Kaleidoscope of Death

CHAPTER 6: ENTERING THE TEMPLE

The night was dark and deep. Carrying lit torches in their hands, the people marched through the biting chilliness and tempestuous winds.

The heavy snowfall had stopped a while ago, but the harsh winds were still blowing fiercely. The ground beneath Lin Qiushi's feet crunched with every step he took. He wore thick clothes and forcefully tugged his hat down, covering his ears and his cheeks. His back was slightly hunched forward, and a charming young woman was clinging to his back.

There were no small talks during the journey. The atmosphere was solemn and grim.

When the temple the carpenter mentioned appeared before everyone's eyes, someone finally broke this despotic silence.

"Is this the temple?" Zhang Zishuang opened his mouth. "This temple looks...awfully grotesque."

Indeed, in the dim light of the night, this temple did seem rather odd. At first glance, it looked very old-fashioned, but if one took a closer look, one would discover that this temple was quite exquisite. The relief sculpture on the pillars of the doorway were unlike anything people had ever seen.

Lin Qiushi carefully set Ruan Baijie down on the ground and lifted his burning torch to study the intricate details of the relief sculpture on the pillars. He found a depiction of the Eighteen Layers of Hell carved on the relief sculpture. It didn't matter whether one gazed upon the malevolent devils or perhaps at the wretched, suffering souls, everything on these columns appeared so vivid and lifelike.

"This pillar is remarkably beautiful." Ruan Baijie suddenly praised.

"It is rather magnificent." Lin Qiushi agreed.

This relief sculpture certainly didn't seem to be a creation of this retrograde, shabby mountain village. Such an elegant work of art could only be considered a glorious masterpiece.

If it weren't for the fact that he had more important things at hand to focus on right now, perhaps Lin Qiushi would've taken his sweet time to appraise and appreciate such an artwork.

"Who's first?" Xiong Qi asked.

He asked who wanted to go first, but nobody stepped forth or answered. Something like this was honestly too dangerous. If entering the temple triggered one of the conditions for death, wouldn't the first person to go inside be a sacrificial victim?

"Why do we have to go in alone?" Ruan Baijie contended. "What if that old man is deceiving us?"

Xiong Qi responded, "But listening to him is still much better than going against his advice."

Ruan Baijie: "That isn't necessarily true." She turned her head to face Lin Qiushi. "Qiushi, I'm so scared. Let's go in together, just the two of us."

Upon hearing her request, Lin Qiushi hesitated a bit. "But what if two people entering the temple at the same time triggers a condition?"

Ruan Baijie declared, "Currently, we don't have the answers to everything. But I'd rather take this gamble. After all, no one really knows what will happen when one person goes in alone." After she finished saying this, she eyed the temple in front that was shrouded by darkness. "In any case...what goes inside may be a single person, yet we cannot be certain that whatever comes back outside will be human, it may be something else."

Her words caused penetrating shivers to run down everyone's spine; goosebumps appeared all over their bodies, and Lin Qiushi wasn't an exception. He lifted his hands and vigorously rubbed his arms. Staring at Ruan Baijie's expression, he finally clenched his teeth, "Okay."

Xiong Qi knitted his brows. "Don't you guys understand what you're doing? If two people are..."

He seemingly wanted to persuade the both of them, but he was interrupted by Ruan Baijie. "Then what about if one person goes in alone? Who's to say what's going to happen then?"