After being struck by Ren Yi's fork, the Shadow Anomaly ceased all movement.
In the surrounding watermelon patch, not a single scream came from the remaining Participants. The only sound in the night was the weak, listless moaning of the watermelons, which gradually faded into silence.
It wasn't until the horizon turned a pale grey that the long night finally ended. Ren Yi finished his morning tasks of carrying water and weeding before unhurriedly returning to the courtyard.
Only fourteen Participants returned from the patch with him.
It was only the morning of the second day, and the rate of attrition was faster than expected.
Presumably, seeing that the two Young Masters on their side had already completed their quotas, the remaining Anomalies had cast aside all restraint and begun "harvesting" in earnest.
He didn't bother with the pale-faced, traumatized Participants, heading straight up to the second floor. He had another job to do.
As soon as he stepped onto the second-floor corridor, he saw Lu Zihan slumped boredly over the desk, using his hands to cast shadow puppets in the sunlight streaming through the window.
That leisurely, carefree appearance made Ren Yi's hands itch, wanting nothing more than to give him a good smack right then and there.
Upon seeing Ren Yi, Lu Zihan's eyes finally lit up.
"Seventeen..." he drawled, his voice thick with grievance, "I don't want to study."
Ren Yi rolled his eyes inwardly, wanting to tell him: Tell that to Auntie Lu if you have the guts.
But on the surface, he maintained his submissive facade and replied naturally.
"Then let's go play, Young Master. If it's only for half a day, I'm sure the Madam won't say much."
"Great!" Lu Zihan bounced out of his chair, his eyes shining brilliantly. "Then let's go to the Herb Garden! The servants assigned there today only left a little while ago!"
Ren Yi was slightly taken or aback, then exchanged a knowing smile with Lu Zihan.
It seemed Lu Zihan was just as curious about the Herb Garden as he was.
After all, when Lu Qing introduced the "sights," she only gave names and didn't mention what each place was for or what dangers lurked within.
The Herb Garden was the only location that had achieved a "total wipeout" the previous day, and it had only taken half a day to do so.
Yet for some reason, while the number of workers in other areas had decreased proportionally, Old Fu, the foreman, had still assigned a full complement of ten people to the Herb Garden today.
Ren Yi and Lu Zihan looked at each other, and the two little Anomalies immediately reached an agreement.
Thus, the Participants buried in books in the study watched as the temperamental Young Master Anomaly hurried downstairs, leading the poor servant named "Seventeen."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, feeling that this harbinger of doom had finally left, allowing them to live for a few moments longer.
The Herb Garden was actually the Lu family's backyard. It wasn't very large, about the size of two or three basketball courts.
From a distance, the greenery inside was lush and verdant, blotting out the sky.
Right in the center stood a massive, flourishing Wutong Tree with a thick trunk and sprawling branches—a perfect spot for the kind of secret base children loved.
Here, Ren Yi finally saw the second set of explicitly written rules in the Instance.
Nailed to the wooden fence at the entrance of the Herb Garden was an old wooden sign partially draped in vines. The sign looked as though it were perpetually damp with dew, and the words were written in dark brown ink:
【Herb Garden Work Guidelines】
The servants' job is to loosen the soil and weed the Herb Garden. While working in the garden, you must work in pairs and maintain physical contact at all times to coordinate and avoid accidentally damaging the plants.
Before entering or leaving the Herb Garden, both people must step through the gate at the same time. If one person goes ahead, the consequences are your own responsibility.
If you are injured and bleed, do not allow blood to drip onto the soil within three zhang of the Wutong Tree's main trunk.
While pruning or tending to herbs, if you discover plant roots with a special structure, do not speak of it; quietly cover them with nearby soil.
Work must be completed before the Wu hour. You must leave the Herb Garden between the Wu hour (high noon) and the Wei hour (when the sun begins to sink).
The rules for the Herb Garden were significantly shorter than any written regulations Ren Yi had seen before, and they didn't seem to contain many hidden traps.
Was it because there were fewer Anomalies here, or because their power was relatively weak?
Ren Yi quickly sorted through the rules. The most straightforward ones were "synchronized pair movement," "no bleeding near the Wutong Tree," and the "work hours."
However, there were also unclear points. For instance, in Rule 4, what kind of plant roots counted as "special"? How could the Participants be expected to recognize them at a glance?
As for the time, it was currently morning, which fit the Herb Garden's working hours.
Unlike the Watermelon Patch, the other servants usually started their work at the Mao hour, and after some dawdling, it would take about fifteen minutes to enter the garden.
Because he had spent the entire night in the patch, Ren Yi had finished his work there very early today. It was currently about 5:45 AM, so the Participants should have all entered the Herb Garden by now.
But for some reason, while the Herb Garden had been perfectly clear from a distance, a thin layer of mist had risen within it as they approached.
The mist was milky white and thick as cream. Ren Yi's naked eye and Anomaly perception could not penetrate it; it was dead silent inside, with no sign of the Participants.
Hopefully, the Participants haven't died too quickly, Ren Yi thought privately. They wanted to see exactly how the Herb Garden's rules were enforced.
Lu Zihan didn't think much of it. After reading the rules, he casually lifted his leg to walk into the Herb Garden.
He was the "Young Master" here; his status alone allowed him to ignore most rules.
Ren Yi was quick and immediately grabbed his arm.
"Young Master, let's follow the Herb Garden rules. Otherwise, the Madam will nag you again."
The problem wasn't with Lu Zihan; it was with himself.
If he were seen entering the Herb Garden alone and coming out unscathed, it would be impossible to explain when the broadcast went out.
Lu Zihan was stunned for a moment, then realization dawned. He immediately wiped the casual look from his face and put on an expression of forced annoyance.
"Fine, fine," he said, extending his hand with a look of feigned disgust. "Give me your hand. It's clean, right?"
The two held hands to satisfy the "physical contact" rule and strictly stepped over the wooden fence at the same time.
The moment they stepped into the Herb Garden, they were completely enveloped by the milky white mist.
Visibility was terrifyingly low. Even Lu Zihan, who was right next to him, was reduced to a blurry black silhouette, his features impossible to make out.
At the same time, the range of Ren Yi's Anomaly perception was drastically compressed, limited to barely half a meter around him. It gave him the fleeting illusion that he had turned back into a normal human.
A few rays of morning sun managed to pierce through the gaps in the mist, casting dappled spots of light on the ground and vaguely indicating the way forward.
So that's why the "moving together" rule exists?
Indeed, without maintaining physical contact, a person would be lost after just two steps.
Rate on N.U.
