The night did not grow any colder.
The night was peaceful. Way too peaceful that it feeds the suspicion that something is not right.
Only after awhile does Minglan realized;
There's no sound of the rustle of the leaves.
No sound of water.
No sound of any animal.
Not even a sound of wind exist.
Yalin gave her a small knife before she went to bed. At least it was a real knife, not a sharpened stone like the one Minglan used when cooking viper's meat before.
In the quiet of the night, the only sounds that he can hear was Si Yalin's soft snores and his grumbling stomach,
Wait…
WHAT!?
He just ate a satisfying and fulfilling dinner a few hours ago, what do you mean he feels hungry again?
Minglan stiffened.
His nose registered something. A scent.
Sweet.
Not pungent, not putrid. Not sugary sweet. A warm, almost familiar scent. Like stew. Like food.
In horror films or games, a sudden, pleasant smell is usually a bait to lure the victim into a predator's trap.
Minglan swallowed, trying to hold his breath. He turned his head slightly toward Yalin.
The girl opened her eyes.
There was no panic on her face. No confusion. Her blind eyes were staring in the same direction as before.
To the ground.
"The ground is moving," Yalin whispered.
Her tone was flat. Too flat.
Minglan wanted to ask. To confirm what she meant. But the words died in his throat when he felt a subtle vibration beneath his palm.
Not a footstep.
Not a heavy vibration.
More like… something shifting slowly in the mud.
Moving closer to their direction.
"Don't move," Yalin whispered again. "If it finds out we're alive, we're dead."
The word "dead" was pronounced like a weather fact.
Minglan forced himself to remain still. His thigh muscles trembled. His feet were already half-submerged in the cold mud, but he didn't dare move them even an inch.
The sweet smell grew thicker.
The swamp water in front of them rippled gently, forming small circles. Something passed beneath the surface. It didn't appear. It didn't reveal a shape.
But its shadow was faintly visible.
Long.
Way too long.
Minglan held his breath until his chest ached.
Something stopped.
The vibrations in the ground stopped right in front of them.
Time felt like it was being pulled, stretched too long. Minglan could hear his own heartbeat. Too loud. Too real.
He was sure the creature could hear him.
Yalin slowly reached out, her fingers touching Minglan's arm. The touch was light, but enough to make him realize one thing.
He wasn't alone.
Yalin's finger pressed once. A gesture.
Silence.
The shadow in the water moved again.
It passed them.
The sweet scent faded little by little, swallowed by the damp, putrid smell of the swamp.
Only after the vibrations had completely disappeared did Minglan realize she was covered in cold sweat from head to back.
He took a deep breath, too quickly.
Yalin immediately grabbed his arm.
"Quiet," she whispered. "Still close."
Minglan bit down his lip until it tasted salty.
Several minutes passed. Or maybe more. He didn't know.
Finally, Yalin released her hold.
"It's gone now," she said.
Minglan wanted to laugh a little in relief. But the laughter wouldn't come. All that remained was a lingering fear in his bones.
"W…what is that?" he whispered.
"No idea," Yalin moved to sit down next to Minglan, "In the elimination round, we are placed in a place where everything is redesigned to harm us. Poisoned mushroom, poisoned sap, animals that are usually normal are altered to be dangerous and there are animals that are originally dangerous, altered to be even more lethal."
Minglan stared into the darkness of the swamp. "Why would they do that? To kill us?"
Yalin let out a soft breathy laugh, "The seven earths culinary academy is a prestigious school in all seven realms. We are entering it for free, no payment has to be made. We have to prove ourselves mentally and physically fit to enter. Cooking skills will be tested later. For the first elimination, what will be tested is our will to survive."
"First elimination? There will be a second one?"
Yalin nodded, "Of course. They hasn't tested our cooking skill yet, haven't they?"
She paused, then added, "But that doesn't mean they haven't been watching us."
Minglan felt something in his chest grow heavier. "They have been watching us?"
Yalin laughed at the question, thinking that the man she is with is so innocent that it comes off as stupid at times. "Else, how do you think you can always met danger whenever you take a step forward? Unluckiness?"
Minglan does not answer to the question but Yalin took silence as a yes.
"They watch us. They deliberately put challenge around us. Wanting to see whether we can overcome it or not."
"If they keep watching and deliberately put us in danger repeatedly," Minglan said quietly, "wouldn't that be considered premeditated murder?"
Yalin shook her head, her slightly damp hair sticking to her cheek. "They don't want to kill us, as I said. They just want to test us. After all, what they need are students, not victims."
"Isn't there a better way to test student candidates?" Minglan asked again
"Dying is easy," he replied. "Surviving is expensive. They wanted to see who can afford it."
Minglan frowned. "Expensive?"
"Energy. Focus. Decision," Yalin listed them one by one. "People who can survive in a place like this, even without knowing what awaits them… that's the kind of person they want to gather."
The sky began to change color.
It wasn't bright. Just a pale gray, like a wet cloth that had been wrung out halfheartedly.
Yalin stood up slowly. "We can't stay here for long. Let's go."
"Where?" Minglan asked.
Yalin tilted her head up, as if looking for something up on the sky. Minglan follows suit, but he sees nothing.
"To the Academy," she said. "The heavens have given us a clue."
Not understanding anything, Minglan asked. "When did the heavens do that?"
Yalin just smiled.
Minglan didn't know that the direction of sunrise and morning wind was a clue to the academy.