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Only then did everyone realize that their phones had never been forcibly shut down during this exam. They had even checked the time on them a few minutes ago, but none of them had thought to make a recording.

You Huo's move reminded everyone.

For a moment, everyone rummaged through their pockets. Seven examinees produced seven phones, all aimed at Black Granny.

Two seconds later, Invigilator 001 took out his phone too.

Only then did the new arrival, Chen Bin, lose his nerve. "Is this really okay? Will she get angry?"

You Huo said, "A little late to worry about that now."

"..."

The two newcomers suddenly felt they'd boarded a pirate ship.

The kind they couldn't get off.

Chen Bin held his phone in trembling hands for a long while, only to find that Black Granny's eyes remained fixed on You Huo.

It was as if no one else mattered; the first person to provoke her was the one who mattered.

Black Granny's pupils were enormous, which made the black parts of her eyes especially large and dark. They were fine when her eyeballs moved, but once they went still, they looked like a dead person's eyes.

Anyone stared at by those eyes would feel afraid and uneasy.

But You Huo didn't care in the least.

As Black Granny watched him, he actually lowered his thin eyelids and fiddled with his phone, saving the recording he had just made.

He was so calm that everyone else felt embarrassed to panic.

Once You Huo had saved the recording and renamed it "A load of ghost talk," he asked Black Granny, "Anything else?"

Black Granny stared expressionlessly at You Huo for a long while, then started cackling again, as if being gagged and recorded had been nothing but an insignificant interlude, or perhaps... she had taken note of it and would settle the score later.

Black Granny's wiry claws... fingers seized You Huo's wrist and dragged him through the door.

Then she tilted her head and looked at the others.

The other examinees weren't nearly as brave. As soon as she looked at them, they obediently went inside.

Black Granny nodded in satisfaction.

Liang Yuanhao was last in line. Just as he stepped over the stone threshold, the door creaked shut behind him and clicked locked, as if something were following right behind him.

Looking at the closed door, everyone suddenly remembered the final question: how many people were in Black Granny's house...

Everyone's faces went pale. They pressed together, unwilling to be left alone.

Black Granny's house was a little bigger than they had imagined.

It was said that Gypsies, wherever they lived, retained the customs of their ancestors, decorating every room like the canvas cover of a wagon and laying felt and blankets everywhere.

The scent of incense was stronger inside, leaving them dizzy and muddleheaded.

Battered teacups, teaspoons, and trays sat on the windowsill and mantel, and a jar of something black sat on the wooden table.

You Huo lowered his head to sniff it and caught the scent of old tea, along with tobacco.

It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it offered some relief to a nose surrounded by incense.

The only invigilator was quite unabashed too. After coming in, he chose an armchair and sat down.

Inside, beside the hearth, were two bamboo baskets filled with balls of yarn, with needles of varying lengths sticking out.

Black Granny reached in, her strings of ornaments clinking against one another and weighing down her hand.

She pulled several yarn dolls from the bamboo baskets.

The dolls were rather ugly. Their faces, hands, and feet were made of old, grayish cloth stuffed with cotton into bulging balls or long shapes, then sewn together with coarse yarn.

One doll was finished, and Black Granny placed it in her apron. The others were all unfinished; some lacked legs, others heads.

Judging by their appearance, they looked like voodoo dolls used for divination or curses.

Black Granny pointed to a wooden shelf in the corner and rattled off another string of gibberish.

This time, everyone knew what to do. They had kept recording since entering the house, so naturally they caught it all.

You Huo looked toward the wooden shelf and saw several finished dolls sitting side by side on it.

Black Granny put the one from her apron there too, then stuffed yarn and needles into everyone's hands.

She pointed at the bamboo baskets and said, "#￥*&...(&%"

This time, even if it was the Gypsy language, everyone understood what she meant—she wanted them to finish the remaining dolls.

Black Granny took out an hourglass, turned it over on the wooden table, and then left with her back hunched.

As soon as she went out, a series of clicks sounded through the room.

Chen Bin reacted quickly. He rushed to a window and pulled at it twice. "They're all locked... she's locked us in here. What do we do?"

Yu Wen gestured toward the bamboo baskets with his chin. "It's pretty obvious what she means. She even put out an hourglass. Either she'll let us go when the sand runs out, or we have to finish sewing these dolls before it does."

Everyone looked at one another, then hesitantly sat cross-legged on the rug. Each picked up an unfinished voodoo doll and stared blankly at it.

Old Yu let out a long sigh. "What else can we do? Let's sew. Since this Black Granny is the question, we have to do what she asks. Whatever happens, we'll talk about it when the sand runs out, right?"

They were now treating You Huo as their leader without thinking, and whenever they said something, they always sought his opinion.

But when Old Yu turned around, he saw that his nephew hadn't hurried over to sit down. Instead, You Huo was standing beside the bed, lifting the curtain to look outside.

"What is it?" Everyone was on edge.

"Nothing," You Huo said.

He wanted to see where Black Granny was going.

Outside the window, Black Granny's back was hunched.

In the blink of an eye, she had already gone a long way. A moment later, she disappeared into the dark woods.

You Huo let the curtain fall.

He was about to return to the hearth, but his steps faltered.

On the bottom shelf of the wooden rack, a doll lay crooked in a corner, ready to fall. It was covered in a layer of dust and didn't stand out. But the leg sticking out had caught You Huo's eye.

He walked over, bent down, and picked up the doll.

Judging by the fabric and dust, the doll must have been made a long time ago. Its workmanship was hasty and crude; the stitches joining its limbs to its body were crooked, and its arms weren't even the same color as its long, thin legs.