The blind girl appeared to possess a lot more survival abilities than Minglan.
Or I might just be too foolish, Minglan pondered.
They had been walking for nearly two hours now, and nothing bad had happened yet.
Minglan noticed it after a while. The place they are walking on was better than where they had spent the night.
The stink of mud and stagnant water had almost completely disappeared and had been replaced by the smell of the dust, which was new to Minglan's nostrils, however, he tolerated it. The ground no longer hurt. For the first time since arriving, Minglan could step down without flinching. He wasn't getting his feet muddy, and there were no sharp things that he had accidentally stepped on to cause him discomfort.
"Looks like we've passed the first round of eliminations," Yalin said suddenly.
"How can that be?" It didn't feel earned. He had only been here for a day and a night. Compared to Yalin, he hadn't done anything worth passing. "I do not feel as though we have passed a test, I just feel as though we have gone through a series of unfortunate events."
"Unfortunate events are the test. Not everyone is capable of going through a difficult time and coming out of it sane," Yalin answered before she suddenly halted.
Minglan almost bumped into her. "What is it?"
Yalin put her hand in front of her face, turning it over as if counting its fingers, whether it is still there or not.
"I am seeing," Yalin declared. Her voice was very casual and relaxed as if she were just giving out a piece of simple news like the weather.
Minglan, who was a very understanding person by nature, took Yalin's shoulder with full enthusiasm. He was looking at her very closely and his eyes showed excitement. "Are you seriously saying that?"
Yalin was looking at Minglan's face and couldn't understand him. "Yep" she replied and nodded. "What makes you so happy?"
Minglan gave back the same confused expression the moment he heard her answer, "You are seeing again. Why aren't you happy?"
Before getting his answer, their conversation was interrupted by a system panel appearing in front of Minglan's vision.
[System: Transition Zone detected]
[System functions will be temporarily suspended]
[Help, notifications, and system protection are not available in this area]
[System: Candidates are not allowed to receive external intervention after passing the first elimination]
[System: Welcome]
Wait, so Si Yalin was totally right about passing the first elimination round? That makes sense, thinking that her vision is now back too. We are really entering the next stage, are we? Minglan thought as he watch the panel flickering out from his vision.
Minglan didn't know how to react.
He just stood there, one foot barefoot, his clothes muddy, his face pale and exhausted.
"So," Yalin said quietly, staring at him for a moment longer than necessary, "you look like you're almost dead."
"Hey."
"But still alive," she added. "That's good."
Before Minglan could reply, footsteps sounded from their front.
Human footsteps.
Three people emerged from behind the trees. Their clothes were clean. Too clean for a place like this. Dark robes with a symbol neatly sewn on the chest, resembling a seven-layered circle.
One of them smiled kindly.
"Welcome," he said. "Candidate Wang Minglan. Candidate Si Yalin."
"Hotel escort," whispered Si Yalin to the clueless man.
Minglan just nodded, too tired to inquired more.
The hotel escort did their job well, and a little strange, to be honest.
The three of them formed a loose, triangular formation, surrounding Minglan and Yalin.
As they walked further, Minglan and Yalin noticed that the ground beneath their feet was slowly changing. There was no longer sticky mud, no more fallen twigs randomly placed here and there. The ground surface became much flatter too, harder, and warmer, as if they were stepping on sun-dried stone.
With each step, Minglan felt the wounds on the soles of his feet dry out.
As if confirming Minglan's thoughts, one of the escorts explained, "This ground is a healing ground. Any wounds and injuries you sustained during the first elimination will slowly heal as long as you stand here."
After walking further, enjoying the healing process of their wounds and injuries, Minglan and Yalin finally stood before the gates of their hotel.
The hotel towered with an uncanny architectural style. It was tall, but not intimidating. Its walls were a pale cream color, adorned with tall windows that reflected the gray sky like frosted mirrors. The balconies were lined with thin ironwork carved with motifs of spoons, knives, and small, intertwined flames.
The hotel gate opened slowly.
The two ivory doors slid aside, revealing a world completely different from the swamp they had just left.
Beyond the gates lay a vast courtyard.
Not a forest. Not a building. But a garden.
The ground was paved with pale stone, still warm beneath his feet. Neatly on the right side, there were groups of low trees and their leaves were very thin and shimmering almost as if they were covered with dew which had never been completely evaporated. On the other side, there was a long pond with water as clear as glass, so tranquil that Minglan was able to see his own image in the water.
He looked… pathetic.
One foot was bare. His pants were stained with dried, uneven mud. His face was pale, his eyes sunken. His hair was a mess, as if it hadn't been combed in weeks, even though it had only been one night.
The three escorts remained standing at a distance, neither pressing nor guiding. They seemed confident that anyone who had come this far would know where to go.
In the garden, Minglan saw other people.
Several candidates were already sitting on stone benches, most of them silent. Some were cleaning their wounds, while others were simply staring blankly at the pool water. Some looked too neat, too calm, standing in groups and chatting as if they had just returned from a leisure trip.
The contrast was stark.
Minglan suddenly realized that not everyone was tested the same way.