{"id":3284,"date":"2026-06-03T23:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/?p=3284"},"modified":"2026-05-10T09:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T09:18:15","slug":"global-examination-29","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/chapter\/global-examination-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Examination 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 29: The Villagers\u2019 Secret
His friend erected this gravestone here in his memory. May he rest in peace.

Chen Bin had trauma from these things. The moment he saw an entire swarm of them, his hands and feet went numb from fright.

\u201cWhat the hell is going on?!\u201d

\u201cThey were just talking about sewing dolls, right?\u201d Yu Wen hid behind a tree trunk, staring wide-eyed ahead.

\u201cNone of us touched the dolls today. The only person who sewed was my brother!\u201d

He suddenly gasped.

\u201cThose things are looking for my brother! He has to be over there!\u201d

Old Yu finally understood what You Huo had meant by \u201cpreparation.\u201d

No wonder he\u2019d sewn the dolls\u2026

So he\u2019d planned ahead in advance\u2014marking himself so that if he got sealed into a coffin, the ghost hands would come searching for him.

And apparently one disturbance wasn\u2019t enough.

He\u2019d made sixteen dolls in one go.

Was he treating monsters like hunting dogs?

No\u2014

not just dogs.

An entire excavation team.

And this excavation team was highly motivated and absurdly efficient.

Blades flashed through the night in streaks of light. They hacked tirelessly, dirt flying everywhere as the soaked mud was churned upside down within moments.

Everyone stared in shock.

Fortunately, they didn\u2019t remain frozen forever.

Old Yu clenched the hemp rope in his hands and swallowed hard while staring at the sea of blades.

\u201cThat\u2019s my biological nephew. I can\u2019t just stand here.\u201d

\u201cYou all\u2026 I\u2019m not forcing anyone, but I\u2019m going in.\u201d

\u201cMe too!\u201d Yu Wen immediately said.

Chen Bin looked toward the frenzy ahead. Every flash of blade made him tremble.

He slapped his own cheeks twice, forcing courage into himself as he muttered:

\u201cBefore this\u2026 okay, maybe I didn\u2019t always stick with the group, but I\u2019m not heartless either.\u201d

\u201cThere are so many monsters. No way you two can handle this alone.\u201d

\u201cDon\u2019t leave me out. What kind of person do you think I am?\u201d

Everyone else quickly agreed.

Old Yu nodded.

\u201cAlright. Then here\u2019s the plan\u2014\u201d

Trying to fight head-on was impossible.

They were hopelessly outnumbered.

Besides, as the saying went: \u201cThe ruthless fear the desperate.\u201d

And those severed limbs had no lives left to lose in the first place.

The more they attacked, the crazier they became.

Old Yu dug up some long-forgotten skills and started making rope snares.

\u201cYou know how to do this?\u201d Chen Bin asked in surprise.

\u201cDon\u2019t let this drunk fool you,\u201d Old Yu grinned.

\u201cTwenty years ago, I had skills.\u201d

But after years of alcoholism, his fingers were no longer nimble. His knot-tying looked painfully clumsy.

\u201cStop bragging already. Your belly\u2019s almost bigger than Sister Yu Yao\u2019s.\u201d

Yu Wen hated hearing his father mention drinking. He snatched the remaining ropes and rapidly started tying knots.

Same technique.

Completely different level of skill.

\u201cYou know how too?\u201d Yu Yao asked softly.

\u201cI taught him!\u201d Old Yu said proudly, though a little emotional too.

\u201cWhen he was little. Didn\u2019t expect him to remember.\u201d

Yu Wen rolled his eyes.

Within seconds he finished all the snares.

\u201cHere, swing these by the loop.\u201d He demonstrated once before distributing the ropes.

\u201cSeen it on TV before? Accuracy matters.\u201d

This student spent his life being useless at proper things.

Bad grades.

Hopeless at exams.

But darts, slingshots, carnival games? Always top score.

As a kid he\u2019d played lasso games with Old Yu back when the old man wasn\u2019t fat yet\u2014landing perfect catches every time.

The only reason Yu Wen managed to date in high school, besides his face, was basically because of these skills.

Old Yu hefted the rope in his hands.

\u201cTarget the legs first. Knock them off balance.\u201d

\u201cHands are way scarier than legs anyway\u2026\u201d

Yu Wen muttered:

\u201cHow come there aren\u2019t any heads? Could\u2019ve tied one up and swung it like a mace.\u201d

\u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Everyone fell silent for two whole seconds.

Because they suddenly realized\u2026

they were discussing combat strategies against exam questions.

\u201cWhatever.\u201d Old Yu gritted his teeth.

\u201cOne step at a time. Worst case scenario, we run!\u201d

\u2026

In the blink of an eye, the coffin lid above You Huo\u2019s head exploded with a loud bang.

He knew the soil had already been dug away.

The blades were coming down.

More than a dozen cleavers crashed onto the coffin lid like a violent storm, wood splinters raining everywhere.

The coffin nails jammed into the corners loosened almost instantly.

Unable to withstand the blows, cracks rapidly spread through the coffin lid.

Fresh air leaked in.

You Huo stretched his neck and limbs slightly before smashing open half the coffin and climbing out.

He intercepted a blade in two swift movements, preparing to fight head-on.

But halfway through their charge, the ghost limbs suddenly jerked to a stop, their cleavers slicing through empty air.

You Huo focused his gaze.

Only then did he realize all the limbs had ropes looped around them.

The other ends were being pulled tightly by people behind the trees, restricting their movement.

\u201cBRO!!\u201d

Yu Wen and the others burst out from behind the trees.

You Huo snatched the ropes, and while the pale limbs were still confused, tied them together tightly and confiscated every weapon.

\u2026

The entire reversal happened in an instant.

Though the result was a complete victory, everyone came away injured to some extent.

Yu Wen and Chen Bin lacked strength. Wrestling with the ghost limbs left them rolling in mud, their faces and necks covered in scratches from bushes and branches.

Old Yu had slammed his arm into a tree and dislocated his shoulder.

You Huo dragged the bundle of ropes behind him as they headed back.

Yu Wen suddenly shouted in alarm:

\u201cYour arm!\u201d

Dark red blood streamed from You Huo\u2019s forearm to the back of his hand, then dripped through his fingers onto the ground.

At first glance, it looked horrifying.

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing. Just a scratch.\u201d

You Huo flicked his hand once, scattering blood across the dirt.

The wound wasn\u2019t deep, but it was long.

Probably scraped against the blade while stealing the knife earlier.

He removed his mud-covered coat and casually wiped away the blood with the lining.

\u201cHow can you be like this? At least treat it properly!\u201d Old Yu snapped while painfully forcing his own shoulder back into place.

The winter cold quickly slowed the bleeding until it hardened into a thin dark line.

\u201cIt stopped.\u201d You Huo showed him the arm briefly, clearly having no intention of dealing with it further.

Old Yu: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Just after thoroughly irritating his uncle, You Huo looked up and met the proctor\u2019s gaze.

\u201cWhat are you looking at?\u201d he asked.

After being trapped inside the coffin and losing blood, his complexion was even paler than usual.

The firelight couldn\u2019t warm that color at all.

Instead, it reflected brightly off his earring until it almost dazzled the eye.

Qin Jiu\u2019s gaze seemed to move away from his injured arm before briefly sweeping over the earring.

He lifted the scarf in his hand slightly.

\u201cNothing. I was going to show some concern for an examinee and lend you temporary bandages.\u201d

\u201cBut apparently you don\u2019t need them.\u201d

You Huo\u2019s lips moved slightly.

But before he could decide how to answer, Qin Jiu had already wrapped the scarf back around himself.

You Huo\u2019s gaze swept across the front of Qin Jiu\u2019s shirt.

In the freezing winter wind that cut across their faces, Qin Jiu still wore his collar casually open by two buttons.

Watching him tuck the scarf back beneath his coat collar, covering his throat and Adam\u2019s apple, You Huo once again thought this person was truly strange.

After several days together, he already knew Qin Jiu wasn\u2019t afraid of cold at all.

Yet he always wore scarves.

But never properly.

Just loosely covering his chest as a symbolic gesture.

You Huo stared at the scarf for a moment before finally saying in a muffled voice:

\u201cI can throw away a coat.\u201d

\u201cIf your scarf gets blood on it, I\u2019d have to wash it for you.\u201d

\u201cDo you know how hard bloodstains are to clean?\u201d

Qin Jiu laughed softly.

\u201cI rarely end up injured like this. So no, I wouldn\u2019t know.\u201d

You Huo: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

That was definitely provocation.

With an icy expression, he turned to leave.

But Qin Jiu suddenly asked:

\u201cSo you really were determined to save the system one help card?\u201d

\u201cWhat if those monsters had arrived any later?\u201d

\u201cWhat then? Suffocate to death?\u201d

You Huo thought: I\u2019m not an idiot.

But aloud he merely said:

\u201cOh.\u201d

\u201cYou guess.\u201d

\u2026

That night, despite being unable to answer the questions, they gained a tremendous amount.

This time they didn\u2019t waste the opportunity.

Dragging a huge cluster of ghost limbs behind them, they ventured deep into the forest.

The woods remained filled with dense mist and poisonous air.

But this time they\u2019d prepared.

The Black Hag\u2019s houses contained old tea leaves that sharpened the mind.

Everyone stuffed handfuls into their mouths and chewed them dry.

The taste was awful.

But at least it helped suppress the dizziness.

About half an hour later, the frenzied limbs finally slowed down.

Within a clearing surrounded by wild grass, they began clawing and digging at the dark mud, trying desperately to burrow inside.

Under the torchlight, something beneath the mud reflected a dim metallic sheen.

\u201cWhat is that?\u201d

\u201cLooks like\u2026 a gravestone?\u201d

Everyone cautiously approached.

You Huo pushed away the mud with his foot and crouched down.

\u201cLight,\u201d he said.

Yu Wen and the others moved their torches closer, illuminating the object fully.

It was a flat gravestone.

There was a photo of the deceased.

A cause of death.

And a line containing an address.

The reason they could read it so clearly\u2014

was because every word on the gravestone was written in Chinese.

Name: Zhao Wentu
Exam Registration Number: 860511-12091327-745

His friend, villager Ding, erected this gravestone here in his memory. May he rest in peace.

At the very bottom was the information of the person who erected the stone:

Ding
Address: Chasu Village No. 4

Cold damp wind swept through the forest, producing long hollow whistles.

Everyone\u2019s expressions went blank.

The forest fell silent.

In the gravestone photo, the dead examinee had thick brows and bright eyes, looking energetic and spirited.

But the longer they stared, the more familiar he began to seem.

If he grew stubble\u2026

If his hair became longer and messier\u2026

If he changed into smoke-stained filthy clothes\u2026

Then he would look exactly like the mad villager who claimed he\u2019d seen Qin Jiu before.

And Chasu Village No. 4\u2014

the address listed beneath \u201cVillager Ding\u201d\u2014

was precisely the madman\u2019s home.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3284","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3285,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3284\/revisions\/3285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}