"What do you think?" Gu Han asked softly.
"I see everyone seems to have rested well. Breakfast is ready. After you've finished, you're free to do as you please," the butler said. He had some servants put down the food boxes, then left with them.
Gu Wanyin and the others brought the food boxes inside and opened them.
Breakfast was quite lavish, with steamed buns, eggs, sticky rice cakes, side dishes, fried dough sticks, porridge, and more.
However, after witnessing such a shocking scene earlier, no one had much of an appetite.
Finally, Chen Sisi picked up a bun and said, "We should eat something. We'll need energy to get through this scenario."
"Yes, the butler said we could do as we please after breakfast. Can we leave this mansion? Maybe we can ask the neighbors or people nearby. We might discover something new," Zhuang Xiaoxia asked.
"They didn't explicitly say we couldn't leave, so I suppose we can," Tao Jianchun said. "Let's eat first."
Chen Sisi was the first to suggest eating, but after taking a bite of her bun, she suddenly spat it out.
"What's wrong?" Dong Yue was startled. "Is something wrong with the bun?"
"No," Chen Sisi said, her face dark. "I just saw the meat filling and remembered earlier..."
Hearing her words, everyone's faces turned various shades of color.
"I have a bold thought, but I'm not sure if I should say it," Gu Han said quietly.
"I don't think you should," Gu Wanyin picked up an egg and tapped it on the table.
"But I can't help it," Gu Han said with a distressed look. "The meat we ate last night and the filling in these buns this morning, they couldn't possibly be..."
Before she could finish, Gu Wanyin stuffed the peeled egg into her mouth.
Although she didn't complete her sentence, everyone understood her meaning, and suddenly felt their stomachs churning.
"No, no way," Chen Sisi said, trying to stay composed. "This scenario isn't that difficult. It couldn't be that twisted. Besides, the first person only died late last night."
But none of them felt like eating anymore. They put down their chopsticks and prepared to go outside the mansion.
In the daytime, the mansion was surprisingly quiet.
They didn't encounter the butler or any other servants until they reached the main gate, and the second young master was nowhere to be seen.
They walked out of the main gate one by one. Suddenly, Chen Sisi, who was at the back, let out a piercing scream: "Ah! Who's pulling my hair?"
Everyone quickly turned to look.
But there was no one behind Chen Sisi.
"There's no one there," Tao Jianchun said, puzzled. "Did you imagine it?"
"Impossible!" Chen Sisi clutched her head, her face ashen.
She was certain someone had pulled her hair from behind! The force felt as if they were trying to rip her hair out along with her scalp!
But as soon as she cried out, the force disappeared.
In a place like this, no one dared to jump to conclusions.
"Let's keep moving," Bai Shuwen said. "Nothing should happen during the day."
Chen Sisi could only follow along with the others, but her heart was trembling incessantly.
Why did someone pull her hair? Could it mean... she would be the next to die?
The mansion seemed to be quite secluded, with no other houses nearby.
They walked for quite a while before finding a relatively busier street.
There were some shops on this street, and a few street vendors along the sides.
At the very edge was an old man with a stall. For some reason, as soon as he saw Gu Wanyin, his eyes crinkled into a smile.
"Young lady, come take a look! I have all sorts of adorable little animals. If you like any, buy one to take home!"
Gu Wanyin was just walking towards that direction with the others when she suddenly heard 066's voice in her head: "Don't go over there!"
Gu Wanyin was nearly startled by it.
Come to think of it, since she entered this horror scenario, 066 hadn't made much noise at all.
It hadn't given her any tasks or asked her to earn points.
Probably because 066 knew very well that she wouldn't follow its instructions.
But why did it suddenly speak up now?
The more 066 told her not to go, the more Gu Wanyin wanted to.
She walked directly to the old man's stall.
There were several cages set up, containing rabbits, kittens, puppies, and even a little squirrel.
Gu Wanyin had no intention of buying anything – she didn't have any money from this era anyway. She just wanted to ask the old man about the affairs of the mansion.
However, at that moment, the little squirrel in the cage saw her and suddenly began to jump up and down frantically.
"Stop that!" the old man scolded, but his voice was gentle and didn't sound angry at all.
Gu Wanyin looked down and met the squirrel's eyes.
The squirrel seemed even more excited, as if it was about to tear the cage apart. Its big eyes were watery, making one's heart ache to see it.
For some reason... Gu Wanyin felt a sense of familiarity with this squirrel.
As if possessed, she found herself asking, "Old sir, how much is this squirrel?"
Hearing her question, Tao Jianchun frowned and said, "At a time like this, you're really in the mood to buy a pet? Even if you buy it, will you be able to take it out of here?"
Gu Wanyin thought about it and realized she had a point.
But this squirrel really did feel so familiar...
Seeing the squirrel staring at her longingly, a bold idea suddenly flashed through Gu Wanyin's mind.
Could it be...
"Old sir, do you know about that mansion over there?" Tao Jianchun asked.
"Which one are you talking about?" the old man asked with a smile.
"That one over there!" Tao Jianchun pointed in the direction. "I don't know the family name, but their second young master is getting married soon!"
"Oh, that family," the old man nodded.
Hearing that he seemed to know something, everyone crowded closer.
Zhuang Xiaoxia asked, "Old sir, do you know what's going on with that family? Something feels strange about them."
"I don't know much, just that the second young master's fiancée is very peculiar!" the old man said slowly. "One moment she's to marry the eldest son, the next she's to marry the second son. I heard last month when she was supposed to marry the eldest, she cried at home every day. But when the eldest died, she stopped crying! Then she immediately set a date to marry the second son! It's really..."
"You're saying the second son's fiancée was supposed to marry the eldest son just last month? But wasn't her marriage to the second son arranged since childhood?" someone asked.
"I don't know, I don't know!" The old man waved his hand. "Who knows so much about the affairs of rich families!"
The group wanted to ask more, but the old man clearly didn't want to talk to them anymore. He just smiled at Gu Wanyin and said, "Young lady, if you like this little squirrel, why don't you buy it?"
Gu Wanyin had been staring at the squirrel the whole time.
The squirrel was also staring back at her with "teary" eyes.
"Old sir, I'd like to buy it, but I don't have any money," Gu Wanyin said. "How about this – can I trade this for the squirrel?"
As she spoke, she pulled something out of the bag she was carrying.
