Volume 1: Breaking the Cage
Escape 07
Legal Hunting
“Looking forward to your arrival,” Shen Shuiyan said softly.
The two didn’t speak further, walking side by side to the teaching building. Shen Shuiyan turned and entered Class 1, while Xin Lan returned to Class 3.
The 8:00 bell rang, and some people left the classroom first.
During the discussion period, there was no strict requirement to stay in the classroom. After all, the classroom was only so big, and if conversations were overheard or clues were seen by others, it wouldn’t be good. So everyone would find their own places.
“Did you all eat breakfast before coming?”
The others nodded, while Xin Lan rubbed her chin.
“I haven’t eaten yet. Why don’t we go to the cafeteria to eat and discuss? I have something to tell you all anyway.”
Zhou Mingfang thought of something and silently gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.
She felt a bit scared.
She wondered what she would do if her male teammates also thought they could leave at any time and snatch her clues.
Xin Lan bought soy milk and fried noodles, along with two small siu mai (shumai).
While Xin Lan was eating, the other teammates were exchanging information.
Zhou Mingfang said that one person on the girls’ side had been killed by the rules, while Cai Yang, the one with glasses, said that a fight had broken out in the boys’ dormitory last night.
“They got into a fight? Why?” Zhou Mingfang exclaimed softly, then immediately lowered her voice.
Xin Lan ate her fried noodles while listening with interest, observing everyone’s expressions.
When Guo Ming (Acne Guo) and Cai Yang talked about it, their faces didn’t look good, and even Chen Zhihong had a grim expression.
“It started in the dormitory. Three of the boys were on one team, and the other wasn’t. The three wanted to team up to snatch the clues from that person. That boy also had teammates who rushed over, but by then, he had already been beaten pretty badly. So their teammates just started fighting.”
“That wasn’t the end of it. Some people tried to fish in troubled waters, others wanted to imitate, and suddenly it all became very chaotic.”
Guo Ming continued Cai Yang’s story, still feeling lingering fear about the sudden chaos that erupted last night.
“Fortunately, the three of us stuck together. We kicked away anyone who tried to approach us. We didn’t stay to watch but hurried back to our dormitory and locked the door.”
The clue fragments were certainly important, but they remembered why they needed these fragments in the first place – to survive. So, their lives were more important.
It was during the legal hunting period, when even deaths were permissible, so they didn’t dare to stay long.
“It’s good that you didn’t go out. You still have all your clues, right?” Zhou Mingfang asked, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief.
The three nodded, and Zhou Mingfang’s gaze secretly fell on Xin Lan.
Xin Lan had two fragments, and she had gone out yesterday. It’s possible she might have even more.
“What was the outcome?”
Xin Lan took a sip of her soy milk, then pulled out a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth.
“We don’t know. When we came out at twelve o’clock, everything had settled down.”
So they didn’t know who managed to snatch the clues and who didn’t.
“By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell us?” Cai Yang looked at Xin Lan. Zhou Mingfang, anticipating what Xin Lan might say, felt her heart slightly tense.
“I’ve decided to leave this team.”
“Why? What happened?”
Cai Yang looked puzzled. Did Xin Lan think their behavior of hiding during the hunting period was too cowardly?
“I’ve decided to form my own team. The next time we meet, we’ll be competitors.”
Xin Lan stood up and bid them farewell.
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Zhou Mingfang’s eyes showed a complex mix of emotions. Cai Yang wanted to say something, but Chen Zhihong forcefully pressed him down.
Xin Lan left the cafeteria, walking towards the teaching building.
“Why did you press me down just now?”
“What’s the point of keeping someone who’s just a pretty face and useless otherwise? Besides, she’s the one who wanted to leave, why stop her?”
Chen Zhihong said disdainfully, thinking she must have latched onto someone else. Forming her own team? Hmph.
“Zhou Mingfang, you’re in the same dormitory as her, right?”
Zhou Mingfang nodded.
“Did anything happen last night?”
“Xin Lan… she’s formidable.”
Zhou Mingfang recounted the events of the previous night, especially how Xin Lan dragged someone off the bed and beat them up, the agonizing screams that echoed through the dormitory in the dead of night, and the piece of flesh on the floor.
As Zhou Mingfang spoke, the other three felt a bit nauseous. Chen Zhihong’s expression was particularly unpleasant – a case of a face-slap coming too fast. He had just said she was useless.
“You’re not lying to us, are you?” Guo Ming asked somewhat skeptically.
“Why would I lie to you? We’re on the same team, aren’t we? What benefit would I get from lying to you?”
“If she’s really that capable, why didn’t she beat up Zou Yunfei when he dumped her back then?”
“Perhaps heartbreak makes people stronger?”
Cai Yang countered, and everyone fell silent for a moment.
Xin Lan went straight back to her class. There was a group of people in the classroom who immediately stopped talking when Xin Lan entered, staring at her.
Xin Lan didn’t have much to pack. She put her textbooks and pens into her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out of the classroom.
After leaving, she heard the sound of conversation resume. The content was inevitably about clues and rules. Xin Lan didn’t linger and went to Class 1.
When Xin Lan entered, Shen Shuiyan and her group weren’t there. The people talking inside were, like before, full of wariness.
Xin Lan glanced around and noticed an empty seat in the classroom.
It stood out starkly among the other seats, as the surrounding desks all had books on them, while this one was completely bare.
Xin Lan placed her backpack and books on it. The desk still had a schedule pasted on it, as did every other desk.
She sat down and opened her book.
The people around her looked at her with strange expressions. With her keen hearing, Xin Lan could even hear their hushed conversations.
“Isn’t that Xin Lan? Why is she in our class?”
“Could she be looking for Zou Yunfei? That’s impossible, right? They’ve already broken up.”
“Who knows? After all, it’s so dangerous here. It’s not impossible that she’s come to hug a big leg (to seek protection from someone powerful). Zou Yunfei won the fight yesterday.”
“How many did he get?”
“Not sure.”
“Damn it… What should we do… The more he gets, the more we’re doomed.”
“There will always be a way.”
Xin Lan flipped her book over. It seemed the original owner of this body was quite famous.
Ling Jiu: Almost the entire grade and teachers knew that the original owner had been harshly dumped, and quite a few people even mocked her afterwards.
Xin Lan continued reading. If anyone was not growing eyes (inconsiderate or foolish) as to do that in front of her, they might as well not have a mouth at all.
Class time was approaching, and everyone gradually returned.
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Shen Shuiyan immediately noticed the girl sitting there in her school uniform, head lowered, reading a book. Her ponytail had curled ends, and her profile was delicate and beautiful, exuding an air of indifference.
Xin Lan nodded to her as a greeting.
The reactions of Class 1 students to her presence were mixed, with one person having the strongest objection.
Zou Yunfei frowned, looking at Xin Lan sitting there with an expression of disgust.
“Yunfei, she’s still a beauty after all. Do you need to make such an expression?”
Chu Lu looked at Zou Yunfei, then followed his gaze to Xin Lan, and couldn’t help but tease.
Zou Yunfei carefully glanced at Shen Shuiyan beside him, then snorted, unwilling to say more.
Seeing he didn’t speak, Chu Lu also fell silent.
The class bell rang, and the teacher walked in from outside.
From the original owner’s memories, Xin Lan knew this was Class 1’s Chinese language teacher.
A middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket, his face still bearing an energetic smile.
In contrast to him were the students below, each looking listless, like wilted bok choy (looking dejected).
No one dared to speak, after all, they feared being punished by having to stand in the coffin.
“Students, open your textbooks to Lesson Six. Today we’ll study Bai Juyi’s 《The Song of the Pipa Player》.”
The classroom was filled with rustling sound of pages turning to the specified page.
“However, before we start the lesson, there’s one more thing. Does anyone remember the review assignment I gave yesterday?”
The teacher’s gaze swept across the students, met with complete silence.
“Teacher, it was to recite 《The Difficulty of the Road to Shu》,” Shen Shuiyan spoke up, and the teacher nodded with satisfaction.
“Is there anyone who would like to volunteer to recite it?”
Everyone tried to flip back to the previous pages to look at the content, but found that the book pages seemed to be tightly stuck together, impossible to turn.
Shen Shuiyan didn’t move, contemplating whether to stand up.
Xin Lan, remembering yesterday’s clue, raised her hand.
The rules hadn’t completely blocked all paths; there was still a reward mechanism in place.
If misbehaving in class led to punishment, would good performance in class be rewarded?
Xin Lan didn’t actually remember 《The Difficulty of the Road to Shu》, but she had Ling Jiu and her extraordinary memory.
The teacher smiled and made eye contact with her, signaling her to stand up.
The moment Xin Lan stood up, she imprinted what Ling Jiu gave her in her mind.
All eyes focused on her as Xin Lan looked at the teacher and began reciting in a monotone voice:
“O, but it is high and very dangerous!
Such travelling is harder than scaling the blue sky.
Until two rulers of this region
Pushed their way through in the misty ages,
Forty-eight thousand years had passed
With nobody arriving across the Qin border.
And the Great White Mountain, westward, still has only a bird’s path
Up to the summit of Emei Peak —
Which was broken once by an earthquake and there were brave men lost,
Just finishing the stone rungs of their ladder.”
(Translated by Arthur Waley)
“Very well done. I wonder if you’ve previewed today’s lesson?”
The teacher’s eyes showed satisfaction, and Xin Lan naturally nodded.
Ling Jiu quickly showed her 《The Song of the Pipa Player》. Xin Lan scanned it once and continued reciting:
“Night on the Xunyang River, taking leave of a friend;
Maple leaves, reed flowers — sad autumn everywhere.
The host gets down from his horse, the guest lingers by the boat;
They raise their cups, would drink, but no flutes or strings to accompany them.
Drinking without music makes for a cheerless parting;
They part, a blur of shadows, the river lapped in moonlight.”
(Translated by Burton Watson)
At the same time, a card fell onto her desk with a crisp melodious sound.
Those who hadn’t yet averted their gaze naturally witnessed this scene.
Xin Lan’s hand covered the card, and the people nearby didn’t have time to see what the card looked like.
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“Students who study diligently will be rewarded. Everyone, please read the text aloud on your own.”
The classroom filled with the sound of reading, but many were still looking at Xin Lan. Almost everyone was speculating about what Xin Lan had received.
Xin Lan glanced at the content of the card and curled her lips into a smile.
[Skill Card]: Allows you to obtain a clue fragment from any deceased person on any chosen day. Use by mentally reciting during the hunting period.
It was a reward, but with limitations, not as convenient as what she obtained last night.
The advantage was that she could choose the time, the disadvantage was that it was limited to the deceased.
This “deceased,” did it refer to those killed by the rules, or could it be any dead person?
The author has something to say:
Ding, the card drops.
Everyone: So tempting to snatch it!
Sister Lan: [itchy hands] I kind of want someone to try and snatch it.
Ling Jie: Let’s all offer incense for everyone present.
LP: Re-translated on November 03, 2024