Thump, thump—
A guard stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Before long, the door opened a crack, and an old man with a weathered face peered out.
Upon seeing An Ran and the others, he immediately grinned, "Miss is back! Come in, come in! The master was just about to send people out of town to look for you."
The door opened completely, and everyone walked into the courtyard.
"Uncle Chang, these are all my friends. Please have the servants prepare a table of dishes and bring them out, and then clean the guest rooms. I'll go see my father first."
An Ran instructed the old man, then greeted Li Taibai and the others before hurrying away.
Everyone curiously surveyed their surroundings. The courtyard was bare, with a rockery in front and an artificial lake below it, occupying one-third of the courtyard.
Several servants passed by them, expressionless, with vacant eyes, as if they had lost their souls.
"Uncle Chang, why aren't there any flowers or plants in the courtyard?" Zhao Mubai couldn't help but ask curiously.
Uncle Chang lowered his head, a helpless expression on his face, "Before, the courtyard had all sorts of flowers and plants, but ever since about a month ago, all these flowers and plants withered, and even if we plant new ones, they won't survive."
As he spoke, he saw Fang Yuan and the four others squatting by the lake, constantly throwing stones into it.
"Please be careful, four of you, lest you fall in," Uncle Chang hurriedly stopped their actions.
The four patted their hands and stood up, continuing to follow behind Uncle Chang.
Everyone passed through the courtyard and arrived at the main hall.
"Everyone, please have a seat for a while. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare some food to entertain you," Uncle Chang greeted them, then hurried away.
As soon as he left, Fang Yuan immediately whispered, "It's a bit strange here. There's no vitality at all, and no live fish in the lake."
"How about we tear this place down?" Sun Yiyi suggested quietly.
"That Uncle Chang is also strange. The way he looked at us was very odd, like…" Huo Sichun paused mid-sentence, carefully recalling the scene just now.
"Like what?" The others subconsciously asked.
"Like how Zhao Shijie looks at me, that lecherous kind of look."
"You mean a hunter's gaze, not lecherous," Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.
"Senior Brother, is there something here? I keep feeling like someone is watching me," Zhao Mubai and his group also noticed something was off, rubbing their arms vigorously.
"I have that feeling too," Shang Lianxue echoed from the side.
Fang Yuan silently stood up, walked to the offering table, tore down a black and white portrait from it, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into a corner.
"Do you not feel it now?"
"It's true! Senior Brother, you're amazing!" Shang Lianxue showed a look of surprise.
"You flatter me, you flatter me," Fang Yuan cupped his hands, about to sit back down.
From the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of an Old Lady, hunched over, slowly walking towards them with a cane.
Seeing this, everyone turned their heads in unison.
Zhao Mubai quickly stepped forward to help her, "Be careful."
"Oh, good child."
The Old Lady gently patted Zhao Mubai's small hand, a kind smile appearing on her wrinkled face.
The Old Lady glanced at everyone but didn't speak. She sat down by the offering table, holding her cane with both hands, and closed her eyes to rest.
Everyone exchanged glances, wearing strange expressions.
Before long, several maids came over carrying various dishes, placing them one by one on the table.
Fang Yuan casually slapped the maid next to him on the butt.
Slap—
"Oh, Young Master, you…"
The maid flinched, almost dropping a basin of meat she was holding, and looked at Fang Yuan with teary eyes.
"Fang Yuan, are you trying to die?!" Huo Sichun, next to him, glared fiercely at Fang Yuan.
"Hehe, just a habit, a habit, my bad," Fang Yuan chuckled, gently patting his hands.
Just then, a deep voice came, "You may all leave."
Everyone looked towards the source of the voice and saw a plump, sharp-eyed middle-aged man walking towards them, accompanied by An Ran.
"Thank you all for your assistance in saving my beloved daughter. May I ask where you are from and where you are going?"
The middle-aged man cupped his hands towards everyone.
"We are from the Great Tang in the East, and we are going to the Western Heaven to retrieve scriptures," Fang Yuan subconsciously continued the line.
"Pfft… Hahahaha…"
"Ehehe…"
Sun Yiyi and Huo Sichun couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the others also showed expressions of suppressed amusement.
"What are you all laughing at?" The middle-aged man was a bit puzzled.
"Oh, nothing. They have a strange illness that makes them laugh a lot," Fang Yuan blurted out nonsense, then continued, "Presumably, you are the magistrate of Qing Shi Town?"
"Indeed, I am An Qing," the middle-aged man said, then sat down at the head of the table, pointing at the dishes on the table and continuing, "Please eat first, everyone. If it's not to your liking, I will have the servants prepare something new."
"No problem, no problem, then we won't be polite."
Fang Yuan finished speaking, picked up a large piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it into his bowl. The others also raised their chopsticks.
Most of the dishes in front of them were meat-based, looking very appetizing.
Just as everyone was about to start eating, a sudden cough sounded.
"Cough… cough…"
Fang Yuan and the others stopped what they were doing and collectively looked at the Old Lady.
An Ran only then noticed the old woman's presence, and quickly went forward to support her, anxiously saying, "Second Great-Grandmother, why did you come out again? Someone! Help Second Great-Grandmother back to her room."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Old Lady waved her hand, her voice hoarse, "It's too stuffy inside. Second Great-Grandmother will sit here and get some fresh air."
An Qing stepped forward, grabbed the Old Lady, and with a hint of coldness in his voice, shouted, "Someone, take her back to her room."
Two maids rushed in, one on each side, and helped the Old Lady out.
The Old Lady tried to struggle, her calves constantly flailing in mid-air, muttering something in her mouth, wailing non-stop.
Fang Yuan and the others stared blankly at this scene, their mouths twitching slightly.
"Please excuse this, everyone. The old woman is quite stubborn, so we can only use this method to persuade her to return to her room to rest."
An Qing showed an apologetic expression, then pointed at the dishes on the table, smiling, "Please continue, everyone."
This time, Fang Yuan and the others did not pick up their chopsticks. However, Zhao Mubai and the others were a bit hungry and picked up slices of meat to their mouths.
Clang—
The table was suddenly overturned, and all the food on it rolled onto the floor.
"Oh dear, my butt…" Fang Yuan rubbed his butt and stood up, pointing at the broken chair and angrily saying, "An Qing, what is the meaning of this? You use such a rotten chair to entertain guests?"
An Qing was a bit stunned and quickly stood up, "It's my fault. Someone! Get our esteemed guests a new chair and bring another table of dishes."
"No need. We're not hungry. Have them take us back to our rooms," Fang Yuan angrily waved his hand and left without looking back.
The others, seeing this, followed closely behind.
Once everyone left, An Qing's expression suddenly turned gloomy, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Father, look at this mess…" An Ran was a bit at a loss.
An Qing put away the expression on his face, turned around, and put on a smiling face, "Tomorrow, Father will entertain them properly. You go back to your room and rest first."
On the other side, Fang Yuan and the others had just returned to their room and immediately dove under the covers.
"Old Bai, why are you standing there? Come up quickly!" Fang Yuan lifted a corner of the quilt and shouted at Li Taibai.
"You don't need to be like this. I have already set up a barrier; no one outside can hear us," Li Taibai remained unperturbed.
Fang Yuan and the four others were stunned and grumbled as they got out of bed.
"Who started it?"
"Huo Sichun went in first."
"Nonsense! It was clearly Sun Yiyi!"
"Fang Yuan, that idiot, pushed me in!"
"Embarrassing, too embarrassing. I'm ashamed to be associated with you!"
Fang Yuan threw out a sentence, then scurried to bring a chair, sat down, and said, "This dungeon is quite interesting. Everyone, guess who the boss is?"
