Chapter 14: Grade A Yellow, Lotus Lake (3)

Xu Yiliu turned her head and saw Kong Yueming’s face pale as he stared blankly at the shattered cup.

Fang Xiaoyi and the others continued to press Chunlan, but she was terrified and kept repeating, “Someone’s dead,” which only unsettled the three questioners further.

Finally, Chen Diandian asked impatiently, “How did they die?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know! Ah—” Chunlan screamed, clutching her head and ran away.

The six inside the room exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss.

Xu Yiliu glanced at Fang Xiaoyi, guessing she was the most troubled one. Her close maid was acting crazily, and since they’d have to stay close in the future, the mental pressure would undoubtedly be immense.

Ji Xianxing, who had been silent all along, stood up and said, “I’m not eating. I’ll go check it out.”

Without waiting for a response, she walked out on her own.

Fang Xiaoyi bit her lip and stood up as well. Probably due to the stress, she walked quickly.

With the two gone, Chen Diandian forced a dry laugh and asked the remaining three, “Should we go too?”

Kong Yueming looked helplessly at Xu Yiliu.

“Let’s go. Since something like this happened, I guess no one’s bringing us food anymore,” Xu Yiliu said reluctantly, feeling very hungry.

Chen Diandian and Ge Hua were momentarily speechless.

Were they still talking about food right now?

The three, including Chen Diandian, seemed to want to stick together. Kong Yueming followed closely behind Xu Yiliu, clutching his handkerchief tightly.

The place where the incident occurred was easy to find—the one with the most people.

But as Xu Yiliu looked in that direction, her heart skipped a beat.

That... was her own residence?

Kong Yueming suddenly released Xu Yiliu’s hand, his expression shifting repeatedly, and forced out, “Could it be your maid?”

“Possibly.” Ruyi hadn’t returned for a long time, which was indeed suspicious.

Without looking at the others’ expressions, Xu Yiliu quickened her pace, pushing through the villagers crowding the door. As soon as she entered, she saw Ruyi standing dazedly in the small hall, staring into her room.

Could it be that the one who died wasn’t Ruyi?

She heard voices inside her room and recognized them as Fang Xiaoyi and Ji Xianxing. Hesitating briefly, she approached Ruyi, intending to ask her a couple of questions.

But when she saw Ruyi’s face, she realized—

Ruyi was already dead.

Ruyi, dressed in a simple maid’s uniform, was pale as death, her eyes wide open, mouth half agape, utterly breathless.

It looked as if she had died of fright.

Even Xu Yiliu, with her strong mental fortitude, was momentarily stunned.

Kong Yueming gripped his handkerchief and, mustering courage, stepped towards Xu Yiliu. “What’s wrong with you?”

Xu Yiliu snapped back to herself and hurried to stop Kong Yueming.

She had already sensed that Kong Yueming was timid and fragile; she feared that in his panic, he might do something irreversible.

Confused, Kong Yueming grabbed Xu Yiliu’s hand but his gaze fell back on Ruyi’s body. Their eyes met directly.

“Ah!”

Kong Yueming’s knees buckled, his hands trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down.

Xu Yiliu felt helpless but was glad he didn’t scream or cause a scene.

She didn’t despise Kong Yueming’s cowardice. In a lawful society, the bloodiest and most horrific scenes people usually witness are the slaughter of chickens or pigs. Seeing a human corpse naturally instills terror; to feel otherwise would be abnormal.

She guessed Kong Yueming’s previous low-risk missions hadn’t involved killing people firsthand.

Just as Xu Yiliu thought, Chen Diandian and Ge Hua arrived a step too late, horrified and trembling, especially Ge Hua, who wore glasses. He tried to hold back tears but failed.

Two people came out of the room one after another, their faces grave upon seeing them.

Fang Xiaoyi said, “It looks like she died from shock after seeing something. Her gaze was fixed on your room. We searched around but found nothing.”

Then she looked at Xu Yiliu and asked, “Are you still staying here tonight?”

Xu Yiliu glanced at her room. The house was small, with a central hall and two bedrooms on either side. The bedrooms didn’t even have doors—only cloth curtains separated them.

The bed faced the door directly; sleeping there at night would make it hard not to think of Ruyi standing outside, watching inside.

Seeing Xu Yiliu hesitating, Fang Xiaoyi softly said, “I share a room with you, just the other one. If you want, you can stay with me.”

There was a hint of selfishness in her words. There was no way Fang Xiaoyi wasn’t scared after Ruyi died in the hall.

But Xu Yiliu shook her head. “No, I’ll stay here.”

Everyone was momentarily stunned. She calmly rummaged through Ruyi’s belongings and pulled out a pouch of money, then stepped outside and said to the crowd of onlookers, “Please help carry this body out and find a burial place. This maid has served me for many years. After something like this, I want to at least give her a proper burial.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke.

The villagers were moved. They exchanged looks, mustered their courage, rolled up their sleeves, and together carried Ruyi’s body out.

Xu Yiliu skillfully distributed silver coins to each of them. “Thank you all. Please find a good place. If there’s a chance in the future, I will repay you.”

The five standing at the door gawked in astonishment.

Fang Xiaoyi and Ji Xianxing’s feelings were more complicated.

Having completed B or A-level missions before, they were more composed than Kong Yueming and the others but still far from casually rifling through a dead person’s belongings.

“I’ve arranged it so the villagers will bring us food later,” Xu Yiliu explained. “The itinerary set by the Snow Moon Pavilion is to stay here for half a month. This is just the first day. Food shouldn’t be a problem.”

Chen Diandian hesitated, “What if it’s poisoned...”

Before Xu Yiliu could deny, Ji Xianxing spoke first, “Long-term checkpoints won’t cut off supplies. High intensity doesn’t mean danger everywhere.”

Xu Yiliu affirmed, “Exactly. If this trip were only a day or two, it’d be better not to eat. But half a month without food means starvation.”

Kong Yueming, a bit smarter than Chen Diandian, asked, “What if they want us to fight quick and finish fast?”

Ji Xianxing turned her head, seemingly losing patience.

Xu Yiliu explained, “Ruyi’s death shows that the ‘people’ here are at least as human as we are. If the food were poisoned to kill us, they’d be affected too.”

Fang Xiaoyi’s expression softened. “You want their leftovers?”

Xu Yiliu nodded. “Yes. I asked them to give us the leftovers and even paid extra, saying next time we’d eat the same meals. They eat half an hour earlier than us; it’s both a reward and a poison test.”

Chen Diandian reluctantly agreed, “Alright then.”

Kong Yueming calmed down considerably and sincerely praised, “You’re really impressive.”

Ji Xianxing said nothing but took out some silver coins and handed them to Xu Yiliu.

“Don’t mention it,” Xu Yiliu accepted them. “There are two contaminants. Our priority is to find them. The villagers, the traveling troupe, and the steward who hasn’t appeared yet, plus the maids and servants around us—all are suspects.”

Ge Hua hesitated, “The servants keep watch at night as a rule here. Do we really have to do this?”

He was now afraid to face his own servant.

Xu Yiliu looked at him calmly. “In the yellow mission area, unless certain conditions are met, things unrelated to the contaminants can’t harm you. I suggest treating the maids and servants as mere servants for now, and avoid breaking character. There shouldn’t be any danger for the time being.”

Everyone nodded, absorbing her words.

Seeing their youthful faces, only Fang Xiaoyi seemed somewhat mature. Xu Yiliu suddenly asked on a whim, “Are you all university students?”