Qian Chang: "Are we staying here?"
"yes."
Shekh knocked on the courtyard gate, and a light came on on the first floor of the small building. A voice inside called out, "Coming!" The gate opened, and a woman in her forties carrying an oil lamp hurried in.
The woman wore black cloth shoes and loose-fitting trousers of the same color. Her upper body was covered by a simple blue stand-up collar short jacket with flared, cylindrical sleeves that reached her forearms. When she raised the candlestick, the sleeves slipped down, giving the impression of being cool and comfortable.
"You're here."
The woman smiled and opened the door, nodding to the group. "Just call me Aunt Qu. I've tidied up the room; you can move in right away."
The good students all greeted her, saying, "Thank you, Aunt Qu."
"Come in quickly, everyone come in quickly." Aunt Qu was very kind. She stood guard at the gate and watched everyone enter the courtyard before closing the gate.
Shi Jinzhe was the last to enter. He noticed that Aunt Qu's lips were moving, as if she was reciting something. Unfortunately, the movement of her lips was too small, and he could not repeat it by imitating her lip movements.
Upon entering the small building, one should frequently look around at the surrounding environment.
The exquisitely carved staircase, faded and dusty, the wooden decorations that blend Chinese and Western styles, and the slightly brownish off-white walls all indicate that the oxidation process has been going on for quite some time, making it highly likely that this is a genuine Western-style building from the Republican era.
Aunt Qu took out several keys from the drawer by the door. "You can stay on the first or second floor. There are 16 rooms in total, 9 upstairs and 7 downstairs. I'll stay in room 101, the leftmost room on the first floor. You can take care of the other rooms yourselves."
Jiang Xiaowan adopted a well-behaved girl's demeanor and inquired, "Sister Qu, are there any rooms in this building that are absolutely off-limits?"
Aunt Qu waved her hand and said everyone could come in, then left the living room and disappeared.
After watching the person leave, the group began to divide up the rooms.
Qian Chang was still figuring out how to share a room with Huang Yingzong or Fu Guan when the plot suddenly revealed the outcome for him.
Picking up the key to room 202, he grinned and said, "You guys are too fussy. I'll live here by myself and have some peace and quiet."
...
Qian Chang closed his eyes: Damn it, what a stupid plot, I might as well just kill him.
No one paid attention to his pain, and the others "voluntarily" took the keys, resulting in all nine people living on the second floor.
Under Lin Shu's "You dare?" gaze, Huang Yingzong took the key to room 201 from her hand and was forced to share a room with her.
Qian Chang lives alone in 202, Fu Guan lives alone in 203, and Ye Zhan, as the youngest "good child", is protected by her older brothers and sisters and lives in the middle of 204.
Jiang Xiaowan and Yao Shu shared a room in 205, Shi Jinzhe lived in 206, and Shehe's room was next to his, in 207.
As the clock struck eight, Fu Guan, in his old-school playboy persona, asked Shehe, "Teacher, what are we having for dinner tonight? Will you cook for us? You look like you're a great cook."
Shekh remained calm: "No, the food is behind you."
Fu Guan turned around upon hearing this, and there was Aunt Qu behind him, holding a small iron pot in both hands.
She stood silently in the shadows where the light didn't reach, without making a sound.
As a seasoned player, Fu Guan wasn't easily intimidated by such a small trick. He smiled calmly, saw that the pot wasn't steaming and contained mung bean soup with ice cubes floating inside, reached out and took the pot from Aunt Qu's hand, and said gently, "Let me take it for you."
The next moment, the scalding hot iron pot instantly burned his hand bright red.
Fu Guan flicked his wrist, spilling a few drops of mung bean soup. The scalding hot pot felt like a branding iron, and the burning pain pierced through his skin with a hissing sound, turning his flesh red.
Jiang Xiaowan and Qian Chang, who were closest to him, were terrified that he would drop the pot and anger Aunt Qu, who knew nothing about his background.
Qian Chang lifted the hem of his clothes to help him take it, but Fu Guan tensed his arms, strode forward, and painfully placed the pot on the table so smoothly that there wasn't even a loud thud.
After putting it down, he smiled at Aunt Qu as if nothing had happened and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard work. It's hot outside, so have some chilled mung bean water."
"We'll drink after a short rest. We just came in from outside and need to catch our breath. Everyone is still growing, so we need to be more careful."
"Ah, that's true." Aunt Qu's smile remained unchanged. "Then I'll go get you some other things."
"Thank you, Aunt Qu." Fu Guan casually straightened his clothes, glancing down at Aunt Qu's hands.
There wasn't a single burn mark on her palm; Aunt Qu was definitely not a normal person.
After she left, Fu Guan gasped for breath. His fingertip, where the skin had been burned off, revealed bloody flesh stuck to the dried skin, which he couldn't peel off.
Qian Chang couldn't help but purse his lips downwards: "You're really good at holding back."
Fu Guan shook his head, not wanting to speak. This was the level of soothing he had achieved with the Magician's Holy Grail; without the skill, his hand would have been scalded.
No one dared to drink such a dangerous pot of mung bean soup, but footsteps echoed down the corridor again, and Aunt Qu carried a tray, placing eight dishes on the table in two separate servings.
This time, no one was so bored as to accept the invitation; everyone sat quietly around the table.
After setting out the food, Aunt Qu sat down in the main seat and said, "Everyone, please eat quickly. This is the time when you are growing, so you should eat more."
...
Who would dare eat that?
Fu Guan deliberately sat down in the seat next to him, his eyes gesturing, "Brother, help me out."
The golden leaf that Shi Jin gave him was defensive in nature. Although it had a healing effect, he was reluctant to use it. For such a minor injury, he didn't want to waste the item on the person in question.
When the time is up, fold and push the paper strip past. [Try it.]
Aunt Qu is here, so we have to eat this dish whether we like it or not. There has to be someone who's the first to try it.
Fu Guanzai: [After-sales service.]
You can try it, but you must save his life.
Put a checkmark to indicate agreement.
Invisible golden threads wrapped around Fu Guanzai's wrist. Instead of immediately healing his injured finger, Shi Jinzhe first reduced his perception of pain.
Shekh spoke to Aunt Qu in a casual manner, responding with "uh-huh" and "oh" in turn. During this time, a golden thread wrapped around her wrist.
Why aren't you eating?
Aunt Qu stood up to pick up some food. The crisp green leafy vegetables softened after being blanched in hot water, and after being tossed with chili oil, they were limp and picked up by chopsticks, with oil still clinging to the drooping ends.
She held the chopsticks of green vegetables, hovering them on the table, but didn't put them in her own bowl. Her gaze wandered over Shi Jinzhe.
A white ceramic bowl reached out on its own.
"Did Sister Qu make all these dishes herself? They look delicious."
Fu Guan earned everyone's respect by holding the bowl with his blood-stained fingers; he was a true warrior.
Aunt Qu's hand shifted direction: "Yes, try my cooking."
Fu Guan acknowledged the order, then noticed a slight warmth on his wrist and put the food in his mouth.
"Hmm?" The taste is actually quite good?
Fu Guan, without any discomfort, picked up another piece of leafy greens and ate it with the help of Shi Jinzhe.
"It's delicious, a bit like oyster sauce lettuce, but crisper. Sister Qu, what kind of dish is this?"
Aunt Qu replied, "It's just ordinary wild vegetables, you eat them too?"
Shi Jinzhe ate the second one, also the spicy wild vegetable salad, which tasted delicious and was fine.
Seeing that they had both eaten, everyone started picking at the food, and the plate of wild vegetables was quickly devoured.
After finishing the vegetables, Shi Jinzhe was the first to put down his chopsticks and write a note to Aunt Qu: [My throat is injured, so I can't eat meat. I'm sorry, but thank you for your hospitality, Aunt Qu.]
Aunt Qu kindly said it was alright and told Shi Jinzhe to drink more mung bean soup.
Fu Guan was the second to put down his chopsticks, saying that the food was delicious, but his hand was a little uncomfortable, and he would drink more soup instead.
Qian Chang picked up a piece of meat and suddenly heard Shehe ask Aunt Qu, "Where did you pick these wild vegetables? They're going to do some field research tomorrow and want to pick some to bring back."
"This is easy to find." Aunt Qu covered her mouth, as if she were telling a little secret. "Look for those small mounds of earth, about waist-high, around my waist. This kind of wild vegetable grows on those mounds. The denser the mounds, the better it grows."
Qian Chang suddenly froze.
This description... isn't it just like grass on a grave?
Aunt Qu was still saying, "If you like it, pick more. I love eating this too."
Shekh: "Make another one, there's not enough for everyone."
"Okay." Aunt Qu stood up happily and walked towards the kitchen.
Qian Chang immediately put down his chopsticks, covered his face with his hands, and said, "It's over. I never thought I would end up eating grass on my grave. What am I going to do?"
"It's cold." Fu Guan said, taking a sip of mung bean soup. "Since everyone's eating it, we'll all die together."
Qian Chang: "You still dare to drink this soup?"
“What’s there to be afraid of? Aren’t these two drinking too?” Fu Guan asked Zhe and Shehe when he was in court.
Shi Jinzhe glanced at Shehe, his eyes pleading, "I'm mute, you have to speak for me."
It was he who asked Sheh to interrupt Qian Chang's eating of meat. In this instance, the survival mode is worth 50 points, and the puzzle-solving mode is only worth 15 points. It's a survival mode for nine people. It's not about players competing for rankings, but about monsters chasing them. So, having more survivors makes it easier to spread the risk.
There's a big difference between a hundred people chasing nine and a hundred people chasing one.
Moreover, Shi Jinzhe has another concern: in order to drive readers' emotions, horror stories usually use bizarre and tragic deaths to advance the story. If they want to save themselves, they must avoid any details that could trigger a chain reaction.
If anyone at the table eats this piece of meat and something happens that night, the group of teenagers will definitely start arguing and panicking the next day.
What if there's a scenario where someone gets separated and becomes alone, and then gets replaced by a ghost or monster? Wouldn't that just make things harder for themselves?
They will not only have to solve puzzles and escape, but also play Werewolf.
Shi Jinzhe winked at Sheh again.
"It can refresh the mind."
Sheikh was concise and to the point, acting as a heartless messenger for him.
When she drank the mung bean soup, she saw the golden threads brighten for a moment, and then a very warm current flowed into her body, eliminating her fatigue and invigorating the snake.
She said, "I suggest you have a bowl too."
Without thinking too much, Yao Shu poured herself a bowl of water. The moment she drank it, the chill dissipated slightly. She exclaimed in surprise, "It really does refresh me!"
She drank a whole bowl, then went to get a second bowl. Suddenly, she noticed that all the meat dishes on the table had changed.
On the plate of chicken pieces lay a large rooster with a blood-red comb; in the bowl of diced meat was a snow-white rabbit; the stew pot was empty, but behind Qian Chang stood a tall bear…
Yao Shu suddenly realized why the three of them had all found excuses to stop eating after finishing the grass on the grave.
Could all these meat dishes have become sentient?
I'm going to eat this...
She remembered the story Qian Chang had told her in the tower about the fox taking revenge on the hunters; those animals would have eaten her alive.
Yao Shu looked up and said, "Thank you, teacher."
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