Chapter 113, Chapter Fourteen: The Lost Manor

After the morning Mass, there are also afternoon and evening Masses.

Mass, which is usually held once a week in most religions, is simply a canteen that serves food three times a day here.

It's similar to a cafeteria; you can go, you can skip it, and you can leave midway through your visit—it's very flexible.

Five hours had passed between the morning and afternoon Masses. Dean's knee had recovered, and the group took advantage of this interval to tentatively explore the area outside.

No one stopped them; the golden-armored knights from the morning had vanished without a trace. Li Yufei strongly suspected that beneath those glittering rose armor were nothing more than powerful giant ants.

Thankfully it's a cartoon; although it's more bizarre, it's not as disgusting as real insects.

“Then Feifei and I will go to the western edge to take a look,” Cheng Yuzhou said, “you guys go to the eastern side.”

Song Xiaona objected, “You and Dean are professional partners, and Yufei and I have known each other for over twenty years. It’s better to pair up with people you’re familiar with.”

“How could couples not be familiar with each other?” Cheng Yuzhou said. “Besides, it’s not safe for two girls to be together.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Song Xiaona glanced at Li Yufei. “Dean is probably not as strong as her.”

Dean was unhappy. "Darling, am I that insignificant in your eyes?"

“Even if what you say makes sense, Miss Song, you yourself know what your relationship has been like over the years,” Cheng Yuzhou said calmly. “I apologize, but please understand that during such a special time, I dare not let Feifei take the slightest risk.”

"Hey, what do you mean by 'that makes sense', Zheng Jianbin? We train together every day, you know my strength." No matter what, he couldn't possibly be weaker than a delicate girl.

Song Xiaona chuckled, "Isn't it a bit too late to worry now?" Now you think she'll harm Li Yufei? What were you doing before?

"There's no point in arguing with you. I respect Feifei's opinion," Cheng Yuzhou said gently. "Feifei, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Li Yufei raised her eyebrows and scrutinized the two of them. "I think there's something going on between you two!"

Song Xiaona: ?

Cheng Yuzhou: ?

"Look! You two react the same way." Li Yufei pointed at them. "I've felt something was off since yesterday. It's like you two are a couple. Zheng Jianbin, what's wrong with you? Why can't I get a word in edgewise when you're talking to Song Xiaona? It's like you two have known each other for a long time. Honestly, have you been seeing each other behind my back?"

Song Xiaona spoke solemnly: "Li Yufei, are you sick?"

“You’re feeling guilty,” Li Yufei said.

Song Xiaona always pretends to be innocent in front of men, but now she's directly scolding her; she's not even pretending anymore.

Song Xiaona sighed, "What kind of illness could make you say something like that under these circumstances?"

"I've already told you, watch your words." Cheng Yuzhou said coldly, then turned to Li Yufei and said, "Feifei, I'm sorry, I won't talk to her anymore."

"You'd better be." Li Yufei felt a little annoyed.

"Uh, do I even have the right to speak?" Dean said humbly. "When you speak and act, can you at least consider my feelings as Xiaona's boyfriend?"

"Then you'd better take your girlfriend away right now. Keep her on a leash and don't let her appear in front of me again!"

Li Yufei took Cheng Yuzhou's arm. "Let's go."

"Li Yufei!" Song Xiaona called out to her.

She turned around and saw Song Xiaona with a furrowed brow. "Come with me, I have something to tell you."

"What did you say?"

“You…” Song Xiaona opened her mouth, but was suddenly interrupted by Cheng Yuzhou, “Miss Song, you can say what you have to say now.”

Song Xiaona stared at Cheng Yuzhou, and in the instant their eyes met, she vaguely glimpsed a strange light in the man's unfathomable black eyes.

The strange light captivated her, making it impossible for her to look away.

Li Yufei then saw Song Xiaona murmur, "It's nothing...you can go now."

"This is ridiculous." She grabbed Cheng Yuzhou. "Let's go. What are you looking at? Why are you looking at her? I just said I wouldn't talk to her anymore, and now I have!"

Cheng Yuzhou withdrew his gaze and left with Li Yufei, saying, "I'm sorry, Feifei, I know I was wrong."

"I don't believe you for a second. You always say one thing and do another."

After the two had walked a distance, Dean asked cautiously, "Xiaona, shall we go too?"

"Xiaona?"

Only after Dean touched her did Song Xiaona react. She hummed in response and turned to walk to the other side.

She took two steps and then suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked.

Song Xiaona frowned and looked back.

Why did she let Li Yufei leave?

Zheng Jianbin's behavior was abnormal. She clearly wanted to remind Li Yufei, so why did she let her walk away from Zheng Jianbin alone?

Li Yufei had already grabbed Cheng Yuzhou and left. After walking for half an hour, the feeling of hunger burned from her stomach up to her esophagus.

Having not slept all night and not eaten breakfast, they walked through the town and smelled a delicious aroma.

It wasn't the time to eat, so Li Yufei glanced at the shop and continued walking.

"Feifei," Cheng Yuzhou called out to her, "Let's eat something before we go."

Upon hearing this, the shop assistants immediately came out to greet the customer.

Li Yufei was startled and quickly pulled Cheng Yuzhou aside, lowering her voice to scold him: "Are you crazy? In such a strange place, you dare to eat anything?"

Cheng Yuzhou also lowered his voice, reminding her to be careful with her words: "It's the 'special' part."

In the world of supernatural tales, everyone must abide by the rules, and even lords are no exception. Not being able to give Li Yufei special treatment was a major headache for Cheng Yuzhou.

He had collected a lot of energy, enough to resist the rules a few times, but there were times when Li Yufei was not in his sight. If she accidentally said something inappropriate when he couldn't see her, it would be troublesome. He still needed to make her pay more attention to it.

“Okay, okay, special,” Li Yufei said. “I don’t even know what happened to the bread you ate. Although the cooks here aren’t ants, have you forgotten how strange they were this morning? They kept saying things like ‘home is where the goddess is.’ The staff here are definitely in cahoots, not much better than ants.”

She concluded, "If I don't eat it, you're not allowed to eat it either."

Cheng Yuzhou asked, "But what if we can't escape in a day or two?"

"Don't jinx it, we'll definitely be out soon!"

Cheng Yuzhou frowned slightly and looked away.

Li Yufei was very familiar with this look. Every time Cheng Yuzhou disagreed with her, although she obeyed, she would show this troubled expression.

Cheng Yuzhou...

She's really gone mad. Since returning to the manor, she's been constantly comparing Zheng Jianbin and Cheng Yuzhou, and now she actually thinks Zheng Jianbin is becoming more and more like Cheng Yuzhou.

how so?

She's not some idiotic male lead in a soap opera who goes insane after driving the female lead away and sees everyone as if they're the female lead.

"Stop thinking about it," Li Yufei warned herself. She wasn't the type to get entangled in complicated situations.

“Feifei,” Cheng Yuzhou argued, “we don’t know what will happen next. Just scouting the terrain will take a long time. If you don’t eat anything, you won’t be able to hold on.”

"What's the big deal about missing a meal or two? Stop talking nonsense and let's go."

Li Yufei was a little annoyed that she had mistaken Zheng Jianbin for Cheng Yuzhou, making it seem as if she had deep feelings for Cheng Yuzhou.

When Cheng Yuzhou was alive, she tormented him relentlessly; now that he's dead, what kind of attitude is this?

Cheng Yuzhou remained silent for a moment before following.

He put his hand in his pocket, and after a while, took out a protein bar.

"Feifei, have this. I brought it myself." He handed it to her.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Li Yufei looked at him in surprise. "Wait, you have food, why are you going to eat that bread?"

“This is the only one left,” Cheng Yuzhou said. “The others may not have any food, and I wanted to demonstrate it to them.”

"Mind your own business." Li Yufei tore open the package and held it to his lips. "Just take care of yourself. What do they have to do with you? Do you expect me to risk my life to demonstrate?"

Cheng Yuzhou was stunned for a moment when he saw the protein bar being brought to his mouth.

“You’ve already eaten, so I’ll just give you a bite,” Li Yufei explained. “The rest is mine.”

But this is only about the size of three or four bites.

She had just said to take care of herself and not worry about others.

Because Zheng Jianbin isn't her "other person"...

“I’ve already eaten,” Cheng Yuzhou shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

Li Yufei raised an eyebrow. "Is it really necessary? Are you trying to make me a tragic character?"

Unless he's at his wit's end, why is he acting like a poor mother giving her last bite of food to her child?

Li Yufei gripped the middle of the protein bar tightly. "I was worried you'd bite it off and pull the whole thing away. That's not like you at all."

Is this how that person interacted with Li Yufei?

Cheng Yuzhou changed his mind, revealing a smile that showed he had been exposed, "Okay, then I'll take a bite."

He bent down and took a small bite out of the protein bar.

"Pfft, Zheng Jianbin, how can someone with that gluttonous mouth be so refined?" Li Yufei laughed as she looked at the delicate little horn. "This is the last bite, so don't regret it."

The person who eats noodles from a bowl must have only eaten one piece of bread in the morning; they'll definitely be hungry later.

Who cares? She was still hungry. She only shared a bite with him because he had offered up the last bit of food.

Li Yufei took the rest away, and Cheng Yuzhou's pupils contracted slightly as he saw her put the spot he had bitten into her mouth.

Rose-colored lips touched his teeth marks, and he hurriedly looked away, hearing a crisp "snap" sound.

The soft crunching sounds of chewing, the subtle friction of lips and teeth against each other, seemed to penetrate Cheng Yuzhou's ears.

How long has it been since they last shared the same food... ten years? Thirteen years?

So much time had passed that Cheng Yuzhou could hardly remember, but his last impression of Li Yufei was of her sitting in a high-class restaurant, always looking melancholy.

Every meal after she became an adult was one where she was forced to sit in front of him.

She didn't like it, so he canceled the meals to minimize their contact.

She doesn't need to eat with him, she doesn't need to talk to him, she just needs to let him see her.

He just wanted to see her.

Cheng Yuzhou held the checkbook as if it were a seven-colored flower that could grant wishes; he could tear off a check and wish to see Li Yufei.

Those were the two happiest years of Cheng Yuzhou's life since adulthood. He happily struck match after match, and each time, Li Yufei would arrive as expected.

It was as if his offerings had moved the gods, and the gods had appeared to him.

He became obsessed with this game, completely addicted, and couldn't help but tear more and more pieces, becoming increasingly anxious as he tore.

As the petals gathered and his sincerity became more and more apparent, Li Yufei's gaze fell upon him more and more.

She added his contact information and took the initiative to talk to him again.

It's unbelievable, like a dream.

If he is devout enough, perhaps she will still love him, love him deeply, like Cheng Yandong loved Fang Yuzhou.

Everyone praised Cheng Yandong's love, saying it was the ultimate expression of deep affection.

Cheng Yuzhou didn't understand that kind of love until he was persuaded by Li Yufei when he was young.

She's right. What's wrong isn't Cheng Yandong's relationship, but the way he handles it.

The soul cannot be imprisoned by violence. His selfish and foolish father would never realize this, only caring about himself, which is why his mother left him.

He wouldn't make that mistake. She once said, "You have to treat me well for me to truly love you."

This is a matter of course, a normal and reasonable logic. He will strictly follow this logic.

But if Li Yufei is willing to love him, then it doesn't matter how she does it. Whether she is gentle or rough, it doesn't matter. As long as it's her, he will be grateful.

“There’s nothing special about this place,” Li Yufei, who was walking ahead, said, bringing Cheng Yuzhou back to his senses.

They had already passed through the town and reached its outermost edge.

The land is nestled between mountains and a river. The side that Song Xiaona and Dean explored is next to the river, while Li Yufei's side is hilly with low, dense forests that provide the manor with fresh and pleasant air.

The two traveled counter-clockwise from north to south, surveying the entire western region. At the southernmost point, where the mountains and rivers meet, lies a road leading to the outside world, which was also the route the bus had taken.

The asphalt road is flat and wide; you can get out by walking straight ahead.

"Let's go," Li Yufei said.

There's no car, but it's only a few kilometers; I can get there eventually by walking.

There were many people on this road, and they all shared the same idea as Li Yufei: to try to walk out on their own two feet.

Cheng Yuzhou scanned the people on the road; there were sixty-five tourists, more than half of whom were here.

Li Yufei touched her earlobes.

The earrings are still there, the phone is still there, the rest doesn't matter.

She took a step and walked out with the other tourists. After walking for a while, she saw Song Xiaona and Dean in the distance.

They arrived here first, about a hundred meters ahead of us.

“Look,” Li Yufei muttered to Cheng Yuzhou, pointing at Song Xiaona’s back, “I told you she would definitely abandon us and run away without a word.”

Objectively, without internet access, Song Xiaona had no way to contact Li Yufei and notify her to join them.

But Cheng Yuzhou nodded, "You're right, she has a bad heart."

Only in the cold of winter can the true character of Song Xiaona be revealed.

Li Yufei was satisfied that her boyfriend had finally seen through Song Xiaona and stopped siding with outsiders.

After walking quite a distance, Li Yufei's feet started to hurt.

She wore comfortable and convenient chunky heels when she went out, but she still couldn't stand walking for three hours.

She stopped to check if her skin was chafed. Cheng Yuzhou squatted down in front of her. "There's still a long way to go, Feifei, I'll carry you."

Li Yufei hesitated, "Can you handle it?"

"Give it a try. I'll tell you when I'm out of energy."

Li Yufei climbed onto his back. "Okay, sure."

It was nearly noon, and the sun was shining brightly. After walking for so long, she was already sweating. She thought Cheng Yuzhou would also be covered in sweat, but to her surprise, he was cool and refreshed.

She nestled against his neck, and the familiar, cool scent of roses seemed a little stronger.

Why does Zheng Jianbin have the same fragrance that Cheng Yuzhou usually uses?

This isn't a perfume sold in bulk outside. She had asked before, and Cheng Yuzhou said it was his custom-made shampoo and shower gel.

The castle didn't provide detergent with that smell, so where did Zheng Jianbin get it from?

She seemed to have already thought about this question, and he had answered her back then... what was his answer again...?

She didn't remember, and it wasn't important. What was important was why she suddenly thought of Cheng Yuzhou when she saw Zheng Jianbin.

How annoying, what is she thinking? Li Yufei hates this indecisiveness.

The two walked at a leisurely pace. The road was about three kilometers long, and after walking two-thirds of it, many people slowed down.

"Do you want to take a break?" Li Yufei asked, tilting her head.

Her breath brushed against the side of his neck, and Cheng Yuzhou's breath hitched. Before he could speak, someone in the distance suddenly turned back in a panic.

"Go back!" It was a group of young people, their faces ashen, shouting as they ran towards the people on the road, "Go back quickly! There are dead people! Lots of dead people ahead!"

"What?" "What happened?"

Some of the uninformed crowd ran back, while others, like Song Xiaona, sped up and headed towards the exit.

Cheng Yuzhou turned to the side, "Feifei, we also..." "No," Li Yufei said anxiously, "We're already here!"

The exit is right in front of us, we should at least take a look at the situation!

"Let's go back." Cheng Yuzhou didn't want her to see that scene, "in case there's danger."

He's such a coward, sometimes so bold and sometimes so timid. He'd even eat bread, but now he's chickened out.

“Those people might be shills, don’t be fooled by them.” Li Yufei swallowed nervously, then mustered her courage and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go, let’s take a look. If things don’t look good, then we can run.”

"……good."

Cheng Yuzhou knew Li Yufei's personality very well. She was proud as the sun, disdained the opinions of others, and always put herself first. She wouldn't give up until she saw it with her own eyes.

It would be good to go and take a look.

If she was really scared, he would try to help her relax.

Led by Song Xiaona, a few of the bolder individuals continued forward.

They stopped one after another when they were about a kilometer from the exit.

"What...what is that..." "Ugh...ugh!"

After two more S-curves, you'll reach the nearest bus stop.

Before the S-curve, seven or eight private cars overturned and lay upside down, their bodies twisted and dented, parts scattered everywhere, as if they had crashed into an invisible thick wall.

An indescribable stench wafted over, and behind a crumbling car door, half of a blurry human figure was revealed.

Song Xiaona stopped.

Dean's pupils were fixed, and he tremblingly pulled her along, saying, "Xiaona, we..."

Song Xiaona flung his hand away and approached the pile of wrecked cars with a livid face.

As she got closer, she could see what was inside through the car window.

One after another, swollen and blackened corpses.

The inflated human body filled the car seat, with bulging eyes, an everted tongue, and blackened, peeling skin, presenting a state similar to that of a giant.

It was the group that drove away under the cover of night!

They had been gone for less than twelve hours, and died in the dry car, but their bodies looked like they had been drowned and were swollen.

As temperatures rise, the sun shines through car windows, turning these vehicles into ovens that heat up rotting corpses, making one's vision blur and stomach churn with stench.

Why is this happening...?

There's a flat, open road in front of us, so why are these cars acting like they've crashed into a wall?

Even if they crashed into something, why did these people die in such a rotten state?

In the distance, there are not only human corpses.

There were a few sparrows, a stray cat, and many dead insects in the gaps under the car and on the sides.

It was as if some kind of death barrier stood here; taking a step out and touching it meant certain death.

Those who wanted to leave stopped in their tracks, stunned before the wall of corpses, unable to believe or accept the outcome.

Suddenly, a bell rang.

The midday mass has begun.

The tolling of the bells guided them back to the goddess.

Where the goddess reigns, there is eternal light, a safe and peaceful paradise.

Go back immediately.

They must immediately return to the goddess's gaze.