Chapter 62: Orphan Resentment (Part 22)

“Alright, everyone, take your positions.” Little Five giggled, signaling the start of the game.

The eight dolls formed a circle in the bathroom, and the atmosphere instantly became constrictive. Hou Liang kept swallowing nervously, his hands and feet trembling. He tried to comfort himself. Everyone knew which child corresponded to whom, so it might not start with him.

Just as the tension peaked, Little Six pointed at Xiao Muyu, whose expression remained calm.

“It’s your turn this time.” It flashed a smile at Xiao Muyu.

The others displayed a mix of surprise, fear, and, lastly, relief. They were thankful it was Xiao Muyu instead of them.

In their minds, Xiao Muyu’s doll was the most obvious among the group. They needed to worry about her the least when playing this game.

Only Shen Qingqiu furrowed her delicate brows. Her gray eyes fixed intently on Xiao Muyu with undisguised concern.

Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu’s face and blinked, trying to reassure her. Shen Qingqiu caught her meaning but couldn’t stop herself from feeling nervous.

“Ka~ gome, kagome…” The nursery rhyme echoed again like a spell. Xiao Muyu’s vision suddenly plunged into darkness.

Darkness had a way of stripping away one’s sense of security. Xiao Muyu couldn’t escape this fact, no matter how composed she usually was. Yet, her mind managed to cling to a thread of clarity.

The nursery rhyme echoed around Xiao Muyu. She could distinctly feel the dolls circling her in rhythm with the song. They laughed and shrieked like a group of malicious children. There was no innocence, only the aura of death.

Their movements were stiff, like marionettes, as they followed the song. Most seemed like dangling teru teru bozu¹, spinning with their bodies afloat. Only Little Three was on the floor.

When the final line of the song ended, everything fell silent. Xiao Muyu’s heartbeat, too, gradually steadied. By then, she already had her answer. In her hand was that strand of hair taken from the doorframe. It belonged to the doll currently standing behind her, staring at her.

The last line of the song asked who was behind her. With the song’s end, frenzied voices rushed in from all directions, urging Xiao Muyu to “Guess! Guess!”

The other five players looked aghast at the doll behind Xiao Muyu. Zhang Yangfeng looked astonished while Hou Liang and the others’ faces drained of color. Yang Rui’s eyes widened. How could this be…? It was wrong. That doll was not Little Five!

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats as they stared at Xiao Muyu and the doll innocently looking at her.

No matter how anxious they were, none dared to reveal anything. They could only sigh inwardly, sneaking careful glances at Shen Qingqiu, their eyes filled with pity.

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t suppress her tension. Despite Xiao Muyu’s reassuring signal earlier and her exceptional intelligence, Shen Qingqiu’s anxiety took over at this critical moment. Her hands instinctively clutched at her clothes.

The urging voices around her grew increasingly frantic. Xiao Muyu, with her eyes forced shut, gently tilted her head before fully turning to face the doll behind her. She raised her hand, palm open. Resting quietly in her palm was a single strand of hair—short, thin, and straight.

“The doll behind me is Little Seven!”

Her decisive answer stunned Yang Rui and the others once again. Disbelief and joy immediately followed.

“Correct!” Huang Junfeng couldn’t contain his joy and was the first to speak. Shen Qingqiu also let out a long breath, a trace of happiness appearing on her face.

The eight dolls, however, remained silent, especially Little Seven. Its once innocent and adorable expression now turned grim. Its eyes burned with resentment as it glared at Xiao Muyu. The doll’s expression cast a shadow over everyone’s joy, instantly silencing them all.

The first round was over. Xiao Muyu was allowed to open her eyes after stating her answer. As she did, her gaze met Little Seven’s. She immediately noticed something was off about the doll.

“Is there a problem?” asked Xiao Muyu.

The other seven dolls said nothing, but Little Seven’s voice suddenly turned wild. “How did you guess? It should have been Little Five! You cheated, didn’t you? Who told you the answer!?”

Its voice grew sharp and hysterical, each word dripping with rage. As it questioned Xiao Muyu, it moved closer and closer.

Just as Little Seven got within arm’s reach of Xiao Muyu, it tried to grab her. But Xiao Muyu wasn’t naive—she had been prepared. She quickly stepped back to dodge and kicked out.

Little Seven missed its grab, but it wasn’t human. It reacted with unnatural speed, evading her kick.

A shadow swept in as it was about to sneer at dodging her attack. A slap from Shen Qingqiu’s left hand landed squarely on its face. The strike was completely unexpected. Shen Qingqiu’s overwhelming force sent Little Seven flying.

When the others turned to look, they saw that Little Seven’s head had been knocked askew.

Yang Rui immediately covered her mouth. She barely stopped herself from crying out. That was brutal!

Shen Qingqiu’s right hand remained hanging by her side, her expression icy and unyielding. Her gray eyes, sharp as blades, swept over Little Seven before slowly scanning the remaining seven dolls. In a cold tone, she said, “If you have the nerve to drag us into this game, you better have the guts to lose. I don’t care if you’re vengeful spirits or possessed dolls. If you lose, stay down and get lost. If any of you try to pull tricks, you’d better kill me right now. Otherwise, it won’t just be a crooked head. I can snap it clean off with one hand.”

Her words made the dolls visibly flinch. However, one of them, Little Two, stared burningly at Shen Qingqiu.

Xiao Muyu noticed it. She stepped back and grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s hand, writing a number in her palm.

Shen Qingqiu’s gaze swept over the remaining dolls with no change in expression. Sure enough, Little Two seemed unable to stay calm. Someone had done its carefully styled plaits. A plan began to form in her mind.

Xiao Muyu inhaled and glanced at her arm. The black handprint had vanished. Xiao Jiao had imprinted her handprint on her at the beginning. But that was on the clothes she had worn when she arrived.

Even though she had changed clothes, the handprint had reappeared in this place.

Recalling the handprint on Jia Wenlong, she and Shen Qingqiu knew, without a doubt, that it was a bad omen. When Shen Qingqiu noticed the handprint after entering, she worried Xiao Muyu might be targeted. Acting quickly, she hid behind Xiao Muyu and compared the hair strand she kept with the two strands plucked from Little Five’s head.

Although the hairs were similar in color, they differed in thickness, confirming it wasn’t Little Five spying on them before.

It was a critical clue. Otherwise, Xiao Muyu’s earlier assumptions would have her conclude Little Five was Xiao Jiao’s doll and the one behind her.

Xiao Muyu deduced Little Seven’s identity because the hair strand she held was very straight. Only three had brown hair among the dolls: Little Five, Little Seven, and Little Two. Once she excluded Little Five, Little Seven and Little Two were left.

Little Two’s neatly plaited hair couldn’t have stayed so straight after being plucked. In contrast, Little Seven’s innocent yet lively demeanor matched Xiao Jiao’s personality. It reinforced Xiao Muyu’s belief that Little Seven was Xiao Jiao’s doll.

“*Giggle*, we lost the game! Let’s start over!” Little Seven’s head twisted counterclockwise before snapping back into place. Its childish voice didn’t sound cute and was disquieting.

Xiao Muyu felt an ominous unease. If the game continued, it would lose its challenge for the later participants. The players’ corresponding dolls would become increasingly obvious. What started as a one-in-seven guess for her would shrink to one-in-six. Then, all the connections would eventually be clear. That blatantly violated the game’s fairness.

The others realized this as well and were beginning to panic. Suddenly, all eight dolls opened their mouths wide and inhaled continuously. The lights buzzed and flickered.

The seven players instinctively backed up toward each other, their legs and feet unsteady.

Amid this strange phenomenon, the originally 30-40 cm tall dolls began to swell as if inflated. They rapidly grew from knee to waist height, then human size, and finally towered over them.

The once spacious bathroom became cramped. Eight dolls towered like iron pillars, trapping the seven players in the center. Little Seven fixed its gaze on Xiao Muyu. It grabbed her arm and flung her into a corner.

Shen Qingqiu tried to act but found herself rooted in place. The game had begun!

Anger twisted Shen Qingqiu’s expression. However, she restrained herself when she saw Little Seven toss Xiao Muyu aside without harming her.

At that moment, the system’s voice announced.

“The Kagome Kagome game will now proceed to Round Three. There is a new rule to ensure fairness! The remaining six players will participate simultaneously. Each must select their corresponding doll. For fairness, all targets have been scaled up. You will have 15 seconds to browse your options. Answer time: the duration of a single song.”

The remaining six looked up simultaneously at the enlarged dolls with big heads. They looked like they’d fed on pig feed. The players’ faces went ashen.

“Everyone, remember the wishes—” Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but advise upon seeing their panicked looks. Little Seven slapped her heavily before she could finish. She crashed into the wall corner.

The force of the blow was no less than Shen Qingqiu’s. Xiao Muyu felt like her internal organs had been displaced. She let out a muffled groan and curled up, struggling to endure the excruciating pain.

Shen Qingqiu glanced in her direction. She didn’t utter a word or make any unnecessary movement. She stood like a block of wood, yet the oppressive aura emanating from her was terrifying. It was evident to everyone that Shen Qingqiu was furious.

During the 15-second countdown, Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were fixed solely on Xiao Muyu.

Shen Qingqiu appeared lazy most of the time. The difference lay in her attitude. Toward Xiao Muyu, her laziness had a flirtatious charm. Toward others, it was cloaked in aloofness. People would see her as a beautiful vase unless she unleashed her ghost-slaying prowess. A sight to admire, not touch.

Few had ever glimpsed her true, cold nature. But now, even while preoccupied with scouring for clues with proverbial knives to their necks, Zhang Yangfeng and the others couldn’t ignore the chill and killing intent radiating from her. Even though it came from no spirit, it was much more terrifying.

15 seconds passed in a flash. The maddening nursery rhyme began as promised. The end of the observation phase left everyone staring at a single question.

[Please answer: Which doll is behind you?]

The song, which Shen Qingqiu knew by heart now, irritated her. She vowed she never wanted to hear songs again in her life.

Shen Qingqiu had no intention of wasting time. Fueled by anger, she quickly filled in a name.

The timer stopped right after she submitted her answer. A green circle appeared around the name, indicating successful submission. A glaring red checkmark lit up almost immediately, nearly blinding Shen Qingqiu.

Meanwhile, Xiao Muyu closely observed the scene while enduring her pain. She felt like she was watching a live-action video game. As the song reached its second verse, she noticed a green circle pop up over Shen Qingqiu’s head. Another soon appeared above Yang Rui’s.

One by one, green circles began appearing over everyone’s heads. Xiao Muyu didn’t understand what was happening. Then, a bright red checkmark appeared over Shen Qingqiu’s head.

When the song ended, each person had a mark above their head. Four out of six players had red checkmarks, and two had dark red crosses.

Xiao Muyu immediately understood. Two of them had answered incorrectly. She glanced toward them.

It was Hou Liang and Liu Pei.

*Beep, beep!*

The eight dolls looked at the two men in unison. Their eyes glinted strangely, as if they had found wonderful toys.

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Footnotes:

1. 1. A teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主 or 照る照る坊主, lit. ’shine, shine monk’) is a small traditional handmade doll hung outside doors and windows in Japan in hope of sunny weather. Made from tissue paper or cloth, teru teru bōzu charms are usually white, ghost-like figures with strings tied around their necks. More details in the link below:
   
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teru_teru_b%C5%8Dzu ↩︎