Xu Youyou picked up a bun and waved it.
“Did you make this?”
Feng Xingyun nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“Earlier, when I was bored, I looked up some cooking tips on my phone. They seemed pretty good, and I figured they would definitely come in handy, so I learned a bit.”
He had indeed learned it thinking it would be useful in the dungeon.
Zuo Lin'an silently picked up a bun and took a bite.
The taste was indeed excellent, showing that real effort had been put into it.
Moreover, he also knew what Feng Xingyun was thinking.
Ever since he had given a 【Cultivation Card】 to Chang Sheng to let him focus on practicing the Puppet Vitalization Art, the others had been trying to curry favor with him, both openly and secretly.
They were likely hoping he would buy more for them. Unfortunately, Zuo Lin'an did not have enough Contribution points lately, nor did he have any plans to purchase more 【Cultivation Cards】.
Xu Youyou took a large bite of his bun.
“I say, why are you two just standing there? Sit down and eat with us.”
“What era do you think this is? Calling me young master is just for show; there's no need to be so formal about everything.”
Zuo Lin'an pulled out the chair next to him.
“Sit down and eat.”
Only after he spoke did the two of them sit down.
The breakfast they had brought over earlier was more than enough, plenty for the four of them.
After breakfast, Feng Xingyun and the other person finally told them about the twenty guests who had come to stay the previous night...
No, wait.
It was nineteen guests and a pet who had requested lodging.
Zuo Lin'an raised an eyebrow.
“They arrived in the middle of the night? So many guests?”
Upon hearing this, Xu Youyou's expression suddenly changed.
“Something's not right!”
“This place is so remote, and no one has come here for over ten years. Why did people suddenly show up right after we arrived?”
A flash of suspicion and anger crossed his face.
“Could... Wenle and Youyun's disappearance be related to them?”
“Could it be that they set up some human trafficking base in these remote mountains, and Wenle and the other stumbled upon it, so they captured or even killed them?”
“Then, they realized that the old residence on the mountaintop, which had been abandoned for years, was suddenly occupied, so they gathered a group of people to test the waters?”
“Otherwise, it's really hard to explain why they showed up at such a perfect time.”
Zuo Lin'an was momentarily stunned after listening to Xu Youyou.
But he quickly caught on.
That was actually a pretty good explanation.
Moreover, given their current identities, such a suspicion was highly reasonable.
“It is indeed possible.”
“However, we've searched most of the surrounding area and didn't find any place to hide people. Unless their base is quite far from here, and after killing them, they threw the bodies into some sinkhole.”
Xu Youyou took a deep breath, picked up his soy milk, and drained it in one gulp.
“Let's see how things play out first.”
“If it really has to do with them, they will definitely find an opportunity to question us later, asking if anything has happened recently or if anyone has gone missing.”
“And then they will ask if we've called the police.”
“If we haven't, they might decide to go all the way and capture or even kill us too.”
“Then they'll burn this old residence down to destroy all the evidence.”
“After all, there are nineteen of them and only four of us. No matter how strong we are, two fists are no match for four hands.”
As Xu Youyou spoke, his expression grew increasingly serious and solemn.
“Brother Wenli, we must be extremely careful from now on.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
“Alright.”
He appeared calm and composed on the outside, but he was utterly shocked inwardly.
Talk about upending the natural order!
And what was even more mind-boggling was that Xu Youyou's theory was actually highly logical.
Furthermore, players would indeed come to ask them, the NPCs, if anything had happened here.
Once they learned that two people had gone missing without a trace, they would definitely keep digging to the bottom of it in order to complete their main quest.
But according to Xu Youyou's logic...
If the players wanted to clear the dungeon, they had to complete the main quest.
To complete the quest, they had to investigate what happened here. But the moment they started investigating and asking questions, they would trigger the NPCs' suspicion and hostility.
This would lead to a falling out with the NPCs, making it impossible to get the truth from them.
Without the truth, they couldn't complete the quest.
But if they wanted to avoid causing suspicion and hostility, they couldn't investigate what happened.
This was a complete paradox.
Even Zuo Lin'an couldn't help but praise Xu Youyou at this moment.
The guy had really gotten smarter.
And his acting was quite impressive too.
It seemed he had gotten plenty of practice during those One-Star dungeons they cleared before.
Zuo Lin'an secretly shot Xu Youyou an appreciative look.
Xu Youyou accepted it without showing any outward reaction.
His expression remained unchanged, but if he had a tail, he would definitely be wagging it triumphantly.
After breakfast.
The two walked out the front door and happened to run into three players who were heading out.
It was Tang Luoshan, who was clad in blood-red, and Zhao Ying, who was cradling Huang Shiliu.
Of course, whether this was a coincidence or not was anyone's guess.
Tang Luoshan smiled and slightly cupped his hands, looking like a refined gentleman.
“Gentlemen, I am Tang Luoshan, courtesy name Changjing. I must apologize for disturbing you by requesting lodging in the middle of the night.”
Zuo Lin'an paused.
This prince really was an ancient person.
“Ah, so it is Mr. Tang. I am Yao Wenli, and this old residence is my ancestral home. As for this one...”
He pointed to the person beside him.
“This is Xu Youyou, a good friend of mine.”
Tang Luoshan smiled and exchanged a few polite pleasantries with them.
The group slowly strolled over to the platform near the front railing.
Of course, they weren't standing there to enjoy the view. Instead, they walked over to a spot near the withered forest, where a stone table and several stone stools were set up.
Zuo Lin'an had bought these and placed them here when the construction team came to build the stone archway a few days ago.
The group sat down casually and resumed their conversation.
“The three of us...”
Tang Luoshan paused mid-sentence.
“My companion and I got lost in the mountains yesterday and walked until midnight before finding this household. However, I heard from Steward Feng earlier that this is Yao Family Village, yet along the way...”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
“My Yao family ancestors belonged to a family of scholars and were quite wealthy. They purchased all of these dozens of mountains, originally intending to build a Yao Family Village here. However...”
“Alas!”
He sighed helplessly.
“Unfortunately, that ancestor passed away at a young age, and the family property was subsequently divided up.”
“As a result, the plan to build the village fell through.”
“There is no need to dwell on what happened after. In short, all I have inherited now is this old residence and this extremely remote plot of land.”
“It's of little value.”
Tang Luoshan nodded in realization.
“I see.”
“But since this place is so desolate, why did the two of you come here?”
Zuo Lin'an's tone turned slightly hesitant.
“Well, actually...”
Just then, Xu Youyou suddenly spoke up.
“It's just some private matters. We would rather not say.”
This was related to the plot.
They could choose to reveal it, or keep it to themselves.
Especially from the perspective of the NPC Xu Youyou, these players were highly suspected of having caused the deaths of his brother and his brother's friend. Naturally, he wouldn't easily share any secrets with them.
Rate on N.U.
