"Ah, my nose is gone! Hahahaha..." Fangfang laughed carefree, her little hands taking turns feeling the empty spot where her nose had been.
Only a white, blank face remained.
The other twenty-two children gathered around, grinning as they sang a nursery rhyme.
"Without a nose, you can't eat well. Without a nose, you can't smell..."
"Unless you pin the nose on, the Charcoal Face won't disappear. As long as the Charcoal Face is here, everyone has to play the game." A noseless child smiled at Li Qingxian and the other twenty-four examinees.
The twenty-four looked at one another. Some remained impassive, some felt their hearts pound, and some showed fear.
"What if..." Guan Zhou began, only to be cut off by Song Baige.
"This was our own choice. There's no what-if. Since we came, we have to play. Who has experience?"
"I'll say something..." Wang Buwu sighed. "You all know my background. I was raised outside the Prince's Manor, running wild since childhood. I've played nearly every game here. Pin the Nose looks simple, but it's actually extremely difficult. As I recall, so many children played it hundreds of times, yet only once or twice did anyone manage to pin it on. Being unable to see through the blindfold is one reason. Everyone's laughter is another. Being unable to control your body is a third. Most importantly, it's hard for us to stay calm during the process. That's why most people fail to pin it on."
"But we're cultivators."
"But this is an Eerie Ground," Wang Buwu said. "Do you think a game that can make your nose vanish would be as simple as an ordinary game?"
"Exactly. What if ropes or sandbags come flying at us midway through, or the game suddenly changes? Forget us—even Middle Rank cultivators might