Ruan Nanzhu paused momentarily at Lin Qiushi's words. His very next response was to stop Lin Qiushi from trying to investigate anymore. In a low voice, he whispered, "Just ignore this for now. Let's first find Cheng Qianli."
Lin Qiushi finally remembered that they still had one more comrade with them. He hadn't seen a shadow of Cheng Qianli's figure since arriving at the temple, and he had no clue as to where the boy had run off to, so in the end, he just put the matter to the side and accidentally forgot about the kid.
Upon seeing the two walk deeper into the temple, Xu Jin, who was trailing after them, quivered and frightfully stammered, "W-where are you guys going? Don't tell me you want to keep going? This place is so scary!"
Sighing, Lin Qiushi responded to Xu Jin, "Yeah, we're just going in to have a quick look." He continued to advance inside the temple, while observing his surroundings.
The temple itself was quite large, and a vacant and spacious main hall stood at the outmost section of the temple. A statue of Buddha and several incense altars were erected at the front of the vast hall. It appeared as though the villagers had often visited the shrine to pay their respects and pray.
Further inside were many smaller, separate rooms, most of which were locked. Through the window, Lin Qiushi spotted something that resembled a statue, but he couldn't get a clear view of it, as it was covered by a red curtain.
"I really want to go in and check it out." Ruan Nanzhu inaudibly mumbled to himself.
"There's something in there." Xu Jin fiercely rubbed her arms to quell the goosebumps. "Wah, this is so scary..."
The moment Ruan Nanzhu heard her, he turned to face Lin Qiushi and feebly leaned against his body. With eyes glistening with unfallen tears, he peered up at the other and weakly called out, "Big brother Linlin, I'm so scared."
Here we go again, Lin Qiushi thought to himself; he didn't even have to look at Ruan Nanzhu to know that the other was, once again, getting immersed in his weak-hearted, damsel-in-distress role. Not knowing whether to cry or laugh, Lin Qiushi simply grasped the other's hand and decided to play along, gently comforting, "Don't be afraid. I'm here for you."
Upon seeing this, Xu Jin gnashed her teeth in hatred. No doubt she was relentlessly spitting strings of vulgar profanity in her heart and inwardly cursing this dog couple with all her passion.
The group continued onwards. After passing through a long corridor, they finally caught sight of Cheng Qianli.
As of this moment, Cheng Qianli was standing at the corner of a temple chamber, facing the wall and staring at God-knows-what.
Having heard the sound of shuffling footsteps approaching him from behind, Cheng Qianli whirled his head around, only to see Lin Qiushi and the others. He beckoned them over, "Come, you guys have a look at this, too. There's a painted wall mural here."
Lin Qiushi made his way to the other's side and asked, "A wall mural? Oh, and hello, little brother. I'm Yu Linlin. What's your name?"
Cheng Qianli replied, "Just call me Mu Yu. And these two beautiful women are...?"
Xu Jin and Ruan Nanzhu introduced themselves.
"Oh, you poor things. Your luck is really the worst." Cheng Qianli shook his head in pity. "To think such beautiful girls would also enter such a terrifying world."
Xu Jin sniveled, "I know right. I'm so scared." Having finally found a companion she could vent all her grievances to, she choked with emotion, "This entire place is so strange and creepy. I don't even know what's going on anymore." She wiped the corners of her wet eyes and sniffed; her forlorn appearance stirred pity in the hearts of onlookers.
"The painted wall mural is a local custom." Ruan Nanzhu's voice pulled Cheng Qianli's attention away from everything else. He reached out and lightly touched the wall, "This mural has either been painted recently, or someone frequently maintains it to keep it in good shape. The colors are quite fresh."
"Huh, is that so? But what's this drawing supposed to depict? I don't really get it..." Cheng Qianli completely ignored the pitiful Xu Jin who was standing at his side.
"They're celebrating the birth of a child." Ruan Nanzhu answered. "There are two newborns; one symbolizes the moon, and the other, the sun..." He simply described the pattern on the mural. "The newborn representing the moon is fond of beating drums, while the newborn that represents the sun is hiding." A look of doubt and confusion flashed over his features, before vanishing. He repeated, "Hiding?"
"What's it supposed to mean?" Lin Qiushi couldn't understand the message behind the mural.
"I don't know." Ruan Nanzhu said. "That's just how the mural's been painted. I'm not entirely sure what a newborn being hidden is supposed to signify, either."
Xu Jin, who was once again deprived of attention because a certain somebody stole the limelight from her, sourly remarked, "Little missy1, you seem to know a lot, huh?"
Ruan Nanzhu smiled slightly, "You haven't asked me my age yet, so why are you calling little missy? It makes it seem as though I am older than you. I am just twenty years old; how about you?"
Xu Jin: "...I'm twenty-three."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Oh, so you're technically the little missy."
Xu Jin was fuming because of Ruan Nanzhu. Her lips were set into a pout, and her eyes were glaring daggers.
Lin Qiushi watched this scene from the sidelines and found it very amusing. This guy, Ruan Nanzhu, was really addicted to teasing and provoking other little girls.
"Have you found any stairs that lead to the second floor?" Cheng Qianli asked. "I heard music playing from the top of this temple. Could it be that there's a monk in this temple?"
Speaking of music, Lin Qiushi recalled the noise he heard in the main hall of the temple. As of this moment, his usual keen sense of hearing was incredibly sharp, so he could easily detect the source of the sound. And it was primarily because of his acute hearing, he was confident that the sound was coming from the ceiling of the main hall; the further away he was from that area, the fainter the noise became.
"We haven't found any." Ruan Nanzhu responded. "Let's continue to search for it."
The original lively group of sixteen was currently separated from one another. They were all dispersed throughout this massive, empty temple, completely lost and unaware of their companions' locations. Lin Qiushi's group walked along the corridor's path, only to encounter three to four more individuals midway. As for the others, they didn't know where they had wandered off to.
Nevertheless, at this very moment, Lin Qiushi didn't have the patience or energy to care for the others. He was far more concerned about which areas of this temple to search through and where he could find more clues that would hint at the key's location.
The four individuals marched onwards, until they finally reached an end.
The end of the temple led to an open wilderness, and scattered around the vicinity were rocks and stones, as well as towering, lofty platforms built of wood. These wooden platforms didn't seem to have any particular use; if anything, these roof-like structures were just extremely tall. They were built so high that the group of four, who stood underneath the platform, couldn't see what was on top of them.
"Go up and take a look?" suggested Lin Qiushi.
"Sure, check it out." Ruan Nanzhu added, "But together."
"No. There's no need for you to come along." Lin Qiushi wouldn't feel at ease if Ruan Nanzhu went up with him, so he insisted, "I'll go by myself."
Cheng Qianli chimed in, "I'll join you. Us two guys can just go together. The other two can just stay down here and keep watch. If anything happens, they can warn us."
"Alright. Go up and gauge the situation." Ruan Nanzhu stressed, "But if something's wrong, come down at once."
Beside them was a wooden ladder that could lead them to the upper level, but it was extremely narrow and awfully high; it was bound to take them ages if they were to climb up this ladder. However, Lin Qiushi's main purpose in climbing this ladder was to see what was on the platform above them. If not all, the towering height of the platform would practically give them full view of the scenery surrounding them. After heading up, they should, more or less, be able to assess their current predicament.
Cheng Qianli slowly followed behind Lin Qiushi and concernedly whispered, "What's up with big brother Ruan? Why is his face so pale? Why does he look so sick?"
"He isn't feeling too well." Lin Qiushi explained, "It's probably that his body and mental state hasn't recovered completely."
Cheng Qianli: "Oh. Then what's up with that Xu Jin chick?"
Lin Qiushi: "Another rookie. I didn't want to arouse any suspicious so I decided to bring her along."
As they conversed, the two gradually climbed the ladder, until they reached the highest step. Taking the lead, Lin Qiushi eventually stepped on the last step and made his way onto the high platform. Immediately after, he regretted even considering going up. Slabs of ground flesh, cold bones and strings of black hair were strewn across the surface of the platform. The scattered flesh and bones were still fresh, there were no traces of decay or putrefaction; it was as though these parts had been dumped here quite recently.
"Don't come up." Lin Qiushi stopped the other. "There are only corpses up here."
Cheng Qianli paused mid-step and let out a vulgar curse, "Oh, fuck me!"
Although Lin Qiushi genuinely wanted to delude himself into thinking the lumps of ground meat and bloody bones were from other creatures, he clearly spotted things resembling human skulls within this grotesque pile. The skulls were facing Lin Qiushi's direction. The black, cavernous holes stared dead at him, giving him a dreadful feeling, as if the skulls were alive, as if they were looking forward to his demise.
"Hurry down." A sense of foreboding soon assailed Lin Qiushi. Feeling that something was terribly wrong, he immediately retreated.
Not wasting a single second, Cheng Qianli instantly responded. He gave a brisk grunt and began to descend the ladder. Lin Qiushi was just about to turn around and follow after him, when he heard Ruan Nanzhu shouting from below, "Don't turn around—"
However, the other's warning came a bit too late. The moment Lin Qiushi turned away from the platform, he felt a pair of hands on his back. Within a blink of an eye, a violent force struck his body, and his entire body was propelled forward.
The platform was four meters high, and sharp rocks and hard stones covered the ground below it. No doubt that falling from this height would leave one either dead or critically injured.
Fortunately, Cheng Qianli was swift enough to grab Lin Qiushi just as he was falling. Both of them tumbled down the wooden steps of the high ladder, rolling down chaotically, but luckily, nothing happened and none of them sustained any severe injuries.
With great difficulty, Lin Qiushi mustered all of his strength to heave himself up off the ground. He no longer dared to stay on the steps. Cheng Qianli frantically hopped down from the last step, as well, and bolted far from the ladder.
Between labored breaths, he spat out, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy fucking shit! That scared me to death!!!" Cheng Qianli was scared out of his wits; cold sweat was dripping down his entire body and he could not stop trembling. "What was up with that, Yu Linlin? Did you slip or something?"
"No," Lin Qiushi denied. "I was pushed."
"Was there really no one up there? While you two were coming down, two hands suddenly reached out from the platform..." Xu Jin was frightfully recounting what she'd witnessed, "And pushed Yu Linlin."
"Linlin," started Ruan Nanzhu. "There are two palm prints on the back of your shirt."
Lin Qiushi was rendered speechless. He immediately twisted his body and anxiously tugged at his shirt in an attempt to see the back. Sure enough, there truly were two bloody palm prints. The size was neither small nor large, possibly between the size of a toddlers hand and a grown adult; nonetheless, such stains on his back were offensively conspicuous.
"This isn't a platform meant for sky burials2, right?" Having seen the remains of humans at the top of this temple, it was impossible for Lin Qiushi to not have this thought; he simply couldn't help but put the the two together.
"But you don't normally find large birds or scavengers that eat rotten flesh within thick jungles like this." Cheng Qianli stated. "So, what exactly ate those corpses then?"
Lin Qiushi: "..."
"What else could it possibly be? It's obviously that thing that pushed Yu Linlin down." Ruan Nanzhu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I was careless. I shouldn't have let you gone up." A hint of weariness seemed to have clouded his features; he appeared to be drained and fatigued, as though he had exhausted all of his mental capacity and was on the verge of collapse.
"Are you feeling ill? Is your body feeling uncomfortable?" Lin Qiushi hurriedly asked. "Let's first return and get some rest."
Ruan Nanzhu hummed in accord.
And so, the four individuals began walking back.
Xu Jin had also seen what Ruan Nanzhu saw, so it was only natural that her description of the incident was similar to that of Ruan Nanzhu. The instant Lin Qiushi turned around, a pair of blood-spattered hands, belonging to a young child, were seen stretching towards Lin Qiushi's back. The hands were comprised of mere flesh and bone. There was no skin, only pink tissue dangling off the hands and crimson muscles protecting the fragile bones. Within moments, those freakish hands pasted themselves to Lin Qiushi's back, eventually shoving him off the platform. This was the very first time Xu Jin had any encounters with the supernatural, so she was quite shocked and perturbed to say the least.
However, Lin Qiushi did not have the heart or energy to be concerned for her, because he realized that Ruan Nanzhu's condition was critical. Seeing that Ruan Nanzhu's complexion was beyond wan and unsightly, he immediately suggested to carry the other. Ruan Nanzhu did not refuse; he just silently rested himself on Lin Qiushi's back.
In the end, Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have fallen asleep before they returned to the main hall.
"How could she just fall asleep?" Xu Jin simply couldn't comprehend how Ruan Nanzhu could go to sleep peacefully in such a situation. Just moments before, she was scared shitless, shifting her eyes like a frightened chicken and quivering from head to toe; even last night, she couldn't seem to fall asleep on her own bed because of how scared she was, but would you look at her now! Resting on someone else's back, sleeping like a baby with her eyes closed, without a single care for the world! Surely, this girl had to be faking it!!!
Cheng Qianli said, "It could be that the lady isn't feeling well."
The group had yet to reach the hall, when they heard a noisy clamor; it seemed that something had happened in the main hall of the temple.
"He just disappeared in the hall!" It was a woman wailing and blubbering. "I just went to check out the Buddha statue, and when I turned back around, he was gone!"
"But we've been nearby the entire time. We haven't seen anyone come out from the main entrance." Another person said. "Could it be that he went into the corridor?"
The woman cried, "Impossible! How could he possibly reach the corridor that fast?! I'm certain that he didn't go into the hallway..."
With Ruan Nanzhu hoisted on his back, Lin Qiushi stepped onto the scene. Cheng Qianli quickly followed from behind, taking a step forward, and asked what was going on.
Apparently, two people were gathered in this spot, waiting for one more person to join them, when one of the two suddenly vanished into thin air. Both the individual who had disappeared and the one who had remained were located in the main hall when this happened. From the very start, no one found anything strange or unusual; there were no indications of foul play or peculiarities.
In these horrific worlds, being missing was synonymous to being dead. It's just that no one knew what the other person did in the end to trigger this death condition.
"What were the two of you discussing while you ere waiting in the temple?" Meng Yu inquired. "Did you perhaps suggest to go somewhere?"
The woman exposed a dazed expression. After thinking over it for a moment, she seemed to have recalled something. Her eyes widened, and she froze.
"What?" Meng Yu noticed the odd changes that overcame the woman.
The woman slowly looked up at the abyss-like ceiling and whispered, "Before he disappeared, he and I were talking about how something was on the ceiling..."
Everyone fell silent at her words.
The music had not ceased since they had entered this temple. At first, the group believed it was coming from the second floor, but after exploring the entire temple, they discovered that there was no second floor. The inky darkness shrouded everyone's vision, obscuring most of the view before them, so they could not see what was on the ceiling of the temple. Some individuals thought the darkness was simply an inconvenience, but they never could've imagined that it was actually a blessing in disguise, simply for their protection.
Those that saw whatever was on that ceiling were doomed to die by it.
After hearing what she had to say, everyone's first reaction was to lower their heads and avoid looking above them.
Meng Yu, on the other hand, did not seem to be the slightest afraid. He gazed up at the overhead ceiling and remarked, "This building is at least six meters tall. It's virtually impossible to see what's above us without a source of light. That being so, where did they get a light source?"
"From a cell phone?" Lin Qiushi blurted out.
Meng Yu turned to look at Lin Qiushi, "Exactly."
As a matter of fact, most people did not bring a mobile phone with them whenever they entered the door world. Lin Qiushi had brought up this question to Ruan Nanzhu before, to which the other simply answered that it could be dangerous to bring a cellular phone, but there was no harm in bringing one if he wanted to. Besides, it wasn't as though no one was allowed to bring one with them; the main thing was that one was usually bound to lose their phones somewhere within this world. Knowing that the least that could happen is that he would lose his phone, Lin Qiushi developed the habit of bringing his phone with him into the door world, and whenever he had spare time in the night, he would play games on his phone.
"Let's just get out of here," softly hissed one of the group members, who could no longer bear the grave atmosphere. "We can't seem to find any clues anyways."
Meng Yu glanced at the time. "If you want to leave, then leave. There's still over an hour left before our tour guide arrives."
"But it's raining outside." Xu Jin was so afraid that she simply wished she could shrink herself into a small ball within this huge crowd.
"It's raining?" Lin Qiushi repeated. "When did it even start raining?"
Xu Jin replied, "Just now. While you guys were talking."
It was reasonable to say that even the lightest rain would still generate soft pitter-patter sounds as the raindrops fall to the ground. And yet, the rain that was pouring heavily as of this moment did not issue any sound; it was like a silent film. Even with his acute sense of hearing, Lin Qiushi could not detect the slightest of noises.
The downpour of rain was abnormally strange, and those who had previously wanted to leave didn't dare move from their spot any longer.
While the crowd watched on as the silent rain poured down from the skies, the eerie stream of music continued to play. Suddenly, the music stopped, and an ominous silence suffocated the entire temple.
"Everything's completely silent." Xu Jin said. "This is so scary..."
Lin Qiushi knitted his brows, "Do you not hear that?"
Xu Jin tilted her head in confusion, "Hear what?"
Lin Qiushi: "The sound of a drum... Someone is beating on a drum."
Originally, everyone's faces revealed a look of bafflement and blankness at his words, but it wasn't long before the inaudible drumming sounds grew louder and louder. By the time everyone was able hear the sounds of the drums, other distinct noises emerged, seemingly accompanying the steady rhythm of the drum.
It sounded as though a wooden door was being pried open, giving rise to a low creak. Lin Qiushi immediately sensed that something was dreadfully off. He gently shook Ruan Nanzhu awake and urged, "Zhu Meng, you shouldn't sleep anymore. Something's wrong."
Ruan Nanzhu sluggishly opened his eyes: "I fell asleep?"
"En." Lin Qiushi responded. "And there's something wrong"
Ruan Nanzhu: "What's the matter?"
Lin Qiushi: "The sound of drums—"
If it truly was just the sound of a drum, then there would be no need to worry. However, Lin Qiushi clearly heard the sounds of something approaching them, from deep inside the corridor they had just walked through.
Ruan Nanzhu remained quite for a while, as though he was still trying to wake up from his hazy sleep. He then reassured the other, "Don't be afraid. Everyone is here, and they cannot kill us all at once."
Rustle, Rustle. Before long, the others also began to hear those sounds coming from the corridor. The sound was getting nearer and nearer, louder and louder. Although the light shining within this temple was rather dim, everyone could clearly make out what was approaching them from inside the corridor.
It was a group of skinned people. Crouched on the ground and dragging a long, sharp knife on the ground behind them, they rushed towards the main hall of the temple. A look of sheer terror and panic painted the faces of those inside the main hall the moment they were met with this scene. And some who had low tolerance to such frightening experienced began shrieking at the top of their lungs.
"Calm down, everyone!" Meng Yu tried to pacify the panicking crowd. "They will not necessarily kill us!"
"You goddamn motherfucker! How could you say those things will not kill people?! Just look at them!" The yellow-haired rookie finally seemed to have broken down. Frenziedly swinging his arms around, the youth swore and screamed, before dashing out of the door. "You fucking idiots are only waiting for your deaths in here!!! I'm leaving!!!"
A frightfully chilling expression flitted across Meng Yu's face; it was as though the tender smiling expression that usually rested on his face was merely an illusion. But this change in his expression barely lasted a split-second, before the other resumed his gentle appearance. "Don't worry, everyone. The door worlds would never leave us with no way out of this predicament. With many people here, we can't possibly trigger a death condition simultaneously. You mustn't rush out recklessly though!"
As if to confirm his words, the blond youth who had just darted out of the door issues a blood-curdling shriek before red blood splattered from his body.
Ruan Nanzhu, who was laying on Lin Qiushi back, opened his mouth and declared, "That is not rain."
"Hah?" Lin Qiushi was struck dumb.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Those are blades."
Lin Qiushi: "..." He finally seemed to have understood what was going on.
The hysterical youth who had wildly rushed out of the temple had paid a heavy price in the end. In a blink of an eye, the boy's skin was torn apart by the heavy rain of blades. With each passing second, the sharp blades would hack at his body, ripping off more skin and flesh, causing thick blood to spatter everywhere; it was just like those old times, where one would be punished with a thousand cuts. Horrified, everyone watched on as the youth's entire being slowly became a blur of shredded flesh and flowing blood; the incessant, wretched cries of the rookie deafened their ears.
The youth tried to run back to the temple, but to no avail. He stumbled and staggered to the ground countless times, his bones began to show through his mutilated body, and his plaintive cries would not cease. It was as though the sharp blades were intentionally avoiding striking any vital areas, as if they were slowly torturing him.
Slowly peeling him alive.
Xu Jin's scalp tingled at the abysmal sight. She couldn't help but retch the contents in her stomach.
The skinless monsters, who had stampeded out of the corridor and out of the temple, hooted in excitement.
Eventually, the youth's mournful screams stopped, and he fell directly onto the ground. All that was left behind of the youth was a skeleton with almost no remains of flesh.
The monsters rushed to his side and began gorging loudly. They devoured every piece of flesh and organ that had been stripped off the rookie's bones thoroughly; there wasn't even a speck of blood in sight once they finished feasting on the youth.
After satisfying themselves, the monsters no longer paid any attention to the living beings inside the temple, and they soon dispersed, as though they were never there in the first place.
The mood inside the temple was indescribably dreadful and solemn. Not a single person spoke, and not a single person moved.
"What just happened?" At last, someone dumbly wondered. "What the hell were those things..."
Meng Yu: "Who knows."
"Are we still able to leave?" Xu Jin was trembling in fear. In a shrill voice, filled with horror, she asked, "Will we end up dying if we try to go outside?"
"Probably not." Lin Qiushi murmured. "We all agreed to meet the tour guide outside; not to mention, it's almost time for her to arrive."
"We're going to have to go outside? What if it rains again?" Xu Jin's heart wouldn't calm down. The mangled corpse at the doorway served to evoke fear in everyone who laid eyes on such a ghastly sight, causing their blood to run cold.
"As I've said, the door will not leave us at a dead end where we have no choice but to die." Meng Yu was unflustered by this; he calmly accepted the outcome of this situation, as though it was only natural. "If everyone does the same thing, I can assure you one hundred percent that no one be met with any accidents."
Having heard what was said, Ruan Nanzhu chuckled lightly. Lin Qiushi asked him why he was laughing, but Ruan Nanzhu merely smiled and shook his head, "This Meng Yu is quite an interesting fellow."
Lin Qiushi didn't not understand the meaning behind Ruan Nanzhu's words, and he certainly couldn't understand why he would call the other 'interesting'.
What do you think will happen if everyone made this same mistake as the other kid?" Ruan Nanzhu posed a question in a low voice.
"We'd all die?" Lin Qiushi said. "But didn't he say that it's impossible for all of us to die?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "That is true. But the monster can just randomly kill whoever it wants. As long as one person is still left alive, they can do whatever they want to the others."
Lin Qiushi: "..."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Now, the question is, why is Meng Yu deliberately misleading everyone?"
Lin Qiushi sank into a contemplative silence.
As the two talked amongst themselves, the tour guide's clear voice echoed from outside. She cheerfully shouted, "Gather around, gather around! Come out quickly, everyone! I will only wait for you all for five minutes."
Having heard the tour guide's voice, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief. Believing that it was now fine to go outside, the crowd slowly walked out of the temple.
++
Footnotes
1小姐姐 (xiăojiĕjiĕ) — There's really no word in English that holds the same meaning... Directly translated, it means little eldest sister/small older sister. People in China would normally call a cute, yet mature girl who looks young or who might be in the same generation as them by this; they use this when they see a young pretty woman, whose age is unknown or who they assume is slightly older, because it isn't as rude or offensive. On the other hand, just saying 小姐 (xiăojiĕ) is an insult that's equivalent to calling a woman "prostitute" and calling an older woman, who you would normally refer to as A Yi (Auntie), by jiejie (older sister) would result in your getting slapped.
2A Tibetan funeral practice where corpses are placed on a high area and left to be eaten by vultures and other scavengers.
++
Author's Comment:
Romance and gore is just something I randomly decided to write about. *Author coolly lights a cigar in honor of the vicissitudes of her life* Friends, let's try not to take every single detail of this novel to heart, because the novel is not really supposed to be taken too seriously.
Now then, I'll explain some of the rules of the doors in detail:
The doors are similar to an entrance exam that is divided into twelve levels, with each level increasing in difficulty—Level 1 being the easiest and Level 12 being the hardest, so to speak. Ruan Nanzhu passed his tenth "exam" so when he comes back to take the fifth "exam" (which is Cheng Qianli's door), it does not count. People can only skip doors when certain conditions have been met. They may be able to cross several doors, like how Lin Qiushi is able to do so by piggy-backing off of Cheng Qianli's door. Since Lin Qiushi basically freeloaded off of Cheng Qianli's door, Lin Qiushi directly skipped two levels (his third and fourth door) and jumped from his second door straight to his fifth door.
However, the first door for all rookies is special. This is what can be considered an "aptitude test" or something of the sort. The closer one is to their death, the more difficult the first door will be for them. For instance, if someone is going to die within the next few minutes, their first door may be the fifth door of another person, unlike someone who may die in a few months, whose first door may be someone else's third door. When the person survives their first door, the person's doors will also be recalculated from the start, because that person will no longer be dying immediately anymore (since passing their first door will have ultimately extended their life/time of death). In other words, the second door is technically the easiest door for everyone. Nevertheless, as a person passes through more doors, the difficulty will increase, regardless whether their life/time of death has been extended.
So, with the exception of newcomers, the people who have naturally entered their door would have passed approximately the same number of doors as the others in that same world. Meaning, most of those in the fifth door will more-or-less be on their fifth door, give or take a few doors. [Some of them might be like Lin Qiushi, skipping to his 5th door, some of them might be on their fourth door, or perhaps sixth door. But it is highly unlikely to see someone who is on their 10th door naturally entering a door with a level 2 difficulty.]
There are, of course, more exceptions and more rules and such, and whether someone else can come inside the doors with other objects and clues will be a spoiler, so we will just have to continue to read to see what happens and to understand more of these rules. Until then, however, I won't clarify or spoil anymore.
On a final note, Lin Qiushi's liver cancer was actually in its advanced stages, but it changed into his early stages after he passed his first door.