As the third night of their pact approached, the group's atmosphere deteriorated. By the next afternoon, tensions erupted again and Xiong Qi had a fierce argument with Xiao Ke, simply because of an unsatisfying meal. The hot-tempered Xiong Qi furiously flung the food outside, prompting Xiao Ke to angrily storm off and slam the door.
Suspicion lingered in the air. Teammates who could once rely on each other now became objects of doubt. Every conversation, gesture or even glance seemed capable of triggering an avalanche.
This was the first time Qiu Shi felt so acutely that the group was nearing its breaking point. The pressure of death and suspicion had become an unbearable burden.
Ruan Bai Jie seemed to have anticipated this situation all along, showing no surprise. She casually found a corner to sit, watching everyone grow increasingly neurotic. Then she softly spoke, "Have you forgotten there's another place with corpses?"
Her words were like rainwater falling on parched land, instantly revitalizing the desiccated atmosphere. Xiong Qi asked, "What place?"
Qiu Shi said, "The graveyard? But I already searched before and couldn't find any graves in this village."
"Naturally it's not the graveyard," Ruan Bai Jie replied. "Burials in this world are probably not as simple as we imagine."
"Then where is it?" Qiu Shi asked.
Ruan Bai Jie said, "Do you still remember the people crushed by trees while gathering lumber a few days ago?"
Qiu Shi suddenly understood. "That's right. Their bodies count as dead things too..."
"Let's go and dig up their corpses sometime. The well-filling matter should be resolved soon, right?" said Ruan Bai Jie. "Then everyone won't have to be like this."
Her words instantly defused the tense atmosphere, though things were still far from relaxed since no one knew whether those corpses could even be found. Heavy snow had fallen continuously since the lumber incident, likely burying the bodies deep underneath. Digging them up would be no easy feat.
But no matter how difficult, it was surely simpler than murder.
Realizing time was short, everyone agreed to urgently excavate the corpses as a precaution.
Qiu Shi was surprised by the group's unanimous acceptance. From start to finish, no one raised any objection.
Upon reflection, this was indeed the best plan for now. Although digging up bodies in the snow would be laborious, at least it gave them a direction. Even if there were casualties in the process, it would conveniently provide the necessary "dead things" to fill the well, without anyone directly committing murder.
Half an hour later, the men gathered at the house entrance, each gripping an iron shovel.
Xiong Qi bit down on the last cigarette he'd brought into this world, smoking it especially carefully. "Let's go," he said. "We must dig them out today."
Cheng Wen's eyes were bloodshot, the whites dotted with red veins, exuding a neurotic aura. "If we can't dig them out, we'll all die." His fierce glare shifted between Wang Xiao Yi and Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi didn't indulge him, glaring back just as fiercely.
"Let's go," Ruan Bai Jie called out.
Xiong Qi led them down the mountain path.
Thick snow covered the ground, leaving soft impressions with each step.
After hiking roughly thirty minutes, they arrived at the familiar wooded trail leading up to the lumber station.
"It should be around here somewhere," Xiong Qi said, only able to determine a general area since there were no real landmarks. "Let's start digging here."
Qiu Shi nodded, forcefully plunging his shovel into the snow.
The trail wasn't wide but the range was substantial. Searching for corpses amidst all this would be quite arduous. But everyone worked diligently without slacking.
Ruan Bai Jie sat on a nearby rock, lazily cracking melon seeds with her teeth. Her relaxed demeanor contrasted sharply with Xiao Ke's tense expression. Seemingly irritated by Ruan's nonchalant attitude, Xiao Ke suddenly snapped, "Aren't you afraid of dying? Death here means actual death too!"
"Scared," Ruan Bai Jie replied lazily.
"How can you still look like that if scared?" Xiao Ke asked.
Ruan didn't even glance her way, treating her presence like air. Her attitude bordered on contemptuous. "Everyone expresses fear differently - some by crying, some laughing. I like cracking melon seeds," she said, sprinkling shells across the snow-covered trail. "And littering."
Xiao Ke: "..." At a loss for how to refute her, she could only seethe in frustration and stalk off.
Ruan's expression hovered between a smirk and smile. Ever since arriving, her gaze hadn't left Qiu Shi for even a moment, as if something highly amusing about him attracted her attention.
Qiu Shi paid her no heed, eyes lowered in concentration as he shoveled hopefully for the corpses.
After some time, he suddenly sensed something amiss and lifted his head toward Ruan's direction. He confirmed three figures standing there - one tall, two short. The shorter two even held hands in apparent friendship.
Seeing this, Qiu Shi halted abruptly.
Not far away, Xiong Qi noticed his odd behavior. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Qiu Shi?"
Qiu Shi said, "Something seems strange..."
"What's strange?" Xiao Ke chimed in.
Hearing her voice, Qiu Shi finally grasped what was off. There were only six of them left - Xiong Qi, Xiao Ke, Wang Xiao Yi, Cheng Wen, Ruan Bai Jie and himself. With Xiao Ke by Xiong Qi's side, why would there be two hand-holding figures with Ruan?
Qiu Shi's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Feigning nonchalance, he continued shoveling and called out, "Ruan Bai Jie, come over for a second. I need to discuss something."
Ruan rose from her rock and walked over. "What is it?"
Qiu Shi stayed silent, eyeing the two shadowy figures from his periphery. He noticed they stood beneath the tree's shadow, appearances basically indistinguishable. Their heights were nearly identical as they clung together by the hand, seemingly on very good terms. Yet now the sight made his scalp tingle ominously.
"Qiu Shi?" Ruan Bai Jie asked again. "What's going on?"
Qiu Shi still didn't respond, intending to wait until she drew nearer before explaining. But just then his shovel hit something hard, as if striking a solid object.
With Ruan right before him, she glanced down and instantly spotted the frozen corpse beside Qiu Shi's shovel. "Did you find it?"
"Huh?" Qiu Shi momentarily didn't grasp her meaning.
"You dug up a corpse?" Ruan's tone grew lively. "Not bad, pretty lucky..."
Only then did Qiu Shi fully realize what his shovel had unearthed. Lowering his head, he glimpsed a pallid hand jutting out from the snow - undoubtedly one of the companions crushed by trees and buried under accumulated snowfall.
"Found it!" Qiu Shi shouted loudly. After calling out, he snuck another peek toward where he'd seen the two figures. But now only one remained, slowly shuffling toward them. As moonlight illuminated the spot, Qiu Shi recognized Wang Xiao Yi.
Wang Xiao Yi walked to Qiu Shi's side. Perhaps noticing his odd stare, she asked quizzically, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Qiu Shi shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Thank you," Wang Xiao Yi said with a smile. "You're so capable. If not for you, I might have died yesterday. And you even found a corpse..."
"Just got lucky," Qiu Shi murmured. He suddenly grabbed Ruan's hand. "Come closer."
Ruan's brows ticked up slightly at his gesture. But before she could respond, Qiu Shi's finger swiftly traced four strokes against her palm, spelling out the character 王 (Wang).
In a flash, Ruan Bai Jie understood. She squeezed his hand to signify acknowledgment and glanced at the corpse. "Now that we've found it, let's hurry and take the body back."
"Great idea," Wang Xiao Yi beamed. "Let's head back quickly."