Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 83: Oil Lamp

Though he was already used to such scenes, seeing it each time was still a challenge to the nerves.

The Landlady heated the wok in front of her, and then put the meat in her hands into the wok. Where meat met wok, there came a sizzling sound. Then came the scent of cooking flesh. This scent quickly became burnt and foul. Gu Longming's expression was complicated, though he breathed an internal sigh of relief—for the Landlady to have done this meant that at least they hadn't been eating human flesh.

The meat tossed in the pot, fatty layers oozing thickly with oil. The muscles were charred black, and then scooped out with a spatula by the Landlady.

Lin Qiushi observed the house's set-up and the woman's actions, and instantly understood what she was doing—she was rendering oil from the corpses. And, it seemed that she was rendering oil for the lamps inside the house.

As expected, once hot, clear oil filled the wok, the woman turned to fetch the lamp at her side, pouring the oil and putting the wick into the tiny lamp body at the same time.

Lin Qiushi recalled the oil lamp in their room. It was identical to the one in the woman's hands now. The method of manufacturing was likely identical as well.

As the woman poured the oil, the sound of a child's cries came from inside the house.

Lin Qiushi startled, and watched as she turned and went inside. A bit later, she brought out a tiny infant wrapped in a red swaddling cloth, coddled in her arms.

Due to the angle Lin Qiushi couldn't really see the infant's face. He could see the infant's extended arms though, which were awful in pallor and tinged with an odd green—it didn't look like a normal child's hands at all.

"Don't cry, don't cry." The woman rocked the infant, comforting the child she held in a gentle voice.

Lin Qiushi didn't dare get too close, in case the woman saw him through the window.

The woman ambled about that room soaked in the smell of oil. Her tone and manner were both utterly gentle. She slowly swayed and turned, until Lin Qiushi could see the child she held.

As he guessed, it wasn't alive.

Its face seemed to have been steeped in water for too long, and had gone bloated and pale. Its eyes were swollen into thin lines, its pupils practically invisible, while its large blood red mouth gaped open in wailing cries. And Lin Qiushi got a good look at the thicket of teeth inside that mouth as well—no human had teeth like that. The child's face was also threaded through with green veins, further exposing its inhumanity.

Lin Qiushi felt Gu Longming catch his arm in a firm grip. He turned to look, and saw Gu Longming was rather horribly frightened.

Lin Qiushi was about to tell him not to grip so hard when he saw the Landlady coming in the direction of the door. He hurriedly turned and pulled Gu Longming to hide in a corner together. Only when they saw the Landlady bring the infant out of the yard did the two release their breaths.

"Do we go in? Take a look?" Even though Gu Longming looked scared, he still made the suggestion.

Lin Qiushi glanced at the doorway and said, "come on then."

Gu Longming, "uh... can I stand guard at the door for you?"

Lin Qiushi, "sure." He wasn't going to force Gu Longming to keep him company.

But in the end, after some agonizing, Gu Longming still decided to enter the house with Lin Qiushi to look for clues. He said that if she really came back, it wasn't like standing guard was going to make a difference, and they were better off just turning tail and running anyways.