Chapter 2: Invigilator

You Huo kicked the metal can of charcoal over and Old Yu carefully used it to start a fire. The fire in the fire stove emanated an orange-red glow.

Yu Wen squatted next the fire and dejectedly threw wood in.

The flames flickered as he watched it for a while. He decided that he should go find someone to talk to about his feelings before he died but, when he looked up, he saw his brother standing on the side warming his hands with a cold and disinterested expression.

historical

Yu Wen considered it for a few seconds and decided to die quietly instead.

·

“Umm that...” Old Yu suddenly spoke.

You Huo glanced over.

“I don’t know how I should refer to you.” Old Yu patted the pregnant woman’s shoulder: “With a stomach like that, how can you freeze here? This isn’t right, go over there to warm up. Don’t catch a cold. It’s not good for both you and your child.”

The pregnant woman who heard these words was stunned for a moment. Tears flowed steadily down her face.

Old Yu was surprised: “What’s this? What’s wrong?”

The woman silently cried: “I don’t even know if it has life.........”

Having said that, she still moved her chair closer to the fire.

The woman cried for a while before finally stopping. With strong nasal tone, she said to Old Yu: “Oh right, please call me Yu Yao.”

Old Yu forced out a laugh and said: “I didn’t expect you to also be from the same family line. You look about the same age as my neph........”

Old Yu glanced at You Huo through the corner of his eyes. His words then quickly changed: “........son. When we get out of this damned place, I’ll give you a big fat red envelope to wish both mother and child a safe birth.”

The tattooed man grumbled in a sullen face: “The situation is already fucking like this and you have the time to chat......Fuck!”

The others who heard his words stiffened. They scattered and started to search around the cabin.

However, while the others were looking for clues to solve the problem, the tattooed man concentrated on finding all kinds of self-defence hunting tools.

You Huo didn’t move away. He continued to warm up his hands by the stove. He gently touched the question on the wall and then looked down at the miscellaneous items sitting on top of the stove.

There were a few bottles and jars, a pile of darkening coins, several strangely shaped pebbles, scattered chicken feathers and even a mouldy pacifier from who knows what century.

Yun Wen saw that You Huo wasn’t moving so he also didn’t dare move.

He recalled what his teacher had said before he did the university entrance examination. When you have no clue, read the question a few times. Thinking this, he stood before the wall and read it through repeatedly.

“A group of travellers came to a snow mountain.......

“Travellers.........”

“Snow mountain.........”

“Hm................”

When he returned to his senses after reading it through, he realised that the room was very quiet. Everyone was looking at him.

Yu Wen: “.........I was just reading.”

Old Yu had the same issue most parents have. When there are many people around, they wanted to show off their child: “Did you think of something?”

Yu Wen rolled his eyes: “No.”

Everyone had a look of disappointment. They continued to rummage around.

Only the tattooed man didn’t relent. He assessed Yu Wen suspiciously: “Really? You’re not trying to hide something are you?”

Yu Wen: “Why would I hide it?”

The tattooed man stared at him for a while. That look made those on the receiving end feel irked.

“Fine then. You’d better not be.”

The thug appeared to be used to threatening others and every word that came out of his mouth was harsh. After he said that, he returned to rummaging through the hunting tools.

Yu Wen silently stuck up his middle finger and said inside: Stupid.

This classmate had just entered adulthood and was still in a state of peak narcissism. He felt that everyone in the world was stupid and even his own father couldn’t be spared. The only exception was You Huo.

In fact, he had only become familiar with You Huo over the past two years. Old Yu had said that You Huo was staying overseas to receive treatment for his illness and would come back to China from time to time. Every time he returned, he would stay a few days at his place.

With the days all added up, it actually wasn’t very long.

But, using the spirit of learning that Yu Wen had never applied to his own studies, he came to understand some things.

For example, there was something wrong with You Huo’s memory. He would have no impression of people he had encountered a few years ago and this was also the reason why he went overseas for treatment.

Also, for example, the elders in the family appeared to be a little afraid of him.

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This point really puzzled Yu Wen. He had asked Old Yu about this a few times, but Old Yu would always tell him to stop thinking useless things.

Time passed and he soon felt that it was normal.

After all, even the thug who had only just met You Huo was a little afraid.

With his brother next to him, Yu Wen originally intended to call the thug a few names and anger him a little but when he turned back he saw that You Huo was gone.

Yu Wen: “.............Where did he go?”

The pregnant woman asked Yu Wen: “Who are you looking for?”

It wasn’t convenient for her to move around so she couldn’t search the cabin with the others.

Yu Wen: “My brother.”

Yu Yao: “He went that way.”

She indicated the direction with her chin.

·

This cabin wasn’t small. On the first floor was the living room and three other rooms and in the corner was an old wooden ladder that led to a small attic above.

It was really because there were too many things here and the fact that there were many people inside as well that the cabin felt small and cramped.

The bedrooms on the first floor were locked. The strangely designed lock hanging from it was rusty.

What was even more strange was that a rooster was hung from one door and a hen on the other.

The two chickens had their blood drained, but their feathers were neatly combed. With their heads bent in the same direction, those looking at it felt a strange sense of horror.

When Yu Wen came over, You Huo was standing in the shadows by the door.

It was scarier than the chickens.

“Brother, what do you have in your hands?” Yu Wen rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

“Haven’t you seen an axe?” You Huo lazily raised his eyes.

“I’ve seen it....”

Yu Wen internally wanted to say that it was because he had seen it that he asked. Why are you holding an axe out of nowhere?

Holding it was fine but You Huo was also carelessly feeling out the blade with the thumb of his other hand.

“After looking around, have you thought of anything?” He asked without looking up.

“Ah?” Yu Wen was a little confused, “What should I have thought of?”

You Huo looked at him.

With his tall height, he would lower his eyes when looking at others. His eyes were also of a clear light brown colour and his eyelids are thin. Although he is very good looking, with his expressionless face there was a sense of dissociation and distance.

It was hard to describe. In any case, you just couldn’t feel any sense of familiarity.

Yu Wen couldn’t handle the look: “Give me an example.”

You Huo: “What questions are related to the snow mountains?”

Yu Wen: “.........Not sure.”

You Huo: “You didn’t go to school?”

Yu Wen: “I went.......”

You Huo: “Did a dog go in your place?”

Yu Wen: “I learnt a few skills.........Selecting the shortest option if three are long and one is short, selecting the longest one if three are short and one is long, choosing B if there are two long and two short options and choosing C if they are all different. I’ve basically relied on this for physics.”

You Huo: “.............”

Yu Wen: “There’s also another point.”

You Huo: “........”

Yu Wen: “I learnt to give up.”

You Huo: “Scram.”

Yu Wen guessed that if he continued, the axe would probably be lodged into his head so he quickly shut his mouth.

His beloved cousin finally looked away and no longer paid him any attention.

After a while, Yu Wen couldn’t hold back and asked another question: “Brother, why are you holding onto that?”

“Finding a pen.” You Huo said that and even snorted at him with slight disappointment. He then threw the small axe into a waste bucket.

Yu Wen stared at the axe: “What are you looking for?”

You Huo: “Pen.”

Yu Wen felt that either himself or You Huo must be crazy.

You Huo over no longer paid him any attention. After saying that, he climbed up the wooden ladder.

·

As they searched around, time went by very fast.

The red number on the wall had been changing from 6 to 5 and then to 4.

The time for their responses to be collected was getting closer and closer, and everyone became more and more tense. They had no clue and didn’t know where to start. There was even a countdown resembling those in a university entrance examination before them.

Under the strong pressure, there would always be people who would panic and start guessing haphazardly.

When You Huo came back down, the pregnant woman was holding onto a small black bottle and was about to write something on the blank wall.

Rich acidic odour emanated out from the bottle. It was like ink that had been left out for too long, but its colour was a little different from ink. Perhaps it was because of the dim lighting, it appeared a little rusty brown in colour.

“I..........Is it really okay writing like this............?” Yu Yao’s face was pale, and her voice revealed her inner panic. She seemed to be asking for reassurance from the others, “It doesn’t have much to do with physics.........”

“We have no information about the question so who knows what can give us points!” A bald and short middle-aged man yelled out with a sullen face: “I even suspect that there’s probably no such thing as a correct answer! It’s blank now and 6 hours later it will continue to be blank. We can’t escape from death.”

He then glared at Yu Yao: “Don’t have the courage to write? If you don’t, I’ll do it!”

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Yu Yao shrank back a little. Her wet finger still landed on the wall.

She drew two strokes but saw that the water on her fingertip didn’t leave any traces on the wall. The strokes that she made had already disappeared.

It was even accompanied by faint water sounds.

Like the answer wall had........swallowed it up.

“I, I can’t do it..........” Yu Yao panicked.

“How is that possible?! Not enough ink?” The bald man rushed over, stuck his finger in the ink bottle and forcefully pressed it onto the wall.

The result was the same as before.

Before he was able to finish drawing one stroke, the beginning of it had already disappeared.

The faint water sound was heard again.

The bald man was stunned for a while. His emotions suddenly went out of control: “No.........Why can’t we write? It must be because there’s not enough ink.........not enough ink.........yes.........”

He reached out to grab the ink bottle.

Just as the whole bottle of ink was about to be poured onto the wall, the bald man’s hand was suddenly held down.

He turned out to look and saw You Huo looking down at him from above. With a cold face, he said impatiently: “Don’t be crazy. The wall isn’t right.”

The bald man subconsciously struggled for a bit. His face was completely red but he couldn’t pull back his hand.

“Yu Wen.” You Huo turned his head, “Give me the rope by the wall.”

The bald man struggled while his face was red and the veins on his neck bulged: “What are you doing?!”

You Huo used one hand to flexibly tie a knot. He wrapped the rope around him..........and even tied his arms together.

Classmate Yu Wen was shocked: “Brother..........What did you do before? How can you do this so skilfully?”

You Huo’s light coloured eyes swept over him.

Yu Wen only now remembered.........His brother probably didn’t know himself.

The bald man was thrown onto the beaten sofa. You Huo screw shut the bottle of so-called “ink”.

The moment the bottle cap was tightened, everyone in the room heard a soft sigh.

“Who?!”

Everyone’s hair stood up.

As the final stain on the answer wall faded, a line suddenly appeared in the originally blank space:

Violation warning: Did not use the correct exam stationery. The invigilator has been notified.

Invigilator: 001, 154, 922

The rooster in the cabin suddenly called out.

Yu Wen was so scared he almost cried out together with it. He grabbed onto his brother’s sleeve and fearfully looked at the door with wide eyes.

You Huo wanted to walk over to the door but he had Yu Wen hanging from him like a dead fish trying to hold him back. In the end, Yu Wen was dragged together as he moved over to the door.

Outside the window, through the billowing snowstorm, three figures appeared in the distance.

The one at the front was tall, had short black hair and was wearing a slim-fitting coat. Even just by looking at the outline, you could see that his figure was straight and proper. When he walked over to the door, a gust of wind blew past and the snow within it obscured his vision.

He lowered his head and blinked a little, and snow particles fell from his face. When he looked up again, his dark eyes that reflected some of the snow just happened to land on You Huo.

You Huo subconsciously touched his earring.

Yu Wen whispered next to him in a small mosquito-like voice: “Don’t tell me you know him?”

You Huo furrowed his brows and quietly answered: “I forgot. ”