Chapter 17: Assigning Rooms

Also, candidates and proctors are prohibited from developing improper relationships. Please reassign the rooms.

The fur-hat man leading them was the village chief. He said this place was called Chasu Village, and there were eighteen households in total.

The village sat close to the border. During the war years, Black Granny had wandered here alongside some Russians and ended up staying permanently.

She was the one who carved that boundary marker. As for what it meant, even the village chief couldn’t explain.

Everyone followed him along the muddy road deeper into the village.

On one side of the narrow path was a river covered in thick ice. On the other side stood houses of varying heights. Some had concrete walls, while others still retained traces of exposed brickwork. But regardless of their structure, every roof was exactly the same dark red color.

“Didn’t he say there were eighteen households?” Yu Wen muttered quietly. “There are obviously way more than eighteen houses here.”

The village chief acted as though he hadn’t heard and simply wrapped his military coat tighter while continuing forward.

“Hey, don’t walk so fast! I’m asking you something, sir!” Even now, Old Yu still remembered to add a respectful “sir.”

The village chief jumped when Old Yu patted him and finally slowed his steps. He answered vaguely, “There definitely used to be more than eighteen households. Some people left, some died. Gradually the population got smaller.”

He casually pointed at two houses. “Like that one, and that one. You can tell at a glance nobody lives there.”

Old Yu was about to nod when Qi Yang suddenly interrupted coolly:

“I can’t tell. I think every house looks abandoned.”

The village chief froze. “Why would you say that?”

Qi Yang replied, “Too quiet.”

The moment he said it, everyone stopped walking.

As soon as the messy sound of footsteps vanished, the abnormal silence became glaringly obvious.

It really was too quiet.

It was clearly morning, yet there were no voices, no sounds of pots and dishes clattering, no doors opening or closing…

Nothing at all.

Goosebumps instantly spread across everyone’s skin as they all turned to stare at the village chief.

The chief looked awkward, but there was also fear hidden in his expression. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a long sigh.

“There really are people living here. It’s just… nobody dares go outside much anymore. Usually they sleep as long as they can.”

“They don’t dare go outside? Why?”

The village chief cautiously glanced toward the distance.

Everyone followed his gaze.

On the opposite side of the frozen river stood several short houses built in a completely different style. They looked dull gray and inconspicuous, even their roofs black enough to nearly blend into the forest behind them.

The village chief seemed afraid someone might overhear him. Lowering his voice to almost a whisper, he said:

“It isn’t safe at night. If you’re staying here, remember this carefully: don’t go outside after dark, and no matter what you hear, don’t open the door.”

“What do you mean?” Everyone grew both frightened and confused.

But the village chief no longer dared say more. He waved his hand repeatedly and continued leading the way with his head lowered.

Everyone was full of questions, yet nobody dared press further.

…

“Holy shit.”

While walking, Yu Wen suddenly yelped and elbowed Qi Yang.

“Bro, look at that house.”

Qi Yang looked over, and several others nearby followed his gaze.

Inside one house on the second floor, someone stood silently behind the curtains, watching them.

“I almost died from fright! Suddenly seeing a face in the window like that—” Yu Wen clutched his chest.

Then they realized it wasn’t just one house.

Several homes had people quietly peeking out through the curtains the same way.

The village chief explained, “Visitors are rare, so everyone’s curious. But they’ve been frightened too many times and don’t dare come out easily anymore.”

“So they just stay indoors all the time?” Yu Wen asked in shock. “What happens when they get hungry? They don’t eat or drink?”

“Every household here has a cellar,” the village chief explained. “There’s stored grain inside, with ladders leading down.”

“And it’s not like nobody ever leaves. People come out during the afternoon or near dusk. But before dark falls, everyone returns home.”

“Oh.”

“Does it have something to do with that Black Granny?” Qi Yang asked.

The village chief fell silent for a moment before nodding softly.

“I heard you people came to ask her for work?”

“Work? What kind of work?”

The moment something connected to their purpose came up, everyone perked up and listened carefully.

“Work involving the dead!” The village chief frightened himself pale as he lowered his voice eerily. “Black Granny likes dealing with corpses. Things like sewing shattered bodies back together.”

“…”

The village chief continued enthusiastically horrifying people:

“If someone from a family goes missing, people ask her to calculate whether they’re dead and where the body is.”

“…”

“Sometimes she even picks bodies up herself to work on.”

Yu Wen looked thoroughly horrified. “…What do you mean by picks bodies up?”

“For example, several years ago…” The village chief pointed toward the frozen river. “A girl’s body floated down that river. Black Granny dragged over a huge basket and carried her back.”

Floated.

Carried her back.

The village chief’s choice of words was terrifyingly gifted. Everyone felt chills crawling up their spines.

Several grown men nearly gagged. Yu Yao’s legs even weakened.

Only Qi Yang remained completely unaffected.

“If all she handles are dead people, then why are living people afraid of her?”

The village chief stuffed his hands into his sleeves and shook his head mournfully.

“You don’t understand… sigh. Stay one night and you’ll know.”

…

Soon enough, the village chief led them to the end of the frozen river and across the thick ice toward the opposite bank.

The dull gray houses now stood directly before them.

Only upon approaching did they realize the houses were built entirely from stone. Their exterior walls were uneven and rough. Strange white-painted symbols covered the gray stone surfaces, while dried branches hung from the doors above worn-out felt mats.

One of the houses stood out more than the others.

Old crystal balls rested on the windowsill, alongside some pale white objects…

They looked disturbingly like finger bones.

Before anyone even entered, a heavy scent of incense drifted out, thick enough to make people dizzy.

The village chief clearly wanted to stay as far away from the place as possible.

“This is where Black Granny lives.” He stretched his neck to glance toward it. “What time is it now?”

Everyone pulled out their phones, only to discover their screens displayed 23:13 at night, clearly out of sync with reality here.

While they were still confused, a deep voice suddenly spoke:

“6:55.”

Everyone turned around.

It was Qin Jiu.

He casually waved his phone and said, “Mine’s slightly more accurate than yours.”

Chen Bin looked astonished. “Handsome guy, that’s impressive! The seasons and time in every exam differ from reality, so how’d your phone stay synchronized?”

Qin Jiu slipped the phone back into his pocket and lazily replied, “Probably because I’m the proctor.”

Chen Bin let out an absent-minded “Oh” while adjusting his bag.

Two seconds later, the bag slipped from his hands and crashed to the ground.

“Who the hell are you?!”

Qin Jiu ignored him completely. Instead, he pulled out a card from his pocket and tilted his head toward Qi Yang.

“Does this count as helping you once?”

It was the card Qi Yang had drawn earlier:

【Assistance from a Proctor】

Qi Yang snatched the card away, flipped it over, and shoved it directly in front of Qin Jiu’s nose.

“Try reading the entire sentence carefully. Extra assistance. Do you understand what extra means?”

Qin Jiu smiled faintly. “Not really.”

Smiling my ass.

Qi Yang replied, “Go look it up in a dictionary.”

Candidates didn’t wear watches. Asking the proctor for the time hardly counted as extra assistance. It was no different from dragging the proctor along when going to the bathroom.

That was basic job responsibility.

Naturally, the card remained valid.

Qin Jiu sighed regretfully, then tucked it back into his pocket.

The village chief stood there blankly for a while before snapping back to reality.

“Black Granny wakes up at 7:30 every morning. She won’t open the door before then.”

“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying first.”

…

Aside from the house Black Granny occupied, there were four empty houses nearby.

Each one was tiny, covered inside with old knitted blankets. There was only one bedroom and a single bed, making the interiors resemble wagon tents.

“You’ll have to squeeze together a little,” the village chief said apologetically.

The newly joined Chen Bin and Liang Yuanhao naturally shared one room. Since Yu Yao was a woman, it wouldn’t be convenient for her to share with the others, so she got her own room.

That left Yu Wen, Old Yu, Mike, Qi Yang, and Qin Jiu to divide between two rooms.

After thinking briefly, Qi Yang asked Qin Jiu, “Don’t proctors have fancy little monitoring villas around here?”

Qin Jiu replied, “Thanks to you, I’m assigned full-time supervision. No fancy villa available. I’m forced to squeeze into this cramped, narrow, not-very-clean place instead.”

Qi Yang pretended not to hear him and said seriously to the village chief, “You decide.”

Yu Wen immediately volunteered, “How about me, Old Yu, and my brother squeezing into one room? We’re family anyway!”

Mike glanced at Qin Jiu and absolutely refused to cooperate.

Everyone feared the proctor instinctively.

And after counting through everyone present…

Only Qi Yang didn’t.

…

Two minutes later, everyone cautiously watched Qi Yang and Qin Jiu enter one of the rooms together.

Just as they were preparing to sit down, a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside the room.

【Current Beijing time: 7:00 PM. The examination has officially begun.】

【First examination section: Listening comprehension.】

【The listening material will begin playing in 30 minutes. Each question will only be played twice. Candidates are advised to answer carefully.】

【Additionally, candidates and proctors are prohibited from developing improper relationships. Please reassign the rooms.】

Everyone: “???”

Qi Yang: “…”

The system apparently had a death wish.