Stranger Danger

Chapter 101: When You Don’t Study Hard

The moment they set foot on the first step, the mountain path abruptly became long and distant, and a wall of rainbow fog flooded the path behind them. Their destination was nowhere to be seen, and retreat was impossible.

“One, you can only ever go forward once you’ve stepped on the Path of Riddles.”

The rules the ink wash seal script had mentioned flashed through everyone’s mind. As the fog was corrosive, it really seemed that the only way they could go was forward. As if on cue, many winged seal scripts flew out of the fog and landed in front of the group. Then, they unfurled into rows and rows of text. They were riddles the people were expected to clear in order to progress further.

Ye Qing looked left and right and noticed that he could only see his own riddle. Obviously, this arrangement coincided with the rule that each person could only answer their own riddle. Brimming with confidence, Ye Qing rolled up his sleeves and concentrated on the riddle before him, “Give it to me, bebe! I will show you the power of a top… student…”

The riddle read: “One, two and three of me can form a symbol or a letter. What am I?”

“...”

Symbol? Letter? Letter symbol whaaaaaaat?

He did not think that he would be stumped at the very first riddle, but he was. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a countdown starting at 10 appeared beneath the riddle. 10… 9…. 8….

A time limit? Are you kidding me right now? Shit! I’m not going to fail on the very first riddle, am I?

Suddenly, Wawa’s disdainful voice entered his ears, “The answer is ‘I’, stupid!”

“I?” Ye Qing frowned as he muttered to himself, “I… ? Let’s see, one I can form the letter ‘I’ or the minus symbol (-), two Is can form the letter ‘X’ or the plus symbol (+), and three Is can form the letter ‘N’ or… or… the inequality symbol (≠)! The answer really is ‘I’!”

“Why are you stating the obvious? You’re so stupid, friend! Wawa figured it out the moment she saw the riddle!” The Book Sprite declared cheekily.

Normally, Ye Qing would’ve flicked her forehead for daring to call him stupid to his face, but it was a fact that he was no match for her in the academic department. So, he could only rub his nose to hide his embarrassment. He was so distracted he nearly missed the countdown and called out in a hurry, “The answer is ‘I’!”

The floating words abruptly dissolved into a pool of light and slipped into the faint mist in front of him in the blink of an eye. The mist receded just enough to reveal the second step.

Knowing that he had successfully cleared the first hurdle, Ye Qing let out a sigh of relief and took a moment to check out how the others were doing. Judging from the deep frowns on their faces and their frantic hair pulling, it was not going well at all. They might become invincible if they turned bald, but it would not improve their IQ one bit, not to mention that every single one of them except Xiao Yang was the brawny type who used their biceps far more than they ever used their brains. Forcing them to answer a riddle was like making a child the emperor—it was unreasonable to expect them to perform well in any capacity.

Speaking of which, Xiao Yang was the only one who looked completely confident when he gave his answer. But unlike Ye Qing, his riddle abruptly transformed into a floating chain and bound him to a wooden cross that had appeared behind him without warning. Xiao Yang looked completely stupefied when he realized what happened, “What? This is impossible! How can my answer be wrong?”

As if on cue, everyone’s timer hit zero at the same time. Everyone who answered wrong or failed to answer in time were bound to a wooden cross as well. It was quite the scene to put it mildly. Then, a scary-looking whip covered in hooked barbs appeared in front of each person.

“Bondage? Whip?” This escalated quickly! Where are the candles?

Crack!

The whips fell in unison and caused all of them to shudder in agony. If the whip was a normal whip, then this would be an unpleasant experience at worst. Most of them were Qi Invokers after all. However, the barbed whip literally tore a chunk of flesh off their body. To call it painful would be an understatement to say the least.

At first, there were a couple of badasses who bravely withstood the pain without uttering a sound. Over time though, even the toughest nuts eventually broke under the pressure especially since their torturer did not mention when their suffering was going to end.

Crack!

“Argh!” “Ah~”

Crack!

“Argh!” “Ah~”

“Wait WTF? I’m not hearing things, am I?”

It was a terrible thing to get rekt, but a completely different story to watch someone else get rekt. To watch dozens of people get rekt at the same time because they didn’t study hard enough? Even better! Ye Qing was just wishing he had some popcorn when he heard something strange mixed within the screams of pain. At first he thought he was hallucinating, but over time it was impossible to ignore the strange moan.

He immediately pushed his hearing to the limits to identify the source. Just a few seconds later, he found out that the moan… had come from Xiao Yang himself. Just like everyone else, the Patrolman was bloody and horribly mutilated. But while the others were screaming in abject pain, Xiao Yang was… moaning with pleasure.

“...”

Ye Qing’s expression at that moment was strange to put it mildly. I didn't take him to be the masochist type! I should stay far, far away from him from now on.

The good news was that the punishment didn’t last forever. Twenty whips later, the chains, the wooden crosses and the whips all vanished into thin air. Not only that, the horrific wounds they suffered had vanished into thin air as well. It was almost as if they had never been whipped to begin with.

But of course, the wounds might have disappeared, but the memory remained. Everyone looked pale-faced and fearful. No one wanted to suffer that kind of pain another time—no one except Xiao Yang that was. Unlike the others, he wore a regretful look on his face. He actually looked like he wanted the whipping to continue longer.

When he noticed Ye Qing’s strange expression, he stepped toward him and licked his lips, “You should have joined us, brother. It was an… unforgettable experience.”

“...”

Ye Qing subconsciously took a few steps away from Xiao Yang and said seriously, “No thanks. I’m a scholar, and I’d rather keep my dignity intact.” Unlike you. He then moved onto the second step before Xiao Yang could pollute his ears any further. Stay away from Xiao Yang to save your soul!

As soon as he stood still, another ancient seal script flew out of the fog and unfurled into a new riddle:

“What has roots as nobody sees,

Is taller than trees,

Up, up it goes

And yet never grows?”

This time, Ye Qing was able to figure out the riddle very quickly. “This one’s simple! The answer is a ‘mountain’!”

A mountain was rooted to the ground despite having no roots.? It was also taller than a tree, so much so that some looked like they could put a hole in the sky. Finally, a mountain could never “grow” taller, so it had to be the answer.

He was right. Once again, the words dissolved into rainbow light and pushed back the mist a little more.

“You got it already, brother?!” Xiao Yang had just planted a foot on the second step when he noticed that the mist before Ye Qing had receded once more. He was so shocked that his jaw was hanging wide open.

Ye Qing waved a sleeve and said casually, “I am a scholar, you know. I won’t be balked by a simple riddle!”

I thought he was just bragging to save face! Is he actually a scholar? Xiao Yang thought in shock and jealousy. He thought he was the only truly studious person in the group, but clearly he was wrong. Not only that, the first person to reach the peak would surely obtain a better reward. This meant that it was time to get serious.

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yang climbed onto the second step and waited for the seal script to turn into a riddle. When he was done reading, he gave his answer with just as much confidence as before.

Unfortunately for him, he was just as wrong as he was before. The seal script abruptly transformed into a pot of boiling oil, and an invisible force dunked Xiao Yang into the pot completely.

Xiao Yang burst out screaming as his flesh sizzled. He tried to escape as a matter of course, but it was as if he was shackled by a mysterious force. He was unable to leap fully out of the pot no matter what he tried. Eventually, Xiao Yang’s struggle ceased as he floated atop the boiling oil like a piece of fried meat. Literally, his flesh looked golden brown and crispy, and a delicious scent spread throughout the area.

If Ye Qing didn’t know better, he would’ve thought that it was the scent of fried chicken.

Heavens above. This is the first time I’ve ever seen—or smelled—a deep-fried human! Ye Qing thought with a suppressed chill.? Everyone else looked green in the face as well.

Ten breaths later, the boiling pot vanished, and Xiao Yang hit the ground with a soft thump. However, the poor guy was still twitching here and there as if his senses hadn’t caught up to reality yet. A long time later, he finally looked up at Ye Qing and said, “It’s not as hot as it looks! Really!”

“I believe you!” As far as a child can throw you, that is!

It should not need to be said, but no one wanted to suffer Xiao Yang’s fate. So, the Pacification Sentinels racked their brains and pulled their hair harder than ever before to answer their given riddle. Unfortunately, most of them literally weren’t smart enough to save their own life, so they followed in Xiao Yang’s footsteps and were deep fried into crispy yellow. Add in a sprinkle of cumin and some sauce, and they would be a ready dinner for a cannibal or two!

If there was one silver lining about all this, it was that they were all strong-willed people who were used to walking on a knife’s edge. Once they were reset back to normal, they were ready to go for another round. Relatively speaking, of course. At least they weren’t dead, right?

Ye Qing sighed. He would help out his mates if he could, but the rules forbade him from doing so. He wasn’t nearly so virtuous that he would deep fry himself to save another person either, much less dozens of them. Lastly, there was no telling if they had infinite “lives”. How ironic would it be if he died because he suicided one too many times?

“In the end, it’s all up to fate!”

Ye Qing shook his head and looked away from the others. Then, he climbed onto the third step.

“All about, but cannot be seen,

Can be captured, cannot be held,

No throat, but can be heard.

Who am I?”

“Another riddle poem. Let’s see. All about, but cannot be seen. Can be captured, cannot be held. No throat, but can be heard… heard? I got it! The answer is ‘wind’! Only the wind fits all the mentioned criterias!”

“That is correct, friend. You’re a smart boy now!” Wawa praised him and clapped her hands encouragingly.

“...”

I’ve always been a smart boy, okay? Still, I don’t mind being praised by a top student!

Ye Qing’s answer was correct, and the fourth step was revealed. It was at this moment Xiao Yang rushed up the third step. When he saw that Ye Qing was getting ready to climb the fourth step—it was as if he had made no progress at all—he gritted his teeth and challenged the third riddle as quickly as he could.

Of course, he was wrong yet again.

This time, a single word transformed into a knife and flew past Xiao Yang. A slice of flesh so thin that it was comparable to a cicada’s wing fell off the Patrolman’s torso and hit the ground with a splat.

Xiao Yang shivered as the blood drained away from his face. As if remembering something, his eyes abruptly bulged with terror, and large beads of sweat started dripping off his head like a waterfall. It was at this moment the knife flew back and carved out another slice of flesh. Not only was it the exact same shape and size as the first, Xiao Yang’s wounds weren’t bleeding at all.

“Death by a thousand cuts?!” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise. Legend says that the true death by a thousand cuts could make the victim suffer thousands and thousands of cuts without dying, and since Xiao Yang was a warrior…

Poor kid. This is what happens when you don’t study hard enough!

Ye Qing sighed and resumed his climb.

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