Chapter 38

Chapter 38: A Banquet Again

When the sounds of fighting and killing echoed from the main courtyard, Qian Gui curled up in the corner of the backroom, trembling uncontrollably.

When the footsteps of the bandits approached outside, Qian Gui hugged his arms and continued to shiver.

All sounds seemed to weaken, and as Jun Yang and Jun Tao, the brothers, huddled by the window, continuously peered outside, Qian Gui’s fingers subtly traced the outline of something on his chest, still... trembling.

“Hoo!” Jun Tao pulled away from the window. “It seems that the seniors have already left.”

Jun Yang didn’t reply, only tightening the grip on his sword.

This grip lasted the entire night.

By the time dawn arrived the next day, faint sounds were heard from outside.

Jun Tao jolted awake, blurting out, “Could it be that the seniors have returned?”

Jun Yang listened carefully for a moment, then shook his head. “No, the sounds are coming from the main courtyard.” His pupils contracted.

How could they have missed that?! They had clearly heard from their senior sister and brother-in-law that every morning, everything at the Tan family would reset. Now that the cycle had begun, they were in the Tan family, and they should have gone to the main courtyard to check the situation.

He turned to glance at his younger brother, then at the soundly sleeping Qian Gui, and quickly made a decision. “Ah Tao, stay here and watch over Brother Qian. I’ll be right back.”

Jun Tao’s pupils contracted. “Brother!”

Jun Yang didn’t respond to his younger brother, simply walking out of the back room.

Jun Tao looked at his brother’s back, feeling anxious. But with Qian Gui still behind him, he had no choice but to stay put.

The young man could only take a deep breath and mutter to himself, “You all must come back safely.”

His wish wasn’t in vain.

Not long after Jun Yang left, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, along with Nie Qing’e and Lu Qing, climbed over the back wall. Shortly after, Jun Yang also returned.

He brought with him a disappointing piece of news. “By the time I reached the front courtyard, the Tan family and Meng family had already gotten up.” In other words, Jun Yang hadn’t witnessed them coming back to life.

Jun Tao, upon hearing this, felt a bit disappointed. However, alongside the disappointment, there was a sense of relief.It was obvious that the scene of the dead coming back to life would be extremely dangerous. He would rather his older brother not find any clues than risk his brother getting into trouble.

With no new developments on Jun Yang’s side, the brothers turned to the four who had just returned.

It was at this moment that Qian Gui suddenly nodded, waking up from his sleep with a start. “Hoo! — Hiss, is it already daytime?”

Bai Zhengliu chuckled. “Brother Qian, you slept well.”

Qian Gui scratched his head. “Heh, you all worked so hard, and I couldn’t help out at all.”

Bai Zhengliu became serious. “Why be so humble? If not for Brother Qian, we wouldn’t have been able to stay at the Tan family.”

Even though he knew this was mostly a polite statement, Qian Gui couldn’t help but feel comforted and smiled as well.

Seeing the good atmosphere, Bai Zhengliu started talking about the experiences his group had the previous night.

Upon learning that they had destroyed the bandits’ weapons, the Jun brothers and Qian Gui were both happy and worried. They hoped this move would work, but feared that the daily reset would happen again and restore the destroyed weapons to their original condition.

While they were thinking, voices could be heard from outside. Looking out the window, they saw that the servant women who worked for the Tan family had arrived. When they saw the people in the back room, the servant women paused in surprise.

The seven people in the room: “…Wait a minute! If the reset really happens that completely, wouldn’t us being here in the Tan family mean…?”

“This must be the honored guests that Master Tan spoke of.” The servant woman smiled. “Since you’re all awake, I’ll go report to Master Tan. Will the honored guests be having breakfast with Master, or would you prefer to have it here in the back room?”

Qian Gui instinctively looked to the others.

The others looked at him—the one who was actually invited by Master Tan, with the rest of them just benefiting from the invitation.

Qian Gui: “...” He understood now. “As guests, we should naturally dine with the host. However, there is an important matter at the house today. I’m afraid I might disturb Master Tan.”

The servant woman smiled cheerfully. “How could it be considered disturbing? Master Tan spoke of his honored guests earlier with great joy.” With that, she happily went to report to Master Tan.

Leaving Qian Gui, who cautiously glanced around at the others, trying to confirm if his previous “understanding” was correct.

His gaze shifted to the swordsman, who seemed to be deep in thought. “It seems that those swords and blades will really come in handy tonight.”They still didn’t know exactly how the cycle here worked. But one thing was clear: when they had done something that significantly affected the “Tan family” the day before, the Tan family would react accordingly.

This idea was further confirmed in the next half day. The previous day, when Master Tan had invited Qian Gui to stay, Bai Zhengliu had already noticed that the other guests were looking at them strangely. Today, the seven of them were seated at a table near the front. After waiting for a long time, the other seats at the table remained empty, and no one approached them.

It was as if the other guests were intentionally avoiding them.

The swordsman surveyed the surroundings. Although the seven of them were being neglected, the entire courtyard was still lively. People were talking, playing games, and drinking...

When Bai Zhengliu’s gaze landed on the man with a horse-like face who had invited them to the gambling match, the man noticed and looked at him. But unlike yesterday, he didn’t approach to entice them; instead, he quickly averted his gaze.

It was as though they had never made eye contact.

Bai Zhengliu raised his eyebrows slightly and began searching the crowd for the person who had spoken about Master Tan and Lady Meng’s casual talk the previous day.

His memory was quite good, and he quickly locked onto his target. However, although he was very interested in what the person had said, Bai Zhengliu didn’t approach him immediately but chose to wait patiently.

It wasn’t until Weng Ge’er was brought out again. Unhindered, the man indeed repeated the same words, “He looks so pleased. People who don’t know better would think he’s having another child at an old age!”

The people nearby immediately began to rebuke him. However, someone was faster than them.

Unknowingly, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan had already positioned themselves on either side of the speaker. They spoke one after the other, with Bai Zhengliu smiling as he asked, “What kind of remark is that?”

The gossiping man froze.

Mei Yinghan cast him a faint glance and added, “If someone who doesn’t know hears this, they might think you’re saying ‘Master Tan treats Weng Ge’er like his own son.’”

Bai Zhengliu stared at the speaker with a relaxed tone, but his posture was firm, not yielding in the slightest. “Is this something that can be said casually? If someone ignorant overhears this, wouldn’t it tarnish the reputation of Master Tan’s family?”

The gossiping man’s mouth trembled slightly.

Bai Zhengliu watched him closely, and while waiting patiently, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

“He looks like… he’s afraid to speak?”

But why? The day before, this man had spoken so boldly, and even when scolded, he was still able to stand firm. The reason he seemed “afraid” now wasn’t the gossip itself—it must be something else.

Various speculations quickly spun through Bai Zhengliu’s mind. It was at this moment that the gossiping man finally spoke.He was clearly bluffing, nervously saying, “What did I say? You’re an outsider, don’t speak nonsense!”

Bai Zhengliu’s gaze shifted slightly, catching the meaning in his words, and he smiled, “How did you know I’m from outside? It sounds like you already knew me.”

The gossiping man’s face twitched, and his body instinctively recoiled. His gaze darted over to Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, then shifted behind them—

Bai Zhengliu turned with him. At that moment, Master Tan was calling from the front of the crowd, “Everyone! Everyone!”

Tan Junqiu and Meng Yuniang stood beside their father, with Weng Ge’er squirming in his mother’s arms.

Bai Zhengliu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, snapping back to attention.

The gossiping man had seized the opportunity and was trying to blend in with the other guests to escape. However, while he managed to avoid the swordsman, there was still the ever-watchful swordsman behind him, who wouldn’t give him a chance.

Mei Yinghan reacted swiftly, “Stop!”

Before the gossiping man could flee, Mei Yinghan grabbed his arm.

Having successfully stopped the man, Mei Yinghan should have been pleased. But before any emotions could rise, he immediately felt something was wrong.

The moment he grabbed the man, a sharp, icy chill directly seeped into his palm. Looking up, the gossiping man and the bystanders’ expressions shifted in unison.

Nie Qing’e’s voice echoed in Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan’s ears: “They all have pale faces, looking at the outsider with cold, eerie gazes…”

Master Tan’s voice, speaking of the gifts prepared for the guests, sounded distant, as if a great distance had suddenly opened between them.

Cold!

Mei Yinghan’s face tightened. Despite the bright sun overhead, he felt as though he had returned to the Tianshan mountains, walking through the endless snowstorm.

No, this wasn’t right…

He wanted to let go, but even that simple motion couldn’t be completed. At the critical moment, a voice came from the side, “Mei, brother!”

It was Bai Zhengliu!

Seeing the situation was wrong, Bai Zhengliu immediately slapped Mei Yinghan’s hand, forcing the gossiping man’s arm to fall away.In an instant, the ice and snow melted, and sunlight returned. The numbness and cold in his arm slowly faded, and Bai Zhengliu's concerned voice reached his ears: “Mei, brother, how are you?”

Mei Yinghan turned back to look at him, and the gossiping man took the opportunity to slip away, leaving no trace behind.

The swordsman closed his eyes briefly, then looked around, speaking slowly, “I was too careless.”

Seeing him like this, Bai Zhengliu immediately understood what had happened. Having been once restrained by Madam Liu, unable to move, he quickly said, “It’s good that Mei, brother, is alright.”

Mei Yinghan let out a sigh and said nothing. Bai Zhengliu then quietly added, “I think the key to this situation really lies with Brother Qian.”

If there was one major difference between the last two days, it was probably the change in their status.

Yesterday, they were just passing through. Today, they were guests already present at the Tan family estate.

Mei Yinghan followed Bai Zhengliu’s line of thought: “It seems we’ll have to ask Brother Qian to think carefully…” He trailed off as he noticed Bai Zhengliu’s gaze focused on something across the room, “Bai, brother?”

Bai Zhengliu blinked, shifted his gaze back, and asked a question that seemed unrelated to the current situation: “Mei, brother, do you gamble?”

Mei Yinghan was momentarily stunned. “Gamble?”