The loud gong sounded, indicating the conclusion of the first task. Wan Huang was startled by the sudden sound. The open pavilion along with the utilities all disappeared and a big iron door appeared before her.
The door opened to an impoverished village. A mud road passed through the middle, bordering stagnant stinky water collection. On either side of the road stood run down houses. Putrid smell of decaying carcasses permeated the air.
The situation made her nauseous, but she managed to calm herself before it could be noticed by anyone outside.
Suddenly from somewhere unknown, a horse came galloping through the narrow road. A five year old child, who was standing beside her, ran onto the road out of curiosity, to look.
On the opposite side, a blind old man was trying to cross the road to her side.
Seeing the situation in front of her, she realised both the child and the old man would be trampled by the horse. She have to save them both.
This was the second round. It tested their compassion.
The people outside the houses, screamed in fear. The gears of her brain turned and she moved quickly.
Pulling a rope next to her, she knotted and swung it over the blind old man, tying him up. While pulling the child to safety, she flung the man up, pulling him to her side over the galloping horse.
She untied the old man, and made sure that the child and him were safe and unharmed. The child's parents came out of the house. They were shocked and thought something happened to their son. Seeing him unharmed they were relieved. They thanked her for the help.
She left the village and walked forwards. No gong sounded, implying that the test haven't finished yet.
A curtain of fog slowly parted to reveal another gloomy village hidden behind. The clouds in the sky hid the sun, and an eerie, gloomy air hung in the atmosphere. People lay scattered, some on the ground, some at their home, some were sitting up, but none looked fine.
Repeated coughing, purged out blood, that stained their robes. Some had bright red patches on skin and everyones body were bloated as if filled with air.
There were decaying corpses scattered around the living. The stench of rotten bodies were unbearable.
Although not sure of the epidemic, Wan Huang ascertained from the symptoms that it was the blown up body disease caused by poison hermit.
She immediately connected it to the first task and realised the purpose of refining the antidote in the first task.
She drew water from a well which was a bit far from the dwellings. After making sure it could be consumed, she borrowed one of the kitchen, boiled the water with the antidote, in it.
She distributed the antidote to all those who were ill and checked their vitals every hour. After confirming everyone were safe, she dug a pit with the help of the villagers, and buried the dead.
The village and all the people disappeared like smoke.
The gong sounded again and the third test began.
Outside, the elders around the projection globe were watching over the contestants actions. They inwardly nodded in appreciation at the contestants who upheld their values and sighed in disappointment at the eliminated ones.
One of Wan Huang's enemies, Wan Bao was eliminated at the second trial. In the second trial she almost threw up in disgust on seeing the horrible conditions before her.
She was a pampered young lady of a reputed family, how can she stand such filthy conditions. She didn't have the patience, nor did she bothered to put up a pretense.
As a result, she was eliminated. Handing over the token, she returned to the gallery, to her family's side enraged over her failure. Wan Jahao noticed her anger and tried every means to calm her down promising many things to her.
The third test almost reached its end. It was to test their bravery and courage. In it, their fear would be manifested as an alternate ego of themselves against which they should battle. The ultimate aim was to see if they had the courage to face and conquer their fear.
This was the most entertaining part of the test. The elders outside got to see the courage and silly fears of the contestants that ranged from small spiders to mighty pythons.
As the trial progressed to the fourth round, only about one fifty contestants remained. Needless to say, apart from Wan Bao, all the younger generation from Wan family remained inside successfully.
YOU ARE READING
Prophecy Of The Stars
FantasíaBetrayal from her lover and best friend lead to her death.She was reborn as the unfavoured daughter of Wan family.A place where cultivation was respected, she was a trash. From a fruitful encounter, she stepped in to the world of cultivation, rose...
