After Xu Defu left, the group began to assign rooms for the night.
Nan Yue and her two companions naturally stayed together. He Jiang had originally wanted to win over Gu Xiang Kai, as he truly could not stand Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning.
He Jiang still felt the power of that single look from Nan Yue, but given his vast experience, he had never encountered such a situation before.
He concluded he must have been seeing things, but he remained secretly on guard. In his mind, it would be best if Nan Yue died during this mission.
Gu Xiang Kai was different. He looked capable and was likely the strongest fighter in this mission. Men like that were usually simple-minded, and He Jiang preferred that type.
"This young friend, why not consider staying in the inner residence with us?"
He Jiang pointed toward his group. "There are more of us, and we are older than you. The tradition of respecting the elderly should still exist, right?"
As he spoke, He Jiang glanced sideways at Nan Yue, seemingly waiting for her to object so he could use moral pressure against her.
Nan Yue did not care at all. She silently studied the layout of the residence.
He Jiang lowered his voice and leaned toward Gu Xiang Kai. "I know everyone has a love for beauty, but this is a mission. Lust is a blade hanging over one's head. Do not lose your life just to play the hero."
Gu Xiang Kai frowned and picked at his ear with his pinky. He then turned to Nan Yue. "Inside or outside?"
Ignored, He Jiang's expression turned ugly. He could hear the implication in Gu Xiang Kai's words—if Nan Yue wanted to stay inside, she did not need He Jiang's permission.
Gu Xiang Kai was a ruffian with no sense of morality. If anyone wanted to use a moral trap on him, they would have to talk to his fists first.
The group stood at the entrance between the inner and outer courtyards. From above, the residence was shaped like two stacked squares. The outer courtyard was larger because the kitchen was located there, while the inner courtyard was smaller.
The inner courtyard was originally the sleeping quarters. It was filled with an antique charm, clearly a well-preserved building passed down from ancient times.
The outer residence consisted of servant quarters or rooms converted from the main hall, so the living conditions were much poorer.
Furthermore, this scholar's residence was backed by a yard where the townsfolk grew vegetables. The only visible danger was the bluestone path leading up to the house.
They had clearly just walked up from there, but now looking out, it seemed as if the path was being swallowed by darkness.
No one knew what might come up that path at night.
Nan Yue's eyes flickered. "Let us just sleep in the outer residence."
For one, dangers in missions were either people or supernatural events. She did not fear people, and she did not believe supernatural entities cared whether they entered through the main road or elsewhere.
More importantly, since He Jiang and his group wanted to stay inside, and those people were problematic, it was better to keep some distance. If a fire broke out, it would be less likely to reach them.
Ignoring He Jiang and the others who were still standing there awkwardly, the three of them found a room in the middle of the right side and settled in.
The room was not small and was set up like a standard twin room. There were no wardrobes or tables, but the bed could fit two people. In a mission, people were not so picky about gender boundaries.
There was no electricity in the room. Two oil lamps were lit, and a kettle of hot water had been provided. The enamel washbasin was new, as were the towels.
By all accounts, the preparations were extremely meticulous.
The voices of others could still be heard outside as they assigned sleeping arrangements. Gu Xiang Kai had excellent hearing and provided a real-time report to the two women.
"That woman with the double-barreled surname, Chang'an, and that short-haired girl are staying together."
"Lu Jiao. The short-haired sister is named Lu Jiao."
Gu Xiang Kai glanced at Zhu Xi Ning, begrudgingly accepting her interruption.
"Jiang Ningning, Pu Yuan, and Bai Jun are in one room."
Gu Xiang Kai let out a cold sneer. "He Jiang really thinks highly of himself, acting like he is the one in charge of assignments."
He did not actually have much of an impression of most of them. He only remembered Jiang Ningning for her shoulder-length hair and delicate appearance.
Pu Yuan looked about the same age as Jiang Ningning but had a more forceful presence.
"The others have gone into the inner residence."
There were two rooms in the inner residence, but he could no longer hear how they were splitting up.
"So, what do we do now?"
Zhu Xi Ning felt a bit constrained. She had considered teaming up with Nan Yue before, but Gu Xiang Kai's presence made her hesitate.
Now, those two were clearly a team, while she felt like an outsider.
Zhu Xi Ning's understanding of Nan Yue was limited to their lives outside of missions, but she had no idea how Nan Yue performed during one.
"Let us start by sharing our impressions."
They had only just entered the mission, so they did not have many solid leads, but everyone certainly had their own thoughts.
Gu Xiang Kai sprawled out on his bed. Since they were staying together, he did not light a cigarette, instead just keeping one in his mouth to satisfy the craving.
"This town is wrong, and the people are wrong too."
Zhu Xi Ning nodded. She relied on intuition. She was not sure why, but she felt uncomfortable. She could not tell if it was just because she was in a mission or because of certain people in the town.
"Even though this place is cut off from the outside world, their temperament is not quite right. They do not seem like normal people."
Zhu Xi Ning pursed her lips. "But what if they have been taught to act this way for generations?"
Gu Xiang Kai bit down on his cigarette filter, his voice muffled. "That is certainly a possibility."
In the end, he was relying on his animal-like instincts.
"They are too hospitable."
Nan Yue spoke calmly. "As far as I know, we have not paid them any money."
"Even if money was sent to them beforehand, it would surely only be a rough estimate. Yet their attitude toward us is far too welcoming."
"This is not a tourist attraction, and we cannot bring them any traffic. To put it bluntly, our field research is an intrusion into their lives, yet they do not seem to find it troublesome at all."
Once Nan Yue pointed it out, Zhu Xi Ning also realized where her sense of dissonance came from. She felt that Xu Defu and the people they met along the way were all too friendly.
She had done one or two missions involving the countryside before. Neighborhood relationships were usually complex, yet as they walked through this town, everyone seemed perfectly harmonious and brotherly.
Was that possible?
It was highly unlikely.
"There is one more problem..."
Nan Yue lowered her eyes. "There do not seem to be... any children in this town."
The residence they were staying in was at the highest point of the town. The paths below were winding and twisted, but because of that, they had seen more than half of the town during the time it took to eat and return to the courtyard.
The issue was that the town had been incredibly quiet. Aside from the sounds of dinner being prepared and the low voices of families talking, there were no other sounds.
Generally speaking, small towns have many children. Since there were no birth quotas and people felt that a flourishing population was a good thing, having two or three children per family was normal.
Yet they had not seen a single child playing outside. Even if the town's upbringing was strict and children were not allowed out at night, there should still be some noise.
A child's voice had great piercing power, and their emotions were more outward. Even inside a house, with the kind of soundproofing found in this town, it should be impossible to block out the sounds of children laughing and playing.
It did not seem like a major detail, but after Nan Yue said it, both Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai felt a chill run down their spines.
Rate on N.U.
