Seeing that I had managed to struggle to my feet, Xi Yong'an lightly patted my shoulder, his gaze still unable to hide his concern:
-"Are you really okay?"
-"Yeah... The pain has passed, and my vision is back to normal." I pulled my hand away from my temple, taking a deep breath to steady my racing heart.
Just then, an aged, raspy voice - sounding like rotting wood scraping together - suddenly echoed from the far end of the pitch-black hallway:
-"The rain hasn't stopped, and nightfall is approaching. The forest is very dangerous at night. The mistress has sent word; she hopes you will all stay here and depart tomorrow morning instead."
It was Butler Li. He stood there, motionless as an old statue, though no one had noticed when he arrived. Pham Bach Kha quickly regained his composure and replied with polite formality:
-"In that case... we shall trouble you and the mistress, then."
Hearing the commotion outside, the door to the lounge swung open. The remaining four - Ky Kha Nhien, Hoang Nhat Tan, Phan Ngoc Tien, and Li Junjie - strolled out. Everyone looked refreshed after a long nap, a stark contrast to our tense, exhausted state. It seemed that while we were nearly suffering "heart failure" over secret rooms and bloodstains, their top priority had simply been a comfortable place to lie down.
Seeing everyone gathered, Butler Li bowed slightly, his face remaining entirely expressionless:
-"Dinner is served. Since you will be staying the night, please dine at the villa. I shall lead the way."
With that, he turned and walked silently across the thick hallway carpet. The eleven of us followed gloomily in a single file, our footsteps echoing rhythmically in the oppressive silence.
Pham Bach Kha moved closer to the group, lowering his voice to a minimum, yet his suspicion still reached our ears:
-"Don't you all find it strange? The food was prepared unnaturally fast."
Yashu, who was walking behind me, suddenly froze. She frowned and turned toward him:
-"What do you mean?"
-"When I checked the dining area earlier, the refrigerator was packed with fresh ingredients, but the stove was cold. There wasn't a single sign of cooking. Furthermore..." Bach Kha took a sharp breath, his voice trembling slightly, "This villa has no servants. Is it possible for that butler alone to prepare a banquet for eleven people in the blink of an eye?"
Ky Kha Nhien - a girl with long, wavy brown hair and deep-set eyes shadowed by dark circles that gave her a lethargic look - let out a long yawn and spoke up wearily:
-"Or maybe it's just pre-cooked food being reheated. Could be leftovers or canned supplies."
-"I don't think anyone pre-cooks a mountain of food when there are only a few people in the house. Besides, the fridge is full of fresh produce; why would they serve guests canned food?" Pham Bach Kha persisted with his point, his brows furrowing deeply.
-"Hahaha..." Ky Kha Nhien yawned again, her sluggish eyes narrowing slightly. She paused for a beat, tilting her head toward the gaping shadows of the hallway before whispering in a low tone: "Or... we aren't the only guests today. Or... that old man 'vomited' all that food out for us to eat. Sounds plausible, doesn't it?"
Her twisted joke sent a chill down my spine. Tu Qinghe's expression was already hideous. In truth, I had noticed Qinghe scowling the moment Kha Nhien appeared, but it was only now that she truly exploded:
-"Not everyone is as bone-lazy and shiftless as you!" Qinghe snapped, her voice laced with blatant hostility. "You'd better stay in your place during this mission. Your jokes aren't funny; they're just disgusting."
Ky Kha Nhien didn't flinch. She curled her lips into a faint, vapid smile:
-"What's wrong? Grumpy because you didn't get to 'sleep' with Kha?"
Before she could finish, Wu Mengqiao, who was walking right next to her, immediately reached out and clamped a hand over Ky Kha Nhien's mouth, preventing any more wicked words from escaping.
It seemed something unpleasant had happened between them, but I had no mental energy left for curiosity.
The atmosphere plunged back into a suffocating silence, broken only by the steady thud of footsteps on the wooden floor.
Finally, we reached the dining room. It was as spacious and luxurious as the grand hall, but what caught my eye were the large mirrors still hanging densely on the walls, reflecting the images of eleven people who looked like a weary army. Through the sheer white curtains hanging over the kitchen entrance, I caught a glimpse of the interior. It was spotlessly clean - completely devoid of the smell of grease or the lingering heat of a place that had just prepared a feast for a dozen people.
A cold sensation ran down my spine, and I hurriedly looked away. In the center of the room were polished agarwood chairs with cushions as bright red as blood. On the largest round table in the middle, a series of exquisite dishes were already laid out, emitting a fragrant aroma that felt hauntingly surreal.
Butler Li stopped at the threshold, bending his body at a precise aristocratic angle to invite us in.
Phan Ngoc Tien - a girl with a gentle appearance and thick glasses - lightly pushed her frames up, her voice trembling as she voiced the question on everyone's mind:
-"Will... will this food be poisoned?"
I kept my face indifferent, walked to the round table, and picked a seat. Seeing this, Yashu, Xi Yong'an, and Pham Bach Kha also took their seats one by one. Gradually, the others pulled up chairs, though their faces still betrayed clear wariness.
Yashu looked at Phan Ngoc Tien and offered a small, reassuring smile:
-"I don't think the Ghost Gate would play that dirty. Just think about it - we're only in the early missions; the difficulty wouldn't jump that drastically. If they went through the trouble of setting up such a lavish banquet just to poison us... that would be a very dull move."
Hearing Yashu's logical explanation, Phan Ngoc Tien relaxed slightly. She moved forward clumsily, awkwardly pushing her glasses up again:
-"Um... sorry everyone, I guess I was overthinking."
-"It's okay, better safe than sorry!" Yashu replied cheerfully.
While everyone began to loosen up, I quietly observed the plate of food right in front of me. A sudden chill raced down my back: even though it was just an ordinary salad, the arrangement was sickeningly intricate - it depicted the image of a man being brutally executed. The dark red vegetable shreds looked like splattered blood.
Xi Yong'an, sitting next to me, had leaned in at some point. He was staring at my plate, whispering: -"Why does your food look so... gruesome?"
I started slightly, trying to maintain my composure to steady myself:
-"I don't know either. It's truly bizarre."
Before long, those around us also noticed the abnormality of my dish. We pretended to be polite, offering it to one another, but in reality, we were finding ways to pass that strange salad around the table so everyone could see it with their own eyes. However, when the plate reached Tu Qinghe and she intended to pass it to Pham Bach Kha, Ky Kha Nhien suddenly shot her a knowing look, her lips curling into a mysterious smile. That gaze made Qinghe freeze, her elegant brows knitting tight with annoyance. But fearing that Butler Li, who was standing nearby, might become suspicious, she suppressed her anger and pushed the plate further along.
Finally, after a "grand tour," the salad shaped like a corpse was left sitting solitary in the middle of the round table. Not a single person dared to touch it.
To break the stifling tension, I took the initiative to pick up a piece of bright orange salmon and put it in my mouth. Immediately, an exquisite flavor exploded, melting on the tip of my tongue. It wasn't just visually sophisticated; the taste was truly top-tier, like a dish from a five-star restaurant. As I chewed, I felt a cold current of electricity run down my spine: Could a feast this lavish and delicious truly have been prepared in just a few short minutes by a single, lonely butler?