Special Breakfast

River City, inside an estate.

Though this place was remote, the weeds on both sides of the road showed signs of being trimmed. Following the gravel path inward led to a massive estate, its flowerbeds planted with all kinds of unknown flowers and herbs.

However, despite the villa's size, there were only a handful of servants. Two maids were watering the flowerbeds and wiping down the enormous stone sculptures in the courtyard.

The sculpture depicted a man wearing a hat, with a resolute face and an arrogant expression.

Inside, in the dining room.

At the head of the long table sat a middle-aged man in a shirt and vest, his hair slicked back and his chin covered in a thick beard. He flipped through the newspaper in his hands, his gaze occasionally drifting toward the hallway on the other side.

The patter of footsteps sounded from the hall. A richly adorned noblewoman walked over, dressed in an elegant long gown. She slowly took a seat beside the man, looking somewhat worried.

"Xiao Hao still hasn't come back?"

The man took off his glasses, set down the newspaper, and looked at the woman.

"No... I went to check his room, but there wasn't anyone there." The woman looked haggard as she said worriedly,

"Do you think something might have happened to him outside?"

The man snorted and said bluntly,

"Isn't it all because you spoiled him? He runs off to bars every day. Sooner or later, he'll rot away in a pile of women!"

"I only have this one son. If I don't spoil him, who am I supposed to spoil?"

The woman did not back down, replying with a stern face.

The man apparently did not want to dwell on the matter. He sighed and asked,

"Did you send people to look for him?"

The woman nodded.

The man patted the back of her hand and comforted her,

"Xiao Hao is a Beyonder, after all, and that organization looks after him. There aren't even any monsters in the city, so what could possibly happen to him? I think he just had too much fun outside and forgot to come home."

"Ah."

With the man comforting her, the woman's expression eased somewhat.

"Let's eat first. I still have things to deal with later. The Shadow Group still hasn't sent any news, and that brat Su Ziyu knows who knows where he's hiding. It's such a waste for the Grimoire of the Old Days to fall into the hands of someone like him."

The man's face suddenly darkened.

"Isn't the old master about to succeed? Once he does, finding that little rat Su Ziyu will be easy, won't it?"

A trace of brutality unexpectedly appeared on the plump woman's face as well.

Just as both of them were looking displeased, a waiter entered with a tray in his hands, his head lowered.

The two wisely shut their mouths and said nothing further, instead turning all their attention to the waiter.

The waiter kept his head down as he placed two plates before the man and woman, lifted the covers for them, then promptly stepped aside.

"Sir, madam, please enjoy your meal."

The waiter spoke respectfully.

"Mm."

As the man picked up his knife and fork, he glanced once more at the waiter's face and asked with some puzzlement,

"Young man, I don't think I've seen you before. Did Aunt Mei hire you recently?"

The waiter politely bowed and said quietly,

"Yes, sir. You are usually busy with work, so it's normal that you wouldn't remember."

The man nodded and said no more, lowering his gaze to the plates. Today's breakfast was toasted sandwiches and foie gras. The wonderful aroma instantly whetted his appetite. He speared a piece and put it into his mouth, the rich scent of meat filling the air.

As usual, the man and woman slowly savored their breakfast, while the waiter attentively served them at the side.

When they had eaten nearly half their meal, the waiter left the dining room. Two minutes later, he returned carrying a new tray.

The man set down his knife and fork and wiped the remaining crumbs from the corner of his mouth as he asked,

"Oh? There's another dish?"

Noticing their gazes, the waiter carefully placed the tray in the middle of the long table, then stepped aside and said deferentially,

"The kitchen specially added this dish. I hope sir and madam will give it a try."

"Oh?"

The noblewoman rubbed her fingers together and asked suspiciously,

"What surprise has Old Fang prepared this time?"

"He said this dish is something close to both sir and madam's hearts. You will definitely like it very much."

The waiter smiled mysteriously.

"Hahaha..."

The man laughed heartily. After wiping his mouth clean, he rolled up his sleeves and reached to lift the cover, chuckling,

"I'd like to see what surprise Old Fang has prepared for me this time."

The cover came off, and the smile on the man's face instantly froze.

Confusion, terror, bewilderment, and finally rage—one expression after another passed over his face.

Unsteady on his feet, he staggered back two steps and pointed at the tray, roaring,

"You... what have you prepared for me?!"

The noblewoman was also startled by the man's reaction. She slightly raised herself and glanced inside. Her face immediately turned deathly pale, and for some inexplicable reason, a chill ran down her spine.

A second later, the woman seemed to realize something. With a shriek, she thrust her face close to the tray and stared at the bloody mass inside, crying out in terror and disbelief,

"Xiao Hao! My Xiao Hao!"

The woman recognized it first. Inside the tray lay a bloody head, its features mangled beyond recognition. Various slender and sharp tentacles grew from its face and skull, but all of them were curled up or withered, limply sprawled to the side as though they had no strength left.

The man realized something as well. He strode forward and stared at the tray, his face mottled blue and purple, pale as an old whitewashed wall.

"Ah! What is going on?!"

The man suddenly lunged at the waiter and grabbed him by the collar. Veins bulged across his face as he looked like an enraged lion, the fury in his heart seemingly impossible to vent.

The waiter let the man hold him, a faint smile seeming to surface on his face as he said unhurriedly,

"Hehe, do you like this gift?"

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Uncle, Auntie, this is a gift I specially prepared for you. Your most beloved little darling."

Whoosh!

The man's face abruptly changed. Rage was about to consume his reason as he raised his fist to strike, but the waiter's head seemed boneless and drooped at just the right moment. Not only did he evade the punch, he also broke free from the man's grasp.

The waiter stepped back two paces, straightened his slightly rumpled collar, and looked at them with a broad smile.

The man's expression shifted from shock to terror. As if he had thought of something, he bellowed thickly,

"Who are you?! Who the hell are you?!"

"Oh dear, I forgot I put something on my face..."

As he spoke, the waiter wiped his face, removing the disguise makeup, then smiled softly.

"Does this make me look much more familiar to you?"

Whoosh!

The man and the noblewoman froze at the same time. The woman was the first to react, roaring like a shrew in the street,

"Su... Su Ziyu! You still dare to come back! Kill him! Su Mingyi! Kill him!

"He killed our son! Xiao Hao! Our good son!"

By the end, the woman was crying again. She bent over the rotting head, vicious malice flashing in her eyes.