Celebrating with a Beheading ┃ You Huo held out his hand to him and said, "Give me your head. Let's celebrate." (continued)

The two old ladies... Never mind, they might not even know what physics was.

The tattooed man and the sickly beanpole had already lowered their heads guiltily.

The bald man had fainted and wet himself. It was a wonder he hadn't gone mad.

Then there was an old man with twin granddaughters. The old man was hard of hearing and a little senile, and the girls looked to be in elementary school... Yu Wen couldn't bring himself to abuse children with physics.

The foreigner, Mike, only knew two phrases: "hello" and "what are you saying?" He was no fucking use.

Old Yu... Old Yu only knew booze.

Yu Wen finally understood his cousin's despair.

922 was carrying the luggage inside. Seeing him standing motionless in front of the fireplace, he said, "I suggest you stay farther away from the fire. Don't get burned to death before you've even answered the question."

Yu Wen thought recklessly, Forget it. I'll burn charcoal and die a little redder.

He looked up at the attic.

The glass was old and too badly scuffed to see through clearly, and the light in the attic was dim. What would that invigilator 001 do to his cousin? Could his cousin be looking down at them, watching them flounder helplessly, and thinking in disappointment that he was useless...?

"Five minutes left," 922 reminded them.

Everyone was in a panic.

There was only so much livable space in the rundown house, and just as few places to sit.

The dining table was set with tableware, one set of which represented death. They couldn't just sit down in any of the chairs.

922 carried the suitcase around the room, then ended up squeezing onto the sofa beside 154.

154 asked quietly, puzzled, "Isn't the boss in the attic?"

922 said, "I know."

154 said, "Then why are you leaving the suitcase here? Are you waiting for him to carry it up himself?"

922 said, "There are two people up there I don't want to mess with. I'd rather not go up there right now."

154 said, "..."

How brave of you.

922 pursed his lips. "Why are you rolling your eyes at me? Why don't you go?"

154 sat up straight and looked at the examinees. "I'm invigilating."

"Did anyone tell you to supervise them? The person who needs watching most is upstairs."

"The boss is enough."

922 said, "..."

154 said, "..."

The two invigilators had nothing to say to each other.

In the end, 922 sighed. "I've been an invigilator for three years... No, even counting the time when I was taking exams myself, I've never seen an examinee this lawless."

He thought 154 would nod in agreement, but after thinking for a moment, 154 said, "You have."

922 stared. "Huh??? Who? When?"

154 tipped his chin toward the attic.

922 looked blank for a moment before it suddenly hit him. Right, how could he have forgotten? The last examinee who had been this troublesome later became invigilator 001.

Just how troublesome had Qin Jiu been back then? Legend had it he had nearly made the Examination System collapse in rage.

"Speaking of which, I've always wanted to work up the nerve to ask the boss about his exploits back then," 922 said. "I've only seen him in action twice, after all."

154 hurriedly stopped him. "Are you kidding? Don't do anything stupid!"

922 was puzzled. "Why? I can't even ask? I've noticed you interrupt me every time I bring up the boss's past."

"I'm afraid you'll die too soon." With a straight face, 154 said, "The boss himself doesn't remember what happened before. Apparently, there was an accident with the Examination System that affected him by mistake, and he forgot some things."

922 froze. "That happened? How come I didn't know?"

154's face remained expressionless. "Because all you know is eating."

922 sat there, dumbstruck.

154 added, "Haven't you noticed that he never brings up the past himself? I asked for trouble once when I'd just become an invigilator... Anyway, I don't want to go through that again, and I'm sure you wouldn't either, so please behave yourself."

In the attic, the only lamp was unlit.

The space was small, and light from downstairs shone through the trapdoor and glass, enough to give people and objects a fuzzy outline.

Outside the window, snow was still falling heavily, whipping past with a howl.

You Huo kept watching downstairs. He seemed silently helpless, yet also seemed in no hurry. A clear light veiled his eyes, and his earring occasionally caught the light at certain angles.

Qin Jiu watched him for a while, then suddenly spoke in a low, languid voice. "Have I met you before?"

After a moment, You Huo turned to look at him, his light brown eyes like a cold pool on a winter night.

"No. If we really had met, I'm afraid only one of us could still be alive."

You Huo's voice was cool and edged with mockery.

"Is that so?" Qin Jiu pressed his tongue against his cheek. He seemed to give it some genuine thought, then agreed, "A little regrettable, but that does seem to be the case."

As he spoke, the attic ladder began to creak.

154's voice came up to them. "Boss, time's almost up."

922's quiet muttering drifted up as well. He seemed to be following behind 154. "Is everything all right up there? Why am I so nervous?"

154 whispered sharply, "Shut up."

"Boss." 154 poked his head in first. "Are you coming down? It's time to collect the papers."

Qin Jiu asked, "How did they do? I saw a kid scribbling away without stopping."

922 spoke before he appeared. "It's no use. I didn't look closely at what he wrote, but I saw enough at a glance. If an answer like that can earn any points, I'll chop my head off to celebrate."

154 said, "..."

An old-fashioned clock sat atop the cupboard, its second hand making a sound with every tick. Normally no one paid it any attention, but now it was clear enough to set everyone on edge.

After a few ticks, the paper-collection chicken began to crow.

The three invigilators came downstairs to the sound of that unsettling crowing. To avoid breaking the rules, they waited until all nine crows had sounded before untying You Huo.

Like newly hatched chicks in a bamboo basket, everyone huddled together in the corner farthest from the front door, as if that would keep them from being thrown out of the exam room if they failed to score.

Almost all the examinees closed their eyes, waiting for judgment.

They waited a full minute.