Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 486 Newcomers
Soon, the rest of the people had also finished their tests.

Most of the children collapsed into limp heaps, with less than one in ten remaining conscious. The Taoist priests in charge didn't bother with them much, instead kicking them awake one by one, seemingly ignoring the sect leader's words about 'treating them kindly'.

The sect leader was also concerned. That thin, seemingly seriously ill body lay behind the curtain, and he only said one sentence before leaving.

“You are the new blood of the Five Aggregates Temple, and the hope of the entire sect rests on you.”

After that, he remained silent.

Afterwards, all the Taoists led their nominal 'disciples' out of the dark room.

Zhou You was also among them.

Honestly, it's hard to get an adult to act like a child.

Especially pretending to be an emotionally distraught, terrified child.

Fortunately, his nominal 'master' didn't mind being told that.

The Taoist priest in charge of the servants' quarters was over sixty years old. Although he wasn't quite old and decrepit, he was still quite white-haired. His expression was neither too cold nor too warm.

As he left, he simply said "Keep up" to his own group, then walked forward with his hands behind his back.

Nothing more was said after that.

Because there was so much to do today, by the time the assignments were finished, it was already getting dark, and the setting sun was sinking into the horizon, enveloping the whole world in a hazy color.

Strangely enough, although there were many servants and worshippers in the temple earlier, the road was now deserted, not even a ghost could be seen. Only a flock of crows perched on the surrounding tree branches, their blood-red eyes watching the procession. Although they did not make any moves, they were unusually so.
Creepy.

The lead driver glanced at the sky, a hint of anxiety on his face, and quickened his pace—which really made things difficult for the malnourished children, many of whom had to jog to keep up.

However, before dark, everyone finally arrived at their destination.

That was a cluster of houses located on the back mountain (Note 1) - unexpectedly, I originally thought that the place where they, these consumables, would live would be dilapidated, but the houses in front of me, although obviously quite old, were still in good condition and could be seen to have been well repaired.

The master's next words caused an uproar among the crowd.

"My Taoist name is Chongxu. You can call me Master Chongxu. From now on, I will be your master. However, it is getting late today. We can talk about passing on the teachings and arranging tasks tomorrow. You can go inside and rest for the night. Remember, each of you can choose a room."

One room per person?
Holy crap, are the benefits here really that good? You get a detached house as soon as you enter?
Before the children could react, Master Chongxu spoke again.

"Even so, I still need to give you a few instructions."

"First, these rooms have windows and doors, but they can only be used during the day. Remember to close them tightly at night, and don't open them for me no matter what happens."

"Second, there is food and water inside, as well as a chamber pot. You need to eat, drink, and relieve yourself all inside. Don't wander around during the day, especially at night. Unless you are specifically assigned to night duty, you should never leave the room."

"Third, the Ancestral Hall is a forbidden area. You may only go there when summoned by the Sect Master. You must never enter at other times, or you will bear the consequences. Do you understand?"

The instructions weren't stern, and he spoke casually. After seeing that everyone agreed, the old Taoist priest herded the children into the house like ducks.

Just before leaving, Zhou You and Lin Yunshao locked eyes.

No matter how precocious she was, the little girl still showed great fear and anxiety when faced with an unfamiliar environment, especially an extremely strange one.

Zhou You gave her a reassuring look that seemed to urge her to obey, then took a deep breath and went into the house first.

The room wasn't big, but it was fairly clean.

There wasn't much dust in the room; the overall color scheme was white, probably from a layer of white paint on the bricks and tiles. There were only a few pieces of furniture: a table, a bed, a small cabinet, two chamber pots, and a candlestick.

That's it.

Just as Master Chongxu had said, there was indeed a window in the room, but it had been sealed off—though at least the candle was lit, saving him the trouble of searching for a flint in the dark.

After entering the room, Zhou You first opened the cabinet and looked inside.

There wasn't much inside, just two sets of Taoist robes that had been washed until they were slightly starchy, judging from their size they were probably for a Taoist novices, a small cloth bag containing some dry food and water that could be stored for a long time, and a few old, sewn books.

Nothing else really happened, but those few books did catch Zhou You's attention. However, after flipping through them, he found only records of his time doing odd jobs, and nothing else.

It was a rather useless thing, but after thinking about it, Zhou You still put it away. Then he searched the room again, not even leaving the chamber pot behind—but still found nothing.

"There's nothing inside. Shall we go outside and take a look?"

Zhou You muttered to himself as he glanced out the window.

Although the place is sealed off completely, judging from the time, the sun has not yet set, so it shouldn't be time for the curfew to be issued yet.

Moreover, there was no sound outside. Judging from the appearance, the children had all been taken care of, and Master Chongxu had left. Feeling that there was no supervision, Zhou You strolled to the door and gently pushed it.

The door didn't move.

As expected, he then exerted a little more force.

Still no movement.

Zhou You was a little surprised this time.

It was indeed possible the door was locked from the outside, and he certainly didn't have much strength, but after pushing it twice, the door remained completely still, without even making a sound.
That's clearly not right.

Zhou You activated his Heavenly Dragon Bloodline and tried again, but it was still the same as before—but this time he finally noticed something was wrong.

He searched around the house and found an iron spoon used for eating. Then, using the spoon as a tool, he inserted it into the gap in the wood of the door and pried it open with force.

Soon, as the wood chips fell, what was behind the door was revealed.

In an instant, Zhou You was dumbfounded.

The reason is simple: the thing behind that piece of wood is clearly a block of iron!

—I was wondering why you used so much force to close the door earlier. Turns out the whole door is made of cast iron!

"He's just a helpless child, why are you being so defensive?"

however.

He had only vented for half a minute when Zhou You suddenly frowned.

"No, this door might not be protecting the child, but rather something outside."

Note 1: This is the residence of Taoist priests.

(End of this chapter)