming to surrender to fate. But the instant the axe fell, a faint golden glow suddenly enveloped them. The weapon glanced off harmlessly with a clear ringing sound.
The towering woman let out an angry shriek at being thwarted. Yet rather than finish them off, she whirled and raced after the others.
Xiao Ke and Xiong Qi collapsed limply into the snow, having narrowly escaped death.
"Brother Xiong...what just happened?" Xiao Ke whispered tremblingly.
Xiong Qi was silent a moment before answering hoarsely. "Remember the Buddha we prayed to upon entering the temple?"
Xiao Ke nodded weakly.
"I think he protected us." Xiong Qi watched the woman's retreating form.
Xiao Ke understood his implication - those entering the temple alone had not seen the merciful Buddha they beheld, but rather the axe-wielding woman...
"They're doomed." Xiong Qi said bleakly.
Qiu Shi and Ruan Baijie endured a similar brush with death during their frantic flight. But this time, Ruan shielded Qiu Shi in her embrace when his strength gave out, facing the monster with little visible fear. She even gently kissed his hair, murmuring "Don't be afraid."
Qiu Shi had wanted to defend Ruan yet she held him firmly immobile, forcing him to watch the axe descend straight at them. But it glanced away harmlessly off the golden glow enveloping them.
"Hm." Ruan Baijie smiled.
Qiu Shi stared bewildered as the woman instantly abandoned them and raced toward a man at their side. Spotting what had just transpired, the man called out desperately, "We're saved too now...because of the light around us?"
His words were cut off by a sickening crunch mid-sentence as the axe cleaved him in two. The disbelief remained frozen on his face even as death took him, unable to comprehend why the same phenomenon had yielded such different outcomes.
Qiu Shi rose unsteadily from the snow now stained red, the woman's cackling fading as she moved on in search of her next victim. He bit his lip to suppress the urge to vomit.
"It's over now." Ruan Baijie reassured, patting his back.
"It's because of the uneven numbers entering the temple, right?" Qiu Shi said dully. "The two who went alone...they're done for?"
Ruan Baijie was silent.
Of course no one knew the answer. In this world, even such questions proved lethal...
Qiu Shi took Ruan Baijie's hand. "Let's go home."
She gave a wan smile and gripped his hand.
About an hour later, the group gathered to find their numbers further depleted. Qiu Shi's premonition proved accurate - none who entered the temple alone still lived. The axe woman had claimed them all.
"She took all the bodies back." Someone recounted the grisly sight. "Chopped in half...she was laughing while dragging them into the temple..."
"So the carpenter tricked us?" Xiao Ke rasped. "If we had all gone in like he said...we'd have died too?"
"Not all." Xiong Qi sighed wearily. "They don't usually wipe everyone out here. At least half would be spared probably."
"What use is half when she could always come back?" Ruan Baijie seemed already recovered, languidly cracking melon seeds from her chair. Even snacking, she retained a mesmerizing elegance. "Even just one a day would finish us eventually."
Silence descended.
"Since we've paid respects, can we start the coffins now?" someone ventured.
Xiong Qi nodded. "We'll tell the carpenter tomorrow. But I suspect things won't be so simple..."
Naturally not. The well still needed filling, innocuous in reality yet potentially lethal here. Who knew what might crawl out from those depths...
But that was tomorrow's concern. Tonight, the group was exhausted in body and spirit after the chase and witnessed deaths. All hurried off to rest as best they could, comforted at least this night would bring no further loss of life.
Lying in bed, Qiu Shi saw Ruan Baijie settle down beside him.
"Thank you for today." He said. "You were so capable back there while I couldn't even keep up."
Her vigorous stamina during their flight had astonished Qiu Shi. He suspected she could have dashed all the way back home without flagging.
"Men need to be strong." Ruan Baijie intoned seriously.
Qiu Shi: "..."
Ruan Baijie: "Don't you agree?"
Qiu Shi: "..." Yeah right.
Ruan Baijie smiled radiantly at Qiu Shi. "Think we'll make it out alive?"
He shook his head, unsure.
"What's the first thing you'd do if you got out?" she asked.
Qiu Shi considered. "Go home and get married I guess?"
Ruan Baijie: "You have a girlfriend?"
Qiu Shi laughed. "Us designers don't have time for dating."
Ruan Baijie: "Well you need dreams at least. I'll buy you one online if we get out."
Qiu Shi: "...Aren't you kind."
Ruan Baijie: "Just being a good friend!"
Their idle chatter soon faded into deep slumber. For once, Qiu Shi dreamed not at all, perhaps having grown numb to the cruelty and heartlessness of this world.
The next day dawned bright and sunny.