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Chapter 335 It's too quiet

As evening approached, several more servants arrived, carrying food boxes. They moved nimbly and seemed to be in good spirits, but none of them spoke much.

To say they were not talkative or taciturn would be inaccurate; to be precise, these people didn't utter a single word.

While the group of people were taking plates of food out of the food box and placing them on the table, Zhu Yu tried to strike up a conversation with them, seemingly casually.

The servants, all smiles, merely glanced at Zhu Yu as if they hadn't heard a word she said. They didn't respond at all, and after setting out the food, they quickly bowed and withdrew without uttering a single word.

As the servants walked out in unison, Fu Wen quietly stuck out a foot from the doorway. The servant at the back stumbled and instinctively cried out, "Ouch!" His companion immediately steadied him, and the group continued on their way as if nothing had happened, without lingering for even a moment.

It seems they are not mute; both their vocal cords and ears are quite sharp.

Zhu Yu silently grumbled to herself as she watched them walk out.

"What's wrong? Do you feel something's not right?" Yan Daoxin came in from outside. He was hungry and didn't need anyone to invite him. He came down to eat on his own. He saw Zhu Yu staring in the direction the servants had left, so he asked.

“Those people looked lucid, even energetic, but their eyes were empty,” Zhu Yu pointed to his own eyes, “When they looked at you, there was no you in their eyes, not even anything, just like a bunch of walking corpses.”

"Oh? No wonder Fu Wen tripped that person earlier; he was testing you! I knew he wasn't the type to play such pranks!" Yan Daoxin suddenly realized. He had only seen Fu Wen's actions when he came over and hadn't seen Zhu Yu's instructions inside the room. "I knew it! People who follow Lu Qing for a long time eventually become just as restrained and boring as him. How could they suddenly have such playful thoughts!"

Rune scratched the back of his head at the door, grinning with a hint of helplessness.

Whenever Doctor Yan and his grandfather got together, they would inevitably bicker and make fun of each other. Unexpectedly, this time they accidentally dragged the two brothers into it as well.

Yan Daoxin picked up his chopsticks from the table, took a small portion of each dish from an empty bowl, and carefully tasted each one before nodding with relief: "Alright! The food should be fine, but I can't taste the wine, so just to be safe, you shouldn't drink it."

Zhu Yu nodded, watching him scoop some more food into his bowl before taking his bowl and chopsticks upstairs.

The meal was rather awkward.

Yan Shu still didn't want to pay attention to Lu Zhang, so like Yan Daoxin, she went downstairs to get her food and took it upstairs to eat by herself.

That leaves only Zhu Yu; the rest are Lu brothers. Her current public identity is Yu Changshi, Lu Qing's personal secretary. It doesn't seem quite appropriate for her to sit at the same table with her master for a meal, on equal footing.

So she followed Yan Shu's example, set out some rice and vegetables, and went upstairs to eat with Yan Shu.

The only people actually eating at the table were Lu Qing, Lu Zhang, and Lu Yan.

Without Duke Yan present, Lu Zhang and Lu Qing got along better than before, but Lu Yan still didn't like him. The atmosphere during the meal wasn't very warm. It could only be said that with Lu Qing there, the two of them didn't start arguing again.

After they finished eating, the servants, who were like puppets, came again to take away all the bowls and plates and left quietly.

As the sun set and night fell, the courtyard became increasingly quiet.

Lu Qing reminded everyone to lock their doors at night and stay alert before returning to their rooms.

Zhu Yu was standing on the second-floor veranda, leaning on the railing, gazing down in the dim moonlight. "What are you looking at?" Lu Qing walked over and stood beside her, his hands behind his back.

They're out here right now, so it's not appropriate for them to act too intimately.

“Look closely at that little pond down there,” Zhu Yu pointed down, “those flowers that were hidden under the leaves during the day are now in bloom, and they smell quite sweet.”

Lu Qing looked down and, sure enough, he could vaguely see some small white flowers floating in the pond.

And indeed, a faint, cool fragrance wafted in the air.

"Let's go back to the room. It's too dark around here. Standing on the corridor will only make you more conspicuous," he reminded Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu nodded, and the two returned to the room and locked the door.

Although Lu Qing arranged the rooms for the talismans and runes to be at opposite ends of the rooms where several people lived, and apart from Lu Zhang and Zhu Yu, everyone else here had enough martial arts skills to protect themselves, for the sake of safety, everyone decided to sleep fully clothed in case of any sudden situation at night.

Zhu Yu lay on the bed with the pillow behind her head, staring at the bed curtains above her, and asked Lu Qing, who had just lain down, "Don't you think this Fairy Castle seems a little too quiet after dark?"
Although those high walls can block our view, they can't completely block our ears.

Just now, as I stood in the corridor, I felt a profound sense of tranquility. I couldn't hear any sounds, not even footsteps or voices.

There must be quite a few households here; surely they all go to sleep as soon as it gets dark?

“Yes, I noticed it just now too,” Lu Qing nodded. “You were upstairs with Yan Shu, so you didn’t see it.”

The three of us were having dinner in the downstairs guest room when the servants from the fort came to take away the bowls, plates, and utensils. They were in a great hurry, as if someone had ordered them to finish everything before sunset, and they left without looking back.

Generally speaking, it is rare for a farming family not to keep some chickens and dogs. Even if you stay overnight in a farm, you can always hear the dogs barking at night, and if one barks, the others will follow suit.

I've never encountered anything so utterly desolate before.

After he finished speaking, he waited for Zhu Yu's response, but after waiting for a while he didn't receive anything. He turned his head and saw that Zhu Yu had his arms behind his head and was fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Lu Qing chuckled and gently pulled Zhu Yu's hand out from under her head and placed it by her side to prevent it from going numb after a while.

It seems she's really exhausted lately.

Lu Qing sighed silently to herself, blew out the candle beside her, and lay back down.

In the darkness, a faint fragrance could be faintly detected.

Lu Qing's originally clear mind began to fog up, and she became drowsy. Soon her face turned to one side, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Happy Children's Day! May the beautiful dreams of childhood always remain in our hearts!