# Chapter 55: Castle Exploration (Thirteen)
"Why would the castle master set such a rule? A rule that no one, nor... can defy. The servants are so pitiful, so pitiful, so pitiful..."
The laughter gradually turned into crying. The girl's originally cheerful tone suddenly shifted to sadness. It was as if she was laughing through tears, or perhaps her grief had reached its extreme. Her voice carried a noticeable tremor.
Especially at the end, Qin Ge repeated "pitiful" three times in succession. Each time she finished a sentence, she drew out the next one even longer.
Speaking in a trembling, mournful tone, she prolongedly said, "So... pit...i...ful..."
[An'an, that castle master's wife... I feel like she's referring to...]
The system's voice was somewhat cautious. Using eyes that normal people couldn't see, it quietly observed Qi An. In the corridor just moments ago, there had been only two people. Upon hearing the girl's lyrics becoming increasingly strange, the freckled boy had immediately run into his room and firmly locked the door.
With a loud bang, the spacious corridor now held only Qi An alone.
The youth stood frozen in place. Unlike the freckled boy who had fled headlong into his room, seemingly paralyzed with fear, his face was deathly pale, his entire body trembling.
Like a lone boat adrift on the vast sea, small and with nothing to rely on.
The scene Si Mao saw upon pushing his door open was precisely this.
Because of his weakness, the boat couldn't decide its own direction, couldn't struggle against the endless sea. Even if the wind blew gently, it would be forced to change its course.
If it wanted to successfully reach the other shore without crashing into the sea's rocks, it had to rely on the wind.
Just like now. When danger came, the delicate youth could only stand helplessly in place. This kind of fear with absolutely no resistance was completely useless. Si Mao had always despised people like this—when danger struck, not only could they not escape themselves, they might even burden others.
But when Qi An raised his pale face to look at him, Si Mao's heart felt as if it had been tickled.
Someone so completely defenseless, who could only survive by depending on others.
Especially in a world like this.
[The castle master's wife in Qin Ge's words... is probably referring to me, right?]
Different from the fear he displayed on the outside, Qi An's voice when answering the system was inexplicably calm—plain as boiled water,平淡地乏善可陈.
[...Yeah.]
Not quite understanding what its host was thinking, the system simply hummed in acknowledgment.
Si Mao walked over to Qi An's side. His room wasn't just occupied by him alone; following him were five people—Gao Lijun, Wang Ziyi, Zhao Qizhu were all inside. The remaining two were a pair of twins who looked alike.
Remembering the matter of an organization Si Mao had mentioned to him earlier, Qi An couldn't help but take another look at them. Zhao Qizhu and Wang Ziyi maintained their usual attitudes and expressions as always. Gao Lijun's expression when looking at Qi An was still strange—almost as if she was forcibly suppressing something.
And the twins' eyes expressed things even more directly. They were curious, seemingly wanting to see what special qualities Qi An possessed.
This change could only have been brought about by Si Mao.
Qi An suppressed this doubt. But in his voice as he conversed with the system, an amused smile crept in. [The wife in Qin Ge's words might be me. That's also what I think.]
He rarely lost composure, so others could rarely determine from his external appearance what Qi An's true thoughts were. Qi An now seemed to be merely stating his thoughts, but also as if his words contained some other meaning. But regardless of what emotions the youth's words carried, his voice was undeniably pleasant to the ear.
The system felt its ears warm as it watched its host glance fearfully at Si Mao, then shrink back to watching the floor below.
Si Mao moved closer to Qi An, his gaze wandering over him.
But Qi An, completely immersed in fear, seemed utterly unaware, still staring with wide, hollow eyes at the scene below.
Probably because Qin Ge had walked down, the lights in the first-floor lobby had also turned on. Standing on the second floor, one could clearly see the solitary girl standing in the brightly lit hall. The girl truly was crying—crystalline teardrops格外耀眼 under the lights. Each time she sniffled, the first-floor lights would suddenly dim.
During the time when Qin Ge had first started making such sounds, actually no one had come out to check. It wasn't until a timid girl shrank back and opened her door that the others, hearing that first door open, gradually stepped out of their rooms as well.
Since experiencing the séance, everyone knew they were now in a rather dangerous situation. Having just experienced a death, and now Qin Ge was singing for no apparent reason. Some timid girls had already started sniffling softly. But this scene, which would normally be quite pitiful, drew no attention at all. Or rather, no one could spare their thoughts for such minor matters.
Qi An watched the floor below, dutifully turning his fingers white with tension.
This was the second time he'd heard about the castle master since coming here.
The first time was from the疯疯癫癫 old man's ambiguous words. The second was in Qin Ge's song.
Qi An appeared to be closely watching for any new developments below, but in his heart he had pulled up their mission panel.
[This is a haunted mansion. The castle master has fallen into a deep slumber, sleeping forever. The ghosts within the castle, freed from restraint, run wild.]
This was a passage from the mission background.
Considering the meaning contained in the song, Qi An's eyebrows shot up almost imperceptibly. This tiny change wasn't noticed even by Si Mao, who had been observing him the whole time. The thin youth remained like a trembling flower in the cold wind. Although seemingly caught in an extremely fearful state, to others, he was still beautiful enough to be a scenery.
—This was the first time he'd encountered ghosts who weren't in the same faction.
The castle master's servants loathed him.
Because of the master's power, they hadn't dared make any moves when the master was awake. They could only hide certain scheming thoughts deep in their hearts, playing the role of loyal servants.
But the castle master had suddenly fallen into slumber, sleeping forever.
Anger, jealousy, disgust, self-pity, self-mockery—all kinds of emotions suppressed to the extreme erupted violently.
So these people also began to gradually tear off their disguises, no longer bothering to maintain superficial respect for the master.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a rule set by the master constraining them.
The rule they mentioned—could it be the hierarchy rule Si Mao talked about?
Qi An lowered his head to look at the slippers he was wearing. They bore particularly exquisite and elegant black-and-white dual-colored flowers. They looked beautiful and precious. But the person who wore identical ones had died yesterday.
If the master was in slumber, then the culprits could only be the servants.
What was the reason they chose their victims? Was it truly because wearing those slippers indicated a low status outsider? Or were they trying to convey some message to those around them through the first death?
Si Mao said that the matter of his possibly being the lowest in status had already been confirmed by the first team. By today, it should spread among everyone.
Thinking about the various things he'd encountered since coming here, Qi An suddenly lightly licked his lower lip, slightly moistening his elegantly shaped lips.
[If I really am the so-called castle master's wife, could the ghosts here all be... secretly in love with me? And is the conflict between the loyal servants and the castle master about me? They resent and envy the castle master, just because they want me?]
Qi An chuckled lightly. His voice carried a intoxicating languor. The system couldn't tell whether its host was sneering or simply expressing pleasure.
[Ah?]
[Tongtong, do you think I should use this to complete my main mission?] Qi An slightly narrowed his eyes. The dense, long lashes completely concealed his extremely beautiful eyes.
[Complete the main mission—kill the castle master?] The system paused.
—The servants secretly loved the castle master, resenting that the master could possess the wife.
As long as the master existed, they could never accomplish their schemes.
They could only reveal their true thoughts when the master had fallen into slumber. But the castle master in the castle was still their obstacle.
If only the master didn't exist.
Once he was gone, the wife wouldn't be the master's wife anymore.
[An'an, what are you planning to do?]
Qin Ge's sadness in the song didn't seem fake. And judging from the intense emotions contained in her song, the people calling themselves servants had quite crazy feelings for the castle master's wife. The system's voice slightly changed.
[...Never mind, nothing. Let's see how it goes.]
Qi An couldn't explain why, but he suddenly thought of the ghosts he'd encountered in his previous three worlds. Thinking about how these people had treated him, he fell silent for a moment before adding, [After all, from what we can see, the castle master hasn't completely fallen into slumber yet. It wouldn't be good to truly provoke him.]
"What... what should we do now?"
On the second floor, except for Zhang Zhaoqi and Cui Feng, everyone had already come out. They stood on the second floor, watching Qin Ge from afar. No one dared go down.
"Maybe... we should wait."
"You should have noticed by now—Qin Ge has been possessed by a ghost. Do you remember what I said about this world being very dangerous? Besides what I mentioned yesterday, there's another thing: we have no way to judge whether the companions standing with us are human or ghost."
Si Mao suddenly spoke quietly.
Qi An seemed startled by his sudden words. His body jolted violently. Si Mao immediately placed his hand gently on Qi An's shoulder, seemingly helping steady him, though his eyes darkened. "After all, being possessed by a ghost doesn't count as death."
Seeing Qi An's face turn even paler, Si Mao casually added, "Don't you think what Qin Ge and Bai Jing said during the séance was strange? Everyone from the first team actually saw through Qin Ge's possession, but no one was willing to speak up about it. That's because they need to protect themselves."
"Sometimes, appearing too smart makes you more likely to be noticed by certain strange things."
"I just didn't expect the ghost possessing Qin Ge to expose itself so quickly. Looking at its current state, it seems like something stimulated it."
Something stimulated it?
Qi An froze.
"You were standing in the corridor just now. Did you see anything strange happen?" Si Mao asked gently.
"Seemingly not. She just stood looking at this painting for a long time, then walked down the stairs and suddenly made that sound."
Qi An looked at the hand Si Mao had placed on his shoulder, then quietly stepped back, distancing himself from Si Mao.
"That painting again..." Si Mao's brow furrowed deeply.
"What's wrong with that painting?" Qi An followed his gaze.
"That painting is key... especially what's painted in the very center." Si Mao gave the black mist in the center of the painting a meaningful look, pressing down the deep thought in his eyes, then turned to face Qi An. "What have you decided? Do you want to join us?"
"I..."
Qi An's eyes wavered.
"Joining us is very safe. As a newbie, you might not know the strength of our organization, or how demanding our recruitment process is. Before our organization formally accepts anyone, we subject them to strict examination."
Si Mao gave him a profound look. "You just need to nod your head now. Pay a small price, and you can join."
"What price?"
"What do you think?" The darkness in Si Mao's eyes deepened.
Qi An's eyelashes quivered violently, but he still put on an expression of hesitation as he looked toward Qin Ge on the first floor.
"I told you, in this world, Zhang Zhaoqi absolutely can't protect you."
Si Mao's voice rang out again. But the next moment, his voice paused.
Zhang Zhaoqi's door opened.
Only he alone came out. At such a moment, his being the last to open his door immediately drew everyone's attention. But the youth under countless gazes was unmoved. Zhang Zhaoqi gradually walked to Qi An's front, positioning himself刚好把司茂和戚安隔开. "Is everything okay?"
Qi An shook his head, his eyes falling on Zhang Zhaoqi, then shifting to Zhang Zhaoqi's door. The door had already closed. Cui Feng, who had entered Zhang Zhaoqi's room earlier, hadn't come out. And there was a faint smell of blood on Zhang Zhaoqi's body.
Qi An suddenly blinked.
Because with his peripheral vision, he noticed Si Mao's expression suddenly becoming very strange. His gaze at Zhang Zhaoqi turned to suspicion and uncertainty.
Indeed, Zhang Zhaoqi was indeed strange.
"It's time. We should go down."
Mu Gangnong冷淡地看着 the expressions of everyone. When he saw Qi An standing with Zhang Zhaoqi and Si Mao, his eyes flickered.
It was already 10 PM. Even if more people were unwilling, since the clearly abnormal Qin Ge still stood on the first floor, everyone could only follow along hesitantly. They were all a group of youths in the prime of life, yet their footsteps were like those of elderly grandfathers and grandmothers, moving extremely slowly.
"How did Zhang Zhaoqi manage to come out alive? How is that possible?"
Gao Lijun's expression changed. "In this world, everyone's abilities are suppressed. How could he fight off a ghost-possessed Cui Feng?"
"Hee hee, Zhang Zhaoqi really is impressive. I originally wanted to create a little trouble for him, but I didn't expect him to resolve it so easily."
Zhao Qizhu giggled, revealing two large dimples. "A tiny bit出乎意料, though."
Coldly watching Qi An walking alongside Zhang Zhaoqi, Si Mao's voice cooled several degrees. "Did your team really not get any hints last world? Zhang Zhaoqi broke the game's rules, and he's completely unharmed."
In the first-floor lobby, people gradually gathered. They kept their distance from Qin Ge, completely ostracizing the short-haired girl.
Then, as Si Mao had said, an old man suddenly appeared on the first floor. He wore clothes similar to a butler's. After giving them a gentlemanly bow, he smilingly recited the castle's rules.
The moment the hierarchy rules were explained, everyone simultaneously looked down at the slippers they were wearing.
"I'm sure everyone must be tired. We've prepared some food for you. Please enjoy at your leisure."
The butler lightly snapped his fingers. A stack of plates materialized in the air. But everyone present turned deathly pale, because together with the food came a bloody smell.
It was exactly the same smell they had detected during the séance.
This smell instantly brought their memories back to that time.
Whatever the food was, it was all coated with a thick, dark red liquid that hadn't fully dried yet and was still flowing, involuntarily making people think of something unpleasant. But before they could suppress their expressions, the food was evenly distributed before each person.
"Please enjoy, everyone. If you have any questions, you can ask me now."
The appearing butler maintained his smiling expression.
"When will this game end?"
The first to ask was Mu Gangnong. As he spoke, he unhurriedly chewed the food in his plate. The red thick liquid instantly coated his lips. His mouth was very wide, especially now—everyone around him felt their hearts race.
"As long as those mischievous, playful children are happy."
"Children?" Mu Gangnong questioned.
"Yes, just a group of children." The old man's smile deepened. "Just a group of children who couldn't get what they desired. Although they occasionally发泄 out of anger, they're essentially good."
"Will they also abide by these game rules?"
Mu Gangnong gave an noncommittal response to the old man's words, but continued pressing追问.
The old man still smiled warmly, but his turbid eyes widened slightly. "...Of course, these children will also follow the rules. However, since they come from within the castle, their status is higher than yours."
At these words, many people's expressions slightly changed. Although not explicitly stated, they all knew what those "children" referred to.
"Do you have any other questions?"
The elderly, kind-looking old man asked again.
Long silence. No one responded. The old man seemed somewhat disappointed, but he maintained his elegant, gentle smile. "Then after enjoying dinner, everyone may return to your rooms. You can sleep well tonight. No one will disturb you."
"Why?" Mu Gangnong's expression shifted.
"Because... those children are very happy, and I am very happy too..."
The old man's smile became genuinely sincere. He smiled, revealing even more wrinkles. "So they will be very excited, perhaps too excited to sleep. They naturally won't bother with other irrelevant matters."
"Very happy?"
"Yes, very excited."
The old man smiled again. His eyes full of vicissitudes swept over the surroundings. As his gaze slowly moved, although the old man's eyeballs were so cloudy that nothing could be seen clearly, Qi An felt that when the other looked at him, there was a sharp gleam in those eyes. "Very happy."
The moment the butler disappeared, the people who had still been moving their chopsticks immediately set down their food, their expressions unpleasant as they walked toward the corridor. Their faces were all难受, some even covering their mouths.
Qi An extended his chopsticks to gently dip into that pool of liquid, then brought it to his nose to smell. He discovered the liquid was ketchup.
Qi An's eyebrows raised, but he didn't touch his food either. After placing the utensils back in their original positions, he stood up and followed the crowd upstairs.
Everyone was gradually returning to their rooms, leaving only Qin Ge standing alone. The tear-light in her eyes had vanished. Her jet-black pupils regained the sweetness a girl should have.
"Why did you suddenly lose control just now?"
The butler's figure appeared in the hall again. His tone, which had been gentle when facing the paranormal club, turned不满.
"He just spoke to me. I was too excited. You know, I've dreamed of this day for so long. I've longed for it day and night, fantasizing about this day every day, so I was extremely excited. While speaking with him, my entire body trembled. I simply couldn't control myself."
Qin Ge's face broke into a smile. She spoke slowly in a hoarse voice. "Then, just as I was full of joy, I felt... he died."
"You know, this rule was crafted by the master himself. No one can break it. The only one who can break the rules is their creator."
Qin Ge's voice became even hoarser. "He's already fallen into slumber, but why would such a person appear now?"
"We've waited so long,好不容易才等到 this opportunity, but... he's still haunting us. I really can't bear it..."
"Although I don't know why, he is not the master."
The butler gently uttered this sentence. His voice now sounded young, completely incompatible with his outward appearance.
"Yes, the master has fallen into slumber."
Qin Ge lowered her head, murmuring to herself.
Silence dominated the team. By the time Qi An was about to go up to the third floor, Zhang Zhaoqi suddenly called his name. "If anything happens, please come to my room, or just call my name."
Qi An glanced at him. Seeing that the other's expression was冷淡得看不出有任何的特殊之处, he lightly hummed in acknowledgment and continued toward the third floor.
But halfway there, Qi An heard Zhang Zhaoqi call his name again. Qi An turned his head and saw that there was something else in Zhang Zhaoqi's eyes. He seemed to have deliberated for a long time before deciding to say this. "If you have any questions you want to ask me, you can also come find me. As long as I know, I'll tell you."
His voice was as flat and ordinary as always. But when Qi An met his eyes, an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
He did have many doubts about Zhang Zhaoqi. However, after standing still for a moment, Qi An merely nodded. Without speaking, he continued walking up the stairs.
This night was indeed as peaceful as the butler had said. Qi An didn't feel the压抑 from the first night. Instead, he slept very easily. By the time Qi An woke up, it was already bright daylight.
Once again, Qi An surveyed his surroundings. He noticed that the photo on the bedside cabinet had shifted. Before, it had been placed squarely on the cabinet. Now it was tilted.
Pressing his fingers to his temples, Qi An rose and prepared to leave his room.
The moment he pushed open the door, he discovered someone standing behind his room. It was Qin Ge. The short-haired girl had changed her pants, but they were still the same style—wide trouser legs that dragged straight onto the floor.
"Did you come here for something?"
Qi An paused mid-step. He didn't continue forward, merely cowering behind the door, gripping the doorknob tightly. It seemed like at the slightest sign of anything unusual, he would lock the door and prevent anyone from entering.
"I want to make a deal with you. Or rather, we want to make a deal with you."
Qin Ge flirtatiously brushed the loose hair from her forehead. "In our castle, besides you all and us ghosts, there is also... a human."
"Human?" Qi An seemed startled. The door he was gripping trembled slightly.
"Yes, he was forcibly kept here by our master. We all know he doesn't want to live here. He's a good person. Although we could be said to be quite evil in nature, we have been oppressed by our master for so long and have always been discontent, so we all want to help him."
Qin Ge didn't care about Qi An's fearful attitude. She spoke with her dusky pupils. "We want to help him escape the master's control."
After looking at her, Qi An lowered his eyes. "What does this have to do with me?"
"We need a human's help. It's a closed-off place. If we approach it, the master will sense us."
Qin Ge casually let her arms drop. "You are human. Your aura is too weak to attract any attention at all. Moreover, you have yin energy naturally, so you won't be harmed by the evil qi there. You could be said to be... the most suitable candidate."
"What do you want me to do when I go there?"
Qi An continued asking, head lowered.
"Nothing. You just need to go there."
Qi An noticed Qin Ge's fingers beginning to stir unconsciously. She seemed excited. "That place is one even the master cannot approach."
"Just going there is enough?"
"Just go there... No, of course you'll need to do some other things after you go there. Otherwise, what's the point of sending you? But they're all very simple things. As long as you go there, you can easily complete them."
Seeing the confusion in Qi An's eyes growing deeper, Qin Ge's smile stiffened. "As long as you agree to help us with this, we guarantee we won't harm other people, and we won't let anyone else harm you either."
Qi An raised his eyes to look at Qin Ge, then quickly lowered his head again. They seemed to want to lead him somewhere.
From what Qin Ge described, although the castle master had fallen into unconsciousness, he still possessed undeniable authority and power. The ghosts in the castle still feared him. But Qi An somewhat didn't understand—why had Qin Ge suddenly come to him for this deal?
Early in the morning, she had come to his door.
Right after he woke up, she had迫不及待地把这件事说了出来。
It was as if she was worried that if she waited any longer, some change she didn't want to see would occur.
"Qi An, let's go."
Zhang Zhaoqi suddenly came up to the third floor, interrupting Qi An and Qin Ge's conversation.
The smile the girl had勉强维持 completely vanished. Her gaze fixed on Zhang Zhaoqi with ill intent. But Zhang Zhaoqi paid no attention to her look of hostility. He merely淡淡地瞥了她一眼 and stood at Qi An's side.
Qi An watched their exchange of glances for a moment, then nodded toward Zhang Zhaoqi.
Qin Ge didn't follow. She just stood where she was, lost in thought.
Walking quietly alongside Zhang Zhaoqi, Qi An suddenly turned his head. His eyes directly met Zhang Zhaoqi's. "You said that no matter what questions I ask, as long as you know, you'll tell me. Right?"
"Mm."
Zhang Zhaoqi nodded. Judging by his current appearance, no one could explore what was truly in his heart.
"Who are you? What did you do before becoming a transmigrator?"
They were now on the stairs leading to the second floor. Possibly because of the delay from the conversation with Qin Ge, or possibly because Qi An had woken too late.
There were already many people on the second-floor corridor, and they all held cleaning tools like brooms, mops, and rags. When they saw Zhang Zhaoqi and Qi An coming down together, their expressions noticeably changed. Qi An could clearly see that when the others looked at him, their gazes carried varying degrees of disdain and strangeness.
But when they saw Zhang Zhaoqi standing beside him, this expression immediately froze. They hastily withdrew their gazes and continued with their work.
"First, find where the target is, then work gradually."
Zhang Zhaoqi冷淡地看着 the people who had turned their gazes here.
They were almost at the end of the corridor. The person closest to the stairs shuddered, stumbling away from where Zhang Zhaoqi and Qi An would pass. Qi An's eyes suddenly flickered.
Zhang Zhaoqi seemed to be exerting pressure on these people, but skillfully avoiding himself.
From these people's reactions, it wasn't hard to guess that the matter of his status possibly being the lowest was indeed spreading throughout the entire team, just as Si Mao had said.
Without Zhang Zhaoqi by his side, these people's gazes would be even more direct and肆无忌惮.
In other words, Zhang Zhaoqi coming to find him this morning was very likely for this very reason.
"Zhang Zhaoqi, after experiencing so many worlds together. You should have noticed too, right? I'm attractive to ghosts in these worlds. Aren't you the least bit curious why?"
Qi An's voice was still weak and listless, but Zhang Zhaoqi was startled by these light, drifting words.
"...Because you have unusually deep yin energy that ordinary people don't possess."
Zhang Zhaoqi's gaze seemed to dodge slightly.
"Is that really what you think?"
Qi An suddenly smiled. His smile was the same as always—weak, like a fleeting moonflower.
[An'an, what's wrong? Is there something special about Zhang Zhaoqi?]
The questioned youth didn't speak again. He merely continued leading Qi An forward expressionlessly.
[...I don't know.]
Rarely, there was some uncertainty in Qi An's voice.
[Then An'an, why were you testing him just now? Your current demeanor has already diverged from your usual one. Though not obvious, given Zhang Zhaoqi's usual performance, he would definitely be able to sense it.]
The system, though reluctant to admit, had to acknowledge that Zhang Zhaoqi was a formidable character.
[But he didn't show any reaction.]
Qi An replied softly. [He doesn't find it strange that I'm proactively asking him these questions.]
[Ah, right. Why?]
The system's voice changed. [An'an, you would never be the type to initiate topics in front of him, let alone ask him these questions. Why did he... show no reaction?]
"I won't hurt you. I won't be like those others."
After arriving at the room with cleaning supplies, Zhang Zhaoqi, who had maintained silence for a long time, suddenly uttered these inexplicable words. When Qi An奇怪地回头望他, he continued平淡地, "The butler appeared this morning. He hoped we could help him clean."
Only two items remained inside—two brooms.
Zhang Zhaoqi chose a good one and handed it to him. While taking the other in his hand, he continued, "You've been assigned a different area than me. You're on the half of the second-floor corridor near the stairs. I'm on the first floor. If anything happens, remember to call me."
"Mm."
Qi An nodded. Together with Zhang Zhaoqi, he returned to the stairwell. Zhang Zhaoqi coldly looked at the people also at the stairwell, then descended the stairs.
Four people were assigned to the same area as Qi An.
One was holding a mop, two had rags in their hands. The twin holding the mop, after rinsing it in water, stood at his position. When he saw Qi An approach, he warmly smiled at him.
The two girls with rags held their hands trembling constantly. But each time they placed the rag on an object to wipe, they were extremely careful.
Both worked from the edge of their assigned area inward, both wiping doors, unanimously ignoring the murals on one side.
When they saw Qi An arrive, both girls' expressions turned ugly. They completely ignored Qi An.
[An'an, why are they so afraid?]
The system asked, puzzled.
[Did you forget? The butler's rules mentioned one thing—try not to touch the things in the villa. If they use rags to wipe things, they'll inevitably have to touch some objects.]
Qi An lowered his head, conscientiously cleaning the floor. [Especially this painting.]
It was just that, although he was the last to arrive, he had been assigned floor cleaning.
That should be the safest job.
The cleaning time passed quickly. No matter how much the two girls procrastinated, they had already reached the point where they needed to wipe the mural. Their faces turned deathly pale at that moment.
"This mural can't be touched."
One girl's face broke out in visible cold sweat. "If we touch it, will we die... Can't touch it, can't touch it. Why are there so many people, and why was it me who got assigned here?"
She tightly gripped the rag, her gaze unfocused as she looked around. Then she quickly saw Qi An, who was very close to her. Seeing the broom in his hand, the girl's trembling worsened.
"I also wanted to clean the floor, but why am I so unfortunate? He's clearly the latest arrival, and just because he has someone to rely on, he gets to live so comfortably?"
The girl suddenly remembered what someone had quietly told her this morning.
This youth's status might be the lowest.
The mural before her was still very beautiful and warm, so delicate one would want to reach out and touch it. But to this girl, who had experienced so much since coming to the villa, this painting was like Pandora's box.
Full of sin.
Absolutely untouchable.
"I really don't want to die, I really don't want to die..."
The girl began murmuring to herself. She looked at Qi An with dark eyes. "So Qi An, please forgive me, okay? If there's blame, it should fall on you for being so unlucky as to choose that pair of slippers in the first place, so..."
"You wipe this mural."
The girl was using the rule from the game—the superior gives an order to the inferior, the inferior must execute it. Disrespect toward a superior from someone of lower status results in immediate death...