Three violations ┃ He killed the question
He kicked the sack and gave everyone an eager smile, his mouth stretching almost to his ears. "You're really lucky. You arrived just in time for my meal."
He sighed again and explained, "There's nothing I can do. There's so little on the snowy mountain, and it's always a long time between groups. I have to tighten my belt to stay alive. So I only eat two meals a day."
"One at four in the morning and one at four in the afternoon. There aren't many chances to share a fine meal with me." He looked at the clock on the cupboard. "Oh, it's just the right time. You've been waiting here so long, you must be starving. I can even hear your stomachs rumbling. Can't wait, can you?"
The guests: "..."
"How many of you are there again?" He held up a finger and counted them one by one. "Old hag, sickly one, little punk, drunkard, drunkard's son..."
Not one of his labels was pleasant, and everyone he counted looked thoroughly sick.
He paused when he reached You Huo, displeased. "Why is there a sleepyhead too?"
"Forget it." Hunter A's mood had been spoiled. He turned to glance at the question on the answer wall and said, "I hear there are thirteen people in all, but I'm a little short on food. There's only enough for twelve. What a shame."
He licked his lips. "I'm really hungry. But you'll have to wait a little longer. I need to get things ready. This is my first time seeing so many guests."
Yu Wen: "..."
It's my first time seeing such an effeminate hunter, too.
Hunter A bent down and picked up the sack.
The sack looked especially heavy. No one knew what was inside, and they didn't particularly want to know...
He dragged the sack to a corner of the house and stopped in front of the room with the hen hanging by it.
His keys jingled as Hunter A carefully picked one out and unlocked the door.
A strange, musty smell wafted out.
It was hard to describe just how awful it smelled, like rotten meat, dust, and decaying wood piled together.
Everyone had always assumed the room with the hen hanging by it was a bedroom.
Only now did they realize it was actually a kitchen.
Inside was a long workbench, easily big enough for a person to lie on.
On the other side stood a long red wooden cabinet with several locks hanging from it.
Hunter A smiled at everyone and bowed again. "Just a moment. It'll be ready soon."
Then he shut the door.
Silence lingered by the fire for a long while before someone said in panic, "I don't want to eat. I want to go home."
"Who the fuck doesn't want to go home?" The tattooed man had moved into the crowd at some point, perhaps because he was afraid of Hunter A too. "Can you get back? If you're so capable, open the door and run out now!"
Everyone fell silent again.
After a long while, Old Yu swallowed. "That hunter's mouth is so big, he could swallow a head or two without any trouble. I keep thinking he's going to eat people..."
Yu Yao murmured, "What was in that sack?"
Taken together, those two remarks were terrifying.
Everyone looked toward the window.
The snow outside was still falling thick and fast. Before the exam, Old Yu had gone out to scout and said there was snow on all sides, and the trees all looked alike. There were no houses or signs of people for a hundred miles around, and it was frighteningly quiet...
Where would he have found any prey?
Besides, Hunter A had said he'd dug the food up.
When they had first arrived that afternoon, a man had disobeyed instructions and taken apart the radio. Shortly afterward, his body had been buried in the snow...
Everyone remembered it at the same time, and deep fear appeared on their faces.
Yu Wen was on the verge of throwing up.
"If you're going to puke, turn around." You Huo's voice suddenly rang out. "Don't get it all over me again."
"Bro, you're awake?!" Yu Wen cried in delight.
"What are you yelling for? Can't you keep it down?" the tattooed man snapped in a rough voice.
You Huo glanced at the tattooed man. "I wasn't asleep."
Yu Wen: "Oh-then why do you keep closing your eyes?"
"My eyes are bothering me."
Yu Wen remembered that his father, Old Yu, seemed to have said that You Huo had undergone eye surgery, and looking at bright things for too long made his eyes tired and uncomfortable. But You Huo had never mentioned it himself in daily life, so Yu Wen always forgot about it.
"Bro, did you hear everything that hunter said?" Yu Wen asked.
"Mm," You Huo said.
Yu Wen: "What do we do?"
You Huo said lazily, "I'm a little hungry. I'm waiting for the meal."
Yu Wen: "..."
Who are you trying to scare?
Chapter 7: Three violations ┃ He killed the question
Boss You's single remark had an outstanding effect.
The room fell silent in an instant, and everyone felt creeped out.
The kitchen wasn't very soundproof, and faint rustling came from inside.
Before long, they heard another heavy thud in there. It sounded like... something large, cold, and hard had been laid on the workbench.
A short while later came the sound of bones being chopped.
Blow after blow.
The clock on the cupboard ticked along at its own pace, every second an ordeal.
After what felt like a hundred years, the kitchen door finally opened.
The smell that drifted out had grown even stranger.
It was like the smell from before, with a faint trace of frozen blood added, carrying a lingering raw tang.
Hunter A grabbed a blackened cloth and wiped his hands.
He poked his head out and reassured everyone, "It'll be ready soon. Did you know? Frozen meat has a wonderful texture, with little bits of ice that crunch when you chew..."
As the man with the big white face described the sound, he lost himself in the thought for a moment, then said, "You'll like it."
Huddled in the crowd, Yu Wen relied on his brother being awake and cursed under his breath, "Fuck... what a freak."
As soon as he finished, he heard his brother's stomach growl.
Yu Wen: "..."
Hunter A suddenly smiled. "Aha! I heard that! I'm glad someone's looking forward to this fine meal as much as I am. Come on, there's quite a lot to carry. I need a kind guest to lend me a hand."