Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 90: Tenth Door

There was no way he was practicing his falsetto, he was never going to practice his falsettohe couldnt be a girl after all, so he had to staunchly insist he was a boy to continue to survive.

Because Ruan Nanzhu had to ask a question like this, Lin Qiushi was on edge for days, afraid that hed be asked out to the mall one day and come back with two dresses or something.

But luckily, Lin Qiushis deepest concerns did not come true. One afternoon, Ruan Nanzhu returned from being out and told Lin Qiushi, I met with them and set a time to enter the doors.

At the time he said this, Ruan Nanzhu wore a long skirt and a faceful of simple makeup. But this makeup didnt bring out any of his featuresin fact, it intentionally dampened his beauty, making him look rather plain. Honestly, Lin Qiushi had to applaud Ruan Nanzhus makeup skillsplace the current Ruan Nanzhu in a crowd, and other than his height, he didnt look noteworthy at all.

And, to disguise that height, Ruan Nanzhu intentionally adopted a slouched-over posture. All in all he looked quite nervy, enshrouded with the mugginess of mushrooms growing in some building corner.

Of course, this aura was shed the moment it entered the mansion. Lin Qiushi saw him walking in, impatiently plucking the wig from his head and tossing it aside. He said, when the time comes, youre coming with.

Lin Qiushi, Im coming with?

Ruan Nanzhu, mh. The door theyre entering likely wont have a hint, so itll be a bit annoying. He said, youll be with me.

Though Lin Qiushi really wanted to personally take revenge for Wu Qi, he still had concerns: wont they be suspicious

Ruan Nanzhu smiled without smiling. Once were in, they can be suspicious all they like. So what if they suspected? Its not like they could come out immediately.

Lin Qiushi, thats true. He hesitated a bit longer, before asking quietly, then I I dont have to wear drag, do I?

Ruan Nanzhu quirked an eyebrow. Whats your problem with drag?

Lin Qiushi, well I cant do a fake voice, can I? If Im in drag I have to pretend to be mute again.

Ruan Nanzhu immediately replied, isnt the mute girl super cute though.

Lin Qiushi, Is there something wrong with your aesthetic sensibility?

But in the end Ruan Nanzhu didnt force it, and agreed to let Lin Qiushi not wear drag. There was a month until they went in. By Ruan Nanzhus deductions, the door they were entering was likely Cue Xueyis. This was because by the way she seemed, Wu Qis girlfriend was definitely no pro, and there was no way shed passed very many doors. Earlier doors came at shorter intervals; a month later fit perfectly with when the third door opened. And that also meant the entry times werent so concrete, which matched up completely with Ruan Nanzhus supposition as well.

Right before going to meet those people, Lin Qiushi also deliberately altered his appearance. It was again by Ruan Nanzhus hands, with the usage of some more professional special effects makeup. He gave Lin Qiushi a total makeover.

Lin Qiushi stared at himself in the mirror, dazed, as he said, Nanzhu youre too amazing.

Ruan Nanzhus tone was even-keeled: you have to work hard if you want to survive.

That afternoon, the two went to their appointment.

Just as Ruan Nanzhu guessed, he saw Cue Xueyi among the group.

Cue Xueyi saw him and startled, immediately looking toward Ruan Nanzhu. He said, Xiao Xiaoyu, what is this, why have you brought somebody?"Ruan Nanzhu told them his pseudonym was Xiao Xiaoyu.

Ruan Nanzhu whimpered, "I, Im scared on my own. Hes my boyfriend As he said this, he peeked timidly at Cue Xueyi, looking quite easy to bully. If you dont agree, Ill let him head back.

Cue Xueyi was about to speak when the woman beside him patted him on the shoulder, smiling. Dont worry about it, he can come along. But its really very dangerous inside. If were taking one more person, we cant guarantee his safety. Do you understand that?

Lin Qiushi squeezed Ruan Nanzhus hand tight, and spoke up firmly, you dont have to worry about me. I just want to protect Xiao Yu.

Then alright, the woman said. Since you two have thought it through, I wont stop you. Smiling, she extended a hand to Lin Qiushi. Im Lin Xingping, nice to meet you. She had an open attitude and a friendly look. Had Lin Qiushi not known what theyd done, he really might have believed them.

Oh, oh thank you, Ruan Nanzhu rushed to say.

Before they arrived, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu had already discussed this, about whether or not Cue Xueyis group would agree to let Lin Qiushi go in the door as well. According to Ruan Nanzhus analysis, they probably really didnt want others to know about this, since it was still a society of law outside the doors after all, and killing someone was very troublesome. So when they saw a boyfriend in the know like Lin Qiushi, theyd actually rather just get rid of him inside the door.

But if they didnt agree in the end, that was fine too. Ruan Nanzhu alone was likely enough to get rid of them all.

There were three people total on Cue Xueyis sidetwo men and one woman. The last man was called Gu Yuansi, and he was likely the employer this time.

When speaking with them, Gu Yuansi kept seeming on edge. His gaze even kept floating away, afraid to look directly at Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi saw this, but pretended to see nothing at all.

For the entire time after, they all stayed together.

Lin Xingping began to casually scope out information on Lin Xingping and Ruan Nanzhu. Though her questions were all pretty subtle, they were still easy to detect.

Lin Qiushi answered the questions he could, and glossed over the ones he couldnt.

Whereas Ruan Nanzhu sat at his side, gazing at Lin Qiushi with admiration in his eyes, his whole look a litany of I love you I love you I love you.

Seeing how the two interacted, Cue Xueyis gaze gained a thread of disgust, clearly finding the couples stickiness displeasing.

Oh, thats rightthe post-makeover Lin Qiushi was indeed unsightly. Or in Cheng Qianlis words, it was hard to eat while looking at him, and if even Cheng Qianli had a hard time eating, he sure was damn ugly.

Several people, all with their own agendas, quietly waited for the door to arrive.

Around ten in the evening, Lin Qiushi felt a sudden sensation. Everybody elses expressions changed just slightly, and Lin Xingping stood.

Its here.

She walked to the room door and pulled it open, only to find that the original hotel hallway outside had turned into twelve black metal doors.

Two were sealed off. The one they were entering this time was the third door.

Lets go. Lin Xingping was watching those standing behind her.

Ruan Nanzhu and Lin Qiushi stood. Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi, and said pitifully, darling, Im so scared.

Lin Qiushi played along: dont be scared, Im right here.

Lets go, Cue Xueyi said. As long as were here, nothing will happen to you. As he said this he shot Gu Yuansi a look.

Gu Yuansi managed a smile.

As the employer, Gu Yuansi was entering the doors for the first time. His whole body had started shaking when he saw the metal doors. Though he tried to force it down, it was still obvious.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu just pretended not to see it.

Lin Xingping took the lead, pulling open the door without hesitation.

Lin Qiushi walked through the door, and felt the view twist. Then the scene around him changed.

He stood on a small stone path, surrounded by short, Japanese-style architecture. It was raininghard. Water loudly poured onto the roof, onto the ground. Luckily Lin Qiushi was stood underneath the eaves, or hed likely been soaked all over.

The rooms around him were all closed. Lin Qiushi continued forward, and soon saw a set of open front doors.

He entered, and saw a few people in the hallway already standing in wait.

Because hed remembered everybodys clothes from earlier, he very quickly spotted Ruan Nanzhus figure in a corner.

The Ruan Nanzhu inside this door seemed a bit frail. Because his wounds from the ninth door had still not fully healed, their manifestation inside the door was clearRuan Nanzhu looked quite brittle.

He wore a pale dress; sat in a corner, he seemed like a dandelion that could be blown away at any second.

Lin Qiushi approached him. Im Yu Linlin.

Im Zhu Meng, Ruan Nanzhu said. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. Lin Qiushi stood by his side. Which door is this for you?

This is my second. As Ruan Nanzhu spoke to him, two people came through the doorfrom their clothing, they were Lin Xingping and Cue Xueyi from outside. Once theyd come in they also saw Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu, and approached nonchalantly.

Of course, they werent obvious about it. They stopped when they were still a short distance away.

At this, Lin Qiushi began examining his surroundings.

This was a courtyard full of Japanese aesthetics. There was a tall surrounding wall, with a large cherry blossom tree planted within. The cherry blossoms ought to be in bloom, but due to the pouring rain, all of the flowers had been knocked down and scattered throughout the black mud.

The wind blew the chimes hanging in the hallway into a tizzy, but their ringing was in turn masked by the rain.

This door was the second that Lin Qiushi was going through without a hint. Honestly it was pretty much his first, since Ruan Nanzhu, whod had the hint, had been by his side at the time.

Scared? Ruan Nanzhu suddenly whispered close to Lin Qiushis ear.

Lin Qiushi peered at him, and shook his head.

I knew you werent scared. Ruan Nanzhu sighed lowly. To tell you the truth, I kind of miss that tender version of you from the first door.

The Lin Qiushi then at least showed some expressions of terrorunlike his steadfast calmness now.

While the two were nibbling away at each others ears, there came a frightened shout from the doorway. A man stumbled in, uttering, where is this? Where are we, who the hell are you people!

Honestly, Lin Qiushi hadnt seen newbies inside the doors in a long while.

That person was crying. Lin Xingping suddenly approached, saying, hey buddy, dont get too worked up. This is the world inside the doors.

The world inside the doors? What does the world inside the doors mean? The man looked utterly baffled.

People near death enter the doors, Lin Xingping said smiling. This is the new life granted to us by the doors.

Still looking baffled, the man continued to ask a bunch of questions about the doors.

And Lin Xingping, patiently, answered.

Watching their conversation, Lin Qiushi was reminded out of the blue of his own first entry into the doors.

There seemed to have been a person named Xiong Qi answering all his questions with a good attitude, whod even shared important hints with him. But Ruan Nanzhus attitude toward that person had been consistently strange; now that he was thinking about it, the scene before him sure felt a bit familiar.

But whether or not Xiong Qi was a good guy, Ruan Nanzhu had never said.

Those entering the doors for the first time were naturally filled with fright. Providing them with some kindness very easily earned their trust.

Others would think that the trust of newbies wasnt important at all, since nobody knew who you were outside the doors anyway. But Lin Xingpings group was different. The ones they needed were these panicky, ignorant first-timers.

As the rain continued, people arrived in the courtyard one after another.

An old man in a kimono appeared outside. He had an umbrella, and walked to the center of the courtyard.

The crowd quieted their discussions and all looked toward the old man.

The old man spoke: Welcome, all visitors. His voice was very soft, filled with a sense of debility. But it was somehow not drowned out by this pouring rain.

This courtyard is where everybody will stay. There are more sights to see in town, you can all go take a look. The old man spoke very slowly. But it often rains here, so when you go out you must have an umbrella. Before you enter the house, remember to dry off. Or else, youll get sick.

Lin Qiushi firmly memorized the old mans every word.

The situation was, the first NPC they meet inside every door often gave them the most important hints. After the old man finished speaking, he began organizing the rooms.

There were fourteen people total whod entered the door this time, of whom two were new. One was more calm, the other neared a breakdown. The one almost breaking down was the one Lin Xingping roped in. His name was Wang Ronghua.

At first, he was near tears. But after Lin Xingpings comforting, he managed to get a grip on his emotions. Of course, at the same time, hed developed a powerful faith in Lin Xingping.

Just like that? Ruan Nanzhu was very disdainful of that person.

Lin Qiushi said, its understandable though. Everyone imprints after all.

Ruan Nanzhu peered at Lin Qiushi. How come you didnt then?

Lin Qiushi, Hang on, why was this about him now.

Ruan Nanzhu, was I not good-looking enough?

Lin Qiushi could only stalwartly claim, actually I had

Ruan Nanzhu, suspiciously, did you really?

Lin Qiushi, really, really. He quickly diverted the topic. Theyre assigning rooms.

It was two people per room here. Naturally Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu were together. Lin Xingping and Gu Yuansi were in one room, and Cue Xueyi was in a room with the newbie that Lin Xingping had developed an interest in.

The others also split up, wanting to quickly go to their rooms to rest.

When they arrived, it had still been early. But after such a delay, the sky had completely blackened. Plus it was raining outside, so very soon it was dark enough that fingers couldnt be seen in front of the face.

Lin Qiushi entered the room and turned on the light.

The light inside was quite dim, only barely providing any illumination.

The bedding was simple tatami. After washing up, Lin Qiushi lied down. The rain hammered on outside, loud enough to cause a headache.

Ruan Nanzhu lied down beside Lin Qiushi. After entering the door, it seemed his body had shrunkcurled up in a ball on the tatami, he looked curiously adorable.

The him now and the coolly independent Ruan Nanzhu outside seemed like two completely different people. Lin Qiushi, head tilted, watched him for a very long time.

Ruan Nanzhu noticed Lin Qiushis gaze, and said, like what you see?

Lin Qiushi suddenly remembered what Gu Longming said to him in the last door, and blinked. Did you not sleep well before?

Ruan Nanzhu, yeah. He readily admitted this. I basically couldnt sleep inside the doors at all.

Lin Qiushi, I thought only I couldnt sleep.

Ruan Nanzhu, dont you usually sleep well with me?

Lin Qiushi sank into silence.

Ruan Nanzhu got up, and pushed his tatami over to Lin Qiushis side. So lets sleep together.

Lin Qiushi wordlessly acquiesced.

With the rain outside, Ruan Nanzhu leaned into Lin Qiushis shoulder as his breath gradually evened out.

Lin Qiushi also hazily closed his eyes.

The sound of the rain smacking into the ground was painfully loud. With his acute hearing, Lin Qiushi couldnt sleep very well. Half-dozing, he heard coming from outside the room the sound of children singing a playground tune.

At first this sound was soft, smothered by the rain. But gradually, the song got louder and louder, and Lin Qiushi woke right up.

He took in the songs lyrics: Wicker hole, wicker hole, the bird in the cage, when oh when will it come out, in the night of dawn, the crane and turtle slipped, who is behind you now?

The song repeated again and again. Those crystalline childrens voices became particularly haunting.

Just as Lin Qiushi was contemplating waking Ruan Nanzhu, he heard Ruan Nanzhus soft question: what are they singing outside? He didnt have Lin Qiushis sharp hearing, and could only vaguely hear the faint sound cutting in and out of the rain.

Its a childrens song, Lin Qiushi said. Should I recite it to you?

No, Ruan Nanzhu said. We dont know what the songs for yet. Type it on your phone.

Lin Qiushi nodded, fished out his phone, and began to type. Once hed typed it out, he handed it over to Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu read the words on the screen.

Once he was done, he returned the phone to Lin Qiushi and said, its a Japanese childrens song. Its pretty famous.

Lin Qiushi expressed he hadnt heard it before.

The song is actually a game. When you play, the children get in a circle, Ruan Nanzhu quietly explained. Inside the circle is a kid whos it. The kid whos it will cover their eyes, and by the time the song ends, if they can successfully identify whos behind them, then that person becomes the next it.

Lin Qiushi, so the children outside are playing this game? The rain was so loud; he didnt think children would be playing in the rain in the middle of the night like this. Obviously, the things outside were likely unclean things.

Yes, Ruan Nanzhu said. We dont have a hint this time. We should be careful with everything.

Do they really not have a hint? About this point, Lin Qiushi was actually quite suspicious.

Perhaps they do, but why tell the hint to dead people? Ruan Nanzhu said. Theyll try their best to kill us after all.

Ah.

The song persisted for most of the night, before gradually fading.

The showering rain continued into day two. Only at around daybreak did the weather slowly let up.

Kept up by the rain all night, Lin Qiushi snuck a nap in at dawn. But then there came knocking from outside. Ruan Nanzhu asked, who is it?

Its me, came Lin Xingpings voice. Arent you guys up yet?

Ruan Nanzhu, ah, Lin-jie, I want to sleep a little longer. You guys go ahead and eat first.

Lin Xingping seemed to find Ruan Nanzhu a bit incomprehensible, saying, you guys can sleep well here?

Ruan Nanzhu adoringly piped, as long as Im with my darling I can sleep well anywhere.

Lin Xingping, Suddenly stuffed with a faceful of PDA, she choked, and in the end only told them to not show too late before taking off.

Lin Qiushi could tell from her tone that there was an 80-90% likelihood that she was currently cursing out Ruan Nanzhu as a brainless idiot inside her head.

Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu. Youre really not getting up?

Ruan Nanzhu, you slept poorly, didnt you? Take a nap. Ill get up first.

Lin Qiushi, thats okay, Im not too sleepy. He got up from the bed. Lets go get breakfast first.

Ruan Nanzhu, of course.

The two changed, washed up, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway.

At the door, Lin Qiushis feet suddenly stalled as he shot one side of the hall a wary glance.

Whats that? Was it there last night?

Ruan Nanzhu followed his gaze, and saw a white teru teru bzu hanging at the end of the walkway. This doll was very bigas big as a basketball. Someone had drawn a face on it in black ink.

Ruan Nanzhu, no, it wasnt there last night. He was certain.

Lin Qiushi also thought it hadnt been there, but he thought he might have remembered wrong, and so confirmed with Ruan Nanzhu. Now that Ruan Nanzhu said it hadnt been there, it really hadnt been there.

The two walked down the hall until they got beneath the doll. The doll wasnt actually hung so high; Lin Qiushi could take it down if he reached. He asked, should I get it down? He knew better than to carelessly touch anything here.

Ill get it. Ruan Nanzhu likely had his own safety net, and so reached up and took the teru teru bzu right down.

But the moment the doll was in hand, his expression changed. He looked at Lin Qiushi and quietly said, inside seems to be a human head.

Translators Note:

I mostly went with Wikipedias authority for Kagome Kagome, the childrens song that begins here wicker hole, wicker hole (as in, hole in the basket). Treat yourself to the classic Vocaloid version Circle you circle you.

And I went for the romanized teru teru bzu instead of attempting to translate that since its a Japanese-style world. The Japanese is literally shine shine monk, and the Chinese is literally sunny day doll.

Names in this chapter:

• Cu Xuy / Cue(1) Xue(2) Yi(4) /
• Xio Xioy / Xiao(1) Xiao(2/3) Yu(2) /
• Ln Xngpng / Lin(2) Xing(1) Ping(2) /
• G Yuns / Gu(3) Yuan(2) Si(1) /
• Y Lnln / Yu(2) Lin(2) Lin(2) /
• Zh Mng / Zhu(4) Meng(2) /
• Wng Rnghu / Wang(1) Rong(2) Hua(2) /