Chapter 11: [World 1] Castle Stories 11 : Food

One minute and thirty seconds remaining.

“Click, click, click…”

Time ticked away little by little.

One minute left.

“Why aren’t you sitting down?”

The blonde woman finally couldn’t hold back and spoke, her beautiful red eyes tinged with a different emotion.

A hint of worry teetering on the edge of losing control.

Xunian still didn’t move or speak, only staring into the Duke’s Daughter’s eyes, her deep black pupils blinking once.

Fu Ruxue anxiously fidgeted in her seat, desperately sending glances toward Xunian.

What is she thinking? Why won’t she sit down?

Thirty seconds left.

Xunian silently counted down in her heart.

29.

The Duke’s Daughter crossed her arms and stood there coldly observing, seemingly certain that Xunian would eventually sit.

…

20.

19.

18.

Her expression darkened dangerously as she lowered her arms.

……

13.

12.

11.

10.

Finally, the Duke’s Daughter moved.

She fiercely concealed the anger in her eyes, quickly walking up to Xunian, wrapping her arms around her waist and hoisting her up sideways.

The crowd was left stunned as she swiftly carried her toward the only remaining empty seat.

Those seated at the dining table were dumbfounded.

What kind of domineering Duke’s Daughter falling for a pure and innocent beauty is this?!

Xunian buried her face in the warmth of the woman’s embrace, revealing a sly smile unseen by anyone else.

She had won the bet.

The beautiful woman holding her blazed with anger, as if enduring it for a long time, but she gently placed Xunian down in the seat.

As she stood up, her golden waterfall-like hair swept across Xunian’s collarbone like a feather settling on her heart, tickling.

Her heated hand pressed firmly on Xunian’s shoulder.

Even through the clothes, Xunian could feel the scorching heat.

3.

2.

1.

“Click.”

The bell chimed—time was up.

The woman leaned close, crimson lips parted, whispering into her ear,

“You’ll regret this.”

Xunian curled her lips, her eyes filled with unabashed provocation.

“Then I’ll wait and see.”

The Duke’s Daughter rose and, in full view of everyone, elegantly strode over to Zhang Zhuanghao, who was greedily devouring his food, and kicked him squarely in the chest.

“Ugh—ah!”

He flew backward, spitting out a wad of white with green mush inside, which writhed slowly on the floor.

The muscular man, standing at 1.8 meters, was knocked down without any chance to fight back.

He struggled to get up, only to be shoved down again by a boot pressing on his back.

“Did I say you could eat?”

A pristine leather boot stomped back and forth on Zhang Zhuanghao’s back, the man howling in pain beneath her feet.

“Ahhh, I’ll kill you!”

Zhang Zhuanghao pulled a short dagger from his pants and tried to stab at the boot with his free hand.

The dagger was kicked away, and the Duke’s Daughter stepped on his back again.

“Pfft—”

He spat blood, struggled a few times, then collapsed onto the floor, his twisted face filled with hatred.

“You wasted all the carefully prepared First Day’s Food.

Since that’s the case, you’re forbidden from eating any more food here.”

The woman with a delicate face gave a devilish smile.

Anyone who tried to eat the First Day’s Food would find it to be normal dishes—everything else was just an illusion.

But since the first day had already passed, this incident was quietly forgotten and no one else knew about it.

The Duke’s Daughter glanced once more in Xunian’s direction before walking away.

At breakfast, the Butler did not appear.

Xunian sat calmly as others cast strange looks at her.

The man on the floor still groaned and struggled to get up.

Zhang Zhuanghao seemed to always be the one injured at the dining table, unlucky every time.

Li Hua stood to help Zhang Zhuanghao but was pushed away.

“Get lost, I don’t need your help.”

Li Hua lowered his gaze, a glint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

He said nothing and didn’t argue.

Silently, he stood and returned to the group.

Cheng Li advised, “Ignore him.

Good intentions are treated like donkey liver and lungs—let him die there.”

“Forget about him for now,” Li Hua’s probing gaze turned toward Xunian.

“Xunian, do you know the Duke’s Daughter?”

His fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, exerting psychological pressure.

Xunian wasn’t buying it.

She met his gaze calmly.

“I just met her, so what?”

“Didn’t know her before?”

Xunian twisted her lips into a sarcastic smile.

“Did you guys know her before?

Of course we only got to know her through this Game.”

She was telling the truth—she hadn’t known the Duke’s Daughter before.

But she deliberately hid some information; after all, it was better if no one knew she had interacted with the Duke’s Daughter on the very first day here.

The atmosphere grew tense, Xunian sat waiting for them to continue provoking her.

Li Hua was about to ask more but was interrupted by Fu Ruxue.

“Enough.

Right now, the urgent matter is to find edible food.

Otherwise, we’ll starve to death here before the seven days are up.”

“I have an idea.”

Xunian spoke up.

“What idea?”

……

Xunian led the group to the kitchen.

On the cutting board lay a severed hand still in place.

She carefully picked up a cloth and gently moved the hand aside, flipping the cutting board over.

“Why flip it?” Li Hua asked, watching her turn it over.

“That side was too dirty.”

If Li Hua hadn’t already been suspicious, she wouldn’t have bothered answering.

Who would want to use the side that had touched a hand?

She washed the cutting board and placed it back on the counter.

From her pocket, she pulled out a long black creature and laid it on the board.

With practiced ease, she started scaling it.

“What’s that?” Fu Ruxue leaned in to inspect the black thing.

Li Hua recognized it immediately.

“It’s the Unicorn Red-eyed Beast from that day.”

Xunian scraped off the scales clean, sliced it thinly, then heated oil in a pan to start frying the meat.

A rich aroma rose up as sizzling sounds filled the kitchen, stirring their appetites.

Fu Ruxue swallowed hard, her hunger pressing her chest against her back, eyes glazed as she stared intently at the pan.

“Can we eat this? It won’t be poisonous, right?”

Nobody really knew what kind of creature this was.

It looked like a snake but wasn’t quite one.

Though dead for some time, the meat was surprisingly tender, something Xunian felt as she sliced.

The meat sizzled, the browned side crackling with oil, its golden edges slightly charred, tempting and mouthwatering.

Li Hua also swallowed, gazing hungrily at the cooking meat.

“Maybe we should have the guy on the floor try it first,” he suggested.

Cheng Li’s feelings toward Xunian shifted from gratitude to a hint of admiration, his gaze becoming strange.

Once the meat was golden on both sides with a bit of charred edge, she sprinkled seasoning and plated it with a knife and fork.

Finally, a normal dish appeared.

The group’s feelings softened, their opinion of Xunian growing.

Her casual move had captured their appetites.

Unfortunately, the small plate wasn’t nearly enough to share.

They even had to waste a piece to let Zhang Zhuanghao try it first.

Unaware, Zhang Zhuanghao still lay prone, blood and phlegm dripping from the corner of his mouth, his body in tatters.

Even the slightest movement sent unbearable pain through him.

“Ugh, damn it, aaah…”

He was determined to kill that woman.

The sight of the blonde treating the black-haired player so well irked him.

Why should players be treated differently?

Since the Duke’s Daughter valued Xunian so much, he’d make sure to ruin her!

His vicious expression nearly spilled out of his eyes as he painfully dragged himself up with the power of revenge.

Li Hua stood nearby, carrying a plate with a piece of meat on it.

To avoid suspicion, he had prepared what to say in advance and approached Zhang Zhuanghao.

“Da Zhuang, this is—”

Before he could finish, Zhang Zhuanghao, unsuspecting, snatched the meat from the plate and ate it in front of him.

Li Hua was silent.

Some people were so foolish they didn’t need to play mind games; they just fell into the pit themselves.

He looked up expectantly but didn’t see what he wanted.

Instead of vomiting blood and dying, Zhang Zhuanghao even asked,

“What is this? Is there more?”

“No more…”

“Tch.”

Zhang Zhuanghao turned and went back to his room to enjoy the wine the Butler left behind.

Li Hua returned to the kitchen and nodded to Xunian.

“But just in case there’s a slow-acting poison, I think we should still be careful…”

Xunian picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.

Fu Ruxue followed suit, taking a piece to eat.

Cheng Li copied them and took a bite as well.

The aroma burst in their mouths—the perfect balance of fat and lean.

The meat melted instantly.

The whole kitchen was filled with the scent of cooking meat.

Li Hua remained cautious, not touching the meat despite his mouth watering.

What if the poison worked after 24 hours?

Or 48 hours?

Xunian knew poison was possible.

Seeing the Duke’s Daughter didn’t stop them, she ate it outright.

Besides, she wasn’t afraid to die.

She didn’t know the others only ate after seeing her do so.

She even gave Fu Ruxue and Cheng Li a suspicious look, wondering why they chose to eat.

Only Li Hua refrained.

“What now?

We can’t just eat one meal, right?” Cheng Li spoke up.

“Let the girls handle cooking and washing dishes.

We’ll be responsible for gathering food.”

“Why don’t you cook and wash dishes?” Fu Ruxue snapped at him, anger flashing on her face.

“What? Do you think your small frames can find food?

It’s still up to us.”

“Enough fighting.”

A cold, indifferent voice cut through their quarrel.

The moment Xunian spoke, the two immediately quieted down.

Li Hua couldn’t stay any longer; his empty stomach churned acid.

He had to excuse himself.

“I’m going back to my room.”

If he stayed, he feared he’d go crazy.

Cheng Li stayed behind, watching Xunian.

At some unknown moment, his gaze had never left her, making Xunian feel uneasy.

“You need something?” she lifted her chin at him.