Li Qingxian held the rattle, forcing himself to ignore the discomfort in his hands. He cleared his throat and said, "Mother, this rattle was originally yours. Why don’t you take it back?"
"Silly child, this rattle was something Mother prepared for you. Take it. If you run into any trouble, just shake the rattle," the Deceitful Mother said.
"Alright, thank you, Mother." Li Qingxian knew he had no room to bargain with the Deceitful Mother, so he obediently accepted it and placed it in his Qiankun Bracelet.
The others looked at Li Qingxian with pity. The more Magical Treasures one had, the better, but when it came to Deceitful Treasures, no one dared to touch them.
Fangfang giggled and said, "Mother is so good to you, Big Brother. I don’t even have a rattle."
"When you’re all grown up, Mother will give you one too," the Deceitful Mother said with a laugh.
"Thank you, Mother!" Fangfang beamed with joy.
"Alright, it’s time to eat. You all can come in and eat with us." The Deceitful Mother set Li Qingxian down and clapped her hands.
One by one, legless maids in skirts floated in mid-air, setting up two tables and laying out dish after dish until both tables were covered.
The group stood outside, staring at the food, not daring to move.
Only Songg Baige casually took off his boots, stepped over the threshold, and bowed to the Deceitful Mother. "Greetings, Auntie! I’m Songg Baige, here with Ye Han for the Ministry of Justice’s campaign. We’re really good friends. For Ye Han’s sake, Auntie, if you have any good opportunities, don’t forget to look out for me!"
"What a cheerful and polite child. Good, Auntie will certainly look out for you," the Deceitful Mother’s smiling voice replied.
The others were annoyed with themselves. ’Since we can’t avoid this, we should have just followed Songg Baige’s example and tried to get on the Deceitful Mother’s good side. Maybe we’d at least die a prettier death.’
Everyone entered the house and sat down at the two tables.
No one picked up their chopsticks. They all stared intently at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian had already scanned the food with his Spiritual Eye. It didn’t contain any Deceitful Qi, so eating it wouldn’t cause a Deceit corruption. The cooking methods were all common: stir-fried, deep-fried, sautéed, steamed, served cold, stewed, roasted...
It was just that he couldn’t identify the ingredients.
A dish that looked like braised pork belly had skin covered in a white, moldy fuzz.
A dish that looked like stewed chicken had four pairs of wings and two heads.
A dish that looked like stir-fried cabbage had green liquid flowing inside its leaves.
And especially the rice—what was with the bowl of rice served to each person, where every single white grain had a twitching, black, dead fish eye bulging from it?
Li Qingxian glanced at Fangfang.
Fangfang giggled, picked up a piece of the white, moldy braised pork, and placed it in Li Qingxian’s bowl. "Big Brother, it’s delicious! When you eat it, there’s a slight pain, like getting a paper cut on your finger, and also a little bit of the sadness you feel when you overhear someone talking bad about you behind your back."
Everyone was stunned. ’Is that how you’re supposed to describe food? Who would dare eat that?’
Li Qingxian hadn’t even dared to touch his chopsticks, but Songg Baige directly picked up a piece of the braised pork, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed hard, and then let out a shriek.
"It really hurts... It’s like all ten of my fingertips just got slashed... Ugh, and it’s a little upsetting, too. It really does feel like I just heard a friend bad-mouthing me... so weird..." Songg Baige took another bite and started grunting, as if he’d been slashed again.
Fangfang, on the other hand, bit into the braised pork and chewed gently, grease dripping from the corner of her mouth. She squinted her eyes, looking utterly delighted.
Li Qingxian glanced at the black curtain, knew he had no choice but to eat, and put a piece of the braised pork in his mouth. He took a bite.
"HISS..." Li Qingxian looked down at his ten fingers. There was nothing there, but the sensation was exactly like being slashed ten times, right on the fingertips. The pain lasted only an instant before vanishing, followed by a wave of inexplicable sadness.
"Oh, my son, look how thin you are. Eat more and build yourself up. Someone, bring a plate of kidneys. They’re just for my son."
Li Qingxian’s expression was blank.
The others silently lowered their heads.
To break the awkward silence, Li Qingxian picked up a piece of chicken. At first, it was as tasteless as chewing wax. But after he swallowed, a fire seemed to ignite in his throat and burn all the way down to his stomach, accompanied by a faint tearing sensation. It was both hot and painful.
At the same time, he was overcome with an indescribable loneliness, like a three-year-old abandoned by the side of the road, watching his parents disappear into the distance.
’This is so messed up...’ Li Qingxian thought to himself. He instinctively scooped up a mouthful of rice, but the next moment, he regretted it.
All the rice grains burst in his mouth, like tiny eyeballs popping.
His mouth felt as if it had been pierced by a thousand arrows, a pain like being stabbed by countless needles.
Then came a strange sense of desolation, as if all his comrades had died in battle and he alone was left standing on a field littered with corpses. He stood atop a small hill of bodies—friends and foes alike—leaning on a tattered battle standard, gazing into the distance through the faint morning mist.
For some reason, the rims of Li Qingxian’s eyes turned red.
The others ate while exchanging glances. Every one of them had a twisted expression of pained pleasure, and some were even wiping away tears.
A steaming plate of kidneys, sprinkled with rainbow-colored seasoning, was placed before Li Qingxian. The kidneys swayed gently, like petals in the wind, or perhaps like they had just been freshly snapped off their original owner, their nerves still twitching.
Li Qingxian glanced at the black curtain, then helplessly picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
PUFF!
It was as if a clear sound echoed in his ears. He felt a sharp blade plunge into his heart and twist gently. Then came the pain of watching the woman he loved turn her back on him and walk away.
"Those kidneys were prepared especially for you. You must finish them all. And in the future, you will give me a whole brood of fat grandsons and granddaughters. The more, the better." The Deceitful Mother’s tone was much cheerier than usual.
Li Qingxian took another bite, his eyes glistening with tears.
"It’s just a meal, is it really necessary..." Li Qingxian was so "moved" he started crying.
The group ate in silence. The more they ate, the more it hurt, but the more satisfying it became, like eating different kinds of chili peppers that gave distinct sensations.
Every one of them was drenched in sweat from eating, their eyes bloodshot.
After finishing the kidneys and rice, Li Qingxian said, "Mother, I’m done eating."
"The other dishes aren’t finished. How can you be so wasteful? Someone, give everyone another bowl of rice."
The legless maids floated in and served everyone a new bowl of little-eyeball rice.
The group looked at each other in dismay.
More than half the food on the tables remained.
Li Qingxian sighed. "Nobody snatch. We’ll eat this fairly. Starting with me, we’ll each take one bite in turn until it’s all gone."
As he spoke, Li Qingxian took a bite of the stir-fried cabbage and grunted. The sensation was like having his tongue caught in a clamp, followed by the sorrow of bidding farewell to an old friend.
The group began to eat rhythmically, each person taking a bite in turn. A constant stream of strange noises—grunts, soft cries, and quiet hisses—filled the air.
If you closed your eyes, it would be hard to imagine what these people were doing.
Before long, the first table, where Li Qingxian sat, was finished. The people at the second table continued to pick at the food, casting resentful glances at Fangfang.
Fangfang alone had eaten enough for five people.
She cradled her round little belly, lounging comfortably in her chair. "Delicious... ah, that’s the stuff..."
Fangfang’s antics made Li Qingxian laugh. He reached out, picked her up, and sat her on his lap.
Fangfang nestled against Li Qingxian’s chest and closed her eyes contentedly.
The rest of the children were still outside, playing their silly games.
Putting down his chopsticks, Li Qingxian smiled. "Mother, are there any good places in the Outer City?"
"There are no good places in the Outer City. The Inner City has some, though. The Imperial Garden in the Imperial Palace is also a nice place," the Deceitful Mother’s voice replied, light and faint.
Everyone looked thoughtful.
Li Qingxian asked, "The Inner City... it’s more dangerous than the Outer City, right?"
"By twenty percent."
"The difficulty increases by twenty percent?"
The group breathed a sigh of relief.
"After nightfall, at most twenty percent of you candidates will be left alive," the Deceitful Mother said, her tone still flat, as if she were discussing a trivial matter.