Chapter 95 Back to Reality
Under the oil-paper umbrella, all the rain was perfectly blocked. Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu, walking in the rain, seemed to be encased in a barrier, with not a single drop of rain falling on them.
The road leading to the shrine was quite long, so the two walked slowly, not in a hurry.
This was the first time Lin Qiushi had left the yard on a rainy day. The entire town was shrouded in a blanket of rain. The townspeople who might occasionally be seen on weekdays were nowhere to be seen. The streets were deserted, not a single person holding an umbrella was to be seen. Lin Qiushi speculated that perhaps he was the only umbrella in the entire town, as other umbrellas couldn't guarantee a single drop of rain would stay out of the water.
Arriving at the bamboo forest, we followed the winding path up. Raindrops pounded the bamboo leaves, making crackling noises. Occasionally, the wind blew through the bamboo forest, rustling the leaves.
Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi occasionally exchanged a few words, but neither spoke much. They were both thinking about the shrine. There was also Cui Xueyi, who had gone to the shrine with Lin Xingping yesterday but had not returned today.
Lin Qiushi was actually a little curious about what happened to Cui Xueyi in the shrine. Judging from Lin Xingping's reaction, it was definitely not a good thing.
The rain continued to fall, as if it would never stop.
Lin Qiushi originally thought that they would have to walk until at least noon to reach the shrine, but after walking for about an hour or two with oil-paper umbrellas, they saw the shrine appear at the end of the path.
The shrine in the rain has a hazy and mysterious feel.
The originally dilapidated building has undergone a noticeable change and is no longer dilapidated.
"We're here." Ruan Nanzhu stopped and didn't rush over. He first observed the situation of the shrine from the side.
"Hmm," Lin Qiushi said, "It seems like there have been quite a few changes."
"Yes," Ruan Nanzhu said, "all the damaged areas have been repaired." This must be what the temple looked like during its heyday. The incense holder in front was filled with incense, and the altar next to it was filled with various offerings. It was obvious that many people came here to worship.
Lin Qiushi's gaze fell on the well. He walked to the side of the well carefully, not daring to get too close, just watching from a distance.
The once dry ancient well was now filled with clear water, rippling across the surface, its surface stirred by falling raindrops. As Lin Qiushi gazed at the well, he wondered if the skeletons from the dry well were still there.
Just as he was thinking this, the well water, which had originally only had slight ripples, suddenly rolled violently, as if it was boiling. The well water gurgled, as if something was about to burst out of it.
When Lin Qiushi saw this scene, he involuntarily took a step back. The next moment, he saw countless pairs of dry hands that had turned into bones reaching out from the well water. From their movements, it seemed that they were trying to grab the edge of the well and climb out.
The well was not deep, and it should have been easy to climb out. However, after the skeletons grabbed the well mouth, an invisible force pried their fingers apart one by one, causing them to slide into the well water again.
So the well water continued to churn, just like the legendary oil pan hell.
"Let's go in first." Ruan Nanzhu pointed inside the shrine.
"Okay." Lin Qiushi shifted his gaze from the wellhead and followed Ruan Nanzhu to the entrance of the shrine.
They folded their umbrellas, wiped the water off the umbrellas with the towels they brought, held them in their hands, pushed open the door of the shrine and walked in.
As soon as the door of the shrine opened, the wind from outside rushed in, making the sunny doll hanging above their heads spin wildly.
After Lin Qiushi entered, his gaze shifted to the sculpture in the center of the shrine. It was still the same headless monk, but this time he held a staff. Atop the staff, a fresh human head was propped up. Judging by its appearance, it belonged to Cui Xueyi, who had been tricked into coming here by Ruan Nanzhu.
Cui Xueyi died, his head cut off and strung onto a staff held by a monk. His eyes were wide open, filled with fear and astonishment, as if he had died with his eyes open.
Lin Qiushi glanced at him. Although he suspected he was seeing things, he actually felt as if he saw Cui Xueyi's eyes move.
Lin Qiushi gently tugged at the corner of Ruan Nanzhu's clothes and said, "He seems to be moving..."
"Yeah." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I saw it too."
It seems that Cui Xueyi's brain is really moving.
Lin Qiushi was about to say something when a strange sound came from above their heads. Lin Qiushi looked up and found that the sunny dolls above their heads had actually begun to move. This movement was obviously not caused by the wind, but by the dolls themselves.
The sunny dolls were shaking one after another, and the next moment, crying sounds burst out from their mouths one after another.
"It hurts, it hurts... Help me, where is my body..."
"Help, help, help..."
“Ahhh, ahhhh, it hurts…”
It was a scene like hell. All the sunny dolls began to scream, and the white cloth wrapped around them began to ooze bright red blood. They kept shaking and struggling on top of Lin Qiu's stone. The cotton thread wrapped around them was about to break, and these sunny dolls were about to fall to the ground.
"Ahhhhhh... Help, help..." Cui Xueyi, who was impaled by the staff, also made a sound. Lin Qiushi saw his head begin to twist and struggle on the staff, and the monk statue, which was originally sitting in a posture, stood up at an extremely slow speed, raised its other hand, and pointed to the empty space above its neck.
Lin Qiushi instantly understood what he meant.
Ruan Nanzhu also understood. He looked up at the Sunny Dolls who were screaming together and said, "It's in these, right?"
"But how do I find it?" There were so many Sunny Day dolls that Lin Qiushi felt that finding the monk's head among them was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"There's something special about his head." Ruan Nanzhu had already begun pacing around the shrine, examining it. He raised his head and carefully observed the sunny doll above his head. "Let's look for it first."
"Okay." Although Lin Qiushi felt it was a bit difficult, he still had to try. Following Ruan Nanzhu's lead, he also began to examine the Sunny Doll.
Although the facial features are all drawn with simple strokes, in fact, the appearances of these sunny dolls are indeed different. Some have eyes that are a straight line, and some have eyes that are a circle. In short, no two dolls are exactly the same.
Just as Lin Qiushi was searching carefully, he saw the monk's statue take a step forward, aiming at the open door.
Lin Qiushi felt a chill in his heart upon seeing this scene. He said, "Nanzhu, hurry up! It seems there's a time limit!"
Ruan Nanzhu said: "Okay!"
Obviously, if a monk statue were to leave the house and be caught in the rain, something would happen. Cui Xueyi, whose head was impaled on a staff, was the best proof of this.
There were too many Sunny Day dolls, densely packed together and constantly shaking, making it difficult for Lin Qiushi to find out what the differences were among them.
The monk continued to move forward, approaching the door. Most people would have panicked, but Lin Qiushi remained surprisingly calm. The best way to prevent this from happening was to find that special doll. All other thoughts were unnecessary.
Lin Qiushi glanced among the sunny dolls above his head and suddenly noticed a doll hidden in the corner.
The sunny doll was still wrapped in white cloth and was still making miserable cries, but there was one thing about it that was completely different from the other sunny dolls - it was crying. To be precise, the stick figure on its face was crying.
The other Sunny Day dolls all had their mouths turned up, but this one, with its mouth corners turned down and tears shaped like the corners of its eyes, was the only thing Lin Qiushi had in mind when he saw it. He said, "Ruan Nanzhu, come here. Is this it?!"
Ruan Nanzhu walked over quickly and saw the sunny doll that Lin Qiushi was pointing at.
"Take it down and have a look!" Ruan Nanzhu said.
The doll was hung a little high, and Lin Qiushi couldn't take it down by himself, so he picked up Ruan Nanzhu and asked him to reach it.
Ruan Nanzhu grabbed the sunny doll, cut the cotton string and took it down from the ceiling.
"I opened it," Ruan Nanzhu said, and began to move his hands. They didn't have much time to hesitate. The monk had already walked to the door, and was only two or three steps away from leaving the shrine.
After the white cloth was peeled off, the human head wrapped inside was revealed.
Lin Qiushi was a little nervous and didn't dare to take his eyes off the doll. Only after he saw the monk's head inside after the white cloth was removed did he breathe a sigh of relief.
This head has no hair, and there are burn marks on its head. Its eyes are closed and its expression is calm. It does not make shrill cries like other sunny dolls. Instead, there is a compassionate smile on the corner of its mouth.
"What should we do next?" Lin Qiushi looked at the head, then at the frozen monk statue over there, and asked, "Should we put it back?"
"I'll try," Ruan Nanzhu said, "I can't guarantee it will work..."
As he spoke, he walked cautiously to the monk's statue with the head in his hand, then reached out and gently placed the head on the monk's neck.
The next moment, the head opened its eyes, its gaze was as bright as torches, and it chanted "Amitabha".
Suddenly, a strong wind blew in the house, and the wind outside blew rain into the shrine. Lin Qiushi's face was covered with rain. He was worried when he heard the crisp sound of bronze falling to the ground.
He was very familiar with this sound, it was the sound of the key falling to the ground.
The monk's staff turned into a bronze key, and the hand that originally held the staff was now holding Cui Xueyi's head.
"Help... Help..." Cui Xueyi's cries gradually weakened, his resentful eyes gradually stiffened, black spots began to appear on his skin, and finally he turned directly into a solidified stone sculpture.
The monk chanted "Amitabha" again.
The heavy rain outside the window stopped suddenly, and the dark clouds in the sky began to disperse. The monk slowly walked out of the house and threw the human head in his hand into the well in front of him.
Then he jumped into the well in front of him.
The well water began to surge again, and then the water level began to recede rapidly until it dried up again.
The dry bones that were originally at the bottom of the well disappeared, as if they were released from their confinement after the monk's anger was appeased.
Lin Qiushi heard a creaking sound. He turned around and found a pitch-black iron door had appeared where the monk statue had been placed in the shrine. At this time, the bronze key was in Ruan Nanzhu's hand.
The Sunny Dolls stopped crying. Ruan Nanzhu asked curiously, "What do you think they look like in there now?"
"I don't know." Lin Qiushi had no idea.
"Open another one and take a look." Ruan Nanzhu said. As he spoke, he walked to the place where the sunny doll was hung in the shrine and motioned Lin Qiushi to pick him up.
Lin Qiushi was a little helpless, but still obeyed him, walked to his side and picked him up directly, allowing Ruan Nanzhu to take out another sunny doll.
Ruan Nanzhu untied the outer white cloth and saw the human head wrapped inside. The head still looked like a human head, but now it had turned into the texture of stone. Ruan Nanzhu muttered, "I don't know if it will be useful if I take it out..."
"What if it doesn't work?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"If you don't have it, it's useless." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Anything that isn't a prop can't be taken out of this world. Once you get out, it's gone."
Lin Qiushi thought about it and felt that his luck was quite good. He had obtained three props without entering many doors.
"What about Gu Yuansi? Do we need to go back and tell Xiaocha if the door is open?" Lin Qiushi asked. They had the key to the door, so they could just go out, but Gu Yuansi was still a hidden danger.
"There's no need to go back specifically. The weather's clear now, and there's nothing dangerous inside the door. They'll find it sooner or later. As for Gu Yuansi—what do you think?" Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi. "If you want to kill him, we can indeed leave a few days later. It's more troublesome, but there's always a way."
"He..." Lin Qiushi actually had mixed feelings about this person. They were all said to be in cahoots, and while the perpetrators were Lin Xingping and the others, without Gu Yuansi as the buyer, this deal wouldn't have happened. The saying "no trade, no harm" still made sense.
"Then let the gate judge him," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Cui Xueyi and Lin Xingping are dead. According to the gate's rules, Gu Yuansi will inherit the highest-level gate among those who died among those who entered together. Lin Xingping has passed through at least six gates, so Gu Yuansi's next gate must be at least the seventh."
For someone who has just touched a door, the second door is the seventh door, and in nine out of ten cases it is more likely to be disastrous than good.
Lin Qiushi said, "Okay." He sighed, "Am I too kind?"
"If you weren't kind, I wouldn't have invited you to join Obsidian," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Some bottom lines cannot be touched. Once broken, you will continue to fall. As for where you will end up, no one knows." In the first door, if it weren't for Lin Qiushi's attitude towards him, he and Lin Qiushi wouldn't have had these stories today.
"Yeah." Lin Qiushi nodded, indicating that he understood.
After following Ruan Nanzhu through so many doors, he could see that it would be easy for him to attack his teammates inside the door if he really wanted to. If he wanted to, he could just kill those around him first, then leisurely search for the key and the door under the door's protection rules. After all, as long as he didn't take direct action, those who died in confusion would have no way to seek revenge.
But Ruan Nanzhu didn't choose this tricky method, and was extremely wary of such methods. Lin Qiushi inexplicably admired his persistence.
"Let's go out first."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "Let's go."
Lin Qiushi nodded.
Ruan Nanzhu opened the door with the key, and a road emitting warm light appeared in front of the two.
Lin Qiushi stepped into the tunnel emitting light, and Ruan Nanzhu followed closely behind him. The two of them left the world inside the door.
The scene changes, and Lin Qiushi returns to the hotel corridor.
He and Ruan Nanzhu arrived just as Lin Xingping and the others came out. Lin Xingping glanced at them and then rushed towards them, yelling, "You—you bunch of liars—liars—"
Lin Qiushi dodged and looked at her coldly.
Lin Xingping wanted to say something else, but suddenly burst into tears, then turned and lunged towards the glass window at the end of the corridor. She opened the window and, as if unable to control her body, tumbled through it. Lin Qiushi could vaguely hear the sound of something heavy falling to the ground, followed by a cacophony of exclamations from the crowd.
Cui Xueyi and Gu Yuansi also appeared. Cui Xueyi seemed very angry. As soon as he left the door, he spit out mouthfuls of blood and started coughing violently. Finally, he fainted on the ground and couldn't say anything.
Gu Yuansi was trembling beside them, looking at Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu as if he was looking at some extremely terrifying prehistoric monster.
Perhaps his eyes triggered Ruan Nanzhu's evil taste. Ruan Nanzhu walked up to him and said with a grin, "You haven't killed anyone yet, so I'll let you go this time. But if I find you hanging out with this group of people again, I won't be polite next time."
Gu Yuansi was trembling all over and nodding continuously, as if he was about to faint from fright.
"Call 120 for that guy. He's not dead yet, we need to save him." Ruan Nanzhu raised his chin and gestured for Gu Yuansi to call emergency services for Cui Xueyi, who had fainted in the corner. "The doctors and the police are here. You know what to say now."
"Yeah, I know, I know." Gu Yuansi looked quite nervous, as if he was afraid that Ruan Nanzhu would throw him out of the window without any warning. This place was over 20 floors high, and it would be a miracle if he could still be alive after going down there.
"Let's go." Ruan Nanzhu said to Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi nodded, and the two of them entered the elevator one after the other.
After getting on the elevator, Lin Qiushi thought about the hotel's surveillance cameras and said, "What should we do with the hotel's surveillance cameras? Will the police notice that we've disappeared without a trace?"
"No," Ruan Nanzhu explained to Lin Qiushi, "In the eyes of those without a way, we were just stunned for a moment."
"Were you in a daze for a while?" Lin Qiushi didn't expect this to happen.
"Yes, she was just dazed for a while." Ruan Nanzhu said, "No more than ten minutes. I guess in the surveillance video, we just stood in the corridor for a while, and then Lin Xingping became depressed and committed suicide." Although it looked very strange, it was not enough to involve them, and the identities of the two had been tampered with.
After leaving the hotel, Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi found a corner without surveillance cameras and removed their makeup. Ruan Nanzhu had regained his gorgeous features, his chin slightly raised, his expression cold and arrogant, making it impossible to associate him with the timid tall woman.
Lin Qiushi also changed his appearance back to normal. He actually didn't have a very clear idea of what he looked like, but after making a comparison, he still felt that he liked his original look a little more... After all, the makeup that Ruan Nanzhu put on him was really too eye-catching.
After finishing all this, Lin Qiushi suddenly asked, "Did you manage to bring out the umbrella?"
"No." Ruan Nanzhu opened his backpack, but there was no trace of the oil-paper umbrella inside. "It's not a prop, so I can't take it out."
"Oh..." Lin Qiushi felt a little regretful. In fact, he felt that many things in the world were quite useful - if they could be brought out.
"So this is something you only encounter when you encounter it." Ruan Nanzhu said lightly, "Not everyone has your kind of luck."
Lin Qiushi smiled.
The two returned to the villa and soon saw the news about Lin Xingping and Cui Xueyi. The news only said that a couple committed suicide due to a quarrel, and did not mention them. It seemed that Gu Yuansi really did not give them away.
"He's sensible." Ruan Nanzhu changed the channel.
"What if he betrays us?" Lin Qiushi hadn't walked through a door so easily in a long time. After coming out, he didn't feel very tired. He sat on the sofa and slowly ate watermelon.
"Just confess it," Ruan Nanzhu said lazily, "He'll definitely have to find someone to escort him through. If he dares to tell, I'll kill him."
Lin Qiushi was speechless. He knew that although Ruan Nanzhu's tone was nonchalant, he was definitely not joking.
In fact, most of the time, Ruan Nanzhu doesn't like to joke, at least that's the case when he's outside the door.
Lin Qiushi finished the last piece of watermelon and was about to get up to wash his hands when he saw Ruan Nanzhu staring at him.
"What's wrong?" Lin Qiushi felt a little creepy when he was stared at.
"You still remember?" Ruan Nanzhu said.
"What?" Lin Qiushi was puzzled.
"You still remember what you owe me behind the door." Ruan Nanzhu said slowly.
Lin Qiushi was stunned for a moment, then reacted. The tips of his ears twitched and turned slightly red. "Ah... I thought you were joking."
"Of course I'm not joking." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I never like to joke."
Lin Qiushi: “…” They actually had a consensus on this point.
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