Mrs. Ma wasn't annoyed, giving him a flying kiss before swaying her hips and walking away.
Back in their room, she couldn't wait to tell Mr. Ma about the incident, adding, "That Xu guy is definitely a Player-Eater, no doubt about it. The question is whether the invitation was issued by He Pu. If it was him, he should be on our side."
Mr. Ma shook his head. "Not necessarily. If the invitation was from him, he wouldn't have said nothing when he saw us yesterday."
"Could it be the butler?" Mrs. Ma guessed. "That mute looks a bit formidable. It wouldn't be good if he's setting a trap for us."
"He's just the butler. If he and He Pu disagreed, and he was powerful enough to kill invited guests without the master being able to do anything about it, then he should be the master here. Would He Pu still be alive now?" Mr. Ma said.
"So are they working together or acting separately?" Mrs. Ma was a bit confused. "When we bought the invitation, they said there was sothing good here. Now it doesn't look like that at all. Should we just leave? We can try to get train tickets from sowhere else?"
Mr. Ma's face darkened. "We've already missed one dungeon run. If we don't get train tickets again, the danger level of the forced teleportation dungeon in two months will be even higher. What's the difference between that and suicide? Compared to those high-risk dungeons, this is just a D-level dungeon, nothing!"
"Besides, entering any dungeon is dangerous. Even if everyone in the ancient castle were Player-Eaters, it doesn't an they'd help us. In short, don't trust anyone. Play it by ear."
The Ma couple, unsettled by Xu Huo's ambiguous hint, felt a heightened sense of crisis and didn't show themselves all afternoon. Xu Huo also closed his door and thoroughly checked every corner of the room.
There were no secret passages, surveillance devices, or hidden walls, but the electrical wiring was severely aged, with signs of repairs in many places. However, all the furnishings and decorations were spotlessly clean, clearly well-maintained with great care.
Although the ancient castle was large, there weren't actually many places suitable for hiding corpses.
The garden was cleaned daily. This morning, a servant ntioned contacting a gardener to co trim the branches in a week. Since outsiders often ca here, this wouldn't be a place to hide corpses.
The botanical garden was the sa.
The remaining places were the main building of the ancient castle above the third floor, the garden maze, and the annex behind the maze.
Of these three places, the third floor was occupied by He Pu. According to the servants, only Mr. Dong currently entered and exited the maze and the castle ruins.
The servant said the butler couldn't issue invitations over the master's authority. This information couldn't be confird as true or false for now, because the invitations ca in two formats. On the surface, the butler couldn't issue invitations, but privately was another matter. The butler received the guests and saw the invitations.
Of course, this didn't an He Pu was without suspicion. Whether he t the Ma couple alone for the purpose of issuing invitations or deliberately creating trouble for the players, this person was clearly soone who would actively participate in the dungeon.
Thinking of the pair of eyes that secretly watched him outside his window last night, Xu Huo instead picked up the Umbrella of Justice and released the corpse of the Cheongsam Woman inside, tearing off half the skin she was wearing and casually stuffing it into the cabinet.
"Mr. Xu," a servant knocked on the door at that mont, "Mr. Dong asked
to bring you your banquet attire."
Xu Huo opened the door. Wei Landeng from the next room was also just receiving her attire. He smiled and nodded at her. Wei Landeng's face was pale, appearing sowhat listless. She gave a perfunctory greeting and returned to her room.
The banquet soon began. Xu Huo changed into his attire, took his umbrella, and went to the first-floor dining room. The other players had all arrived, everyone dressed in appropriate formal wear—suits for the gentlen, long dresses for the ladies.
He took the first seat on the right side. To his right was the long-haired woman Wei Landeng. Across from him were the Ma couple. The four of them were closest to the empty seat at the head of the table.
To Wei Landeng's right, in order, were the dark-faced man You Qiwen, the handso young man Liu Zhengping, the twin brothers Chen Tu and Chen Nan. To Mrs. Ma's left, in order, were the baby-faced Yu Shuai, the burly man Li Chao, the refined-looking female player Fang Min, and the tall, thin middle-aged man Fleischer.
"Eating a al requires bathing and changing clothes, like we're visiting a grave?" Liu Zhengping impatiently tugged at his bow tie, his behavior not matching his appearance.
"Liu Zhengping, have you watched TV dramas? Characters like you don't survive past the second episode," Fang Min joked.
"None of your damn business!" Liu Zhengping was in a bad mood.
"It's just a al, everyone, don't be so tense," Yu Shuai said with a smile on his baby face. "I've never had a proper European-style banquet before."
"I'm afraid you might not be able to eat it," Liu Zhengping said coolly.
The others, slling the rich aroma of at, their expressions changed slightly, losing the enthusiasm they had monts before.
"But I suppose so people might eat it quite happily," Fang Min glanced toward Xu Huo and the Ma couple.
Mrs. Ma and Mr. Ma had completely lost the relaxed casualness they had at breakfast, giving her a cold, piercing look. Xu Huo didn't look at her, instead watching Mr. Dong scolding a servant.
That servant had broken a water glass.
Although Mr. Dong's voice wasn't loud, everyone at the dining table could hear it. The players, who had been sitting in silence, quickly shifted their attention there. Li Chao, who never left wine out of his hand, slamd his glass down on the table with a "smack." "It's just a cup, what's the big deal?"
Mr. Dong looked at him expressionlessly. "Please do not damage the castle's property."
"Are you going to make
pay for it?" Li Chao sneered.
"Hiss!" Several lamps on the wall flickered and suddenly went out. The dining room instantly fell into semi-darkness. Mr. Dong stood before one of the extinguished lamps, slowly opening his mouth... But at that mont, a cough interrupted him, coming from the staircase.
Mr. Dong imdiately directed the servants to check the wiring and replace the lamps. The servants worked quickly. By the ti the dining room was brightly lit again, the master of the ancient castle, He Pu, finally descended from the third floor, supported by the maid Hu Shan.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Please, sit," He Pu looked older and more gaunt than in the corridor portrait, breathing heavily as he spoke. After inviting the guests to sit, he paused for a mont before continuing, "In recent years, my health hasn't been good, and I rarely go out. Thank you all for taking the trouble to co."
Fleischer exchanged a few polite words, then said, "I heard Mr. He has collected many rare and exotic items. I wonder if we could have a look?"
He Pu smiled. "Of course. Besides inviting everyone to the concert, another reason is to show you all a recent acquisition in my collection."
"However, the third floor was just repainted, and the paint sll hasn't dissipated yet. Everyone can first enjoy the castle's scenery. It won't be too late to see it tomorrow."
The players were sowhat surprised by He Pu's candid attitude, but it was even better if they could go to the third floor openly.
The banquet officially began. After He Pu gave the toast, everyone sat down to dine.
For this dinner, everyone was on high alert. Apart from He Pu occasionally comnting on the dishes' flavors, almost no one spoke.
"Clatter!" Xu Huo suddenly knocked over a crystal wine glass. The cup rolled off the table and shattered on the floor.
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