Chapter 13: Grade A Yellow, Lotus Lake (2)

Ruyi helped Xu Yiliu return to her quarters to change into fresh clothes, dry her hair, and redo her makeup. Unsure of the rules for this mission, Xu Yiliu refrained from acting rashly and allowed Ruyi to attend to her. Based on past experience, things usually went smoothly as long as one followed the script.

However, the difficulty level of this mission was exceptionally high, yet the number of pollutants was lower than last time. This did not put Xu Yiliu at ease; instead, it made her even more vigilant. There were only six people at the Snow Moon Pavilion, and there happened to be six cleaners for this mission—the connection was hard to ignore. Once her grooming was finished, she hurried out, intent on meeting her colleagues.

To her surprise, two people were already waiting outside. One was as tall as Xu Yiliu, her gaze drifting aimlessly as if lost in thought; the other was much shorter, with a calm expression and large, round eyes that looked dark and somewhat gloomy. Seeing her emerge, the taller one coughed and dismissed the attending maids: "We need to discuss some private matters; you all stay back."

Hearing this, Xu Yiliu realized they were all colleagues, and her smile warmed. The tall girl glanced at the maids and, whether faking it or truly outgoing, took both their hands with forced intimacy. She whispered, "I’m Kong Yueming, and this is Ji Xianxing. Let’s state our names so we can recognize each other."

Xu Yiliu noted their names in her mind, finding them quite symmetrical, and then, struck by a realization, she looked at Ji Xianxing in surprise. Wasn’t this her roommate? Ji Xianxing avoided her gaze. Xu Yiliu caught on and said in a low voice, "I’m Xu Yiliu. This isn’t your first mission, is it?"

"No, this is my second," Kong Yueming replied.

"Second," Ji Xianxing said, looking at her hand being held. "Could you let go of me?"

Kong Yueming slowly released them, smiling, "People say the staff at Snow Moon Pavilion are very close. I was just putting on a show; you don’t mind, do you?"

"I’m not used to it," Ji Xianxing replied.

Kong Yueming looked a bit awkward and turned her attention to Xu Yiliu. Having worked countless part-time jobs, Xu Yiliu naturally understood her intent and stepped in to ease the tension: "Have you seen the others?"

"No," said Kong Yueming. "She and I were staying in the same place and bumped into each other when we came out. It seems we’re paired up in our lodgings; logically, you should have a roommate too."

At the mention of a roommate, Xu Yiliu looked at Ji Xianxing again, but the other girl continued to avoid her eyes, clearly uninterested in getting close.

"Perhaps they had something to attend to and left. I fell into the lake when I arrived," Xu Yiliu said, recounting her experience. "This mission is Grade A, so the pollutants must be difficult. What were your previous mission grades?"

If this were a job interview, this would be their cleaner resume, Xu Yiliu thought, suppressing a smile. Personally, she preferred working alone or in smaller groups to keep the situation under control. But since the mission required more people, there must be a reason for it. Privately, Xu Yiliu harbored the thought of using others to test the waters, though she made sure this intent remained hidden.

Kong Yueming pursed her lips and said, "Grade C."

Ji Xianxing’s answer startled them both: "A."

"I am Grade B," Xu Yiliu said.

Kong Yueming looked at Ji Xianxing: "You’re that good? Grade A must be very hard, right? How did you survive your last mission?"

Ji Xianxing turned her head away: "Not convenient to disclose."

She was quite cold: "Chatting is useless for clearing the mission. Let’s familiarize ourselves with the surroundings and go our separate ways."

With that, she left, followed closely by the maids, who asked her questions in hushed tones. Kong Yueming muttered, "She seems to have very low emotional intelligence..."

Xu Yiliu felt Ji Xianxing was actually right; she didn’t want to waste time on colleagues either. She smiled at Kong Yueming and said, "Let’s split up and look around. If we run into the others, we’ll arrange to have lunch together and exchange information then."

"Can’t we stay together?" Kong Yueming moved closer. "It’s safer with two people."

Xu Yiliu didn’t mind; the mission area was only so large, and they would bump into each other eventually. "Fine, but let’s talk as little as possible to avoid accidentally stepping into a trap."

Kong Yueming nodded obediently: "Okay."

The two called their maids and walked around the manor. The estate belonged to a wealthy family and housed several embroiderers and farmhands. Through chatting with the maids, they learned that the eldest daughter of the Fang family, Fang Xiaoyi, had accidentally discovered the lotus lake here. Finding the scenery pleasant and seeing that it had remained untouched, she had rented the place for gatherings.

Xu Yiliu mused: The ancients were quite proactive with their team-building, too.

"Miss, this is where the acrobatic troupe is staying," Ruyi said, noticing her interest. "If you want to listen to music or watch a play, I can offer some silver to inquire."

Xu Yiliu declined the suggestion: "No need, I’m tired; we’ll talk about it another day."

She and Kong Yueming left the manor and returned to the lotus lake. A white mist blanketed the area a hundred meters outside the manor and beyond the lake. Kong Yueming looked into the distance and said cautiously, "The only places we can go are likely the manor and the lake."

Xu Yiliu nodded: "I saw boats there; we can row out and take a look when we have the chance."

Ruyi lowered her head, worried: "Miss fell into the water today; perhaps it’s best not to go. This servant was terrified."

"We’ll see," Xu Yiliu said dismissively.

Though she appeared calm, she asked the system internally: [System, what is the connection between this lotus lake and the real one?]

System: [None.]

Xu Yiliu asked: [System, you... you don't lie, do you?]

System: [I do not.]

Xu Yiliu rolled her eyes internally. She always felt the system hadn't appeared out of thin air; every job was born for the sake of profit. Whoever created the system might be beyond her reach, but they certainly existed. The forces behind this were likely not something she could guess anytime soon, so she quickly cut off her wandering thoughts.

The two asked for the location of the lunch hall. The wealthy young ladies and gentlemen liked to gather for meals to discuss poetry and art. The lunch was set in a large hall, which was said to be used to host the auditors.

Kong Yueming gradually relaxed as they walked toward the hall, putting some distance between herself and Xu Yiliu, and smiled: "It doesn't seem that..." scary. She asked Xu Yiliu, "Are you hungry?"

Xu Yiliu was indeed hungry, having not eaten dinner when she arrived: "I hope we’ll be able to eat." Hopefully, the food would be edible.

Ruyi seemed to remember something, tapped her forehead, and said, "Miss, I forgot to instruct the chef. I will go and get your usual tableware now."

She rushed off, and Xu Yiliu, mindful of her persona, did not stop her.

Kong Yueming said, "Let’s go in first; my stomach is already rumbling."

"Fine." Without anyone attending to her, Xu Yiliu felt more at ease.

Inside the hall, two women and two men were seated at their respective long tables. Among them, an older woman sat at the head; Xu Yiliu guessed she must be Fang Xiaoyi. Ji Xianxing sat alone across from the two young men. Seeing Xu Yiliu and Kong Yueming enter, she showed no reaction, as if she didn't know them.

Fang Xiaoyi cleared her throat: "Chunlan, you all withdraw. We don't like to be served while we talk. Close the door, and knock to announce yourselves when you bring the food."

"Yes."

Chunlan and the other maids and servants bowed their heads, closed the door, and retreated. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Xiaoyi tried her best to smile: "We are all colleagues. Regardless of anything else, let’s introduce ourselves first. I’m Fang Xiaoyi; you all should know that."

"Ji Xianxing."

"Xu Yiliu."

"Kong Yueming."

"Chen Diandian."

"Ge Hua."

For some reason, everyone looked at Xu Yiliu in unison. Xu Yiliu was stunned and scratched her head. The others looked a bit embarrassed. Ge Hua said, "I keep feeling like you’re a bit special, very conspicuous."

Fang Xiaoyi agreed: "Me too."

To break the awkwardness, Chen Diandian joked: "Just like the protagonist in a movie."

Except for Ji Xianxing, everyone chuckled, though their moods remained heavy. After all, this mission was certainly not going to be simple.

Kong Yueming said eagerly, "Do you have any discov—"

"Something’s wrong!"

The door was suddenly flung open. It was Fang Xiaoyi’s maid, Chunlan. She was panicked and trembling all over: "Eldest Miss, someone, someone, someone..."

She was terrified, and the group waited in suspense for her words.

Xu Yiliu asked quickly, "What about someone?"

Only then did Chunlan seem to regain her senses and scream: "Dead!"

"Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead!"

"Clatter!" Someone’s cup fell to the floor.