CHAPTER17

The man in the leather hat who led the way was the village chief. He called this place “Chars Village” and there was a total of eighteen households.

The village was located close to the border. During the war, the black widow came over with several other Russians and they decided to stay.

The stone monument was engraved by her but even the village chief didn’t know the meaning behind those words.

The crowd followed him along the dirt road towards the village.

To one side of the road was a river covered with a thick layer of ice. On the other side were houses. They were all concrete houses and some still retained traces of brickwork but, no matter what it was made of, their roofs were of the exact same dark red colour.

“Didn’t you say eighteen households?” Yu Wen muttered quietly, “Just these houses alone look like there’s more than eighteen?”

The village chief continued to walk ahead while wrapped tightly in his military coat. It was as if he didn’t hear him.

“Hey, don’t walk so fast. We’re asking you a question old brother!” Even at a time like this Old Yu didn’t forget to refer to him politely.

The village chief was startled by his pat on the back. He stopped his steps and mumbled incoherently: “In the past there were certainly more than eighteen. Some died, some left and gradually there are only a few of us left.”

He raised his hand and pointed at two of them: “Like that one, and that one there. You can tell in one glance that it isn’t being used.”

Old Yu was about to nod when You Huo interjected: “Can’t tell. To me it looks like all those houses are uninhabited.”

The village chief was surprised: “Why would you think that?”

You Huo: “Too quiet.”

As soon as he said that, everyone’s footsteps stopped.

With the sound of footsteps ceasing, the strange silence became even more obvious.

It really was too quiet.

Despite clearly being early in the morning, there wasn’t even a sound of people talking. There was no collisions between pots and pans or the sound of doors opening and closing……..

There was nothing.

Everyone felt goosebumps forming. They all looked warily over at the village chief.

A hint of fear could be sensed from the village chief. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a long sigh: “There really are people living there. It’s just……….Everyone is too afraid to go out. They would usually try to sleep as long as they can.”

“Too afraid to go out? Why?”

The village chief glanced carefully into the distance.

Everyone’s eyes followed. On the other side of the river were several low houses of a very different style. It was grey and inconspicuous, and even the roof was black allowing it to almost blend in with the woods behind it.

The village chief appeared to be afraid of being overhead by someone and he whispered quietly: “It’s not safe at night. If you stay here please remember not to go out at night. Even if you hear something, don’t open the door.”

“What do you mean?” Everyone was scared and confused.

But the village chief no longer dared to speak. He quickly waved his hand and continued to lead the way with his head tucked in his clothes.

Everyone was confused, but they also didn’t dare ask any further.

“Shit!”

On the way, Yu Wen suddenly cried out in alarm. He grabbed You Huo and said: “Brother, look at that house.”

You Huo looked over. The others who heard him also looked over.

On the second floor of one of the houses stood a person. That person hid behind the curtain and watched them silently.

“Suddenly saw a face by the window. Scared me to death!” Yu Wen rubbed his chest and grumbled.

Soon they realised that it wasn’t just this one.

In several of the houses, there were people quietly peeking out past behind the curtains.

The village chief said: “Since there are guests here, they are also very curious. They’re just too scared to come out.”

“Then do they stay inside the whole time?” Yu Wen asked with surprise: “What do they do if they’re hungry? They don’t eat or drink?”

“We all have cellars here and they are used to store food. There are ladders that lead down there.” The village chief explained, “And it’s not like they don’t go out at all. Usually they would come out and do some things in the afternoon or evening, but they will all return home before dark.”

“Oh.”

“Is it related to the black widow?” You Huo asked.

The village chief was silent for a moment. He then nodded and said quietly: “I heard you’re here to work for her?”

“Work? What work?”

Hearing something related to their task, everyone perked up their ears.

“Work with the dead!” The village chief himself was frightened. He suppressed his voice and continued fearfully: “That black widow likes to deal with the dead. Like sewing up severed body parts together.”

“………..”

Village chief: “If anyone is missing, you find her to see if they’re dead and find out where they had died.”

“…………”

The village chief appeared to become even more engrossed when he saw that they were scared: “Sometimes she would go out and personally get the parts.”

“For example, a few years ago……..” The village chief pointed at the frozen river: “A woman drifted down that river. The black widow dragged her out using a large basket and lugged her home.”

Drifted? Lugged?

This man was good with his words. It made the listeners trembled fearfully.

Several of the men retched. Yu Yao’s legs were soft.

Only You Huo didn’t react: “Since she deals with the dead, why are you living humans afraid?”

The village chief clasped his hand and shook his head sullenly: “You don’t understand. Sigh…..You’ll know after staying a night.”

Soon, the village chief led them to the end of the frozen river. They stepped onto the thick ice and went over to the other side.

Several grey houses appeared before them.

As they got closer, they saw that these houses were made from stone and the exterior walls were uneven. The grey stone surface was painted messily with white paint. A worn-out mat sat in front of the door and dried branches hung next to it.

One of the houses looked a little different. There was even an old crystal ball by the windowsill and some ……eerily white things that looked like finger bones.

Before they even entered the house, they smelt strong incense. It was so strong, it made them a little dizzy.

The village chief wanted to stay as far as possible from the house.

“This is the black widow’s place.” He glanced over and asked: “What time is it now?”

Everyone flipped out their phones only to see that the time displayed on their screens was 23:13 at night. It clearly wasn’t the right time.

While they were in confusion, a low voice sounded: “6:55.”

Everyone turned over. The person who spoke was Qin Jiu.

He waved his phone and said: “It’s nothing. Just a bit more accurate than yours.”

Chen Bin was surprised: “This handsome guy is amazing! The season and time in every exam are different compared to reality so how did you get it to match?”

Qin Jiu placed his phone back into his pocket and said lazily: “Maybe it’s because I’m an invigilator.”

Chen Bin let out an “oh” as he rearranged his bag.

Two seconds later, his hand slipped, and his bag fell to the ground.

“You’re what???”

Qin Jiu ignored him. He pulled out a card from his pocket, tilted his head and asked You Huo next to him: “Does this count as helping you?”

The card was the card You Huo drew earlier called 【Invigilators Help】.

You Huo took the card, turned it around and brought it right in front of Qin Jiu’s nose: “Please read it properly. It says here ‘extra help’. Do you know what extra means?”

Qin Jiu revealed a smile that was also not quite like a smile: “Not sure.”

Smile your ass.

You Huo: “Go check a dictionary.”

An examinee didn’t wear a watch and asked the invigilator for the time. Would this be considered as extra help? Of course not. It’s the same as getting an invigilator to follow you to the bathroom. It was only part of their job.

The card naturally didn’t get used. Qin Jiu let out a “what a pity” before storing the card back inside his pocket.

The village chief blinked blankly for a while before returning to his senses. He reminded the others: “The black widow would wake up at 7:30 every morning. She won’t open the door before then so I’ll take you around and get you familiarised with this place first.”

In addition to the one the black widow stayed in, the remaining four houses were empty.

Every one of them were small and filled with old knitted blankets. There was only a single bedroom in each house that was furnished with a bed that looked a little like a tent.

The village chief said: “I’ll have to trouble you all to squeeze in.”

Naturally, the newly joined Chen Bin and Liang Yuanhao stayed in the same house. Since Yu Yao was a girl, it wasn’t convenient for her to stay with the others, so she got a separate one alone.

The remaining people were Yu Wen, Old Yu, Mike, You Huo and Qin Jiu. They would need to share the two remaining houses.

You Huo thought for a moment and asked Qin Jiu: “Is there a small western building you invigilators use here?”

Qin Jiu: “Thanks to you, full-time onsite surveillance. There’s no small western building for me to stay. I need to squeeze into this narrow, confined and dirty place instead.”

You Huo pretended not to hear him. He looked at the village chief sternly and said: “You decide.”

Yu Wen said: “Why don’t I, Old Yu and my brother squeeze together. We’re a family anyway!”

Mike glanced at Qin Jiu and was very reluctant.

Everyone was afraid of the invigilator. No matter how you looked at it………The only exception was You Huo.

Two minutes later, everyone carefully watched You Huo and Qin Jiu walk into the house.

Just as they were about to sit down, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in the room.

【It is currently 7:00 Beijing time. The exam has officially begun.】

【The first exam: Listening.】

【The audio for the exam will be played in thirty minutes. It will only be played twice. Please listen and answer the questions carefully.】

【In addition, examinees and invigilators are prohibited from developing improper relationships. Please reassign the rooms.】

Everyone: “???”

You Huo: “………….”