Xu Xi didn't even have time to react before the doors of the Ancestral Temple were pushed open.
The person who entered was not unfamiliar; it was the maidservant wearing a white flower who had once intercepted him at the entrance to the Rear Courtyard.
The maidservant was holding a tray in her hands, upon which rested a soup bowl. The broth was clear and bright, and steam rose from the bowl.
"Third Young Master." The maidservant gave a slight bow, her attitude quite respectful. "This servant has been sent by the Seventh Concubine to bring you some soup."
Seeing this, Xu Xi once again recalled two of the rules the Steward had instructed before leaving—
"The Seventh Concubine may come to bring you soup. If you are thirsty, you may drink it. It is also an expression of her regard."
"Lastly, you may trust the servants wearing white flowers."
Xu Xi had just been about to take the soup bowl when he abruptly stopped.
He inexplicably felt something was quite odd.
On the surface, there didn't seem to be any problem, but...
"I'm not thirsty."
The maidservant seemed momentarily choked by this blunt refusal. The hand holding the tray paused slightly, and a trace of awkwardness appeared on her face.
"Third Young Master, this was specially prepared for you by the Seventh Concubine."
Seeing that the person still did not respond, she had no choice but to place the tray in her hands on a small side table nearby.
"This servant will leave the soup here. If you become thirsty, you may have it at any time."
Having said this, the maidservant gave another slight bow and withdrew.
The doors slowly closed, and silence returned to the Ancestral Temple.
Xu Xi did not touch that bowl of soup. Instead, he took out his phone and aimed it at the soup bowl.
He could reload after death, but that didn't mean he stopped using his brain.
Upon seeing the originally clear and bright soup in the photo become viscous and murky, he knew his intuition had been correct.
No, rather than intuition, it was more that after experiencing so much, he had naturally gained a bit more experience and sharpness.
As for what kind of experiences those were, never mind.
In any case, he had seen through it now.
On the surface, everything was peaceful and serene. In the photos, it was all indescribably disturbing.
Xu Xi put away his phone and took another look at that bowl of soup.
So far, every rule the Steward had instructed was coming true one by one.
He felt that perhaps those two rules themselves were not incorrect.
"You may trust the servants wearing white flowers." The one who had just delivered the soup was indeed wearing a white flower, yet the soup was problematic.
"The Seventh Concubine may come to bring you soup." The one who came to deliver the soup was not the Seventh Concubine herself, but a maidservant sent on the Seventh Concubine's orders.
The person who was supposed to deliver the soup did not come personally. The trustworthy person brought something untrustworthy.
Looked at individually, both rules were correct. But when combined, there was a sense of deliberate design.
He didn't know where the problem lay, but he suddenly understood one thing.
Trustworthy does not equal harmless.
Moreover, the rules are only responsible for reminding, not for saving lives.
Xu Xi withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the soup. He stood up and stretched his limbs.
The feeling of nausea in his stomach was still there, but he paid it no mind. Turning around, he went to pick up the offerings on the table.
The maidservant's arrival had interrupted his original course of action. Now that she was gone, of course he had to continue.
His daytime wandering hadn't been entirely useless. At the very least, he had a general idea of the kitchen's location.
Following the Covered Walkway, passing through the Moon Gate, skirting around places like the storeroom and the Study, and then passing through the garden would lead to the kitchen.
The distance in between could be said to span over half of the manor compound.
All because the Ancestral Temple was located in the farthest corner of the Shen Residence, its geographical position was just too remote.
Holding the offerings, Xu Xi stepped into the night.
Along the way, the manor was so quiet that only his own faint footsteps could be heard.
However, just as he was passing by the Rear Garden, he gradually slowed his pace.
For no other reason.
He heard another set of footsteps.
"Tap, tap, tap—"
They were not his.
The sound came from behind him, very light, yet precisely matching his rhythm.
He took one step, and the "person" behind him also took one step.
But the footsteps were gradually drawing closer.
Xu Xi did not turn around.
He continued walking forward, his pace unchanged, only slightly tilting his head and quietly raising his phone.
On the dark screen, a shadow that could only be seen in rough outline was following behind him.
He sped up, and the other sped up. He slowed down, and the other slowed down.
Xu Xi suddenly stopped.
As expected, the shadow also stopped.
But eerily, the distance between them was still shrinking.
He simply turned around.
Within his line of sight, there was no one.
Just as he opened the camera, an enlarged, blurry facial outline suddenly filled the entire lens.
Xu Xi's heart violently contracted.
The next second, his consciousness felt as if invaded by something. Dizziness struck, and his thoughts began to twist and distort.
*
Xu Xi stood frozen in place, holding the offerings.
The footsteps behind him also stopped.
Had he died?
No, that wasn't the main point.
This time, the reload hadn't sent him back to the node when he was offering incense?
He was still here, and that thing was still following behind him.
...But this issue wasn't urgent either. Set it aside for now.
The most pressing matter right now was the shadow behind him that was about to close in on him.
Xu Xi took a deep breath. He did not turn his body or look back. Instead, he proceeded to walk forward as usual.
Very soon, he sensed "someone" breathing behind his back.
That breath was icy cold, pressing right against the nape of his neck, coming in waves, causing goosebumps to rise all over his body.
Then, something slowly wound around his neck.
Xu Xi looked down.
A damp rope was coiled around his neck, tightening inch by inch.
*
Being hanged to death for the first time, Xu Xi found it rather novel.
But he didn't have masochistic tendencies and had no desire to experience it a second time.
So he began to think about how to resolve his current predicament.
...
Xu Xi crouched in place, watching out of the corner of his eye the figure on the screen that was getting closer and closer to him.
Until the shadow passed right through his body and disappeared from the screen.
Nothing happened.
After crouching a while longer, and still not encountering any further unexpected situations, he finally picked up the tray by his feet, stood up, and continued walking toward the direction of the kitchen.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, why was it that when it was his turn to Keep Vigil, there were so many incidents?
First, inexplicable hunger. Then, a maidservant delivering soup. Then, a shadow tailing him. One wave after another.
In contrast, that crew-cut man, aside from hearing dripping and rustling sounds inside the coffin and noticing the paper figures had changed positions, had kept vigil peacefully and steadily until the hour of Mao.
Shaking his head, Xu Xi stopped overthinking it and quickened his pace.
As for the strange change in the reload node... perhaps the reload had its own considerations.
A few minutes later, the kitchen finally came into view.
Xu Xi casually placed the offerings on the stove counter, turned on his phone, and began surveying the interior environment by the light of the phone screen.
