Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 85: The Lamps in the Shrine

They had to steal a lamp. The only question was where to steal it from.

They'd snuck out one of the Landlady's lamps before, which meant those lamps could be taken. But as long as the Landlady guarded that room, there was also definite risk. If, in the process of stealing the lamp, they were caught by the Landlady, then undoubtedly the Landlady would slaughter them like piglets on the chopping block.

Aside from the Landlady's, there were oil lamps at the shrine they went to before as well, and those should also be the type made out of corpses by the Landlady.

To tell the truth Lin Qiushi got an uncomfortable feeling everything he thought about the ancestral shrine. If their guess was correct, the lamp-filled shrine was very likely to be suppressing something of extreme malevolence.

Just as Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming were trying to decide where to get a lamp from, they saw a few people from their group sneakily leaving the courtyard.

Gu Longming saw Yan Shihe among them, and stood: "Yan Shihe's there. Where are they going?!"

Lin Qiushi, "they're heading out?"

Gu Longming nodded, glancing at Lin Qiushi. "Should we tail them? Kinda looks like they're up to something."

Lin Qiushi gave it a thought. Then, "yes, let's go."

And so the two followed the group out in secret.

There were four people in the group, one of whom was Yan Shihe. He stood among them and spoke quietly to the lot. Lin Qiushi could faintly hear them talking, but because they were really too far away, he only picked up a few words: lamp, chance, shrine.

Though it was only a few words, it still provided the most vital intel; Lin Qiushi had learned where they were headed—evidently they'd all had the same thought, to steal the human oil lamps from the shrine! And, with Yan Shihe among them, he was likely the instigator.

Lin Qiushi frowned, and told Gu Longming, "they're going to steal lamps."

Gu Longming started. "What? To steal lamps? At the shrine?"

Lin Qiushi nodded.

Gu Longming, "this..." He couldn't say this was a bad thing, because if this group could safely bring the lamps out from the shrine, then they wouldn't have to risk the Landlady's quarters.

Lin Qiushi, "we'll follow them first, and see what happens."

Concerned about being discovered by the people up front, Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming didn't follow too closely. After passing a few roads, the town's grandiose ancestral shrine appeared before their eyes.

Yan Shihe and the people he brought went straight into the shrine.

Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming, on the other hand, stuck by the door, hiding in a corner to peek within.

Lin Qiushi saw Yan Shihe through the door crack, and also heard his voice.

Yan Shihe was saying, "there are lamps here. Don't you need it? Go on, take it."

"What if something happens when we actually take it?" One man among them looked wary, and was scrutinizing the tablet-filled shrine. "It looks like they're worshipping something here."

"What's the point of being concerned about that now? If you don't have a lamp you're dying tonight," Yan Shihe said. "If you're so scared, why did you follow me in the first place? If you won't take one I'm helping myself." As soon as he finished speaking, he reached up and pulled down an oil lamp. After he put out the burning wick, he slipped it right into his pocket.