Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 491 Work
After a while, the meal was finished.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, the next step, naturally, was to assign the most important chores.

Xuan Cheng appeared out of nowhere, hands behind his back, his expression back to that forced, insincere smile.

"Are you all full? Since you're full, it's time to get up and get to work."

None of the children objected.

After all, they all came from farming families and had worked hard since childhood. Now that they have enough to eat and a place to live, doing odd jobs is not a big deal for them.

Xuan Cheng didn't say much, but casually picked two people.

"You, and you, come out."

—Incidentally, with the exception of a few, he never remembered the names of these kids.

The two little ones who were called out stood up very obediently, while Xuan Cheng just casually pouted.

"You two, go help out at the guest hall in front of the mountain gate—what? You don't know where the guest hall is? Are you stupid? Just ask around and find it yourself. Do you expect me to take you there?"

After casually dismissing the two children, Xuan Cheng pointed out two more.

“You two, go and sweep with the rest of the servants. They will tell you where you can and can’t go—remember not to wander around aimlessly. It’s not a big deal if you die, but it will make me suffer.”

Then, two more.

"You two look pretty strong, so you can help out here. The kitchen is not short of people, but the brothers need someone to help carry things. This is a good job, at least there is no danger. You better cherish it."

"And you too."

"."

Soon, the children were almost all divided up.

Zhou You, standing nearby, understood perfectly well that the so-called servants' quarters were a place where anyone could do anything, moving people to whichever area was short-handed—but compared to the bizarre pill-taking and teaching sessions before, this job was much more ordinary.

Could it be that all these disciples in the Five Aggregates Temple are just there to do menial tasks?

Just then, Xuan Cheng pointed to Lin Yunshao.

The little girl took a deep breath and then stepped forward.

"Senior brother."

Xuan Cheng lowered his eyes, glanced at the scene a few times, and then smiled.

"Isn't this that down-on-their-luck family that fell on hard times? Wow, I thought he was just a mud-covered mess, but he looks pretty good after being cleaned up."

The hand reached out, seemingly wanting to touch Lin Yunshao's face, but the little girl immediately dodged it.

Xuan Cheng's smile faltered, and he looked as if he wanted to get angry, but then he seemed to suddenly remember something and finally said with a forced smile.

"Fine, you've got guts—alright, I won't make things difficult for you. Go to the front mountain and move coal and ore."

This was the hardest and most tiring job among the odd jobs, but the young girl did not refuse at all. Instead, she nodded and went out the door.

In the end, all that was left was a trip.

Someone just smiled and looked at Xuan Cheng.

Xuan Cheng also looked at him with a cold smile.

After a while, Zhou You spoke first.

"Senior brother, shall I also go and move coal and transport ore?"

Who would have expected.

Xuan Cheng chuckled.

"No need. You're the most promising one in this batch. I'll definitely arrange something for you."

He emphasized the last word.

"A good place."

After a while.

Zhou You looked up at the plaque in front of him, completely baffled.

The Library

Why did you give me this?
Meanwhile, Xuan Cheng, who had been pressing him along as if he were an annoyance, said with schadenfreude.

"You'll stay here today. Remember, you can't leave before Shenshi (3-5 PM). Although I won't be here with you, the sect has its own ways of monitoring you. If you try to run away before then, hehehehehehe."

Before he could finish speaking, Xuan Cheng pushed Zhou You into the doorway, then walked out with a series of cold laughs—it seemed he wasn't willing to stay in the attic for even a second longer.

Zhou You was left completely bewildered.

"Wait a minute, you still haven't told me what I need to do."

However, the figure had already gone further and further away. After thinking for a while, Zhou You decided not to follow. Instead, he shook his head and looked around.

It's very dilapidated.

It was extremely dilapidated.

Like the rooms on the back hill, this place had clearly not been maintained for a long time, with accumulated dust and sprawling cobwebs everywhere.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, even outdoor light rarely shines into this place, making the entire attic dim and dark. Although it's not pitch black, you could easily stumble and fall if you're not careful.

Zhou You stood at the door, his expression slightly helpless—after all, no one had told him what he needed to do.

fortunately.

Soon, footsteps came from upstairs.

Has the person in charge finally arrived?
however.

Upon seeing each other, both of them were taken aback.

Both parties know each other.

The woman who came downstairs was none other than the alluring beauty whom Xuan Cheng had feared like a tiger and called "Senior Sister" when they first entered the mountain.

She seemed to still recognize Zhou You. She paused for a moment when they met, then tilted her head and smiled.

"Isn't this the little brother who didn't make it before? What's wrong? Is he lost? Or what?"

She took a step forward, bent her slender waist like a snake, and breathed sweetly into Zhou You's ear.

"Little brother, are you still resentful, so you've come to your older sister hoping to rekindle your past relationship?"

Zhou You seemed stunned, simply standing there without answering.

It wasn't that he was captivated by her beauty, but for some reason, as the 'senior sister' approached, the pills that had been suppressed within his body suddenly stirred a few times.

Then, the face in front of me suddenly changed.

She was still beautiful, but another face had grown on the back of her head—the front one was smiling and alluring, while the back one was in agony, grotesque, and seemed to be weeping and pleading.

Although, as before, the scene only lasted a few seconds before vanishing abruptly, Zhou You couldn't help but take a step back.

Seriously, are all the cultivation methods of your Five Elements Sect this weird?
Seeing that Zhou You did not respond, the senior sister opened her lips again and gently breathed on his neck.

It's alluring, and equally provocative.

Unfortunately, after seeing that appearance, Zhou You has completely lost all interest.

But speaking of a ten-year-old kid, how should one deal with this situation?

Zhou You thought for a moment, then slightly circulated his qi and blood, his face instantly turning red. He then took several steps back and hurriedly said...

"Xuan, Senior Brother Xuancheng asked me to do odd jobs in the Scripture Pavilion." Upon hearing this, the senior sister suddenly stopped moving.

"Coming here to do odd jobs? That can't be right, aren't you just a beginner? How could you possibly be here?"

She suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence, then lowered her head and looked at Zhou You with a gaze that was a mixture of regret and pity.

"You're really pathetic. Of all people to offend, you had to offend that petty one. He holds grudges for years. You're already in such a miserable state, I'm not going to tease you anymore."

After saying that, she raised her head again and called out.

"Uncle Chen, we have some help. Come down and guide them!"

Then, the woman reached out and touched Zhou You's face as if she still wanted more.

"What a pity, such a handsome boy, I should have chosen you yesterday."

After saying that, the woman swayed her hips and walked towards the door—but just as she stepped out of the threshold, she seemed to remember something, turned her head, and smiled seductively.

"Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. In the temple, we all use our Taoist names. My Taoist name is Xuanji Zi. If you are still alive when we meet again, you can call me Senior Sister Xuanji."

After saying that, the other person waved and walked out without looking back.

After a while, Zhou Youfang burst into laughter.

"If I can survive? Hmm, that's a really meaningful statement."

However, just as Zhou You was talking to himself, another person came down the stairs.

Unlike Xuanji, this person's steps were very slow, as if she had a very serious disability.

Soon, Zhou You saw what this person looked like.

It was an old man.

A lifeless old man.

To be honest, Zhou You has seen many elderly characters in all these scripts, and even characters like the Hidden King who lived for hundreds of years and ended up as nothing but skin and bones, but he has never seen an old man like this before. His body was hunched over, and a diamond-shaped mountain seemed to be protruding from his waist and back. Although he was still moving, he exuded an aura of death from the inside out.

It's like finding a hollowed-out piece of rotten wood by the roadside. You know it's still alive, but you also know it's just one step away from dying.

The old man raised his head, looked at Zhou You for a moment with his cloudy eyes, and then spoke.

"newcomer?"

Only then did someone notice that the old man was missing one eye, which was now being stuffed with a pale white sphere of some unknown material.

Upon hearing this, Zhou You quickly lowered his hand and said something.

"Yes, I am Xuancheng."

However, the other party casually interrupted.

"It doesn't matter who sent you. It just so happens that I have difficulty walking, and a bunch of books were recently borrowed from the building, so I need someone to help me organize them. Come with me."

After saying this, he ignored Zhou You's reaction and slowly walked up the stairs again.

Zhou You had no other choice but to catch up at the very end.

As the old man said, his legs seemed to be in very bad shape—normal people walk by taking turns using both feet, but this man would take one step at a time and then follow with the other.

Rather than saying he was climbing stairs, it was more like he was 'moving' the stairs.

Despite the inconvenience on his feet, he couldn't stop talking.

"Before you come to work, let me tell you something. This library has four floors, but the third floor and above are where the sect's important scriptures are stored. You don't need to manage those, and you shouldn't go up there, or you'll bear the consequences. The second floor contains some relatively unimportant techniques or miscellaneous knowledge. Disciples from the sect often come to borrow books there, and you don't need to manage those either. You just need to organize the books."

At this point, the old man sighed again.

"Sigh, working in the library is tedious and a real grind-up place. Many young people couldn't stick it out before. They'd be doing well one day, but then they wouldn't come back the next."

—So he's just not coming?
Thinking about the strange and bizarre aspects of this sect, Zhou You pursed his lips but ultimately didn't say those words.

Because the pace of travel was so slow, it took them quite a while to finally reach their destination.

The old man took a while to catch his breath before speaking.

"We've arrived—can you see those bookshelves?"

Zhou You craned his neck and saw dozens of rows of bookshelves standing in the small room.

So he nodded and answered.

"I saw it, what's wrong?"

The old man pulled a book from the pile of books beside him, then carefully examined its cover in the dim sunlight. With trembling steps, he walked to a bookshelf and put the book back.

"These books are labeled with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, which means they originally belonged to where they were. Your job is to put these books back on the bookshelf, understand?"

So simple?
Zhou You nodded, about to agree, when he suddenly noticed that the old man had already put his hands behind his back and was slowly walking up to the third floor.

In the end, only one sentence was left.

"Remember, no matter what, don't make a mistake."

"."

—Okay, I knew it. In the end, I'll have to rely entirely on myself.

Zhou You imitated the old man, found a book, deciphered the ordinal number written on it, located the book slot, and put it back.

Everything is normal, there are no problems.

It seemed like just an ordinary chores job, at most a little boring—but compared to those physically demanding jobs, it was quite easy.

However, Zhou You still vividly remembered Xuan Cheng's gloating expression and Xuan Ji's look at him like he was looking at a dead person before she left.

—In any case, this job is by no means as ordinary as it seems.

Time passed little by little.

Several fellow students borrowed and returned books, so even though Zhou You was constantly working, the pile of books didn't decrease much.

Zhou You randomly picked one out, glanced at the cover, and then muttered to himself.

"Bingchou frame, Jiayou layer, yes, that's it."

Honestly, for Zhou You's current height, this bookshelf was really too high. It took him a lot of effort to barely manage to stand on tiptoe and stuff the books inside.

however.

Just as his body fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a faint knocking sound was heard.

At first he thought it was his imagination, but he soon realized that the sound was real and coming from behind the bookshelf.

Zhou You frowned and moved closer, only to hear the sound grow louder and louder, eventually turning into a series of terrifying, continuous pounding.

Finally, he found the source of the sound.

—That was a book.

A book that has fallen to the ground.

But just now, Zhou You clearly remembered that there was no such book on the ground.

However, just as he squatted down, a terrified voice came from the book.

"Finally, someone's here! Whoever you are, please, save me!!!"

(End of this chapter)