Chapter 1025: Chapter 63: Ice’s Dissuasion_3
"Honored guests, we have come to serve you dinner. Please, open the door," a respectful voice called from outside.
Yan Li opened the door to find three attendants outside, each holding a large tray covered with a lid. They bowed respectfully to Yan Shi before the foremost one said, "This is your evening meal."
Yan Shi nodded, allowed the three to enter, and instructed them to place the food on the table.
The head attendant said, "Please enjoy your meal, honored guests. Manager Jin has instructed that in one hour, you are to go directly to the fourth floor where someone will attend to you."
Yan Shi nodded slightly and replied, "Understood, you may leave now." After sending off the attendants, Yan Shi lifted the lids from the trays, revealing three portions of exquisite food, the delicious aroma assaulting his senses and whetting his appetite. He was about to begin when suddenly, a thought struck him, and he halted.
Perhaps it was the tantalizing aroma of the food that was too enticing, as Ah Dai and Yan Li woke from their meditation one after another. Ah Dai, staring at the food in front of him, couldn’t help but swallow hard and said, "Look at all these delicacies! Big brother, why haven’t you eaten yet? Were you waiting for us?"
Yan Shi shook his head, grabbing the drooling Yan Li by the arm, and said, "Wait before eating. It’s better to be cautious while we’re here. If there’s poison in the food, we would be at the mercy of others. Let’s go hungry this time. However, this might arouse suspicion among the people here."
Yan Li frowned and remarked, "Big brother, the food looks so delicious and there’s no strange smell. It shouldn’t be poisoned. Look, there’s even wine. If there was poison, it would be in the wine, so we just won’t drink it. But we still need to eat. The snacks we ate this afternoon have long been digested."
Yan Shi shook his head again and said, "Better safe than sorry. It’s best not to eat. It’s a pity we don’t have a way to test for poison, or else we wouldn’t have to fear."
A spark of inspiration struck Ah Dai as he remembered the silver balls he had made to control the Spell of Dragon’s Blood within Owen. Although Sheng Xie had consumed some, there were still a few left. They were the perfect items to test for poison, as they contained purifying frost which could absorb any poison, and the silver itself was the best detector of poison. Thinking this, Ah Dai chanted the Spell of Dragon’s Blood and took out a silver ball.
Yan Shi was taken aback and was about to ask Ah Dai what the object was, but Ah Dai had already shown his intention through action. With the silver ball carefully maneuvered by flickering threads of fighting spirit, he probed each dish. After checking all of them, the silver ball showed no special reaction. Ah Dai frowned, looked at Yan Shi, and said, "Big brother, there’s no poison in the food."
Yan Shi thought for a moment and said, "That’s unlikely! Today we won millions of Gold Coins, and that old man you competed against should know the strength of our capabilities. If I were the boss here, I would definitely use some potent poison against us. Ah Dai, try the wine for poison."
Ah Dai nodded and submerged the silver ball in the wine, which, unexpectedly, still showed no change. Yan Shi asked, "Brother, are you certain your silver ball can detect all poisons?" Without hesitation, Ah Dai affirmed, "It shouldn’t be a problem. Big brother, you should know about the colorless and tasteless, most deadly poison in the world, Divine Dragon’s Blood? This silver ball can even detect that."
Yan Li laughed and said, "Well, it seems that we have been overly suspicious. Come on, let’s eat. After a full meal, we’ll have more energy to deal with anything tonight!"
Yan Shi nodded, about to start eating, when he noticed Ah Dai staring, frozen. Ah Dai was looking at the silver ball he had just placed on the tray, which had lightly rolled and touched a spoon, causing the entire silver ball to suddenly turn black.
Yan Shi slapped Yan Li’s hand away just as he was about to grab the utensils and asked in surprise, "What happened?"
Ah Dai spoke gravely, "It seems you were right, big brother. The people here are indeed devious! There’s no poison in the food or the drink; it’s on the utensils." As he spoke, he tore a piece of cloth from the bedsheet, wiped the black off the silver ball, and cautiously tested each utensil, only to be shocked to find poison on all the utensils except the jug and plates holding the booze and food. Smelling the absorbed poison on the silver ball and recalling the records in Goris’s notes, he said in a heavy tone, "This seems to be a slow-acting lethal poison made by mixing many poisons. Although it doesn’t act immediately, it poses a constant threat to us. How extremely vicious!"
Yan Li snorted angrily, "Damn it, we are lucky big brother was on guard; otherwise, we wouldn’t even know how we died. Let’s not eat, it’s better to be hungry."
Yan Shi and Ah Dai exchanged glances, both smiling. Ah Dai said, "No worries, can’t we just eat with our hands since the food isn’t poisoned? After we eat, we can wash our hands, and it’ll be fine." Yan Shi nodded and agreed, "Ah Dai is right, we have to eat. That way, we won’t raise any suspicions. What a waste it would be to not enjoy such good food!" Saying this, he picked up his portion and started eating heartily. Yan Li’s eyes lit up, and he exchanged a glance with Ah Dai before they both dove in.
To keep their minds clear, they didn’t drink any alcohol, but when they were almost done eating, they stirred the remaining food with the poisoned utensils, making it less likely to arouse suspicion.
