After the four giant children finished their nursery rhyme, the rope-shakers resumed shaking the rope, and the sandbag-throwers resumed tossing the sandbag.
"Spread out! Be ready to change direction in mid-air!" Li Qingxian shouted, holding Fangfang in his arms.
The group scattered. A few of the Martial Cultivators, struck by a sudden idea, leaped onto the rooftops.
Everyone was clearly spread out, some on the ground and others on the rooftops, all at a great distance from one another.
But bizarrely, each person saw the giant rope sweeping precisely toward their own waist, and the man-sized, red-and-white checkered sandbag heading straight for them.
Everyone first leaped to avoid the rope. Then, to dodge the sandbag, they either dropped heavily, rolled to the side, or jumped again.
The rope and sandbag passed by without returning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and regrouped.
The four giant children stood silently, looking down at the city. Their faces were white with red cheeks and plastered with smiles. Their eyes were squeezed into thin slits, from which a faint, dark light emanated.
"Let’s keep moving," Li Qingxian said.
As they walked, Songg Baige said, "If I’m not mistaken, the jump rope and sandbag will be present throughout the entire Cyan Cloud Examination. This means that all the Guii Youxi we face from now on might overlap with these. The difficulty is far greater than we imagined."
The others nodded gently.
"Moreover, the children sing every time one of these dangerous games is about to begin," Songg Baige said. "So, we absolutely must protect the children with us."
The group nodded again.
"The problem now is figuring out how we can leave this place safely," said Songg Baige.
Li Qingxian said, "How to escape this Deceitful Land is certainly something we must always consider. My fear is that the conditions will be too cruel. For example, they might limit the number or percentage of people who can leave, forcing us to constantly strive for high scores. If we focus too much on scores, we might take risks that lead us into danger."
"Life always seems to be this way," Wang Buku said. "Without risk and without effort, you’ll never reap any rewards. And even if you put in the effort in the wrong way, you still get nothing."
Li Qingxian nodded. "Tiantian is right. We know almost nothing about this place. The only thing we can do is play these games to the best of our ability."
Wang Buku looked completely exasperated.
"So the core strategy is just to play the games well," Songg Baige agreed with a nod.
After walking for a while, the fog ahead dissipated, and they heard children singing a nursery rhyme.
"What’s my shadow’s name? What’s your shadow’s name?"
They saw two children standing in the street, holding up their hands to cast shadows on the ground.
One child’s hands formed the shadow of a dog’s head on the ground. As they opened and closed their hands, the dog’s mouth snapped.
"My shadow’s a big dog, and it’ll eat you bite by bite."
The other child clasped their hands together, casting a dark, lumpy shadow on the ground.
"My shadow’s a big stone, and it’ll break your doggy teeth."
The first child changed their hands, forming the shadow of a hammer.
"My shadow’s a big hammer, and I’ll smash you piece by piece."
The second child changed as well, wiggling their hands to cast a chaotic, ever-shifting shadow.
"My shadow’s a great wind, flying all around so you can’t hit me!"
...
The members of the group exchanged glances.
"I think this game is harder than the last two," Songg Baige said, his brow furrowed slightly.
"This game is called Shadow Boxing. I used to play it all the time as a kid," Wang Buku said. "I suspect there’s a trap. For example, in the first exchange, the big dog can’t bite the stone. I’ve played that version. But there’s always some kid who suddenly declares at the end that his is a Demon Race dog, so it *can* bite through stone. That doesn’t matter in a normal game, but in a life-or-death situation like this, we have to avoid direct confrontation. Try not to go head-to-head. The second choice, becoming wind that can’t be smashed, is much better than the first."
"Let’s have Tiantian walk us through it," said Li Qingxian. "This game seems simple, but we’ll probably have to play it while jumping rope and dodging sandbags. If we get flustered, we’re liable to pick the wrong shadow."
Under Wang Buku’s guidance, the group practiced for a while. They quickly gained some experience, figured out various counters, and identified several potential traps, compiling their findings.
Wang Buku went first. He easily won his shadow game against the child; an adult’s experience, after all, gave him a clear advantage.
One by one, the others went, defeated the children in the game, and then continued slowly forward.
The party’s pace grew slower and slower.
After walking for a bit, Li Qingxian looked at the others and said, "We need to stay alert, but there’s no need to be this terrified. With this kind of mindset, we’ll never make it to the end."
The words jolted everyone back to their senses.
"He’s right," said Wang Buku. "Your mindset is part of your strength. Look at the people who survive in the army. It’s usually the devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky types. The ones who spend all day sighing and worrying about every little thing are always the first to die."
"How about I tell a joke?" Songg Baige offered.
"Let’s not," said Li Qingxian. "We shouldn’t go from one extreme to the other. Besides, your jokes have never been as funny as you are."
The group couldn’t help but chuckle. Songg Baige shot Li Qingxian a glare.
The group chatted as they walked, but Li Qingxian occasionally felt a sense of unease, though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
Just as they were talking, the children around them began to sing their rhymes again.
"Little chicks are cheeping now, they want to jump the rope somehow!"
"Beat the bad guys, beat the Demon Race! Beat the bad guys, beat the Demons! Take down the Demon Fiends and save the kids!"
"What’s my shadow’s name? What’s your shadow’s name?"
The children split into three groups, singing three different nursery rhymes.
The group was prepared this time. They scattered and assessed the situation.
They saw that in addition to the four giant children to the north, south, east, and west, a new, smaller giant had appeared in the northeast. It wore a white robe and a Tiger Head Hat, its hands held high, gesturing with a gentle, fanning motion.
The city-spanning rope came whistling toward them, and the enormous sandbag attacked again. High in the sky, the child in the northeast blocked the sun with its hands, casting a massive shadow that covered an entire block.
As everyone dodged the rope and the sandbag, a clear, childish voice rang out.
"My shadow’s a big Eagle, and it’ll snatch you in its claws!"
At the same time, the eagle-shaped shadow on the ground flapped its wings.
’An eagle has wings and can create wind; turning into wind now might not work,’ Li Qingxian thought, his first impulse to become wind suppressed by Wang Buku’s earlier warning.
So, after dodging the sandbag and rope, Li Qingxian quickly set Fangfang down, brought his arms together, and cast a long, thin shadow on the ground.
"My shadow’s an earthworm, it hides in the dirt where it can’t be seen."
After he spoke, an inexplicable nervousness seized him. ’An earthworm isn’t a great choice. A loach in the mud would be better. But wait, what if the eagle snatches the loach by accident while it’s fishing?’
While Li Qingxian was lost in these frantic thoughts, the giant shadow swept past.
He was safe.
Li Qingxian let out a breath of relief.
’I’ve never played such a thrilling children’s game in my life.’
"Big Brother, you’re the best!" Fangfang said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Li Qingxian smiled, patted her head, and looked toward the others.
Everyone was safe and sound.
"What did you all pick? I’ll take note so we can share it with the others," Li Qingxian said.
"I was a loach. In any case, you can’t just be a normal fish."
"I was a ladybug, hiding behind a leaf."
"I was a kingbird. They’re fast and often ride on an eagle’s back. But thinking about it, it’s not the safest. If the eagle turned into a demonic eagle, I’d be done for."
...
The group continued on, discussing their experiences as they walked.
Before long, all the children shouted in unison.
"Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf, what time is it?"
"It’s eight o’clock," that deep voice boomed again.
Li Qingxian’s heart tightened. ’An hour has already passed. It’s eight o’clock. Will something new and strange happen now?’