Monsters weren't the worst things one had to face within these doors; they even had to watch out for teammates who wouldn't hesitate to betray them at any moment. At first glance, everyone inside the door world seemed like close partners, working together harmoniously and having each other's backs; however, the instant an unexpected incident happened to break out, that so-called close partnership was bound to change, to shatter without a second's notice.
Despite the tour guide's voice calling them from outside, no one dared to take another step. They couldn't help but recall the gruesome scene that had transpired before their eyes just minutes before.
Still resting comfortably on Lin Qiushi's back, Ruan Nanzhu softly tapped Lin Qiushi's shoulder and ordered, "Go."
Lin Qiushi: "Just go? You sure?"
"It should be fine now. Nothing will happen." Ruan Nanzhu reassured. "If anything, it'd be worse to stay here. We shouldn't stay in this temple overnight."
As a matter of fact, such a statement couldn't be any truer. Lin Qiushi paused for a moment, contemplating. Finally, he replied, "It's better if I go outside first. At least you guys will be safe, and I'll be the only one at risk. And in case something actually does happen to me, then you can just figure things out from there and act accordingly."
"We're going together." Ruan Nanzhu adamantly declared. "Just trust me."
Faced with Ruan Nanzhu's resolve, Lin Qiushi had no choice but to give in. He tightened his grip on the man and strode towards the entrance of the temple. Upon exiting the temple with the other on his back, Lin Qiushi spotted the guide standing in the exact location where she had parted from them earlier, beaming brightly and energetically waving a flag.
"Gather around! Gather around quickly, everyone!" The tour guide hollered out to them. "It's getting dark now. We must hurry back before the sun sets!"
Lin Qiushi scanned his surroundings, only to discover that rain of blades that had poured down from the sky and pierced the earth had all but disappeared. Only the mangled, skinless corpse sprawled near the entrance proved to him that everything he'd just witnessed was real.
Lin Qiushi gradually approached the tour guide. It was as Ruan Nanzhu said, nothing happened. Cheng Qianli hurriedly trailed after them, constantly glancing at the corpse. The exaggerated expression coloring the teenager's face was all too familiar—he had the same exact appearance when Lin Qiushi accompanied the boy to watch A Wicked Ghost1, a look that indicated that he was seconds away from screeching like a castrated chicken.
Except now, he didn't let out a single peep. Disregarding the fact that Cheng Qianli's entire face was burning red, and his veins were furiously bulging from his forehead and neck, the boy somehow managed to endure this grisly scene and swallow down his godawful shrieks and squawks.
Seeing that no tragedies befell the three individuals, the rest of the crowd began walking out of the temple.
The tour guide didn't seem to have noticed the deformed corpse. She smiled at the group and gleefully inquired about their day, asking if everyone was having the time of their life and if they were able to deeply relish and appreciate the temple's remarkable ambience.
Everyone just ignored her. Without a care for their indifference, she simply prattled on with great enthusiasm.
As they treaded along the path back to their residences, the skies above grew gloomier, and a solemn silence enveloped the depths of the secluded jungle. Raging gusts struck the flags extending from the treetops, forcing them to billow like the wings of odious monsters spreading wide.
No accidents happened on their way back. They safety reached the bamboo houses they were currently staying at and filled their stomachs with a tasteless evening meal.
Before she left, the tour guide set up the time of their next meeting, saying that it would be at eight in morning and that everyone had better show up.
Meng Yu asked her about the site they would be touring tomorrow.
Revealing a mysterious expression, the tour guide only indicated that their next destination was particularly special, "You will know when the time comes. Everyone must be on time." Before departing, she added, "The winds on these mountaintops are quite fierce tonight, so it's best not to leave your residences."
Her reminder was loud and clear, but it fell on deaf ears.
Dinner was nauseatingly hard to swallow. Ruan Nanzhu didn't have an appetite, but he still tried forcing himself to eat as much as he could. Ever since he'd arrived at this world, his condition had been awful. As of this moment, his appearance exuded exhaustion, and he looked as though he could collapse at any second.
If it were any other average person that looked just as sickly as Ruan Nanzhu, people would either apathetically ignore them or feel completely drained and dispirited just by looking at them. But Ruan Nanzhu wasn't average; his face alone was extraordinarily beautiful. So, even if he was ill to the point of fainting, at the very least, he would still look like a sickly beauty.
At the side, Xu Jin snidely remarked that Ruan Nanzhu had been sleeping all day, "Wow, how could she still be so sleepy after passing out the entire day?"
Ruan Nanzhu nuzzled Lin Qiushi's neck with his chin, and tenderly purred, "I'm sorry. My body's been very weak since childhood, so I grew up to be quite delicate. Oh, big brother Linlin, it seems that I've troubled you."
Lin Qiushi: "Not at all..."
Xu Jin: "..." Ugh, for the love of—can this fucking dog couple just get a room?!
Despite the meal being unpalatable, Cheng Qianli gobbled up the food until his stomach was bulging and he could no longer stuff himself. According to him, if he was going to die anyways, he'd rather die on a full stomach; at least he and his stomach would be fully satisfied in the afterlife.
Lin Qiushi had no words to express the enormous amount of admiration he held for Cheng Qianli at this moment. In any case, their dinner was, frankly put, too disgusting to eat; the more one ate it, the more one's will to live shriveled into oblivion. And yet, here the boy was, pigging out on this meal.
Once dinner was over, everyone dispersed to their respective rooms to get some rest.
Ruan Nanzhu fell into slumber the instant he laid his head down on his pillow.
Lin Qiushi and Xu Jin didn't have his impressive sleeping ability, so they could only chat until sleep overcame them.
Xu Jin briefly talked about her life outside of the door world. She said that she was just an ordinary university student who had graduated this year. As she was crossing the road, she was suddenly pulled into the door world. At first, she thought she was dreaming, but then she realized that it was impossible for a dream to be so realistic, for a dream to feel as though she experiencing everything in real life.
"Will we die here? Big brother Linlin..." Whimpers spilled from Xu Jin's quavering lips. "I'm so scared."
Lin Qiushi leaned against the window and sighed, "I don't know, so I can't give you an answer. Don't think too much about it. Try to go to sleep soon."
Glancing at Ruan Nanzhu who was snoozing peacefully, Xu Jin gritted her teeth. The pitch in her voice grew higher, and she crooned, "Big brother Linlin..."
Lin Qiushi: "Hm?"
Xu Jin: "I'm cold..."
Lin Qiushi: "..." Goddamn it, Ruan Nanzhu, look at you corrupting such a sweet girl with your bad influence; you've basically taught her how to be naughty. Although Lin Qiushi wasn't at all experienced when it came to girls, he wasn't stupid or blind either. Xu Jin's intentions were so obvious. Utterly helpless, he could only feign ignorance and dumbly reply, "Oh, you're cold? Maybe another blanket would help, yeah?"
Xu Jin: "..." Does he really think she wouldn't have thought of this herself if she was truly cold and wanted a blanket?! She gnashed her teeth and stomped her foot. Abandoning her modesty, she shamelessly requested, "If it isn't too much trouble, can I...umm, can I squeeze in with you?"
Without so much as a blink, Lin Qiushi calmly refused her, "No, you cannot squeeze in with me. You're too fat. The bed would feel too crowded, and I'd also feel suffocated."
Xu Jin shot another glance at the frail Ruan Nanzhu who was sleeping soundly; her eyes trailed over the slim, delicate figure of the other. Then, she looked down at herself, and for a while, she found herself unable to refute.
Lin Qiushi: "Do you still need a blanket?"
Wallowing in self-despair and discouragement, Xu Jin huffed, "No, I'm obviously fat, so I should be able to survive."
Although he knew it would be mean to do so, Lin Qiushi had never wanted to burst into laughter any more than now. Think about it, the world behind the doors were so unpredictable and dangerous; how could people possibly have the heart to seek romance and start a relationship under such risky circumstances? Besides, were people not scared of the possibility that if they started fucking around, a ghost could suddenly pop out its head from who knows where—now, that was bound to traumatize anyone so much that it would undoubtedly lead to lifelong impotency; quite frankly, it'd truly be a blessing is someone's dick still managed to stand tall after experiencing something that horrifying...
Xu Jin had probably seen through Lin Qiushi's façade and noticed the judgmental thoughts running through his mind, for at last, she decided to give up. Desperately trying to avoid putting herself into an even more embarrassing and awkward situation, she climbed into her bed and closed her eyes. After a while, the sound of soft, steady breathing echoed in the room, indicating that she was asleep.
Lin Qiushi thought to himself, well you sure knocked out fast...
He then shut his own eyes and relaxed his body as much as possible, and before he knew it, he had fallen into unconsciousness.
The stream of sunlight spilling through the glass window roused Lin Qiushi from his sleep. The first thing he did after opening his eyes was confirm that the people with him were still in the room, safe and sound.
Ruan Nanzhu was wide awake, casually sitting on the bed and relaxedly combing his hair. Despite hearing Lin Qiushi wake up, he didn't turn around to face the other, "Good morning."
"Good morning." Lin Qiushi greeted back.
"I slept early yesterday so I wouldn't know, but nothing happened later in the night, right?" probed Ruan Nanzhu.
"Nothing happened." Lin Qiushi responded. "Outside was very quiet. No noises were coming from the jungle, and I didn't hear anything strange either."
Ruan Nanzhu: "I meant between you and Xu Jin..."
Lin Qiushi's head was filled with nothing but question marks: "Between me and Xu Jin? What would happen between us? Could it be that something's wrong with her? Did something happen with her? What's wrong?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "..." He remained silent for a moment, before asking one question. "Why exactly did you and your last girlfriend break up?"
Lin Qiushi: "Girlfriend? I haven't...I've never had a girlfriend..." Since he began studying design, he basically lost all contact with society, missing out on all social interactions and opportunities for relationships. He was too focused on balancing his studies and work for anything else. On days where he had to go to school, if he wasn't in class studying, he would either be completing other assignments or his homework; on top of that, he worked overtime every day. All of his time was eaten up by his school and work, so where in the world would he have time to get into a relationship? Forget about trying to date, he didn't even have the chance to lay eyes on a girl in the first place.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Oh, perfect."
Lin Qiushi: "..." For some reason, he felt that something was off about the subtle expression on Ruan Nanzhu's face.
After brushing and washing, they joined the others to eat breakfast.
Everyone was beyond curious as to where they were going today, but they still couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive and worried at the same time. They had a feeling deep down that today's journey would be even more dangerous than yesterday's.
"Group together as much as possible" Meng Yu advised. "That way it'll be easier to handle things if something goes wrong."
Two men died yesterday. As of this moment, there were still fourteen individuals left. A fair amount of people had survived; then again, amount didn't really matter in the face of trouble. It was still completely useless if a large group of people were met with any accidents.
Cheng Qianli patted Lin Qiushi's shoulder and said, "I'll stick with you today."
Lin Qiushi hummed in accord.
The tour guide arrived at eight o'clock sharp. Wearing the same exploring outfit as yesterday and donning the same smiling expression on her face, she energetically waved that same red flag around, "Is everyone here? Are you all excited to go on another adventure? Once everyone is ready and present, we shall set off."
Meng Yu confirmed, "We're all here."
"Alrighty then, follow along!" The tour guide informed, "Today, we will be visiting a very, very special place. Once we arrive there, we mustn't cause a ruckus or speak too loudly. It's important that we respect the local customs."
Everyone nodded their heads.
Upon seeing their obedience, the tour guide let out a smile and announced, "Now without further ado, let's hurry and get going!"
Due to the circumstances of their surrounding environment, there were no other means of transportation besides walking. This time, the tour guide took them down a different road—a lone path winding up the mountains, swathed by dense trees and vegetation.
With great difficulty, everyone trudged behind the tour guide, but the path was awfully difficult to pass through by foot. It wasn't long before someone ran out of stamina and started falling behind the group.
"Can we take a break?" A random person called out to the tour guide.
"A short break is fine." The tour guide glanced at her watch. "But we must reach our destination by noon."
"Why?" The man was baffled. Through his gasps for air, he asked, "Why by noon...?"
"Because you all are supposed to be touring the place for six hours." Without a change in expression, the tour guide patiently explained, "If you don't reach your destination before twelve o'clock, you'll have no choice but to return when it gets dark." As she said this, an eerie grin crept onto her face. "And I do believe that everyone here would not want to walk down this mountain at night."
At her words, everyone's expression twisted and the color drained from their faces.
Those who wanted a break clenched their teeth and decided to persist despite their aching feet; after all, their lives were at stake here.
Lin Qiushi feared that Ruan Nanzhu's body would not be endure the strenuous climb for long, so he carried the other on his back the rest of the way. Fortunately, Ruan Nanzhu's weight was currently lighter than average; otherwise, Lin Qiushi seriously wouldn't have been able to help him.
In any case, Ruan Nanzhu still managed to attract envious gazes.
When all was said and done, the strength of woman simply couldn't compare to that of a man. Being able to catch a long break by relaxing on another man's back was only something everyone just wished could happen to them; they could only ever dream of being in Ruan Nanzhu's position.
Thankfully, just when the crowd was about to die from exhaustion, they finally reached the highly-praised destination the tour guide spoke of—steep pagodas clustered together.
The towers were no less than ten meters tall and four meters wide, and they just stood quietly in the midst of this dense jungle. It was hard to imagine just how skilled the craftsmen were to have created such majestic buildings in such an unfavorable environment.
The splendor of these pagodas struck everyone with awe, and no one uttered a single word at this time. During this tranquil silence, they'd forgotten all of their fears; it was as if all dangers and worries had vanished in the face of such breathtaking magnificence.
Eventually, the tour guide's voice pulled them back to reality. She declared, "I will return to pick you all up after you guys have toured this place for six hours. In the meantime, please enjoy your visit here and appreciate the exotic atmosphere!" With this, she turned on her heels and strutted off, disappearing far into the depths of the jungle.
As he watched her disappearing figure, Cheng Qianli couldn't help but spit curses at her back, saying that it was such a pity that they were in the door world; if it wasn't for this fact, he would've killed off that tour guide several times already.
"Let's go in and take a look." Lin Qiushi gently set Ruan Nanzhu down on the ground and followed the crowd into the cluster of pagodas.
The towers were all of different heights; at one end there could be a small tower and right beside it would be a large tower. The only similarity between each were the wooden doors beneath them, bolted with rusty locks.
"What kind of place is this? A place for sacrificial offerings?" Lin Qiushi was rather perplexed. "But wasn't that temple a place of sacrifice?"
"I believe this is a cemetery," noted Ruan Nanzhu.
Lin Qiushi: "A cemetery?" Speaking of cemeteries, he immediately recalled the wooden platform that he was pushed down from yesterday, "I guess not everyone is given a sky burial2..."
Ruan Nanzhu suggested, "Let's just unlock one and check inside."
Thereafter, he and Lin Qiuishi sneaked over to a secluded section, fished out a hair pin, and got to work.
The rusty lock was easily unfastened. Ruan Nanzhu pushed open the wooden door, revealing the interior of the ivory-colored pagoda; it was void of any light, and an unbearably foul stench filled the air. Lin Qiushi shined his mobile phone inside, and as expected, he spotted a decaying corpse at the bottom of the tower.
"Sure enough, it was a grave." Ruan Nanzhu was finally able to confirm his guess.
"What was her purpose in bringing us here then?" Lin Qiushi doubted, "Isn't the key hidden in the temple?"
Ruan Nanzhu shook his head and remained silent.
After locking the door again, they walked towards the innermost center, surrounded by pagodas on all sides. There, Lin Qiushi swept his eyes over the tallest tower. The structure of this tower was rather peculiar, causing it to stand out amongst the smaller, less eye-catching buildings. There was a glorious sculpture at the top of this pagoda, somewhat resembling a disk, and underneath this disk lay heavenly patterns of stray clouds. Though, no one knew what this beautiful carving or its design could possibly represent.
Everyone was entranced by the divine pagoda; they simply couldn't take their attention off it. It was evident that everyone believed this tower held vital clues to the door's key.
The first person to have reached the pagoda's entrance realized that the door to this tower wasn't made of wood like the others; rather, it was made of stone. To add, there wasn't a lock on it, leaving it slightly ajar.
"Is there a corpse in this tower too?" Someone fearfully asked.
"Who knows." No one could answer that question.
While everyone was still on guard, hesitant to enter the pagoda, Lin Qiushi heard the faint sound of drums once again. Instantly, the expression on his face instantly changed, and he hurriedly whispered to Ruan Nanzhu.
"Drums?" repeated Ruan Nanzhu. "From here?"
Lin Qiushi corrected, "The sounds are coming from afar." He gazed up at the hazy skies. "I remember the same thing happened yesterday. Right after I heard this sound, it began to rain—well, more accurately, it began to shower blades."
Narrowing his eyes, Ruan Nanzhu scanned his surroundings, "It seems that we have no choice but to enter the tower."
The area they were currently at was smack down in the middle of a remote jungle, shrouded by dense wilderness. There was no place to hide or take shelter, other than inside a tower.
"Come on." Ruan Nanzhu extended his arm and pushed open the stone door.
"You two are going in?" Meng Yu's curious voice drifted from nearby.
"Yes." Ruan Nanzhu indifferently affirmed. "Is there a problem?"
"Aren't you afraid that something will happen to you once you step inside?" Meng Yu sighed in pity. "You're acting too rashly..."
"If you're that afraid, then you can stay outside." Ruan Nanzhu pointed to upwards at the gloomy skies. "But I've a feeling that it's going to rain very soon."
Meng Yu's mouth twitched, and his face revealed an almost imperceptible change in expression.
When the others heard that it might rain, they became restless; they began causing a ruckus and soon, the solemn atmosphere was disturbed by their fearful chatters and commotion. The tragic death the blonde youth had to suffer yesterday was still vividly engraved in their minds. Not a single person wanted to endure the torture of slowly being hacked to pieces and gradually being skinned alive by a torrent of blades.
Ruan Nanzhu pushed open the seemingly heavy stone door before him and, swinging his hips, he sauntered into the pagoda.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Lin Qiushi followed behind him. He turned on his flashlight in order to clearly assess the situation within this building. This particular tower didn't appear to be a tomb, for there were no bones or corpses seen on the first floor.
Seeing that nothing happened to them once they entered, the rest of the crowd rushed inside one by one.
"This building probably has around eight or nine floors," estimated Ruan Nanzhu. "Since we're already here, how about we go up and have a look?" He paused, "I really want to check out the top of this building."
Lin Qiushi knew that there must be a reason for Ruan Nanzhu suggesting this, so he unquestioningly agreed to the other's proposal.
And so, the four began their ascension.
The other members expressed their disapproval at their actions. Indeed, in such a nightmarish world, where one had to be cautious with every step they took and no one knew if their next action could trigger a condition for death, it seemed as though the safest option was to do absolutely nothing.
But as the saying went, "Doing nothing will lead one nowhere." If one didn't take action, then how could they find the key? It wasn't as if the key would magically fall into their hands. The only way the key would appear before them was if they actively searched for it or if everyone around them died.
The stairs leading up were so narrow that only one person at a time was able to go through.
Ruan Nanzhu was the first, taking the lead, while Lin Qiushi was the last.
As they continued to climb the tower, they made sure to keep watch for any changes in situation or surrounding.
"Wait, something's here." Ruan Nanzhu, who was walking up front, suddenly uttered, stopping the other three behind him in their tracks.
They had climbed all the way up to the eighth floor, and they weren't far from the roof of the pagoda. Lin Qiushi shifted his body to the side to see what was in front of Ruan Nanzhu.
It was a beautiful drum.
And it was placed in the middle of the eighth floor, in view of everyone. The body of the drum was an alluring, deep shade of crimson, and a few detailed carvings were added to it. Although the drum was rather simple and didn't have many decorations, whoever laid eyes on it could still perceive just how exquisite and well-crafted this drum was.
All three of them immediately thought of the drum mentioned in the folksong, and their expressions turned grave. Xu Jin, the only one to think nothing more of it, became distracted. Absentmindedly, she murmured, "What a beautiful drum, ah..." She carefully edged her way to the drum and infatuatedly gazed at it.
"Don't touch it." Ruan Nanzhu stopped her. "There's something off about this drum."
Xu Jin didn't respond. It was as if the obsession had taken ahold of her soul at this moment.
"Are you okay? Xu Jin?" Having detected her strangeness, Lin Qiushi loudly called out to her.
However, Xu Jin still didn't pay attention to him. Still fixated on the object, she then reached out and gently tapped on the refined drum.
"Badump."—The clear timbre of the drum rang in their ears.
Lin Qiushi froze in shock. Suddenly, a strong wave of dizziness struck him. He shut his eyes in pain and covered his ears. His entire body was screaming in agony, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
In an attempt to stabilize his body, Lin Qiushi held out his hand to catch himself on the wall beside him. However, the instant his fingers touched the walls that were supposed to be made of stone, his blood ran cold.
Underneath his hand wasn't a surface made of stone, but something softer and rubbery—it was human skin.
Lin Qiushi inhaled sharply. He slowly opened his eyes, and took in the scene before him.
The stone wall from before had all but disappeared and in its place was elastic skin, squirming around and pulsing endlessly, as though it was alive.
"Mute as she had been since a girl. My sister left home while I was young..." The high-pitched voice of a young child echoed from behind Lin Qiushi. He stiffly whirled around, only to catch sight of a bloody little girl standing at his back. The skin on her face had been ripped off, revealing raw, pink flesh and faintly-visible patches of white bone underneath. She was carrying a beautiful crimson drum protectively in her arms, and she mutely stared at Lin Qiushi, her pitch-black, beady eyes burning holes into the other.
She weakly lifted a bony arm up, then let if fall heavily upon the drum, over and over again, each time staining the white drum surface with her bloody handprints until the top of the drum was entirely painted red.
"An old man sits at the Mani Ruins. Reciting the same words over and over again..." The song showed no signs of ending. The little girl continued to beat on the drum as she dragged her feet towards Lin Qiushi, gradually closing the distance between them.
As if his throat was clogged, Lin Qiushi couldn't utter a sound. He couldn't speak or yell; he could only watch on powerlessly as her skeletal hands reached for his body...and passed right through.
The next instant, Lin Qiushi's body quaked, as if he had been struck by lightning. The scene before his eyes changed once again. The little girl from earlier had vanished, and he was back inside the cold stone tower with two familiar people standing right next to him.
"Lin Qiushi." Cheng Qianli stared at him in pure horror. "Y-Y-You...what did you do...?"
Lin Qiushi looked down, only to realize that his palm was covering the top of the crimson drum.
The texture of the drum was very soft and supple, exactly as he had imagined. It was the feeling of human skin.
"Qiushi." Ruan Nanzhu's voice dragged him back to the present. The other questioned, "What did you see?"
"A young girl." Lin Qiushi carefully removed his hand from the drum and vaguely replied, "A skinless little girl covered in blood... What just happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened! You just suddenly ran over to the drum like a crazy person and hit it." Cheng Qianli shakily explained. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop you..."
"I hit the drum? What do you mean? Wasn't Xu Jin the one to beat the drum?" A shiver ran down Lin Qiushi's spine at another look at the drum. He wanted to stay as far away from the instrument as possible.
"Her? What are you talking about?! She didn't follow us up here, ah!" Bafflement and agitation took ahold of Cheng Qianli, and his voice grew a pitch higher. "She's stayed at the bottom the entire time."
Lin Qiushi: "..."
Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have understood something. He stepped forward and gently rested his hand on Lin Qiushi's shoulder and comforted, "Don't worry. It's fine."
Lin Qiushi let out a wry grin, "It's fine? How can it be fine?" Those illusions obviously couldn't have been anything but a bad omen.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Calm down. Tell me what you saw first."
Closing his eyes, Lin Qiushi heaved out a sigh. He then began to recall the scene he had seen moments before, "The walls of this tower warped into human skin..."
++
Footnotes
1山村老尸的时候 – Classic Chinese horror movie that is similar to The Ring.
2I mentioned sky burials before, but here's another link explaining this ancient Tibetan practice