The Hai family mansion.

It was difficult for Lu Ban to describe how a building could have such a gloomy feeling.

The two red lanterns that were always lit at the gate emitted a faint glow, giving the gate a slightly bloody color. Lu Ban and Trist followed the servant, who walked very lightly and silently, which was why he was able to appear silently behind them before.

Under the light of the lantern, Lu Ban could only see the other person's thin shadow, just like the afterimage left by light penetrating through a piece of paper.

In this kind of mansion, there is usually a small door on one side of the main gate.

They entered the Hai family mansion through a small door.

"The master has ordered that you two are our important guests. He would like to invite you to rest at home tonight."

The servant's voice also sounded somewhat unreal, as if it came from a jar.

When entering the mansion, the first thing that catches your eye is some decorative trees.

However, these trees do not look like welcoming pines or trees of wealth. Instead, they are crooked, with sparse branches and leaves, and it seems that no one has taken care of them for a long time.

There seemed to be traces of ropes wrapped around the branches, which had hurt the bark, as if someone had hanged himself there.

The road was a little damp, and it felt like soft sand when he stepped on it. Lu Ban lifted his foot to take a look. It clearly hadn't rained, but the ground was wet and covered with water marks.

"Have you cleaned up today?"

Lu Ban asked immediately.

"The wedding is coming up soon, and the whole family is very busy."

The servant replied without explaining.

But contrary to what he said, Lu Ban and Trist did not see any other servants.

As dusk fell, only scattered red lanterns illuminated the road in the mansion. Apart from that, the mansion was empty and did not look like any living person lived there.

Lu Ban looked towards the roadside, searching for traces of the seal that the Black Queen Mother had mentioned.

Soon, with almost no effort, Lu Ban saw the thing.

It's really conspicuous.

In the center of the mansion, in the center of a pond, there is a tower.

It was a tower whose specific architectural style Lu Ban could not tell. Counting from the bottom to the top, it had six floors in total, and the height of each floor was no more than one meter. It was completely black, with some words carved on the surface. Chains were wrapped around the tower and connected to the surrounding trees. It looked very unlucky at first glance.

"What's that tower?"

Obviously, Tristram had the same idea as Lu Ban, so he asked.

"The mansion is huge, be careful not to get lost."

The servants avoided the question again.

Just as Trist turned his gaze back to the front, he suddenly saw that next to the tower in the middle of the lake, there seemed to be a woman in a red wedding dress standing.

In the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared again, leaving only the lonely tower standing in the desolate courtyard.

The servants carried the two people to a separate courtyard.

From a distance, they could see the dim lights on in the villa. Lu Ban and Trist walked into the courtyard and saw two people sitting in the house with a Chinese-style layout.

There is a painting hanging on the wall facing the gate. It is not a traditional painting of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds, but a painting of the sea.

However, the sea was extremely rough, and among the waves, there were some creatures that Lu Kan had never seen before. They capsized boats, attacked humans, and surrounded the two twisting people in the center of the picture. It felt indescribably strange.

As for the two people sitting on the chairs, it was even stranger.

The one on the left is an elderly man. His face is paler than paper, but his lips are very red. He looks unnaturally sickly and more like a dead person than a servant.

On the right is a middle-aged woman. Her makeup is almost the same as the man's, the only difference is her eyes. The man's pupils are pitch black, while the woman's eyes are amber and cloudy.

The two of them gave people the feeling that they were like paper figures used in worship that had come to life. Just one look at them made people feel very uncomfortable.

It was as if some monster had forcibly disguised itself as a human.

"You two, thank you for coming all the way here."

The man spoke, his voice weak, like a dying patient.

"I'm Haiwei, and this is my wife."

He introduced it.

Lu Ban and Trist also introduced themselves. Before Haiwei could continue speaking, Lu Ban suddenly raised his hand.

"Master Hai, look, my friend and I went to the beach to play during the day, and we haven't had dinner yet. Have you prepared dinner?"

"?"

Drizzt was a little slow to react.

Haiwei and Mrs. Hai's movements also froze.

The two hesitated for a moment before looking at each other and calling for the servants.

“Prepare the meal.”

"Very good!"

Lu Ban smiled brightly, as if a stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground.

The servant brought in a table and chairs, and the four of them sat down at the table. After a few pleasantries, the servant brought in the dishes.

Steamed fish, vegetables, meat, rice, crabs, although not particularly rich, but looks very exquisite.

"I'm starving."

Lu Ban picked up the chopsticks and prepared to eat the fish.

Trist picked up the bowl and chopsticks, but did not move.

Because the two members of the Hai family sitting opposite them didn't even have the intention to pick up the chopsticks, they just stared at Lu Ban and Trist.

"It tastes great. The fish from the seaside is really fresh."

Lu Ban ate with relish, totally oblivious to the strange atmosphere around him.

"I heard that Ayu came to see you today?"

Haiwei looked at Lu Ban who was eating and asked in a flat voice.

"Yes, that's right. He took us to the beach. He's a very nice guy."

Lu Ban lied without blushing or beating his heart.

"I know that Ayu is not very happy about this marriage. He likes his sister the most. This is normal, so please don't take it seriously if he says anything."

Although Mrs. Hai's words were polite, her tone lacked emotion, like a heartless parrot.

"We understand. We came here to witness the marriage of the newlyweds. We will definitely not do anything that would harm the wedding."

Lu Ban ate another piece of meat. The texture of this meat was very strange, different from pork, beef, and mutton, but extremely delicious.

"That's good. Our greatest wish is to see our son get married."

Haiwei said in a slow voice.

"We didn't treat you well yesterday. You two should stay in the mansion tonight. The wedding will start tomorrow morning."

"No problem, this house is so magnificent, I really want to take a look around."

Lu Ban continued.

Drizzt, who was standing aside, watched the harmonious conversation between the three people with a grim face. The conversation at the dinner table was indescribably abnormal, but it seemed that he was the only one who noticed the incongruity.

In the end, Trist didn't even pick up his chopsticks.

After the two men finished their meal, they were taken by servants to a secluded courtyard, where they would stay for the night.

Drizzt checked the room. The furniture was exquisitely made and the bedding and sheets seemed new.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Lu Ban sent the servant away and did not return to the yard until the servant disappeared around the corner.

"This situation is a bit strange. Just now..."

Just as Trist was about to communicate with Lu Ban, he saw Lu Ban come to a corner of the yard and bend down.

vomit--

He stimulated his stomach and vomited out everything he had eaten that night.

"Are you okay?"

Trist patted Lu Ban on the shoulder.

"fine."

Lu Ban took a look at his vomit and then said a few words.

"Hai Wei and Madam Hai are not human beings."

"Dinner tonight was terrible."