Lice?

Bai Youwei’s entire body immediately started to itch. She desperately wanted to shed a layer of skin right then and there.

Her first instinct was to duck into the dollhouse for a bath, but the effects of these lice were unknown. What if they spread to Teacher Cheng and Xiaoxin?

Or what if they fell onto the towels, the sofa, the bed, the pillows… The whole room would be overrun with lice.

The thought alone left Bai Youwei feeling thoroughly miserable.

Shen Mo said, “These insects don’t seem quite the same as ordinary lice. Everyone turn on your flashlights and keep the light up — check the hems of your clothes, the creases, your beards, your hair… everywhere, carefully.”

The chamber was too dark, and the insects were so tiny, that everyone had to use their flashlights and check each other.

Even so, it was hard to say nothing was missed.

Bai Youwei had Shen Mo pitch the tent, then crawled inside herself and came back out carrying an armful of firewood.

She could summon a live chick out of thin air — no one batted an eye at her emerging from a tent with a bundle of firewood.

Once a fire was lit, Bai Youwei changed into a fresh set of clothes inside the tent. The outfit she’d been wearing, she threw into the fire and let it burn to nothing.

At her firm insistence, Shen Mo, Du Lai, Chen Hui, and Ashalina all changed into clean clothes as well. Leonid was the only exception — he was simply too large, and Bai Youwei couldn’t find anything in the right size.

The fabric burned in the flames, releasing the scorched, acrid smell of singed fibers.

Bai Youwei looked Leonid over once more and asked, “Can you shave your hair and beard? Lice love to hide in them.”

“My beard? Absolutely not!” Leonid shook his head immediately. “What kind of man has no beard?!”

“Then wash it, at least.” Bai Youwei ducked back into the tent and emerged this time with a bucket, a basin with shampoo and conditioner inside, and a bottle of liquor.

Leonid spotted the liquor and brightened. “Now that’s service — washing my hair with a drink on the side.”

“It’s for washing your hair, not drinking,” Bai Youwei said. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but we may as well try.” She turned to Chen Hui. “You wash it for him.”

Chen Hui rolled up her sleeves and nodded.

…

Because of these inexplicable lice, they didn’t move into any more rooms. They stayed in place — checking, washing, drying by the fire, resting.

The fire burned steadily, driving the cold and gloom from the stone chamber.

Du Lai didn’t trust Mark or Dylan, so he tied their ankles together, leaving their hands free so they could feed themselves.

Leonid sat bare-chested in front of the fire, letting Chen Hui work away at his head with a pair of scissors.

He kept repeating, “Only the hair! Don’t touch my beard!”

“I know!” Chen Hui grabbed a tuft of hair, snipped it, and tossed it into the flames, where it sizzled. “…Good heavens, sir, the lice absolutely love you! Your hair is covered in them. Your beard definitely has them too!”

“Even if it does, you don’t touch it!” Leonid said irritably. “Just wash it more times. That’ll do.”

Chen Hui: “Understood. Then stop moving around. If I clip your beard, don’t blame me…”

Leonid immediately sat ramrod straight and didn’t move a muscle.

Bai Youwei sat in front of the tent, watching Chen Hui cut Leonid’s hair. Whether it was psychological or not, she felt her own scalp beginning to itch.

“Look for me — do I have lice?” Bai Youwei nudged Shen Mo beside her.

Bai Youwei had very long hair — loose, slightly wavy, deep brown. She treasured it deeply. Cutting it all off was unthinkable, yet the possibility of lice nesting in it filled her with an unbearable, panicked revulsion.

Shen Mo combed through her hair gently and offered reassurance in a calm voice: “They’re just some tiny insects. We don’t yet know what effect they actually have on people. Don’t frighten yourself.”

Bai Youwei sighed. “This maze is such a headache.”

Shen Mo raised his hand to touch her hair, then glanced down and caught sight of a tiny black “louse” resting on his finger. He frowned, drew his hand back without a word, and said flatly, “Indeed… a bit of a headache.”

—