Chapter 102: True Identities
Chapter 102: True Identities
Kaleidoscope of Death
by Xi Zixu
Zhu Ruyuan wasnt human. In other words, they had no way of finding her right now. But even if they couldnt find her, they could still find the living Zhou Hanshan.
Ai Wenrui knew the address of Zhou Hanshans room, so the three ran straight for the dormitories.
On the way Lin Qiushi encountered the girl named Zuo Sisi again. She and her partner were sitting at the school flowerbeds with an item in their hands, seemingly in discussion.
Gu Longming saw what they were holding from afar, and exclaimed, its a wooden doll. Where did they find that
Lin Qiushi recalled the two people from outside the door that died the night before. Upon some thought, he approached Zuo Sisi and greeted them: Zuo Sisi, what are you guys up to?
When Zuo Sisi saw them coming, she smoothly tucked the doll away, smiling.
Nothing. Just chatting.
Lin Qiushi had a good impression of this girl, and so didnt beat around the bush: You also found a doll?
Mh Zuo Sisi replied vaguely. Why?
Since youve found one, keep it safe, Lin Qiushi said. I also found dolls on the two people who died this morning. Those dolls were missing heads. I suspect it has something to do with how they died.
Zuo Sisis companion sitting beside her went pale.
What?
Seeing his expression of panic, Gu Longming said, oi, you havent thrown it away already, have you?
II He pointed at the pond behind him, face colorless. I thought the thing was kind of ominous, so I tossed it just now!
What do we do? Nothings gonna happen to you, right? Zuo Sisi was also frantic.
Ill go look for it! her companion said in a rush.
WaitAlll 𝒍𝒂test nov𝒆l𝒔 on novelb𝒊n/(.)c𝒐m
Before Lin Qiushi could stop him, Zuo Sisis companion jumped straight into the pond behind himself.
It was just one of the schools landscape ponds; it was very shallow. The water only reached the knees of a 170cm-man standing. Under normal circumstances, drowning in it was completely impossible.
But the world of the doors obviously could not be assessed by normal circumstances.
After that person entered the water and bent over to fish out the wooden doll, the water around him began to toss and roil, as if it were boiling. Seeing this, Lin Qiushi immediately called out, get out of there
The man heard him. After one step toward where they were standing, however, countless pairs of white, rock-like arms emerged from the green waters. They caught hold of his body and began dragging him into the pond.
Lin Qiushi reacted the fastest, dashing to the edge of the pond. He grabbed the mans frantically waving hands and said, help him!
Zuo Sisi, Gu Longming, and Ai Wenrui all rushed forward, wrapping their arms around Lin Qiushi and pulling both of them backwards.
Together, the four finally saved the man from being pulled into the pond. When he got hauled up the man was nearly in tears.
Fuck oh fuck that was terrifyingthey pulled my pants off
The jeans he wore on the outside had been yanked into the pond, leaving him with only problem-pattern boxer shorts.
Tsk. Zuo Sisi shot him a persecuting look. You wear these kinds of pants?
The companion: Oh sure, if hed known hed be stripped in front of a crowd hed have put on a nicer pattern.
Lin Qiushi let out a breath and said, I suggest you stay away from water from here on out.
Yes, thanks for the heads up. Where are you headed? Zuo Sisi had also gotten the sense that Lin Qiushis team was different from the rest.
Lin Qiushi said, going to the dorms for a bitWhere did you find this doll?
In the sculpting clubs activity room. This time, Zuo Sisi answered Lin Qiushis question. We heard that all the dead students seemed to be part of the sculpting club, so we went over there to take a look.
Everyone seemed to know this piece of information now. It was just that they werent as lucky as Lin Qiushi, and they hadnt found an NPC with so much insider knowledge like Ai Wenrui.
Lets go. If we dont go now classes are going to start, Ai Wenrui spoke quietly by the side.
Zuo Sisi glanced at Ai Wenrui, a new understanding appearing in her gaze. She said, good luck to you then.
You too, Lin Qiushi nodded. Then he pointed at Zuo Sisis partner. Why dont you go find a pair of pants first.
The partner in his underwear: yeah. Thanks for that.
The three went to the dorm. According to Ai Wenrui, Zhou Hanshan lived in Room 307.
But the three stood outside knocking for the longest time. Nobody responded inside.
Hes not here. Why dont we go? Ai Wenrui said.
Gu Longming, go, go, what do you mean go? Go inside? We sure can, yeah?
His gaze fell on Lin Qiushi.
Lin Qiushi, after three seconds of silence, keep an eye out for me so nobody sees.
It was only then that Ai Wenrui remembered Lin Qiushi could pick locks. With a bit of a complicated expression, he made a sound of agreement.
A few minutes later, they entered Zhou Hanshans dorm room.
Once inside though, they found the room was empty. Nobody was living here at all. Both the inside and the balcony on the outside were devoid of items. And judging from the state of the sink and dust, nobody had lived here for a very long time.
Zhou Hanshan went home? Lin Qiushi asked.
I dont know. Ever since people started dying, I havent seen him, and its been a while, Ai Wenrui said. But I havent heard anything about him dropping out.
After he said this, he laughed self-consciously. Or maybe he really did drop out, I just dont know itAfter all, whos got the energy to care about other people right now?
Lin Qiushi thought about it, and asked out of the blue, can you get in contact with that friend of yours from before?
Which one? Ai Wenrui asked.
The third one from when you were in the classroom, Lin Qiushi said. There was you, Xiao He, and the one who ran awayyou can get in touch with that guy, right?
Im not sure, Ai Wenrui shook his head. I dont know if hed pick up my call
Lin Qiushi said, just call him first.
Ai Wenrui nodded, got out his phone, and dialed a number. The phone rang for about ten seconds before going through. A boys voice came from the other end: Hey.
Hearing his voice, Ai Wenrui was about to answer, when there came a huge crash from the glass beside them. Lin Qiushi looked up and saw something round being thrown through the window. It shattered the glass and rolled to a stop in front of them.
Ai Wenrui looked at the thing on the ground and fell into a state of paralysis. His phone was on speaker, and his friends voice was still coming through.
Why arent you saying anything? the person on the other end asked. Did something happen? Do you need me to come find you?
Ai Wenrui hung his head, staring at the thing on the floor.
It was a persons skull, severed at the neck by something sharp. Blood was still dripping from it. Had it been just any head that would have been fine, but
Stiffly, Ai Wenrui turned to the phone from which sound was still coming through. The head of the owner of that phone was currently lying prone in front of him, staring at him with lifeless eyes.
Say something, why arent you saying anything Whatever was on the other end was still speaking. It was just that the voice held something twisted in it now. Say something, why arent you saying anything?
Some mess of music was scattered through the background, making his voice even creepier.
But its you That voice kept talking, but Ai Wenrui couldnt take it anymorewith a scream he pitched the phone out the window.
Aaaaaaahhhh!!!
Hes dead, Im going to die too!! Help me!
Help me!
Calm down!! Ai Wenrui look like he was about to go insane. Seeing this, Gu Longming quickly grabbed hold of him, scared that overstimulated like this, he really was about to take a dive out the window himself.
Help me, help me, I dont want to die Ai Wenrui kept weeping.
Lin Qiushi said, take him back to the dorm!
Gu Longming said, what about you?
Lin Qiushi, theres something I want to confirm
Gu Longming glanced once at Ai Wenrui, then once at Lin Qiushi. He looked indecisive, clearly caught between the two. Though Ai Wenrui seemed really quite real, at the end of the day he was still an NPC from inside the door. If, in trying to protect him, something happened to Lin Qiushi, then that would truly be an unbearable loss.
Its fine. You go ahead, Lin Qiushi said. Ill be back quickly.
At Lin Qiushis firm expression, Gu Longming could only nod. He picked Ai Wenrui up on his back and headed out.
After watching them go, Lin Qiushi cast his gaze onto the shattered window, and then at the open eyes of the decapitated skull on the ground.
When did you die? Lin Qiushi looked at the head and murmured to himself. Today? Yesterday? Or
Here, he paused. He turned and headed downstairs, in search of something he wanted to see.
Pretty soon, Lin Qiushi found a phone with a shattered screen in a dark corner among the bushes. He pressed the On button with a litany of internal prayers. He got luckythe phones homescreen turned on. Though the screen was shattered and details were hard to make out, there were no major issues.
Lin Qiushi took the phone and began searching through the list of contacts. He found the list of names starting with Z, but did not find the name Zhou Hanshan.
It seemed that Ai Wenrui hadnt been lying when he said he wasnt close to Zhou Hanshan.
Phone in hand, Lin Qiushi suddenly thought of something else. He opened the call log and saw that the name on the most recent call was Xiao Zhuan.
Xiao Zhuan was probably the name of Ai Wenruis friend then.
Returning to the home screen, he tapped into the text messages. Upon seeing a text from Xiao Zhuan to Ai Wenrui, he clicked in immediately and read the most recent message.
The text had been sent last night. When he read the message, Lin Qiushis expression froze.
Because at the very beginning of this text was written a name they were all familiar with:
Zhou Hanshan, what in the world should we do?
The text put a bad feeling in Lin Qiushis stomach. He immediately thought of Gu Longming, who was taking Ai Wenrui back to their room, and began running for the dorms.
The entire way there, Lin Qiushi was parsing through all the information that Ai Wenrui had given them.
Ai Wenrui had told them everything they knew about the sculptures, Zhu Ruyuan, and the wishes. This meant that even if Ai Wenrui lied, they had no way of telling. Ai Wenrui said he was an innocent victim, but the text that named the owner of the phone gave away his identity.
He was Zhou HanshanZhu Ruyuans lover, Zhou Hanshan.
He was the one who had lied to the members of the sculpting club. Hed gotten them to smear their blood on the wooden dolls and make the wish. Of course Ai Wenrui couldnt die, because he was most likely the only one who knew the truthBut of course, this was all Lin Qiushis conjecture.
Lin Qiushi arrived at the dormitory building out of breath. He climbed to the second floor with great difficulty and banged on their door: Gu Longming. Gu Longming are you there!
Moments later, the door opened, revealing Gu Longmings face.
Keep it down, hes asleep.
Ai Wenruis asleep? Lin Qiushi looked inside the room, and indeed saw a frail little body curled up in the bed closest to the corner of the room. Judging by the silhouette, it really was Ai Wenrui.
Mh, Gu Longming whispered. Whats the rush? What did you find?
Lin Qiushi said, lets talk outside.
The two went down to the end of the hall and found a remote corner. Lin Qiushi cut right to the chase: Ai Wenrui isnt Ai Wenrui, hes Zhou Hanshan.
What? What? Gu Longming evidently could not parse Lin Qiushis meaning for a moment, repeating himself several times more. He even grabbed hold of Lin Qiushis arm, lurching out: Zhou Hanshan, you mean that Zhou Hanshan?
Mhm, yeah, Lin Qiushi said. Thats him.
Then whats the deal here? Gu Longming said. Hes been lying to usin order to kill us? Or does he have some other purpose
He was a bit disoriented at the moment. Ai Wenruino, Zhou Hanshan had practically taken them through their entire understanding of the situation at hand. From the sculpting club to Zhu Ruyuan to the supernatural gamesand even the wishes theyd madeGu Longming honestly had no idea what he was trying to do.
So what do we do from now on? Gu Longming rubbed at his face. Shit, he lied to us? I even carried him for so long.
Cards on the table, Lin Qiushi said. Lets not waste any time guessing.
Sounds good, Gu Longming said. Hes just a human after all, its not like he do demon things at us.
He seemed a bit pissed about Ai Wenruis lie, turning around and storming back inside. He pulled Ai Wenrui, still dazed with sleep, right from the bed and said, Zhou Hanshan
Woken up like so Zhou Hanshan looked bewildered: What is it?
Two seconds after responding, he realized Gu Longming hadnt called him Ai Wenrui, but Zhou Hanshan, and his expression changed for the worse. He stammered, you guys figured it out
Mh. Lin Qiushi tossed the phone in front of Zhou Hanshan. Thats what the text on your phone said.
Zhou Hanshans expression was closed off.
Talk. Who the hell are you, and why did you lie to us? Gu Longming said. What do you want?
Zhou Hanshan laughed, agonized. II didnt want to lie to you. But if I had told you I was Zhou Hanshan then you guys would never have believed me.
Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming didnt respond.
Everybody knew that Zhou Hanshan and Zhu Ruyuan were dating, Zhou Hanshan said. I was just scared that you two would think I have bad intentionsBut the truth is
But the truth is you dont? Lin Qiushi watched his eyes. Do you really think wed believe that?
Zhou Hanshan was silent for a while.
Then what do I have to do for you to believe me?
Lin Qiushi, did you know Zhu Ruyuan was dead?
Zhou Hanshan shook his head. I didnt know. It wasnt until when we played that game
He hid his face in his hands, shoulders beginning to shake.
I discovered, I discovered that she didnt have a shadow.
While everybodys attention had been on the sculpture, Zhou Hanshan had his arms around the smiling Zhu Ruyuan. The two had been whispering about something when Zhou Hanshan felt that there was something wrong.
Hed looked down, a touch of doubt crossing his expression. Hed even rubbed at his eyes.
But no matter how he rubbed, there had only been a single shadow on the floorThe girl in his arms didnt seem to exist at all.
When he discovered this, a chill had crawled its way up Zhou Hanshans spine. The person beside him had noticed, and asked softly, baby, whats wrong?
Nothing, Zhou Hanshan had replied. Im just a bit tired.
Hed watched as the friends in front of him cut their hands with grins and laughter, rubbing red blood all over those little wooden figurines. His arm had been wrapped around the person beside him, but upon discovering that person had no shadow, hed felt the places where their skins touched go stiff and cold, as ifas if what he held was a statue.
Upon recalling this, Zhou Hanshan trembled all over. He stammered, I wanted to stop them, but I couldnt even speak.
You also bled on yours? Gu Longming asked.
I did. I was the first one. Saying this, Zhou Hanshans voice was filled with lament. Its just that I wasnt very sincere when I made the wish. I didnt enter that competition afterwards either.
Since he didnt enter, he couldnt have won the prize. Zhou Hanshan had managed to escape misfortune just like that.
Gu Longming asked, why didnt you sign up? Doesnt your sculpting club care a lot about this contest?
Hahah, Zhou Hanshan laughed dryly. Ive got really bad grades, havent I
Really? Gu Longming was still disbelieving.
Its true! Zhou Hanshan was a bit desperate. Please believe meI have pictures of my sculpture in my phone! If you, if you dont believe me, you can look through those!
With a face full of distrust Gu Longming took his phone.
Dont think I wont really look.
He opened the photo album and really did find Zhou Hanshans sculpting project. Lin Qiushi took a single look, and fell into a deep silence with Gu Longming.
In the end Gu Longming couldnt hold it in anymore: Fuck dude, are you really an art student? What the cock and balls is this supposed to be!
Zhou Hanshan, thats really mean.
Though most of the time Zhou Hanshan suffered for his school work, this time, it was a blessing in disguisehed avoided disaster.
Back when the scores were being announced, the prize-winners had all been ecstatic. Theyd even talked among themselves about how the school legend was trueOf course, what they didnt know was that this award came with a painful price.
So what the hell did you want to achieve, lying to us like this? Gu Longming asked.
The truth isThe truth is I just wanted to put a stop to it all, Zhou Hanshan said shakily. It all started because of me, so naturally, I should be the one to end it
How do you end it? Lin Qiushi asked.
Ive looked up a lot of information. This school legends actually been around for a long time, Zhou Hanshan said. But theres a last bit to the legend that Zhu Ruyuan didnt tell us.
A last bit? Gu Longming sat up.
It has to be equivalent exchange. The sculpture grants your wish, you have to grant the statues wish in return, Zhou Hanshan said. But I just cant figure it out, whats the statues wish? What if her wish is for us to die?
At Zhou Hanshans words, Lin Qiushi remembered the phrase from the hint. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
His and Gu Longmings gazes met. The two reached a point of perfect mutual comprehension.
Why didnt you just tell this to us earlier? Gu Longming was still caught up on the fact that Zhou Hanshan had lied to them.
Zhou Hanshan hung his head and didnt speak. But Lin Qiushi could read the meaning hidden in his expression.
Zhu Ruyuans wish. Does it have something to do with you?
A shiver went down Zhou Hanshans body. He said, with tears in his voice, I dont want to die
This answer pretty much corroborated Lin Qiushis hypothesis.
Zhu Ruyuan and Zhou Hanshan were lovers, but Zhou Hanshan had been too scared to tell them this the entire timeso Lin Qiushi had reason to suppose that Zhu Ruyuans wish was for Zhou Hanshan to stay with her.
It was impossible to bring a dead person back to life. The far simpler method, then, was for the living person to die.
Please, Im begging you, I really dont want to die, Zhou Hanshan wept. Im really really scared
Do you love her? Gu Longming asked, frowning.
Maybe? I dont know anymore, Zhou Hanshan said. Ever since I found out she wasnt alive, all of our memories together turned into a blurI almost cant remember at all.
As he spoke, discombobulated, he suddenly stopped. Terror congealed in his eyes as he looked at the window beside him.
Lin Qiushi followed his gaze and saw a woman, with long black hair and a ghastly pale face, silently standing by the glass, glaring at everyone inside with vitriol. They were on the second floor, and there was nothing outside the window. Without question, this girl was Zhou Hanshans once-lover, Zhu Ruyuan.
When Zhou Hanshan saw Zhu Ruyuan, he let out an awful scream and passed out once again on the bed. And it only took so little a moment for the silhouette by the window to disappear completely. It was as if the pallid face just now had just been an illusion.
But both Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming were clearZhu Ruyuan really did pay them a visit
Authors Note:
Im planning on finishing this by May. Who knows if Ill make it /melancholically lights a cigarette
Names in this chapter:
Xio Zhun / Xiao(3) Zhuan(4) /
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