Chapter 16: Nighttime Visitor
[Green Shade Inn]
Due to years of neglect and lack of management, the entire inn had only one guest - Yi Chen.
However,
Yi Chen didn't mind the dirtiness and poor conditions. He had lived in even worse places back at the orphanage... Even if there was a musty smell mixed in the damp bedding, it didn't affect his sleep.
Yet,
The first night's sleep wasn't particularly smooth.
It wasn't that Yi Chen himself had trouble sleeping,
But a faint sound from outside the room caused the plants inside his body to become active, stimulating his brain and pulling him back to reality from a deep sleep state.
When he opened his eyes,
He saw emerald green buds floating on the surface of his arms.
"Are the plants inside my body giving a warning?"
Just then,
Squeak~
A faint sound of wood scraping came from outside the door, clearly not made by the innkeeper.
"I'm the only guest in the entire inn,
There are two possibilities for such a sound,
One is the [sister] imprisoned in the end room, the other is an uninvited guest from outside the inn."
Thinking of the incident of pushing the sheriff into the lake, there was a possibility of trouble coming to find him.
However,
Yi Chen had no intention of getting up, but instead hid the silver axe among the bedding and continued to pretend to sleep.
Rashly rushing out of the room to check the situation could very likely result in being surrounded in the inn.
In contrast,
This enclosed and familiar guest room, as well as the window that could lead to the outside world at any time, were all usable.
Although the sound from the corridor was small,
It could be heard clearly in the silent night, and one could imagine it was the sound of something sharp scraping against the wooden floor.
Soon,
The sound of movement stopped in front of the door, replaced by a metallic sound similar to lock-picking.
Click~ The old lock was easily opened.
A shadow with feminine curves was standing outside the door,
She slid her slender fingers into her mouth, coating them with the slippery saliva from her tongue, and smeared it on the surface of the rusty door hinge.
The amount of saliva was enormous, sliding down the hinge to the ground.
When the hinge was fully lubricated,
The door was slowly pushed open, making no sound,
As soon as she stepped in,
The shadow flipped and jumped up, her body crawling on the ceiling like a gecko... The mucus covering her body seemed to easily provide this wall adhesion.
In the blink of an eye,
She had crawled from the doorway to the top of Yi Chen's bed,
Her eyes like black crystals staring at this strange guest in the inn,
Her hanging black hair falling beside the young man's face, remaining still.
Perhaps out of fondness for this handsome face,
Or perhaps simply because she was hungry,
Drip~
A drop of saliva fell right onto the blanket covering Yi Chen's neck.
This gaze lasted for a full five minutes.
Basically confirming that the young man on the bed was sound asleep,
The shadow continued to crawl,
From the ceiling to the vertical wall at the head of the bed, getting closer to the sleeping young man.
When the distance was one meter,
A tongue longer than normal extended from her mouth, gently licking the young man's face.
At the same moment,
Yi Chen had already gripped the silver axe tightly, steadying his mind.
『Wait! This is not yet the best opportunity.』
As long as the target got a little closer, or made any harmful move, he would instantly open his eyes and chop off its head in one strike.
After a round of licking,
The shadow showed a tendency to crawl down further,
The opportunity Yi Chen was waiting for was about to come,
Thud!
A sudden sound of leather shoes broke the situation,
Accompanied by the innkeeper's reprimand, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
"Cadacy, stop it!
This is one of our rare guests, don't disturb his rest... Unless you receive explicit instructions, just live on as before.
If you're hungry, I'll bring you a fish later."
The low reprimand made the shadow pause,
No longer having any thoughts about the young man on the bed, slowly moving her body upwards, like a child who had done something wrong, crawling back to the doorway with her head lowered.
After the sister had completely left the bedroom,
The innkeeper still stood at the doorway, staring intently at the sleeping Yi Chen, as if confirming something... About a minute passed before he gently closed the door.
Click~
Hearing the sound of the door locking,
The pressure in Yi Chen's chest quickly exhaled, his palm gripping the axe handle was covered in sweat.
"What exactly..."
At this moment,
An itchy sensation came from the cheek that had been licked earlier, and when he touched it, he found some fish scale-like structures had grown.
Yi Chen didn't panic,
He waited for a while before quietly going to the bathroom.
In the mirror,
Small shiny scales were scattered on both sides of his cheeks, and they showed a tendency to continue growing and spreading.
Just as Yi Chen was considering how to deal with it, whether to forcibly pluck them out,
Crack crack~
Plant buds grew out from the inner layer of his cheeks, pushing out the fish scales that had rooted in the facial skin, causing them to fall off one after another.
"Hmm? Are the pathological features in my body rejecting external infection?"
At this moment,
The little grape on his shoulder poked out its head, commenting on what had just happened in the room:
"It's very strange~ She actually left without attacking you.
This kind of 'parasitic pathology' should hardly have 'self-awareness', let alone when the target is right in front of her... She was actually able to suppress the urge to infect living things through consciousness.
This pair of siblings in the inn seems quite special.
Their 'grapes' might be very tasty."
Yi Chen didn't say much, after confirming that all the fish scales on his face had fallen off, he went back to bed.
Thinking about what had just happened, he unknowingly fell asleep again.
...
Knock knock knock!
A series of knocks on the door woke Yi Chen up again, by now it was already the second day, with sunlight shining through the window onto his body.
Dragging his heavy head to open the door,
The one knocking was the innkeeper,
He was holding a plate with a whole roasted fish, though not looking great, it gave off a rich aroma.
"This is a complimentary lunch.
Just a reminder, it's almost noon now, if you're really here to investigate, you should get moving."
"Mm."
Yi Chen, after receiving the lunch, chose to pick out the fish's eyes and feed them to the little grape first.
"This fish is 'clean', go ahead and eat it."
Only after getting the little grape's inspection report did he dare to eat it with ease.
By the time the feeling of fullness came, and he had changed into smart clothing, it was already afternoon.
At this time, the Green Lake area was providing free lake tours for visitors.
When Yi Chen arrived at the lakeside, it was already crowded with townspeople and tourists.
"So lively... It seems everyone is actively investigating the town's secrets."
There was a long queue at the boat boarding point,
Yi Chen could only honestly stand at the very end.
Unexpectedly,
A familiar voice came from behind,
"Oh my, are we late? There are already so many people queuing... Oh~ What a coincidence?"
The blonde Edmund, along with his two teammates, had also arrived at this time.
"Mm."
Yi Chen only gave a slight response, not even turning his head.
Edmund didn't make a fuss or insist, and during the queue, he didn't try to make conversation again, just chatting casually with his companions.
There was another detail.
For some tourists who had returned from the lake tour, Edmund actively approached them, engaging in handshakes or shoulder pats - this kind of physical contact.
This seemingly ordinary action
Was actually checking whether these tourists were infected, to judge the danger level of the lake tour activity.
When Edmund returned to the queue, he said softly, also intentionally letting Yi Chen hear, "The lake tour activity should be safe, feel free to enjoy it."
Coincidentally,
The lake tour boat could accommodate four people, and it happened to be their turn.
Yi Chen was forced to board a small pedal boat with this group, the boat painted with simple white paint,
There was also a male staff member standing on the boat, wearing green work clothes and rain boots, with a dull gaze... Not the same person Yi Chen had seen last night.
"Please remember four points before departure.
1. Everyone needs to participate in pedaling.
2. If you hear any calls during the tour that don't belong to the boat passengers, please don't respond in any way.
3. Absolutely do not touch the lake water.
4. In case anyone falls into the water, this boat will not provide rescue and will quickly sail away."
(End of Chapter)
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