Chapter 79 The World Outside the Door
Li Dongyuan's death seemed like a minor incident. With a new leader, the White Deer quickly regained their footing. However, those secretly dissatisfied with Jin Yurui still posed a threat. Not long after, Lin Qiushi heard that the White Deer had split into two factions: the Old White Deer, led by Jin Yurui, and the New White Deer, who had left their original base.
Ruan Nanzhu was not surprised by this matter, as he had obviously expected it.
"This might actually be a good thing for Jin Yurui," Ruan Nanzhu commented. "Her foundation is unstable right now, making it difficult for her to control everyone within Bailu. Rather than keeping those with ulterior motives around, it's better to let them establish their own factions."
Lin Qiushi uttered an "oh." He actually found it quite incredible. We were all potentially dead at any moment, so why bother caring about such a small amount of fame and fortune? No matter how much one fought, in the end, it would all be nothing more than a handful of dust.
Ruan Nanzhu felt like laughing as he listened to Lin Qiushi's words. He shook his head and said indifferently, "People are always greedy."
No matter how much you get, you will never be satisfied.
Lin Qiushi felt he understood Ruan Nanzhu's point, but it was truly difficult for him to empathize with those people's actions. Comparing reality with the world within the Gate, he had never felt that being alive was such a wonderful thing, to the point that the satisfaction brought by other things seemed to fade.
It seems that only when you come out of the desert can you understand how much you cherish and desire water.
Li Zi's attitude towards Lin Qiushi has recently returned to what it was before. He often meows, jumps onto Lin Qiushi's chest and lies there humming, and likes to rub his cheek against Lin Qiushi's chin, looking extremely coquettish.
Lin Qiushi's heart melted as he watched the spoiled Li Zi. He stroked Li Zi's chin with his fingers and gently called out, "Good boy, good boy."
Seeing Lin Qiushi like this, Cheng Qianli said, "Qiushi, do you know that when you play with cats, you act like a kind mother?"
Lin Qiushi was stunned when he heard this: "Why not my kind father?"
Cheng Qianli: "..." You really know how to grasp the key points.
She is a kind mother so what? Lin Qiushi is too lazy to care about such details.
It had been about three months since he came out of the gate, and his body had almost recovered. However, Ruan Nanzhu still looked very weak, although he had recovered a lot compared to when he first came out of the gate.
On a sunny afternoon, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly found Lin Qiushi and said he wanted to talk to him.
Lin Qiushi went to Ruan Nanzhu's bedroom and saw him sitting on a chair next to the window. The warm sunlight cast a faint golden hue on his body, making him look as if he was emitting a faint glow.
Lin Qiushi called him, "Nanzhu."
Ruan Nanzhu opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleep in them. They were still as deep and peaceful as a lake. He said, "Sit down."
Lin Qiushi walked in and sat down next to Ruan Nanzhu.
"How do you feel?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.
Lin Qiushi nodded: "I've almost recovered."
Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi. This time, there was a hint of scrutiny in his gaze, as if he was assessing Lin Qiushi's physical condition. Soon, Ruan Nanzhu's assessment yielded results, and he said, "You can go in alone."
Lin Qiushi wasn't surprised by what Ruan Nanzhu said. In fact, he had been thinking about it recently. Ever since he joined the sect, he and Ruan Nanzhu had been inseparable. Ruan Nanzhu had always been there to guide and protect him. With the exception of Cheng Qianli, everyone else in the villa was capable of handling matters on their own.
Lin Qiushi did not want to be a burden to Ruan Nanzhu. Rather than being someone to be protected, he wanted to fight alongside Ruan Nanzhu.
Ruan Nanzhu asked, "What do you think?"
"Very good," Lin Qiushi replied. "I think I should try it alone." His eyes dropped slightly, their gaze fixed on Ruan Nanzhu's collarbone. Ruan Nanzhu's collarbone was incredibly beautiful, with graceful lines and a mark so distinct it looked like something out of a sculpture. However, the only flaw was a dark red scar near the lower part of the collarbone. This was the mark left by the Ninth Gate on Ruan Nanzhu, and it hadn't faded yet. Lin Qiushi suddenly felt a pang of regret. Ruan Nanzhu was perfect; such a perfect person shouldn't have such marks on him.
Ruan Nanzhu observed Lin Qiushi's expression and asked him, "Are you afraid?"
Lin Qiushi shook his head.
Ruan Nanzhu asked, "Are you really not afraid?"
Lin Qiushi said, "I'm not afraid." He really wasn't afraid.
Ruan Nanzhu was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly, "I was very scared the first time I walked in alone." He seemed to find it a little funny, "I was scared to death, but there's no point in being afraid. The people around me can't take care of me forever... Lin Qiushi." He called out Lin Qiushi's name.
Lin Qiushi looked into his eyes, and when their gazes met, Lin Qiushi heard Ruan Nanzhu speak softly.
His tone was calm, yet it carried a hint of stubbornness: "But if you are willing, if you are willing—I can protect you for the rest of your life, whether it is your life or mine."
These words made Lin Qiushi's heart beat violently. His ears turned a little red and he felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
"How is it?" Ruan Nanzhu tilted his head slightly and asked, "As long as you ask..."
Lin Qiushi said, "No, I want to go by myself."
Ruan Nanzhu fell silent. The lazy aura on his body instantly subsided, turning into a cold indifference as biting as wind and snow.
Lin Qiushi knew he had misunderstood something and quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't want this to happen." He spoke seriously, his gaze falling on the wound on Ruan Nanzhu's collarbone. "I don't want you to suffer these injuries again. If I had been stronger back then... we could both have come out of this intact. Besides, you're not fully recovered yet..."
He rambled on and on like a nagging old woman. But Lin Qiushi didn't dare stop rambling. He was worried he hadn't explained himself clearly, worried Ruan Nanzhu would misunderstand him.
In fact, he really wanted to go in with Ruan Nanzhu, but he couldn't be so selfish. Ruan Nanzhu's body had not recovered yet, and Lin Qiushi could not make such a request to Ruan Nanzhu.
Ruan Nanzhu's face was expressionless at first, but soon a hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes. He said, "Okay, I get it." His eyebrows twisted into a beautiful arc. "Why didn't I realize you were so nagging before?"
Lin Qiushi: "Perhaps I wasn't a qualified loving father at that time?"
Ruan Nanzhu: “…”
Lin Qiushi: "I was just joking..."
Ruan Nanzhu stood up from his chair and looked down at Lin Qiushi. He said, "Are you kidding?"
Lin Qiushi felt so overwhelmed by Ruan Nanzhu's aura that he inexplicably wanted to take two steps back, but he managed to hold it back. Then he listened to Ruan Nanzhu say, "But now you're a qualified and good father."
Lin Qiushi wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
The difference between Ruan Nanzhu inside and outside the door was so great that Lin Qiushi felt a little schizophrenic.
Ruan Nanzhu turned around and walked to the side of the house. He took out a key, bent down, opened the safe in the corner of the room, and took out a note from it.
Ruan Nanzhu then returned to Lin Qiushi and handed him the note: "This is a clue to the fourth door. You can take the job online, or I can introduce you. When you want to go in, let me know." He emphasized, "This time, you're the only one."
Lin Qiushi nodded seriously and took the thing from Ruan Nanzhu's hand.
"Go ahead." After Ruan Nanzhu handed Lin Qiushi the note, he waved at him.
Lin Qiushi turned and left. As he left, he saw Ruan Nanzhu sitting back in his chair, eyes half-closed, looking tired. He gently closed the door, inwardly wishing Ruan Nanzhu a good dream.
After leaving the house, Lin Qiushi read the content on the clue. It was a sentence: The sky is in panic, the earth is in panic, I have a crying boy at home. If you pass by here, read this three times and you will sleep until dawn.
Lin Qiushi remembered that this seemed to be a strange folk remedy. It was said that if a child at home kept crying, one could write this sentence on a piece of paper and then post the paper at a popular intersection. If passers-by read it frequently, the child at home would stop crying.
Not knowing whether this would be of any use, Lin Qiushi put the clue in his pocket, wondering if he could get a job of his own online.
I have to say that the Internet is really convenient. We can solve problems quickly without meeting in person.
After Lin Qiushi decided to take the job, he quickly found his target. A girl claiming to be sixteen years old posted a message saying she was looking for someone to marry her, but she didn't have much money and asked if she could pay in installments.
After looking at her profile, Lin Qiushi sent her a private message, asking for some details. He learned that she was a student, currently in her second year of high school, and that the fourth door would be opened in two weeks.
Lin Qiushi showed the information to Ruan Nanzhu and asked if this person was suitable.
Ruan Nanzhu's expression was a little subtle after reading the information: "Are you sure this is the person?"
Lin Qiushi: "I think choosing a girl is safer than a boy. Besides, she's younger..." If we encounter any situation with ulterior motives, it will be easier to deal with.
"That's fine." Ruan Nanzhu said, "This person registered on the forum half a year ago. Even if there are any problems, it shouldn't be a big deal..."
Lin Qiushi asked, "What could go wrong?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "There are so many problems that could arise." He said, "Go find Chen Fei and ask him to teach you."
Lin Qiushi nodded and agreed.
"Remember to bring your props with you when you enter," Ruan Nanzhu reminded him. "Even though I don't know what they are for, they can save lives in critical moments."
Lin Qiushi nodded, indicating that he understood.
Afterward, Chen Fei gave Lin Qiushi a lecture, explaining the most common scams on forums. One was misreporting the number of doors. This was problematic for others, as some people who received the job didn't have bracelets and could only enter the door with the person they were working for. By the time they realized the number of doors was incorrect, it was already too late. It was even possible that the person who posted the job claimed to be the third door, but was actually the fifth.
"What should we do then?" Lin Qiushi was surprised to find such an operation. "The only way is to go in?"
"Yes, we have no choice but to go in." Chen Fei said very frankly, "I was cheated once before I joined Obsidian. After I went in, I wanted to kill that person. But now we have the bracelet, so there is no need to worry about it. If you find out that you have been cheated and it is not the fourth door he mentioned, just take off the bracelet."
Lin Qiushi said, "Okay!"
Chen Fei said, "There's another situation that's hard to guard against."
Lin Qiushi: "What's going on?"
Chen Feidao: "Lie about your own information."
The 5'8" burly man pretended to be a 5'6" girl, hoping to reassure the client. Chen Fei explained that this situation was quite common and urged Lin Qiushi to be mentally prepared...
Lin Qiushi: "...Isn't he afraid that I might recognize the wrong person?"
Chen Fei patted Lin Qiushi's shoulder and sighed, "Don't overthink it. We often mistake people for each other. For example, Brother Ruan, it's a common occurrence for him to mistake his partner for someone else."
Lin Qiushi: "..." He thought of his first encounter with Ruan Nanzhu.
"Another thing to be careful about is trying not to reveal your identity outside the door," Chen Fei said. "That's very dangerous."
Lin Qiushi said, "I understand."
"When are you planning on going in?" Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have discussed this with Chen Fei in advance and knew that only Lin Qiushi would be entering this time. "After all, it's your first time, so let's all celebrate for you."
Lin Qiushi: “…No.” What’s there to celebrate?
"No, no." Chen Fei said, "We still have to celebrate."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
At first, he didn't understand why Chen Fei was so insistent, but after thinking about it carefully, he finally understood what Chen Fei meant. Going in alone was extremely dangerous; it was easy to get hurt inside. Rather than a celebration, this was more like a pre-prepared farewell party. If anything went wrong inside, at least they could say goodbye properly to the people in the villa.
Cheng Qianli burst into tears at the dinner table and said, "Qiu Shi, go with peace of mind. I will take good care of Li Zi."
Lin Qiushi: "Could you please stop talking?"
Cheng Qianli: "Stop talking. From today on, Li Zi is my daughter-in-law. I will take good care of him!"
Lin Qiushi: "Li Zi is a male cat."
Cheng Qianli: "Tusi is still a male dog!"
Lin Qiushi was speechless. He really wanted to hit Cheng Qianli on the head a few times. He was already so stupid, a few more hits wouldn't make it any worse. And what if it could be fixed with just two slaps, like fixing a TV?
However, except for Cheng Qianli, Lin Qiushi could see that everyone else in the villa was worried about him, although they all behaved very restrainedly.
There were still two weeks left before he could enter the door. Lin Qiushi originally thought that he would be able to spend this time peacefully, but he did not expect another accident to happen. Actually, it was not an accident, but Lin Qiushi actually saw Luo Qianshan - yes, the Luo Qianshan who was with his sister Luo Qianshui in the door they had just left.
But outside the door, his name was Zhuo Feiquan and his sister was called Zhuo Mingyu - Feiquan Mingyu, which was at least much better than Cheng Qianli and Cheng Yixie's Yixie Qianli.
"Maybe this is the importance of studying." Cheng Qianli was overwhelmed with grief after learning about this. "Who would have thought that when they were called Qianli, they would have a brother named Yixie..."
Cheng Yixie: "Cheng Qianli, are you itching for trouble?"
Cheng Qianli, who had a strong desire to survive, could only reply: "Of course I can, after all, my brother is so cute."
Cheng Yixie: "Heh."
In fact, after coming out of the ninth door, Ruan Nanzhu investigated the matter of Luo Qianshan and his sister and confirmed that they did not belong to any organization.
These two were incredibly special. Someone who had passed through the Nine Gates and whose loved ones had passed away would definitely be a target of intense scrutiny within an organization, and very likely even a leader. There were only a handful of large organizations in the country, and even fewer who had passed through the Nine Gates. Therefore, Ruan Nanzhu quickly determined that Luo Qianshan and Luo Qianshui didn't belong to any organization.
Ruan Nanzhu was not very interested in the two of them, but Cheng Yixie seemed to care a lot and successfully dug out their real identities.
Lin Qiushi didn't ask how Cheng Yixie found out Luo Qianshan's real identity. Anyway, one day when he returned to the villa from outside, he saw a young man in his twenties sitting on the sofa in the villa, angrily arguing with one of the twins.
Lin Qiushi heard the argument between the two from afar. To sum it up, the man was probably warning him not to investigate him again, otherwise don't blame him for being rude.
Cheng Yixie didn't say anything, just looked at the man stupidly, with an expression that said "I'm not that guy, I don't have that."
Lin Qiushi looked for a while before realizing that the man was not Cheng Yixie at all, but Cheng Qianli.
Lin Qiushi: “…”
"Cheng Qianli, don't think I'll believe you just because you're pretending to be innocent." The man said, "You're still a little naive to me!"
Listening to his conversation, Lin Qiushi really wanted to tell him that the man in front of him wasn't just pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger; he was a real pig...
Cheng Qianli was bewildered and aggrieved by being yelled at. He said, "Zhuo Feiquan, are you unreasonable? I've already said it has nothing to do with me. Go find my brother. It must have been my brother who did it."
Zhuo Feiquan sneered: "Don't try to fool me, the person in the photo looks exactly like you!"
Cheng Qianli: "But my brother and I look a lot like each other!"
Zhuo Feiquan: "Then I won't look exactly the same! No one has ever mistaken me for my sister!" He didn't seem to know that Cheng Qianli and Cheng Yixie were twins, and thought that although they were brothers, there was still an age difference between them.
Cheng Qianli nearly cried out of grievance. He had done many bad things and his brother had always taken the blame, but the man before him was definitely not his to blame. He looked up and saw Lin Qiushi, and quickly said, "Qiushi, talk to him! There's something wrong with this guy!"
Lin Qiushi asked, "Where's your brother?"
Cheng Qianli: "How would I know which little devil he went to fool around with?"
They were in a stalemate when the door opened again. Cheng Yixie walked in from outside carrying a basket of vegetables. Seeing the stiff atmosphere in the villa, his expression did not change at all.
Zhuo Feiquan froze when he saw Cheng Qianli and Cheng Yixie's identical faces: "Are you really twins?"
Cheng Qianli said angrily: "I've told you more than three hundred times!"
Zhuo Feiquan was a little embarrassed: "It's quite similar."
Cheng Qianli: "How can twins not look alike!" He glanced at his brother and wanted to get angry, but facing Cheng Yixie's eyes, he became cowardly and said, "Look at this, look at this little demon you provoked."
Zhuo Feiquan, who was called a little goblin: "..."
Cheng Yixie went to the kitchen to put the dishes away, washed his hands, and then came out slowly and looked at Zhuo Feiquan: "What's the matter?"
Zhuo Feiquan: "Have you been investigating me?"
Cheng Yixie sat down opposite Zhuo Feiquan: "Yes."
Zhuo Feiquan: "Can you——"
Before he could finish his words, Cheng Yixie interrupted him and said, "No." He didn't look like a sixteen-year-old boy at this moment. He said coldly, "What qualifications do you have to ask me for this?"
Zhuo Feiquan's eyes darkened, he stopped talking, stood up and was about to leave.
As he passed by, Lin Qiushi noticed a beautiful pendant on his chest. It contained a black-and-white photo of a young woman. He figured the woman in the photo must be Zhuo Feiquan's sister... Luo Qianshui, who was also part of the sect.
Zhuo Feiquan left angrily, and Cheng Yixie did not stop him. He just told Cheng Qianli to ignore such people next time he met them and not even open the door.
"What on earth did you do to me?" Cheng Qianli asked.
Cheng Yixie sneered, "Brother Ruan and Qiu Shi almost died because of him. I was too soft-hearted not tormenting him to death."
Zhuo Feiquan may be very powerful inside the door, but outside the door he is just an ordinary person. The most important thing is that he has not joined any organization and has no help behind him.
"Okay." Cheng Qianli said, "Don't go too far, or Brother Ruan will scold you."
Cheng Yixie went into the kitchen without saying anything. Soon the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.
Cheng Qianli said: "What on earth happened in your sect? I haven't seen my brother treat others with such an attitude for a long time."
Lin Qiushi said, "Nothing special..." He also felt that Cheng Yixie's attitude was a bit strange.
In fact, most of the time, Cheng Yixie did not show any strong emotions, and did not seem like the kind of person who would seek revenge. Perhaps it was really because of what Zhuo Feiquan did in the sect that irritated Cheng Yixie?
Lin Qiushi didn't think much about this matter because the time for him to enter the house was approaching soon.
Lin Qiushi prepared everything, and the person he had an appointment with agreed on a secret code and clothing, and then began to wait for the time to enter.
One afternoon a few days later, Lin Qiushi felt the change in the atmosphere around him. He pushed open the door and was not surprised to see that the scene in the corridor had turned into twelve black iron doors.
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