The Fragrant Feast

As the last minute slipped away, the shop assistant at the ceramic headgear shop, his ink-black lips parted into a strange yet eager smile.

The eerie blue light, whose source could not be found, flickered between light and darkness. When it was bright, it could illuminate the fine veins beneath the skin of the red-clad ghost mask; when it was dark, it silenced vision and brought an instant of complete darkness.

In a flash of light and shadow, the ceramic-headed waiter teleported from the stairwell to three dining tables, drawing out his words in a high-pitched voice:

"Serve the food!"

Suddenly, Yu Xing seemed to hear a "ding" sound in her ear, similar to the sound of a microwave oven timer ending.

Suddenly, layers of white mist surged from the second-floor floor, like the beautiful dry ice used on fresh seafood in restaurants. The mist drifted over the insteps of the feet, ethereal and misty, covering the floor and making the entire second floor seem to float in a dream.

At the same time, a sense of unease began to grow in Yu Xing's heart. She felt that the scene she was in had been quietly replaced by something, and it was no longer just the second floor of Never Forget Dwelling.

Clouds drift and swirl beneath our feet, white mist billows and churns.

As everyone waited for the "food" to be served, the eerie blue light dimmed again, lying dormant in the darkness.

In order to see what was happening at Hua Subai's table, Yu Xing sat facing Hua Subai with his back to the stairwell by the window. Next to him was Gu Xing, opposite him was Yan Li, and diagonally opposite him was Bugui.

With everything in complete darkness, his hearing became even more acute. Yu Xing could hear the breathing of the four people at his table, none of them sounding unusual. However, there was a very faint sound of machinery operating mixed in with the sound, which he had almost overlooked.

The sound that appeared briefly is hard to describe.

Before Yu Xing could figure out what the sound meant, two seconds later, a flash of light appeared.

As everyone regained their sight, a deathly pale paper figure suddenly appeared beside the misty dining table.

The paper-cut sleeves of the paper figure were stiff and hung above Gu Xing's head. Gu Xing was startled by the shadow that enveloped him and looked up.

Blue printed sleeves, Red Vest, the vest collar revealing a section of blue placket, and above that, a frighteningly white neck and chin, and a pair of eyes with dark-colored eye sockets.

The paper figure lowered its head, but its eyeless eyes seemed to be looking at him as well.

"Holy crap!" Gu Xing blurted out, then realized it was inappropriate and forced back his composure, sitting up straight and maintaining his image as a quiet and intelligent Research Institute.

However, his upper body was clearly leaning towards Yu Xing, his whole body filled with resistance to the paper figure.

Yu Xing was a little further away, at least one person behind him, so he could see the paper figure in its entirety at a glance.

The paper effigy has a smiling face painted exactly like the ceramic effigy, and wears an old-fashioned round hat, making it look quite endearing.

It stood upright, almost touching the side of the table, its arms bent, holding a plate of food that was also made of paper.

It arrived silently and motionless, yet it brought an indescribable sense of oppression. As the fog thickened, Yu Xing keenly looked towards Hua Subai's direction—

A few steps away, another table had become hazy and indistinct in the fog.

"Bite".

It was that abrupt sound again.

The light went out again, but this time the darkness lasted even shorter, just a blink of an eye, and then it came back on.

"Wait—" Without warning, Gu Xing found himself face to face with the paper effigy. He was terrified and leaned back abruptly, causing the chair to sway and scrape with a sharp sound.

The paper effigy was making the motion of placing dishes on the table, bending down stiffly, but its face wasn't obediently lowered; instead, it was turned ninety degrees, staring at Gu Xing with a strange smile.

Even after it was lit up, it remained motionless, as quiet as a real paper effigy.

"It's... it's a little scary." Gu Xing tried to remain calm, this time openly moving his chair closer to Yu Xing, pressing himself against her, still stubbornly insisting, "I just can't quite get used to this element of Chinese-style horror, it's not that I'm timid."

Yu Xing glanced at him absentmindedly, mainly still observing Hua Subai's table.

This time, when the lights were switched on and off, the fog thickened even more, completely separating the two surrounding tables, making it impossible to see anything at all.

He could not sense any presence behind the fog, whether it was from a living person or a ghost.

No, that's not quite accurate. It should be... He felt like he was sealed in a space, and even the wisp of curse power left in the Meng Dao's body had vanished without a trace, losing all contact.

Yu Xing suddenly raised her voice and called out, "Boss Hua!"

No one answered.

"You idiot!"

After the fog cleared, still no one answered.

Yan Li frowned as well. "This is bad. The array I set up behind the crevice while going up the stairs has gone out of control."

The two looked at each other and received the same answer from each other's eyes.

Regardless of how Yan Li managed to precisely set up an array behind the volatile rift in such a short time, the ten strategists were thus separated—by tables and chairs.

Perhaps each person at the table was trapped in a separate space, losing all means of contact with the outside world.

All of this happened almost right under their noses, and all of them, including the most powerful strategist on the surface, only noticed the fog and received no further warnings.

Wrong.

Yu Xing's Spiritual Eye was triggered unintentionally, and Tong Se instantly froze into a clear, icy state, clearing his mind.

There is a warning.

In the few seconds after it went dark, he heard the sound of some kind of machine operating, and the usual "ding" sound before the lights were turned off.

"Bite".

Just then, the strange noise came.

This time, the darkness lasted only half a second before it came back on. The paper figure was gone, the fog had dissipated, and the people at the two tables next to it were also gone, leaving only a sense of emptiness and loss lingering in my heart.

Seven paper plates and four real bowls appeared on the table in front of them. The bowls were filled with white rice, and dark-colored sticks were stuck upright in the rice, like incense sticks.

A chilling shiver ran down Gu Xing's spine. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, quickly turning into icy sweat as the frigid air enveloped him. He shuddered and hurriedly wiped it away with his hand.

"I really hate elements of Chinese horror." He tentatively grabbed Yu Xing's arm. "I Zeng Lai you're a very important friend to him. Friend, can I borrow your arm for a bit?"

Yu Xing was filled with curiosity and suspicion about everything before her, but without any intention of being petty, she generously said, "Please go ahead."

He had never encountered such a bizarre scenario in any of his simulations.

The ringing sound, each clear note like a signal, alternating between darkness and light, would bring about significant changes in the surrounding scenery.

Just like...

"Stop-motion animation." Yan Li, having once again caught up with Yu Xing's train of thought, calmly said, "I don't know why this meal at Never Forget Dwelling was presented like this. From the moment the waiter announced the dishes were served, there were three instances of light and shadow, three scenes, just like stop-motion animation."

Now, in their eyes, it is still the second floor of Never Forget Dwelling, but the view outside the railing is dark. They can't forget the street scene below or the sky above. Even inside the second floor, it is empty. There is no one else, not even the waiter.

The staircase leading to the first floor, like the view outside the railing, was swallowed by darkness.

"Look at this." Feeling that he could Bugui finally spoke up, pulling a note from under his bowl of rice.

[In January of this year, Fang Deming and his wife were dining at this restaurant when he called over a waiter, mentioning that his eldest son was getting married soon and inquiring about booking the restaurant for Never Forget Dwelling wedding banquet. The waiter replied: "The boss has a rule that this restaurant does not accept wedding banquets." Enraged, Fang Deming smashed the waiter's head, causing the waiter to fall to the ground and die.]