Kaleidoscope of Death

Hearing Lin Qiushi's words, Zhou Hanshan's gaze fell on the statue, not speaking for a long time.

The statue's tears had dried up, and its eyes had reverted to their previous indifference and indifference, as if the hint given to them just now was just their illusion.

Gu Longming bent down, picking up the wooden man, he stared at the wooden man in his hand, "Zhou Hanshan, how long have you been in love with Zhu Ruyuan?"

"It's been six months." Zhou Hanshan replied, he went to the corner of the utility room and found a random wooden stool, not caring about the layer of dust on it, and sat down on it, he said, "We usually meet at events... She said she was busy with school, and I understood her." He complained that people in relationships have lower IQs, which he now thought was true. From the moment they met, they reeked of defiance, not to mention love.

The beginning of this story was a mistake, and he, the fool, continued it, and paid a terrible price for it.

Lin Qiushi listened to Zhou Hanshan's words, but didn't pick up the story until he finished, then he said, "Come make a wish tonight."

"What?" Zhou Hanshan thought at first that he had misheard, but after seeing Lin Qiushi's calm expression, he was sure that Lin Qiushi had indeed said this, "You mean... we'll make a wish on this statue again?"

"There's not much time left." Lin Qiushi picked up the broken wooden man in his hand, "You don't want to become like this, do you?"

Their wood is shattered, defending against the moment, not the world, and there could be an accident around them at any time to take the lives of the three.

So leaving this world and ending it all was the best option. It wasn't an easy decision to make, though.

"I don't feel any malice in it, do you." Lin Qiushi looked at the statue in front of him.

The statue in front of them at this point was already very human-like, both the temperature of its skin and its touch were moving closer towards a human. After staring at the statue for a moment, Zhou Hanshan suddenly got up and pressed his cheek to the statue's chest, and after a moment, his face changed and he turned his head to look at Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi guessed what he was thinking from his expression.

As expected, Zhou Hanshan's next words were, "I heard the sound of a heartbeat."

Gu Longming was stunned: "Heartbeat?"

Zhou Hanshan was already numb from the excitement, he said, "Yes, the sound of a heartbeat." He looked at the sculpture in front of him and cautiously touched her cheek with his hand, "Is she going to turn into a human..."

Although it was a question, everyone actually knew very well that in a few days the statue in front of them should be able to turn into a human, but they didn't know what kind of price it would take for her to turn into a human.

Lin Qiushi had decided to stay in the activity room at night and make one more wish.

Zhou Hanshan sat in the activity room in silence, not knowing what to think.

Lin Qiushi was playing Sudoku and Gu Long was studying the wooden man in his hand with his head down, the atmosphere in the room was terribly stagnant.

In the middle of the day, Lin Qiushi and Gu Longming went to the bathroom together, and on the way to the toilet, Gu Longming said, "What are you thinking about, Yu Linlin?"

Lin Qiushi said, "I'm thinking of Zhou Hanshan."

"Thinking about him for what?" Gu Longming was now much less impressed with Zhou Hanshan, and to be frank, he was the one who drew this out, "If it wasn't for him and Zhu Ruyuan falling in love, this might not have even happened."

"Yes." Lin Qiushi said, "Do you think he's still lying about things?"

Gu Longming nodded.

Everyone has some secrets, but those secrets may remain until the moment of death.

"You have to be careful at night," Lin Qiushi said, "I don't think wishing is that simple."

"Will she come and stop us?" Gu Longming asked.

Lin Qiushi lowered his head and washed his hands, watching the cold water wash over the neat lines of his palm as he said, "Is he the one you're talking about, Zhu Ruyuan, or Zhou Hanshan."

"Zhou Hanshan?" Gu Longming didn't understand, "Why would he stop us from making a wish?"

"Because perhaps our wishes and his wishes are contrary to each other." Lin Qiushi turned off the water and took out a piece of paper to wipe his hands clean, "Do you remember where we met Zhou Hanshan?"

"It was in the classroom...wait, the three of them... "Gu Longming suddenly remembered something, he remembered the classroom, what those three students did." Are the three of them renewing their wishes too?"

"Yeah." Lin Qiushi seemed to be smiling, "How much do you think this Zhou Hansan is hiding from us."

Xiao He, the friend who had been beheaded at the waist, and Zhou Han Shan, the only one left, were in the classroom when he and Gu Long Ming first met the three of them, who were wiping blood onto the wooden man. According to Zhou Hanshan, wiping blood on it is part of the wishing process, but there's a loophole here that can't be covered up - there are no statues in the classroom.

But if, according to Zhou Hanshan, the object of their wish was the statue, then why would the three of them perform the ritual in the classroom. Either the wish didn't work at all, or the statue didn't work at all.

"There are actually more survivors left in the school than just Zhou Hansan," Lin Qiushi said, "Do you remember the librarian?"

"Remember." Gu Longming's mind was in chaos, but it always felt like there was a most crucial point in these tedious clues, and that point was the thread that cleared it all up, "Librarian... you mean... "

"He's still alive." Lin Qiushi said, "He also has that wooden man on him, which means that Zhou Hanshan is indeed lying."

Gu Longming smiled bitterly, "I feel like I'm doing a hard math problem."

Lin Qiushi spread his hands, "The math problem is much simpler than this, it's just that we didn't go into many details, the fact that the librarian is still alive proves one thing."

"What is it?" Gu Longming could only ask questions.

"Wishing won't kill you." Lin Qiushi said, "There may indeed be a price to pay, but that price is not necessarily life."

It dawned on Gu Longming, then he fell silent, "Then why did they-"

"I now suspect that the statue and Zhu Ruyuan are not the same thing at all," Lin Qiushi said, "The statue fulfills wishes and the grievance spirit kills in a big way, but of course, that's just a guess of mine, there's no basis for it."

Gu Longming: "So you want to make a wish?" He had wondered why Lin Qiushi would do something like trying to make a wish on the statue, but now it seemed clear that he was trying to prove something.

"Right." Lin Qiushi said, "When the night comes, all the mysteries will be solved, and you'll keep an eye on Zhou Hanshan then."

"Good." Gu Longming nodded.

"Let's go." Lin Qiushi said, but he noticed that Gu Longming was staring at him, he was a bit baffled and said, "What are you looking at me for?"

"I just think you seem to have changed quite a bit," Gu Long Ming, "Have you been in a lot of doors since you came in with me?"

"No." Lin Qiushi said, "Only entered a low-level door with my friend...what happened?" He found Gu Longming's question somewhat baffling.

"No. Then you're growing really fast." Gurung said, "You're even better compared to last time." He sighed, "Maybe some people are born to fit inside the door."

Lin Qiushi's eyebrows picked up, he didn't expect to hear that from Gu Longming as well. Although Ruan Nan Candle had said something similar before, he didn't feel anything special about it, simply taking it as Ruan Nan Candle encouraging the novice.

The two of them returned to the house and saw Zhou Hanshan pressing his face against the table with a listless look.

Lin Qiushi looked at the time and said, "Let's go, we can go have lunch."

"I'm not hungry." Zhou Hanshan said, "Not very hungry."

Gu Longming: "Then aren't you afraid to stay here by yourself?"

After thinking about it, Zhou Hanshan still seemed a little scared and said, "Well, it's still a lively cafeteria that makes people feel comfortable."

They all had things on their minds, and they wouldn't find it very pleasant to eat. When Lin Qiushi saw Zuo Sisi while eating, he thought about it and went over to greet Zuo Sisi.

"What are you doing?" Lefty said, "I haven't seen anyone all morning, and I was hoping to find you."

"In the activity room." Lin Qiushi said, "Something wrong?"

Zoss looked over there, "Do you know who that NPC you're carrying is?"

Lin Qiushi said, "What's wrong with him?"

Zuo Silk seemed to have found out something and came to tell Lin Qiushi on purpose, she said, "His name is Zhou Hanshan... he was very close to that group of dead students."

Lin Qiushi nodded his head, indicating that he knew.

"His classmates said he was in love with a girl named Zhu Ruyuan." Zuo Silk saw Lin Qiushi's calm attitude and she lowered her voice, "But I've checked and there isn't even a girl named Zhu Ruyuan in the fourth year."

"Thank you." Lin Qiushi thanked her, "It's true that Zhu Ruyuan isn't in the fourth year."

"Then how old is she?" Lefty stared at her.

"She's a dead woman." Lin Qiushi thought about it and told Zuo Silk about it.

Zuo Silk: "..." her expression twisted, "Are you serious?"

Lin Qiushi: "Yes."

Zuo Silk: "Then why are you so calm?" She got goosebumps on her arms straight after hearing the news.

"No, I'm already scared." Lin Qiushi.

Zuo Silk sighed, "Well, you guys are still great, I had a hard time finding out, but you guys already knew the results... The door and the key, any clues?"

Lin Qiushi said, "A little bit of it."

Zuo Silk knew that this little bit was definitely more than theirs as well, but the two of them weren't familiar enough to casually exchange information with each other, so she was smart enough not to ask and just asked Lin Qiushi to be careful of Zhou Hanshan, saying that there might be something wrong with this NPC.

Lin Qiushi thanked her and turned back to their table.

"What are you guys going to wish for tonight?" Zhou Hanshan had no appetite and poked at the rice inside his plate with his chopsticks, asking.

"What do you think is appropriate for us to wish for?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"Naturally, I want this to end quickly." Zhou Hanshan was listless, "I'm already going to be unable to hold on."

"Alright." Lin Qiushi said, "Then let this all end quickly."

The wait was long, and the night that usually came quickly felt like a day today.

The three of them waited in the activity room, but Zhou Hanshan fell asleep on the table.

Lin Qiushi didn't dare to rest, the damaged wooden man in front of him was a reminder that accidents could happen at any time, and that it didn't matter if you were resting or not when that thing was killing you.

It started to rain outside, and the hour hand went round and round, but finally it was eight o'clock at night.

It was dark, and the whistling wind mixed with rainwater poured in from the edge of the window, Lin Qiushi lifted his hand to look at his watch, and then he locked eyes with Gu Longming for a moment, feeling that it was almost time.

Lin Qiushi pushed the sleep-deprived Zhou Hanshan awake and said, "Wake up, it's dark."

Zhou Hansan climbed up from the table with a start and said vaguely, "I had a dream."

"What did you dream about?" Gurung asked him.

"I dreamt about my friends." Zhou Hanshan said, "They said they missed me." He reached up and wiped his face, "I also... miss them." He laughed bitterly after saying that, "Maybe I'll have to go stay with them soon."

Gu Longming didn't say anything, just patted him on the shoulder as a sign of comfort.

Once it was dark, they went to the utility room and pushed the statue out.

The statue still had a motionless appearance, but it had the temperature and skin feel of a human, a trait that filled the entire statue with a strange feeling, and Zhou Hanshan carefully touched it, murmuring that it wouldn't really turn into a human, what if this turned into a human.

Lin Qiushi said, "Can we make a wish now?"

"It's okay." Zhou Hanshan said, "Cut your fingers open, smear the blood on the wooden doll and make a wish on this statue..." he looked at Lin Qiushi, "What is your wish?"

But Lin Qiushi didn't answer, he pulled out the dagger he had prepared from his pocket and put it on his finger and was about to cut it, but he suddenly stopped.

"What?" Zhou Hanshan asked.

Lin Qiushi lowered his head and looked at the ground.

There were three people in the house, they hadn't been out since dinner, and the rain had fallen after dinner, but the room was now filled with a series of wet footprints that stretched from the doorway to their feet, and judging by the size, they belonged to a woman.

Just like what Lin Qiushi had seen in the classroom before, there was an additional person in this room, but they couldn't see it.

Lin Qiushi's movement stopped and handed the dagger in his hand to Zhou Hanshan, he said, "You first."

Zhou Hanshan was stunned, as if he hadn't expected Lin Qiushi's reaction, he said, "...but I've already made a wish."

Lin Qiushi: "Who stipulated that you can't wish a second time?"

"I don't know what to promise." Zhou Hanshan seemed a little panicked, "I..."

Lin Qiushi looked into his eyes and said, "Zhou Hanshan, what exactly was the wish you made at that time?"

Zhou Hanshan: "I-"

"Don't lie." Lin Qiushi said, "If you lie, I'll smash the statue in front of you." He spoke and walked in front of the statue, not looking like he was joking at all.

Zhou Hanshan didn't speak, his expression was complicated to the extreme, as if he wanted to say something.

"Make a wish." Lin Qiushi's voice was soft, but no one would think that he was joking, "Make a wish to bring this to an end."

Zhou Hanshan squeezed his dagger, his expression changing unpredictably.

Gu Longming also noticed the change in Zhou Hanshan's attitude, he looked suspicious and stared at Zhou Hanshan as he called out his name, "Zhou Hanshan?"

Zhou Hanshan laughed as he lowered the dagger in his hand and said indifferently, "You all know about it, right?"

Lin Qiushi sighed, his suspicions had indeed become reality, Zhou Hanshan still had something to hide from them and this matter played a very important part in the whole incident.

Gu Longming also saw the change in Zhou Hanshan's attitude and involuntarily cursed a swear word.

Lin Qiushi said, "Zhou Hanshan, let me guess, the wish you made at that time has indeed not come true... but it's about to come true, right?"

Zhou Hanshan's face was expressionless, at this point he was completely different from the cowardly and timid one.

"Very anxious?" Lin Qiushi said, "When it turns out that wish came true differently than you thought it would?"

Zhou Hanshan let out a long sigh and said, "I really hate dealing with smart people." He stood up from his chair and walked over to the statue, gently caressing its skin with his hand, he said, "Yeah, it's not quite what I expected, so... I can't die." He turned his head and looked at Lin Qiushi, "So it'll be your trouble to die instead of me."

After he said this, the wind was blowing so hard inside the house that the electric light overhead creaked and was about to go out as far as the eye could see.

Lin Qiushi heard a kind of sticky water sound and turned his head to see Zhu Ruyuan standing behind him, Zhu Ruyuan was still wearing a long skirt, her face was pale and her eyes were staring at Lin Qiushi with resentment, only the water stains originally left behind had turned red with fresh blood.

Gu Longming was shocked by the sudden appearance of her and involuntarily took two steps backwards.

Lin Qiushi, however, was calm, he casually pocketed his hand into his pants pocket, and when his hand came out again, there was already a smear of blood on his fingers, he wiped the blood on the wooden man he squeezed in his hand and said his wish, "I hope that Zhou Hanshan's wish will never come true."

Zhou Hanshan was calm at first, however, after hearing Lin Qiushi's words, his face instantly changed, he hissed and pounced towards Lin Qiushi with his dagger in his hand: "How dare you-"

Lin Qiushi's reaction was extremely fast, and he directly dodged Zhou Hanshan's attack, kicking the dagger he was holding in his hand.

Zhou Hanshan's body was already thin and weak, not to mention Gu Longming, he couldn't even beat Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi hit him in the stomach, putting him down, and behind Lin Qiushi, Zhu Ruyuan grinned a fierce smile and said, "As you wish."

"No!!!" Zhou Hanshan screamed.

Then, the sound of stones cracking sounded in the house, and Lin Qiushi looked up to find that the statue standing next to them began to crack piece by piece.

Zhou Hansan threw himself on top of the statue, wailing and trying to put it back together again by protecting it with his hands. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the statue from falling apart, and Zhou Hanshan gathered the pieces into his arms, crying with increasing desperation, "Only a little bit more, obviously only a little bit more-"

Lin Qiushi just looked at him.

Gu Longming's expression was very complicated, though, as he said, "What exactly did you do... are you exchanging your friends' lives for something?"

Zhou Hanshan didn't answer Gu Longming's question, all of his attention was on the statue in front of him, which was completely shattered, Lin Qiushi walked up to the statue and saw a bronze key in the shards.

Although he had speculated before, he was still relieved when he really saw the key.

Zhou Hanshan sat dumbly on the ground, cradling the statue in his arms.

"Zhu Ruyuan's wish is for the statue to have a soul, and your wish is to be with Zhu Ruyuan." Lin Qiushi picked up the key and spoke to Zhou Hanshan, "There are two ways for you to be together, one is for you to die or for her to become human, you chose the latter."

Zhou Hanshan lifted his head and looked at Lin Qiushi quietly.

Lin Qiushi: "It's probably not Zhu Ruyuan who can fulfill wishes, but rather that statue... right?"

Zhou Hanshan's shoulders shrugged, as if he was crying, or laughing.

Lin Qiushi said, "Your wish isn't to be able to win awards at all... so paradoxes don't exist, and the price they pay is just paying for their friend's wish."

Bringing the dead back to life was not that easy.

Lin Qiushi even suspected that Zhu Ruyuan's statue also had a soul of its own, only that soul looked exactly like Zhu Ruyuan's. It was the one that fulfilled Zhou Hanshan's wish.

"It wants to kill me." Zhou Hanshan was filled with exhaustion, "Because it couldn't fulfill my wish." The soul was still missing a part, and lacking that part, Zhu Ruyuan could never become human.

"No." Lin Qiushi put the key into his pocket, "Haven't you ever thought that the one who wants to kill you is Zhu Ruyuan?"

Zhou Hanshan was stunned.

"She probably doesn't want you to continue." Lin Qiushi said, "Do you think it's a happy thing for her to go from a statue to a person?"

Zhou Hanshan looked down at the pieces in his arms.

"Of course, this is just my guess." Lin Qiushi said.

After he said this, he said to Gu Longming, "Let's go."

Gu Longming nodded and walked out with Lin Qiushi, but when they reached the door, they heard a muffled grunt from inside the house, and Lin Qiushi turned back to see Zhou Hanshan collapsed in a pool of blood with a sharp dagger in his abdomen.

This image wasn't surprising, but it was very uncomfortable.

Gu Longming sighed, Lin Qiushi turned back and walked out without pausing in his steps.

People always have to pay a price for their actions, and Zhou Hanshan killed all of his friends, whether intentionally or not, he has to pay the debt.