Chapter 7: Snow Woman (3)

he staff hesitated.

Lin Xinghe suddenly burst into tears and said: “…
Sister, tell me where his wife lives.
I promise I'll only take a look from far away.
I won't bother her.
I'll give up as soon as I take a look.
He has a wife, but he lied to me about being single.
He lied to me about his feelings.
It's not worth it to waste my feelings on this type of douchebag.
I'll just take a look—a look from really far away—and move on.”

She cried like a pear blossom carrying the rain (1).

The staff is also a woman and women are the most empathetic.
Seeing how Lin Xinghe was only a young girl who was deceived, she couldn't help but soften up.
She handed over an address to Lin Xinghe and whispered, “Sister Meng is a pitiful person.
Just look from far away.
Don't disturb her.”

Lin Xinghe got the address and immediately left the rescue center.

There is a small town at the base of the mountain.
There weren't any high-rise buildings.
The houses were all self-built and short.
Most of them were only two-story.
There was hardly anyone on the streets.
For each house, the door was closed shut and the curtains were drawn tight.

Only a few shops were open for business.
One or two silhouettes could vaguely be seen through the thick hanging screens that kept out the wind.
They were all female.

A Door God was posted on every home's door (2).

The most common Door Gods are Shentu, Yu Lei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu, and they are always painted on red paper.
But in this town, the Door God was a woman wearing a red dress (3) and she was painted on white paper.
She had black hair that fell to her feet and a small, palm-sized face that lacked any facial features.

This woman was on every door.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon, the most lively time of the day.
Still, Lin Xinghe got goosebumps just looking at this scene.

She soon found the door to Sister Meng's house which was shut tight like all the other houses in this town.

She tried knocking.

Nobody answered.

…
There must be someone inside the house.
If not, the staff wouldn't have given her an address and would have said that Sister Meng wasn't in town.

Lin Xinghe knocked on the door again: “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? I'm here to return the money.”1

There was finally movement inside the house.
The window to the right of the door was pushed halfway open.
A face poked out, looking at her with a wary expression: “Who are you? What money?”

It was a woman in her 30s or 40s.
She should be Sister Meng.

Lin Xinghe said: “I take it you're Sister Meng.
Your husband lent me some money a few years ago.
I was in a rough financial situation and didn't get to pay it back.
My conditions are better this year and I saved up enough money…” She patted her backpack, “I can't get over the burden in my heart when I owe someone money.
I wanted to pay him back in person, but I couldn't get in touch with him.
I remembered him mentioning this address before so I came here.
Don't worry, I included the interest for the past few years.”　

As she said this, she sneezed.

“…
It's really cold outside.
Can I go in for a cup of tea? I'll leave after I finish returning the money and drinking the tea.
I won't trouble you.”

Sister Meng glanced at her a few more times.
Thanks to Lin Xinghe's harmless, well-behaved appearance and her sincere tone, she let her in.

Lin Xinghe entered and calmly assessed her surroundings.

As expected, the illusion created by Little Xue Ji was shot on set in the home of the deceased.
He was hanged dead just in front of the entrance.

In the illusion, there was a pool of blood beneath the male corpse.
This carpet wasn't here.

It looks brand-new like it hasn't been used for very long.

The walls were very clean without any traces of bloodstains but there was the faint smell of paint.

Lin Xinghe finished her assessment and asked Sister Meng: “Was your house renovated recently? The smell of paint is a bit strong.”

“Things naturally get old after being used for a long time.
I repainted the wall a few days ago.” Sister Meng brought over a cup of hot water and sat down on one end of the sofa.
Her expression was haggard and there were unconcealable dark circles under her eyes.
After sitting down, she kept clenching the corners of her clothes.
She looked very uneasy.

Lin Xinghe asked: “Is your husband home? I want to thank him in person.”

“No, he's away on business.
How much do you owe him?”

Lin Xinghe said: “He lent me 5,000 yuan a few years ago.
I'll pay you 6,000 yuan after interest…” She opened her backpack and pretended to reach for the money.
When she looked like she was about to pull it out, she wrinkled her nose and said, “Sister Meng, why do I smell blood? It seems to be coming from over there by the carpet…”

Sister Meng's expression stiffened slightly and she said, “No, I just swept the house.”

Lin Xinghe said, “Oh, then maybe there's something wrong with my nose.
By the way, which Door God is posted in this town? Is it the Snow Woman? I heard a legend that your town has a Snow Woman…
I heard your husband mention it a few years ago too.
He said that the Snow Woman…”

Sister Meng, who had been restless until now, stood up abruptly and her voice became sharp: “There is no Snow Woman.
You outsiders shouldn't believe in rumours.
I don't want the money.
Hurry up and leave.”

Having got the information she wanted, Lin Xinghe didn't stay much longer and obediently left Sister Meng's house.

Lin Xinghe gained a lot of intel from this trip and she proved one matter.

The illusion created by Little Xue Ji was taken from real life.

Sister Meng's husband who was in the illusion was already dead.

But neither the staff at the rescue center nor Meng Sister mentioned a word about his death.
On the contrary, they tried to conceal it.

…
Why?

The sky was already dark by the time that Lin Xinghe walked back to the rescue center.

The town was even more deserted in the early evening.
None of the houses turned on their lights.
Only the streetlights that came on one after another illuminated the town.

And under the dim streetlights, the red-clad woman acting as the Door God on all the homes looked even creepier.

The woman obviously had no facial features, but it felt like each one she walked past had a pair of eyes that followed her every movement.
She felt like she had a thorn in her back.

Lin Xinghe finally met up with the other four candidates when she returned to the rescue center.

Frozen pale and shivering head to toe, they were huddled by the heater sipping hot water.
The group looked tired and haggard.
The girls' faces were bruised from the cold.

Chai Yong and the others were surprised to see Lin Xinghe, especially when they saw her alive and well, carrying a backpack, wearing a thin down jacket, and having such great spirits it's like she just ate.
Their expressions were just splendid.

 

“You didn't come down from the mountain?”

The person who asked this was Chai Yong.

He brought these three nuisances down the mountain.
Groping, crawling, and rolling about the entire journey, he nearly made the wrong step and lost his life several times.
He was feeling immensely proud of himself for being able to descend safely and find the rescue center until he saw the intact Lin Xinghe.
His mood couldn't be more sensitive right now.

But Lin Xinghe even said: “I came down.
I ran into someone from the rescue team and came down by helicopter.
By the way, there's also free bentos here.
They're at the back of the canteen.”

The difference between them instantly erased Chai Yong's sense of triumph.

The staff from the rescue center came over and asked Lin Xinghe, “Are they your lost companions?”

Lin Xinghe said: “Mm, they are.”

The staff said: “It's not easy to get down from the mountain.
We still have extra rooms here, just in time for you to have a good night's rest.
It's the off-season in our town.
The hotels are closed and nobody is being taken in.
If you can't find a hotel tomorrow, you can continue to stay with us.” After a pause, she suddenly gave a faint smile, “I doubt anyone else will be coming at this time, so it's completely empty.”

The staff then distributed the keys to them.

One person per room.

After the staff left, Chai Yong sized up Lin Xinghe.

Lin Xinghe's appearance is too deceiving.
She looks like a sweet and silly little girl who doesn't understand the world.
Chai Yong instantly put Lin Xinghe into the same category as Tang Xin and tried to take control of the discourse, saying: “There's no elimination system in the freshman exam room.
We're not enemies.
We have a mutually beneficial relationship.
The exam question is to kill the Snow Woman.
The only way to survive this is for the five of us to work together and follow my lead.
I used to be an outdoor enthusiast.
I've participated in many outdoor survival competitions and I've even killed a tiger with my bare hands.
No one will question it if I say I'm the force to be reckoned with in this exam room, right?”1

“No no, we all listen to Brother Chai.”

“Yes, Brother Chai is the force to be reckoned with in our exam room!”

Fang Ziyue and Li Chengyan echoed.

Tang Xin didn't say a word until Fang Ziyue glared at her.
Only then did she whisper, “…
Yes.”

Satisfied, Chai Yong said: “As long as you listen to me, I guarantee you will survive.
In this exam room, you don't walk out alive just by being lucky.
I've killed more beasts than you've ever eaten.
Little girl, listening to me is the right choice.”

Lin Xinghe said slowly: “Although there's no elimination system in this exam room, we get points for excellent performance.
In this respect, we are also rivals.
But I appreciate your kindness.”

Lin Xinghe waved to them.

“Bye, I'll head back first.”

Chai Yong sneered, “She can't tell what's good for her.
She really thinks her luck can feed her.
She really thinks she's so capable.”

Fang Ziyue agreed, “Brother Chai, don't stoop to her level.
She'll ask you for help when she runs into the Snow Woman.
When that time comes, we'll demand a lot of points.
Doesn't she have a magic broom? We'll take everything.”

Tang Xin's eyes twinkled as they followed Lin Xinghe's back.

Chai Yong noticed and cursed Tang Xin immediately: “What the hell are you looking at? Could you get down the mountain safely without me? Ungrateful *****.
Follow her.
I'll see if you can survive tonight.”

Tang Xin cowered and said: “Yes…
I'm sorry.”

Chai Yong cursed again.

Fang Ziyue and Li Chengyan coaxed him for a while and Chai Yong finally dropped it.

———-

Footnotes:

(1) Cried like a pear blossom carrying the rain: means to cry beautifully, usually to describe a woman

(2) Door gods (aka menshen, threshold guardians): pictures of deities posted on the door outside and inside the house.
They are expected to keep ghosts/evil spirits away, to protect the family, and to bring peace and good fortune

(3) The dress mentioned is specifically a jiaoling ruqun: