Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 344 - 343: Lost in a Maze

After the rune left, everyone else remained in the room. Lu Yan was persuaded by Lu Qing, but it was clear he was still harboring some anger. He sat there, his face dark and silent.

Everyone else had silver needles stuck in their fingertips, the constant pain keeping them awake. However, no one spoke. If someone were to listen outside, they might think the room was empty.

They kept at it until the light gradually seeped through the window paper, and Yan Daoxin breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s already daylight. I guess the problem isn’t significant. No one came to cause any trouble all night, so it’s even less likely in broad daylight," he said to the others.

Lu Zhang was somewhat troubled, not very at ease. But after staying up all night, he really couldn’t hold on any longer. However, he was concerned about maintaining his image, afraid that others might still be holding on and that he would be ridiculed if he conceded first.

On the other hand, Yan Shu had fewer concerns. Upon hearing Yan Daoxin’s words, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief, removed the silver needle herself, placed them back into the needle bag for Yan Daoxin, and yawned as she went back to her room to sleep.

Lu Yan always considered Yan Shu, who called herself "Yan Wei," and Zhu Yu, like the strategists Lu Zhang and Lu Qing brought with them. Moreover, he had always looked down on Lu Zhang. Now seeing Yan Shu carelessly going back to rest, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"I really didn’t expect it, this little brother looks gentle but has some courage. With such calmness, he seems like a true hero," he teased with a hidden meaning.

Lu Qing and Yan Daoxin pretended not to hear, but Lu Zhang’s expression was much more complicated.

At this moment, what made him feel most complex was not Lu Yan’s sarcastic comment but the thought that the "brave and heroic" person was actually his betrothed. He momentarily couldn’t tell if he was more joyful or worried.

Lu Qing also took Zhu Yu’s hand and quickly and steadily removed the silver needles from her fingertips: "It’s morning, you should go rest too."

Zhu Yu was different from others. She endured the entire night. Being someone without martial arts training, she had needles stuck in all ten fingers to stay awake. Now she truly couldn’t hold on any longer. Once all ten needles were removed, she quickly felt her eyelids growing heavier.

As she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly remembered something and forced herself to ask Lu Qing, "Did you hear any terrible screams last night when you went out to explore the terrain of the Immortal Castle?"

"No," Lu Qing replied with great certainty, "It was extremely quiet outside last night, and I didn’t hear the screams that seemed to be faintly heard in the dream earlier."

"It seems that the person is actually closer to this small courtyard, while being further from the castle.

But... there’s no one around this small courtyard, nothing at all. Where did the sound come from..." Zhu Yu analyzed verbally, her eyelids already so heavy that she couldn’t lift them, finishing her sentence with difficulty before falling asleep.

"Alright, let’s not keep watch here. Let’s go back to our rooms and rest!" Yan Daoxin motioned to Lu Yan and Lu Zhang, "In this situation, eating well, drinking well, and resting well is the safest approach."

Lu Yan nodded, yawned, stood up and walked out, heading back to his room. Lu Zhang also quickly got up and followed.

Thus, after a night of turmoil, everyone except the rune who went out to gather information and the Fu Lu who insisted on standing guard outside, finally managed to get some sleep to relieve the fatigue of staying alert all night.

When Zhu Yu awoke again, the room was empty. She got up, tidied her clothes and hair, opened the door and walked out. She looked up at the height and position of the sun, estimating that it was just past 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

She went downstairs and saw Lu Qing and Yan Daoxin sitting in the living room.

"Why are you up so soon? Shouldn’t you rest a bit longer?" Lu Qing asked as she approached.

Zhu Yu waved her hand and noticed several pieces of pastry on the table, placed on a cloth napkin, looking puzzled: "What’s this...?"

"You were sleeping just now when a few servants came over to deliver breakfast," Yan Daoxin said to Zhu Yu with a helpless smile, "You hadn’t woken up, so we told them to come back later to clear the plates, but those people didn’t respond at all.

We thought their lack of response was unreliable, so we ate those perishable soups and then put these pastries onto a large cloth napkin and set them aside.

Guess what happened? Those people came back at their usual time, cleared everything up as if nothing had happened, and left as usual!

If we hadn’t been quick and set those pastries aside wrapped in a napkin, you would have woken up to no breakfast and been left hungry!"

Zhu Yu frowned, increasingly disturbed by the servants’ strange reactions.

Lu Qing silently picked a piece of pastry, handed it to her, and followed it with a cup of tea: "Eat something first, fill your stomach before thinking it over. There’s plenty of time since we’re effectively stuck in this small courtyard, unable to go anywhere."

Zhu Yu quickly had a snack and left the hall.

The servants had just cleared breakfast not long ago, and it wasn’t yet time for lunch delivery. The courtyard was quiet, with no signs of anyone coming.

So Zhu Yu decided to give it a try.

When she approached the courtyard entrance, she held her breath and walked briskly. Although the path was winding and complex, no illusions occurred, whether she looked ahead or behind.

But eventually, she had to breathe.

The moment she exhaled, the disorienting feeling engulfed her, and after trying to head in the right direction for a while, she realized she was, once again, at the courtyard’s entrance after a few turns.

This time, no matter how she held her breath and moved outside, nothing changed, as if she was trapped in an endlessly looping environment.

So she stopped trying, went back into the courtyard, sat on the stone steps, rested her chin in her hands, and pondered.

By noon, the servants came to deliver lunch again.

Given what Yan Daoxin mentioned earlier, Zhu Yu became bolder.

To play it safe, she left the Fu Lu nearby to keep guard in case anything went wrong.

"Don’t worry, sir. With me here, whoever lays a finger on you will meet their ancestors!" Fu Lu said, patting his chest.

"Great, with your words I feel assured," Zhu Yu said with a smile, confidently preparing to "bully" someone.