Chapter 33 - Diary

Lin Qiu Shi briefly recounted everything he had just seen in the environment. Ruan Nan Zhu fell silent, then said after a while: "Let's go take a look at the top of the tower."

After saying that, he headed straight for the tower top. Lin Qiu Shi followed behind him in a bit of a daze. He felt like that illusion they had just experienced was not so simple, and seemed to vaguely hint at something.

The top of the tower was completely empty, nothing there. 

At the very top was a skylight. Just by looking up, one could see the sky outside as well as some peculiar circular carvings on top of the spire.

Ruan Nan Zhu gazed at those carvings, seemingly lost in thought. Cheng Qian Li and Lin Qiu Shi did not disturb him. 

Lin Qiu Shi circled the tower top but did not find anything else out of the ordinary. Just as he was about to say something to Cheng Qian Li, he heard a faint scratching sound coming from the wall beside him. 

The sound was like someone scratching at the wall with their fingers. It made for very uncomfortable listening. By now, Lin Qiu Shi had a vague sense that his hearing seemed to be unusually sharp. He could easily pick up sounds that others could not hear. Cheng Qian Li, who was currently spacing out, clearly had not heard anything. 

This time, Lin Qiu Shi did not ask Cheng Qian Li if he had heard something. He walked straight to the wall where the scratching sounds originated and tapped it lightly with his hand. The scratching sounds behind the wall immediately ceased. Along with that, Lin Qiu Shi made a new discovery - this section of the wall, and this section alone, was hollow inside.

"There seems to be something inside." Lin Qiu Shi suddenly spoke up. 

"Something inside?" Cheng Qian Li asked. "Here?" He too knocked against the wall and heard the telltale hollow echo.

Ruan Nan Zhu looked up from his inspection of the carvings above. "What is it?"

"This section of the wall is hollow." Lin Qiu Shi said. "I want to see if we can pry it open and take a look."

Ruan Nan Zhu walked over and felt along the edges of the wall section with his hand. Then he took out a sharp tool from his pocket and started trying to pry the wall open. His movements were very deft, seeming to indicate much familiarity with that kind of work. Soon, he managed to pry an opening along the edges. 

Lin Qiu Shi watched with eyes wide open in astonishment. "You can even do that?"

"This is just basic stuff. Ruan's skills are even more awesome." Cheng Qian Li remarked.

With the wall pried open, it revealed a hidden compartment inside, containing a small red box. The box was unlocked. 

Ruan Nan Zhu reached inside and took out the box. 

The trio's attention now focused on the box in Ruan Nan Zhu's hand. With a slight movement, Ruan opened the lid of the box, revealing an object inside that looked somewhat like a hardcover notebook. 

"Don't tell me that's a diary or something." Cheng Qian Li's interest was instantly piqued as he picked up the book and started flipping through it. "Maybe there are clues to the key inside."

Upon opening the book, they saw its contents. 

The first few pages were filled with the same sentence written over and over: "She's gone." 

"She's gone", "she's gone", "she's gone", occupying every single page, very uncomfortable to look at. 

Ruan Nan Zhu swiftly flipped to the last page. Finally, just as he was about to finish going through the whole thing, the repetitive sentence was replaced on the very final page by: "Can't find her." 

"What's this?" Cheng Qian Li instantly recalled the clues they had obtained. "Was this written by the sister?"

Ruan Nan Zhu still had his head lowered scrutinizing the book. After a while, he pointed at one of the pages, "There's a page missing in the middle." 

Lin Qiu Shi looked and realized there was indeed one page missing at that spot. However, the tear was very neat and almost unnoticeable unless examined carefully. Ruan Nan Zhu really had sharp eyes to have caught that. 

"How did you notice something off about this wall?" Ruan Nan Zhu suddenly asked. 

"I...I heard someone scratching at it." Lin Qiu Shi replied. 

Upon hearing that, Cheng Qian Li actually stretched his hand out and started vigorously scratching the wall. "Like this?" The horrible scratchy sounds instantly made Lin Qiu Shi's scalp explode.

"Can you not scratch like that?" Lin Qiu Shi said angrily. 

Ruan Nan Zhu scolded: "If you don't stop defiling public property I'll tell your brother to teach you a lesson when we get back." 

Cheng Qian Li hurriedly withdrew his hand, aggrievedly claiming that he was just demonstrating.

Ruan Nan Zhu coldly said: "The last guy who demonstrated like this has five meter tall weeds growing on his grave now." 

After putting the book into his own bag, Ruan Nan Zhu spoke: "I feel we still need to return to the temple." 

"What do you mean?" Lin Qiu Shi did not quite understand.

"It's just speculation right now. I'll tell you after confirming." Ruan Nan Zhu said. 

Just then, a shrill scream erupted from downstairs, followed by sounds of panicked running on the stairs.

"There's a ghost, there's a ghost...!" The voice's owner kept crying for help.

Lin Qiu Shi and Ruan Nan Zhu exchanged a look, seeing the same expression in each other's eyes. "Let's go." Lin Qiu Shi said. 

Ruan Nan Zhu nodded. They both intended to go down and see what had happened.

By the time they arrived at the 4th floor where the accident occurred, things had already quieted down. 

The screaming woman was now trembling in fear in the arms of the man she came here with. Terror was etched on her face as she pointed a shaky finger at the wall, babbling: "There, there was a ghostly shadow..."

Because of her screams, almost everyone had gathered onto the 4th floor. Lin Qiu Shi looked to where the woman was pointing but only saw an ordinary black wall. 

"What ghostly shadow?" The man holding the woman asked. "What exactly did you see?"

"It was a ghost shadow..." The woman shivered, "I can't describe it well..." 

"Making a huge fuss over nothing." Someone in the group quietly grumbled. "Acting like it's her first time going through a door... screaming just from seeing a shadow, how lame."

The woman seemed to have heard those words and instantly flared up. She retorted: "What's wrong with screaming when I see something? It's better than just dumbly dying!" 

"Alright alright, as long as nothing bad happened it's fine." Meng Yu played the mediator. "With so many people gathered on the same floor, if something really happens no one would be able to escape... Let's disperse, everyone." 

Seeing it was a false alarm, the crowd prepared to scatter and leave. 

Just as the screaming woman was about to walk off, it looked as if her clothes got caught on something. At first she thought it was the person behind her and yanked her sleeve quite angrily: "Hey! Stop pulling my clothes!" 

"I said stop pulling my clothes!" She got yanked another two times before finally losing her temper. The woman turned and glared behind her, but what she saw instantly froze her blood. 

There was nothing and no one behind her at all.

The woman felt a chill. She quickly tried to walk away but just as she took a step, a pair of bloodied hands suddenly stretched out from below, seizing her feet. 

"Ah--" The woman wanted to scream but her mouth was covered by another pair of hands. She struggled to look down and saw countless bloodied arms emerging from the formerly smooth wall, coiling around her body, forcibly dragging her into the wall. 

Her mouth was tightly muzzled so she could not make a sound. 

Her male companion noticed something wrong too but by the time he turned around, the woman had already been pulled into the wall... In just a few breaths, a living person vanished completely without a trace. 

A confused look appeared on the man's face. "Have you guys seen Xiaoyou?" 

Xiaoyou was that woman's name. 

"Wasn't she just here..." The person walking in front also seemed puzzled. He looked back but did not see the woman. "Did she go upstairs already?"

"Let me go take a look." The man swiftly climbed up the tower but did not find the woman he was looking for no matter where he searched. By the time he returned to the group, cold sweat was dripping down his pale face. "She...she's gone."

Gone? Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. If this was the outside world, for someone to suddenly disappear, they would definitely be found if enough effort was spent searching. But in the world behind the doors, disappearing was almost equal to death. 

"Wasn't there also someone yesterday who vanished from the main hall of the temple?" Someone recalled. "Could they have..."

"I don't think we need to look for her anymore." Meng Yu suddenly spoke. "She must be dead." 

"Why do you say that?!" The man sounded angry.

"Don't you remember what the guide told us when she first brought us here?" Faced with hostility, Meng Yu remained very calm. "She said that no loud noises should be made within the towers. Didn't Xiaoyou scream earlier?" 

The man fell silent at those words. 

"Some words should be listened to carefully." Meng Yu said. "What did you guys see upstairs just now?" 

He turned to Lin Qiu Shi and Ruan Nan Zhu to ask.

"We saw a drum." Ruan Nan Zhu gently replied. "Didn't dare touch it so came back down."

Meng Yu: "A drum? Let me go take a look." Saying so, he went upstairs with several people. 

Ruan Nan Zhu watched their departing backs, lightly biting his lips. 

The three of them tacitly kept the diary a secret, though they did not know why. Still, they felt it best to not speak of it so hastily. 

Xiaoyou, who had vanished, never reappeared again. 

The people hiding in the tower were filled with trepidation, too afraid to wander about recklessly for fear that any screams provoked by encountering something would lead to death. 

Lin Qiu Shi's group also stopped exploring around. Ruan Nan Zhu leaned against Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder to rest his eyes. 

Cheng Qian Li squatted by the window staring outside, though who knew what he was looking at.

The skies gradually darkened as the howling winds grew stronger, even taking on a hint of desolation. 

Lin Qiu Shi was originally leaning against the wall but after a while he felt uncomfortable, so sat up straight instead. Though more tiring, it was still better than leaning on human skin... 

"How much longer?" Cheng Qian Li quietly asked. 

Lin Qiu Shi checked his phone. There was still 20 minutes until the time they promised to meet with the guide. 

Cheng Qian Li drooped. "Still 20 minutes... so long..." He squatted by the window yearningly. "I want to drink my brother's spicy oil tea..."

Lin Qiu Shi reached out and patted his head. 

The 20 minutes felt like years slowly crawling by. The group did not even engage in simple small talk anymore. 

As darkness enveloped the skies, the red-clothed guide finally appeared before everyone. 

"Hello everyone! Did you enjoy yourselves today?" The guide smiled and waved her flag. "I trust everyone thoroughly experienced the local customs and culture." 

No one spoke. Everyone's faces were lifeless with a barely surviving expression. 

"Then let us return." The guide still had that standardized smile as she led everyone into the woods. 

Going down the mountain when it was almost dark was not an easy affair. Everyone helped support each other as after an hour's journey they finally returned to their lodging. 

After a simple dinner, exhaustion showed on everyone's faces as they returned to their own rooms to rest. 

Cheng Qian Li followed Ruan Nan Zhu's group back to their room. He was originally rooming with two other people but after the events of today, he wanted to squeeze together with Lin Qiu Shi for the night. 

"You really want to squeeze with me?" Lin Qiu Shi asked.

"Just for one night." Cheng Qian Li looked at Lin Qiu Shi pleadingly, wanting him to take pity. "You guys are the only ones I'm close with."

Lin Qiu Shi looked at Ruan Nan Zhu. After Ruan gave a slight nod, he reluctantly agreed. 

But while Lin had agreed, someone else was unhappy about it. Xu Jin did not dare follow them up the tower today and spent the entire day sitting alone below it. Upon hearing Cheng Qian Li was going to freeload here tonight too she quietly complained: "Aren't you afraid he's too fat?" 

Cheng Qian Li was baffled by those words. "Fat? I'm not fat at all!" 

"That's right, he's not fat." Lin Qiu Shi affirmed. 

Xu Jin: "..." Then what was yesterday's excuse about me being fat?! This guy is unbelievable.

Lin Qiu Shi had clearly completely forgotten about his excuse for rejecting Xu Jin yesterday. He started discussing with Cheng Qian Li about their sleeping arrangements, who would take the inside and who got the outside. 

Xu Jin sat sulking on the bedside while Ruan Nan Zhu comforted her, saying she's not fat at all, it's Lin Qiu Shi who has bad aesthetics. All men are pigs trotters. 

Xu Jin aggrievedly expressed her agreement. 

Throughout all this Lin Qiu Shi and Cheng Qian Li were entirely clueless about their conversation. Lin only worried about propriety between men and women. When had he become a pig trotter? And Xu Jin, the biggest pig trotter is sitting right next to you...

After a tiring day walking mountain roads, everyone fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows, even the usually light sleeper Lin Qiu Shi. 

But halfway through the night Lin Qiu Shi kept feeling someone moving about beside him. Assuming it was Cheng Qian Li, he did not think much of it. It was only the next morning after getting up that Cheng Qian Li complained about Lin Qiu Shi getting up to pee the entire night.

"Peeing? I didn't get up at all." Lin Qiu Shi said. "I slept like a log yesterday, didn't even go to the bathroom once." 

"You're lying to me." Cheng Qian Li insisted. "You clearly got up..." 

"I really didn't get up at all." Lin Qiu Shi maintained. "But I also felt someone moving about." 

The two turned to look at the remaining people in the room. Xu Jin hurriedly shook her head, indicating she did not get up either. As for Ruan Nan Zhu, there was no need to even ask. He had the best quality sleep out of all of them, and very strong kidney function. He basically slept from dusk to dawn every day without ever getting up to pee at night. 

"Then who was walking around?" Cheng Qian Li's face paled. 

While they were speaking, Ruan Nan Zhu suddenly stood up and walked over to them. He crouched down with his gaze towards the area below their bed. 

Lin Qiu Shi was startled by his actions. "What's wrong?" 

Ruan did not speak. He only used a finger to point below: "See for yourselves." 

Cheng Qian Li and Lin Qiu Shi apprehensively bent down to look. There, on the wooden floorboards below their bed, were densely packed red palm prints brimming with blood. These prints extended from the floorboards onto the walls, looking extremely creepy. 

"Holy shit!" Cheng Qian Li finally could not help but scream again, shrieking like a chicken about to be slaughtered. His screams instantly gave Lin Qiu Shi a headache, making him feel like the scene was not even that scary anymore.

"Can you stop screaming like that?" Lin Qiu Shi said in agony. 

Cheng Qian Li clung onto Lin Qiu Shi, who was half-crouching. Grabbing his hair, he wailed miserably. 

"Let go of my hair, let go!" Lin Qiu Shi was also furious. "Hurry up and let go!!" 

Cheng Qian Li: "I'm so scared!!" 

Lin Qiu Shi: "Muyu--" Designers treasured their hair the most! Who knew if pulling it like reaping wild grass would affect the roots!

Cheng Qian Li finally released his hands. "Sorry, I was too agitated." 

Xu Jin watched the two men numbly, then turned to say to Ruan Nan Zhu: "Congming, let's go eat." 

Ruan Nan Zhu: "Sure." 

Then the two happily held hands and left for breakfast, leaving two big pig trotters behind staring dumbly at the floor full of bloody palm prints. 

"Let's go." Lin Qiu Shi said. "Since we're still alive, it means those things don't want our lives." 

Cheng Qian Li sighed deeply. "These supernatural doors really are too dangerous." Fortunately he did not get up in the middle of previous night to see what was going on. Who knew what kind of terrifying thing he might have encountered crawling on the floor.

After a simple breakfast, the guide showed up right on time again. 

She was like a puppet, with that standardized smile forever fixed on her face. Even the way she waved her flag was identical in amplitude, as if following some preset program.

Such bizarre circumstances made everyone reveal uncomfortable expressions. 

"Could this really repeat indefinitely?" Xu Jin whispered. "Are we going to have to go to that tower again?"

"Hard to say." Lin Qiu Shi shook his head. "Probably a few more days." 

Xu Jin fell silent. With a few people dying every time they entered a place, there were barely over a dozen of them left. Did they have to die one by one in this world until only one remained before they could escape?

Clearly Xu Jin was not the only one having such thoughts. The obscure looks on everyone else's faces carried similar meanings.

When they arrived at the temple entrance for the second time, their group of four did not hurry to go inside. 

It was Ruan Nan Zhu's suggestion to first observe the temple exterior this time, after inspecting the interior last time. He led the other three to begin exploring the area around the temple. 

The temple was surrounded on all sides by lush trees. Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, leaving only dim patches on the ground. 

The stone-paved path was covered in some small vines and ferns that rustled when stepped upon. The temple was very tall with the top invisible from their angle. The music sounded continuously as if the musicians would never cease playing. 

"The architectural style of this temple is so strange." As a designer, the more Lin Qiu Shi looked, the more he felt something was off. "The entire temple is round?"

"Round?" Now that it was mentioned, Cheng Qian Li also noticed. "You're right, the whole temple is circular."

Circular temples were quite rare, even unique. 

"What does the round shape make you guys think of?" Ruan Nan Zhu asked.

After a brief moment of silence, Lin Qiu Shi and Cheng Qian Li gave the same answer: "Drum." 

Ruan Nan Zhu: "I feel..."

Lin Qiu Shi: "Hm?"

Ruan Nan Zhu: "We need to go up to the temple roof to take a look."

Upon hearing that, Cheng Qian Li instantly widened his eyes: "You really want to go? But the temple roof was where...the person who looked up at the ceiling yesterday disappeared from, right?"

"Yes." Ruan Nan Zhu said, "But the clues should be up there too." He patted the bag he carried, "Still remember what we saw at the tower top yesterday?"

Of course they had not forgotten. Lin Qiu Shi still vividly recalled the feel of his hand touching that human skin drum. However, what Ruan Nan Zhu spoke of should not be the drum but rather the diary they had discovered hidden inside the wall. 

"Our time may be running out." Ruan Nan Zhu said. "We need to think of something." 

At first glance, Ruan Nan Zhu's remark about their time running out seemed to lack basis. But Lin Qiu Shi recalled the bloodied palm prints below their bed. He was uncertain if that was accidental or a warning. In any case, those things were clearly not any good omen. 

This temple was very tall with no stairs leading up to the top. 

But where there was a will, there was a way. If they wanted to go up, they would find a way. 

After circling the temple perimeter, Ruan Nan Zhu devised a plan. Upon hearing his idea, the other three were somewhat astonished. Lin Qiu Shi's tone also carried surprise. "You mean using that wooden platform from the other day...?"

Ruan Nan Zhu: "Yes." 

Lin Qiu Shi: "But wasn't that a sky burial platform?"

Ruan Nan Zhu nodded. 

Lin Qiu Shi worriedly said: "Also, there's those things on it. Recklessly climbing up like that..." 

Ruan Nan Zhu looked at him. "If you want to live, you'll have to take some risks." 

He was right, Lin Qiu Shi conceded in his heart. Shaking off the hesitation in his mind: "Your body is too weak. I'll go instead."