Chapter 1 The Next Morning

The next morning, Jiang Cheng, still entangled with the bed, was awakened by Fatty. Xia Meng took advantage of the time Jiang Cheng sat up to clear his head to catch another half hour of sleep.

When the sun had fully risen, a series of footsteps, moving from far to near, sounded outside the door. Because the residence was deep and secluded, the footsteps were very clear.

"Esteemed doctors," the voice of the woman who led the way yesterday came from outside the door, "please come out for breakfast."

When Jiang Cheng cautiously opened the door, the middle-aged woman was indeed standing outside, but the woman still wore that deadpan expression, like a background actor who hadn't received their boxed lunch after working late.

At this time, Jiang Cheng and the others saw that the people from the other two rooms had also come out, gathered together, and were looking towards them, seemingly exchanging whispers.

Jiang Cheng and the others were relieved. They sensed a feeling of unease from their teammates, which meant that they had also heard the eerie singing from last night.

And it wasn't just their group who had heard it.

This was important.

The middle-aged woman led them around the lake for a distance. A bluestone path wound its way towards a pavilion located on the lake.

The pavilion didn't extend far into the lake, only about ten meters from the shore. They had noticed this quiet pavilion when they first arrived yesterday.

Inside the pavilion, there was a wooden square table, on which were placed exquisite dishes, as well as wine and pastries. A circle of chairs with backs surrounded the square table.

After everyone was seated, the woman stood on the shore about ten meters behind them, her eyes, filled with an indescribable feeling, staring fixedly at them, as if she wanted to remember each of them.

The dishes were delicious, but under this kind of gaze, how could anyone be in the mood to eat?

Everyone exchanged glances and, taking advantage of the opportunity to eat, discussed what had happened last night in low voices.

Sure enough, everyone had heard the ethereal singing, but what Fatty didn't expect was...

"You said someone was dancing on the lake?" The one who spoke was Zuo Qing. She didn't deliberately suppress her voice, and her outburst seemed sudden.

Whether she was startled by Zuo Qing's sudden tone or had not yet recovered from the fright of last night, Tang Shirou's already apprehensive face appeared even paler at this moment, as if drained of blood.

"Yes...yes," she said through gritted teeth, "After I heard the sound last night, I looked outside out of curiosity, and...and I saw a figure dancing on the lake."

She must have recalled the eerie scene at the time, because Tang Shirou's tongue was trembling.

Fatty subconsciously looked at An Xuan, but found that the latter was lowering his head, slowly and methodically eating the dishes on his plate, with a bowl of steaming soup beside the plate.

"What kind of figure?" Xia Meng asked.

"I don't know," Tang Shirou shook her head, "I really don't know. There was fog outside, and I only saw a blurry figure, but...but it should be a woman."

"The figure...the figure was very thin, looked very thin," she added anxiously.

Everyone had heard the singing last night, and they could completely understand Tang Shirou's fear at this moment. Moreover...in the way they looked at Tang Shirou, intentionally or unintentionally, there was already a hint of subtle pity.

As a newbie, her mission was over.

Although being the first to see a ghost didn't necessarily mean being the first to die, it was probably the most likely, and according to her description, the story behind this ghost was probably...

"Esteemed doctors," a ghostly voice suddenly came from not far away. Everyone immediately looked towards the shore. The middle-aged woman was standing there, her posture unchanged.

"Please come with me after your meal," her voice was flat and cold, "Steward Zhou is still waiting for you all, saying he has something to explain."

After following the middle-aged woman, they walked a considerable distance. After about 10 minutes, they stopped at a larger courtyard, which was obviously much more impressive than where they were staying.

In the courtyard, three people were already standing there.

The one in the lead was a short, middle-aged man with small, squinting eyes, a hooked nose, a mustache, and a narrow, long face with very distinctive features, but his attire was clearly much more luxurious than that of the others accompanying him.

The other younger woman and the menacing-looking burly man they had met yesterday were following behind the middle-aged man.

"This should be Steward Zhou. Everyone, pay attention to his every word and action." Qin Jian, mature and prudent, said in a low voice when they were still some distance away from the middle-aged man.

Just like yesterday, the group slowly stood in front of everyone, their faces showing no emotion whatsoever.

"My surname is Zhou, and I am the steward of Master Huang's household. I am responsible for all of your food, clothing, and accommodation here." This Steward Zhou's facial muscles were stiff, and he exuded an eerie aura.

Steward Zhou didn't pay attention to everyone's reactions and continued to speak on his own. From his words, everyone roughly understood the era and background of this mission.

Chen Qiang was right, this was indeed the Song Dynasty.

The owner of this mansion was surnamed Huang and used to be a famous tea merchant in the local area. After earning enough money, he donated to become a minor official and then retired to his home to enjoy his later years.

Because he was kind and willing to help the poor, he earned the title of Huang the Benevolent, and had a very good reputation in the local area.

But good people don't always have good fortune. Master Huang's only son suffered from a rare form of madness, and was crazy and deranged all day long, locking himself in the attic, refusing to see anyone, and...

Speaking of this, Steward Zhou suddenly paused, then raised his head and looked at them one by one with a strange look. Those who were caught by his gaze had a strange feeling of being penetrated.

"Last night...did you hear any strange noises?" Steward Zhou suddenly asked.

"No," An Xuan answered the question for everyone. He nodded slightly, appearing very natural, and said, "We were all tired yesterday, so we went to bed early."

Hearing this answer, the corners of Steward Zhou's mouth suddenly turned up slightly, and his squinting eyes became even more inscrutable. "Is that so?" he suddenly smiled. "If it didn't disturb the esteemed doctors' rest, then that's naturally the best."

"Steward Zhou, what are you talking about?" An Xuan blinked in confusion. "What disturb our rest?"

Coupled with his refined appearance, An Xuan was the type of person who easily gained the favor and even trust of others.

Of course, that was only true for people like Tang Shirou. For people like Jiang Cheng and Xia Meng, it was useless.

But for some reason, Steward Zhou actually started to explain, "Since suffering from madness, the young master has had a very strange habit," he stared at An Xuan and said slowly, "He only comes out at night to sing opera on the lake."