[Lu Family Courtyard] Vine Skeletons

The Herb Garden was eerily quiet. There was not so much as a chirp from an insect or bird.

After a whole night of having his ears assaulted by screams from the watermelon field, Ren Yi somehow found a rare bit of comfort in the dead silence.

They had barely taken two steps when a muffled thud came from beneath Lu Zihan's foot, as though he had kicked something.

The thing was round, and though Lu Zihan had given it a solid kick, it hadn't budged an inch. It seemed firmly fixed to the ground.

Seeing another round object put Ren Yi a little on edge.

He took another look. Fortunately, it wasn't a watermelon.

But as he studied its outline, half visible in the mist, Ren Yi felt it looked familiar.

He soon realized why.

Why did this thing look so much like Lu Zihan's head when it had fallen to the ground?

"Holy shit." Lu Zihan jumped too, then his face darkened. Clearly, he had made the same unpleasant association.

The thick fog had obviously restricted Lu Zihan's senses as well. Otherwise, with his perception and reaction speed, he would never have been careless enough to kick something on the ground.

Ren Yi crouched down and leaned closer.

At last, he saw what it really was.

It wasn't a real human head, but a skull woven from tangled green vines.

Everything below the vine-wrapped "neck" was buried deep in the soil. No wonder it hadn't budged when Lu Zihan kicked it.

Ran into one already.

Ren Yi understood.

This had to be the "plant roots with unusual structures" mentioned in the fourth rule.

[4. If you find plant roots with unusual structures, do not draw attention to them. Quietly cover them with nearby soil.]

Ren Yi crouched down. He had to follow this rule properly now.

He reached out to grab a handful of soil from nearby and cover the Vine Skeleton Head.

But the moment his fingers touched the soil, he felt another hard, round object beneath it.

Ren Yi paused.

There was more than one of these "unusual vines"!

Judging by its feel and position, the Vine Skeleton Head buried in the soil was probably locked in a tight "embrace" with the exposed one, the two tangled inseparably together.

Ren Yi withdrew his hand without a word and deliberately scooped up soil from a spot a little farther from the hard object.

Since he had to hold Lu Zihan's hand, his movements were awkward. He could only pile soil onto the Vine Skeleton Head bit by bit, and it took him quite a while to bury the exposed vine skull completely.

He used one hand to brush the dirt off himself, then said to Lu Zihan, "I'm done, young master."

The two continued deeper into the thick fog. The farther they went, the softer the soil in the Herb Garden became. Their feet sank halfway into it with each step, and a damp, humusy smell rose from the ground.

They trudged along, their footing uneven, occasionally stepping on strange hard objects. There was no need to guess; they were probably more Vine Skeleton Heads.

Whenever they were unlucky enough to find an exposed one, they had no choice but to stop and put in the effort to bury it.

After burying three Vine Skeletons, Ren Yi's expression had grown a little stiff.

Weren't these things a little too densely packed?

He had already examined them. For the time being, these Vine Skeletons had no special effects. They didn't move or bite, making them much worse than the watermelons. At least the watermelons made a noise.

He could easily take one home as an avant-garde ornament. They existed purely to disgust people.

No, maybe they existed purely to waste time? Ren Yi suddenly realized.

The Herb Garden was different from the other jobs. Entry was strictly forbidden between the hours of Wu and Wei, which meant no work could be done all afternoon. Participants had to finish loosening the soil and weeding in half a day.

If they spent the whole way wrestling with these skulls and lost working time, wouldn't that trigger the rule for "unfinished work"?

Come to think of it, none of the participants who had died so far had broken a rule by "failing to finish their work."

But those "useless servants" who fell behind were probably dealt with by Aunt Lu Qing personally, right? After all, she still hadn't made a proper appearance; there had to be a role saved for the finale.

No sooner had that thought passed than, a few steps later, another muffled thud suddenly came from beneath Lu Zihan's foot. This time, he had finally kicked something other than a Vine Skeleton Head.

"Ow!"

A cry of pain immediately came from the thick fog.

Two blurry figures emerged: a male and a female participant holding hands. The man was crouched on the ground with a small shovel in his hand, apparently loosening the soil.

With his senses restricted, Lu Zihan had accidentally kicked him in the backside.

"Who's there?" Half angry and half panicked, the male participant turned around. Then he saw Lu Zihan's face, and all the anger on his own face turned to panic.

Lu Zihan had made a round in front of the participants yesterday. Most of those still alive recognized this violently tempered "young master" and had heard from the study group about his horrifying habit of killing people at the slightest provocation.

"Y-young master, what brings you here?" His voice trembled.

The female participant beside him reacted quickly. She immediately pinched him hard, signaling him not to speak out of turn, then greeted Lu Zihan with the utmost respect. "Greetings, young master."

At the same time, she also seemed to notice Ren Yi beside Lu Zihan, and a flicker of puzzlement crossed her eyes.

Ren Yi was observing them too. The two participants seemed so afraid of breaking the rules that they were not only holding hands, but pressing their entire arms and even their shoulders tightly together. They looked just like two erasers glued together, having to move in sync even when they walked, which made them look exceptionally stiff.

Looking at their feet, he saw half a Vine Skeleton Head—or, more precisely, the halves of two Vine Skeletons locked in a tight embrace.

Ren Yi finally saw the complete form. The Vine Skeletons were shaped exactly like two human figures embracing, their arms wrapped around each other's backs and their torsos pressed tightly together. Their pose was so intimate that they seemed to want nothing more than to merge into each other's flesh and bones.

Actually, with a little decoration, they might even look somewhat romantic at a wedding.

"What are you two doing here?" Lu Zihan planted one hand on his hip, putting on a thoroughly roguish air. He had come here looking for entertainment, and now he had ready-made targets.

"Y-young master, we're loosening the soil and pulling weeds, doing the work assigned to us." The male participant who had been kicked finally calmed down a little and hurriedly lowered his head as he answered.

Ren Yi suddenly spoke up. "You two aren't a couple, are you? You're stuck so close together. The Lu Family doesn't allow servants to date in private."

Of course, he had made that rule up on the spot.

He had already decided that as long as the two participants denied it, he would have Lu Zihan trigger the rule and cut them to death.

If they didn't deny it, that was fine too. He would have Lu Zihan try to "order" them to let go of each other, then let the Herb Garden eat them.

As for the livestream, well, he didn't know Young Master Lu's rules anyway. Besides, was it really so uncommon for participants to kill one another...?