Two of the people let go of the children’s hands, but they immediately realized their mistake and scrambled to grab them again, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
"Pick up the children and run for it," Li Qingxian said, scooping Fangfang up into his arms and continuing to sprint.
Li Qingxian mentally weighed her. Fangfang had to be at least three hundred pounds now.
Even the weakest of the Literature Cultivation practitioners were far stronger than before, as their Qi Meridians had fused with their blood vessels.
The others all picked up the children and continued to run.
The Martial Cultivators’ expressions remained unchanged, but the Daoist Cultivators and Literature Cultivators shot Li Qingxian a grateful look. Without his Spirit Talismans, their speed would have been greatly reduced, and an accident would have been highly likely.
Held in everyone’s arms, Fangfang and the other children clapped their hands, giggled, and began to sing slowly in a drawn-out tune.
"Ci... ty... gate... ci... ty... gate... how... ma... ny... feet... high..."
A chill went down everyone’s spine, but thankfully, they were prepared. They didn’t slow down in the slightest, simply lowering their heads and pushing forward.
Just as the children sang the line, "swallow a chili pepper," everyone successfully passed under the giant children’s arms and officially stepped through the city gate.
"Phew..." Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Inside his Spirit Platform, Li Qingxian used Magic Text to note that the children were a key factor. They could be an obstacle, but they could also play a positive role.
The group put the children down and turned to look back, only to see many of the examinees outside cheering, with some giving them a thumbs-up.
Because Li Qingxian and his group had successfully entered the city, renewed hope spread through the eyes of the other examinees in the once-somber examination grounds.
"Let’s go!"
Li Qingxian took Fangfang’s hand and led the way through the gate’s archway, heading inside.
Mist filled the air inside the city gate. It was dim and lightless, and the group advanced slowly.
After passing through the gate tunnel, the mist thinned, and the faint light of morning appeared.
At the city gate’s exit stood four children dressed in the uniforms of government officials. They were standing solemnly on chairs, with tables set before them, each with a sturdy, endearing look.
The child in the lead spoke with the pomposity of an old man, "Now that you have passed through the city gate, you are qualified to enter the Imperial City. Write down your true names, and you may receive an ’examination paper’ in exchange. This paper will determine your ranking in the Cyan Cloud Examination, so you must not be careless."
Everyone’s hearts stirred. As expected, the Deceitful Land and the Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination were one and the same.
Li Qingxian stepped forward first. He wrote the two words "Ye Han" in the register and looked at the child government official in the lead.
The child cupped his hands, and a sheet of black paper appeared out of thin air. It was about a foot long and half a foot wide. On the black paper, two white words materialized.
World Peace.
Li Qingxian was stunned for a moment before accepting it with both hands.
"Thank you," Li Qingxian said.
"You’re welcome," the child replied politely.
"Excuse me, but how are we supposed to answer this paper?"
"Find out for yourselves," the child said.
Li Qingxian nodded, led Fangfang to one side, and Songg Baige went up second to write his name.
Li Qingxian quietly asked Fangfang, "Do you have any idea how to answer this paper?"
Fangfang stared back with a lost look in her little eyes, shook her head, and said, "I only know how to play games. How would I know anything about exams? Exams are for big kids and grown-ups like you."
"That’s true," Li Qingxian said, smiling as he patted Fangfang’s head.
The others wrote their names one by one and received their examination papers.
The twenty-four of them gathered together, all holding the same examination paper.
"Anyone have a guess as to how we’re supposed to answer this?" Qiu Ye asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
Li Qingxian could only say, "We’ll have to look for clues as we go. The key right now should be the next game."
Unexpectedly, Fangfang suddenly spoke up. "Brother Ye Han, now that you’re in the Imperial City, aren’t you going to see Mother? She’s been worried about you."
Li Qingxian froze. Scenes from Deceit Village replayed in his mind: Mugwort, crispy pork belly, watermelon, Fuchang, the opera stage, two giant white hands, a Phoenix Crown on white cloth...
Finally, he remembered a little girl grabbing the Great Cutting Sword and severing something with a single strike.
Li Qingxian looked closely at Fangfang. Her eyes and brows were strikingly similar to that little girl’s. No wonder he felt like he’d seen her somewhere before.
Li Qingxian’s entire body went rigid, and a chill crept up his spine.
No wonder this child was so close to him. In a sense, they really were half-siblings, sharing the same mother but different fathers.
The others stared at Li Qingxian in astonishment.
Only Wang Buku, who had heard the specific details of Deceit Village and knew that Li Qingxian had served as a Deceitful Infant to the Deceitful Mother, guessed the truth in an instant.
"The one from last time?" Wang Buku asked.
Li Qingxian nodded bitterly.
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Hard to say. A mix of both," Li Qingxian said.
"Be extra careful," Wang Buku said.
The others didn’t understand the cryptic exchange between the two, but they knew it concerned something important and didn’t dare to ask any further.
Li Qingxian cleared his throat, picked up Fangfang, and planted a big kiss on her cheek.
Fangfang blushed, smiling happily. Her eyes, as she looked at Li Qingxian, were full of little stars.
Li Qingxian said, "Can I go see her a little later? After all, I still have to take the Cyan Cloud Examination and answer this paper."
"If you’re too late, Mother will get angry. What if she gets angry and comes to get you herself?" Fangfang frowned.
Li Qingxian’s heart sank. He asked, "Then what’s the latest I can be there?"
Fangfang smiled. "You have to be there before lunch, or Mother will definitely be angry."
Li Qingxian nodded. "Alright."
He then turned to the others and said, "Last time, in Deceit Village, I became a Deceitful Infant and was taken in by a Deceitful Mother."
Everyone’s scalp tingled, goosebumps erupted all over their bodies, and they felt a cold draft on the back of their necks.
"So, he has experience in Deceitful Lands," Wang Buku said.
"You’ve served in the Black Lamp Department too," Qiu Ye said.
Wang Buku shook his head. "I was just an assistant, doing odd jobs. I can’t compare to him. He knows someone here. That fact alone puts him miles ahead of the rest of us."
The others considered this and agreed. Someone who had been exposed to Deceit and lived to tell the tale was naturally in a better position than someone who hadn’t.
Li Qingxian said, "Are you coming with me, or should I go alone? I won’t force anyone this time. After all, so far, none of us knows what we need to do to get out of here."
"I’ll go with you. You made it out alive last time, so you should be fine this time too," Songg Baige said.
Wang Buku said, "Based on your description from last time, the Deceitful Mother didn’t have a strong killing intent toward you. Besides, this Deceitful Land is unrelated to her. As long as we don’t go looking for trouble, she won’t harm us. I’ll go with you too."
The group glanced at the unfamiliar city shrouded in black mist. No one chose to split off.
Li Qingxian said, "Alright then. We need to head for my family’s residence while completing the games..."
’This Deceitful Land is getting more and more bizarre,’ Li Qingxian thought. ’I can’t believe how smoothly I said that.’
"Fangfang, can you roughly describe the route from here to our house so we can make a plan?" Li Qingxian said.
Fangfang tilted her little face up, frowning as she slowly said, "On the way home, there are a few different paths. There are small alleys and big roads, busy ones and quiet ones. The big roads are hard to travel, the quiet paths are scary, so I usually take the busy ones..."
Listening to Fangfang’s continuous rambling, the group members looked at each other, sensing that the Imperial City was fraught with hidden dangers.
As they were lost in thought, the nearby mist ahead of them dispersed, revealing children on every street playing with a large jump rope.
On the main road a few dozen yards ahead, two children stood against the walls on opposite sides of the street, swinging a large rope at a steady pace. The rope slapped against the ground, making a sharp CRACK sound from time to time as they began to sing.
"Little chick, little chick, goes CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP, making a fuss to jump the rope. Little chick, little chick, please come on in..."
Another child heard the song, chirped "CHEEP CHEEP," and jumped in.
The two children swinging the rope continued to sing.
"Little chick, little chick, touch your head."
While jumping, the child in the rope reached up to touch their head.
"Little chick, little chick, touch your feet."
As they jumped, the child in the rope touched their own shoes.