Chapter 305
Chapter 305
“Incomplete?” Qin Nan was surprised again.
Now that he knew the stone statue was incomplete, Qin Nan examined it with the appearance of a Sibuxiang in mind and gradually began to see the resemblance.
“This Sibuxiang has lost the antlers on its head, its eyes have been gouged out, and all four of its limbs have been bound, curling its body into a ball. The pain twisted its expression into a snarl, and that is how it ended up looking like this,” Brother Zhao explained in considerable detail.
His explanation left the others with complicated feelings.
“But don’t people usually put stone lions outside their doors? Why place an incomplete Sibuxiang there instead?” Qin Nan pressed.
Brother Zhao laughed. “Who knows? You’ll have to ask Squire Xie. He’s the one who likes them, after all.”
With that, Brother Zhao stopped paying attention to Qin Nan and turned toward Squire Xie.
Qin Nan could only follow him for the time being.
Brother Zhao had already reached Squire Xie.
“Congratulations on this joyous occasion, Squire Xie. May you soon be blessed with a big, healthy grandson,” Brother Zhao said with a genial smile, repeating exactly what he had said before.
“You’re too kind, too kind.” Squire Xie smiled like a statue of Maitreya Buddha.
Brother Zhao laughed and introduced Qin Nan’s group. “Squire Xie, these guests arrived unexpectedly at my home today. I brought them along to share in the celebration.”
Squire Xie’s smile immediately widened. “Good, good, good, good.”
As he spoke, he sized up Qin Nan and the others. He looked exactly as he had yesterday, without the slightest change in expression. When he finished surveying them, his gaze landed on Jian Fan, and he smiled. “He looks good enough, though his body is a little frail. Still, being frail doesn’t matter. That face makes up for it. It all depends on whether she likes him.”
Everyone froze upon hearing that.
Those words seemed different from yesterday’s.
Squire Xie noticed nothing. His gaze had already moved to Lu Jing. “Oh, this one has a fine body. A good build, very good. He’s decent-looking enough–nothing outstanding, nothing lacking. Hm… do you know martial arts? If you’re skilled, you might be acceptable too.”
Everyone’s gaze promptly shifted to Lu Jing.
Squire Xie’s words gave Qin Nan a rough theory.
Yesterday had been the first time, with no preceding events to influence anything. Squire Xie had chosen Jian Fan and Lin Junruo, perhaps purely for their looks. Afterward, they had interacted with Miss Xie. Lu Jing had gained the highest Favorability yesterday, followed by Jian Fan. So when the day repeated, those existing Favorability scores had led Squire Xie to focus on Jian Fan and Lu Jing instead.
In other words, although events repeated, what happened in one cycle could still affect the next.
While Qin Nan pondered this, Squire Xie finished examining them and said warmly, “You have all traveled a long way. Meeting like this must be fate, so be sure to eat and drink your fill today. Don’t stand on ceremony with me. And this young gentleman–if you need anything at all, simply ask.”
His words were the same as yesterday, except that their target had changed from Lin Junruo to Lu Jing.
Lu Jing forced a numb, awkward smile.
He had no idea why it was his turn. He was clearly weak, helpless, and pitiful.
Squire Xie had wanted to say more, but other guests arrived, so he reluctantly let them go.
Brother Zhao led Qin Nan’s group into the courtyard.
As he had yesterday, Brother Zhao took them to the same table. Since it could not seat everyone, he went to the neighboring table with his wife and daughter.
The moment the group sat down, the familiar scene from yesterday began playing out again.
Brother Zhao soon struck up a conversation with the people at his table.
“Old Zhao, you’ve done well this time. These ones are good quality. I spotted them at the entrance just now, and Squire Xie certainly seemed to like them. Your good days are about to begin.”
“…”
Qin Nan listened carefully at first, but once he realized the conversation was completely identical, without a single change, he lost interest.
He leaned closer to Jian Fan and lowered his voice. “What do we do next?”
There was little doubt that everything was repeating. Of course, that was no longer the most important issue. What mattered now was how they could find clues in this perilous den of ghosts.
Jian Fan glanced at Qin Nan, then turned to Qin Weiyi. “We’ll act during the toasts.”
The bride should be arriving to collect the groom next. Jian Fan wanted to see who the groom was this time and whether it was still Fang Kang. Once they confirmed that, they would look for a chance to leave. The revelry would not begin until after the toasts, which meant they could use that period to search for clues. And once the toasts ended…
They would have to find rooms to hide in as quickly as possible. That way, when the ghosts came looking, they could use an item to keep the entire group safe.
Qin Weiyi had no objection.
“All right,” he said.
With both Jian Fan and Qin Weiyi in agreement, no one else had any objections.
As for whether the people outside their team agreed, that was for Jian Fan and the others to consider. Anyone unwilling to follow along was free to act alone.
Once the discussion ended, the table fell silent again.
Qin Nan was not the only one listening to the conversations at the nearby tables. Everyone was trying to pick out some useful hint.
Unfortunately, the surrounding guests talked only about trivial matters that yielded no clues. Although the group had not listened closely the day before, they could more or less confirm that these conversations were probably identical too. It was not just Brother Zhao. Every NPC was repeating the same words.
How could they possibly obtain any clues like this?
Qin Nan was beginning to worry when he met Jian Fan’s gaze.
Qin Nan blinked.
Why are you looking at me? His face was full of confusion.
Jian Fan merely watched him in silence, flicking his gaze toward the nearby NPCs at most.
Qin Nan understood at once.
“Me again?” he asked helplessly.
Jian Fan looked at him without answering.
“Fine, I get it,” Qin Nan said in resignation.
Of everyone in their group, he seemed to be the only one skilled at socializing. No, that was not quite true. There was Zhou Jingying now as well. But she was not part of their team, so Jian Fan still preferred to have Qin Nan talk to the NPCs and try to draw out more clues.
What could Qin Nan do when Jian Fan entrusted him with such an important task? He could only do his best.
He noticed some nearby guests discussing the groom, voicing their curiosity about the man and mentioning Miss Xie’s previous husbands. Qin Nan immediately leaned over and joined the conversation.