At three thirty in the morning, Lan Lin and Zhang Du woke up.
Jiang Yan explained to them about the venomous snakes and poisonous insects. Zhang Du irritably raked his fingers through his hair. “This damned place, seriously.”
“It really leaves no way out for ordinary people. Even for us—”
Jiang Yan interjected, “This should be all of it.”
Shen Huanhuan added, “If it were any harder, there’d be no need for it. After all, the cow-raising class is just the first class after enrollment. We’re going to be here a while; the spirit behind this doesn’t have to throw every method at us just to keep us out.”
Lan Lin made a sound of agreement.
She crouched down to examine the corpses on the floor, needing to be certain she could quickly dispose of these venomous threats as well. But for a psychic, killing such things wasn’t difficult, so she soon stood up again.
“Let’s discuss the rest during the day,” she said, “It’s late—get some sleep.”
Jiang Yan was indeed exhausted.
She waved a hand, took a few steps, then lay down on the cold, hard bed.
A dreamless night passed.
When she woke again, daylight flooded the sky.
All those still in bed were awakened by the blaring feeding broadcast. Shen Xiaoxiao clambered up, curses on her lips, rubbing at her eyes as she dashed toward the woodpile in the corner of the shed. But Jiang Yan reached it first.
Jiang Yan felt there was a need to test something.
So she put on rubber gloves, picked up a sheep carcass, and to prevent blood from splattering, held it over the iron pot and flexed her fingers—instantly pulping bone and flesh on the leg into a mush.
Yet within three seconds, all the blood that splattered into the pot vanished, and the meat in Jiang Yan’s hand also began to disappear rapidly.
After two minutes, her hands were as clean as before.
“As expected, it’s accelerated again,” she said. “I thought only the iron pot sped up decomposition, but apparently the spirit behind this is even more thorough than I thought.”
Zhang Du replied, “Thoroughly wants us all dead, you mean.”
Lan Lin frowned and shot him a warning look; Zhang Du quickly suppressed his pessimism.
“So, do we use more sheep carcasses? Two at a time?”
“But if we use two at once…” Mint Candy bit her lip, “It’ll just disappear in two minutes, too.”
Lan Lin said, “So we’re better off feeding by the piece.”
“Right.”
Jiang Yan calculated for a moment, then said with certainty, “One and a half is enough.”
“And no need to bother boiling water. Every time I break off a piece, you mix it with bran and feed them.”
So everyone lined up in the shed, and in a few seconds Jiang Yan pressed a lump of meat mush into each person’s palm, her brow utterly unruffled by the scale of the work.
The livestream viewers were moved by this scene.
[So comforting QAQ]
[This is only possible because Jiang Yan is here.]
[Definitely. No one else would have the strength.]
[There isn’t even a knife, so to get the meat small enough for the young to swallow… either you mash it, or stew it to mush. If Jiang Yan weren’t here, everyone would have to go through the whole boiling process.]
[Hey, what would we do without Jiang Yan—]
[Hugging Yan-jie! Will I ever get to do a mission with her in my lifetime?]
When Jiang Yan finished the last half sheep, she took the last two lumps and walked over to her own young.
The two young ones had given up on resisting.
Obediently, they opened their mouths—then just as obediently spat it out again.
They were well-trained in the ritual.
It was all about muddling through and surviving.
Jiang Yan was quite pleased with their performance and smilingly kissed them on the head. But as soon as she turned away, the two young ones started hacking and spitting out the food with exaggerated disgust.
Jiang Yan was even more satisfied.
She happily joined the others, where Lan Lin was examining the door of the shed. Just then, a sheet of paper had appeared on the door, bearing only a single sentence in an unusually terse manner.
One sentence.
“Shed Accommodation Rules”
“Before six o’clock in the evening, no one may leave the shed.”
On reading this rule, Shen Xiaoxiao grumbled, “That’s blunt—now there’s absolutely no loophole.”
Yu Renwan shot a furtive glance at Jiang Yan.
No, there were still loopholes—two, in fact.
At this point, except for immortality, she was already entirely like a Yao, even able to cultivate Yao power.
Jiang Yan, of course, needed no elaboration.
Thinking this, Yu Renwan shuffled half a meter closer to Jiang Yan and whispered, “What should we do?”
Jiang Yan replied, “Hold it in.”
Yu Renwan bowed her head meekly, “Okay.”
At that moment, Lan Lin rubbed the back of her neck and suddenly said,
“I can go out.”
Jiang Yan raised a brow.
Lan Lin said directly, “I have a guardian spirit—it can go out and look for clues.”
Jiang Yan recalled the black cat tattoo on the back of Lan Lin’s neck, immediately understanding. “The black cat?”
Lan Lin nodded, “Yes, a kitten I raised as a child. It shared my birth date and eight characters of fate, and after it died, it gave up reincarnation to become my guardian spirit.”
As she spoke, a soft blue light radiated from her, and a palm-sized black cat appeared before them.
Its fur shone, its eyes haughty. No sooner had it appeared than it strode proudly around the shed before curling up at Lan Lin’s feet, lazily flicking its tail.
Shen Xiaoxiao cried out, “Kitty!”
Lan Lin said, “Don’t be fooled by how cute it looks—”
But before she could finish, Shen Xiaoxiao was already squatting down, eyes shining, “Come on, let me rub your belly!”
She launched into a stream of persuasive nonsense, as if words cost nothing:
“The human world is so scary, what’s a little kitty like you to do? You can only rely on me, since aside from being cute you’re just weak. Who else would love you but me? Come on, stop resisting—let big sister rub your belly, eh heh heh—”
The black cat swiped at Shen Xiaoxiao with a paw, “Trying to mess with my emotions, are you crazy?!”
Lan Lin quickly intervened, hurriedly adding, “…But it’s fierce when it fights—can definitely help look for clues.”
The black cat lifted its chin with pride. “Tell me, what do I need to find?”
Now, the question was what exactly to look for.
Everyone exchanged glances, uncertain.
Shen Huanhuan looked toward Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan had only told her about the plan the night before, not the others.
She now began to craft her explanation.
The other team wasn’t familiar with her, and her plan entailed certain risks. Once revealed, doubts and hesitation were inevitable.
As expected, as soon as she finished, Mint Candy furrowed her brow.
“But what if the requirement to complete the cow-raising class isn’t what you say?”
“If it’s not about letting the cattle eat the young of their own accord…” She directly pointed out the worst outcome, “We might be judged to have deliberately murdered the chicks and lambs, break the rules, and die instantly.”
Jiang Yan answered, “Since I’ve put this plan forward, I have a certain degree of confidence.”
Mint Candy pressed, “A hundred percent confidence?”
Jiang Yan said, “No plan ever has a hundred percent certainty.”
Mint Candy protested, “Then we could all be wiped out. You’re being irresponsible with our lives!”
Shen Xiaoxiao couldn’t stand it anymore. “Then what do you suggest?”
Mint Candy stammered, “…How should I know?”
“So you don’t know either, but you’re still protesting?” Shen Xiaoxiao put her hands on her hips, “If Uncle Wang doesn’t finish tonight, he’ll die; if Granny Zhuang doesn’t finish tomorrow, she’ll die. So we wait around a few more nights until only a handful of us are left, then start thinking about what to do?”
“I’ve followed Jiang Yan-jie through four missions. She’s never made a wrong call. Which of the current death conditions didn’t she discover? If you don’t even know what to investigate, what’s wrong with listening to Jiang Yan-jie and going to Teacher Wang’s place to look for the rules?”
Shen Xiaoxiao strained to stand on tiptoe, trying to outmatch Mint Candy’s momentum.
“Besides, no one is forcing you to decide—take it or leave it!”
Mint Candy was left speechless by Shen Xiaoxiao’s barrage, glaring helplessly for a rebuttal. She turned pleadingly to Lan Lin.
Lan Lin said, “I think Jiang Yan’s explanation holds up.”
Mint Candy: “………”
Lan Lin popped a mint into her mouth. “Any move has risk. Are you old enough not to grasp that? Is every exam you take one you’re sure you’ll ace? Eat your candy.”
Seeing Lan Lin had no objections, Jiang Yan smiled faintly.
As long as Lan Lin accepted her plan, that was enough.
Because she needed that black cat for her next move.
The best person to search for the “Calf Feeding Rulebook” was Yu Renwan, so she would need to go out soon, and Jiang Yan might not always be at her side. The warding black cat could serve as Yu Renwan’s guardian.
Since they’d agreed to work together, she owed everyone a proper explanation.
She began her analysis.
“I’ve considered at length, and I’m nearly certain that the completion requirement for the cow-raising class is letting the calves eat the chicks and lambs we’ve adopted.”
“Not only because the malignant spirit keeps encouraging us to fatten up the chicks and lambs,” Jiang Yan spread out all the current rulebooks on the table, “and not just because of the rules—such as prohibiting us from feeding the calves or learning what they usually eat.”
“It’s about the roles we’re cast in here.”
Lan Lin asked, “What roles?”
“Students? Or worshippers of the Cow Deity?”
Jiang Yan shook her head, “Not just those.”
“We seem to be playing the role of the chicks’ and lambs’ caretakers, but in truth, we’re more like their mothers.”
“From the time they are infants, we provide them with both material needs and emotional value, helping them to flourish. The more we give, the stronger and faster they grow. This has its benefits—only when they grow large can they fend off more snakes and poisonous insects for us, even consuming the pests that would harm us, thus growing further and giving us extra protection.”
“But a chick or lamb will only ever kill its caretaker in one situation—when jealousy arises.”
“They won’t harbor hatred if we ignore or even tease them. But if we feed all and show favoritism, jealousy will turn love into hate, and that’s when they kill us.”
“My deduction is, this happens because if a mother does not love them, they will die.”
“So their whole lives are spent competing for love—jealous of the favored, seeking to kill both their rival and the unloving mother. But at the moment they kill the mother, they themselves are actually heading toward death.”
Shen Huanhuan murmured, “Because once they eat the caretaker, they lose their original head—it’s really the same as dying…”
Jiang Yan nodded.
Shen Huanhuan asked, “But why do they die from their mother’s lack of love?”
Jiang Yan replied, “Because the unloved child is chosen as a sacrifice.”
Lan Lin said, “A sacrifice to the Cow Deity?”
Jiang Yan: “Yes, a sacrifice to the Cow Deity after it became evil.”
Her words were pointed.
“Became evil…”
Yu Renwan exclaimed, “Was the Cow Deity once benign? Was it not always evil?”
Jiang Yan said, “That’s my view.”
“Because the faceless calves are truly naïve and innocent. Even the overly trusting green-tea cattle was easily tricked. Even the strong calf who once threatened to throw people around—after its face reverted from two eyes to blank, it never expressed that desire again.”
Not only did it stop wanting to harm people, but its mind was also filled with silly ideas.
Such as “the green-tea ox’s braid is so cool—perfect for a dashing stud like me,” and “does lying in this pose show off my muscles? Why hasn’t anyone come and petted me yet—boring.”
Shen Huanhuan understood, “So the extra eyes not only sap our mental strength—they also corrupt the calves’ minds.”
“The eyes turn them evil, making them indifferent to human life.”
Jiang Yan agreed, “Yes.”
“This energy field’s background isn’t merely some village in Western Hunan. More likely, it’s a village whose patron deity was once pure, but was corrupted and turned evil, and began demanding sacrifices from its people.”
“Our identities are those of the villagers. The chicks and lambs are metaphors for children with differing appearances and personalities—and we are mothers of two, so that after the sacrifice, a child remains. Every household in the village raises two children: one to be pampered, one to be offered.”
“Based on the chick and lamb killings all being triggered by jealousy, and that note saying [I was born suffocating]…”
“The master of this energy field should be a child, once unloved, chosen for sacrifice.”
So…
Jiang Yan looked at them all. “What do you think it set as the clearance requirement for the cow-raising class?”
Everyone pondered for a long moment.
Mint Candy timidly poked her head out. “Could it be letting the cow eat the favored child?”
“Because it was the one not favored, so it wants revenge?”
Jiang Yan looked at Shen Huanhuan.
“And you, Huanhuan?”
Shen Huanhuan dropped her head, thinking in silence, then replied softly: “From the way love turns to hatred, and leads to the child eating the mother and losing itself… it really loved its mother. Maybe what it feared wasn’t the sacrifice, but its mother not loving it at all.”
“So maybe it thought, ‘If someone has to die, it’s better if everyone does. No one should live.’”
“In this way, they would be loved and unloved at the same time by their mother.”
“Achieving a kind of absolute fairness.”