Chapter 55 The Missing Child
A total of fourteen people entered the door and gathered in the town square one after another.
Lin Qiushi seized the moment, observing his surroundings. The town looked extremely run-down, with most of the shops closed. The occasional breeze, stirring up dust from the roadside, made the atmosphere even more desolate.
There was a notice board next to the square where they were. Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu walked over to it and took a look. They found three missing person notices posted on it. These notices were all looking for children aged seven or eight, both boys and girls, and all had been posted recently.
Upon seeing the missing person notice, Lin Qiushi immediately thought of the tall and thin figure in the clue. Although this tall and thin figure also attacked adults, in fact, its first target was usually children. It seemed that the disappearance of these children was closely related to the tall and thin figure.
Just as everyone was talking, a dignified middle-aged man walked to the end of the square. He briefly introduced himself to the crowd, claiming to be the mayor of this small town, and then told them their identities in this door.
"I hope you can help us find the missing children," the mayor said. "These children have all disappeared within a week. We have searched the entire town but haven't been able to find them. I hope you can complete the commission and find the missing children."
This is the clue to this door.
After the mayor finished speaking, he led them to the hotel where they were staying.
The atmosphere of this hotel fits in well with the town, it is quite shabby. There is an old man dozing off sitting at the door. When he saw the mayor and his men coming, he didn't open his eyes to greet them. He just perfunctorily threw a bunch of keys to them and then closed his eyes and continued to sleep.
The mayor was clearly used to this. He said, "We rarely have outsiders here. Because the child is missing, everyone is very sensitive. Please be tactful when asking for clues."
The hotel accommodates two people in a room, and everyone quickly and spontaneously found a companion to stay with.
As expected, Lin Qiushi lived in the same room with Ruan Nanzhu. Because he played the role of a mute girl, he didn't say much the whole time. When someone looked at him, he pretended not to see it.
Wang Tianxin seemed to have some interest in him, but he hid it very well. Only occasionally could Lin Qiushi feel his gaze.
Lin Qiushi pretended not to see it.
After the rooms were divided, the mayor talked about some things about the town.
Their town was once a fishing village, but after a dam was built upstream, the fish population dwindled and the area fell into ruin. There was little industry, save for a canning factory on the far west side. To the east lay the village cemetery, and the mayor had told them it was best not to go there unless necessary.
Everyone listened quietly, some even taking notes. Usually, the main clues were provided by NPCs, and within these clues lay the key.
After all this, everyone was a little hungry, so they had a quick bite to eat in the restaurant downstairs.
The food here tasted terrible. The bread was hard and dry, giving it a toothache. Besides the bread, there was also fried fish, which was unappetizing at first glance. Lin Qiushi took one look at the dead eyes of the fried fish and didn't dare to pick up his knife and fork. Wouldn't eating this really be poisonous?
Ruan Nanzhu didn't touch the fish either, only eating some bread. He hadn't said much since entering the hotel, and seemed to be thinking about something.
After this terrible dinner, everyone planned to go back and rest in preparation for the next day.
Lin Qiushi did the same. After a simple wash, he climbed into bed.
This is a standard room with two beds, his is by the window and Ruan Nanzhu's is by the door.
Ruan Nanzhu took a shower and came out of the bathroom shirtless. While drying his hair, he asked, "What do you think?"
Lin Qiushi huddled at the head of the bed, playing with his phone: "Let's ask the parents of the missing children tomorrow to see if there are any clues." He thought for a moment, "Since the mayor mentioned the cannery, maybe we should go over and check it out." This town is not big, and there are only so many clues. Logically, the cannery should have what they want.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Well, how do you feel?"
Lin Qiushi thought Ruan Nanzhu was asking him how he felt about the door, so he obediently replied, "It's okay, but the food is just terrible."
Ruan Nanzhu raised an eyebrow: "I'm asking how you feel about pretending to be a mute girl."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
Ruan Nanzhu: "Not happy?"
Facing the imposing Ruan Nanzhu, Lin Qiushi turned into a coward and said with a fake smile, "Happy, happy." Why on earth had he asked such a shameless question in the first place?
It had to be said that Lin Qiushi, dressed as a woman, was quite adorable with this expression. Regardless of whether Lin Qiushi volunteered or not, at least this answer satisfied Ruan Nanzhu. He smiled subtly and said gently, "As long as you like it."
Lin Qiushi: "..." Why did he have a bad feeling?
The two chatted for a few more minutes and then went to bed.
The window next to Lin Qiushi was a hinged window, through which he could vaguely see the shadows cast by the treetops outside. A gentle breeze rustled the treetops. Although the hotel looked shabby, the interior was actually quite pleasant. The only drawback was the presence of mosquitoes in such a cold weather, their buzzing being truly disturbing. Lin Qiushi lay in bed, trying to clear his mind and try to fall asleep quickly.
However, just as he was about to fall asleep, Ruan Nanzhu poked him gently from behind. He was about to turn his head when he heard Ruan Nanzhu's low voice: "Don't move, there's something outside."
Lin Qiushi's whole body trembled and he woke up instantly.
He looked carefully and found that at some point, something difficult to describe had attached to the tree outside. The thing was stuck to the trunk, almost merging with it, but it was twisting. It was thin and long, like a snake, and could not be seen at all without careful observation.
The thing slowly stretched out a hand and placed it on the hinged window.
Lin Qiushi saw the hand flip open one of the pages in the folding window. He expected to see a pair of black eyes, but instead he saw only pale white... The thing had no eyes at all.
"Close your eyes." Ruan Nanzhu said suddenly.
Lin Qiushi immediately closed his eyes obediently. His hearing was very sensitive and he could clearly hear the sound of the hinged window being flipped.
Then there was the sound of rustling footsteps, as if something was walking across the grass.
Ruan Nanzhu hadn't let Lin Qiushi open his eyes. Lin Qiushi had been holding it in at first, but eventually he couldn't help it anymore and asked, "Are you done?"
No sound.
Lin Qiushi's heart tightened, worried that something might have happened. He opened his eyes and turned around, only to find that Ruan Nanzhu had actually fallen asleep.
Lin Qiushi: “…” It seems that this sleeping pill not only helps others sleep, but also helps myself sleep.
Peace returned outside the window, and Lin Qiushi closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next day was cloudy and rainy.
The temperature was a little cold and there were drizzles of rain in the air.
Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu woke up early and went to the restaurant downstairs. As soon as he entered, Lin Qiushi heard Wang Tianxin and the girl flirting. After a night together, the two seemed to have grown closer. The girl Wang Tianxin had flirted with was now smiling as they fed each other breakfast.
Lin Qiushi glanced at him, truly admiring this kind of person. Being able to happily hook up in such an atmosphere within the sect meant, in a sense, that he was a talent.
Ruan Nanzhu followed him in. As soon as they entered, they attracted most of the attention in the restaurant. Some people looked at Ruan Nanzhu, who still looked striking, while others cast ambiguous glances at Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi was baffled at first, until he went to the restroom midway through. After looking in the mirror for a moment, he suddenly felt something was wrong...
He stretched his neck and took a closer look, and discovered that a red mark had appeared under his ear at some point. The mark was a little itchy, probably the result of a mosquito bite, but he knew it was a mosquito bite, which no one else knew about, and the location was so ambiguous.
Lin Qiushi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He scratched it twice, and it felt even more itchy.
There was no way to get rid of this thing for the time being. Lin Qiushi sighed and had to give up. He washed his hands, turned around and was about to leave, but saw Wang Tianxin walking in from outside the toilet.
This hotel is very small. There is only one toilet on the first floor, which is mixed for men and women.
The two met in the narrow toilet. Lin Qiushi moved aside to make way for him and signaled him to go first.
Wang Tianxin smiled at him and suddenly said, "Why are you afraid of me?"
Lin Qiushi was stunned.
"He and I are both doing the same thing, so why act like I'm the bad guy?" Wang Tianxin actually has a pretty good voice and a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes, which would definitely attract girls. He reached out and grabbed Lin Qiushi's arm, saying, "Right?"
Lin Qiushi knew that he had misunderstood. He wanted to pull his hand out of Wang Tianxin's hand, but he was afraid that he would use too much force and expose his identity, so he could only use his other hand to take out his mobile phone and type: We are not like that, you misunderstood.
Unexpectedly, Wang Tianxin sneered when he saw this and said, "Do you think I'm stupid? Is that mark on your neck a mosquito bite?"
Lin Qiushi: Hey, it really was a mosquito bite.
Wang Tianxin glanced outside and suddenly revealed an evil smile: "Tell me, if I did it to you in the bathroom, would he find out?"
Lin Qiushi: "..." He silently glanced at Wang Tianxin's not-so-strong body and thought, my friend, it's still unclear who will do it.
Wang Tianxin didn't know what misconception Lin Qiushi's expression had given him, but he laughed and said, "Why, are you scared now?"
Lin Qiushi glanced around the toilet. He had already started thinking about how to defeat the person in front of him to make him feel more relieved.
But just when Lin Qiushi was about to take action, the sound of other people's footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Wang Tianxin actually refused to let go of Lin Qiushi until Ruan Nanzhu appeared at the door and stared at him with unfriendly eyes. Only then did he reluctantly give in and let go.
"Qiuqiu." Ruan Nanzhu said coldly, "Is anyone giving you any trouble?"
Lin Qiushi glanced at Ruan Nanzhu, and the moment their eyes met, he suddenly understood. At this moment, Lin Qiushi was possessed by the spirit of acting. He sobbed and threw himself into Ruan Nanzhu's arms, looking like he was being bullied miserably.
Ruan Nanzhu raised his head and looked at Wang Tianxin.
Perhaps it was because Ruan Nanzhu's eyes were too terrifying that Wang Tianxin, who had been so arrogant just now, instantly wilted and smiled awkwardly: "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, I didn't do anything to Qiuqiu..."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "For the last time." His voice was as cold as ice. "If I find out you're trying to do anything to her again, I'll kill you." The phrase "kill you" didn't sound like a cruel word at all. Even Lin Qiushi, who was leaning in Ruan Nanzhu's arms, could sense the strong murderous intent.
Ruan Nanzhu is serious.
Lin Qiushi knew it, and Wang Tianxin knew it too.
So he responded in a panic, turned around and left without even going to the toilet.
Lin Qiushi looked at his fleeing back and felt like spitting.
"Are you okay?" Ruan Nanzhu asked him.
Lin Qiushi shook his head and pointed to the bite marks under his ear.
Who knew that the next moment, something warm and soft would press against it and suck for a moment. Lin Qiushi's eyes widened, and he instinctively wanted to push the person away. However, Ruan Nanzhu chuckled softly and said, "Little mute girl, do you really think I'm a good person?"
Lin Qiushi: “…” Boss, are you so happy just acting?
"I'm not a good person either." Ruan Nanzhu's fingers rubbed that place heavily, causing Lin Qiushi to shiver involuntarily. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ruan Nanzhu made a hushing gesture, indicating that the wall had ears.
"If you listen to me obediently, I'll take you out." Ruan Nanzhu said, "If you don't behave, don't blame me for leaving you alone in here."
Lin Qiushi: “…” That’s almost enough.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Do you understand?"
Lin Qiushi could only nod.
Ruan Nanzhu then showed a satisfied expression, took Lin Qiushi's hand and went out.
At this moment, Lin Qiushi finally understood Ruan Nanzhu's sinister intention of asking him to pretend to be a mute girl. If he were not a mute, he could still retort with a few words to ruin Ruan Nanzhu's sudden desire to perform, but now he is a mute who cannot speak. By the time he finished typing on his phone, Ruan Nanzhu had already finished her performance.
Lin Qiushi finished the milk in front of him and secretly lamented how treacherous human hearts really were...
The eyes of others looking at Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi were even more ambiguous, and they probably thought they were a one-night stand duo.
Lin Qiushi was now in a state of despair, unable to express his suffering in words. He could only glare at Ruan Nanzhu.
Ruan Nanzhu said shamelessly: "Stop staring, it will get hard if you keep staring."
Lin Qiushi: “???” God is fucking hard.
After finally finishing breakfast, Lin Qiushi quickly pulled Ruan Nanzhu out of the restaurant. They had planned to visit the homes of the missing children in the next few days.
This town has a small population. It is said that there are only eight or nine children in the whole town. Three of them were lost at once, which is naturally a big deal.
Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi quickly arrived at the first place where a child was lost. Several elderly people from the team also came with them.
When the family saw them, they were very indifferent. They only answered one question at a time and did not proactively provide any information from beginning to end.
Fortunately, it was okay as long as he was willing to answer. Ruan Nanzhu asked several key questions - when did the child disappear, where did he disappear, who did he see last before he disappeared, and were there any signs before he disappeared.
"He has a strange temper." As a parent, a missing child should be a very sad thing, but this family's attitude is very strange, as if they don't want to say anything more. "He doesn't come home all day long. He disappeared one evening six days ago. He went out and never came back. Before he disappeared, he met with his sister. As for the omen, would he still disappear if there was an omen?"
Everyone wrote down these clues one by one. Coincidentally, the missing child's sister was also nearby, so Ruan Nanzhu found his sister and asked her about it.
Maybe it was because he was really handsome and easily attracted young girls, so the sister treated them quite well.
She was about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, with some freckles on her cheeks, but her beautiful blonde hair was very eye-catching. She said, "Before my brother Lauren disappeared, he said someone was following him. But this town is so small and there are no outsiders. Who would follow a child? We didn't take his words seriously at the time..." She seemed a little guilty and her eyes became moist.
"Do you mind if we go to his room?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.
"Come on, we'll take you there," said my sister.
The missing child was named Lauren. Her room was in the attic on the top floor. It was very narrow and messy. There was a small bed crammed into the small room, as well as various books and some miscellaneous things.
Because the attic was too narrow, everyone couldn't go in together and had to check in batches.
Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu and another girl were the first group of people to come in.
Ruan Nanzhu went straight to the bookcase, while Lin Qiushi began to check Lauren's bed.
Soon, Lin Qiushi made a discovery. He saw a locked notebook under Lauren's pillow. He quickly snatched it up and stuffed it into his clothes, feigning indifference. Only then did Lin Qiushi realize the advantages of women's clothing. After all, men's clothing was quite simple, making it difficult to hide anything.
Ruan Nanzhu found a lot of notes made by Lauren on the bookshelf. Before she disappeared, Lauren had been looking up local urban legends. These urban legends were very rich, including the slender ghost mentioned in the clues.
"It seems he had a premonition of something." Ruan Nanzhu analyzed, "The death within the sect this time had a foreshadowing."
Lin Qiushi nodded, indicating that he understood, and pointed outside the door.
Ruan Nanzhu glanced at him and understood what he meant: "Let's go, let's go out."
The two of them walked outside the house under the pretext of breathing fresh air, and found an empty corner. Lin Qiushi took out Lauren's diary from his clothes.
Ruan Nanzhu looked at him and smiled: "Very skilled."
Lin Qiushi was almost dying of suffocation: "Stop messing around, take a look at what's inside."
Ruan Nanzhu nodded. He easily opened the lock on the notebook and saw the contents inside.
The contents at the front of the notebook are all about a little kid’s daily life, complaining about his parents, complaining about school, etc. And school?
Lin Qiushi asked, "Is there a school in this town?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Yes, but not here. It should be in the next town."
Lin Qiushi: "Oh... I haven't heard the mayor say that."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "It turns out he's not his biological son. No wonder his parents have that attitude."
Lauren is not his father's biological child, but his mother brought him home when she remarried. His stepfather never liked him and often made trouble for him, even beating him. After he disappeared, he also acted nonchalant, as if he didn't care at all about the fact that his child was missing.
"Where is Lauren's mother?" Lin Qiushi was a little surprised.
"It wasn't mentioned much." Ruan Nanzhu said, "...That's very strange."
It was indeed strange that they did not see the hostess when they entered the house, and no one mentioned that there had ever been a hostess in the house.
Continuing to scroll down, Lin Qiushi saw clues about the disappearance.
In the notebook, Lauren kept complaining that someone seemed to be following him, following him on his way to and from school, but he couldn't find that person.
At first, Lauren's tone of complaint was just anger and annoyance, but soon, this anger and annoyance turned into fear. Lauren seemed to have discovered something...
"It reappeared outside my window and I hid under the bed, hoping it wouldn't see me."
"This time I hid in the closet, luckily not under the bed. I saw it bend down and reach under the bed, as if it was looking for me."
"No one believed me, they all thought I was crazy. The thing almost squeezed through the crack in the window. I had no idea what it was."
"I know its name, but time is running out. It's too late..."
"It's all over."
These contents are Lauren's diary in recent times. A few days ago, he wrote the last five words in his diary: Everything is over.
This was the last entry, after which Lauren disappeared and the diary stopped.
"It seems that thing took the child away." Lin Qiushi finished reading the diary. "The slender figure..."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Where did they take him?"
Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu exchanged glances and laughed awkwardly, "Isn't he taking them to the cannery?"
There seems to be only one such special place in this town.
Ruan Nanzhu: "So did you eat canned fish this morning?"
Lin Qiushi quickly shook his head. The canned fish didn't look very tasty. He usually ate light breakfast, so he had no interest in it.
Although he didn't eat it, others ate a lot, especially Wang Tianxin, who seemed to have a special liking for fish.
Lin Qiushi: "I can't think about it too much. It's too disgusting."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Where do you want to go next?"
Lin Qiushi: "Aren't there a few missing children? Let's go check on them. It would be great if we could find something in common."
Ruan Nanzhu nodded and agreed to Lin Qiushi's proposal.
So the two of them walked towards the homes of the two remaining missing children, and on the way they discussed some details about the town.
Of course, in order to maintain her character as a mute girl, Lin Qiushi didn't dare to say too much, and she communicated with Ruan Nanzhu using the voice function of her mobile phone almost the entire time.
Ruan Nanzhu looked at him typing with his head down and said with a smile, "Qiuqiu, you are so cute."
Lin Qiushi: What's so cute about it?
Ruan Nanzhu: "You're so cute everywhere. I want to take you home and lock you up so I can see you alone."
Lin Qiushi: “…” Ruan Nanzhu, do you know that you look like a pervert?
Ruan Nanzhu: "Haha, I was just joking."
Lin Qiushi: “…” To be honest, every time Ruan Nanzhu said this, he felt that Ruan Nanzhu was serious.
The author has something to say: Note: Unless otherwise stated, updates will be made at 10 a.m. every day. The rest of the time I am correcting typos. Don’t say I’m not punctual, I’m just an innocent fat dog.
There seems to be a very contradictory bug in chapter 27. Ruan Nanzhu said that it was his own note. Now it has been modified. Everything is subject to the later settings. Thank you for helping me sort it out (the author has an idiotic face)
Some readers asked why it was the sixth door. Let me help you sort it out. The following is the order in which Lin Qiushi entered the door.
The first fan: meeting Ruan Nanzhu.
The second door: Feierxia Bird, Lin Qiushi’s second door, entered with Ruan Nanzhu.
The third fan: Sister Drum, which uses Cheng Qianli’s fifth fan, so the difficulty of jumping directly from the second fan to the fifth fan is high.
The fourth door: The Girl in the Rain, is a job that she took and she got through Tan Zaozao’s door. Because the door is lower than level five, it is not counted as an entry.
The fifth door: Zuozi, who rubbed Xia Rubei’s door. Because the door is lower than the fifth-level door, it is not counted as an entry.
The sixth door: the slender ghost, Lin Qiushi’s own door, which is also his sixth door.
Regarding obtaining the note, for example: A did not rub the door, so if he entered the fifth door, then he would have taken the clue of the sixth door.
If A rubs the door, then he will get the clue of the next door of the person he rubbed. In other words, if A comes out from the fifth door, but keeps rubbing other people's fifth doors to get notes, then he can get a lot of clues about the six doors, and the doors are matched according to the clues, which means he can choose a clue to enter the door.
That's why Lin Qiushi never knew what the note on his sixth door was like, because the clue to his sixth door was obtained by Ruan Nanzhu after he rubbed other people's doors, not by himself.
Light a cigarette, I don't know if you understand (expression vicissitudes
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