Chapter 8: Evil God
Lin Qiushi felt like he hadn't seen such fine weather in ages. The wind died down, and so did the snow. The warm sun hung high in the sky, bringing warmth back to the earth. It felt as if the events of the previous night had been nothing more than a nightmare.
Lin Qiushi rarely stayed in bed with Ruan Baijie for a while, and they talked about everything from poetry and songs to the philosophy of life.
Finally, Ruan Baijie was hungry and urged Lin Qiushi to get something to eat.
Lin Qiushi went to the kitchen and saw that everyone had gotten up early, had dinner, and was discussing their plan to go to the carpenter later.
Xiong Qi saw Lin Qiushi and greeted him, then asked where Ruan Baijie was.
"She's still in bed," Lin Qiushi said. "She said it was too cold and she didn't want to get out of bed. I brought her some food."
Xiong Qi said, "Oh," and said they planned to leave soon, and that it would be best if Lin Qiushi came along. If this had happened on a normal day, everyone would probably suspect Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie of something, but after what happened last night, if Lin Qiushi and the others still had the interest and energy for this, they were truly gifted.
Today, Xiong Qi went to the carpenter's place and mainly wanted to ask about filling the well. They didn't know how or when to fill it. But the most important question was why the well should be filled.
Having been here for some time, Lin Qiushi was certain that nearly every household had a well, most of which stood in the center of the courtyard, blocking the way out. This was structurally unscientific and seemed to conceal some strange custom.
Yesterday, two people died because of the carpenter's misinformation, and everyone was in a bad mood when they saw him again. Even the usually kind Xiong Qi had a colder expression. Fortunately, the old man didn't care much, still holding his pipe, squinting his eyes and puffing out clouds of smoke.
"Grandpa, what do we need to do after the worship?" Xiong Qi asked.
"Fill the well, of course," said the carpenter. "Choose a night and put the dead things in the well, and that'll be it."
"Dead thing? What dead thing? What do you mean by that?" Xiao Ke felt something was wrong and his tone suddenly became much heavier. "What do you mean?"
The carpenter said, "Literally."
"As long as it's a dead creature, it's fine?" Xiong Qi quickly confirmed.
"Yes, anything dead will do," the carpenter said. "Chickens, ducks, dogs, geese—anything you can find. Throw them into the well within three days and cover them with soil. Then the coffin will be ready."
Hearing that any dead thing would do, Xiong Qi breathed a sigh of relief. But before he could finish his sigh of relief, Ruan Baijie, who was standing next to him, said, "We've been in this village for so many days, and we haven't seen any living things here. Where can we find chickens, ducks, dogs, and geese?"
"But didn't we eat eggs?" Lin Qiushi thought of the vegetable basket at home. "Since there are eggs, there should be chickens."
"You didn't look closely at the basket," Ruan Baijie said. "No outsiders or villagers have ever entered our house. The things in the basket have all multiplied on their own."
Lin Qiushi: "...So what exactly is that egg made of?"
Ruan Baijie: "It doesn't matter what kind of raw food it is, it tastes good anyway."
Lin Qiushi: "..." He felt uncomfortable in his stomach.
Ruan Baijie reminded everyone that there were indeed no living creatures in the village. It was winter, and it was even less likely that there would be anything in the mountains. Xiong Qi was also a smart man, and he immediately grasped a key point. The color on his face gradually faded and began to turn pale. "Old man, what do you mean?"
The carpenter said, "I'm just a coffin maker. There's only so much I can say and do. I wouldn't intentionally harm you."
After he said this, someone finally couldn't help but slammed the table and roared, "What do you mean you won't harm us on purpose? You asked us to go into the temple one by one to worship, and now anyone who goes in alone will die—"
The carpenter said coldly, "What is the coffin used for?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Isn't it just for the dead? Without the dead, what's the point of a coffin?" The carpenter laughed. His wrinkled face looked extremely strange. "Besides, why don't you listen to me..."
Ruan Baijie: "What do you mean?"
The carpenter pointed at them and said, "There are still so many people left. She hasn't eaten enough yet."
"Eat enough..." When Lin Qiushi heard the word "eat", he immediately remembered the corpses that had been chewed into pieces on the third floor, as well as the details mentioned by everyone yesterday. It seemed that all the people who were hacked to death by that terrifying ghost were dragged back to the temple. Now he finally knew the final whereabouts of those corpses.
"What on earth is that?" Xiong Qi couldn't help but ask, "That woman..."
The carpenter waved his hand and refused to continue.
Ruan Baijie's eyes began to wander, and finally stopped at an empty corner. She muttered, "Why did you put the stick away?"
The carpenter almost laughed out of anger, thinking, if I don't put it away, you'll pick it up and threaten to beat me like last time.
Ruan Baijie: "Although the stick is gone, I'm lucky I have other preparations." She pulled out a folding knife from behind her back and said, "Old man, let's talk it out. Anyway, if you don't explain clearly, we will all die here. It would be nice to take you with me as a companion before I die."
carpenter:"……"
The carpenter and even Lin Qiushi were stunned. Everyone fell into an eerie silence, with most wondering, "How could such a bold move be possible?"
The carpenter was furious, but he couldn't do anything about Ruan Baijie, so he could only grit his teeth and talk about "that woman".
It turned out that the woman was a deity worshipped in their village. Although she was a deity, she was an evil spirit. While protecting the village from harm, she also had a penchant for eating raw flesh. Every winter, the villagers would offer live animals as sacrifices. But this year, something unexpected happened in the village, and all the animals were gone...
Fortunately, at this time, a few strangers came and were willing to help them make coffins.
At this point, everyone understood that they were just living animals in the eyes of the villagers.
"Does it have to be fed? What will happen if it's not fed?" Xiong Qi asked.
The carpenter said, "If you don't feed her... she will come looking for you. Everyone who makes coffins must offer her sacrifices, so this year no one will make coffins except you." He took a puff of his cigarette and said, "That's all I can say. As long as you go fill the well, I will start making coffins."
Ruan Baijie didn't say anything, but lowered her head to play with the knife in her hand. Her fingers were slender, and the sharp blade moved quickly between her fingertips, dazzling the onlookers.
The carpenter also fell silent. He seemed to be quite afraid of Ruan Baijie and often looked at her while speaking.
Just when everyone thought Ruan Baijie would say something else, she sighed and said, "Let's go."
"Going back now?" Xiong Qi said.
"What else?" Ruan Baijie was a little impatient. "He only knows this much. You won't get anything out of him no matter how much you ask." She turned around, pushed the door open and walked out with a very resolute attitude.
Seeing this, everyone followed suit and walked out one after another. Lin Qiushi felt that Ruan Baijie seemed to be in a bad mood, so he chased her out and asked her what was wrong.
Ruan Baijie said, "Be careful tonight."
"What does that mean? Does it mean that that thing might come looking for us again?" Lin Qiushi could only think of this reason to be careful.
"Heh." Ruan Baijie laughed. She suddenly turned her head, leaned close to Lin Qiushi's ear, and whispered softly, "Sometimes, people are much scarier than ghosts."
Lin Qiushi was stunned.
"Let's go back." Ruan Baijie turned and walked forward. Lin Qiushi looked at her back and suddenly felt that this girl was really hard to understand.
If before going to the carpenter, everyone would occasionally say a word or two, then after returning from the carpenter, the atmosphere among everyone completely became stagnant, and it was about to stink.
Lin Qiushi didn't understand why this happened. Ruan Baijie slowly explained while eating a roasted sweet potato, "You're stupid. Before, everyone was thinking about working together to survive, but now..."
"Now?" Lin Qiushi asked in confusion.
"Now, everyone is hoping that the other person will die soon." Ruan Baijie leaned back in her chair. "As long as someone dies, there will be something to fill the well, and the coffin will be made, so everyone can leave alive..."
Lin Qiushi: “…” He hadn’t expected this at all, and his expression became a little dazed after hearing it. “Is the world inside the sect like this?”
Ruan Baijie continued: "This is actually not bad. You must not go out tonight, otherwise..."
Lin Qiushi: "Will you encounter that female ghost?"
Ruan Baijie shook her head: "Maybe we'll encounter something scarier than a female ghost."
Lin Qiushi had a hunch, but he was reluctant to admit it. Born in a society ruled by law, his thinking hadn't yet broken free from its constraints. Ruan Baijie hinted that someone might kill their companions to obtain the dead material to fill the well, but he refused to believe anyone would actually do that.
That night, Lin Qiushi couldn't sleep.
Ruan Baijie was lying beside him, still sleeping like a carefree pig.
Lin Qiushi stared at the ceiling, thinking about the events of the day. The windows and door were closed. He had even considered propping up the door with a chair, but Ruan Baijie said, "Aren't you afraid that thing will suddenly appear in our room...?"
Lin Qiushi: “……!!” That makes sense.
So he obediently moved the chair away again.
However, what is going to happen will happen sooner or later. At two o'clock in the morning, Lin Qiushi, who was suffering from insomnia, heard the screams of humans again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
