Chapter 12 The Key to the Door
The chewing sound continued for a long time, as if every bone was chewed carefully. The crunching sound of biting bones caused physical discomfort, but everyone endured it silently.
Finally, when the morning light was about to appear on the horizon, the chewing sound disappeared, and at the same time, the woman who had been silently gazing at everyone outside the wall also disappeared.
Lin Qiushi didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that before the woman disappeared, he vaguely heard a slight burp... as if something was full.
Day finally dawned. Lin Qiushi, who had been sitting in the yard all night, felt as if he were in another world. He asked, "Is it all over?"
Ruan Baijie didn't comment and just said maybe.
After cutting down the trees, worshipping in the temple, and filling the well, all that was left was to go to the carpenter to get a coffin.
Everyone's face was filled with fatigue, but beneath that tiredness, there was a hint of excitement. This must be the final step. As long as they got the key and found that iron door, they could leave this horrible world.
Everyone thought so, and their pace became lighter.
The village during the day is not as eerie and scary as it is at night. It seems to be just an ordinary mountain village with a group of simple villagers living there. There are no ghosts and no death.
On their way to the carpenter's, they happened to pass by the spot where Wang Xiaoyi had died, but Lin Qiushi saw nothing there. Only white snow remained on the ground, leaving no trace of what had happened last night.
"Was her body eaten?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"That should be the case." Ruan Baijie, "That thing has a pretty big appetite."
When they arrived at the carpenter's house, they saw him sitting at the door, smoking a cigarette. Lin Qiushi arrived first and greeted him, saying, "Old man, we're here to get the coffin."
The carpenter didn't say anything and just pointed inside the house.
Everyone entered the room one by one and saw a beautiful red coffin standing in the small room. The coffin was very beautiful and well-made, with every detail being perfectly fitted, and it didn't look like it was a product that was rushed.
Lin Qiushi always felt that the paint on the coffin was a little strange. He reached out and touched it, and found that the paint had a fishy smell and felt a bit greasy.
Ruan Baijie reacted much faster than him and blurted out, "It must be soaked in blood."
"That should be it." Xiong Qi said, "There is no paint like this."
"Forget it, no matter what it's soaked in, let's take it back first." Ruan Baijie said, "Let's go."
Originally, Lin Qiushi thought that the coffin would be very heavy, but when it was actually lifted up, it was surprisingly light and could be carried easily by two people.
Cheng Wen was in a completely failing state, leaving Lin Qiushi and Xiong Qi as the only two members of the team capable of doing the heavy lifting. They carried the coffin, one in front and one behind, towards the residence.
"What should we do next?" Lin Qiushi asked while carrying the coffin.
"Let's go back and see if there's anything in the coffin first." Ruan Baijie said, "I guess the key is inside the coffin. Once we take the key out, everything will be easy."
Lin Qiushi silently hoped so.
After arriving home, Cheng Wen, who had been knocked unconscious, woke up. He sat in the hall with a dazed look on his face. He didn't even say hello when he saw everyone carrying the coffin back. His expression looked like that of a mentally retarded person.
Seeing this, Lin Qiushi felt a little worried and whispered, "Isn't it possible I beat him silly?"
Ruan Baijie: "Hmm..."
Lin Qiushi: "Fuck! I just hit him casually..."
Ruan Baijie comforted him: "If he's stupid, then so be it. No one will hold you responsible anyway, and fools aren't afraid of ghosts. Isn't this just helping him? You are his benefactor!"
Lin Qiushi: "..." Ruan Baijie, why are you so skilled?
Because of Cheng Wen’s performance yesterday, no one wanted to pay attention to him. Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke pretended not to see it.
"Open the coffin." Xiong Qi announced after putting down the coffin.
"Okay." Lin Qiushi nodded, and he and Xiong Qi each lifted one side, then worked together to open the coffin lid.
With a creak, the coffin lid opened, and a damp smell of wood hit them. Xiao Ke was the most nervous. As soon as she saw the lid open, she quickly stuck her head in to see if there was anything they wanted inside the coffin.
"Found it!!!! The key!!!" The next moment, Xiao Ke's ecstatic voice came. She almost cried with joy, extremely excited, "It's really there, it's really there!!"
Lin Qiushi took a look and discovered that Xiao Ke had an old bronze key in his hand. The key's design was simple and quaint, revealing the aura of time. The handle of the key was stained with a red liquid. Previously, Lin Qiushi would have thought it was paint or something, but now he felt that the red was human blood.
"We have the key, we have the key!!" Xiao Ke held the key, tears streaming down his face, and he looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
It seems that although she usually appears calm, she is unable to bear the pressure of death.
"The door should be out now. We can start looking for it now." Xiong Qi's tone was a little tired. He said, "We must hurry. There are only a few of us left."
"Where do doors usually appear?" Lin Qiushi had little experience in this area.
"They're usually near where we live, so they're not particularly hard to find." Xiong Qi said, "But I've never experienced a world of thirteen people, so... I don't know either."
"Okay." Lin Qiushi looked at the key in Xiao Ke's hand and thought that at least he found the key.
Ruan Baijie didn't show any excitement. She said, "Where are the keys? Who keeps them? I don't feel safe letting her come."
Xiao Ke, who was questioned, was filled with anger: "What do you mean? What do you mean you are worried? Are you sure we are safe just because you keep us safe?"
Ruan Baijie smiled, "This isn't just my problem. If you lose the key, we'll all die inside. Are you sure you want to keep it? Think it over carefully."
Xiao Ke's face turned pale and blue, and she seemed to be about to say something when Xiong Qi pressed her shoulders and said, "Qiu Shi, you take care of it."
Lin Qiushi was stunned. He hadn't expected this to happen to him. He was about to decline when Ruan Baijie agreed. She leaned close to Lin Qiushi's ear and whispered, "Just take it."
Lin Qiushi frowned, "But this is my first time here, I don't have much experience..."
"It's okay." Xiong Qi said, "We are all very confident in you."
"Okay." Lin Qiushi had no choice but to agree.
After he reached out to take the key, he looked at it carefully and felt that if he didn't say anything, it would be just an ordinary copper key to him.
Xiong Qi suggested that since everyone was tired after a night's work, they should go eat something first and then discuss the location of the door. Lin Qiushi agreed.
So Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke went to the kitchen to cook, while Lin Qiushi and Ruan Baijie sat in the living room to watch over Cheng Wen.
"Why did they give me the key?" Lin Qiushi was still a little confused.
"Because this key isn't a good thing," Ruan Baijie said. "Anyone who holds it dies very quickly." She laughed and reached out a finger to tap Lin Qiushi's forehead. "Of course, you don't have to worry."
Lin Qiushi asked, "Hmm?"
Ruan Baijie suddenly lowered her head, bit Lin Qiushi's ear, and whispered, "I found the door."
Lin Qiushi's eyes widened instantly: "What?"
Ruan Baijie: "Shh, keep your voice down."
Lin Qiushi quickly fell silent and lowered his voice, "What did you say? Have you found the door?"
"Yes." Ruan Baijie smiled. She seemed to have taken a keen interest in Lin Qiushi's ears. Her fingers traced the auricle of Lin Qiushi's ear, making him itch. "Do you want to know where it is?"
If this were any other day, Lin Qiushi would have been completely focused on Ruan Baijie's hands playing with his ears. However, Ruan Baijie's words were so surprising that he had no time to think about them. "You knew where it was, so why didn't you tell me... Huh?"
There was a sudden sharp pain on his earlobe, and Lin Qiushi took a breath, "What are you doing?" He reached out and touched it, only to find that Ruan Baijie had pierced an earring into his right ear.
"It's okay." Ruan Baijie still looked innocent. "It's just that this earring would look pretty good on you."
Lin Qiushi was startled as he touched the earring. For a moment, he wasn't sure whether to ask about the door first or the earring. Ruan Baijie didn't give him a chance to respond and continued, "The door is very close to us. We can go back tonight."
"Where are Xiao Ke and Xiong Qi?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"They?" Ruan Baijie seemed to have a bad impression of these two people. "It depends on my mood."
Lin Qiushi said, "If possible... take them back with you." Although Xiao Ke had a bad temper, Xiong Qi treated them well after all, and they had been through so much together.
"You." Ruan Baijie said, "You are too soft-hearted." She smiled, "But I like you like this."
Lin Qiushi blushed inexplicably at this and said, "Stop teasing me."
Ruan Baijie just smiled and said nothing.
After being interrupted by Ruan Baijie, Lin Qiushi completely forgot about the earrings, and all his thoughts were focused on the evening. It wasn't until Xiong Qi and the others returned and asked him why he had something on his ear that he realized Ruan Baijie had tricked him again.
"Isn't it pretty?" Ruan Baijie said, "Why do you dislike me? Do you have another woman?"
Lin Qiushi: "...Don't be unreasonable."
Ruan Baijie turned into a whimpering monster: "You actually said that I was being unreasonable, you are too much, whimper."
Lin Qiushi, who had never had a girlfriend, had a desperate expression on his face.
The author has something to say: Ruan Baijie: Mark your own things first and then talk about other things.
Lin Qiushi was completely confused: What thing?
Ruan Baijie: Good things to eat
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