Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Every dish contained ordinary meat.
Xiao Huai glanced down at the bald man. The odds were heavily against his survival.
It seemed they had discovered a forbidden rule: never publicly announce inside the Red Mansion that one came from the Yang Residence.
Xiao Huai did not immediately pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he told the woman in the cheongsam,
“That man downstairs seems to be enjoying his meal. Could you serve me the same dishes sometime?”
The woman’s hands paused as she passed him a bowl and chopsticks. Then she joked with a smile, “Honored guest, you are very amusing. What could be delicious about the flesh of the living dead?”
Xiao Huai captured the crucial information.
The flesh of the living dead.
First, she knew it was human flesh. Second, she called players from the Yang Residence living dead.
“Oh? What makes the flesh of the living dead unappetizing?” Xiao Huai asked.
He was inviting her to continue.
The woman kept arranging the bowls and chopsticks. “It seems you truly want to try it. The Yang Residence should send over a fresh shipment soon. You may leave a name and reserve a portion. Only… our prices may be rather high.”
Xiao Huai’s System Shop had reached Level Three, allowing him to exchange Survival Coins directly for currency used inside the game world.
*Town of the Blind* used silver round coins engraved in braille.
The problem was that they were not cheap. A single coin cost two thousand Survival Coins.
Xiao Huai gave her five. The woman smiled awkwardly. “Honored guest, I fear this may be a little…” Insufficient.
Before she finished, Lu Yuanshi handed her a box.
The box was heavy. When the woman opened the wooden lid and touched the silver coins, delight immediately spread across her face.
Now this was enough.
The box held at least a hundred coins.
Xiao Huai glanced at Lu Yuanshi. He had never noticed the man was so wealthy.
It seemed Lu Yuanshi had been telling the truth when he said he had money.
The woman instantly changed her manner. “May I have your honored surname?”
“Li. My given name is Ming.”
“Master Li, I guarantee you will taste it within a week.”
“Wonderful.”
Thanks to Lu Yuanshi’s vast payment, the woman had even started calling Xiao Huai “Master.”
Lu Yuanshi rested his chin on one hand. His knuckles covered his mouth, but could not hide the amusement in his eyes.
He stared at Xiao Huai. Whenever Xiao Huai lied, he seemed as quick and lively as a sprite.
A natural-born little liar.
“In that case, I’ll return another day.” Xiao Huai rose and extended a hand to Lu Yuanshi. “Let’s go.”
Lu Yuanshi looked up at him. “You’re not eating?”
To be honest, Xiao Huai had lost all appetite for meat.
The woman also asked, “Did our humble establishment fail to suit your tastes?”
Xiao Huai shook his head. “Not at all. I simply lost interest in everything here the moment I learned something even more delicious was coming.”
The woman could not help marveling inwardly. He truly was a connoisseur.
“I have long heard that certain gourmands fast for days before tasting a true delicacy. So it was true.” She smiled. “Your presence brings honor to our humble establishment. We look forward to your next visit.”
“Mm.”
Xiao Huai pulled Lu Yuanshi along and headed downstairs without looking back.
He declined the food partly because he lacked an appetite. The other reason was that the bald man had begun walking toward the door.
Xiao Huai wanted to follow and see what happened to him.
Perhaps he was too focused, because he completely forgot that he had been holding Lu Yuanshi’s hand the entire time.
They had followed the man outside for some time before Xiao Huai returned to himself and realized he was still holding on to Lu Yuanshi.
He immediately released him.
Lu Yuanshi laughed softly and teased, “How did my hand feel?”
“Nothing special.”
“I thought yours felt quite good.”
Xiao Huai did not look at him, but his ears reddened for no apparent reason.
He returned his attention to the bald man. Full from his meal, the man staggered like a drunk.
Within the dense fog, Xiao Huai and Lu Yuanshi kept three meters behind him.
The bald man followed his memory of the way back, but no matter how long he walked, he failed to reach the Yang Residence.
His vision blurred further and further. Scratching his head, he muttered, “What’s going on? Am I lost?”
But through Xiao Huai’s eyes, the bald man had been walking in circles for the past ten minutes.
Even when Xiao Huai and Lu Yuanshi stood directly in front of him, the bald man failed to see them.
Xiao Huai noticed that the light had vanished completely from the man’s eyes. Even his pupils were beginning to resemble the eyes of a corpse.
“Let’s go.”
Xiao Huai lost interest in the bald man and walked ahead.
He was already dead.
In Chinese horror, fog often appeared where the realms of yin and yang stood apart.
If the fog could not cross into the Yang Residence, did that mean a clear boundary separated the estate from the town?
Nor could insects, birds, or beasts enter the Yang Residence.
So which side was yin, and which was yang?
[Ding! Congratulations to Player Xiao Huai for uncovering World Truth I.]
[World Truth I Note: The Yang Residence cannot become part of the town because everyone there is an anomaly.]
Xiao Huai continued walking calmly. By pure accident, he had stumbled upon one of the Side Mission’s world truths.
Yin and yang could never merge into one, just as the Yang Residence could never become part of the town.
Everyone there was an anomaly.
* * *
Neither of them encountered the bald man’s problem. They soon returned to the Yang Residence.
Black clouds pressed over the moon, concealing its only light.
Xiao Huai pushed open the door. He had barely yawned when his stomach began growling.
He was hungry.
Worse, Lu Yuanshi heard his stomach.
And because Xiao Huai had just yawned, a tear still glimmered at the corner of one eye.
It made him look as though hunger had driven him to tears.
Xiao Huai coughed lightly twice and was already preparing to spend money at the System Shop when Lu Yuanshi said, “I have something good to show you. Come with me.”
“What is it?”
Before Xiao Huai finished speaking, Lu Yuanshi took his hand this time.
Lu Yuanshi led him all the way to the kitchen of the Yang Residence.
A sweet fragrance filled the air. The firewood in the stove had almost burned out, though it still crackled from time to time.
Xiao Huai noticed something glowing among the embers. More precisely, it was reflecting the firelight.
Something wrapped in foil sizzled as it roasted.
Had Lu Yuanshi slipped away to the kitchen while Butler Yang was still explaining the household rules?
Lu Yuanshi took a stick and prodded the foil packet from the embers.
“It’s my first time roasting one. Want to try?” Lu Yuanshi blew on it twice as steam rose.
Xiao Huai stared for a long time, his eyes shining.
Lu Yuanshi carefully peeled away the hot foil. Inside was a roasted sweet potato.
He remembered that Xiao Huai liked sweet things.
People said a roasted sweet potato tasted sweet enough to warm the heart.
Lu Yuanshi did not know. He had never tried one. He had merely followed the method described in a book.
In truth, he had misjudged the heat, and the surface was already somewhat charred.
Xiao Huai blew on it twice, hid the burned side, peeled away the skin, and took a bite.
The charring made it slightly bitter.
But a smile touched Xiao Huai’s eyes. “It tastes good.”