Beheading to Celebrate ┃ You Huo held out his hand and said, "Hand over your head so I can celebrate."

The room fell deathly silent.

A moment later, You Huo looked at Qin Jiu and said coldly, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Qin Jiu gestured for him to go ahead, so gentlemanly it practically begged for a punch. "No joke. There are still-"

He pulled a phone from his coat pocket and gave it a halfhearted glance. "-36 hours and 24 minutes until the exam ends normally. That means we'll be sharing a room for a day and a half. We even brought our luggage. It's right outside the door. Why don't you open it and take a look?"

You Huo opened the door and looked outside.

Two suitcases stood neatly by the door.

You Huo: "..."

36 hours and 24 minutes...

This wasn't just a matter of getting some sleep... This called for a fucking eternal slumber.

And who the hell were they trying to disgust by bringing suitcases???

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I wanted to remind you of." Qin Jiu's voice sounded again. "There are 24 minutes until the papers are collected for the second time, and it'll be 23 any moment now. According to the rules, examinees who have broken the rules aren't allowed to answer questions during that time. To keep a certain gentleman who never learns from deliberately breaking the rules, I'll have to do something a little rude..."

As Qin Jiu spoke, he looped the leather cord in his hand and slipped it over You Huo's left hand in one smooth motion.

He grabbed You Huo by the shoulder, turned him around, slipped his right hand into the loop as well, and gave it a sharp pull.

Snap-

The loop instantly tightened into a knot, binding You Huo's hands fast.

Standing behind him, Qin Jiu rested a hand on his shoulder and lowered his head. "This is a return gift for that filthy bucket. Do you like it?"

Boss You liked it so much he was about to explode.

Chapter 9: Beheading to Celebrate ┃ You Huo held out his hand and said, "Hand over your head so I can celebrate."

The attic ceiling was low. A wooden post stood in the very center, holding up the roof like the shaft of an umbrella.

A four-poster bed was crammed into the small

space,

its sheets and bedding unwashed for centuries, its curtains in tatters and giving off a foul, sour smell.

Qin Jiu held a gloved hand to his nose and looked around.

"Let me think. Where would be a good place to put you?" he said softly.

He was a little taller than You Huo and would hit the roof if he stood up straight, so he had to keep his head lowered the whole time.

"The bed? A bedpost would be just right for securing the cord. It's definitely wide enough, though a bit short."

Qin Jiu shook a bedpost to test how sturdy it was. When he turned around, he saw the "we're going down together" look on You Huo's face.

If Yu Wen or Old Yu had seen that look on You Huo's face, they would have bolted, but Qin Jiu laughed.

His low laughter rumbled in his throat as he said, "All right, it really isn't that clean, and the post is a bit thin. It probably wouldn't hold you... There isn't much room in here. What would you prefer?"

You Huo kept a cold expression and had no intention of answering him.

But Qin Jiu wasn't in a hurry either. He simply waited.

After being watched for a while, You Huo finally said impatiently, "I'd like you to lie down on that fragrant bed yourself, put the cord around your own neck, and hand me the other end. Then all I'd have to do is give it a pull and I'd finally have some peace and quiet. How about that?"

Qin Jiu narrowed his eyes.

For a moment, You Huo thought he must be angry. Instead, Qin Jiu chuckled again and said, "I'm afraid not. I'm not into that sort of thing."

You Huo: "..."

Psycho.

The psycho still had some humanity left and didn't actually put You Huo on the hunter's bed.

You Huo sat on the floor, his hands behind his back, tied to the post that supported the roof.

Qin Jiu went around him to open the window.

The attic window was tiny, not much bigger than a hand. But the cold air that poured in still dispersed the foul, sour smell.

Qin Jiu: "Cold?"

That was a load of crap. Wearing a T-shirt in snowy weather, if he wasn't cold, was he supposed to be hot?

But compared with the cold, You Huo found the rancid smell even harder to bear.

Ignoring Qin Jiu's question, he frowned and said, "Can you let me stand?"

"No."

"..."

You Huo glared at him coldly.

Qin Jiu returned to the bedside and perched against a small round wooden table, facing You Huo. "Your legs are too long. You might just happen to stumble into me. You're more stable sitting down."

You Huo: "..."

Stable, my ass.

Having been pissed off twice in a row, You Huo turned to look to his right, no longer willing to bother with him.

To his right, a pane of glass covered what should have been a wall. From where You Huo sat, he could see half the living room downstairs through it, with the examinees standing or sitting there.

Without You Huo, that bunch of elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant people were like headless flies, wringing their hands and milling around, at a loss.

Clutching the knife, Yu Wen made a desperate last stand beside the answer wall.

He planned to write down every physics formula he had ever learned, whether or not it had anything to do with optics. But after racking his brains, he discovered that everything he had ever learned was only enough to keep him writing for five minutes.

You never realize how little you know until you need it.

For the first time in his 18 years of life, Yu Wen thought of that saying, and he hurt all over.

"Anything else? Does anyone remember anything?" He turned to the people behind him for help.

Yu Yao looked guilty. "I studied physics and chemistry in high school, but I switched to humanities in college, and I've been working all these years since... Even the things on the wall, I wouldn't have remembered if you hadn't written them down."

Yu Wen looked at her like a puppy. "Sis, think some more. Anything at all, any addition will do!"

Fortunately for him, he looked like his mother. Though he was nowhere near You Huo, he could still be considered a school heartthrob.

The look actually brought out Yu Yao's maternal instincts. She hesitated and said, "I only remember a refraction diagram, the very, very, very simplest kind. Don't laugh when I draw it."

"I won't! I'll chop down anyone who laughs, seriously."

The absurd vow was so fierce that Yu Yao flinched, looking dazed. Only then did she move over, supporting her belly, and take the knife to carve an arc, followed by two refracted rays.

Yu Wen said, "Hmm," thinking it really was simple. Even so, he hadn't remembered it.

"Anyone else?"

Like a hysterical pyramid scheme salesman, Yu Wen swept his gaze over the remaining people one by one.