I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 27, December 7: The Secret Mansion and Miss Lily's Toy House

"Mine." A soft, gentle voice came from beside her ear, faint yet containing a hint of seriousness and warning.

Zhou Hao, his face deathly pale, stiffly turned his head and saw a little girl in a long black dress standing beside him, her face expressionless and blank. Her face was so exquisitely beautiful it seemed unreal, like a doll, and her soft, fluffy gray curly hair made one want to touch it and feel its texture.

Lifelike dolls?

Don't scare him! This is scarier than ghosts! What's with this girl who suddenly appears looking like a doll?! Even if she's beautiful, she's still terrifying!

"Yours, yours, all of it is yours." Zhou Hao's hands trembled as he bent down to pick up the book that had fallen to the ground, and stiffly placed it back on the table.

The door behind them banged loudly, but the three people's hearts nearly stopped.

As the saying goes, "They are surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind; Heaven is determined to destroy them."

However, Mu Yegui didn't give them any glances. He simply picked up the book that Zhou Hao had put back on the table, gently dusted it off, and then sat down in a chair to read it.

The room was dark, with only the pale moonlight shining in from the window as the sole source of light.

It would be impossible for an ordinary person to see the words on the book clearly in such an environment. As a result, the three of them became even more convinced that Mu Yegui was a lifelike doll. They dared not make any rash moves, for fear that this doll would suddenly attack and kill them like the maid.

"Sit down," Mu Yegui said casually, pointing to the sofa beside him.

The two men and one woman sat obediently on the sofa, not daring to move.

"The door was being knocked on so loudly, I felt like the door was about to collapse..." Ruan Peng's eyes were red, and her voice was trembling with sobs.

Zhou Hao glanced at Mu Yegui, only to find that she had already finished reading the book and was about to put it back on the shelf. Zhou Hao quickly stood up and ran to her side, forcing a stiff smile as he said obsequiously, "I... I'll put it away for you, you can go read your book." Despite his boldness, his legs were actually shaking as he spoke.

However, Zhou Hao felt that this puppet could help them. Judging from her actions, she was genuinely engrossed in reading and showed absolutely no intention of attacking them. Perhaps she only asked them to sit down so they wouldn't disturb her.

Mu Yegui stared intently at Zhou Hao. She had seen this man before; she had witnessed a farce on Second Street leading to the Fairy Tale Kingdom, in which this man had given a brilliant performance.

After thinking about it, Mu Yegui found the whole farce quite amusing; this person spoke as directly as Xiao Yin.

So, Mu Yegui nodded to Zhou Hao and handed him the book. He then walked around the desk to the door and gently opened the door that had been making noise.

The three men's hearts nearly leaped into their throats. He Huayuan glared angrily at Zhou Hao, his eyes red as if he were looking at an enemy.

"What happened?" Mu Yegui asked calmly, looking at the three pale-faced, dazed maids outside the door.

The moment Mu Yegui asked her question, they seemed to suddenly snap out of their daze, glanced around in a fluster, and blushed shyly, saying, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. We'll leave right away!"

Zhou Hao, who overheard the whole thing, was stunned; he never expected such a thing to happen.

After Mu Yegui closed the door, there was no more knocking. The maid outside gave up and left because of her words.

He escaped the crisis so easily and naturally that he almost cried tears of joy, nearly thinking he was going to die.

Before the three of them could relax, they heard another knock on the door.

"What is it?" Mu Yegui slightly opened the door and peeked out, asking. Standing outside was a young butler in a tailcoat, his smile seemingly measured with a ruler to perfection as he looked at Mu Yegui and asked gently, "Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

Mu Yegui, unfazed by the question, countered with, "Yifa, why are you knocking on the door again?"

"The maids told me they ran into you in the study, so out of curiosity I hurriedly got out of bed to look for you." The young butler smiled very gently, his tone as calm as ever, as if he were telling the truth.

Mu Yegui glanced at Yifa's clothes from head to toe and said in a serious tone, "Well, you're dressed very neatly."

"You flatter me," the young butler said with a smile, accepting her praise.

The two tested each other, neither willing to reveal their true intentions, and in the end could only use riddles to deceive the other.

The three of them were completely confused, but they could vaguely sense that there was a tense atmosphere between the two, as if they were about to start fighting at any moment.

"Is there anything else you haven't finished? Is there anything I can help you with?" Ifa glanced at the door, which remained closed so that no one could see inside, and a dark glint flashed in his mysterious, deep amethyst-like eyes as he asked with a light laugh.

"No," Mu Yegui said slowly, shaking her head.

Ifa chuckled and reached out to push the door open. "Then I'll take you back to your room. It's not safe here at night."

Mu Yegui held the door firmly, preventing him from moving an inch, and calmly asked, "Is there something more dangerous than you?"

"You're joking. How could I be considered dangerous?" Ifa's smile deepened. He reached out and touched Mu Yegui's fluffy, soft hair, his expression enigmatic.

"Just because you say it's not, doesn't mean it isn't." Mu Yegui slipped out of the door and slammed it shut, completely separating the corridor and the study into two worlds.

"I don't quite understand what you mean. Could you explain it to me in more detail?" Ifa slowly squatted down to face Mu Yegui and spoke. The smile on her face was fainter than before, but it was full of danger. Her mysterious and deep amethyst eyes quietly stared at Mu Yegui's cold silver eyes.

With a 'smack,' Mu Yegui slapped Ifa's face with both hands, then rubbed his cheeks a few times.

"I'm sleepy, Ifa," Mu Yegui said softly, staring steadily into Ifa's eyes.

"Would you like me to take you back to your room?" Ifa ignored the two playful hands on her cheeks, her smile still flawless, and asked gently.

"Okay." Mu Yegui nodded, then raised her smooth foot and kicked his trouser leg, urging him, "Hurry up, I'm so sleepy. Lead the way."

As Yifa led Mu Yin forward, she suddenly asked tentatively, "What are you hiding in your study?"

“Miss Lily’s three dolls. I want to see if she will cry again after losing four dolls.” Mu Yegui said, his cold silver eyes suddenly looking towards a corner, then slowly looking back. “You walk so slowly, even a snail is faster than you.”

"You're in too much of a hurry." Even though she said that, Ifa quickened her pace.

As the two walked away, a pale-faced Fei emerged from the corner; those words were actually meant for him.

This person noticed him from the very beginning...

Regardless of his motives, Mu Yegui did indeed protect those four people here, even if it was just on a whim.



(End of this chapter)