Clearly, he was dressed as terrifyingly as a ghost, so why would this person still call him cute?
There must be something wrong with his eyes, right?!
Wait, no—this person didn’t have a problem with his eyes. He was deliberately saying this, deliberately trying to flatter him, in order to get clues from him!
But he would let Lu Jieyang know he had picked the wrong person! He was no ordinary NPC! His will was harder than steel!
Wen Di lowered his head, ignoring Lu Jieyang, and quickly walked through the corridor.
Everyone arrived at the side hall.
The side hall was located behind the right courtyard. Yao Nana, following behind Shen Wangqing, had just arrived at the side hall and taken in the full view of the room when she let out a terrified scream.
The rectangular side hall was not particularly large. Red lanterns hung from all four sides of the ceiling—so much so that the entire space was bathed in the color of blood. As soon as someone entered, their skin was also dyed a bright red, as if soaked in blood.
Two black ebony chairs were placed in the main direction and against the left and right walls, totaling six chairs. In the middle of the chairs was a small square tea table, on which a teapot and teacups were arranged.
Two small square stools were placed on the central rectangular carpet.
“Come, please find your seats,” Wen Di said, sitting on one of the chairs in the main seat.
Everyone stood in the middle, seemingly unwilling to sit first, afraid that the room might hide dangers.
“I’m not sitting, I’ll stand!” Yao Nana boldly declared, pulling her mink coat tighter.
She pressed close to Shen Wangqing on one side and Liu Yajun on the other, as if this would protect her from harm.
Wen Di looked at her and said lightly, “If you don’t want to sit, you can leave.”
He pointed toward the door: “The door isn’t closed.”
Under Yao Nana’s doubtful gaze, he added, “If I invite you to sit and you refuse, it means you don’t respect me or my inn, which is equivalent to not participating in this team-building activity.”
“Those who do not participate will bear the consequences themselves.”
His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude, which infuriated Yao Nana.
But there was no use getting angry at an NPC—she needed to find a way to clear the Instance!
After examining the layout of the side hall, Shen Wangqing took a seat in the first chair on the right-hand side.
Fu Zhen stood in place, pondering for a moment, then strode over to the seat directly opposite Shen Wangqing, crossing his legs as he sat down. Today, he was wearing a fitted black suit with polished leather shoes, lending a more solemn atmosphere to the side hall.
Wen Di glanced at the two of them, then looked at the remaining three who were still hesitating to sit, and chuckled darkly, “Who wants to sit next to me?”
Yao Nana immediately retorted, “Who would want to sit next to you?! Wearing a cloak in the middle of the night—how weird!”
She crossed her arms, hesitating—on the right was Shen Wangqing, on the left was Fu Zhen. What a difficult choice!
In the end, she sat next to Shen Wangqing—after all, Shen Wangqing seemed more approachable. He had helped her that morning, so of course she should seize the opportunity to get closer to him.
Only two people remained.
Lu Jieyang appeared relaxed and in no hurry to sit, his hands in his pockets. He looked at Liu Yajun beside him and smiled slightly, saying, “You choose first.”
Liu Yajun, sweating nervously on his forehead, was taken aback by this. He hadn’t expected Lu Jieyang to let him choose first—of course, he would choose to sit next to Fu Zhen. Who would want to sit next to this NPC who might or might not be a ghost? It looked dangerous, and who knew what traps might be waiting?
Ever since he entered this room, he felt the chairs were arranged strangely, especially the two chairs at the head of the table… like, like… like what? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
On one hand, he wanted to immediately sit next to Fu Zhen, but on the other, he wondered why Lu Jieyang had let him choose first—had Lu Jieyang discovered some clue?
Seeing Liu Yajun hesitate, Lu Jieyang raised an eyebrow and made as if to walk toward the seat next to Fu Zhen: “Since you won’t choose, then I’ll—”
Before he could finish, Liu Yajun immediately rushed to sit next to Fu Zhen, gripping the armrest tightly as he glared at Lu Jieyang: “You told me to choose first! If anything happens, don’t blame me!”
Lu Jieyang only smiled and said nothing.
Then, as if regretfully, he took the only remaining seat.
Right next to Wen Di.
As soon as he sat down, he leaned close to Wen Di’s ear. His face, turned away from the others, revealed a hidden excitement as he whispered, “Wen Wen, don’t these two seats look like the ones the master and mistress sit in during a wedding ceremony?”
“…”
Wen Di froze, his body stiffening, a hint of tension appearing on his face—had Lu Jieyang guessed something?!
But if he had guessed, why would he still sit here?
Wen Di’s hands, hidden beneath his cloak, clutched the hem of the skirt he wore underneath. He turned his head, pretending nothing was wrong: “Not at all!”
Lu Jieyang gazed at his fair, delicate face and smiled subtly: “Alright, if Wen Wen says it doesn’t look like it, then it doesn’t.”
Silly Wen Wen, why couldn’t he understand what he meant?
If he understood, he’d probably angrily scold him a few times, right? What would he call him? A scoundrel? A madman? A lunatic?… Ah, anything Wen Wen said would sound lovely.
Would he hit him? If Wen Wen hit him, maybe he’d strike his chest or his face… Wouldn’t that leave his scent on him?
What had Wen Wen put on himself? Why did he smell so good?
Lu Jieyang’s gaze lingered on Wen Di’s face like a creep.
Wen Di noticed he was being stared at from the corner of his eye, making him even more nervous, thinking he had exposed something. Afraid of revealing more, he didn’t dare turn to look at the other. After all, the less said, the fewer mistakes.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he began to speak: “Now that everyone is seated, our team-building activity officially begins!”
“Everyone has come from far and wide, and it is fate that we have gathered in this same inn. Therefore, the first part of our team-building is self-introductions. Please introduce yourselves to the others, so we can get to know each other better, strengthen our bonds, and get along well in the future.”
As soon as Wen Di finished speaking, Yao Nana frowned and retorted, “Self-introductions? What’s there to introduce? We already know each other.”
She wasn’t wrong—during their journey up the mountain, the group had already chatted and shared their “identities”—the new identities they had taken on upon entering the Instance.
Wen Di’s voice was soft but firm and resolute: “Please follow the rules.”
Yao Nana looked impatient, shifting restlessly in her seat.
Shen Wangqing suddenly spoke up: “Will Boss Wen also participate in our activity?”
His tone was gentle, a smile playing on his lips, making anyone who spoke with him feel more at ease.
Wen Di nodded: “Of course.”
“!”
Shen Wangqing’s smile deepened: “That’s good.”
Not only did Shen Wangqing’s smile deepen, but everyone’s reactions grew more intense.
Liu Yajun was a step slow to realize—if Wen Di also had to introduce herself, wouldn’t that be providing them with clues?
Based on his day-long search of the inn, only two characters had appeared in the story of this Instance so far: one was Wen Di, and the other was her deceased husband.
He had reason to suspect that the BOSS behind it all was Wen Di’s dead husband!