Chapter 58 The Fourth Person

Lin Qiushi rushed downstairs, and the pale arm that had emerged from the hat upstairs followed him down. Seeing this, he didn't dare to stay in the house for a moment and rushed out directly.

The grocery store owner saw Lin Qiushi rushing out in a panic, and a hint of confusion crossed his face: "Why are you running so fast? What happened?"

Lin Qiushi panted heavily and pointed inside.

The boss looked puzzled and wanted to go over to take a look. Lin Qiushi took out his cell phone and typed a few words: Is your son really your son?

The boss was stunned when he saw these words and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Lin Qiushi decided to tell the truth: his head fell off.

The boss took one look and immediately turned to go back inside. Lin Qiushi tried to stop him but failed. But when the boss opened the door, Lin Qiushi unexpectedly saw the child whose head had fallen to the floor sitting on the sofa playing with toys—the exact same scene as when he first entered the room.

"What happened?" Seeing that his son was safe and sound, the boss turned around and looked at Lin Qiushi, his confusion growing even stronger.

Lin Qiushi looked at the child, then at his boss, shook his head, and finally said nothing before turning and walking away. He didn't know if it was an illusion or just overly sensitive nerves, but he felt like the child's eyes were practically glued to his back, watching him leave with reluctance.

After leaving the grocery store, Lin Qiushi went to several other places in town where there were children.

During this time, he encountered other teammates, but they didn't seem to have a favorable impression of the mute Lin Qiushi and didn't even say hello. Only a girl who seemed to have a gentle personality spoke to Lin Qiushi for a while.

"We didn't see any children. They were all hidden." The girl, whose name seemed to be Dong Tianwei, said, "Don't go. It's useless."

Lin Qiushi was a little puzzled: What does hiding mean?

Dong Tianwei said, "I just hid it. The people in this town are very closed-minded. If the child is gone, the whole family will be ruined. And there seems to be a rule in this town that divorce is not allowed. I can only live with the guilt for the rest of my life."

Lin Qiushi was stunned for a moment when he heard this. Something occurred to him: Can't divorce?

Dong Tianwei: "Yes." She said, "Where is the person with you? Why doesn't he accompany you? You are so weak, what if something happens to you?"

Lin Qiushi ignored Dong Tianwei's question: Are there any exceptions?

Dong Tianwei thought for a moment and said, "No? Anyway, the two families I went to had such a huge fight that they didn't get divorced."

Lin Qiushi nodded, thanked Dong Tianwei, and turned to leave.

Dong Tianwei looked at his back, wanting to say something but stopping herself. The man next to him asked curiously, "Why are you saying so much to her?"

Dong Tianwei sighed: "Wouldn't it be nice to have one more person alive?"

The male companion did not answer.

This time, Lin Qiushi headed straight for Lauren's house, which he had visited before.

He arrived at the house, knocked on the door, and saw Lauren's father, a middle-aged man who looked very bad-tempered and reeked of alcohol.

"Is there something wrong?" Lauren's father asked in a very unfriendly manner.

Lin Qiushi: I would like to ask, when did your daughter disappear?

My father didn't respond, looking a little annoyed: "Isn't the missing person notice posted in the square? Why don't you go and check it out? Why are you asking me?"

Lin Qiushi: I just want to get more clues from you.

After he typed this, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to be wearing women's clothing, so he imitated Ruan Nanzhu and deliberately acted pitiful, wondering if it would be of any use.

Who knew that this expression would actually work? Lauren's father relaxed a little: "It seems like it was two days ago..."

Lin Qiushi: Where did she disappear?

Lauren's father said, "Home."

Lin Qiushi heard the uncertainty in his tone: Are you sure you are at home?

Lauren's father thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure. I didn't realize she was missing until a long time later. Who knows when she disappeared?"

Lin Qiushi: May I ask, when will your wife be back?

Who would have thought that when the word "Madam" was mentioned, Lauren's father immediately showed a ferocious expression. Not only did he not answer Lin Qiushi's question, he also slammed the door while cursing.

Lin Qiushi stared at the closed door and fell into deep thought. He had a terrifying guess at this moment.

After walking around the town for a day, it was getting dark, and Lin Qiushi planned to go back to the hotel and make some plans.

On his way back to the hotel, Lin Qiushi passed the small square he had just arrived at. It wasn't very big, and all the shops around it were closed, leaving a deserted scene. Only the missing person notice stood out prominently in the center.

Lin Qiushi walked to the sign and carefully read the missing person notice.

There are now four missing person notices, three of which were posted previously and one was posted yesterday.

Lin Qiushi didn't know what he was thinking. He suddenly reached out and took down the earliest missing person notice from the signboard.

The missing person notice was not stuck very firmly and was easily peeled off. Lin Qiushi lowered his head and carefully looked at the missing person notice in his hand, and suddenly made a new discovery... He found that the missing person notice was actually double-layered.

That’s right, this missing person notice is actually two pieces of paper stuck together.

Fortunately, the two pieces of paper were firmly stuck together. Lin Qiushi tried to separate them, but failed, only able to tear off a corner. He felt a little distressed, and after a moment's thought, a wave of rage seized him. He simply tore off all the missing person notices, stuffed them in his pocket, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Of course, when he tore it off, he took a quick look and found that all the missing person notices were double-layered.

Lin Qiushi hurried back to the hotel. As soon as he entered, he saw Ruan Nanzhu sitting on the sofa in the reception area on the first floor. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be thinking about something.

Lin Qiushi walked up to him and patted his shoulder.

Ruan Nanzhu looked up: "Are you back?"

Lin Qiushi nodded and pointed upstairs.

Ruan Nanzhu smiled: "Are you sleepy? Okay, let's go back to sleep together."

The people sitting next to them gave them strange looks.

Lin Qiushi communicated with Ruan Nanzhu with his eyes: Could you please not say such misleading words?

Ruan Nanzhu shamelessly pretended not to see it.

The two returned to their room on the second floor. After closing the doors and windows, Lin Qiushi was finally able to speak. He said impatiently, "I tore off the missing person notices in the square and checked them. I found that these missing person notices are two-layered. Let's see if we can find a way to peel off the other piece of paper." As he said this, he took out the paper from his trouser pocket.

Ruan Nanzhu took it and looked at it, thinking, "This should be able to be separated by soaking it in water, but I don't know if the handwriting will be blurred."

Lin Qiushi: "Let's try separating one first."

So the two of them went to the restroom, filled some hot water, and soaked the paper in it, waiting for it to soften so they could separate. While doing so, Lin Qiushi asked Ruan Nanzhu if he had discovered anything else in the cannery.

Ruan Nanzhu looked at the basin in front of him, was silent for a while, and said, "I almost picked up that hat."

Lin Qiushi was startled when he heard this: "Huh?"

Ruan Nanzhu said: "I was checking it when the top hat suddenly fell from the treetop. I don't know what kind of magic it had, but I put my hand on it, but luckily I managed to hold it in."

Lin Qiushi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It's a good thing you didn't pick it up."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded: "It is the sixth door after all."

Ruan Nanzhu then described the traces he had found at the cannery, saying that while Lin Qiushi was lucky not to have eaten the canned fish, he now suspected that the missing children had been canned. He had found fresh flesh and blood in the canning machines. He also found the body of a child hanged from a dead tree.

Of course, Ruan Nanzhu didn't dare touch the corpse and just pretended not to see it.

"What did you find?" Ruan Nanzhu said.

"I feel like we're heading in the wrong direction." Lin Qiushi told Ruan Nanzhu what happened at the grocery store. "What do you think that kid is?"

"It's definitely not a person." Ruan Nanzhu said, "The paper has melted." He reached out and fished the paper out of the basin.

The glue between the papers was melted by the hot water and the two papers were easily separated.

Lin Qiushi was stunned when he saw the piece of paper at the back. It turned out to be a missing person notice. The font was a little blurry and not very clear, but Lin Qiushi recognized the photo... It was a photo of the missing person wearing a top hat in their team.

The remaining three missing person notices were also separated one by one. There were three missing people at present, and the photos of the three people were posted on them. The only difference was that the missing person notice of Lauren's sister had a blank piece of paper at the back.

Ruan Nanzhu frowned as he looked at the three pieces of paper.

Lin Qiushi said, "Speaking of which...we haven't seen any children since we arrived in this town."

Ruan Nanzhu turned around and looked at him.

Lin Qiushi expressed his guess based on his own investigation: "The only two people I've seen are Lauren's sister and the son of the grocery store I saw today. I think there's something fishy about both of them."

Ruan Nanzhu: "There's something wrong with Lauren's sister." He said, "There's something strange and off about her."

Lin Qiushi: "And someone on the team told me today that this town is very closed off and divorces are almost nonexistent. Do you remember Lauren's background..."

Ruan Nanzhu said: "Well, his mother is married for the second time."

"This is very strange." Lin Qiushi sat on the sofa, looking at the three missing person notices. "Do you think there is no such person in this town..."

Ruan Nanzhu continued Lin Qiushi's words: "There is no child at all."

Their eyes met, and they saw similar expressions in each other's eyes.

"Actually, there are some." Ruan Nanzhu placed the missing person notices posted on the back of the table and spread his hands. "Aren't we just filling in the role of the children?"

Lin Qiushi: “…” A group of children weighing over 100 pounds?

Ruan Nanzhu: "Who isn't a little princess?"

Lin Qiushi: "Alas, now that we know we are the pitiful, weak, and helpless children, what does this mean? Where exactly is the key?"

Ruan Nanzhu tapped his finger on the table. "If the children in the town refer to us, then do those fake children refer to something else?"

Lin Qiushi: "For example?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "Noodle man."

Lin Qiushi immediately thought of the grocery store owner's brainless yet cheerful son. He was silent for a moment and said, "It's possible."

Ruan Nanzhu: "But some things still don't make sense. If those children are the noodle people, then what happened to their bodies? Forget it, it's getting dark, let's go to sleep first."

Lin Qiushi looked at the dark night outside and agreed to Ruan Nanzhu's proposal.

In the world outside the gate, staying up late is called cultivating immortality, while in the world inside the gate, if you stay up late, you may become an immortal the next day. There is no need to cultivate at all, and it is very convenient to achieve it in one step.

Lin Qiushi hoped he could sleep peacefully and have a dreamless night.

But some things cannot be done just by wanting to. Although he was very reluctant, Lin Qiushi still woke up in the middle of the night.

He heard the child crying.

The sound, a whine, a complaint, drifted from the window to Lin Qiushi's ears. He sat up in bed and saw Ruan Nanzhu still asleep. He inexplicably felt the resentment of an insomniac wife who'd woken up to see her husband in a deep sleep. Of course, the feeling was fleeting, because Lin Qiushi had prodded Ruan Nanzhu awake.

Ruan Nanzhu opened his eyes dazedly: "Hmm?"

Lin Qiushi: "I can't sleep."

Ruan Nanzhu stretched out his hand, put his arm around Lin Qiushi's neck, and pulled him into his arms: "Be good, come here."

Ruan Nanzhu's arms were broad and warm, and he had a faint fragrance that was very helpful in helping one sleep.

But the crying sound was getting closer and closer. Lin Qiushi finally couldn't help but look towards the window.

This sight nearly frightened him so much that he sat up in bed. He saw a child lying on his window. The child, ignoring gravity, clung to the glass like a gecko. Its limbs began to slowly stretch out, as if trying to find a crack in the window to crawl in. Seeing this, Lin Qiushi couldn't help but secretly congratulate himself and Ruan Nanzhu for their good habit of closing the windows every night.

Lin Qiushi was watching intently when he felt Ruan Nanzhu gently press his back and rub it. He whispered, "Stop looking."

Lin Qiushi: "Hmm..."

Ruan Nanzhu stretched out her hand to turn his face back, and said in a somewhat unhappy tone: "If you can't sleep, look at me."

Lin Qiushi raised his eyes.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Is there anyone prettier than me?"

Lin Qiushi stopped talking.

Ruan Nanzhu naturally rested his chin on the top of Lin Qiushi's head, then rubbed it slowly and muttered, "Sleep."

Lin Qiushi was practically enveloped by Ruan Nanzhu, who, like a male animal with a cub, was filled with protectiveness. Lin Qiushi felt an inexplicable sense of security. He tried to close his eyes, ignoring the disturbing cries, and finally drifted off into a sweet dream.

When they woke up the next day, they were almost hugging each other.

Lin Qiushi opened his eyes and saw Ruan Nanzhu's sleeping face. He had to admit that Ruan Nanzhu was truly handsome. Whether inside or outside the door, he was very eye-catching. His long eyelashes rose and fell slightly with his breathing, like a black swallowtail butterfly about to spread its wings.

Lin Qiushi watched intently for a moment, unable to resist reaching out to touch her. But just as he reached out, Ruan Nanzhu opened her eyes. There was no trace of sleep in them, but instead a faint smile: "Good morning."

Lin Qiushi quickly withdrew his hand and pretended nothing had happened: "Good morning."

Ruan Nanzhu released the arm that was holding Lin Qiushi, yawned, and slowly stood up: "How was your sleep last night?"

Lin Qiushi: "Very good." He climbed out of bed and walked to the window. Not surprisingly, he found many children's handprints on the glass. It seemed that the crying and images from yesterday were not his imagination.

After washing up, the two went to the restaurant and found that there was one person missing from the queue.

The person who was missing this time was more familiar to them. She was Wang Tianxin’s female companion, the girl he had hooked up with.

When Lin Qiushi discovered that the girl was missing, Wang Tianxin was still leisurely eating breakfast. He typed on his mobile phone: Wang Tianxin's female companion is missing.

Ruan Nanzhu saw the font on Lin Qiushi’s phone and stood up and walked in front of Wang Tianxin.

Wang Tianxin was startled by Ruan Nanzhu. He had been beaten up by Ruan Nanzhu before, and had no chance to fight back. Although he pretended to be calm, his trembling voice and darting eyes revealed his fragile heart: "What are you going to do?"

Ruan Nanzhu looked down at him with a cold tone, "Where's your female companion?"

Wang Tianxin swallowed hard, glanced at Ruan Nanzhu weakly, and whispered, "Isn't one of him enough?" Can't such a terrifying cross-dressing man satisfy you?

Lin Qiushi heard it from the side, and his expression twisted for a moment... Damn it, one person wasn't enough.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Are you asking me or am I asking you?"

Wang Tianxin quickly said, "I don't know. She didn't come back yesterday."

Ruan Nanzhu: "Why didn't you tell me you didn't come back?"

Wang Tianxin: "It's no use saying it... It's obvious that it's gone." He seemed a little unconvinced and muttered softly, "I told her not to go to the cannery, but she didn't listen."

Cannery? Hearing this keyword, Ruan Nanzhu frowned: "She went to the cannery yesterday? When did she go?"

Wang Tianxin said, "He left this morning and hasn't come back since."

Ruan Nanzhu: "I was also at the cannery, why didn't I see her?"

Wang Tianxin laughed dryly, "How would I know... maybe they took different routes?" That was pure nonsense. The town was so small, there was basically only one way to get anywhere. Besides, the cannery wasn't so big that the two of them wouldn't run into each other inside. Unless something happened to her on the way to the cannery.

Ruan Nanzhu asked him if he had seen anything unusual. Wang Tianxin thought about it carefully and said that when she was sleeping the night before, she had been looking out the window and said that there seemed to be a child crying outside.

Lin Qiushi thought of the child lying on their window.

"But I didn't hear anything." Wang Tianxin said, "My hearing is very good, but I didn't hear anything. She must have been too nervous and misheard..."

Lin Qiushi didn't think she had heard it wrong.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Anything else?"

Wang Tianxin shook his head, "No more."

Lin Qiushi stood up and walked to Wang Tianxin. Wang Tianxin became even more frightened when he saw him. His smile was so forced that he almost looked like he was about to cry.

Lin Qiushi typed: Did she only go to the cannery during the day yesterday?

"It seems like she only went to the cannery." Wang Tianxin had just finished speaking when Dong Tianwei, who was standing next to him, stood up and pointed at Wang Tianxin, saying, "He's lying. Liu Ya didn't go to the cannery at all yesterday!"

Liu Ya is the name of Wang Tianxin's female companion.

After being accused, Wang Tianxin immediately defended herself, "I didn't lie. She did tell me to go to the cannery!"

"Bullshit! We clearly saw Liu Ya yesterday when we went to check on the other kids in town. She was accompanied by a girl who was about seventeen or eighteen!" Dong Tianwei said, "They were holding hands and looked very close! Don't tell me you didn't know!"

Wang Tianxin angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't know in the first place. I was just repeating what she told me. She clearly said she was going to the cannery. How would I know where she ended up?"

The two men quarreled fiercely, and from their resolute attitudes it could be seen that neither of them was lying.

Liu Ya’s destination was indeed the cannery, but on the way there, she encountered something else... for example, a strange girl.

Lin Qiushi shuddered when he thought of the grocery store owner's brainless son.

So whose family is that little girl from? Lin Qiushi asked on his phone.

"I don't know. I'm not very sensitive to Westerners' appearance..." Dong Tianwei said a little embarrassedly, "But I remember her hairstyle. I think she had a ponytail and was wearing a pink dress. She looked quite cute."

Lin Qiushi suddenly thought of something. He took out a few missing person notices from his pocket, and indeed found what he wanted on them - a photo of the fourth missing child, Lauren's sister.

Dong Tianwei was stunned when she saw the photo. "Yes, that's her." She saw the words "Missing Person" on it. "She, she is one of the missing children? Then why did she appear again... and holding Liu Ya's hand... where is she taking Liu Ya..."

Who knows, the place where a child who shouldn't exist is taking people from this world is not a pleasant one.

Everyone fell silent as they looked at the photo.

"We now suspect there are no children in this town." Ruan Nanzhu revealed some information, "So you'd better be careful when you see children."

There was a noisy discussion in the crowd.

"Also, don't bring anything back casually." Ruan Nanzhu said, "That thing might be a death warrant."

As he spoke, Lin Qiushi glanced out the window and immediately stood up from his chair. He saw a tall, thin figure standing in a sparse bush not far from the restaurant. The figure was shrouded in thick fog, making it difficult to see clearly, but the vague outline of a slender ghost could be discerned.

It stood there quietly, as if staring, as if watching.

This thing clearly had no eyes, but Lin Qiushi still had the illusion that he was being observed.

He reached out and pulled Ruan Nanzhu's sleeve, indicating him to look outside the house. However, when Ruan Nanzhu turned his head, the thing had disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Ruan Nanzhu asked Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi typed: That thing was standing outside watching us just now.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Just now?"

Lin Qiushi nodded.

Ruan Nanzhu: "Oh, go ahead and take a look. This thing normally can't get into the house anyway." He said indifferently, as if it was just a trivial matter. "If he can really get in, he's quite capable."

Lin Qiushi glanced at Ruan Nanzhu and said nothing.

The others were not as calm as Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu. They looked out the window, and most of them had deep fear in their eyes.

No one knows when they will be able to leave this horrible hell.