The Herb Garden was unnervingly quiet, without even the faint chirping of insects or birds.
After his ears had been poisoned by the screams from the Watermelon Patch all night, Ren Yi actually felt a rare sense of peace from this deathly silence.
They had only taken a few steps when there was a dull thud beneath Lu Zihan's feet, as if he had kicked something.
The object was round, and despite the solid kick from Lu Zihan, it didn't budge at all, as if it were firmly fixed to the ground.
Seeing another round object, Ren Yi felt a surge of stress.
Looking closer, he realized it wasn't a watermelon, which was a relief.
However, as the object's silhouette flickered in and out of the mist, Ren Yi found it strangely familiar.
He soon realized why.
This thing looked exactly like Lu Zihan's head when it had fallen to the ground.
"Holy crap." Lu Zihan was also startled. His face immediately darkened, clearly having made the same unpleasant association.
Evidently, Lu Zihan's senses were also limited by the thick mist; otherwise, with his perception and reaction speed, he never would have been so careless as to kick something on the ground.
Ren Yi crouched down and leaned in for a closer look.
Finally, he saw the object's true form.
It wasn't a real human head, but a skull woven from intertwined green vines.
Below the vine-wrapped "neck," it was buried deep in the soil. No wonder it hadn't moved when Lu Zihan kicked it.
They had encountered one so soon.
Ren Yi understood.
This must be the "plant roots with a special structure" mentioned in Rule 4.
【4. While pruning or tending to herbs, if you discover plant roots with a special structure, do not speak of it; quietly cover them with nearby soil.】
Ren Yi stayed crouched; he had to follow this rule strictly now.
He reached out, intending to grab a handful of dirt from the side to cover the vine skull.
But as soon as his fingers touched the mud, he felt another hard, round object through the layer of soil.
Ren Yi's movements paused.
There wasn't just one of these "special vines"!
Judging by the touch and position, the vine skull buried in the dirt was likely locked in a tight "embrace" with the one exposed on the surface, their vines inextricably tangled.
Ren Yi calmly withdrew his hand and deliberately moved to a spot further away from the hard object to gather soil.
Since he had to hold hands with Lu Zihan, his movements were awkward. He could only pile the dirt onto the vine skull bit by bit. It took a while before the exposed vine skull was completely and securely buried.
He brushed the dust off himself with one hand and said to Lu Zihan, "I'm done, Young Master."
The two continued deeper into the thick mist. As they progressed, the soil of the Herb Garden became softer. Their feet sank halfway into the ground with every step, accompanied by a damp, rot-like smell.
They trudged along unevenly, occasionally stepping on strange, hard objects. Without even looking, they knew most of them were more vine skulls.
If they were unlucky enough to find one exposed, they had to stop and laboriously bury it.
By the time he had buried three vine skulls, Ren Yi's expression had grown stiff.
Isn't the density of these things a bit too high?
He had already examined them; these vine skulls had no special effects for now. They didn't move or bite, making them far less interesting than the watermelons—at least the watermelons made noise.
They could easily be taken home as avant-garde art pieces; their only purpose here seemed to be to gross people out.
No, perhaps their purpose was purely to waste time? Ren Yi suddenly realized.
The Herb Garden was different from other jobs. Entry was strictly forbidden between the Wu and Wei hours, meaning no work could be done all afternoon. Participants had to complete their soil-loosening and weeding tasks within half a day.
If they spent the entire time struggling with these skulls and fell behind schedule, wouldn't they trigger the rule for "unfinished work"?
Speaking of which, none of the Participants who had died so far had done so because they "failed to complete their work."
However, those "useless servants" who couldn't keep up with the progress would probably be handled by Auntie Lu personally, right? After all, she hadn't officially appeared yet; there had to be a final boss character.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, after a few more steps, another dull thud came from beneath Lu Zihan's feet. This time, he had finally kicked something other than a vine skull.
"Ow!"
A cry of pain immediately drifted through the thick mist.
Two blurry figures emerged—a male and a female Participant holding hands. The man was crouching on the ground with a small trowel, apparently loosening the soil.
Because his senses were restricted, Lu Zihan had accidentally kicked him in the rear.
"Who's there!" The male Participant turned around, half angry and half panicked, but his anger vanished into pure terror the moment he saw Lu Zihan's face.
Lu Zihan had made an appearance before the Participants yesterday. Most of the survivors recognized this violent "Young Master" and had heard stories from the study group about his terrifying habit of killing people on a whim.
"Young... Young Master, why are you here?" his voice trembled.
The female Participant beside him reacted faster. She immediately gave him a sharp pinch, signaling him not to speak out of turn, before respectfully greeting Lu Zihan. "Greetings, Young Master."
At the same time, she seemed to notice Ren Yi beside Lu Zihan, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.
Ren Yi was also observing them. These two Participants seemed so afraid of violating the rules that they weren't just holding hands; their entire arms and even shoulders were pressed tightly together. They looked like two pieces of glued rubber, forced to move in perfect synchronization, making their movements exceptionally stiff.
Looking at their feet, there was half of a vine skull—or more accurately, two half-vine skulls locked in a tight embrace.
Ren Yi finally saw the complete version. The vine skulls were shaped like two humanoid figures hugging each other, their arms wrapped around each other's backs and their torsos pressed so tightly together it was as if they wanted to merge into one another's flesh and bone.
To be honest, with a bit of decoration, they might even look romantic at a wedding.
"What are you two doing here?" Lu Zihan stood with one hand on his hip, adopting a thuggish air. He had come here looking for fun, and now he had the perfect targets.
"Rep... Replying to the Young Master, we are loosening the soil and weeding, doing our assigned duties," the male Participant who had been kicked replied hastily, having finally calmed down a bit.
Ren Yi suddenly spoke up. "You two aren't a couple, are you? Sticking so close together... The Lu family doesn't allow servants to date privately."
This rule, of course, was one he had just made up on the spot.
He had already decided: if these two Participants denied it, he would have Lu Zihan trigger a rule to kill them.
If they didn't deny it, that was fine too—he would have Lu Zihan try to "order" them to let go, and let the Herb Garden devour them.
As for the broadcast... well, he didn't know Young Master Lu's rules. Besides, was it really that rare for Participants to kill each other?
Rate on N.U.
