Waking up, and having not died in his sleep, Li knew he had woken up on time. Deciding to look for Han, Li opened the door, and walked out of his room, only to find… empty space. As though one step out of the room would lead to an infinite fall. Suddenly, he was pushed from behind, into the void.

Falling for exactly nineteen seconds, Li found himself in his stone room, where he had initially been when arriving in the town. The room was exactly the same. Stone bed, stone bookshelf, stone bathroom… The only change was a paper that was pinned to the wall by a stone nail. Quickly reading it over (what language was this?), it seemed to be the schedule that Li had heard about from… who was it again? For some reason, Li couldn’t recall the name of the only figure he had spoken to in this town, despite having known his name just minutes ago.

Deciding, similar to many other instances after arriving in this town, Li threw it to the back of his mind. Did he always have this habit? When had he become so neglectful? This, too, was thrown to the back of his mind, immediately forgotten, though a nagging feeling remained. This greatly annoyed Li, who decided to wash up in the stone bathroom.

Now more clear headed, Li reread the schedule. On it were mealtimes and classes, with the next event being breakfast… right now. Suddenly, a singular bead appeared in his hand, along with knowledge in his mind. He now knew that this black bead was called a grain pill, and that it could substitute food for a certain length of time. It seemed this was what the meals here would consist of.

Having expected actual food, Li, cursing the town, unhesitatingly swallowed the grain pill. An extremely bitter taste immediately filled his mouth, causing him to swallow as fast as he could. As soon as it entered his stomach, he felt it dissolve, sating his hunger.

“Some food beats no food!”

Grumbling, Li checked the schedule for the next event, which was labeled Introduction to Education. As soon as it was read, a burst of light appeared and Li was transported to a classroom.

Compared to the other buildings he had been in, this classroom was quite normal. Five rows by three columns of seats, it seemed the class was made for 30 people. Despite this, the only ones in the classroom were Li, and a black-clothed man, who appeared vaguely familiar.

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Wooden walls on three sides, and an entrance to a courtyard on the last. On the walls were various calligraphic works, though they were all blurry and unreadable. Facing the courtyard, a tree could barely be distinguished, but like the calligraphy, the entire face was blurry and distorted.

“Class is in session! Students, please be seated. “

Despite having little intention to, Li was driven into the front-most seat, likely also by this place’s peculiarities.

“My name is Han Ru, you can refer to me as Teacher Han.” With this, the words “Teacher Han” appeared, floating in the air.

“Being your first day of school, it’s proper for me to learn about you, and how you would like to be taught. Please fill out this questionnaire truthfully.”

A sheet of paper, and a brush stained with ink appeared on the table in front of Li. Reading it over, this paper consisted of simple “Yes/No” questions. Li then thoroughly read the first question, brush in hand. He, despite a limited education and illiteracy, did know how to write “Yes” and “No.”

“Given the chance, despite forsaking this education, would you leave this domain?”

Li was astonished. Was leaving this easy? Was it a trick? Either way, he would respond with a clear, concise “No.” What good was leaving? Going back to a life of poverty, homelessness? This place was certainly much better.

The second question, “Would lingering attachments impede your education?” Li being an orphan, this was also answered with a “No.”

Like so, Li answered question after another, becoming deeply absorbed in reading these questions. Finally, the last question, “The pursuit of freedom is the most worthwhile pursuit. Freedom from incarceration, freedom from falsehood, freedom from all.” Li pondered this for several minutes. His primary goal in life thus far was seeking comfort and wealth. Couldn’t comfort be considered “freedom from suffering?” Couldn’t wealth be considered “freedom from poverty?” With this view, wasn’t every goal a pursuit towards freedom, of sorts? And with this mindset, Li answered with a “Yes.”

A flash of light, and sensation was lost, vision became dark. As all noise disappeared, Li heard maniacal mutters.

“A thousand candidates. 464 either willfully or unwittingly lied. Another 267 were unwilling to stay. Who can blame them? 231 were inadequate. Exactly 30 of the remaining had prior influence. Finally, seven lacked the proper beliefs.”

A sigh could be heard.

“I suppose this will have to do. After all, one is better than none. Finally, my last disciple.”

And Li woke up.