Chapter 343: One of Us

He picked up the contract as he spoke, briefly explaining the situation. "At home, we rely on our parents;outside, we rely on our friends. If we all work together, wouldn't it be better to complete the task with the least loss?"Xu Huo glanced at the nine names on the contract. Aside from the Ma couple, everyone else had signed.

Seeing him remain silent, Fleischer spoke again, "Mr. Xu, the ancient castle is so large. How many clues can you find alone? There are ten of us. As long as one person completes the task, everyone else can pass smoothly."

A trace of surprise appeared on Xu Huo's face. "The contract isn't an ordinary item. Are you sure its binding force is the same for both the holder and the participants?"

Fleischer's expression instantly darkened. At this moment, the baby-faced player chimed in, "We've already tested it. The contract has no issues. Even if someone breaks it, they won't actually be punished."

"Is that so?" Xu Huo definitely wouldn't sign. He paused before saying, "The contract itself might be fine, but can you be sure that all twelve people who came are task players?"

Everyone's expressions changed. You Qiwen immediately asked, "Mr. Xu, do you know something?"

Xu Huo, however, didn't intend to elaborate further. Just as he was about to leave, the baby-faced player said, "Big brother, if you don't want to join, just say so. There's no need to sow discord here."

The others showed varying degrees of wariness, though some took his words to heart.

Sweeping a glance over them, Xu Huo said no more. Instead, he walked out of the main building, found the young servant who had brought him tea earlier, and asked for a tour of this rather sizable ancient castle.

Actually, before arriving last night, he had taken advantage of the rain to search the front garden once. However, it was clear the rumor about human bones being in the garden was false. The garden soil hadn't been turned over for a very long time and didn't look like it had ever buried anyone.

After wandering around the garden, Xu Huo said to the servant, "It's a shame such a beautiful garden has no one to appreciate it. I have a friend who loves flowers. I wonder if Mr. Dong could send an invitation to my friend? Though Mr. Dong looks too serious, he probably isn't easy to talk to."

The young servant smiled and said, "Actually, Mr. Dong is a very good person who takes good care of us. However, the butler cannot invite guests over the master's head. If Mr. Xu wishes to invite a friend to enjoy the flowers together, it's best to speak with the master about it."

"But Mr. He hasn't come downstairs at all, and it seems he doesn't plan to receive guests today either," Xu Huo said with some distress.

"The master will definitely come downstairs for dinner," the young servant stated confidently. "It has always been like this before. The master respects every guest he invites."

Xu Huo nodded and shifted the topic to the spiders raised by He Pu.

There was a special place for raising spiders in the ancient castle, located in the woods behind the garden maze—a separate annex. The servant told him that since He Pu fell ill, it had been Mr. Dong taking care of them. Because there were many precious breeds in the annex, other servants usually didn't go there.

After a cursory tour of about half the castle, the servant was called away. Xu Huo, now alone, didn't continue exploring. Instead, he returned to the main building, spent some time in the study again, and then prepared to return to his room.

However, upon pulling the door open to leave, he saw Mrs. Ma, dressed in a silk nightgown, leaning against the doorframe. She raised her glass and said, "I've been waiting for you for so long. Why did you only come back now?"

"The servant just brought lunch and wine. Shall we have a drink together?"

Xu Huo glanced toward her room. The door was tightly shut, and that Mr. Ma hadn't come out.

Mrs. Ma swayed her sleeve, leaning toward him. "You silly thing. He's asleep and wouldn't wake up even if it thundered. What are you afraid of?"

Xu Huo used his umbrella to block her shoulder, sidestepped around her, and entered the room. "Say what you mean directly. Trying this kind of trick in a game?"

Mrs. Ma followed him inside. "What are you saying, little brother? My feelings for you are genuine. I fancied you the moment I laid eyes on you. Good looks, a great figure..."

Xu Huo completely ignored her advances, not even wanting to spare her another glance.

Mrs. Ma had been throwing flirtatious glances at a blind man. She pursed her lips. "No sense of fun at all. What a waste of such a fine physique."

"I just came over to say hello. We're all on the same side. No need for family to fight family."

"Those young kids approached you to cooperate just now, right? A bunch of greenhorns, daring to sign a contract in the game so casually."

"Truly foolish people don't survive in the game," Xu Huo said, sitting down, tacitly acknowledging her point. "Don't worry. If you don't provoke me, I won't interfere with you either. With so many players, are you afraid there won't be enough to go around?"

"My husband and I have always prioritized peace. That's why I took the initiative to come here," Mrs. Ma said, blinking. "But we're all guests here. We can't act as we please in someone else's home. I think those newbie players are quite wealthy. How about the three of us cooperate? Split it right down the middle, no one loses out."

Xu Huo stared at her for a few seconds. "Do you really think you were invited here just for a meal? There's a lot more going on in this ancient castle."

Mrs. Ma was momentarily stunned. "What do you mean?"

"He Pu."

"Wasn't he the one who invited us? What's the problem?" Mrs. Ma frowned.

"Who said it was definitely him who invited us?" Xu Huo countered. "Don't forget, the invitations didn't have names written on them. It could have been him, or the butler, or someone else."

"Then why does he want to meet with us separately?" Mrs. Ma asked. "Wouldn't he know who he invited or not?"

The Ma couple's invitations were also bought. She and her husband hadn't obtained train tickets in the last game and were stranded at Garden Castle Station. Through various channels, they learned that Rose Castle held banquets periodically. No train ticket was needed;having an invitation was enough to enter. Wasn't this clearly telling them the castle's BOSS was exploiting a loophole? Therefore, they naturally assumed the castle master was a Player-Eater.

Didn't He Pu's initiative to meet them, and not the other players, further prove this point?

"How long have you been here?" Xu Huo asked.

Mrs. Ma hesitated slightly before answering, "Two months."

"Two months isn't that long," Xu Huo said, raising an eyebrow. "I just inquired. Rose Castle has been holding these banquets for several years. If such a good opportunity existed, wouldn't the players at this station fight over it? Could it really fall so easily into the hands of outside players?"

"That's not necessarily true. We paid a high price for these two invitations," Mrs. Ma disagreed.

"Do you think He Pu is seriously ill?" Xu Huo asked again.

Mrs. Ma curled her lip. "He looks like he hasn't eaten in seventeen or eighteen days."

"The servants say He Pu hardly ever comes downstairs except to receive guests. The one actually running the castle is the butler, Mr. Dong," Xu Huo said, pausing before adding, "Actually, He Pu also had a servant call for me earlier, but before I could see him, Mr. Dong stopped me."

Xu Huo had been to the third floor;Mrs. Ma knew that, though the duration was rather short.

"In short, don't think things are too good," Xu Huo said meaningfully. "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Mrs. Ma's expression shifted, then she chuckled coquettishly. "Then we should cooperate even more. Since we're already here, we can't leave on an empty stomach, can we?"

Xu Huo waved his hand dismissively. "Do as you please. I'll leave as soon as I get a train ticket."