’Could this be a reward for getting a point on my exam paper? A prize for a good score? It’s possible, but not very likely...’
Li Qingxian was completely baffled. Wary of any surprises, he withdrew from his Life Mansion.
Everyone looked at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian said slowly, "I deduced that over the past hour, Qi Fortune has been flowing steadily into my Life Mansion. After those two hundred-odd people died, a large amount of it came in all at once."
"So the legend is actually true..." Songg Baige murmured.
"What legend?" one of the candidates asked.
Wang Buku explained, "Legend has it that in the Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination, the Qi Fortune of dead candidates is distributed among the remaining ones. As for how it’s distributed—who gets more and who gets less—we can’t be sure. What we are sure of is that the ’Human Son’ gets the most."
Looks of shame flashed across the faces of the few who had frowned earlier. They hadn’t expected Li Qingxian to uncover something so significant.
’A thought struck me. Am I the Human Son? But that felt impossible. I nearly died. How could I possibly be the Human Son chosen by the Celestial Fate Sect?’
’Besides, the Human Son only gets one percent? Just how little do they think of the Human Son?’
’It must be because I have a high score.’
Li Qingxian glanced at the single red stroke on his "World Peace" exam paper.
Everyone lowered their heads, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Since a Fate Master has confirmed we’re receiving a share of Qi Fortune, it means we’re in the right place. We’ll get more and more Qi Fortune, and we’re bound to grow stronger because of it, but..." Songg Baige analyzed, "given our current state, there’s no way we’re the Human Son being groomed by the Celestial Fate Sect, and we’re in no position to fight for the Human Son’s Qi Fortune. So, my take is simple. For now, we don’t need to worry about competing for Qi Fortune. We just need to stay alive. As long as we survive, the Qi Fortune will naturally remain with us."
"Right. I agree with Baige," Li Qingxian said.
"So we really can’t get more Qi Fortune?" a candidate asked.
Li Qingxian said, "What’s more important, Qi Fortune or your life? From now on, every moment, we have to think about this question. If you can’t figure out the answer, you won’t make it out of here alive."
The group fell silent.
Li Qingxian picked up his sister, asking as they walked, "Are we going to keep running into new games from now on?"
Fangfang said, surprised, "Of course not. Even kids can’t play games from morning till night."
The group listened intently, glancing at the simple-minded, unhelpful children at their own sides.
"Then will we run into new games on the way home?"
"There aren’t many games in the Outer City," Fangfang said. "To play more, you have to go into the Inner City. We can go to the Inner City after lunch if you want to play."
The group exchanged glances. Li Qingxian said with a slight smile, "So what if we just stay in the Outer City the whole time?"
"Then you won’t get to play any new games," Fangfang said.
"I’m sure there are fun places in the Outer City, too, right?" Li Qingxian said.
"Of course," Fangfang said. "But you have to take your time finding them. There are fun ones, not-so-fun ones, and scary ones."
Li Qingxian nodded. He thought back carefully, then said, "Do you remember? In the nursery rhyme at the very beginning, the children sang, ’Enter the city gate, walk through the city gate, enter the Imperial City and be a loyal subject’?"
A wave of realization washed over the group.
"That’s the key!"
"So that’s how it is."
"And here we thought there were no clues in this Deceitful Cyan Cloud Examination. Turns out they were hidden in the nursery rhyme from the very beginning."
"As expected of a Fate Master."
"That has to be it. When they sang that nursery rhyme, it wasn’t pointing to any single game. It must be referring to the entire Deceitful Cyan Cloud Examination."
Li Qingxian nodded. "Based on what Fangfang said, unless something unexpected happens, we won’t run into any mandatory, obstructive games before noon. After all, this is just the beginning; it can’t be that difficult right away. The next phase can be considered free time. But what should we do during this free time?"
"Explore," Wang Buku and Songg Baige said in unison.
"Exactly," Li Qingxian said. "Before long, every team will realize the period from now until lunch is free time. Even though we’ll keep running into the long rope, sandbags, and shadows, nothing bad will happen as long as we’re cautious. They’ll inevitably start searching everywhere for a breakthrough. We’ll do the same. However, we should head toward my house first, explore the area, and then return home before lunch."
No one, not even Li Qingxian, found anything strange about him saying "my house" and "go home."
"Good point. If we enter your house too early and can’t get out, all this time would be wasted."
"Even your mom wouldn’t let you out."
"My guess is that while we won’t be forced into any new games, we’ll discover other optional ones. Completing them might earn us points," Wang Buku said.
"Can’t we just not play new games? Didn’t we agree that staying alive is what’s important?" a candidate asked softly.
Songg Baige sighed. "Have you still not learned anything from the two hundred people who died outside? We need to preserve our lives, yes, and we should avoid acting recklessly. But this is a game that requires a constant stream of deaths. How can you guarantee you won’t be one of them? The goal isn’t to avoid games entirely, but to find the right games to play. If we don’t play, the ones who do will get ahead and eliminate us. Play the wrong game, and you die."
"An hour passed, and the people outside the city gate died. So what if, after the morning is over, people are still in the Outer City and haven’t entered the Inner City? Will they die too?" Wang Buku asked.
Li Qingxian raised his "World Peace" exam paper and said, "Remember the old wolf? The key to that game isn’t asking what time it is, but when the wolf answers, ’It’s dark!’ because then he can start catching people. The game began this morning. By the latest possible time for darkness, 7:00 PM, six hours will have passed. That gives us only twelve half-hour periods, meaning we can only get twelve strokes. But don’t forget, the few hours between now and lunch are free time. We won’t encounter any new games, which means we very likely won’t get a single stroke during that time."
Li Qingxian put away the exam paper and continued, "We have to accumulate more strokes before it gets dark to prepare for what comes after nightfall."
A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Wang Buku sighed. "If I’m not mistaken, the morning is just an appetizer. The afternoon will be exceptionally intense, and the night... I’m afraid it will be flashing long knives and blood-paved ground. Not playing games is out of the question now."
"Then let’s play! We have Ye Han, what do they have?"
"Right, with a Fate Master on our side, our chances of winning are much greater!"
"Since we can’t avoid it, let’s face it head-on. It’s better than being spineless!"
A dreary, gray fog enveloped the entire city. Obscured by the mist, the sun was a disk of blood-red.
The twenty-four adults and twenty-four children continued onward, their voices echoing on the empty, stone-paved streets.
Every quarter of an hour, the children would split into three groups to sing three different nursery rhymes. Afterward, the entire group would be forced to play games: jumping the long rope, dodging sandbags, and fighting their shadows.
After 7:00 AM, the morning wore on. The children once again gathered to ask the old wolf his question, and the old wolf again gave his reply.
After walking a while longer, Fangfang said excitedly, "Just a little further and we’ll be home."
Everyone’s hearts tightened, and they looked toward Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian shrugged. "What are you looking at me for? I’m more scared than you are."
"Can you tell us about your experience in Deceit Village?" Luh Gaoming asked.
"I could tell you, but would you dare to listen here?"
"Hold it!" Qiu Ye said hurriedly.