DLMSWSHH Chapter 29

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Chapter 29: Sin

Standing at the back of the line, Li Yizhi raised his eyebrows high at the sight of the confessionals. He looked toward Zhong Ming and exaggeratedly mouthed a few words.

Zhong Ming chose to ignore him. He turned his gaze away and lifted the oil lamp. The warm light hit the wooden confessionals; their exquisite carvings looked as if they might spring to life at any moment.

Following his movements, some players took a closer look and discovered that the carving depicted thorny brambles entwined with blooming roses.

In front of each confessional stood an elegant iron openwork candelabra, each holding a single candle.

Zhong Ming opened the door of the oil lamp, took out the burning wick, and raised his hand to slowly light the candle in front of the rightmost confessional. A few seconds later, the flame flickered to life, illuminating the structure. Bits of light filtered through the openwork patterns, allowing one to peer through the gaps and see the space inside.

The interior was very cramped. From the floor to the seat, everything was covered in dark red velvet, a color that wouldn’t look out of place even if blood were splattered across it. It looked quite eerie.

Among the players, someone who had seemingly guessed what was coming began to breathe heavily.

The student in the white hoodie turned frantically to look at the two surviving mercenaries. One of them was staring at the confessional with wide, terrified eyes, his posture incredibly tense. The other blonde man was looking at his feet as if none of this concerned him, showing no intention of taking the lead. The student panicked even more.

“Hey, what exactly is supposed to happen here?”

His voice shook uncontrollably as he turned to the menservants behind him. “What are you trying to do?!”

Naturally, no one answered him. Meanwhile, as if deaf to the commotion behind him, Zhong Ming calmly carried the wick to the next confessional and leaned in to light the candle.

Seeing that no one was paying him any mind, the student was forced to shut his mouth.

The only sound in the silent chapel was Zhong Ming’s footsteps. As the candles were lit one by one, the student’s heart beat faster and faster.

A moment later, Zhong Ming lit the final candle. He turned and stood before the confessionals, lowering his head under the gaze of the players to gently blow out the oil lamp in his hand.

As the light source disappeared, only the flickering flames of the five candles in front of the five confessionals remained, swaying silently in the air. The light shone from behind Zhong Ming, outlining the young man’s slender figure while burying his face in shadow.

“Players, please choose your confessionals,” Zhong Ming said softly, repeating the words Madam Mary had taught him in advance. “Before the candles go out, please devoutly confess your sins to God.”

His voice sounded even more ethereal in the quiet chapel. The players were momentarily stunned. Instinctively, they shifted their gazes to the confessionals behind him.

Cramped, enclosed spaces… they had to enter one… and who knew what would be in the other half of the booth? Almost every player realized the danger immediately. The student’s face turned white instantly. He shook his head violently as he backed away.

“No… no, no, no—” His voice grew louder as he looked at Zhong Ming in disbelief. “I’m not going in.” His breathing was shallow, his chest heaving. “Who knows what’s in there? Dammit! I-I’m absolutely not going in—”

Facing his protest, Zhong Ming’s face remained expressionless. “Every guest must enter. Those without sin will receive forgiveness.”

At this, the student’s lower lip trembled, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes. However, he quickly reacted, shouting, “I have no sin! And why do I have to confess? Motherfucker, I’m not even religious—”

Before he could finish, Jack, standing behind him, suddenly reached out and clamped a hand around the student’s throat. “Hey, keep your mouth clean.”

Jack leaned casually against a pew, looking relaxed, but his right hand was like an iron vice around the student’s windpipe. He watched the student make pained, wheezing noises, spat on the ground, and looked up at Zhong Ming.

“This is a chapel, after all.” A smile played on his lips. Though he was speaking to the player, his eyes were fixed on Zhong Ming. “Just do what others tell you to do.”

He just did something even more insulting to the gods, yet now he says such things.

Zhong Ming narrowed his eyes, detecting a hint of flippant mockery in Jack’s attitude. He took a slight breath, looked away toward the remaining players, and stepped aside to clear the path.

“Guests, please.”

Among the players, the two remaining mercenaries exchanged a look, then simultaneously moved forward. They knew resistance was futile; it was better to pick a confessional early. Perhaps, with luck, they wouldn’t die too painfully. However, the five confessionals were identical on the outside. From the carvings and size to the interior furnishings, there was no difference at all.

After staring intently for a few seconds and realizing he couldn’t distinguish between them, the black-haired mercenary cursed under his breath. He wiped his face, his expression turning to total despair, and he chose the one closest to him at random. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Beside him, the blonde mercenary had dark circles under his eyes even heavier than before. He stared at the confessional for a moment, then also began to move.

However, just as Zhong Ming thought he would also choose a random booth, the blonde man stopped abruptly as he passed him. He turned his head to look at Zhong Ming.

Zhong Ming kept his head down, looking at the shadow in front of him, and then looked up in surprise to meet the gaze of the blond man.

“Hey.” The blonde mercenary’s face was pale, his eyes deeply sunken, yet he managed to force a small smile at Zhong Ming. “If it were you, which one would you choose?”

His tone was unexpectedly soft, carrying a strange sense of calm, as if he knew his end was near. Zhong Ming froze, momentarily unsure how to answer.

“I’ll f*ck your mother—”

Jack’s expression shifted violently at the back. He released the student’s throat and surged forward while the youth coughed as if he were dying. “You’re chatting with him now? I’ll throw you straight out to the dogs—”

Just as he was about to move forward aggressively, Madam Mary reached out to stop him. She turned her head slightly. “No need.”

She looked back at Zhong Ming and said calmly, “It’s fine. You can answer him.”

Zhong Ming frowned and looked at the blonde man. Seeing that the other was still waiting for his response, he thought for a moment before saying: “I don’t know.”

“…What kind of answer is that?”

The blonde man smiled helplessly, lowered his head with a sigh, and then looked back up at Zhong Ming: “So, what is your lucky number?”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming’s expression went blank for a split second. The question seemed to trigger something in his mind; he paused, then answered: “My lucky number…”

Zhong Ming raised his eyes and said: “My lucky number is three.”

“Is that so?” The blonde man seemed pleased that he could answer, his smile becoming a touch more sincere. He looked up and walked toward the central confessional. Zhong Ming watched as he opened the door, leaned down, and disappeared inside.

Behind him, Jack clicked his tongue, looking extremely annoyed. At his feet, the male college student in white was still coughing incessantly, even starting to cry midway through. On the other side, the girl was supporting her boyfriend, who was still muttering to himself, unsure of what to do.

“Hey, Chengcheng, pull yourself together.” The girl struggled to support her boyfriend, whose legs had gone weak. She was barely over 160 cm tall with a slender build and simply couldn’t drag a man who far outweighed her. Seeing him in such a pathetic state, she felt a flare of anger: “If you keep acting like this, I’m leaving you behind!”

At those words, the boyfriend finally stopped shaking and looked up at her. He was passably handsome, and the fragile look in his eyes glistening with tears softened the girl’s heart.

However, in the next instant, he pushed his girlfriend away and strode toward one of the confessionals, slipping inside before anyone realized what was happening.

The girl was left stunned. Her face turned deathly pale as she watched her boyfriend abandon her without a second thought.

From behind, Li Yizhi let out a mocking sneer.

Hearing the laughter, the girl’s face flushed a deep red, half from rage and half from the shame of being treated that way by her chosen man in public. A moment later, she scrambled up, picked a confessional at random, walked in, and slammed the door shut with a “clap.”

Finally, the male college student, who had cried himself into a heap of jelly, was picked up by the back of his collar and tossed inside by Jack.

Seeing that all the players had entered the booths, Zhong Ming looked up and clapped his hands twice in the air.

Clap.

The latches on the outside of all the confessionals dropped simultaneously with a crisp snap.

Zhong Ming heard the sharp, panicked scream of the college student from inside his booth.

The confessionals were made of wood with hollowed-out patterns on the walls, so the soundproofing was poor.

After the doors were locked, a heavy silence fell inside the booths. Outside, the candles on the candelabra burned quietly; melting wax dripped down, flowing onto the floor to form solidified white spots.

Zhong Ming waited in silence.

Outside the chapel, a thick fog had completely enveloped the area, making the interior even dimmer. Behind him, the menservants sat sprawled across the pews. Li Yizhi even let out a massive yawn.

About fifteen minutes later, just as the candles had burned halfway down, a crisp sound echoed from outside one of the booths.

Zhong Ming looked up and saw that the latch on the girl’s confessional had opened. Then, the wooden door was pushed aside, and the girl walked out looking normal. Her brow was slightly furrowed with a hint of lingering indignation, clearly still dwelling on what had happened earlier.

When she saw Zhong Ming waiting outside, her expression softened. She said to the youth, “I didn’t expect that I’d actually feel much better after confessing.” The girl smiled at Zhong Ming, sounding a bit embarrassed. “As soon as I sat down, I don’t know why, but I suddenly remembered stealing twenty yuan from my mom when I was a kid. I was so scared back then, but she never actually found out.”

Zhong Ming didn’t have time to respond before Jack clicked his tongue impatiently from behind, barking at the girl: “If you’re done confessing, shut up and get lost to the side.”

The girl flinched, her face paling. But at that exact moment, a blood-curdling scream erupted from behind her!

“AAAAAAAHHH—!!!”

“I didn’t mean it! I really didn’t!! S-someone tricked me into smoking it!!!”

Startled by the sudden, massive noise, the girl spun around. She realized the sound was coming from the booth occupied by the student in white. His voice was thick with terror and a sobbing tone, his words a jumbled, incoherent mess: “Really… it’s not true! It was them… th-they said it wasn’t addictive. A-and I was just playing around; I’m not hooked, I’m really not, AAAAAAHHH!”

His pleas eventually devolved into senseless wailing and shrieking. However, the girl still managed to catch the truth between his words. She frowned and took several steps back, muttering: “What the hell? That guy’s a drug addict?”

Zhong Ming already knew this, so he wasn’t particularly surprised. It seemed the real confession had begun.

Then, the student’s screams spiked in pitch. Simultaneously, a faint, rustling sound began to echo from within the booth.

“AAAAHH!!! STOP!! P-please! I really didn’t mean it!” The student seemed to be begging something in terror, his tone carrying a note of broken, desperate nihilism. “It’s his own fault for using such an old lock; what does that have to do with me?! Fuck, it’s not like I wanted to go in! He’s the one living in that ancient village house; how is that my fault? He brought it on himself!”

Zhong Ming’s eyes snapped open wide.

The faint rustling inside the booth grew louder, turning into a bone-chilling, gnashing sound of something chewing. The student appeared to be in immense agony; his voice grew increasingly hoarse as he blurted out the dark truth under the pressure of his total collapse. From his chaotic ramblings, Zhong Ming pieced together a horrific story.

After the student became addicted to drugs, he returned to his hometown during a break. In the village, he reunited with two childhood friends who had also encountered drugs elsewhere. The three of them were birds of a feather; over the summer, they “introduced” each other to various vices such as drinking, gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Quickly, they became as close as they were when they were kids.

But these “entertainment” projects were expensive. All three were from rural backgrounds with families who had been farmers for generations. Their financial situations were mediocre, and they soon blew through their tuition and living expenses.

Then, late one night, as the three walked out of a KTV in the county town and passed a residential house by the road, a criminal impulse struck. They knew exactly who lived in that slightly dilapidated house: Old Man Zhao, a retired technician from a factory in town. His children worked in the city, his wife had passed away a few years ago, and he lived alone.

Old Man Zhao had worked diligently his whole life and lived very frugally to put his children through school. He was so stingy he wouldn’t even replace a worn-out iron lock on his door. Because of this, despite his low wages, he had saved a significant amount of money. Furthermore, the three knew his habit. The old man didn’t trust banks, so his savings were kept in cash inside a shoebox under his bed planks.

Under the dim yellow light of the old house, the one with dyed yellow hair turned back, eyes wide, and said to his companions: “I know how to pick locks.”

Those words were the signal. The three able-bodied students crept into the old house under the cover of night. They saw the old man who had given them candy when they were children, and they smiled at him.

The next day, Old Man Zhao’s children rushed back to the village from various cities. The funeral was grand, and the heartbroken wails of the family echoed through the village. Yet, at that time, the three killers were in the county town; the old man’s life savings had become payment for prostitutes, sitting on a KTV manager’s desk.

The police quickly launched an investigation. After a day of indulgence, the three suddenly sobered up from their high, broke into a cold sweat, and filed for a leave of absence from school to begin their flight. During these times, their drug use never stopped; they squandered the money rapidly and took out numerous predatory micro-loans. Finally, they met a company that offered them financial assistance, on the condition that they participate in this game.

“I-I really didn’t mean it—” Inside the confessional, the student’s voice was much weaker now, but he continued to deflect blame. “If I had known it was this kind of game, I never would have joined! T-they lied to me!”

“S-so… stop eating me—AAAAAAHHH!!”

Along with his scream, Zhong Ming looked down and saw blood slowly seeping out from the crack beneath the confessional door.

The screams and confessions of different people swirled around his ears.

To the left, the boyfriend named “Chengcheng” was crying as he described how he was tricked into sports betting by a senior. He thought his understanding of football would let him win it all back, but he only lost more and more. In the end, he claimed he just wanted to make money so he could be worthy of his well-to-do girlfriend. Meanwhile, from the right came the mercenary’s wails as he confessed to brutally murdering an entire village during a mission years ago, piling the bodies into a mass grave to burn.

The voices of confession and painful pleas for mercy tangled together, rising to resonate within the high steeples of the chapel. It sounded almost like a prayer played on a pipe organ.

Outside the booths, the girl’s face grew paler and paler. Her hands shook with rage as she listened to her boyfriend’s words, and she began screaming at him through the door. However, the man inside was clearly too deep in agony to respond. Soon after, blood began to gush out.

Amidst the girl’s panicked screams, Zhong Ming’s breathing hitched, and he felt a sudden surge of nausea.

He lowered his head, unable to stop himself from reaching up to rub his throbbing temples.

At that moment, a hand pressed onto his shoulder. Zhong Ming paused and turned to see Madam Mary standing behind him. The woman’s gaunt face flickered in the candlelight. Her back was ramrod straight, and her grey-blue eyes looked down with a sort of feigned mercy as she reached out to pull Zhong Ming against her shoulder.

“My poor child.”

She held Zhong Ming in her arms, her right hand pressing the young man’s head against her shoulder. With the expression of a compassionate mother, she leaned down lovingly and kissed his temple.

“It must be hard to hear so many wicked things, isn’t it?”

Her tone was gentle as her palm stroked his hair. She whispered: “But this is a trial given to you by God.” While keeping Zhong Ming shielded in her embrace, she looked up at the booths that were still emitting agonizing screams, a cruel light shining in her eyes. “To work here, you must understand what kind of depraved, terrifying, and evil people you are dealing with.”

Zhong Ming moved slightly in her arms, but Madam Mary held him down firmly. Her tone suddenly turned icy: “From now on, keep your distance from these ‘guests.’ Do not let them defile your pure soul. Do you understand?”

She held him tightly in an embrace that felt like protection, yet felt more like imprisonment.

Zhong Ming paused, then nodded.

“Good boy.”

Madam Mary nodded with satisfaction and released him. Like a mother full of expectations for her child, she reached out to straighten his slightly disheveled suit.

“I plan to leave all chapel matters to you in the future. So, it is good for you to experience these things.”

“I understand,” Zhong Ming whispered.

After hearing those stories, he didn’t exactly feel sympathy for these people.

Inside the wooden booths, the “confessions” continued. As the foul-smelling blood continuously spilled from under the doors, the players’ screams grew fainter, while the sound of gnashing teeth grew louder.

Much later, the thick fog outside the chapel dissipated. The commotion inside the confessionals finally slowed down; the sounds grew quieter until they vanished entirely.

By then, thick blood had filled the entire chancel area. Zhong Ming looked up and met the gaze of the Virgin Mary statue, whose eyes had turned entirely black. He inexplicably detected a faint, almost imperceptible smile on its face, as if it were satiated.

The rose patterns on the booths had also transformed into irregular lines at some point. If one stared too long, the lines seemed to writhe. As everything came to an end, Zhong Ming heard a faint, gluttonous sigh in the air.

The “Confession” was over.

The sole surviving girl huddled in a corner, weeping. In the end, she had tried to open the booth door to save her boyfriend, leaving her hands and feet soaked in blood. She hugged herself, trembling in the corner, unsure if she was crying for her dead boyfriend or for her own hopeless future.

Li Yizhi, who had been resting his feet on the back of a pew, let out a yawn and stood up lazily. He stretched his limbs to work out the stiffness before sauntering over to Zhong Ming.

With his hands in his pockets, Li Yizhi watched as Archie opened one of the booth doors. A mixture of blood, shredded meat, and bone fragments immediately spilled out across the floor.

“Damn.”

Li Yizhi looked disgusted. “So stinky. This is exactly why I hate this part.”

He turned to Zhong Ming, his lips curving into a smile as he draped an arm over the youth’s shoulder.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, did you know this was going to happen today?” Li Yizhi glanced around. “Usually, this ‘Confession’ doesn’t happen until later. This batch of players shouldn’t have been subjected to it yet. I guess Madam Mary wanted to use it to educate you.”

His gaze moved past the carnage to watch Archie and the others enter the booths with tools to begin cleaning up. He raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Zhong Ming, leaning down intimately to whisper: “Big brother didn’t lie to you, did he? These players are all rotten to the core.”

Li Yizhi’s voice softened as he smiled.

“If you won’t listen to me, at least listen to Madam Mary. The sins on these people wouldn’t wash clean in hundreds of years. Stay away from them from now on, okay?”

Zhong Ming kept his eyes lowered, his face slightly pale, and he didn’t immediately react. Seeing this, Li Yizhi assumed he was frightened and was about to offer some gentle comfort when Zhong Ming suddenly looked up.

The young man’s thick lashes fluttered. Suddenly, he raised his hand and hooked it around the man’s shoulder.

Li Yizhi suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in surprise, his pupils contracting sharply, his phoenix eyes reflecting the youth’s smiling face.

This was the first time Zhong Ming had ever initiated physical closeness with him.

The youth was like a pure white flower carved from ice and snow, always exuding a faint fragrance while maintaining a measured distance that was neither too close nor too far.

Even someone as strong-willed as Li Yizhi couldn’t help but feel his heart soften for a moment. He thought to himself that if Zhong Ming leaned in any closer, he’d start picking out names for their children.

However, in the next instant, Zhong Ming’s voice caused his blood to turn to ice.

“Then, what is your sin?”

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