CHAPTER 1350: CHAPTER 1350: RESTAURANT GHOST STORIES

"I see, we are honored to have you as our guest. The snow is indeed heavy. Please come in, the family members are dining, follow me, the master will be very pleased for you to join."

As he spoke, the old ghoul butler and the maid together led Shard through the hallway on the left side of the first floor. So far, both the undead maid and the butler were steeped in elements of Whisper, the Power of the Undead, the Curse of the Crazy Earth, and a sense of demonic corruption. With such a complex mix of power, even Shard couldn’t identify which one actually constituted the relic’s body just by looking.

But at least Shard understood the nature of the "Crazy Earth" he encountered this time, which was different from past experiences. This time, it made the scenery within the "Crazy Earth" range become an entire entity, causing any living being entering the scene to forget the existence of the outside world, thinking the area was the entirety of the world, and then turning to dust within the curse, causing the range of the curse to continually expand.

This special twisted nature is indeed the perfect match for this relic. However, it is unclear whether it’s the appearance of the relic that induced the land’s deformity, or the land’s deformity that attracted this special relic.

The entire mansion was in ruins, with the bloodstained red carpet merging with the dust. Every step on the broken floor made Shard worry that the ground might collapse. It was still morning by normal time, but due to the relic’s influence, it was always night here. The mansion’s almost completely dust-covered gas lamp glass shades could barely illuminate the small area under the lamp in the dim corridor.

Following the old butler inward, Shard felt as though he was traversing through darkness. The dim light seemed like bait for prey, constantly waiting for him ahead.

The scent of decay, the stench of rotting corpses, and the smell of feces became more severe the closer they got to the dining room. While moving through the hallway, Shard also noticed that there were many undead servants in this mansion, mostly ghouls and wraiths.

Actually, this was the normal situation. Before the entire Worsent Family died, they were locally known wealthy merchants. Naturally, maintaining such a large family estate required enough servants and staff, unlike the Osenfort Estate, which was abnormal instead.

Since the mansion wasn’t particularly large, the dining room didn’t have a banquet hall’s function, just connecting to the kitchen as a place for the family to eat. The wooden door outside the dining room only had the upper half still connected to the deformed door frame with iron plates, and the door itself was covered in black bloodstains.

Shard dared not activate the "Echo of Blood" in such an environment, fearing that he’d be blinded by the omnipresent red glow.

After the old butler knocked, an old man’s voice came from inside the dining room. After receiving permission, the butler and maid led Shard inside.

At this moment, Shard was already holding his breath completely, because the stench here was even more horrifying than the Worm Cave.

You had to walk down steps on both sides at the dining room entrance; this was a semi-basement room. The entire dining room wasn’t particularly large, with no windows, and the wall opposite the door had a fireplace. On the left was an old wooden cabinet holding dishes, with three worm-covered human heads on top, and the door on the right led to the kitchen.

A wooden long table without a tablecloth was placed at the room’s center, but calling it a long table was an exaggeration. There were five people seated around it, with only one end seat vacant.

At the end of the table sat an old ghoul whose clothing was somewhat intact. His exposed skin had completely turned green, and because the skin and flesh were quite loose, his body was full of wrinkles, like wearing ill-fitting clothes. Furthermore, he seemed to be the one most severely corrupted by demonic power so far, with four arms on his body, one on the left and three on the right, emanating a sulfuric odor all over, and with eight eyes on his face.

Without needing Shard to guess, the old butler introduced his identity. This was Old Worsent, the mansion’s master, and Haila Osenfort’s father.

Among the other four seated at the table, on the opposite side, was a wraith old woman with a faint green transparent spiritual body — the mansion’s mistress, Haila Osenfort’s mother; the creature curled on the stool, with a rat’s tail, looking like a child monster, was Old Worsent’s son, Haila Osenfort’s brother, who should have been 29 before dying; extremely obese, sitting on the stool with rolls of flesh almost hiding the chair’s backrest, covered in pink like an ogre, was the master’s brother, Haila Osenfort’s uncle; and finally, the one transparent spirit who was crying with her face covered, was a banshee — one of the special undead race, the youngest daughter in the family, Haila Osenfort’s sister.

Besides them, a ghostly dog was also lying on the floor, chewing on a human hand bone.

The stench entirely came from the family’s meal. Shard wasn’t inclined to use his eyes to discern, or words to describe, the things piled on the table. Simply put, rotting animal carcasses were the most food-like things among them. The true source of the stench was the human remains decomposing for who knows how long, obvious diluted feces, and other things Shard couldn’t bring himself to guess.

Just one glance, and Shard utterly regretted having breakfast this morning. His stomach churned more violently, and he could only desperately imagine scenes of Mia running back and forth before him, attempting to suppress his discomfort with something that made him happy.

This discomfort wasn’t caused by elements of Whisper or demonic power, but purely the body’s natural reaction. In some ways, unless one abandons the human body, this is more difficult to suppress than a transcendent curse.

"What an esteemed guest, welcome, emissary of the Emperor. Please forgive us for the inadequate hospitality, may we invite you to dine with us?"

Because of the ring, Shard was treated very kindly. Although the old ghoul’s words were formal, they sounded like a "snort," incredibly hard to discern.

"Of course, sorry for intruding, it’s my honor as well. Please call me Mr. Watson; the ruler of Wydon gave me a special task."

He forced a smile and sat down. Fortunately, the plates on the table weren’t very full, and in front of the originally empty seat on the table, there was no "food."

"Mr. Watson, what do you like to eat?"

The mistress of the manor, the spirit of the fallen lady, asked, with an indescribable strange tone.

Each monster at the table held their own "food" and looked toward Shard. His smile was on the verge of freezing.

[Eating this food, you are very likely to gain spirit runes like "Disease", "Filth", or "Excrement".]

"She" whispered the suggestion.

"Now’s not the time for jokes!"

Shard thought to himself, quickly organizing his words:

"My master, Miss Violet, doesn’t allow me to eat others’ food casually to prevent delaying my journey. However, please allow me to invite everyone for a drink, as a way of thanking you for allowing me to rest here temporarily."

As he spoke, he reached into the inside of his coat and took out a bottle of red wine. Fortunately, no one questioned where this wine bottle came from, and the Wraith Maid beside him poured fine wine for everyone.

Shard used the cup he carried with him, then eagerly took a sip. Never one to enjoy alcohol, he felt for the first time it tasted this delightful.

The Old Ghoul proposed a toast for everyone, and after lowering his cup, the Ogre, who was full of flab and brother to Old Worsent, asked:

"Oh, Mr. Messenger, the suitcase you carry gives me an uncomfortable feeling. May I ask what it is?"

Shard’s expression didn’t change:

"That’s a significant item that my master, Emperor Violet, asked me to deliver to Xerxes Higher Medical Academy... I think, even rural nobles like you, should know what that academy signifies."

The Old Ghoul still spoke in a "slurp slurp" noise:

"Of course, it’s one of the greatest Witch Academies. I had even planned to send my two daughters there to study."

The ordinary Old Worsent could never know "Xerxes Higher Medical Academy"; it must be Fifth Era’s common knowledge passed down by the relic.

Shard then looked at the crying Banshee, and following up, he asked:

"You have two daughters? I only see this beautiful, lovely Little Princess; has your other daughter already married?"

The praised Undead Banshee still sobbed softly while covering her face. Haila Osenfort’s brother, the small creature with a rat tail, replied:

"Yes, I have another sister; she married some annoying guy from the other side of the city."

These people seem to have forgotten how they died, but when talking about Haila’s wedding, everyone’s mood became somber. The temperature in the room slightly dropped, and the dim underground dining room grew even darker.

Thanks to Priest Augustus’s alchemical items, it wouldn’t be difficult for Shard to deal with these things, but he remembered his purpose for coming here.

He held his breath with the wine glass in hand, pretending to be interested as he said:

"Annoying guy? Yes, a family of a bride often dislikes the man who takes their girl away, you have your reasons to despise him."

"But that guy is not just annoying, he absolutely deserves to die!"

The creature full of flab slammed the dining knife hard against the table. All the food on the table vibrated, making the dissipating stench more apparent.

"Since he’s so deserving of death, why let her marry him? Is he rich?"

Shard asked again, but this time he received no answer. Except for the Banshee still crying behind her hands, the other four, with a total of 27 eyes, all looked at him together:

"Money? Every copper coin of his is stained with the blood of innocents. Would we want his money?"