Chapter 55: Orphan Resentment (Part 15)

Warning: Graphic depictions of gore and human remains.

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While they were all tense, Qu Muxi gave a closed-eyed smile. “Although our Charity Orphanage is known for its warm hospitality, and we truly appreciate your contributions, this place is quite remote. Not only are ingredients hard to come by, but we’re also short on staff. Auntie Jiang from the cafeteria just had a nasty fall. It’s quite serious, so there’s no one to prepare lunch.”

She looked intently at the group and requested: “If any of you know how to cook, would you help make lunch?”

Her intense gaze gave off a weird feeling. The sudden demand made them glance at each other nervously. No one dared to respond right away. Instead, they exchanged looks, hoping to gauge each other’s reactions.

None of them wanted to step forward in a situation like this, so they hesitated.

When no one responded, Qu Muxi’s smile chilled. Her tone was no longer warm. “If none of you know how, that’s unfortunate. It’s essential to have at least one useful skill to survive.”

It was a clear threat. Xiao Muyu responded placidly, “I know how to code—does that count for survival?”

Shen Qingqiu and the others turned to stare at her. Even Qu Muxi seemed stunned. Then Xiao Muyu added unhurriedly, “Oh, my mistake. I can cook.”

Qu Muxi’s expression was complex. She seemed on the verge of anger yet managed to restrain herself.

Shen Qingqiu pressed her lips tight, stifling a laugh. Xiao Muyu deliberately provoked Qu Muxi out of annoyance. It was a rare sight.

Following her lead, Shen Qingqiu took out her dagger and spun it in her left hand. “I’m pretty good at taking down ghosts and people. Not so much at cooking. But I can help her with cutting meat and prepping.”

Her gaze fixed on Qu Muxi in a similarly intimidating way. Qu Muxi’s expression darkened even more. It was… the first time someone had dared to threaten her.

Zhang Yangfeng and the others were in awe of Shen Qingqiu. She was truly fearless. He considered his words and was about to speak, but Yang Rui pulled on his arm to stop him. Then she chimed in, “I can cook, too.”

At last, Qu Muxi’s expression softened. “Well, I’ll leave it to you three then. I look forward to seeing your culinary skills.”

Hou Liang, Liu Pei, Zhang Yangfeng, and Huang Junfeng still felt uneasy. Qu Muxi added, “While they cook, the rest of you will continue teaching the kids. Remember, lunch is at twelve-thirty sharp.”

As Qu Muxi led the three women into the kitchen, Xiao Muyu glanced at the time. It was 11:35.

Unexpectedly, the kitchen had a T-shaped layout. A narrow passage greeted them upon entering.

A cabinet to the right kept plates and bowls. Two sinks stood to the left for washing dishes. There were two separate rooms further inside. The left room housed the cooking area, with an old-fashioned gas stove and a large iron wok set on top. Various seasonings were nearby. Three metal basins were stacked on a long counter. The cafeteria lady likely used them for vegetables. Although they weren’t clean, they weren’t too dirty either.

The room on the right appeared to be the pantry. The three women glanced around, taking in the limited food supplies. There were wilted greens, sprouting potatoes, radishes, and chili peppers. What little ingredients were there looked far from fresh.

Xiao Muyu recalled one thing they had yet to clarify. Shen Qingqiu knew another piece of information. From the hint she’d given, Xiao Muyu surmised she knew what kind of meat they had eaten last night.

It didn’t seem likely that Shen Qingqiu was talking about human meat. Even if Shen Qingqiu had somehow tasted human meat before, identifying it confidently by taste alone would be quite a stretch. And she wouldn’t be so calm after knowing she had eaten human meat. That would be alarming.

She looked at the prep counter outside the pantry. On the counter was a cutting board and knife, already washed. However, patches of blood stains, some dark and yellowed, some still slightly fresh, could still be seen on the wall.

Xiao Muyu bent down and, after a moment, picked something up from the floor. She held it in front of her. It was a black feather, stained with blood and slightly dirty—likely from a bird.

Just then, Yang Rui let out a short cry. Xiao Muyu immediately turned her head to look.

Shen Qingqiu was standing to the side, opening the pantry’s freezer. It was an upright freezer. When the door opened, tightly packed contents spilled out, all pitch black and bloody. They were crows!

Moreover, these crows were noticeably larger than usual. Their eyes were cloudy and white after being dead for some time. Their cold and stiff bodies piled together was truly a disturbing sight.

Because of its ominous reputation, the crow symbolized death and decay. This freezer packed full of dead crows was both revolting and terrifying. Yang Rui couldn’t be blamed for crying out like that.

With the black feather pinched between her fingers, Xiao Muyu walked over. She covered her nose, frowning. “The meat you guys ate that day was crow meat?”

But it still didn’t fit. Crows were birds. Bird meat had a different texture and bone structure from mammal meat. Why did no one mention it tasted like bird meat?

“It was, but there were other meat mixed in, too,” Shen Qingqiu explained, sensing her confusion. Then she opened another door. A foul stench hit them all at once. The three women instinctively covered their noses and stepped back.

In front of them was a large slab of pork, which looked to be between fifty and sixty pounds. The color had already changed, clearly no longer fresh.

The unbearable stench made Yang Rui gag. She stepped out, unable to stand it any longer, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve. “Why does this meat smell so horrible? It feels wrong… ugh!”

Despite her sharp sense of smell, Xiao Muyu didn’t back away. She kept her eyes on the freezer, her expression grim.

The moment the smell hit, Shen Qingqiu’s brow furrowed. This stench wasn’t something a piece of spoiled pork could produce. From the smell, she knew—it was the odor of extreme protein decay. And this particular foulness… it felt like…

Shen Qingqiu spoke in a low voice, her words sending a chill down Yang Rui’s spine.

“This smell isn’t just rotting meat. It’s… the stench of a corpse.”

With that, she tore a piece off her clothes, folded the cloth a few times, and used it to cover her nose and mouth. Then, in one swift motion, she opened the remaining two doors.

The sight revealed row upon row of human heads. Severe decay distorted their features. Some even had exposed skulls. The morbid scene was more shocking than any ghost!

Yang Rui let out a piercing scream. Back drenched with cold sweat, Xiao Muyu decisively covered Yang Rui’s mouth to stifle her terrified cries.

The single-door freezer had four shelves. The two freezers on the right that Shen Qingqiu had opened contained four piles of flesh that lay jumbled together. The arms and legs on top confirmed that these were the remains of dismembered bodies.

On the left freezer, each of the four shelves displayed two human heads, neatly arranged. The scene was macabre.

No matter how composed Xiao Muyu usually was, at this moment, she couldn’t help but turn her head away after a glance. Her face was pale, her expression a mix of disgust and discomfort.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her, then closed the freezer doors. Her expression was grim, her brows tightly furrowed, but her reaction was far less intense than the other two. It seemed even a scene like this couldn’t daunt her.

Xiao Muyu quickly glanced at Shen Qingqiu, then hurriedly helped Yang Rui out of the room. Yang Rui’s legs were so weak she practically hung off Xiao Muyu. She couldn’t bear such a bloody sight even after clearing two instances.

Shen Qingqiu followed them out. She grabbed Yang Rui with one hand and pulled her aside, her tone cold: “Pull yourself together. Stand on your own.”

Xiao Muyu shot Shen Qingqiu a subtle glance but said nothing.

On top of her pale face, her lips were bloodless. Although she seemed to have calmed down by now, Shen Qingqiu knew she had been deeply affected.

“I acted too suddenly. Are you okay?” Shen Qingqiu gently squeezed Xiao Muyu’s hanging right hand. Her cold and clammy fingers prompted Shen Qingqiu to unconsciously hold them briefly, transferring warmth.

Xiao Muyu took a deep breath, unobtrusively withdrawing her hand. “I’m fine. I can handle myself.”

Shen Qingqiu had opened the freezer doors because she had already guessed what was inside. Even though she had anticipated seeing bodies, she had underestimated the way this horrifying instance would present them.

“You rest. I’ll go check it out.” Shen Qingqiu turned to Yang Rui and said, “Those bodies are important. Don’t you want to come along and study them?”

Yang Rui weakly glanced at her, cheeks trembling. The stench, which seemed to have spread, still hung in the air. She bent over again, vomiting bile.

She was not her teammate, but this woman was showing too much of a double standard. She lowered her head, softly telling Xiao Muyu to rest, before looking up, brow quirked, cruelly asking Yang Rui to go study those… things.

Xiao Muyu felt a mix of emotions. The blatant favoritism was onerous and a disruption. Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t help but feel a momentary amusement. It was seven parts funny, three parts pleasant, and she had a hard time suppressing the latter.

“I’m fine. Those are very important. I’ll be okay.” Xiao Muyu gathered her strength. Although she had been shocked earlier, fear was the last thing she should show in a place like this.

At that moment, Xiao Muyu looked slightly frail from her paleness. But Shen Qingqiu knew she was never a fragile person. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge in her heart. She looked into Xiao Muyu’s eyes and smiled. “Don’t trust me?”

Xiao Muyu froze. Shen Qingqiu’s rare, gentle smile persisted as she continued, “If you trust me, you should believe that I can recount everything you need, word for word. I know your sense of smell is keener than most. Getting close would probably make it even worse. Besides, those things are far from works of art—they’re repulsive to look at. Just leave it to me.”

Xiao Muyu lowered her gaze briefly before raising it again. Her expression seemed to teeter between a smile and self-depreciation as she said calmly, “Being here means that I have to face problems, no matter how serious they are or how particular I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t deserve to stand here. I can handle a bit of discomfort.”

Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly. The words slipped out before she could stop them: “But you have me now. As long as I’m capable, you can afford to be particular. You don’t have to endure it.”

“With me here, you don’t always have to be so strong, so rational. You can afford to be particular, to take a step back.”

A sudden and startlingly similar phrase echoed in Xiao Muyu’s mind, throwing her into a daze. She stared at Shen Qingqiu, unable to form a rebuttal.

It wasn’t until Shen Qingqiu went back in alone that a light tap on Xiao Muyu’s arm from Yang Rui brought her back to her senses.

“Are you okay?” Her face was pale and worn, yet the girl still voiced her concern in a soft tone.

Xiao Muyu shook her head.

“You two have a really good relationship. I wouldn’t have imagined her being like that if I didn’t just see it for myself,” Yang Rui said, unusually initiating a conversation.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t naturally draw much attention to herself. Despite her striking appearance and sharp personality, her presence was even more subdued than Xiao Muyu’s when she stayed quiet. But when she did speak, it was like a knife, cutting straight to the point.

Be that as it may, Shen Qingqiu always gave off an air of being unapproachable, with a peculiar temperament. Yet with Xiao Muyu, she seemed like a rose that had its thorns snipped: radiant and vibrant, with petals that were soft to the touch.

After entering, Shen Qingqiu frowned. She went back and forth, examining the area while ignoring the suffocating stench.

Xiao Muyu kept her gaze on Shen Qingqiu’s figure but remained eerily rational. She reminded Yang Rui, “No matter what we find, there’s one thing we have to do right now: serve lunch at 12:30. We don’t have much time, so we need to start cooking.”

Yang Rui’s expression was hard to describe. Cooking—right next to that pile of corpses? The mere thought of eating the crow meat and pork stored next to those bodies made her stomach churn. Remembering how Zhang Yangfeng had eaten her share made her feel even worse.

Shen Qingqiu, apparently on the same wavelength as Xiao Muyu, also realized the time constraint. She pulled out the required ingredients before stepping back inside, shutting the door behind her.

Xiao Muyu pressed her lips together. She watched Shen Qingqiu through the glass for a moment. Then, she found the tools, bent down, and started efficiently peeling potatoes and radishes. Seeing this, Yang Rui forced herself to suppress her disgust and found a bag of rice—already infested with bugs. She began rinsing the rice and washing the vegetables.

Over twenty minutes passed before Shen Qingqiu came out. She had removed her coat and thoroughly washed her hands several times before re-entering. Keeping a noticeable distance from Xiao Muyu, she spoke in a low voice.

“Eight people. Their faces are unrecognizable, but it’s still clear that they are all men. One of them has a gold tooth. Six of them wear watches, and one has prayer beads. The cause of death is hard to determine for now. But the heads were severed unevenly, with the muscle tissue torn directly apart. Not just the heads—most of the torsos are also severely damaged, with clear tearing marks. There are bite marks on the remains—very deep, about six or seven centimeters long. The teeth are dense and sharp. As far as I know, no living creature has a bite like that. The marks were probably made while they were still alive.”

“The bones were splintered, with many fragments missing. Based on the number of corpses, all eight individuals are accounted for, and they appear to be adult men.”

She steadily delivered the report in one go. Yang Rui couldn’t decide if she was more impressed or terrified. What kind of person could remain so calm and meticulous while examining eight heavily decomposed corpses? It was terrifying.

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Author had something to say:

This chapter also has the two flirting with each other.

Yang Rui: *Gags*, you…you two women over there.
An indifferent Xiao Muyu and the impatient Shen Qingqiu: What are you doing?
Yang Rui: I just want to throw up in peace. I’m even rolling my eyes here, but you two still blinded me.
Su Jin: This is just the beginning.
Xiao Shen: Go away. Get off my wife and sit on the floor.
Yang Rui: ……