Chapter 44: The Picture in the Frame
As for the newcomer, Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be very resistant to her on the first day.
Lin Qiushi asked if he'd noticed anything from the start, but Ruan Nanzhu replied, "No, I just hate people who start crying the moment they come in. People like them usually have a lot of questions." He gave Lin Qiushi a look of satisfaction and smiled, "I really like the fact that you don't like to ask why."
Lin Qiushi: "..." Should he be thankful for his limited curiosity?
Yang Meishu was the name of this newcomer. Perhaps her biggest mistake was pretending to be a newbie by bursting into tears the moment she entered, thus earning Ruan Nanzhu's dislike. If she had used a different method of acting like a newbie, she might have had a chance to get close to Ruan Nanzhu—just like Xu Jin in the previous world.
"Didn't they say there was only one clue for each door?" Tan Zaozao was a little confused after reading the note in Lin Qiushi's hand. "Then what's the situation with this note?"
"Not necessarily, it's just that this kind of situation is rare," Ruan Nanzhu explained. "I've encountered it a few times. I don't know exactly why two notes appeared. Perhaps some special conditions were triggered?" He pinched the notes, thinking, "Or maybe... the person with the notes is special." Of course, these were all his guesses, and none of them could be confirmed at this point.
"How's Yang Meishu now?" Lin Qiushi asked. "Does she know you discovered her identity?"
Ruan Nanzhu smiled and said, "I don't know yet, but I'll know soon." He spoke in a relaxed tone, "I hope she's still alive when she finds out."
Lin Qiushi: "..." He saw obvious malice in Ruan Nanzhu's eyes.
…
The night was as dark as water, and Yang Meishu was lying on the bed.
The handsome man did not come to the cafeteria to eat with everyone today. It seems that her plan worked. Who told him not to take her with him? Yang Meishu thought regretfully. She had a good impression of him, and he could have gotten out alive.
Now that two people were dead, Yang Meishu was still far from her ultimate goal. However, she was not in a hurry because everything was under her control. As long as she killed the people inside the door one by one, according to the rules of the door, she would be invincible inside the door. At that time, whether she wanted to find the door or the key, everything would be easily solved.
As for the requirement that no one can be killed within the sect - if those who died wanted to seek revenge, they at least had to know who their enemies were. It was a pity that they died unjustly, and after becoming ghosts they didn't even understand how they died, let alone seek revenge.
Thinking of this, Yang Meishu smiled with satisfaction. She hummed a song, looked at the ceiling, and fell into a deep sleep.
Tick, tick.
Cold water dripped onto Yang Meishu's face. She opened her eyes, hazy with sleep, and discovered a dark stain on her head. The stain spread across the snow-white ceiling, and transparent drops of water fell bit by bit onto her cheek.
Yang Meishu woke up instantly. She got up from the bed and found that the window that was originally closed was wide open. The cold wind mixed with rain poured in through the window.
Yang Meishu shivered in the wind. She walked to the bed and tried to close the window, but saw a black figure by the window.
It was a woman wearing a black long skirt and a black hat. She raised her head slightly and stared at the position where Yang Meishu was with her dark eyes. Her face looked even paler against the backdrop of the black clothes, like a corpse soaked by rain.
"Ah!!!!" Yang Meishu took a few steps back, frightened by the scene, and broke out in a cold sweat. Tick-tick, tick-tick, the water stains on the ceiling became more and more obvious, and Yang Meishu's hair became wet. Suddenly, she remembered something and rushed to the bedside table, picked up her bag, and began to search.
No, no—the thing that should have been put inside was gone. Yang Meishu's back was covered in cold sweat. She finally collapsed and cried out, "Where's the note? Where's my note—"
There was no note, nothing. The most important clue was gone. Yang Meishu was shaking like a sieve. She raised her head stiffly and saw the water stains on the ceiling, which had formed the shape of a person.
Horrified by this scene, Yang Meishu stood up and wanted to rush out of the room. However, when she walked to the door and wanted to turn the doorknob, she found that the doorknob was locked.
"Help - is there anyone here, help -" Yang Meishu began to scream miserably. She watched the water stains on the ceiling begin to twist, as if trying to break free from it. She knocked on the door like crazy, trying to get out of the house.
"Help, help me--" The pungent smell of water filled his nostrils, and Yang Meishu began to cry loudly, tasting the taste of despair for the first time.
She looked around and found that the original landscape painting in her room had turned into a strange figure painting. The woman in the figure painting was about 70% similar to the hostess of the castle, almost a self-portrait of the hostess.
"Ahhh..." Fear overwhelmed Yang Meishu. Recklessly, she rushed to the portrait, picked up a nearby fruit knife, and began stabbing it with all her might. One strike, two strikes, three strikes... the expressionless girl in the rain was shattered into pieces. Yang Meishu gasped heavily and finally put down the weapon.
"I'm not afraid of you." Yang Meishu said to himself, "I'm not afraid of you..."
However, the next second, when she looked towards the window again, she was stunned.
The woman who was supposed to be under the window now appeared at her window. Her tall body cast a cold black shadow, covering Yang Meishu. In the woman's hand, she held a black picture frame. Yang Meishu was very familiar with the picture frame - it was the black picture frame she used to kill people.
"No, no, no!!" At this moment, Yang Meishu finally understood. She looked around in horror, trying to find the frame that framed her, but it was too late.
The woman walked up to her, raised the picture frame in her hand, and smashed it down at her.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!" Unlike Xiao Su who lost consciousness immediately, Yang Meishu was not put directly into the painting. The picture frame seemed to have turned into a sharp weapon, breaking her skin and causing bright red blood to flow out.
Yang Meishu turned around and wanted to escape, but the strength in her body began to drain away. She lay on the ground, her eyes fixed on the painting in front of her that she had pierced into pieces.
Finally, darkness enveloped everything and Yang Meishu closed his eyes.
Until her death, she never figured out what caused her death.
…
Lin Qiushi slept well that night, and Ruan Nanzhu also got up early. He seemed to be in a good mood and greeted Lin Qiushi with a smile.
"Good morning." Lin Qiushi stroked his sleep-tangled hair. "Are you in a good mood?"
"Of course." Ruan Nanzhu checked the time. "I can't wait to have breakfast."
Lin Qiushi didn't take Ruan Nanzhu's words to heart, thinking that he was just hungry. However, Tan Zaozao looked thoughtful.
Then the three of them went to the restaurant together. Ruan Nanzhu found a place to sit down and began to look around, as if looking for something.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Qiushi asked him while eating bread.
"Looking at people." Ruan Nanzhu said, "It seems like one is missing."
Indeed, one person was missing. The newcomer Ruan Nanzhu had mentioned yesterday hadn't shown up. They weren't the only ones to notice this anomaly, so someone started asking Yang Meishu's male companion where he was.
"I don't know. I knocked on the door today and she didn't open it," the man replied. "She might be sleeping."
Originally, this was a temporary team formed within the inner world, so it was impossible to expect the other party to be dedicated and responsible. However, this answer was a bit too perfunctory, and everyone frowned.
Zhang Tao, who had discovered the photo frame earlier, said, "How could he be sleeping? Something must have happened. Let's go and take a look." When he said this, his eyes were on Ruan Nanzhu.
"Okay." Ruan Nanzhu nodded.
Although Ruan Nanzhu rarely spoke or offered opinions within the team, his unique aura somehow gave him a prominent position within the group. When making certain decisions, everyone would consult his opinions. Perhaps this was the legendary personal charisma, Lin Qiushi thought.
The group arrived at Yang Meishu's door. Before entering, Lin Qiushi smelled a strong fishy odor. As soon as he smelled it, he knew something was amiss. After forcing his way through the door, his suspicions were confirmed.
Yang Meishu is missing.
But the mess in the house told everyone what had happened here before.
The windows were wide open, and rain poured in, soaking the carpet. The landscape paintings hanging on the walls of the room were stabbed to pieces, and broken glass was scattered all over the floor.
"Where are the people?" Zhang Tao asked.
No one could answer his question. In fact, everyone's eyes were involuntarily focused on the scroll hanging on the wall at the door. Obviously, they all felt that Yang Meishu was in great danger and had turned into a painting.
"Let's look for it." Ruan Nanzhu said this and turned away.
The others followed him out of the room and began to look around for any paintings of Yang Meishu.
This matter was linked to Ruan Nanzhu's behavior, so it was definitely related to him. However, Lin Qiushi didn't dare to ask on the spot. He waited until everyone else left before whispering, "Did you do it?"
"I just returned her things to her." Ruan Nanzhu said nonchalantly, "Who knew she was so stupid?"
"Where did you put the picture frame?" Tan Zaozao asked after she had figured out what was going on.
Ruan Nanzhu said nothing and waved at them.
A few minutes later, they returned to Yang Meishu's room again.
Ruan Nanzhu closed the door, then walked to Yang Meishu's bed, bent down and half-knelt on the carpet.
Seeing his actions, Lin Qiushi guessed where he hid the picture frame - he actually put it under Yang Meishu's bed.
"Is this possible?" Tan Zaozao widened her eyes.
"I also wanted to know if it would work. I didn't expect it to actually be effective." Ruan Nanzhu put a picture frame under the bed, but when he took it out, it had turned into a painting.
However, the content of this painting is a mess, and it is impossible to understand what is in it. However, judging from the colors in the painting, it is obvious that there is blood.
"I can't recognize Yang Meishu at all." Tan Zaozao looked down at the portrait, "At least I can still make out the person in the painting from the front..." She didn't know what she had done to make her painting look like this.
"Her painting appeared here, which means she never left this room," Ruan Nanzhu analyzed. "Since she never left this room, she must have triggered some other death condition." His eyes moved to the stab-torn landscape painting on the wall. "She attacked the girl in the rain."
"Hmm." Lin Qiushi agreed with Ruan Nanzhu's reasoning. "When framed, the paintings in the room do indeed transform into something else."
Ruan Nanzhu finally said, "Fighting with others is an endless joy."
Tan Zaozao and Lin Qiushi both smiled bitterly. They did not have the same mentality as Ruan Nanzhu. When facing ghosts, they also had to face teammates who might betray them at any time. This was not a pleasant experience.
Yang Meishu's painting was found, but if you only look at the painting, no one can recognize that this is the girl who is considered pretty.
Three people have died so far, Xiao Su, Yang Jie, and Yang Meishu, but it is still unknown how far we will go to find the key.
The hostess was still painting, but this time, two more faces were added to her banquet painting.
"You stand on the bridge to enjoy the scenery, and the people who enjoy the scenery are looking at you from upstairs. The bright moon decorates your window, and you decorate other people's dreams." Ruan Nanzhu held the note that should have belonged to Yang Meishu, "We are definitely the scenery, and the person who enjoys the scenery is the hostess. Why is Yang Meishu's note so much more detailed than ours..." He seemed a little confused about this.
"I don't know." Tan Zaozao said, "Maybe the door she entered through was of higher quality?"
It was unknown what Tan Zaozao's words reminded Ruan Nanzhu of. He was silent for a moment and then said, "Perhaps it's the way she went out that was quite special."
"What do you mean?" Tan Zaozao was puzzled. "Is there any other way to get out?"
"Who knows?" Ruan Nanzhu said.
Logically, having discovered the trigger for the death, they should be able to mitigate the risk until they find the key. However, things weren't as simple as they imagined. On the third day after Yang Meishu's death, Lin Qiushi encountered another accident.
He had just finished dinner and went to the bathroom at the end of the corridor. However, when he came out of the bathroom, he sensitively felt that something was wrong.
The once familiar corridor became somewhat unfamiliar.
This is a feeling that is hard to describe. Although the scenery is exactly the same, Lin Qiushi feels that this corridor is unfamiliar.
He hesitated a little, not knowing whether to move forward.
The corridor was very long, with dim light coming from the oil lamps on the side. Countless picture frames were hung on both sides of the corridor, but their appearance could not be seen clearly.
Lin Qiushi heard the sound of soft and dense rain, which came from the toilet behind him. The dripping sound made people feel very uncomfortable.
Lin Qiushi took a few tentative steps forward and arrived at the middle of the corridor.
The carpet on the floor is soft, the walls are icy, and the picture frames are wet...
Wait, the picture frame is wet? Lin Qiushi was startled and turned to look at the wall. He saw that all the paintings hanging around him were dripping, and the water was flowing down the wall and into the soft carpet.
At some point, a standing figure appeared in the depths of the corridor. The figure looked very familiar. Even though he only saw her back, Lin Qiushi recognized her. It was the hostess of the castle, the girl in the rain.
"Yu Linlin." Ruan Nanzhu's voice suddenly came.
Lin Qiushi looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the painting on the wall to his right had transformed into Xiao Su's image. She was still as beautiful as ever, waving at him with a smile. "Lin Qiushi."
Lin Qiushi suddenly felt very cold.
"Yu Linlin, come and keep me company," Xiao Su in the painting said. "It's so boring being alone in here."
As she spoke, she actually stretched out her hand from the painting, trying to grab Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi was frightened by the scene and took a few steps back reflexively.
However, Xiao Su's arm was like a long snake, getting longer and longer, and rushed towards Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi turned around and tried to run, but the portraits around him stretched out countless slender arms, some grabbing Lin Qiushi's body, and some grabbing Lin Qiushi's feet.
"Ruan Nanzhu--" Lin Qiushi wanted to dodge, but the corridor was very narrow. His foot was caught by the thing in the painting, and then he was dragged out of the toilet.
The woman in black stood in front of Lin Qiushi at some point.
She looked down at Lin Qiushi, her huge body casting a dark shadow on him.
Lin Qiushi was forced to look up and look into the woman's eyes.
The woman remained silent, staring at Lin Qiushi with her dark eyes. The two of them moved closer and closer, so close that Lin Qiushi could even smell the strange scent of paint on her body.
Lin Qiushi's whole body was stiff, like a frog being stared at by a snake.
The woman reached out and grabbed Lin Qiushi's wrist, then lifted him up completely. Her strength was immense, and lifting the 5'8" tall Lin Qiushi was like lifting a chicken. With her wrist gripped, Lin Qiushi was completely powerless to resist.
The woman carried Lin Qiushi and began walking towards the rooftop.
Lin Qiushi began to struggle hard. In front of the woman's terrifying strength, Lin Qiushi was like a six-year-old child, with no room for resistance. He was dragged up the stairs by the woman and headed towards the roof.
He was going to die! He was going to die! For the first time, Lin Qiushi could clearly sense the presence of death. He had a strong premonition that he was getting closer and closer to death. As long as he reached the roof, he would be dead!
"Fuck!" Lin Qiushi cursed, a rare occurrence. He tightly grasped the handrail of the stairs next to him. He had no idea why he was suddenly dragged into the world of the painting. Wasn't it as Ruan Nanzhu said that as long as he wasn't framed by the painting, everything would be fine... Could it be... that there were other frames they hadn't discovered?
The handrails were covered in water stains, and Lin Qiushi couldn't hold on at all. Facing his dying struggle, the woman's face remained expressionless. She grabbed him and continued to exert force. Lin Qiushi soon couldn't hold on anymore and was dragged forward by the woman.
There was nothing he could do, Lin Qiushi smiled bitterly in his heart.
However, just when he was about to give up, Lin Qiushi heard the sound of glass crunching, and the picture in front of him began to shatter and distort, and the woman's figure began to blur.
"Lin Qiushi—" This was Tan Zaozao's tearful voice, "Come back—"
"Lin Qiushi!" Ruan Nanzhu was also calling his name.
Lin Qiushi tried hard to open his eyes, but he couldn't do it.
Finally, the sound of breaking glass became clearer and clearer, and the light began to sting Lin Qiushi's eyes. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw Tan Zaozao with a terrified look and Ruan Nanzhu with a frown on his face.
"What's wrong with me?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"You almost died—" Tan Zaozao's voice was filled with terror. "If Ruan Nanzhu hadn't discovered it quickly..."
Lin Qiushi lowered his head and found himself lying in the toilet with a broken mirror next to him.
"She seems to have dragged me into the world inside the painting." Lin Qiushi was a little confused. "But isn't the frame gone?" Yang Meishu was dead, so there should be no frame. So why would he still...
"How could a painter not have a frame? Didn't Yang Meishu provide the frame?" Ruan Nanzhu said helplessly, "I thought this was common sense..."
Lin Qiushi: "..." This is actually common sense. Sorry, with his IQ, it's really hard for him to survive inside the sect.
Tan Zaozao was crying quietly beside her.
"But it's not your fault," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Who knew that thing was so smart?" He pointed at the broken mirror in front of him. "Take a look."
Lin Qiushi looked up and found that there was a black picture frame behind the broken mirror. The mirror was actually a two-way mirror, which meant that everyone who looked in the mirror was framed in the picture frame.
Lin Qiushi's expression twisted: "Is it this mirror or all of them..."
Ruan Nanzhu shrugged: "This is her castle, what do you think?"
Lin Qiushi: "So Yang Meishu's actions were actually unnecessary—"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Not only Yang Meishu, but even I have done this in vain." He asked, "What were you doing in there just now? How did you get into the painting?"
Lin Qiushi: "I just took a few steps into the corridor..."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Next time you encounter something like this, just stand still and don't move."
Lin Qiushi covered his head and sighed, truly feeling that these things were impossible to defend against. Suddenly, he remembered something: "How did you know where I was? After I entered the frame, could I still be rescued?"
Ruan Nanzhu said nothing upon hearing this. Instead, he reached out and gently pinched Lin Qiushi's earlobe: "It must be fate."
Lin Qiushi suddenly realized that it was Ruan Nanzhu's earrings that had worked for him.
"What should we do now?" Tan Zaozao was bewildered. "If there's a picture frame behind the mirror, then aren't we all targets for her to kill whenever she wants?"
Ruan Nanzhu shook his head. "Impossible! This isn't a high-level sect. The conditions for killing people are actually very harsh, so it's unlikely that a whole group will be wiped out." He calculated, "Didn't you notice that every time she pulls someone into the painting, it takes a while before she can pull in the second one?"
Tan Zaozao: "So...?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "So should we try to get the key out?"
Tan Zaozao looked at Ruan Nanzhu suspiciously: "What do you mean by getting the key out?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "What if I burn her paintings while she can't kill anyone..."
After hearing Ruan Nanzhu's words, Tan Zaozao and Lin Qiushi's expressions twisted.
Tan Zaozao said in horror, "Ruan Nanzhu, please don't test the waters of death!"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Oh, I was just joking."
Lin Qiushi and Tan Zaozao both showed expressions of disbelief. Ruan Nanzhu's tone did not sound like a joke at all.
The author has something to say: Ruan Nanzhu took out a lighter: I was really joking...
Hostess: ????
Lin Qiushi: Are you so happy just by being naughty...
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