"Oh dear, my nose is gone! Hahahaha..." Fangfang burst into carefree laughter, her little hands taking turns patting the empty space where her nose used to be.
All that remained was a smooth patch of skin.
The other twenty-two children gathered around, singing a nursery rhyme with grins on their faces.
"You can’t eat right without a nose, you can’t smell a thing with no nose..."
"The charcoal face won’t go away unless you pin on a nose. And as long as the charcoal face is here, everyone has to play the game," a noseless child said with a grin, looking toward the twenty-four examinees.
The twenty-four of them looked at each other. Some faces remained impassive, some hearts pounded in their chests, and some were etched with fear.
"What if..." Guanzhou started to say, but was cut off by Songg Baige.
"This was our choice. There are no ’what ifs.’ Since we’re here, we have to play. Who has experience?"
"I’ll talk," Wang Buku said with a sigh. "You know my background. I was raised outside the Royal Mansion and grew up running wild. I’ve played nearly every game they have here. This ’pin the nose’ game looks simple, but it’s actually incredibly hard. I remember watching kids play it hundreds of times, and they only got it right once or twice. First, you’re blindfolded and can’t see. Second, you have everyone laughing at you. Third, you can’t control your own body. But most importantly, it’s almost impossible to stay calm through it all. That’s why most people fail."
"But we’re Cultivators."
"But this is a Deceitful Land," Wang Buku said. "Do you think a game that can make your nose disappear would be as simple as a normal one?"
"He’s right. What if they start throwing ropes and sandbags at us, or the game suddenly changes? Forget about us—even a Middle-Grade Cultivator could lose their nose here."
Everyone sighed again and again.
Wang Buku continued, "However, that child said that as long as someone pins the nose on, the game will end. That’s the key. So, who we choose is crucial."
Everyone looked at Li Qingxian, but no one spoke.
Guanzhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ye Han, I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but we really can only count on you this time. Please see if there’s a way your Fate Skill can help. For everyone’s sake... we have to trouble you with this."
Everyone looked at Guanzhou, knowing that after losing his child, he was truly afraid.
Li Qingxian thought for a moment and said, "My Fate Skill definitely can’t interfere with the game directly, but if something changes, we’ll surely be allowed to use our other abilities. The problem now is that we don’t know what kind of deceitful twists will happen next. Let’s consider this: what’s the difference between me going first and me going later?"
Songg Baige replied instantly, "I get it. If Ye Han goes first, he won’t be familiar with the game’s tricks, so his chance of failure increases dramatically. But if he goes second or later, he’ll have seen the deceitful twists and can prepare for them, making success far more likely. If Ye Han goes first and fails, we could lose our only shot at pinning on the nose. But if he goes second or later, our odds are much better."
Everyone quickly understood Songg Baige’s intention and lowered their heads, saying nothing.
Songg Baige and Guanzhou had known each other for a long time. He knew that while Guanzhou wasn’t a bad person, he was a man of ordinary character. "Guanzhou," he said, "since you want Ye Han’s help, why don’t you go first? For everyone’s sake, we’ll have to trouble you."
Everyone’s gaze focused on Guanzhou’s nose.
Guanzhou’s face flushed red. "I’ll... think about it some more."
Just then, a noseless child said with a giggle, "As long as you play the game, even if you lose your nose, you’ll get a little prize once it’s pinned back on!"
"Do I get one too?" Fangfang asked loudly.
"Of course you do."
The noseless child giggled. "You can choose one: your nose or the prize."
Fangfang scrunched up her little face. "I think I’ll choose my nose."
Li Qingxian looked at the others. The eyes of more than half of them were shining.
"Little one, what are the prizes?" Guanzhou asked with a smile.
The noseless child giggled. "Lots and lots of them! They’re in little compartments, covered with brown paper. Whatever compartment you pick, you get what’s inside. There are good ones and ordinary ones. It all depends on your luck!"
Everyone’s hearts sank.
But Songg Baige smiled. "A Fate Master is sure to be good at this."
Everyone looked at Li Qingxian expectantly.
Li Qingxian nodded. "As long as there’s no external interference, it won’t be difficult."
Guanzhou’s eyes lit up. He asked the noseless child again, "Can you live without a nose?"
"Of course you can! If you don’t have a nose, you just breathe through your mouth. Look at us, aren’t we all just fine?" The noseless child pointed to its mouth and breathed heavily.
Fangfang pouted. "I don’t want a prize. I just want my nose back."
Guanzhou thought for a moment, then said, "Everyone, you’ve seen the penalty for this game. It’s just losing your nose. Even if I can only breathe through my mouth in the Deceit City, there must be a way to recover once we get out. Or rather, as long as we can pass the Cyan Cloud Examination, all these deceitful tricks will disappear. I’m not like the rest of you with children. I have no safety net. I have to get a prize, even if I don’t know what it is. This time, I’ll go first and scout the way for everyone!"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian nodded. "Once this game is complete, I will do my absolute best to help you choose. However, this is a Deceitful Land, after all. If I’m to pick a prize that’s suitable for you, it will likely come at a great cost, possibly even my Qi Fortune. So, if the prize is useful to the whole team and we need you, I hope you’ll use it."
"Deal!" Guanzhou said.
"Let’s begin," Wang Buku said.
Guanzhou took a deep breath, walked up to the line on the floor, and looked at the charcoal face three zhang away. "Bring it on."
The words had barely left his mouth when the sound of two children singing a nursery rhyme suddenly came from the street outside.
"Whip the Demon Fiend and make him go, into the boiling oil below."
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, but Guanzhou remained motionless.
They saw two children in white, about six or seven years old, skipping into the room. One held a spinning top, and the other a whip.
Everyone stared at the spinning top, their minds racing as strange expressions appeared on their faces.
"No way..." Songg Baige said.
’They’d do it...’ Li Qingxian thought. ’These Deceits are such bastards. No human would do something like this.’
Hearing their conversation, Guanzhou turned his head. His gaze swept over the top and whip, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched three times.
"They’re not going to whip me like a top, are they?"
"They will," several people said in unison.
"Time for the nose!" a noseless child chirped, handing Guanzhou a red nose made of dough.
"Blindfold time!" The noseless child walked up to Guanzhou. It wasn’t even as tall as his waist, but when it stretched out its hands, its arms elongated like kneaded dough and wrapped a white cloth around Guanzhou’s eyes.
Li Qingxian and Wang Buku exchanged a glance.
’Long hands and long arms... a racial talent of the Deceits?’
"If something happens to me, please go visit my old mother for me! Thanks!" Guanzhou shouted. The people around him watched as the back of his shirt gradually became soaked with sweat.
Guanzhou had just finished speaking when the child with the whip lashed out at him.
CRACK!
The whip didn’t actually strike Guanzhou, but his entire body began to spin violently like a top, blurring into an afterimage. A distorted scream escaped his lips as the wind howled around him.
Everyone watched, their hearts pounding in fear, terrified that Guanzhou would suddenly drill himself into the ground.
He didn’t stop for a full ten breaths. By the time he did, Guanzhou’s screams had turned into muffled grunts.