Chapter 136 Ruan Nanzhu
That night, Lin Qiushi was in a state of extreme tension. His mind told him that the images were fake, but Ruan Nanzhu's charred face kept appearing before him. Most terrifyingly, Lin Qiushi began to doubt the Ruan Nanzhu who had sent him the text message.
Did the person on the other end of the line really exist? If something happened to Ruan Nanzhu, would he choose to keep it a secret and continue texting him, pretending to be alive and well? This suspicion was highly plausible; after all, Ruan Nanzhu had experienced this before. Lin Qiushi clutched his phone in the dark night, as if holding a bomb that could blow him to pieces at any moment.
The thought that had been buried deep in his mind quickly fermented because of the horrific scene just now. Lin Qiushi remembered the agreement he and Ruan Nanzhu had made - if something happened to one of them, he would not demand that the other survive.
At this moment, Lin Qiushi's phone suddenly vibrated. He quickly picked it up and saw a new text message on the screen. It was from Ruan Nanzhu, the person he had been thinking about.
Ruan Nanzhu said: I'm fine, Qiushi, how are you doing?
Lin Qiushi lowered his eyes, typed two words, deleted them, and finally replied: I'm fine, don't worry.
A moment later, Ruan Nanzhu texted back: What's wrong with you? Did something happen to you?
Lin Qiushi sighed. Their tacit understanding was so strong that even without him saying anything, Ruan Nanzhu had already guessed something. His answer was vague, but with Ruan Nanzhu's intelligence, there was no way he couldn't figure it out. Just as Lin Qiushi was sighing, Ruan Nanzhu sent another text message. The content of the message was surprisingly: Qiushi, I saw you inside the door.
Lin Qiushi: "..." He looked at the words on the screen and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Are you the real Qiushi? Do you really exist? Another message from Ruan Nanzhu, but the question struck Lin Qiushi straight in the heart: I'm pondering this question right now, too.
Lin Qiushi replied, "Then do you have an answer?"
"No." Ruan Nanzhu said, "There is no answer."
Lin Qiushi asked again, "Are you afraid?"
Ruan Nanzhu paused for a moment before replying to Lin Qiushi. He said, "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to die with you."
Lin Qiushi laughed at the contents of the text message. At the same time, deep down in his heart, he suddenly felt a surge of courage. He slowly typed, "Ruan Nanzhu, can I come over to see you?"
Facing Lin Qiushi's question, if Ruan Nanzhu hesitated even a little, Lin Qiushi would not continue, because the difficulty would be increased if the two of them were together. If Ruan Nanzhu didn't want to, he couldn't go over and cause him trouble that would cost his life.
But Ruan Nanzhu replied quickly with only one word: OK.
Upon seeing Ruan Nanzhu's answer, Lin Qiushi's exhausted face instantly broke into a brilliant smile. He burst into laughter, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He then stuffed his phone into his pocket, gave the building behind him a middle finger, and rudely cursed, "Stop trying to scare me! I'm going to find him now! Stupid!"
The most terrifying thing about life is having no hope. Lin Qiushi had some hope, and so this endless night seemed to have some warmth, no longer making people feel bone-chilled cold.
In the second half of the night, Lin Qiushi was attacked by several waves of ghosts again, but he managed to survive without any danger.
When the warm morning sun burst out from the ground, Lin Qiushi was already lying on his bed at home, sleeping soundly, as if everything that happened last night was just a horrible dream.
The next day, Lin Qiushi slept well all day and had a big meal. Then he went to the school he had been to yesterday with full energy. Sitting in the cafeteria, he picked up his phone and started playing Sudoku again.
While playing, he wondered if there was anything special about the door Ruan Nanzhu had passed through. Wouldn't he be able to see some of Ruan Nanzhu's former friends? As he thought about it, Lin Qiushi couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't control his expression, because whenever he thought of Ruan Nanzhu, the corners of his mouth would curl up.
The day passed very quickly, the sun slowly sank into the horizon, and night fell.
After nightfall, fearing he would be kicked out by the school security, Lin Qiushi found a secluded corner in the school and hid there. He watched the noisy school gradually become quiet, and only the intermittent chirping of insects could be heard.
The moon was hanging above the treetops and the sky was full of stars. It was a clear night.
Lin Qiushi sat on a stool beside the school pond, feeding mosquitoes. There were so many mosquitoes here that a series of red bumps appeared on Lin Qiushi's arms, causing pain and itching.
But this was a minor matter, nothing compared to the excitement of meeting Ruan Nanzhu. They say a short separation is better than a new marriage, and Lin Qiushi truly experienced this sentiment at this moment.
Time passed by minute by minute, and with the ticking sound of the watch on my wrist, it was twelve o'clock.
Almost instantly, the quiet yet peaceful atmosphere within the school shifted. An unpleasant odor began to fill the air. Although Lin Qiushi lacked Cheng Yixie's keen sense of smell, he recognized the source of the scent—it was the odor of a rotting corpse. Even though it was faint, it still gave rise to a sense of foreboding.
Lin Qiushi walked towards the place he and Ruan Nanzhu had agreed to meet. They had previously agreed to meet on the playground. The playground was relatively open, so even if they encountered anything, it would be easy to avoid it.
However, when Lin Qiushi arrived at the playground, he found that it was empty and Ruan Nanzhu was not there.
Lin Qiushi's heart tightened. He was just wondering if something had happened to Ruan Nanzhu when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Before he could react, someone grabbed his hand. A young man's voice, as crisp as an oriole, rang out, "Lin Qiushi, follow me!"
Lin Qiushi was pulled forward by him. He turned his head and looked behind him, and saw several highly decomposed corpses on the road, limping towards them.
"This way!" The young man held Lin Qiushi's hand and ran very fast. Because the night was too dark, Lin Qiushi could not see the young man's appearance clearly for a while, until he passed by several street lights. In the interweaving of lights and shadows, he finally saw the young man's beautiful face that was difficult to tell whether it was male or female.
"Nanzhu!" Lin Qiushi exclaimed in surprise, "You're like this at night?!" Thinking of Ruan Nanzhu's arrogant and aloof demeanor as an adult, a hint of laughter lingered in his tone, "Were you this adorable when you were a kid?"
Upon hearing this, the young man turned around and glared at Lin Qiushi, but his handsome appearance had no intimidating power at all. Ruan Nanzhu said, "You said I'm cute?"
Lin Qiushi: "It's quite cute."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Please change the words to thank you."
Lin Qiushi laughed loudly. Although they were running for their lives, it had to be said that Lin Qiushi had never been so happy while running for his life.
Ruan Nanzhu brought Lin Qiushi to the side of the gymnasium. The two of them stood there to rest for a while. Lin Qiushi asked, "What's going on with those corpses?"
Ruan Nanzhu said indifferently, "Who knows? I've forgotten all about this little thing a long time ago. With so many doors, do I have to remember every single person I meet?"
Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu. If an adult Ruan Nanzhu had said something like this, he would probably have thought Ruan Nanzhu was exceptionally handsome. However, looking at the delicate little face before him, Lin Qiushi couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, okay, our Nanzhu is right."
Ruan Nanzhu frowned and looked at Lin Qiushi: "Lin Qiushi, are you planning a rebellion?"
Lin Qiushi: "I don't want to either."
Ruan Nanzhu said: "I just became smaller—"
"I know, I know," Lin Qiushi said quickly. "I know your body has shrunk, but your soul is huge."
Ruan Nanzhu gritted his teeth. How could he not hear the tone of Lin Qiushi coaxing a child?
Just as the two were talking, a strange singing voice came from the jungle not far away, like a child reciting a nursery rhyme.
"Damn it." Ruan Nanzhu cursed, "Why is it this door——"
Lin Qiushi asked, "Which door is this?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "My eighth fan is a ghost that wants to take my life." As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Qiushi heard a child's silver bell-like laughter. Then a strong wind blew in front of him, and the street lights on the roadside went out one by one, and the surroundings were shrouded in darkness.
Ruan Nanzhu whispered, "This thing can tell where it's going by sound. Just follow me and don't make any noise."
Lin Qiushi knew that Ruan Nanzhu had excellent eyesight and could identify the road even in the absence of light, so he held Ruan Nanzhu's hand and let Ruan Nanzhu lead him forward.
Ruan Nanzhu had small hands, so Lin Qiushi could wrap up his entire hand with just a little effort.
There was a slight rustling sound, and it moved next to them. Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi walked very carefully, trying not to make any noise.
Lin Qiushi heard the breathing sound that stopped beside them. The breathing sound was so close to them that Lin Qiushi could even feel the breath brushing against his hand hanging by his side.
But Ruan Nanzhu, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped. He seemed to have seen something and tightened his grip on Lin Qiushi's hand slightly.
Lin Qiushi didn't dare to move. In fact, he could clearly feel a pair of cold hands on his shoulders. Those hands seemed to be from a child, very small, and as cold as ice. Even through the clothes, the cold feeling was still continuously transmitted to Lin Qiushi.
Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be in some trouble. Lin Qiushi felt sweat on his palms. He couldn't see anything, but he could clearly feel the solemn atmosphere.
However, just when everything seemed to freeze, a loud sound of breaking glass was heard from the teaching building not far away from them, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. The hands that had originally pressed down on Lin Qiushi's shoulders disappeared in an instant. Ruan Nanzhu grabbed Lin Qiushi's hand and turned to run.
The street lights that had been extinguished beside them lit up again, and Lin Qiushi also saw the scene around them.
In just a few minutes of darkness, the woods around them were covered with dense spider webs. In these spider webs, pairs of red eyes stared at them with malice. Lin Qiushi initially thought that it was a spider the size of a human head, but after looking carefully, he found that it was clearly a huge spider with human heads hanging on it. These heads were not dead, and their eyes were even still moving. They followed them away with a resentful look that refused to move away.
Ruan Nanzhu's head and body were covered with spider webs. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached a safe place and began to pull down the white webs on his body.
Lin Qiushi stood behind Ruan Nanzhu and was not affected by much of the netting. He also began to help Ruan Nanzhu pull off the nets and said, "What was that thing that jumped off the building just now?" If the sound of the monster jumping had not attracted the attention of the monster, they would probably have both confessed by now.
Ruan Nanzhu said, "My friend."
"You have a lot of friends, right?" Lin Qiushi said. "Inside the gate."
"Forget it." Ruan Nanzhu sighed, "But it's enough to know that they are living well in the sect."
Lin Qiushi thought of something: "You also met your predecessor, right? Since he disappeared in the twelfth door... that should provide some clues?" Whether it is the eleventh door or the twelfth door, as someone who has been there, the clues he can provide should be very important.
Ruan Nanzhu smiled bitterly: "How can it be so good?"
Lin Qiushi: "Hmm?"
"I asked every question you could think of, but he said he didn't know," Ruan Nanzhu said. "He has no memory of either the eleventh or twelfth door."
Lin Qiushi: “…” He didn’t expect the answer to be like this.
"I didn't notice it when I was outside the gate, but now I think about it, it's a bit strange." Ruan Nanzhu said, "When the senior passed through the eleventh gate, I was still a newcomer and didn't ask too many questions. But others would definitely ask about the details of the eleventh gate and write them down... but I didn't."
Lin Qiushi frowned: "It seems we haven't realized this either?"
Ruan Nanzhu nodded: "It's like..."
Lin Qiushi said, "It's as if the memory of this aspect has been deliberately diluted?"
It should have been a very important matter, but this importance was forcibly erased from their minds. No one felt anything was wrong until they entered the eleventh door, and this abnormality became abrupt.
"Yes, now that I think about it, how could there be no record?" Ruan Nanzhu said, "Senior has so many friends. Would you really hope that they wouldn't pass? And there's also the twelfth door..."
Lin Qiushi asked, "What happened to the twelfth door?"
Ruan Nanzhu said something Lin Qiushi hadn't expected. He said, "After passing the eleventh door, the senior disappeared."
"Missing?!" Lin Qiushi was stunned. "But didn't you say he was still in Obsidian?"
"Yes, he's still at Obsidian," Ruan Nanzhu said, "but everyone has started to downplay his presence, including me. He's like an invisible man in the villa..." He carefully chose his words, trying to describe the strange feeling, "It's like we all know he's there, but we can't see him."
After a moment of silence, Lin Qiushi said in a hoarse voice, "...Nanzhu."
Ruan Nanzhu looked up at Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi's throat moved, and he said, "I... remember you didn't mention the name of your predecessor."
Ruan Nanzhu was stunned.
Lin Qiushi asked, "Do you still remember his name?" He had seen the elder's belongings at Ruan Nanzhu's place before, but now, recalling them carefully, he found that he had almost forgotten what they looked like. He felt that Ruan Nanzhu was not the kind of person who would forget the deceased, unless, what did this forgetting mean...
Ruan Nanzhu's expression was blank for a moment. He opened his mouth, as if trying to say the name. But in the end, he failed. The name he should have remembered clearly could not be recalled from his memory. He only knew that he had such a senior, but he could not remember his name.
"Is he really dead? Or..." Lin Qiushi felt goosebumps on his arms and said, "Or has he passed through the twelfth door?!"
Ruan Nanzhu: "..." He closed his eyes, unable to answer Lin Qiushi's question.
A strong wind started to blow around again, rustling the leaves around. Lin Qiushi heard the singing and knew that they had to start running for their lives again.
This time, Lin Qiushi took the initiative to hold Ruan Nanzhu's hand and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. No matter where you are, I'm willing to go as long as you're there."
Even hell.
Ruan Nanzhu looked back at Lin Qiushi and smiled. His hair was slightly longer, and his childish face and deep eyes formed a strange sense of harmony. He stood on tiptoe and pressed a gentle kiss to Lin Qiushi's lips: "Me too."
Lin Qiushi laughed.
Then they fled in a panic. The two of them were like poor mice being teased by a cat's claws, trying their best to grasp any chance of survival.
Lin Qiushi also fully witnessed the horror of Ruan Nanzhu's passing. In one night, they could not breathe for more than an hour, and some human body parts might even fall from the treetops when they stopped by the roadside.
At first, Lin Qiushi was very nervous, worried that he would hold Ruan Nanzhu back, but later he became numb and just followed Ruan Nanzhu to hide on campus.
Didn’t Lin Qiushi say we can’t leave school?
Ruan Nanzhu replied that he was more familiar with the school environment and it might be more troublesome to go out. If he didn't have to go out, he felt it was more reliable to stay in school.
While escaping, Lin Qiushi met many of Ruan Nanzhu's friends, as well as some ghosts who were kind to Ruan Nanzhu.
This is like a large amusement park, where people seek revenge and take revenge, and of course, there are also people who come to repay their kindness.
It was no wonder that Ruan Nanzhu hadn't had time to reply to Lin Qiushi's text messages before. Considering the intensity of the current escape, it was already a blessing for the two of them to be able to chat occasionally.
They spent the night like this, and when it was almost dawn, the two of them sat next to the cafeteria to rest.
Ruan Nanzhu had sustained minor injuries, though they weren't particularly serious. Lin Qiushi bandaged them briefly. While doing so, Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi with burning eyes and said, "You saw what kind of night I had. Will you come tomorrow?"
Lin Qiushi smiled and nodded. Although his nights were much better than Ruan Nanzhu's, he still wanted to stay by his side.
"Okay." Ruan Nanzhu said, "As you wish." Just as Lin Qiushi had agreed, he did not push Lin Qiushi out again. The two leaned against each other, waiting for the dawn to come.
Lin Qiushi said, "You were so thin when you were in high school." He bandaged Ruan Nanzhu and naturally saw Ruan Nanzhu's body. Although Ruan Nanzhu was already very tall in high school, he was not strong and was completely not on the same level as his adult self.
Ruan Nanzhu glanced at Lin Qiushi and said nothing.
Lin Qiushi said, "You are so adorable now."
Ruan Nanzhu had a blank expression on his face: "So do you like me now or in the future?"
Lin Qiushi: "..." He shouldn't have brought up this topic. After all, Ruan Nanzhu was someone who was even jealous of himself wearing women's clothing. Being jealous of his younger self...it was a shame he had the nerve to do that.
But under Ruan Nanzhu's glare, Lin Qiushi still sold his soul and said, "I like them all!"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Tsk."
Lin Qiushi: “…” What does that regretful expression of yours mean?
As daybreak approached, they discussed the key issue again, but they still had no clue. This door was too strange, and the monsters that appeared every night were almost different. Even if some monsters appeared a second time, there was still no trace of them.
There really is no solution. At least at this moment, neither of them could find any pattern from it.
But what was more concerning was that they discovered that the monsters appeared in a certain order. The order was based on the time before and after they entered the door, and gradually increased in number...
"Does it mean I have to go through all the doors?" Ruan Nanzhu speculated, "I have to see all the ghosts and monsters inside the doors..."
Lin Qiushi had a different idea. He said, "It's not just ghosts."
Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi.
"There are still old people." Lin Qiushi said, "Does this feel like... a trial?"
Ruan Nanzhu nodded.
Lin Qiushi said, "Add, subtract, and it all comes down to zero. Hatred leads to killing, while love leads to gratitude." He supported his chin with his hand and looked at the pale morning light rising in the sky. Sleepiness began to rise in his mind, and Ruan Nanzhu couldn't hold on any longer and fell into Lin Qiushi's arms.
Looking at Ruan Nanzhu's sleeping face, Lin Qiushi lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
This was the most sound sleep Lin Qiushi had ever had since he entered the eleventh door. He knew that Ruan Nanzhu was by his side, and as long as it got dark, they would be able to see each other.
Neither ghosts nor death could separate the two of them. He was no longer afraid, and the huge void in his heart was filled by another gentle soul.
The originally terrifying night became something to look forward to because of Ruan Nanzhu's presence.
Lin Qiushi finally understood that saying: falling in love with someone is like having a soft spot and also having armor.
They finally became each other's strongest support.
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