Kaleidoscope of Death

There was no way he was practicing his falsetto, he was never going to practice his falsetto—he couldn’t 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 he’d be asked out to the mall one day and come back with two dresses or something.

But luckily, Lin Qiushi’s 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 didn’t bring out any of his features—in fact, it intentionally dampened his beauty, making him look rather plain. Honestly, Lin Qiushi had to applaud Ruan Nanzhu’s makeup skills—place the current Ruan Nanzhu in a crowd, and other than his height, he didn’t 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, you’re coming with.”

Lin Qiushi, “I’m coming with?”

Ruan Nanzhu, “mh. The door they’re entering likely won’t have a hint, so it’ll be a bit annoying.” He said, “you’ll be with me.”

Though Lin Qiushi really wanted to personally take revenge for Wu Qi, he still had concerns: “won’t they be suspicious…”

Ruan Nanzhu smiled without smiling. “Once we’re in, they can be suspicious all they like.” So what if they suspected? It’s not like they could come out immediately.

Lin Qiushi, “that’s true.” He hesitated a bit longer, before asking quietly, “then I… I don’t have to wear drag, do I?”

Ruan Nanzhu quirked an eyebrow. “What’s your problem with drag?”

Lin Qiushi, “well I can’t do a fake voice, can I? If I’m in drag I have to pretend to be mute again.”

Ruan Nanzhu immediately replied, “isn’t the mute girl super cute though.”

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

But in the end Ruan Nanzhu didn’t force it, and agreed to let Lin Qiushi not wear drag. There was a month until they went in. By Ruan Nanzhu’s deductions, the door they were entering was likely Cue Xueyi’s. This was because by the way she seemed, Wu Qi’s girlfriend was definitely no pro, and there was no way she’d 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 weren’t so concrete, which matched up completely with Ruan Nanzhu’s supposition as well.

Right before going to meet those people, Lin Qiushi also deliberately altered his appearance. It was again by Ruan Nanzhu’s 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 you’re too amazing.”

Ruan Nanzhu’s 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, I’m scared on my own. He’s my boyfriend…” As he said this, he peeked timidly at Cue Xueyi, looking quite easy to bully. “If you don’t agree, I’ll let him head back.”

Cue Xueyi was about to speak when the woman beside him patted him on the shoulder, smiling. “Don’t worry about it, he can come along. But it’s really very dangerous inside. If we’re taking one more person, we can’t guarantee his safety. Do you understand that?”

Lin Qiushi squeezed Ruan Nanzhu’s hand tight, and spoke up firmly, “you don’t 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 won’t stop you.” Smiling, she extended a hand to Lin Qiushi. “I’m Lin Xingping, nice to meet you.” She had an open attitude and a friendly look. Had Lin Qiushi not known what they’d 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 Xueyi’s group would agree to let Lin Qiushi go in the door as well. According to Ruan Nanzhu’s analysis, they probably really didn’t 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, they’d actually rather just get rid of him inside the door.

But if they didn’t 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 Xueyi’s side—two 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 couldn’t.

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 Xueyi’s gaze gained a thread of disgust, clearly finding the couple’s stickiness displeasing.

Oh, that’s right—the post-makeover Lin Qiushi was indeed unsightly. Or in Cheng Qianli’s 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 else’s expressions changed just slightly, and Lin Xingping stood.

“It’s 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.

“Let’s 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, I’m so scared.”

Lin Qiushi played along: “don’t be scared, I’m right here.”

“Let’s go,” Cue Xueyi said. “As long as we’re 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 raining—hard. Water loudly poured onto the roof, onto the ground. Luckily Lin Qiushi was stood underneath the eaves, or he’d 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 he’d remembered everybody’s clothes from earlier, he very quickly spotted Ruan Nanzhu’s 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 clear—Ruan 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. “I’m Yu Linlin.”

“I’m 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 door—from their clothing, they were Lin Xingping and Cue Xueyi from outside. Once they’d come in they also saw Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu, and approached nonchalantly.

Of course, they weren’t 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, who’d had the hint, had been by his side at the time.

“Scared?” Ruan Nanzhu suddenly whispered close to Lin Qiushi’s ear.

Lin Qiushi peered at him, and shook his head.

“I knew you weren’t 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 terror—unlike his steadfast calmness now.

While the two were nibbling away at each other’s 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 hadn’t seen newbies inside the doors in a long while.

That person was crying. Lin Xingping suddenly approached, saying, “hey buddy, don’t 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, who’d even shared important hints with him. But Ruan Nanzhu’s 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 wasn’t important at all, since nobody knew who you were outside the doors anyway. But Lin Xingping’s 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, you’ll get sick.”

Lin Qiushi firmly memorized the old man’s 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 who’d 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 Xingping’s comforting, he managed to get a grip on his emotions. Of course, at the same time, he’d developed a powerful faith in Lin Xingping.

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

Lin Qiushi said, “it’s understandable though. Everyone imprints after all.”

Ruan Nanzhu peered at Lin Qiushi. “How come you didn’t 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. “They’re 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 couldn’t 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 shrunk—curled 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 Qiushi’s 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 couldn’t sleep inside the doors at all.”

Lin Qiushi, “…I thought only I couldn’t sleep.”

Ruan Nanzhu, “don’t you usually sleep well with me?”

Lin Qiushi sank into silence.

Ruan Nanzhu got up, and pushed his tatami over to Lin Qiushi’s side. “So let’s sleep together.”

Lin Qiushi wordlessly acquiesced.

With the rain outside, Ruan Nanzhu leaned into Lin Qiushi’s 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 couldn’t 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 song’s 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 children’s voices became particularly haunting.

Just as Lin Qiushi was contemplating waking Ruan Nanzhu, he heard Ruan Nanzhu’s soft question: “what are they singing outside?” He didn’t have Lin Qiushi’s sharp hearing, and could only vaguely hear the faint sound cutting in and out of the rain.

“It’s a children’s song,” Lin Qiushi said. “Should I recite it to you?”

“No,” Ruan Nanzhu said. “We don’t know what the song’s for yet. Type it on your phone.”

Lin Qiushi nodded, fished out his phone, and began to type. Once he’d 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, “it’s a Japanese children’s song. It’s pretty famous.”

Lin Qiushi expressed he hadn’t 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 who’s it. The kid who’s it will cover their eyes, and by the time the song ends, if they can successfully identify who’s 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 didn’t 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 don’t 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. “They’ll 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?”

“It’s me,” came Lin Xingping’s voice. “Aren’t 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 I’m 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. “You’re really not getting up?”

Ruan Nanzhu, “you slept poorly, didn’t you? Take a nap. I’ll get up first.”

Lin Qiushi, “that’s okay, I’m not too sleepy.” He got up from the bed. “Let’s 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 Qiushi’s feet suddenly stalled as he shot one side of the hall a wary glance.

“What’s that? Was it there last night?”

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

Ruan Nanzhu, “no, it wasn’t there last night.” He was certain.

Lin Qiushi also thought it hadn’t been there, but he thought he might have remembered wrong, and so confirmed with Ruan Nanzhu. Now that Ruan Nanzhu said it hadn’t been there, it really hadn’t been there.

The two walked down the hall until they got beneath the doll. The doll wasn’t 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.

“I’ll get it.” Ruan Nanzhu likely had his own safety net, and so reached up and took the teru teru bōzu 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.”

Translator’s Note:

I mostly went with Wikipedia’s authority for “Kagome Kagome,” the children’s 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 bōzu instead of attempting to translate that since it’s a Japanese-style world. The Japanese is literally “shine shine monk,” and the Chinese is literally “sunny day doll.”

Names in this chapter:

• Cuē Xuéyì / Cue(1) Xue(2) Yi(4) / 崔學義
• Xiāo Xiáoyǔ / Xiao(1) Xiao(2/3) Yu(2) / 肖小雨
• Lín Xīngpíng / Lin(2) Xing(1) Ping(2) / 林星萍
• Gǔ Yuánsī / Gu(3) Yuan(2) Si(1) / 古原思
• Yú Línlín / Yu(2) Lin(2) Lin(2) / 餘林林
• Zhù Méng / Zhu(4) Meng(2) / 祝萌
• Wāng Rónghuá / Wang(1) Rong(2) Hua(2) / 汪榮華