hsntnovel Chapter 374 Dormitory Rules
Chapter 374 Dormitory Rules
The man's eyes lit up instantly, and the woman's lips immediately curled into a greedy smile.
The previous harshness and indifference vanished instantly, and the two heads eagerly agreed.
"Of course, of course!"
"The young man is sensible and knows what's good for him!"
The dormitory supervisor quickly collected the ghost coins, turned around and pulled out a set of dry and clean bedding, a brand new, undamaged basin, and a set of neatly folded training clothes.
"Room 56, the innermost and quietest. Here, take this key."
Lin Feng took the items, turned around and subtly raised an eyebrow at Vassim and Evelyn, then quietly handed each of them two hundred ghost coins.
The two understood each other perfectly, went forward to register, and were greeted with smiles and given clean supplies and good seats.
The dormitory manager was exceptionally attentive and even arranged for Vassim to share a room with Lin Feng.
Just then, the obese, bearded, and slovenly man behind Evelyn squeezed through the crowd. He was none other than Dave, the chosen one from America.
He smiled broadly, moved closer to Lin Feng, and lowered his voice:
"Hey bro, can you lend me two hundred ghost coins? Here, take this watch, it's pretty valuable!"
Lin Feng didn't even glance at the watch Lin Feng offered, and said in a flat tone, "Sorry, I've run out of ghost coins, so I can't help you."
Before Dave could say anything more, the two heads of the dorm supervisor simultaneously hissed impatiently, "What are you dawdling for! Next!"
He was startled and quickly stepped forward, hurriedly filling in his name.
The dormitory supervisor casually tossed a dirty set of bedding, a cracked basin, and a set of monk's robes in front of him.
The size of the monastic robe was ridiculously small for the obese Dave.
Dave gripped the clothes and reluctantly put them on.
The fabric was so tight it looked like it was about to burst, making it hard for him to breathe, and he couldn't even lift his arms.
His face instantly turned green, and he held up the ill-fitting monk's robe, looking at the crowd with a pleading tone:
"Is anyone... willing to swap with me? I need a large size, thank you everyone!"
In the crowd, a petite girl hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and stepped forward—the monk's robe she received was clearly too big.
Just as she was about to speak, the dormitory supervisor's two heads suddenly turned towards her:
"Change? Once the training robes are issued, they are bound to one's own aura. Forcibly changing them... will kill you."
The girl's face turned pale instantly, and she recoiled as if she had been burned, no longer daring to say another word.
After everyone had registered in turn, they each received their own belongings and room number.
Lin Feng, Wasim, Dave, and Park Ji-won were assigned to dormitory number 56.
Evelyn shared room 48 with three other female chosen ones.
On the way to the dormitory, Dave followed Lin Feng and Wasim like a little puppy, his belly sticking out as he whispered ingratiatingly:
"Gentlemen, please take good care of me in this temple from now on. I can do anything and will never cause you any trouble!"
Lin Feng continued walking, saying calmly:
"This place is not like the outside world. It is full of dangers, and the rules are like knives. Everyone can only protect themselves. I can't protect you, and no one else can."
Park Ji-won, standing to the side, had a slightly somber expression and remained silent.
He already harbored resentment towards Lin Feng, Vassim, and Evelyn for not helping the other Chosen Ones in their time of need, and now he was even less inclined to speak, simply following silently behind.
As the dormitory manager had said, dormitory number 56 was located at the innermost part of the dormitory area, and it was indeed much quieter.
Upon entering the dormitory, the layout of the room is immediately apparent.
There were two bunk beds on each side and a table in the middle. The space was small, but it was still quite tidy.
Lin Feng and Wasim went straight to the right-hand bunk. Wasim chose the lower bunk, and Lin Feng climbed onto it.
The bedding was dry and spread out, making it very comfortable to lie down on.
On the other side, Park Ji-won chose the upper bunk, while the obese Dave had to squeeze into the lower bunk.
Their bedding was damp and moldy without exception.
Dave pinched his nose, his face full of disgust, and simply stuffed the dirty blankets under the bed.
"Sleeping on a hard bed is better than being wrapped in this dirty, wet stuff!"
Park Ji-won let out a sigh of relief and silently threw his bedding under the bed.
After settling the bed, Lin Feng looked up towards the door and said in a deep voice:
"Don't forget, the guide said that there are dormitory rules posted behind the door of each room. Everyone, come and take a look."
The other three felt a chill and immediately surrounded them.
Sure enough, there was a piece of yellowed coarse paper pasted behind the door, with dark red writing, as if it had been written with special paint, exuding a dull and oppressive atmosphere.
Lin Feng stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over each item, and slowly read aloud:
"Rule 1: Those who cultivate themselves must sleep in an upright posture. They must not curl up, lie on their stomach, or sleep on their side; they can only lie flat on their backs."
"Rule Two: Before going to sleep, silently recite 'May I have no dreams and sleep peacefully.' If you have a dream, you must write it down in a notebook as soon as you wake up, and then burn it in the incense burner in the morning."
"Rule Three: A perpetually burning spirit lamp is hung by the door of each dormitory room. It must be lit when going to sleep and must not be extinguished throughout the night. If the lamp goes out, the person is in danger."
"Rule Four: Gray spiders are common in the dormitory area. You should find one and swallow it raw every day to strengthen your body and calm your mind."
"Rule Five: No combs in the dormitory. If you hear the sound of combing your hair at midnight, and it doesn't stop after counting to seven, cover your ears until you fall asleep again."
"Rule Six: Lights out at 11 p.m. every night. After lights out, there are wandering spirits outside the dormitories. It is strictly forbidden to open the door, open the window, or go outside."
"Rule Seven: When washing up in the bathroom, if you find that your reflection in the mirror is a breath slower than you, immediately turn around, do ten standard push-ups with your hands on the ground, and then splash cold water on your face. Do not look directly into the mirror again that day."
"Rule 8: When using the toilet, you must light a calming incense stick and leave before the incense burns out. You must not linger."
After the eight rules were read aloud, the small dormitory room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Lin Feng frowned slightly, a faint sense of unease rising from the bottom of his heart.
This is his "rule affinity" serving as a warning—
Rules one and two seemed to be the most normal and best suited to the requirements of "cultivation," yet his intuition was frantically warning him:
These two statements are wrong!
Dave stared at the first rule, then suddenly burst out laughing:
"This is so convenient for me! I usually only sleep on my back, this makes things so much easier!"
Park Ji-won raised an eyebrow and suddenly spoke:
"With your build, you're bound to snore a lot when you sleep on your back, right?"
Dave's smile froze. He scratched his round belly and rubbed his nose somewhat sheepishly.
Uh... yes, a little bit. We're all caught up in these situations, so please bear with us.
Park Ji-won opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her disgust back.
Changing dormitories is impossible in this eerie temple; no matter how dissatisfied you are, you can only endure it.
Wasim silently inspected the room, his gaze falling on the desk drawers and under the desk.
He reached out and pulled open the drawer, where sure enough, four small notebooks with black covers lay quietly.
The notebook contained no text; the cover felt like dry human skin, the pages had an eerie bluish-gray hue, and a faint, old-ashes-like smell emanated from it when brought close.
Under the desk, he pulled out a small bronze stove, about the size of a palm.
The furnace's decorations were distorted, resembling not patterns, but rather painful, huddled faces. The furnace walls were cold and heavy, with specks of dark gray ash clinging to the bottom.
In the corner sat a bundle of fine incense, its color a rustic light brown, which must be the soothing incense mentioned in the rules.
Wasim placed the notebook, the small stove, and the bundle of incense on the table one by one, then looked up and said in a deep voice:
"The notebook, the stove, and the incense for calming the soul—everything is here."