Chapter 17 Duck Blood

“What… what dish?” You Qi was closest, his eyes fixed on the huge food box on the table, his seemingly robust body trembling uncontrollably.

Relatively speaking, Chen Qiang, as a newcomer, although pale, managed to maintain his composure.

He pursed his lips, looking at the food box on the table without saying a word.

No one answered You Qi's question; more accurately, no one paid him any attention. The young woman with a cold expression seemed only to understand the middle-aged woman.

"Squeak—"

The lid of the box was slowly lifted, and veins popped out on the young woman's forehead. One could imagine how difficult it was to open, requiring both hands to barely lift.

After seeing what was inside the food box, everyone's expression changed slightly, and after a moment, they felt a chill down their spines.

Inside were bowls and bowls of… blood!

But not the bright red kind of blood, but a brownish color, in chunks, like tofu.

There were nine bowls in total, four in the front and five in the back, arranged closely together.

"Hurry and drink it while it's hot." The middle-aged woman's voice had no inflection. "The young master is addicted to opera and knows this is the best thing to soothe his throat."

"This was specially prepared by the young master for all the doctors. I hope you won't let his kindness go to waste." The middle-aged woman stared coldly at everyone.

Seeing the bowls of blood, everyone couldn't help but think of the terrible scene they had just witnessed.

Tang Shirou had been skinned, her entire body a bloody mess.

The snow-white paper sedan was soaked in blood, and blood was still dripping from the bottom of the sedan.

And now…

"Gulp." Shi Liaozhi swallowed hard. Before them were bowls of steamed blood.

The origin of this blood was almost certain.

It was Tang Shirou's blood.

Seeing that no one moved, the middle-aged woman began to show signs of displeasure.

She roughly pushed aside the obstructive young woman, reached into the food box, and placed a bowl directly in front of You Qi.

"Eat." The middle-aged woman's face was contorted, her eyebrows raised exaggeratedly. "This is the young master's kindness. How can you let the young master's kindness go to waste!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, seemingly genuinely believing that these doctors were failing to appreciate the young master's good intentions.

Poor You Qi couldn't express his suffering. He looked at everyone with pleading eyes.

"Brother You." Looking at You Qi, Qin Jian advised in a very sympathetic and quiet voice, "Why don't you… why don't you try a little first, otherwise…"

He gestured with his eyes at the middle-aged woman standing beside him, clearly reminding him.

If he didn't eat, the consequences would probably be dire.

Under everyone's gaze, You Qi picked up the spoon, trembling, and scooped out a small piece, then slowly, slowly put it in his mouth, his expression more pained than if he were eating poison.

"How is it?" Shi Liaozhi was the first to ask.

"It's not." You Qi suddenly raised his head, his face full of joyful relief. "It's not, not human…" When he said this, he immediately stopped, then changed his statement. "It's duck blood, it's duck blood!!"

Duck blood...

Everyone's hearts relaxed slightly.

Next, under the middle-aged woman's instructions, the young woman carried the huge food box, walking around the table, and everyone reached out to take a bowl of duck blood.

The middle-aged woman was like a conscientious zookeeper, glaring and patrolling back and forth until everyone had finished the duck blood in their bowls. Only then did she grin and leave contentedly.

The young woman followed behind her, step by step, like a puppet.

Before leaving, the middle-aged woman explained that there were no arrangements for the morning. They were free to move around the residence but not to go too far, lest they encounter any trouble.

As for what kind of trouble, the middle-aged woman didn't say, and everyone tacitly didn't ask.

It was unclear whether they would be called to see Young Master Huang again in the afternoon, so they had to return before noon.

According to the time in this world, they probably had a little more than an hour left.

Not long, not short.

After the middle-aged woman and the young woman completely disappeared, everyone gathered again to discuss their next plan.

The bizarreness of this instance exceeded their imagination. They decided to make the most of the daytime to look for clues, since, according to the middle-aged woman, Young Master Huang didn't go out during the day, only performing opera on the lake at night.

"The abandoned residence where the sedan is parked, the opera stage, and Young Master Huang's residence." An Xuan raised his head and continued, "These places may all have clues. We'll probably have to search them one by one."

"And the servants in this Huang manor." Xia Meng looked in the direction where the middle-aged woman disappeared and added, "They're also very strange."

"Four places in total." Chen Qiang said, "Checking them one by one, I'm afraid we won't have enough time."

An Xuan turned his head and looked at him, saying, "Actually, it's not four places, it's three. The abandoned residence and the opera stage are relatively close. If we hurry, we can make a round trip in time."

Time was tight, and everyone stopped exchanging pleasantries. Because Xia Meng suggested that there was something wrong with the Huang manor servants, the three of them took the lead and searched in the direction where the middle-aged woman had disappeared.

Logically speaking, with Tang Shirou dead, the remaining two rooms of three people could each be responsible for one direction.

But at this moment, they had a disagreement on where to go.

An Xuan wanted to see what was in Young Master Huang's residence, but You Qi explicitly opposed it.

Although Qin Jian didn't speak, his expression betrayed him. He was the one who had been targeted there. Asking him to go back… he didn't have the guts.

Moreover, the way he looked at An Xuan had subtly changed. Tang Shirou was already dead. An Xuan no longer had a scapegoat.

"Mr. An." Qin Jian suddenly said, "Last night, near the opera stage, I vaguely saw something strange." His tone and expression were very serious. "I want to go back and confirm it."

An Xuan raised his eyes, his eyes full of amusement. After a long while, he said, "Since Mr. Qin has his own ideas, how can I force him?"

Qin Jian remained expressionless.

"But it's not appropriate for me to go alone, right?" After a moment, An Xuan turned to look at the three people in Zuo Qing's group, his meaning self-evident.

Everyone knew that there was nothing wrong with the place An Xuan had chosen. As Young Master Huang's residence, it was only natural that it contained clues. It would be strange if it didn't.

But… the danger there was also obvious.

After all, it was almost certain that Young Master Huang was a ghost, and sneaking into Young Master Huang's residence without permission was probably like visiting a haunted house, the kind with real ghosts.

Most importantly… he was going with someone who had ulterior motives.

Everyone had seen An Xuan's actions. He blatantly tied the newcomers to his side. There was a lot of distrust towards him.

Traveling with him would be like plotting with a tiger for its skin.

"I'll go with you," someone suddenly said.