Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 102
by Little PandaBUG
Life and Death Examination Room 09
Examination God
Towards people like this who don’t know life from death1, Xin Lan had always only had one word.
Beat.
Xin Lan walked towards the middle-aged man amidst the crowd. The surrounding people unconsciously made way, allowing her to smoothly arrive before the man.
“You all!”
The middle-aged man also knew this woman was not to be trifled with2; after all, he still remembered crystal clear3 how miserably he had been beaten that day.
But he had originally thought they had already joined forces, never expecting these people would actually step aside.
Xin Lan wasted no words, kicking the man squarely on the knee. She grabbed one of his arms and twisted it forcefully, while her other hand snatched Xiao An from his grasp, pulling the child down and placing him in front of Yuan Yuan not far away.
“Don’t you want to know how to get out?!”
The middle-aged man asked, his voice trembling, clutching his stomach as he tried to stand up, only to be kicked in the shoulder by Xin Lan and knocked down again.
“I think the essence of this game is elimination, so there’s simply no need for a foolish person like you to exist. Next time you threaten someone, remember to weigh yourself properly4.”
Xin Lan stepped on his chest. The man, unwilling to give up5, tried to resist, only to be forcefully suppressed by Xin Lan once more.
The surrounding people fell silent. Although some were curious about the method to get out the middle-aged man had mentioned, nobody dared to step forward and speak. After all, no one wanted to be the next person lying on the ground getting beaten.
Xin Lan didn’t waste any more time teaching irrelevant people a lesson either. She efficiently knocked the man unconscious and had the Village Chief and the others come over to continue the ritual.
The ritual involved a grand ceremony and formation6. Xiao An donned heavy ceremonial robes. The Village Chief and that very old Granny stood at the very front, followed by Xiao An. Behind Xiao An stood four identically dressed young girls.
One of them was the girl who had appeared carrying a lantern in front of Xiao An’s home the previous night, leading the way.
She was expressionless, walking forward like a marionette.
Following behind them were people beating gongs and drums. What was rather horrifying was that both sides of their path were densely covered with insects.
Xin Lan’s group of seven walked alongside Xiao An, eventually reaching the graveyard.
The people ahead kowtowed7 before a tombstone. Some gathered around the grave, chanting incomprehensible sacrificial odes8. Xin Lan and Wan Yan scanned the surroundings, solely concerned about whether anyone would come to cause trouble.
After this offering-like ceremony concluded, the Village Chief touched the tombstone and pressed down hard.
Behind the tombstone, a huge depression suddenly appeared—a large pit wide enough for three people to pass through side-by-side.
Everyone passed through one after another. Xin Lan and Wan Yan walked at the very front of the examinees.
The light inside the tunnel still came from the white insects overhead. Wan Yan quietly took Xin Lan’s hand.
Xin Lan glanced at her. Wan Yan’s expression was natural as she winked at her.
Given Xin Lan’s personality, if she were unwilling, she would have directly shaken off the hand, absolutely never asking why.
But Xin Lan didn’t shake it off.
Wan Yan’s movement was entirely natural, as if she had done it countless times before.
In fact, in a previous world, Wan Yan had also taken Xin Lan’s hand many times. Xin Lan, quite naturally, had grown accustomed to it.
Seeing Xin Lan hadn’t pulled away, Wan Yan felt a surge of elation9 inwardly.
The first step of the Long March10, sorted!
Passing through the corridor led to an even wider space than the one seen before. The surroundings bore symbols11 representing the ritual, and in the center stood four stone pillars carved with depictions of a hundred insects.
“Is it as we guessed?”
Xin Lan looked at Wan Yan.
Wan Yan’s gaze quickly swept over the murals, and she nodded at Xin Lan.
Xiao An, dressed in splendid attire, was lying on the platform at the center of the stone pillars.
The Gu Child had successfully reached the Sacrificial Altar.
The Village Chief began chanting an obscure ballad. The young girls knelt on the ground, extending their wrists.
Someone came forward and made a cut on each of their wrists. Blood flowed into grooves, converging towards the Sacrificial Altar.
Rituals always require sacrificial offerings. It seemed these four young girls were precisely that.
The Village Chief carefully12 held an insect and used the tip of a knife to cut open the spot between Xiao An’s eyebrows.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan exchanged a glance, made a hand signal, and moved forward together.
Xin Lan went towards Xiao An, while Wan Yan lunged towards the Village Chief.
Their sudden move stunned Yuan Yuan. Huo Xu, who had been intently watching the movements of those ahead, followed suit the moment they acted.
Xin Lan and Huo Xu grabbed Xiao An simultaneously. Xin Lan was surprised that Huo Xu could actually match her speed. With a quick turn, she pulled Xiao An into her embrace.
In fact, when the Village Chief had spoken earlier, he had already revealed the method to leave this place.
There was a Gu Servant who used the Gu King to leave this village. Xiao An went out to pursue them because he carried another [Gu] that could sense the presence of that one.
Meaning, possessing the Gu King allows one to leave.
As for the exit point, it should be within here, or more specifically, it should be the Sacrificial Altar.
Otherwise, there would be no need to specifically note this point on the card.
“Ensure the Gu Child safely reaches the Sacrificial Altar”—this single sentence fully contained the information needed to get out.
Wan Yan snatched the Gu King from the Village Chief’s hand, performed a nimble half-roll on the ground, and got back to her feet.
“Found it!”
There were two hole-like openings on the side of the Sacrificial Altar. Quick of eye and deft of hand, Wan Yan stuffed the insect she held into them. The Sacrificial Altar began to move slowly.
“Stop them!”
Countless insects began swarming towards them. Yuan Yuan yelled, F%ck! and hastily jumped over to Bai Xiyue’s side.
Seeing this, the others also hurriedly squeezed over. Those who were too slow had insects crawl up their legs, and were subsequently engulfed entirely.
A scalp-numbing13 crunching sound emanated from those covered by the insects, interspersed with miserable screams.
The instant the gap opened, Wan Yan gave Xin Lan a light push, letting her go first. Xin Lan jumped in, and Wan Yan followed closely behind.
Upon jumping down, they didn’t land on solid ground.
“Congratulations on passing the second exam! Please keep up the good work14! Now entering the inter-exam rest period. Countdown: ten minutes!”
Xin Lan didn’t know exactly how many people had made it out successfully, nor did she particularly care.
A few unfamiliar faces appeared in the rest area. Yuan Yuan and Huo Xu arrived right on the heels15 of Xin Lan and Wan Yan.
“That scared me to death! Luckily, I reacted quickly, or I almost would have been swallowed by those insects.”
Yuan Yuan patted his chest, wearing an expression of immense relief, like someone who had survived a disaster.
“I didn’t even have time to react before you three moved. Man, that speed was something else.”
Yuan Yuan expressed his delight at having basically won by lying down16.
Xin Lan and the others closed their eyes to rest their spirits, none of them speaking. Yuan Yuan didn’t feel awkward and went off to chat with others, gathering information.
Ten minutes passed quickly. Just before being teleported, Wan Yan instantly grabbed Xin Lan’s hand.
If they weren’t matched together, the chances of encountering each other again would be very slim.
She could only hope that this so-called rule, this BUG, would default to recognizing them as teamed up. Otherwise, she might just have to slaughter it ahead of schedule.
LP: Re-translated on March 30, 2025
Footnotes
- 不知死活 | bù zhī sǐ huó | Lit. “not know death life”; Meaning: Reckless, courting disaster, doesn’t know what’s good for them.
- 不好惹 | bù hǎo rě | Lit. “not good to provoke”; Meaning: Difficult to deal with, formidable, someone you shouldn’t mess with.
- 清清楚楚 | qīngqīng chǔchǔ | Lit. “clear clear distinct distinct”; Reduplication emphasizes clarity. Meaning: Perfectly clear, vivid.
- 掂量一下自己有几斤几两 | diānliang yīxià zìjǐ yǒu jǐ jīn jǐ liǎng | Lit. “weigh oneself how many jin and liang”; Meaning: To assess one’s own abilities or importance, know one’s place/limits. Jin and Liang are traditional Chinese units of weight.
- 不死心 | bù sǐxīn | Lit. “not dead heart”; Meaning: Unwilling to give up, refusing to accept defeat or failure, stubborn.
- 阵仗 | zhènzhang | Battle array or formation; often used figuratively to mean scale, pomp, or grandeur of an event or situation.
- 叩首 | kòushǒu | To kowtow; the act of kneeling and touching one’s forehead to the ground as a sign of deep respect, worship, or submission.
- 祭文 | jìwén | Sacrificial text or ode, usually read or chanted during rituals or memorial services.
- 雀跃 | quèyuè | Lit. “sparrow jump”; To jump for joy, feel elated or thrilled.
- 万里长征 | Wànlǐ Chángzhēng | The Long March (1934-1935), a strategic retreat by the Chinese Communist Party’s Red Army. Used metaphorically here to refer to a long and difficult undertaking (winning Xin Lan’s affection/partnership).
- 笔画 | bǐhuà | Strokes (of a Chinese character); here likely refers to symbolic carvings or drawings.
- 小心翼翼 | xiǎoxīn yìyì | Lit. “small heart careful wings”; With extreme caution, very carefully.
- 令人头皮发麻 | lìng rén tóupí fāmá | Lit. “makes people’s scalp go numb”; An idiom describing a feeling of horror, creepiness, or intense discomfort that makes one’s skin crawl.
- 加油 | jiāyóu | Lit. “add oil”; A common Chinese expression of encouragement, like “Go for it!”, “Keep it up!”, or “Good luck!”.
- 后脚 | hòujiǎo | Lit. “back foot”; Used in expressions like 前脚…后脚… (qiánjiǎo… hòujiǎo…) meaning “no sooner had… than…”, or simply “immediately after”.
- 躺赢 | tǎng yíng | Lit. “lie down and win”; Modern internet slang meaning to win effortlessly, usually by relying on strong teammates or favorable circumstances, without contributing much oneself.
WY: A date isnt called date without me by her side Ꮚ˘ ꈊ ˘ Ꮚ
XY: 🐅🫱👭
WY: A date isnt called date without me by her side Ꮚ˘ ꈊ ˘ Ꮚ
XY: 🐅🫱👭