The worst thing about being inside this door is not only having to face terrifying monsters, but also teammates who might betray you at any moment. Although the people inside seem to be companions who can trust each other, the meaning of that word can change in an instant if an accident occurs.
Because of what happened earlier, although the guide's voice could be heard from outside, no one dared to move. Ruan Nan Zhu was still lying on top of Lin Qiu Shi. He gently patted Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder and said, "Let's go."
Lin Qiu Shi asked, "Just go out like this?"
Ruan Nan Zhu said, "Should be no problem." He added, "After all, we can't spend the night in the temple."
He had a point. Lin Qiu Shi considered and said, "Why don't I go out first? If something happens, you guys can react accordingly."
But Ruan Nan Zhu insisted, "Let's go together. Trust me this once."
Seeing Ruan Nan Zhu's determination, Lin Qiu Shi relented and carried him on his back as he cautiously took a few steps out of the temple. As soon as he left the temple entrance, he saw the tour guide standing where they had separated earlier, smiling and waving a flag at them, "Come here, come quickly!" The tour guide called out to them, "It's getting dark, we have to hurry back before night falls."
Lin Qiu Shi looked around. The knives that had rained down from the sky earlier were nowhere to be seen. Only the mutilated corpse at the entrance reminded him that what happened earlier was not his imagination.
He slowly walked over to the tour guide. As Ruan Nan Zhu had said, no terrible accident occurred. Cheng Qian Li followed behind them, staring at the corpse the entire time with an expression that seemed oddly familiar to Lin Qiu Shi - it was the same look he had when Lin Qiu Shi took him to see the old corpse in the mountain village, like he could scream any second.
But Cheng Qian Li managed to restrain himself, though his face turned red from the effort.
Seeing that nothing untoward occurred with them, the rest of the people also started exiting the temple.
The tour guide seemed to not notice the mutilated corpse at all. She smiled and asked everyone if they had fun today exploring the unique scenery of the temple.
No one paid her any attention, but she chattered on enthusiastically, not bothered by the lack of response.
As they retraced their steps back, dusk started to fall and the forest became more silent and lonely. The flags inserted on the treetops fluttered noisily in the strong winds, like the wings of monsters ready to take flight.
Nothing happened on the journey back and they safely reached the bamboo lodge they were staying at. After a tasteless dinner, the tour guide took her leave, reminding them of the meeting time at 8 am sharp the next day.
Meng Yu asked where they were going tomorrow. The tour guide smiled mysteriously and said tomorrow's destination was very special and they'd know when they got there. She told them not to be late. She also mentioned the mountain winds were strong tonight and it'd be best not to wander outside after midnight.
They didn't need her warning to know that, but it was useless anyway.
The taste of dinner was truly awful. Ruan Nan Zhu didn't seem to have much appetite but still forced down some food. Since arriving in this world, his condition had been poor and he looked exhausted, as if he could fall asleep any moment. If it was anyone else looking like that, it'd make people worry, but with Ruan Nan Zhu's beautiful face, even appearing unwell gave him an allure of fragile beauty instead.
Sitting beside him, Xu Jin sourly remarked that Ruan Nan Zhu had slept for a whole day already, how could he still be so tired.
Ruan Nan Zhu nuzzled his chin against Lin Qiu Shi's neck and gently said, "Sorry, I've had poor health since I was young. Brother Lin Lin, I'm causing you trouble."
Lin Qiu Shi: "No...trouble."
Xu Jin: "Tch, shameless lovebirds."
Despite the awful dinner, Cheng Qian Li still stuffed himself full, saying even if he died, he'd die with a full stomach.
Lin Qiu Shi actually admired him quite a bit for that. With food this bad, most people eating that much would only diminish their will to live instead.
After the meal, everyone dispersed to rest.
Ruan Nan Zhu fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed, seemingly entering deep slumber instantly.
Lin Qiu Shi and Xu Jin didn't have that ability. The two chatted idly to pass time.
Xu Jin talked about her life outside. She was an ordinary college student who had just graduated this year when she was forcibly pulled into this world while crossing the road. At first she thought it was a dream, but soon realized no dream could feel this real.
"Will we die here?" Xu Jin asked. "I'm so scared."
Leaning against the window, Lin Qiu Shi said, "I don't know either. Don't think too much, sleep earlier."
Xu Jin glanced at the sleeping Ruan Nan Zhu. Gritting her teeth, she said tremulously, "Brother Lin Lin..."
Lin Qiu Shi: "Hm?"
Xu Jin said, "I'm cold..."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." While clueless about girls, he wasn't an idiot. Xu Jin's actions were too obvious. Helplessly, he pretended not to understand and said, "Oh, you're cold? I'll get another blanket for you."
Xu Jin: "..." Why wasn't this going how she imagined? She bit her lips in frustration and threw away her last shred of dignity: "That's too troublesome. Can I...squeeze in with you?"
Lin Qiu Shi calmly rejected her: "You're too fat, doesn't seem like there's space."
Xu Jin sank into confused silence. She looked at the thin, frail Ruan Nan Zhu then down at herself, suddenly at a loss on how to retort.
Lin Qiu Shi: "Still want the blanket?"
Xu Jin gave up. "Nevermind, I have lots of fat to keep me warm."
Though it felt awful, Lin Qiu Shi still wanted to laugh a little. But there were more pressing issues in this dangerous world than romance or lust. No one would want a ghost to suddenly pop up and cause erectile dysfunction for life...
Xu Jin seemed to see through his straight male soul and finally gave up with a sigh. Soon, the sound of quiet breathing could be heard as she fell asleep.
Lin Qiu Shi thought, you all can fall asleep so fast... He closed his eyes and forced his body to relax, letting himself drift off as well.
The next day, morning sunlight awakened Lin Qiu Shi from the bed. The first thing he did after opening his eyes was to check if the people beside him were still there.
But Ruan Nan Zhu had already awakened and was sitting at the bedside slowly brushing his hair. Hearing Lin Qiu Shi stir, he said without turning back, "Good morning."
"Good morning," Lin Qiu Shi replied.
"I slept early last night. Nothing happened in the later half right?" Ruan Nan Zhu asked.
"No," Lin Qiu Shi said. "The forest was very quiet. I didn't hear any strange sounds either."
Ruan Nan Zhu said, "I meant with you and Xu Jin..."
Lin Qiu Shi was puzzled. "What could happen with me and Xu Jin? Did she have some problem?"
Ruan Nan Zhu was silent for a bit before asking a question. "Why did your ex-girlfriend break up with you?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Girlfriend? I've never...never had one." After choosing design as his major, he was basically estranged from socializing, spending his school days doing assignments and taking side jobs, and his work days were filled with overtime. He hadn't even seen a girl all this time, much less dated one.
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Oh, that's good."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." He somehow felt a subtle expression on Ruan Nan Zhu's face.
After washing up, everyone ate breakfast together.
The mysterious destination for today piqued everyone's curiosity, but that curiosity also contained apprehension because they sensed the situation today would be even more dangerous than yesterday's.
"Let's try to stay in bigger groups," Meng Yu suggested. "That way if something happens, there'll be help."
Two men had died yesterday. Now only 14 people remained in the group, still a sizable number but useless if things really went wrong.
Cheng Qian Li patted Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder. "I'll go with you guys today."
Lin Qiu Shi agreed to that.
At 8 am sharp, the tour guide appeared outside with the same outfit and expression as yesterday, waving her little red flag. "Is everyone here? We're setting off once everyone's present!"
"All here," Meng Yu replied.
"Great, let's go then," the tour guide said. "Today's destination is quite special. Everyone must not make loud noises there, you need to respect local customs."
Everyone nodded.
Seeing that, the tour guide smiled. "No time to delay, let's hurry and set off!"
Due to the unique environment here, they had no other mode of transport aside from walking. Today, the tour guide led them down another path that meandered up the mountain. Their surroundings were still lush forests.
Everyone followed behind the tour guide with difficulty, but the path was too hard to traverse. Soon, some weaker members couldn't keep up.
"Can we rest for a bit?" someone asked the tour guide.
"You can rest, but we must arrive before noon," the tour guide checked her watch.
"Why?" The person was puzzled. "Why must we arrive before noon..."
"Because your visit there is six hours," the tour guide explained calmly. "If you don't reach the destination before twelve, you can only come down the mountain after night falls." An eerie smile crossed her face. "I'm sure no one wants to take this kind of mountain path at night."
Hearing this, everyone's expressions turned ugly.
Those who could barely walk also gritted their teeth to push on, since this concerned their lives.
Worried that Ruan Nan Zhu's body couldn't endure, Lin Qiu Shi carried him midway. Luckily Ruan Nan Zhu was light, otherwise Lin Qiu Shi wouldn't have managed.
Still, Ruan Nan Zhu attracted quite a few jealous looks. The girls had weaker stamina compared to the men after all. Getting a chance to rest by being carried was something worth envying indeed.
Just when people were about to reach their limit, they finally arrived at the destination the tour guide mentioned - clusters upon clusters of tall pagodas.
These pagodas were easily tens of meters tall, while the shorter ones were still 34 meters high. Erected within the lush forest, it was hard to imagine what kind of craftsmanship enabled such majestic structures to be built in this harsh environment.
Everyone was stunned into silence by these magnificent buildings, temporarily forgetting the danger of this world.
Luckily, the tour guide's voice pulled them back to reality. She said the visiting hours were six hours starting now and she'd be back to pick them up. She asked them to take the time to appreciate the exotic scenery before leaving.
After her departure, Cheng Qian Li couldn't help but swear. He remarked that if this wasn't the ghost world, the tour guide would've been beaten to death already.
"Let's go take a look," Lin Qiu Shi put Ruan Nan Zhu down and followed the others into the pagoda cluster.
The pagodas varied in size and height, but one common trait was a wooden door below each pagoda, locked with a rusty padlock.
"What is this place? Some kind of shrine?" Lin Qiu Shi felt puzzled. "But don't shrines have temples?"
"I think they're tombs," Ruan Nan Zhu observed.
Lin Qiu Shi: "Tombs?" That reminded him of the wooden platform yesterday. "So not everyone gets a sky burial..."
Ruan Nan Zhu said, "Let's open one and take a look."
He took out a hairpin and easily picked open the lock on the door. Pushing it open revealed the dark interior of the pagoda. No light inside, only a stale smell. Lin Qiu Shi shone his phone flashlight in and indeed saw a rotten skeleton at the base.
"Indeed tombs," Ruan Nan Zhu confirmed his guess.
"Why did she bring us here then?" Lin Qiu Shi wondered. "Could the key not be in the temple?"
Ruan Nan Zhu shook his head without replying.
After closing the door, they headed towards the center of the pagoda cluster where Lin Qiu Shi saw the tallest pagoda. Its shape looked special compared to the smaller ones surrounding it, extremely eye-catching. At the highest point was an exquisite carving that looked like a disk, with cloud patterns below it, though its meaning was unclear.
Everyone's attention was drawn to this one pagoda. Clearly all felt there might be clues about the key inside.
But the people who went closer first discovered that instead of a wooden door, there was a stone slab at the entrance without any lock, just loosely covering it.
"Are there bones inside too?" someone asked.
No one could answer that.
Just as people were hesitating whether to enter or not, Lin Qiu Shi suddenly heard the drum beats again. His expression changed instantly and he quickly informed Ruan Nan Zhu softly.
"Drum beats?" Ruan Nan Zhu asked. "Which direction are they coming from?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "The distance." He looked up at the gloomy sky. "Last time after the drum beats, it started raining...no, more accurate to say it started raining knives."
Ruan Nan Zhu surveyed their surroundings. "Looks like we can only enter the pagoda."
With only barren wilderness around them, there really was no other shelter besides the tall pagoda before them.
"Let's go in," Ruan Nan Zhu moved to push open the stone slab.
Lin Qiu Shi followed right after him. Shining the flashlight on his phone, he could clearly see the interior condition of the pagoda. This didn't seem to be a tomb, at least the first floor had no bones.
After they entered, seeing nothing dangerous occur, the rest of the people also gradually followed them inside.
"This pagoda looks about eight or nine stories high," Ruan Nan Zhu remarked. "Since we've entered, shall we go up and take a look?" He paused. "I want to examine that structure on top closely."
Lin Qiu Shi knew if Ruan Nan Zhu mentioned it, he definitely had a reason. So Lin readily agreed to his suggestion.
Thus, the four of them started climbing upwards.
The rest of the team revealed looks of disapproval at their actions. Understandable, since in a world with unknown lethal triggers, doing nothing seemed the safest choice.
But if they did nothing, the key wouldn't just appear before them unless everyone else died first.
The stairs were very narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time.
Ruan Nan Zhu walked in front while Lin Qiu Shi took up the rear.
As they ascended, they observed the interior condition of the pagoda.
"There's something here," Ruan Nan Zhu called out from the front.
They were on the eighth floor, probably not far from the top. Lin Qiu Shi rounded the corner of the stairs and saw what Ruan Nan Zhu referred to - a beautiful drum placed in the middle of the eighth floor. Its body was red with some engraved details. Though not highly decorated, the exquisite workmanship was noticeable, with a soft, leather-like texture...
The three immediately thought of the drum in the song, their expressions turning solemn. Only Xu Jin seemed somewhat entranced as she murmured, "What a beautiful drum..." She walked over to the drum's side and carefully examined it.
"Don't touch it," Ruan Nan Zhu warned her. "There's something wrong with this drum."
But Xu Jin didn't reply, seemingly spellbound as she gazed at it.
"Are you alright? Xu Jin?" Noticing her abnormal behavior, Lin Qiu Shi called out her name.
Yet in the next moment, Xu Jin reached out a hand and lightly tapped the beautiful drum.
A clear, melodious drum beat reached their ears.
Lin Qiu Shi shuddered, assaulted by an intense wave of vertigo. Clutching his ears in pain, he squeezed his eyes shut, barely stopping himself from collapsing.
To stabilize himself, Lin Qiu Shi stretched his hand out to grasp the wall beside him, but the instant his fingers touched what should have been solid stone, his entire body froze.
The stone was gone. What he felt under his fingertips was something far softer - human skin, slowly writhing along with a pulse.
Lin Qiu Shi sucked in a cold breath and forced his eyes open. The stone walls he knew no longer existed, replaced with soft skin that seemed alive, complete with faint pulses.
"My older sister was mute since she was little and left home when I gained awareness..." The voice of a little girl singing rang out behind Lin Qiu Shi. He stiffly looked back and saw a bloodied young girl standing there, her face skinned completely red and white bone faintly visible underneath. In her arms she cradled the beautiful red drum, dark eyes staring silently at Lin Qiu Shi while slender hands lightly rose up then heavily fell, leaving one bloody imprint after another on the pristine drum surface.
"On the Mani pile sits an old person, repeatedly chanting the same line..." The singing continued as the girl tapped the drum and slowly walked towards Lin Qiu Shi.
Lin Qiu Shi couldn't make a sound or speak. He could only watch as her hand touched his body, then...passed right through him.
In the next moment, Lin Qiu Shi's body shuddered violently as if electrocuted. The scene before his eyes changed again. The little girl from before was gone and he was back in the cold stone pagoda with two familiar people by his side.
"Lin Qiu Shi, what...what are you doing..." Cheng Qian Li looked at him in horror.
Lin Qiu Shi lowered his head. His hand was resting on the red drum.
The drum's surface felt as soft as he'd imagined - the texture of human skin.
"Qiu Shi," Ruan Nan Zhu's voice rang out as he asked, "What did you see?"
Lin Qiu Shi removed his hand from the drum. "A girl," he said. "A blood-drenched girl whose skin had been peeled off. Just now...what happened?"
"You suddenly rushed over and beat the drum," Cheng Qian Li said. "I couldn't stop you at all."
"I beat the drum? Wasn't it Xu Jin who did it?" Lin Qiu Shi looked at the drum, feeling chilled to the bone. He wanted to stay far away from it.
"Her? She didn't come up with us," Cheng Qian Li said in confusion. "She stayed below the whole time."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..."
But Ruan Nan Zhu seemed to understand something. He walked over and gently pressed Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder. "Don't worry, it's alright."
Lin Qiu Shi smiled bitterly. "How can this be alright?" Being able to see those things clearly wasn't a good sign.
Ruan Nan Zhu said, "Calm down a bit and tell me what you saw first."
Lin Qiu Shi breathed out and closed his eyes to recall the scene from before. "I saw the pagoda's walls transform into...human skin."