Page 78 of The Wishing Game

"What happens if we don't find it?" I ask, confused.

"Since your ongoing participation has been noted, if you fail to make it to P'davi by the end of the week, you will be eliminated from the game."

I stare at her. How the hell is that fair? But I'm realizing very few things about this game are. I open my mouth to ask another question, but the wraith says a stilted goodbye before she disappears.

"What's in the envelope?" I ask as I go to Ze's side, getting up on the tips of my toes to get a better look.

He gives me a glare—shorter than his usual—before he slowly takes out a sheet of paper from the envelope. There's an illustration of five squares, one in the middle, one up, one down, one left and one right. In the middle of the first square, there's a drawing of a rising sun, together with two symbols.

I'm fairly sure the writing is Chinese. But the rest? How are we supposed to decipher that?

Cer and Thea come to get a look at the clues, but they don't seem overly concerned about the odd drawings. If anything, they look pretty indifferent, which is completely insane to me.

My blood is boiling just thinking about how unfair this is. It's almost as if getting to the second trial is a trial in itself. How else are we supposed to decipher those odd drawings?

"Why is no one freaking out about this?" I ask when no one says anything.

Ze turns his gaze to me. "Because it's not hard. Maybe for your little?—"

"Human mind." I roll my eyes. "I got the general idea. So why don't you go ahead and tell me what this is all about, Mr. Know-it-all?"

He narrows his eyes at me, just watching me. For moments on end.

I clear my throat.

"You're probably just not as familiar with this as we are," Thea intervenes. "Here." She snatches the paper out of Ze's hands, earning herself a scowl. Drawing me to her side, she points to the squares. "The squares are equivalent to the five elements. Or, in Chinese mythology, it was a way to group the five sacred mountains. The second clue is the rising sun in the middle, which is associated with the east—and in Chinese mythology, that is Mount Tai. The last clue and the one that confirms the location is the Chinese symbols forbi xi, which is a mythological creature with the body of a tortoise and the head of a dragon. And some of the earliest and most famous representations of it are at a temple on Mount Tai."

As she finishes the small history lesson, I stare at her in awe.

"How do youknowthat?" I whisper.

Wasn't she asking me what phones were just the other day? How would she have no idea how the modern world works but know everything about Chinese mythology?

"Doesn't everyone know this?" she replies, looking genuinely confused.

"Um, no? I would have never in one million years thought of China or Mount Tai."

"But it's a holy place!" Thea bursts out.

I blink at her.

"Maybe to some people, but I've never heard of it before."

She turns to her brother and Ze.

"This is blasphemy, I tell you.Blasphemy!"

I'm shocked at how vehement she is about it. Thea's voice becomes increasingly distraught, to the point that her brother has to intervene, taking her in his arms and leading her to the next room over.

"What was that?" I turn to Ze, who's standing still as a stone and equally expressionless. "Why was she so hurt about that?"

His piercing stare meets mine.

"She's passionate about this subject," he answers casually.

"That wasmorethan just being passionate."

"We need to leave for Mount Tai. How long will it take us to get there?" He changes the subject.

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