After the four dispersed, they followed their agreement to avoid the servants' paths in the main building and slipped into the shadows of the corridor on the west side of the courtyard.
The rockery blocked most of the sunlight and also shielded them from any potential eavesdroppers.
The temporary four-person team completely cast aside their initial politeness. They huddled close and discussed the situation in hushed whispers.
Zheng Gang, the scholarly-looking archaeologist, spoke first. His tone carried a hint of hesitation and doubt as his eyes instinctively drifted toward the direction where Wu Daoqing had gone upstairs.
“Was that guy just now the helper NPC spawned by the system? He looks way too young. Is he reliable?”
Beside him, Wu Suowei saw through things clearly, speaking in a steady, calm voice.
“Whether the master is reliable or not doesn't matter; he's just a summoner. Although I'm not sure what the power scaling of this world is like, anything with 'Immortal' in its name shouldn't be too bad.”
“You all felt that pressure and power when he got angry just now, didn't you?”
“I estimated that if we actually fought, it would probably be a 30-70 or 20-80 split in her favor. As for you guys, surviving for a minute would be considered a success.”
“When someone's summon is at this level, why do you care if the summoner himself is strong or not?”
“As long as Lady Ming is willing to take action, the combat aspect of this instance is basically secured.”
Beside him, the spirit medium Ou Li raised a hand to pat her chest. She had recovered by now, and the curiosity in her eyes quickly overcame her previous panic.
In short, she had grown bold again.
“By the way, didn't you think something was off?”
“Lady Ming's voice is so strange. One moment it's a chilling, terrifying male voice, and the next it's a gentle, peaceful female voice. It's like she has a split personality.”
“Is this a special setting for the NPC? Or some kind of hidden state?”
The psychic Mi Ke beside her quickly tugged at her sleeve and whispered a warning, “Sister, you need to rein in your curiosity.”
“You just offended her in public. Don't go poking around and making wild guesses now. This is definitely a hidden setting for the NPC, and it might even hide a side quest.”
“But none of that is what we should be thinking about or doing right now. Just stay steady and don't mess up.”
Ou Li pursed her lips in frustration. She suppressed her urge to investigate and nodded helplessly.
“Fine, I won't ask any more random questions.”
Changing the subject, she brought up the most crucial matter at hand, her expression turning much more serious.
“Now, back to business. The few of us arrived half a day early and have already gathered some preliminary clues. Should we share these clues with Wu Daoqing?”
At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Wu Suowei, waiting for his decision.
This team had been matched together temporarily, and they weren't very familiar with one another.
Then again, what normal team would consist entirely of supernatural-related classes? Were they worried they wouldn't die fast enough in the instance? It was a team of squad-wipe engines.
In most cases, teams prioritized complementary classes.
Although this was a temporarily assembled team, through their brief interactions after their initial meeting, Wu Suowei's leadership had already been established.
First of all, he looked very steady and reliable.
Secondly, among their classes, only his class skills included combat capabilities. He could fight a bit, making him suitable as a main attacker.
Wu Suowei pondered for a moment before making his decision.
“Share it. Share all of it,” he said with absolute certainty, without a shred of hesitation.
“These early clues are trivial and far from core secrets. Keeping them to ourselves is completely useless.”
“These two NPCs, Wu Daoqing and the Ghost Immortal, don't look like the type to backstab us. Sharing our clues proactively will secure our cooperative relationship and allow us to verify our information using their local perspective.”
“Conversely, if we hoard the clues, the fragmented information will only slow down the overall investigation. The losses would outweigh the gains.”
It was a matter where sharing had no downsides, but withholding could cause serious trouble. Was it really a hard choice to make?
Zheng Gang, Mi Ke, and Ou Li all nodded in agreement, accepting his reasoning.
The group briefly ironed out the details of how they would meet up to share their clues later. Then, they dispersed, acting as if nothing had happened, and quietly waited for lunch to be served.
Lunch was served in the banquet hall of the Zhao family's main building. The long table was filled with exquisite home-cooked dishes and light medicinal cuisine, presented without overly extravagant plating.
Bai Ci remained in her spiritual form, floating beside Wu Daoqing. Hovering weightlessly in the air, she inhaled the aroma of the food, satisfying her sense of smell and treating it as if she had eaten.
The spirit medium, being the only one who clearly saw what Bai Ci was doing, abruptly redirected her chopsticks to pick up a dish far away from Wu Daoqing.
At the table, besides the already introduced Zhao Cunzhi, his wife, and their twin toddlers, there were two other important members of the Zhao family.
One was a capable-looking middle-aged man who was Zheng Gang's college classmate—Zhao Cunzhi's cousin, Zhao Cunhong.
The other was a gentle-looking woman with short hair and light makeup, who was Mi Ke's roommate from her time studying abroad—Zhao Cunzhi's sixth cousin, Zhao Cunqiong.
Lunch proceeded in a leisurely and peaceful manner, with a relaxed and natural atmosphere.
During a lull in the conversation, Zhao Cunqiong held her teacup and casually mentioned,
“By the way, when Grandpa Yun heard yesterday that Brother Cunzhi was planning to invite various experts to resolve the strange occurrences at home, he immediately wanted to pack his bags and rush over from our hometown to oversee things.”
“I really couldn't convince him otherwise, and I couldn't bear to let him do it either.”
Zhao Cunhong chimed in, “Grandpa Yun is already in his eighties. Though he looks robust, he can't actually handle the strain of long-distance travel. If anything were to happen to him on the way, none of us could bear the responsibility.”
“Yeah, that's exactly what I thought,” Zhao Cunqiong agreed with a nod. “So I firmly stopped him and, after much persuasion, managed to convince him to go back.”
As the two cousins chatted about Grandpa Yun, Zhao Cunzhi dutifully explained the situation to the outsiders present.
“He is a close friend of our grandfather's generation. Almost every generation of our Zhao family has grown up under his watchful eye. Whenever something happens in our family, he is always the first to step forward.”
“Now that I'm planning to overcome this hurdle, he is truly worried and can't put his mind at ease.”
Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding.
To sum it up, this Grandpa Yun was an elder in his eighties who had watched several generations of the Zhao family grow up.
It was a classic case of a friendship spanning three generations—the friend remained even after the original generation had passed.
It wasn't that this Grandpa Yun was exceptionally long-lived, but rather that the people of the Zhao family died too easily.
Zhao Cunzhi spoke in a warm tone full of gratitude. While his explanation was directed at the guests, his underlying intent was to instruct his own relatives.
“Grandpa Yun has been kind and generous all his life, and he has never harbored any selfish motives toward our Zhao family. I am truly grateful for his concern this time. Once this matter is resolved, I will personally visit our hometown to thank him in person.”
The home-cooked lunch drew to a close amid casual conversation.
The servants quickly cleared the table and tea sets before retreating downstairs to wait for further instructions. The living room of the main building fell completely silent, making it the perfect environment for them to focus on discussing their business.
Rate on N.U.
