Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 494 Interlude
After listening to Han Xuzi's account, Uncle Chen remained quite calm.

"You youngsters, it's such a small matter, you don't need to argue like this."

He was halfway through his sentence when, as if his strength was failing, he coughed a few times, his voice hoarse, before continuing.

“However, this rule cannot be broken. How about this, let this person choose for himself: whether to stay here and continue working, or to prepare to go somewhere else—I remember that the medicine shop seems to be short of people. If he wants to go, he can take him there himself.”

No one had any objections.

Both Hanxuzi and Xuancheng focused their attention on Zhou You.

How did this come down to me?
Zhou You remained silent for a few seconds, then lowered his head and spoke respectfully.

The answer, however, surprised everyone.

"Thank you for your advice, Senior Brother Hanxuzi. However, I have been here for many days now, and Uncle Chen has been very kind to me. I am really sorry to ask you to change places."

Hearing these reckless remarks, the other two people had different expressions.

Xuan Cheng stood there for a few seconds, then sneered, looking at him as if he were looking at a dying idiot. Han Xuzi shook his head, said nothing more, and simply turned and left cleanly with his hands behind his back.

After Xuan Cheng left, only Uncle Chen and Zhou You remained in the vast library.

But Uncle Chen didn't say much. The hunchbacked man slowly made his way back to the upper floor.

In the end, Zhou You turned around with a calm expression and continued doing this work that seemed to never end, day after day.

After that, there were no further setbacks at work that day.

I don't know if it was because I was tired of the harassment a few days ago, or if I just happened to be away today, but the noise that came out every few days was quiet all day long. Apart from that, I didn't see many other traps, so Zhou You actually went home from work peacefully for the first time.

But at the entrance of the cafeteria, he found that there was someone else waiting for him.

—It's that guy called Aqua.

After a few days apart, this guy had actually gotten quite plump, and his cheeks, which were originally so thin they were practically bone, were now much fuller. The moment he saw Zhou You, he immediately greeted him with a big smile.

"Brother!"

Zhou You couldn't help but laugh at the boy who showed absolutely no malice.

"Doesn't your alchemy room have its own kitchen? What brings you here today?"

Unexpectedly, the other party did not rush to answer, but instead cheerfully took out a few things from his pocket and stuffed them into Zhou You's hand.

"Big brother, you eat, you eat!"

Zhou You released his hand, revealing several pieces of maltose in his palm.

The sugar cubes weren't large, but in this Taoist temple, they were still considered a rare treat.

Just as Aqua was about to answer with a silly grin, a voice quietly interrupted from behind her.

"I heard that the alchemy room produced a batch of pills today, so my uncle generously gave everyone a reward, even the gatekeeper got a share. However, he only tasted one piece, and then rushed over to you with the rest."

Zhou You looked at the maltose candy that seemed to have been squeezed for a long time and was already somewhat deformed, and finally shook his head with a wry smile.

Aqua is not very bright and spent his early years in hunger. In his opinion, the most important thing in the world is to be full. So, when he tries to please his loved ones, he only knows how to keep sharing his food.

Pure and utter kindness is especially precious in this corrupt world.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou You took only two pieces, put one in his mouth, threw the other to Lin Yunshao behind him, and then returned the rest to Aqua.

"Brother, what is this?"

"It's nothing, I don't like sweets, you can keep the rest for yourself."

Fools are always simple-minded. Aqua didn't think too much about it and stuffed the rest into her mouth, then showed that silly smile again.

However, Zhou You seemed to remember something and asked again.

"By the way, Aqua, you've been working in the alchemy room for so many days, have you noticed anything unusual?"

Aqua didn't quite understand what Zhou You was talking about, but he quickly started drawing with his hands and feet.

However, due to the unclear speech and the abstract gestures, Zhou You still couldn't figure out what he was trying to say after a long time.

Finally, Lin Yunshao couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to explain.

"Because he was so stupid, his senior uncle in the alchemy room didn't assign him any work. He was just asked to guard the door of the alchemy room. All he did all day was stare at the sky and daydream. It was impossible for him to find any problems."

Aqua didn't care that others called her stupid; instead, she just grinned and nodded in agreement.

Looking at his behavior, Lin Yunshao seemed to purse his lips in disgust, but still managed to find a rag from somewhere and carefully wipe away the drool that Aqua had drooled from eating candy.

Similarly, what a sharp-tongued but kind-hearted girl.

Zhou You smiled, then skipped over the topic and asked another question.

"Then, Aqua, do you know what kind of pill your master is refining?"

Aqua answered this question very quickly.

"To become an immortal, and also, there are pills to increase one's cultivation level."

Clearly, he had heard all of this from elsewhere, and even he himself didn't understand its meaning.

Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, Zhou You stopped talking and patted Aqua on the shoulder.

"Aqua".

The other party immediately replied with a silly grin.

"Big brother, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing, just telling you to be careful. Try to avoid the delicate work in the alchemy room. Just watch the main entrance. If anything goes wrong, don't worry about anything else, just run here. I'll take care of the rest, understand?"

Aqua tilted her head, somewhat puzzled, but still grinned foolishly as she spoke.

"Brother, I understand."

"Alright, it's getting late. You should head back early. Your place is quite far from here, so don't wait until it gets dark."

Aqua naturally agreed.

Lin Yunshao sighed as he watched the silly, grinning figure walk further and further away.

"What's the point of sending him here? If something really happens, do you think you can protect him?"

Zhou You simply smiled casually, but remained silent.

The little girl didn't quite understand, but he really did have that ability.

If he were truly driven to the brink, he would risk using one of his liberation opportunities to protect Lin Yunshao and Aqua and help them escape.
At the very least, it's not difficult.

As for the fact that the main storyline is difficult to complete because of this, we can think about that later. Anyway, he can't let two close people die in front of him because of this little problem.

There was no need to explain any of this. Zhou You chewed up the last piece of sugar and decided to finish his dinner first.

I don't know why, but there's been an unusually large number of things happening today.

As soon as I entered the house, I heard a quarrel.

It wasn't so much an argument as a one-sided plea. Several children, also born to be "married to bring good luck," were gathered around Xuan Cheng, talking amongst themselves.

Zhou You did recognize a few of them.

Where there are people, there are groups. Even when they were still in the prison cart, these kids huddled together and deliberately tried to please Xuan Cheng. As a result, whenever food was thrown in, they and their children would grab it first, and the leftovers would be shared by others.

The original owner of this body had many conflicts with them because of this, but after Zhou You moved in, he became too lazy to deal with such things—bullying and oppression are always around, and once you see them too often, you lose interest.

However, at this moment, the faces of these 'leaders' were full of anxiety, and they looked like they were about to kneel on the ground.

"Senior brother, please, please help us!"

Zhou You and Lin Yunshao received their meals and then sat separately. Zhou You's chosen spot was 'coincidentally' positioned so that he could hear conversations among the crowd.

All that could be heard was the crying of the leader of the children.

"Senior Brother Xuancheng, I beg you, please help us. We can't think of anyone else but you."

Xuan Cheng, however, seemed quite impatient.

"Why should I help you? What relationship do you have with me? Go away, get out of here! I've already had enough to be angry about today, don't push me to the point of slapping you!"

Upon hearing the word 'draw,' the men shrank back, but the leader immediately realized something and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“Senior Brother Xuancheng, you can’t say that! We’ve always listened to you before, and we’d teach whoever you told us to teach a lesson. But this time we’re really out of options, so we had to come to you. My brother and I were perfectly fine when we went to work, but then my brother suddenly said someone was calling him, and then he disappeared in the blink of an eye. He might have gotten lost somewhere. Could you please find someone?”

However, before this person could finish speaking, Xuan Cheng laughed.

"I remember you worked in the laundry room, right? What did the supervisor there tell you? Have you forgotten?"

The leader was taken aback, then stammered.

"You're not allowed to talk to anyone, and you're not allowed to respond when someone calls you. Once you're inside, you have to keep your head down and work. Once you're done, you have to come out."

"Did you listen to me?"

The leader was speechless for a moment, but he quickly argued back.

"He only said one sentence, just one sentence. How could a perfectly healthy person just disappear like that?"

however.

Xuan Cheng grabbed his collar, lifted the boy up, and suddenly grinned maliciously.

“Today, some annoying guy argued with me for ages. Everything else he said was rubbish, but he did say one thing right—what’s the most important thing in the world? Rules are the most important thing. From the celestial court to the beggar’s hut, where is there a place where rules don’t apply? You made your own mistakes, so just take responsibility for them. Why are you coming to me? Do you think I can make up for your mistakes?”

The leader's face turned pale, but he still managed to squeeze out a few words.

"But, but it's my brother."

Xuan Cheng chuckled.

Despite being surrounded by people, he remained unconcerned and spoke in a very casual manner.

"Considering you helped me with a few small things, I'll give you a word of advice—give up, stop looking. Your brother's bones are probably all broken into pieces now, and he just wants to die quickly. If you look for him, you'll probably end up like him very soon."

The leader's expression shifted from fear to astonishment, then back to fear. In the end, he only uttered one sentence.

Who did it?

Xuan Cheng replied sarcastically.

"Who else could have done it? It must have been the sect itself."

He picked up the boy, as if speaking to him and warning everyone present, and laughed as he spoke.

"Have I been too nice to you lately, making you lose your sense of hierarchy? Do you really think you've become my junior brothers? Let me tell you, do you even know that the term 'marrying for good luck' has two meanings?"

As this cathartic outburst unfolded, no one around dared to utter a sound; they could only watch the scene with equally terrified eyes.

Only a few senior students in the cafeteria stood with their arms crossed, looking like they were watching something amusing, their faces full of smiles.

So, without any interference, only Xuan Cheng's voice echoed in this space.

"One interpretation is, as my master said, to wash away bad luck and bring good fortune. But another interpretation is that it is to offer food to evil spirits so that they will be quieter on ordinary days."

"Which one do you think you are?"

After saying that, Xuan Cheng threw the boy to the ground, then wrapped two roast chickens in oil paper and swaggered away.

The remaining children were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

No one spoke, and no one dared to speak.

The next day, it was the same old morning class.

However, it was clear that most children did not sleep well, and everyone was no longer enthusiastic about opening books.

Also, the leader and his brothers were all absent.

In contrast, Master Chongxu arrived exceptionally early today. And for some reason, his usually indifferent face was unusually adorned with a smile.

He took his seat as was customary, looked around, and then began to speak.

"Why are you all so listless? I heard that Xuan Cheng had a little conflict with you yesterday. But don't worry, I'm always fair and impartial. I already punished him this morning. He's probably doing hard labor in the medicine room now."

Everyone was stunned.

No one expected that Master Chongxu's first words would be this.

But because of this, several people showed expressions of surprise.

Could it be that, unlike Xuan Cheng, this master might actually be a kind person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside?

Perhaps what Xuancheng said yesterday was just something he made up to scare people?
However, immediately, Master Chongxu continued.

"But to be honest, I'm quite disappointed, really disappointed—the sect has treated you very well. Before you came, you probably didn't even have enough to eat, but the sect provided you with food, clothing, and even accommodations, yet this is how you treat the sect."

—We were having a perfectly normal conversation, how did we end up talking about this?

—And what did he mean?
Looking at the commotion below, Master Chongxu sighed.

"Just as dawn was breaking today, a few boys climbed out of the window and ran away. It seemed they were trying to get to the mountain gate and blend in with the pilgrims to go down the mountain. Fortunately, they were caught by 'that thing' before they even got there."

And then?

Master Chongxu shook his head and then made a hand gesture.

Several potted evergreen trees turned around, each with a few pieces of bark hanging from its branches.

Human skin.

A person's face.

Similarly, although it was a bloody mess and full of horror, everyone recognized it.

—That was the leader and his henchmen.
Skin.

(End of this chapter)