Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 504 Reaction
The library remains exactly the same.

There weren't many senior students who borrowed books, and not many who returned them either, yet the pile of books still stood there as if it were endless, unchanged.

Seeing this, Zhou You didn't waste any more words, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work as usual.

And so everything returned to normal.

You have to outwit and outmaneuver the bizarre elements in the book, find every flaw, and then stuff all of these things into the bookshelf.

Dusk fell once again.

Uncle Chen slowly walked down the stairs, glanced around as usual, and then asked the same question he always asked.

"Have you finished cleaning up?"

Zhou You also lowered his head and gave the exact same answer.

"This disciple is dull-witted and has not finished tidying up today."

However, this time Uncle Chen did not dismiss him casually. Instead, he looked at him seriously and then walked over with his crippled body, limping as if he wanted to sit on the rattan chair next to him.

However, he couldn't put any weight on that leg, and after several attempts, he still couldn't get into position. In the end, Zhou You reached out his hand, and he was able to barely get onto the chair.

But honestly, judging from its appearance, it's more accurate to describe this person as a Daruma doll sitting on a chair than as 'sitting'—

Just standing there, I couldn't sense the slightest human presence.

After catching his breath for a while, Uncle Chen finally spoke again.

"Hey you, Chongxu called you over today, probably to take you as his personal disciple, right?"

Zhou You frowned slightly.

—This is no secret. After all, so many people who were brought in for good luck saw him being led into the back room, and considering Xuan Cheng's reaction, they could probably guess what was going on.

But the problem is that this old man never leaves his house, so how did he know that?

Could it be from one of the senior students who borrowed the book? But it shouldn't have spread so quickly.

Zhou You hesitated for a moment, but still replied respectfully.

"Yes, Lord Chen."

The old man grinned and laughed.

There were no teeth in that mouth, not even a tongue; there was only a dark, empty cavity.

Wait, what did he say?
However, Uncle Chen quickly answered the question.

His abdomen bulged slightly, and the sound did not come from his throat, but from his chest.

"You're quite capable. From a marriage of convenience to becoming a direct disciple, we've rarely seen so many since the temple was founded. Normally, one needs to complete a year of service before officially entering the sect, and then train for another two years without being eliminated before competing for the position of direct disciple. You've really risen to the top in one step."

The words were devoid of any emotion; they were neither flattery nor overstepping boundaries. They were simply like a calm machine, slowly stating established facts.

Zhou You paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"Is it because the disciple returned from night patrol that he was promoted as a special case?"

Contrary to his voice, Uncle Chen's smile became increasingly mocking.

“Kid, our Five Aggregates Temple has been established for quite some time now. You’re not the first person to be sent to night patrol for a marriage of convenience because you offended someone, nor are you the first to survive by chance. But most of those people were only treated well for a few days after they came back, and the majority of them were still killed. Why do you think you’re an exception?”

—Is this old man implying something?
Zhou You cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Please enlighten me, Uncle Chen."

Otherwise.

At this point, the old man stopped talking and instead stretched out his paw to probe.

"Bring it here."

"Give me what?"

"Now that you've entered the realm of the profound teachings of the Tongxuan Scripture, that kid Chongxu should have passed it on to you as well, right?"

Although this thing was a fragment of the fundamental teaching, the "Free and Easy Scripture," Zhou You didn't hesitate much. He obediently took it out of his pocket and handed it over.

—After all, this thing isn't unique. Judging from Master Chongxu's intentions, there are quite a few books in the entire sect, but only direct disciples can read them. If this old man really keeps this one, he can just find another one himself, which won't take much trouble.

Who would have guessed.

Uncle Chen had no intention of accepting the book at all.

He seemed to be reminiscing deeply, gently scratching with his broken fingernail, and then sighed.

"You probably don't know that back then, my fellow disciples and I each received a book like this. Our batch was known as a group of prodigies. Out of hundreds of people who were brought together for good luck, more than forty of them actually advanced. Although the number of people who can open the gate is fixed, our master still made an exception and passed on the method of advancement to everyone."

Zhou You remained silent, simply listening attentively.

However, the old man's reminiscence was brief; he only uttered a single sigh before stopping, then opened the scripture and glanced at it casually.

Then, he suddenly burst out laughing.

And this was the first time he had ever expressed emotion in his voice.

"That kid Chongxu is still the same as always, too cunning, which always leads him to overlook one thing and miss another. He's even resorting to such petty tricks now, really..."

Uncle Chen shook his head, then gently pinched the page with his hand.

Strangely enough, even though he didn't possess a single trace of magic power, he still managed to forcefully 'crush' several lines of text together. The ink-like bodies struggled in mid-air, like insects trying to break free of his control—but as his withered hands slowly clenched, everything fell silent again.

When Chen Bosong opened his palm, only some black dust fell down.

Finally, he threw the scriptures back to Zhou You.

"Alright, although this book has caused considerable damage, it is still your capital for making a living in the sect."

Zhou You took it and glanced at it a few times out of the corner of his eye—but unfortunately, he had only had the book for half a day and couldn't figure out what words Chen Bo had removed.

So he could only bow down and speak with his usual polite and respectful smile.

"Then this disciple thanks Uncle Chen very much."

Uncle Chen didn't speak again, but closed his eyes and curled up in the recliner, seemingly falling into a light sleep.

After waiting for a few minutes and seeing that there were no further instructions, Zhou You walked towards the wooden door. However, before leaving, he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back to look in the direction of the old man.

"Uncle Chen, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"."

no answer.

But Zhou You continued speaking with a smile.

"I just heard that your senior brothers and junior brothers have also received the teachings. To be honest, I have never met these predecessors. I wonder if you would have the time to introduce me to them so that I can witness their splendor?"

Upon hearing this, the old man, who seemed half-dead, slightly opened his eyes.

"Did you hear something, kid?"

Zhou You lowered his head.

"I wouldn't dare, I'm just a little curious."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Chen narrowed his eyes again and then waved his hand.

"I don't know what you heard, nor what your guesses are, but I can only tell you one thing—we, my fellow disciples, all brought this upon ourselves, including myself. Our fate is entirely our own fault, and don't try to make anything of it, or you will die a far more gruesome death—far worse than you can imagine." Zhou You remained silent, then said nothing more, simply backing away from the room, leaving only his mangled figure gradually disappearing into the darkness of the library.

Back inside, by the flickering candlelight, Zhou You once again opened the Tongxuan Scripture.

However, after going through the entire book, there were no deletions or omissions, and the sentences flowed smoothly without any sense of incongruity.

It's as if the few segments that Uncle Chen cut out were simply created out of thin air; he just deliberately removed them.

Now you have two options for traveling around.

A is to believe in Uncle Chen and thus practice this revised scripture.

B means believing in Master Chongxu, truthfully explaining everything during tomorrow's class, and then replacing it with a new one.

After pondering for a while, Zhou You chose C.

Obtuse angle.

—Are you kidding me? It's not like I don't have a cultivation method. Even if you were a complete fragment, I wouldn't take such a big risk to practice it.

So he simply tossed the Tongxuan Scripture aside and planned to draw a few more talismans before it got completely dark.

To be honest, since he had no other options, his talisman skills improved by leaps and bounds during this period. Although he still couldn't reach Tao Le'an's level, he was at least much better than ordinary Taoist priests.

Just as he was about to use blood as ink to begin writing, that familiar scratching sound rang out again.

Zhou You sighed. He had originally planned to plug his ears and ignore it completely, as he usually did. However, halfway through, he suddenly thought of something, put down his earplugs, and leaned over.

"I said."

The scratching sound paused.

The thing outside the door seemed to have no idea that someone who had been ignored for so long would speak again, so it didn't react for a moment.

But soon, a piercing shriek rang out from outside.

"I know you're in there! I know you're in there! Open the door for me! Open the door for me! Let me in! Let me in!!!"

Zhou You simply spoke in a calm voice.

"Hey bro, you've been bothering me for so long, you know I'm not going to let you in. How about we give up for now and talk first?"

However, the thing did not respond at all; instead, the shrieking became even more piercing.

"No, you can't hide! You can't hide forever! Sooner or later, everyone in this sect will die!!"

The sharp tone seemed to pierce his eardrums, but Zhou You still endured the discomfort and asked the next question.

"Brother, am I saying you are... an anomaly that existed within this sect from the beginning, or are you victims who died within the sect?"

The things outside the door paused for a few seconds.

Then, a scream suddenly rang out.

"No, I don't want to be eaten! No, no, I have to kill you all!!!"

Then came endless, venomous curses and howls.

However, even just these few words before making contact are enough to provide a lot of information.

"—So, what exactly does the sect leader want to do?"

Lost in thought, Zhou You, unaware of a situation even he himself was unaware of, asked the same question as Master Chongxu.

Unfortunately, no one can give him any answers now.

the other side.

Inside Xuancheng's bedroom.

As the eldest disciple, he didn't have to share a small house with the groom for a wedding, nor did he have to squeeze into the back mountain with his master and uncles, so his place was naturally much better.

This bedroom was also sealed off, and it was several hundred times larger than the one used for the wedding. Although it was just one room, it had many partitions in the middle, including a guest room, a bathroom, a meditation room, and even a tea room.

Meanwhile, Xuan Cheng was in a dimly lit room, holding a leather whip, viciously lashing it across a fair back.

"Snapped!"

A sound.

A hideous bloodstain quickly appeared.

The body on the ground, having exhausted all its strength during the previous brutal torture, only twitched slightly, without even screaming, before falling still.

Such a reaction naturally displeased Xuan Cheng. He grabbed the body's black hair and forcefully turned it over.

What came into view was a pair of pupils that had long since lost their focus.

I vaguely remember that this woman was the daughter-in-law of a wealthy merchant from the foot of the mountain, and quite well-known in the area, but I can't recall her name.
Forget it, it doesn't matter.

He tossed the naked, gradually cooling body to the ground like trash, but Xuan Cheng's anger still didn't dissipate; in fact, it intensified.

—Yes, that's right. The sect leader did stipulate that these worshippers should not be killed indiscriminately, and their actions should not be too ostentatious.

But the problem is, what time is it now? He's an old man who can no longer manage things, so what's the point of the rules he set?

Moreover, Xuan Cheng had been groveling and humiliating all the way, even offering up his own sister as a stepping stone, all for the sake of gaining the power to be second only to the emperor.

Now that he's finally become the senior disciple, they want him to rest and recuperate? Is this some kind of joke?!
Master is right. In this world, the strong take all, and the weak are only fit to be the dogs under the strong, only needing to wag their tails and beg for mercy!

Thinking of his younger sister who had died a few years ago, and then of the girl who looked very similar to her, Xuan Cheng felt a surge of heat and wanted to pull the woman up—but when he touched her body, he realized that she had already been dead for a long time.

The nameless anger grew stronger and stronger, to the point that it made him somewhat delirious.

Fuck that Venerable Chongxu, fuck those fellow disciples who looked down on me, fuck that Lin Yunshao, fuck that Zhou.
However, when talking about the last person, Xuan Cheng suddenly stopped.

He thought of those eyes again.

Those eyes, calm and full of smiles, were like sharp swords, ready to slice off one's head at any moment.

Instantly, all the heat in my body, including my lower body, went limp.

But Xuan Cheng didn't notice; it just suddenly occurred to him.

It seems that all my bad luck started when I met that kid?

"Yes, that's right, absolutely. Ever since I met that kid, I've had nothing but bad luck. He's definitely my nemesis. I should have gotten rid of him long ago. I should have killed him back when we were transporting the goods."

Xuan Cheng bit his finger hard, muttering to himself as if he were going crazy.

"But how come he's so resilient? He can't be killed by the whip, he can't be killed by the Great Demon, he can't even die on night patrol. He even managed to find two powerful backers, Uncle Chen and Senior Brother Qingjing. Chongxu, no, Master must have been bewitched by him, bewitched by a demon, that's why he made an exception and made him some kind of personal disciple."

He paced back and forth in the bedroom, completely unaware that his fingers had been bitten until they were bleeding.

But just as the black energy had completely permeated the area, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes, it's not too late now, it's not too late now. But I have to find help—but who can I turn to? There aren't many trustworthy people in our sect, and in the outer sect, that female demon is possible, but I can't afford the price, so..."

In the candlelight, Xuan Cheng's eyes had unknowingly turned deep red.

Meanwhile, without anyone noticing.

He didn't even notice that a wisp of black energy suddenly overflowed from his dantian and then deeply penetrated his brain.

(End of this chapter)