An antique-charming town, yet no children?
Gu Xiang Kai sat up, the bed frame groaning. He absolutely loathed these eerie missions.
Zhu Xi Ning hesitated for a long time before looking at Nan Yue, asking weakly, “What about that soup then? Was there a problem with it?”
Nan Yue shook her head, though she didn't mention her own unusual sensations.
“No, I just found it a bit strange.”
“Since it's a town specialty, it means you can't find it anywhere else. Not to mention, we're fundamentally not from the same world as them, so if there were an issue, we wouldn't be able to tell at all.”
“Unless we're certain the town's food is harmless, it's best not to touch it easily.”
Zhu Xi Ning's worry deepened. “But I… ate half a bowl.”
The taste was indeed exceptionally delicious. If Nan Yue and the others at their table hadn't left the dish untouched, Zhu Xi Ning might not have had the willpower to stop.
“It's fine,” Nan Yue reassured Zhu Xi Ning. “Food in missions won't be directly poisonous. At most, it'll be a marker or increase the probability of encountering danger; there are no situations that guarantee death.”
Zhu Xi Ning: ...She wasn't comforted at all.
“Xu Defu said we can't go out after midnight.”
Gu Xiang Kai suddenly said this, standing alone. Nan Yue looked at him. “So aggressive on the first night? That's not like you.”
Gu Xiang Kai rolled his eyes. “In the last mission, everyone fended for themselves, so naturally, I didn't have to worry unnecessarily. This one clearly won't be that easy.”
He bit down on his cigarette filter. “My nicotine craving is acting up.”
Nan Yue looked at the dark sky outside. “Come back early.”
Gu Xiang Kai grunted in response, rolled out of bed, and with a swing of his long legs, exited the room.
“Will there be danger?”
Zhu Xi Ning was a bit nervous. She wasn't a coward, but she rarely took the initiative to explore because she could avoid most dangers, so subconsciously, she wasn't an adventurous person.
“There's danger as soon as you enter a mission.”
Nan Yue patted Zhu Xi Ning. “Stay in the room. Don't let anyone in except us.”
Zhu Xi Ning hesitated for a moment, about to say something, but Nan Yue had already left.
The words “You trust me that much?” caught in her throat.
Zhu Xi Ning stood at the doorway and realized that apart from the three young people in the next room who stayed indoors, another room had its door open.
And standing at that doorway was Lu Jiao, who, like her, had clearly been assigned the role of keeping watch.
Lu Jiao was a straightforward person. Seeing Zhu Xi Ning's flashy attire, she had no intention of chatting, so she simply nodded and turned to close her door.
The scholar's residence had a large water vat in the middle, paved with pebbles in the shape of a yin and yang bagua. It was said to collect rain, but Zhu Xi Ning suspected it might also have some function for warding off evil.
Voices drifted over, and Zhu Xi Ning turned to see He Jiang approaching with two followers. His eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Miss Zhu, why are you alone?”
He Jiang's gaze roamed over Zhu Xi Ning. Anyone willing to spend money on clothes like that seemed not too bright.
Zhu Xi Ning offered her usual smile. “Brother He, aren't you resting at this late hour?”
He Jiang's eyes peered into the room, trying to see if the other two were inside, but Zhu Xi Ning blocked his view completely.
“It's still early before midnight, and you're not resting either. How about we go inside and chat? We have a lead.”
Zhu Xi Ning feigned great interest. “What kind of lead?”
He Jiang's eyes flashed, and his hand reached for Zhu Xi Ning's shoulder. “Too many ears around; let's go inside... Hey, hey, hey!”
Zhu Xi Ning twisted He Jiang's arm, bending it downwards. With a yelp of pain, He Jiang had to stoop to relieve the agony, looking utterly ridiculous.
“Brother He!”
“Why are you attacking, young lady! Don't you know mission participants should stick together? Not to mention, we're older than you.”
Zhu Xi Ning looked at the three of them expressionlessly, then suddenly spat to the side. “Bullshit! Three greasy old men wanting to get into my room late at night, have you no shame?! You're absolutely disgusting, sickening beyond belief!”
Zhu Xi Ning's appearance and demeanor throughout their journey had been quiet and refined, with small dimples when she smiled—she looked every bit a Jiangnan beauty.
So when she twisted He Jiang's wrist with one hand and stood with her other hand on her hip, yelling, the three men were too stunned to react.
“Playing the 'respect the elders and cherish the young' card in a mission, saying you're older than me? So if I'm younger and I encounter a ghost, will you die for me? You're so strict with others, but have you forgotten you're also just a person?”
“You're truly shameless, like an eighty-year-old man begging for gruel!”
With that, Zhu Xi Ning forcefully twisted his arm down again, and as He Jiang shrieked, she shoved him to the ground. The three men tumbled into a heap, groaning in pain.
“Thought I was easy to bully, huh?! Pfft, you three pathetic toads trying to pick on the weak, don't you know your place?”
After her tirade, Zhu Xi Ning deftly slammed the door shut, leaning against it with a long sigh of relief.
“Whew... that was close.”
Zhu Xi Ning clasped her hands together, muttering, “Calm down, calm down. All kinds of people are in missions; you have to stay calm.”
Her temper was completely at odds with her appearance; she was explosive, like a firecracker. Usually, she could control herself, because anything could happen in a mission, and being targeted just for a moment of verbal gratification would be too unfair.
But He Jiang was truly disgusting this time, and with at least two people she knew on the mission, she wasn't fighting alone, so she couldn't hold back and let loose.
Now, after her outburst, she felt a mix of lingering fear and guilt, thinking that she absolutely had to keep her distance from He Jiang for the next few days.
He Jiang was helped up, his face beet red with rage. He pointed at the door and spewed a string of nasty remarks, but Zhu Xi Ning simply wouldn't open it.
He Jiang was livid but helpless, though his ruckus did draw out those who had been flattering him from the inner residence.
So when Gu Xiang Kai returned, he saw a crowd of people gathered outside his room.
He lowered his brows, roaring gruffly, “What's going on? Looking for a fight?”
Everyone: ...
He Jiang frowned. He had been careless. He had previously thought there were others in the room and hadn't dared to force his way in, otherwise, he had planned to do something inside.
If he had known earlier that it was only the frail-looking Zhu Xi Ning inside, he wouldn't have waited so long.
“Your teammate cursed first.”
He Jiang looked utterly exasperated. “I was kindly showing concern for her, and she just started cursing, without any respect a junior should have.”
Gu Xiang Kai clenched his fist, saying impatiently, “So what if she cursed you? Got a problem with that?”
He Jiang: ...Are you guys even reasonable?
But it was clear Gu Xiang Kai wasn't one to reason with. He Jiang and his group could only swallow their anger and step aside. Gu Xiang Kai scoffed, pushing through the crowd to return to his room.
He didn't notice the extremely resentful expression in He Jiang's eyes as the latter, standing beside him, reached for his shoulder.
Rate on N.U.
