Zhu Xi Ning hadn't expected Gu Xiang Kai, who looked like all his brains had gone into his fists, to have such an active mind that he'd think to check the kitchen waste.
"Milk-stewed Fawn Soup?"
Her impression of him, which had been affected by the rumors, improved quite a bit, and Zhu Xi Ning's tone became much friendlier.
But Gu Xiang Kai didn't notice at all; he nodded solemnly.
"I rummaged through the trash for a long time."
Zhu Xi Ning looked at him with sympathy. "What did you find?"
Gu Xiang Kai looked at the two ladies across from him. "Nothing at all."
Zhu Xi Ning let out an "ah" of disappointment.
Nan Yue, however, frowned. "Nothing at all?"
Gu Xiang Kai looked at Nan Yue meaningfully. "Correct, nothing at all."
"I found traces of other dishes—ribs, chicken bones, fish bones, vegetable leaves... but for that Milk-stewed Fawn Soup, there was nothing."
"And that smell was very peculiar; if it were in the trash, I would have smelled it."
Zhu Xi Ning really wanted to marvel at how Gu Xiang Kai's nickname was well-earned; his hearing and sense of smell were both excellent and very useful.
"So there really is a problem with that dish."
Zhu Xi Ning rested her chin in her hand, thinking. "The lack of kitchen waste might be because they're afraid we'll discover something, or there's another possibility..."
Gu Xiang Kai's train of thought stopped at not smelling anything; he couldn't think any deeper, so he couldn't follow Zhu Xi Ning's logic at this point.
But Nan Yue could.
"There is another possibility: the townspeople also need the leftovers."
"Let's go invite ourselves for a meal at a local's house in the next few days."
Nan Yue smiled. "I just don't know if everyone in town is that hospitable."
She wanted to see if this precious Milk-stewed Fawn Soup was only available at Evermercy Restaurant.
And with Gu Xiang Kai around, she believed they could detect that scent in any dish.
"I took a walk around the town."
As soon as she said that, Gu Xiang Kai's expression turned distorted.
This person had previously called him brave for going out on the first night, yet she had gone for a midnight stroll through the town herself.
"I wanted to see if there were any children."
For some reason, Nan Yue was a bit concerned; normally, children cry a lot at night, and it was only around ten in the evening then. Some might even be too excited to sleep, so it was impossible for there to be no sound at all.
Zhu Xi Ning looked at Nan Yue with bright eyes; while the lack of children was a bit strange, it didn't seem that serious.
"..."
Nan Yue remained silent for a long while before saying, "I'm not sure."
"Huh?"
Nan Yue explained, "My hearing is just that of an ordinary person. I thought I heard a child crying, but when I listened closely, it was gone."
"And this happened several times."
As midnight approached, Nan Yue didn't linger and returned, arriving just in time to see the scene with He Jiang.
Zhu Xi Ning didn't think it was a big deal and tilted her chin toward Gu Xiang Kai. "Let him go listen tomorrow."
Gu Xiang Kai: "..."
"Fine."
"Let's get some rest."
Nan Yue and the others did some simple washing up and then went to the outhouse outside the courtyard to take care of their business together.
The outhouse here was a rural dry latrine; fortunately, it was relatively clean, though the lack of a toilet in the room was a bit troublesome.
"There's a commode."
Gu Xiang Kai pointed out precisely.
Zhu Xi Ning looked reluctant, but she didn't say anything.
They all knew very well that compared to their lives, they could set aside their dignity.
Nan Yue's perception of time was very accurate, thanks to twenty years of training with that thing, so she knew it was around 23:15 when the three of them turned off the lights and lay down.
Gu Xiang Kai slept in the bed near the door, while Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning slept in the one near the window. Zhu Xi Ning, sandwiched in the middle, felt the most secure.
She blinked in the darkness; time passed slowly, feeling almost unbearable.
It was always like this in every mission; the night was the most dangerous time. In fact, if one could just sleep through it, it might be better, but people simply cannot fall asleep in a dangerous environment.
Almost every scavenger could only rest for an hour or two each day during a mission, so the mental pressure grew heavier as the mission progressed.
She rolled over and saw that Gu Xiang Kai also had his eyes open. Feeling it was impolite to stare, she turned back, wanting to talk to Nan Yue.
She felt the three of them collaborated well, and both Nan Yue and Gu Xiang Kai were reliable; she wanted to ask if she could join them.
Turning her head, she discovered that Nan Yue had already fallen asleep at some point.
It would have been fine if she was just sleeping soundly, but why are you smiling in your sleep?!
Who could fall asleep instantly and sleep so soundly in an environment filled with ghosts and monsters!!
Zhu Xi Ning felt dazed, thinking her own psychological resilience was still too poor.
Nan Yue slept very well; ever since she discovered that thing couldn't pester her during missions, she missed sleeping in missions almost every moment.
In fact, she had wanted to sleep as soon as Xu Defu left, but she had hesitated for a moment between sleeping and looking for clues.
In the end, since Gu Xiang Kai had gone out to look for clues, it wouldn't be right for her to sleep in the room, so she could only painfully sacrifice some sleep time.
Thus, almost as soon as the lights went out, she fell into a deep sleep. In her dreams, she seemed to hear distant cries of alarm, but she was sleeping too soundly and didn't sense any danger, so she didn't wake up.
When the sky began to brighten the next day and the town's roosters started to crow, Nan Yue finally woke up in a pleasant mood.
Having had enough sleep, Nan Yue felt a heartfelt friendliness toward everything. Just as she was about to greet her teammates, she suddenly realized Zhu Xi Ning wasn't sleeping next to her.
Turning around, she saw Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai sitting on the opposite bed with haggard faces, looking at her with complicated expressions.
Nan Yue felt a momentary flash of guilt. "...Morning."
Gu Xiang Kai rubbed his face. "Morning."
Zhu Xi Ning's gaze was vacant. "...How can you sleep so well during a mission?"
Nan Yue rubbed her head. "I'm young; I sleep well."
Zhu Xi Ning: "..."
Nan Yue stretched, feeling every cell in her body filled with energy. "You two didn't sleep all night? Xi Ning, why did you run over to Gu Xiang Kai's side?"
Zhu Xi Ning gave Nan Yue a resentful look. "It's already hard to sleep during a mission. I finally fell asleep around two and woke up shortly after."
Gu Xiang Kai said succinctly, "Something happened last night."
According to the two individuals who had only rested for barely over an hour, there had been a disturbance outside around three in the morning.
It sounded like many footsteps, thud, thud, thud, running back and forth in the courtyard.
There wasn't even a television in the town, so the night was very quiet, making the sound extremely obvious.
And judging by the footsteps, there were a great number of people outside; in Zhu Xi Ning's words, it felt like the entire town had come.
Rate on N.U.
