The man laughed as if he had seen through Wen Xirou's skepticism. He spoke gently, "Of course. A farm this large certainly has more than one steward."
That sounded reasonable enough. Wen Xirou glanced at Wan Qian, who stood silently, her expression unreadable.
The man looked up at the sky. "The weather doesn't look good—it seems like it's going to rain. This place won't provide shelter."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, even if you don't need to avoid the rain, you should still head to your workplace earlier. After all, being late is never a good thing."
"Alright." Seeing that he had said this much, Wan Qian responded crisply, "Take us to the farm owner's office."
The man gave a slight nod. "Of course."
Turning around, he exposed his back to Wan Qian and Wen Xirou. His voice was hoarse, yet his tone remained lighthearted.
"Please follow me," he said. "The sky is dim, and the grass around here is quite thick. It's best to stay close—don't get lost."
The man didn't seem to have any ill intentions. On the contrary, he appeared very mild-mannered and easy to talk to.
He was completely different from the dangerous ghosts and monsters filled with malice toward humans that Wen Xirou had encountered in the haunted realm in the past.
Could he be trustworthy?
Since Wan Qian was following, Wen Xirou naturally went along as well.
As they walked, Wan Qian struck up a conversation with the man.
"You're the steward, so you must know this farm very well?" Wan Qian asked.
The man replied, "Of course, I'm very familiar with every detail of this farm. For example, there's a hole in the wall at the northwest corner, and you can crawl out through it."
Wan Qian raised an eyebrow. "Has anyone tried?"
The man said, "That would depend on whether they found the right hole."
Listening in, Wen Xirou quickly committed this to memory.
From the conversation between the man and Wan Qian, there seemed to be a hint of information. They could leave through the hole in the wall at the northwest corner. Perhaps this was the way to clear the level?
Suddenly, Wan Qian stopped in her tracks. Wen Xirou quickly followed suit.
The man, with his back still to them, stopped at the exact same moment, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
"Please, follow closely and don't get separated."
Wan Qian didn't move; she just stood still and asked once again, "Are you really the butler?"
The man responded, "Of course. I know this farm inside and out. I know it as well as a mother knows the child she gave birth to…"
He never got to finish. Because Wan Qian had already slapped him across the face.
"Get lost, you lying fraud!"
Wan Qian was absolutely furious. How could she not know how many butlers this farm had?
Look at her—did she look like someone who could afford a second butler?
This guy had to be a fraud, hired by a sneaky business competitor to fool her employees! Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable!
Her slap was so forceful that the man spun around in place before crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Wen Xirou stood frozen, her hands covering her mouth in shock.
After the man fell to the ground, his body began to twitch uncontrollably. His limbs twisted at unnatural angles, his joints bending in ways no human body should. He looked like a broken doll, completely unable to control his own limbs.
Wan Qian, too, was dumbfounded. Had… had she hit him too hard?
Or perhaps... this person already had epilepsy? Was he having a seizure now?
Thinking of this, Wan Qian couldn't afford to hesitate any longer. She charged toward the man, who was rolling and crawling on the ground. If a seizure isn't properly handled, it can be fatal!
Wan Qian pressed her hand firmly on the man's shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
The man, thrashed like a fish impaled by a harpoon, his body jerking and his limbs twisting and writhing uncontrollably, yet he couldn't break free.
Seeing the man struggle so intensely, Wan Qian grew even more worried and turned to look at Wen Xirou.
"Quick! Pick up his umbrella!"
Wen Xirou hurriedly grabbed the umbrella from the ground and handed it over.
Wan Qian swiftly shoved it into the man's mouth.
She wasn't a medical expert, she had at least watched TV. On TV, when someone was having a seizure, they would shove a chopstick into their mouth to prevent them from biting their own tongue.
But since there were no chopsticks on hand, so she had to make do with his umbrella.
To her surprise, as soon as Wan Qian insert the umbrella, she heard a "crack," and the man actually managed to bite the umbrella in half.
Wan Qian was stunned. Instinctively, she grabbed the broken half of the umbrella, attempting to push it back into the man's mouth.
However, the hand she had pressed against his shoulder suddenly felt a sharp, burning pain, as though she was holding a piece of burning charcoal. She quickly released her grip.
The man in black finally broke free from Wan Qian's restraint. His shoulder, where the black suit had once tightly wrapped around his body, was now burned away in a section.
The exposed skin appeared twisted and shriveled, a charred black color, as if it had been seared by intense flames, already carbonized and stripped of moisture.
Just as Wan Qian was wondering whether to call an ambulance, the man unexpectedly stood up from the ground.
He twisted as he stood before her, his arms hanging on either side of his body, one bent in one direction and the other in the opposite. His legs were uneven, one longer than the other, making his body appear lopsided.
What was most terrifying was his feet—completely turned around. The place where his heels should have been had become the tips of his toes, and where the tips of his toes should have been, now were his heels.
Amidst the eerie "crack, crack, crack" sounds, his head slowly began to twist backward, inch by inch.
Finally, it completed a full 180-degree turn, and his pitch-black eyes locked onto Wan Qian and Wen Xirou's faces.