Two noseless children supported Guanzhou. He was sore all over and drenched in sweat. They aimed him at the charcoal-black face directly ahead and gave him a gentle push, saying, "Pin on the nose!"
Guanzhou, after all, was only a Literature Cultivator. He took just one step before his legs gave out, the world spun, and he collapsed to the ground with a THUD.
"HAHAHAHAHA..." The children burst into laughter.
Fangfang’s laughter was the loudest.
The candidates did not laugh. They exchanged glances and shook their heads slightly.
Even a Martial Cultivator, without prior preparation, would be dizzy and disoriented after spinning at such a high speed.
"Channel your Vast Righteous Qi!" Songg Baige said in a deep voice.
Guanzhou finally understood. A gentle breeze swirled around him, his clothes fluttering. Then, his trembling, weak legs steadied, and he slowly rose to his feet.
The candidates’ eyes lit up.
Wang Buku said, "That’s right! Vast Righteous Qi can calm the mind and spirit. Even when you’re dizzy, it’s effective. In situations like this, we Martial Cultivators are actually at a disadvantage compared to Literature Cultivators."
Everyone watched as Guanzhou walked forward steadily, constantly adjusting his position as he went, slowly approaching the charcoal-black face.
"As expected of a Literature Cultivator. At times like this, you really have to rely on Vast Righteous Qi..."
The moment Wang Buku finished speaking, the six noseless children began clapping and singing in unison.
"Mister Moon, Mister Moon, clouds are rushing by. Cover up the Moon, and listen with your ears. The flowers stomp their feet, Mister Moon must guess!"
A noseless child ran over, snatched the red nose from Guanzhou’s hand, and giggled as they ran back behind the line.
Guanzhou frantically shook his head and cocked an ear to listen.
The six children sang the nursery rhyme once more, then gigglingly announced their names one by one.
"I am White Flower."
"I am Red Flower."
"I am Green Flower."
"I am Blue Flower."
"I am Black Flower."
"I am Purple Flower."
After introducing themselves, five of the children stomped their feet hard, and all six sang together: "Mister Moon, Mister Moon, clouds are rushing by. Cover up the Moon, and listen with your ears. The flowers stomp their feet, Mister Moon must guess!"
Guanzhou grew even more flustered, constantly tilting his head to listen.
Suddenly, the six children stopped stomping and sang in unison.
"Which flower stomped first?"
"Which flower stomped last?"
"Which flower only stomped one foot?"
"Which flower didn’t stomp at all?"
Guanzhou was completely lost. He stood frozen, utterly bewildered.
The other candidates were dumbfounded too. Even though they were watching, they couldn’t have answered all the questions correctly.
Only Li Qingxian, Wang Buku, and about four or five others remembered clearly, but they all kept their mouths shut.
They had discussed it beforehand: no matter what, they must not speak out during the game, or they would likely be disqualified for cheating.
After a long silence, Guanzhou guessed randomly, "White Flower stomped first, Red Flower stomped last, Black Flower only stomped one foot, and Green Flower didn’t stomp at all."
All the children shouted in unison, "Wrong, wrong, your nose is gone!"
Guanzhou reached up and touched his face. The middle was empty, completely smooth.
"Sigh..." Guanzhou let out a long sigh, turned to walk back, and removed his blindfold. He looked at the others, his face filled with shame.
"Sorry, I couldn’t even pass the first game."
"You’ve already helped us discover two unexpected twists, which is excellent. I suspect that besides the spinning top and the Moon Stomp, there’s a third obstacle," Songg Baige said.
Li Qingxian nodded. "We underestimated the difficulty of this game. From now on, all the games will be extremely hard. They’ll add all sorts of obstacles, and might even combine multiple games at once."
"There’s no choice. If we don’t play, we’ll be eliminated. Playing is better than not playing. I’ll go next!" Songg Baige said.
"You’re not going to think it over a bit more?" Li Qingxian asked.
Songg Baige smiled. "I cultivate Vast Righteous Qi, which allows me to keep a cool head. Now that I’m prepared, I’m confident I can memorize each child’s voice. If there are no other obstacles, I will definitely win. If there are, I’ll be counting on you."
"Alright!" Li Qingxian nodded.
Songg Baige strode over and stood at the back of the line.
Like Guanzhou, he was blindfolded and spun like a top. Afterward, he used his Vast Righteous Qi to keep his mind clear and walked slowly but straight toward the charcoal-black face.
He was steadier than Guanzhou.
The candidates praised him silently. A top-tier Literature Cultivator really was different. Guanzhou’s face showed respect.
Suddenly, a noseless child snatched Songg Baige’s nose and started the Moon Stomp game.
Songg Baige stood his ground, listening quietly to the children’s voices and the sounds of their stomping.
It was the same six colored Flowers, but five of them were now different people. In the end, the children all sang out their questions.
"Which flower didn’t change?"
"Which flower stomped second?"
"Which flower stomped the most?"
"Which flower stomped the least?"
The Martial Cultivators were instantly bewildered. ’Shouldn’t they be asking the same questions as last time? Why did they all change? Can they even do that?’
But to their surprise, the corner of Songg Baige’s mouth curled up slightly, and he answered swiftly, "Black Flower didn’t change, White Flower stomped second, Purple Flower stomped the least, and Red Flower stomped the most."
"Wow! Mister Moon is so amazing! Here’s your red nose back!"
The six noseless children clapped and praised him. One of them tossed the red nose to Songg Baige.
Songg Baige let out a soft grunt. Relying on his calm mind and sharp hearing, he reached out to grab the flying red nose.
Just as it was about to land in his hand, the red nose suddenly vanished.
"Haha, you fell for it!" The child who threw the nose’s face suddenly twisted.
Songg Baige panicked for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
The crowd watched in disbelief as the noses on the left and right walls suddenly began to squirm rapidly, like someone with an unbearably itchy nose who couldn’t scratch it and could only twitch it constantly.
From a distance, it looked as if tens of thousands of fleshy tumors were trembling.
Only one of the noses was red.
The six noseless children began to clap and sing in unison.
"Real nose, fake nose, small nose, big nose. A nose to have, a nose to lose. All the noses on the wall, guess which one is the red nose!"
The candidates were silent, not daring to say a word.
Songg Baige, still blindfolded, shook his head from side to side, sighed, and said, "I was prepared. I even sent my Literary Qi into my nose, but... I can’t sense anything at all. I can only try to find it by touch."
As he spoke, Songg Baige walked to the left wall and began touching the noses one by one.
Some were smooth, some were greasy, some were rough, some were delicate.
In the darkness, Songg Baige gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure the discomfort, continuing to feel his way along.
The crowd watched Songg Baige helplessly, because the red nose was on the right wall.
Suddenly, Fangfang and the other twenty-two children started singing nursery rhymes.
"Chicky-chick cheeps and cries, wants to jump the rope so high!"
"Beat the bad guys, beat the Demon Race. Beat the bad guys, beat the Demons. Defeat the Demon Fiends and save the children!"
"What is my shadow’s name? What is your shadow’s name?"
Everyone’s hair stood on end.
The thing they feared most had happened.
"Baige, give up! Quickly!" Li Qingxian shouted.
With a soft sigh, Songg Baige raised his hand. "I give up!"
"He gives up! His nose is gone!" the six noseless children cheered in unison.
Songg Baige ripped off the blindfold, rushed to his own child, and picked them up.
The entire group had just gone through three games at once.
Songg Baige touched the spot where his nose should have been, only to find a smooth patch of skin.
"There’s a quarter hour until the next wave of games. That’s probably enough time for three people. We need to time this carefully," Li Qingxian said.
Wang Buku said, "I’ll give it a try."
"Shouldn’t I just go directly?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Let me feel things out a bit more. What if there’s another new twist? If there are no new changes this time, then you can go," Wang Buku said.
"Alright!"
Wang Buku walked forward to take part in the pin-the-nose game.
He successfully passed the Moon Stomp portion, but after the nose went up on the wall, he tried various methods but couldn’t find it at all. In the end, he gave up.