The carriage ambled across the fields, and Luo Di noticed that apart from the wheat field on their side, there were other fields surrounding them, and he even vaguely saw a livestock farm.
Except, naturally, there were no cattle, sheep, pigs, or horses like in the human world,
Most likely, creatures obtained through monstrous fractals or bizarre abilities were being raised there as one of the food sources for the family.
They had already entered the family territory without any obstacles, surely because Luo Di’s status as a "guest" had been confirmed.
The carriage ascended the mountain,
gradually delving deeper into this isolated hill, along the winding mountain road,
The trees here were so huge and dense that they could completely block the outside world.
Although they were heading up the mountain, there was an increasingly deep feeling.
Although no monster was seen, there was an eerie sense of unease.
Occasionally glancing out the window, the lush trees appeared like faces of people wailing in agony.
"Yu Ze, what do you think?"
"Isn’t it simple? Some monster in the family is directly related to this mountain, or the domain of a certain monster has already been released as we ascend the mountain, currently monitoring us through these trees.
However, the current situation looks good.
The most obvious difference between monsters and humans is [rationality].
Being willing to let us go to the family seat without any invasive means, only restricted to surface observation, shows that they indeed acknowledge your arrival, countryman.
Of course, what they might do afterward is not certain."
Due to its inability to gallop, the carriage took more than half an hour along the mountain path.
There’s an implicit feeling that they are no longer within the mountain but in a mysterious depths of a forest, where gigantic and dense trees have completely covered the top, allowing no sunlight to penetrate.
Oil lamps hung on different tree trunks provided simple lighting.
An intricately carved black iron gate emerged from the depths, with red brick walls spreading on each side of the gate, and gargoyle-like sculptures sporadically lined the top.
The butler, dressed in a tailcoat, stood right before the gate, his appearance also answering the question Luo Di had just posed.
A tiny intricate pine tree crowned his collar.
When the butler raised his hand to open the gate, the surrounding trees bowed down as well, clearly indicating that all the vegetation on this mountain was directly controlled by him.
The sight made Luo Di break into a cold sweat; he could sense that this butler was quite extraordinary, with not only fully mature plant abilities, but also exceptional power.
It’s unimaginable what kind of monsters reside in the family since such a creature served just as a butler.
The Crow Colt stopped before the iron gate.
The two of them got off the carriage in succession; initially, they thought they’d undergo inspection, but the butler had already opened the gate.
A branch from the tree atop the butler’s head started to grow rapidly, leaning near to their ears, softly speaking in standard British English:
"Please proceed on foot from here onwards, heading to the banquet hall.
The Family Head has high regard for Mr. Di and is very pleased that you came here personally, the banquet is being prepared. Also, the interior won’t be affected by sound disturbances, so no need to worry."
Luo Di quickly retracted the Crow Colt into his palm, and the carriage was then compressed and packed by Yu Ze.
As they passed by the butler, all the trees behind him parted, like a curtain rising, revealing the true visage of the [Invisible Manor].
When the pitch-black mansion representing the family emerged, they paused slightly, their bodies visibly uncomfortable.
Yu Ze even pressed the "Shenmen Acupoint" on his wrist with his fingers to suppress the intense discomfort within.
Before them stood a mansion approximately over ten meters tall, with an architectural style that was hard to determine.
The building’s façade was completely covered in black paint, melded with the forest’s depth into one seamless whole, seemingly having no boundary, with only a few windowsills and doors displaying any color distinction.
The whole design was highly asymmetrical,
with various square, circular, and diamond-shaped windows scattered randomly across the building’s surface, the style of window frames differed greatly, making it impossible to determine the number of floors based on the windows.
Most notably, it was the building’s main entrance,
such a massive mansion, yet it only had a small door reminiscent of those in residential buildings as the sole entrance, and the entire door was painted yellow.
On either side of the door, oil lamps were embedded, using their light to highlight this yellow hue.
This peculiar yellow, unable to integrate with the building’s overall blackness nor connect with the green of the woods, seemed entirely superfluous.
This abrupt yellow was precisely what made the two feel very uncomfortable inside,
Yu Ze transmitted via inner strength: "The rumors weren’t wrong, the Invisible Manor coincides with a rare and despised entity within Corners, the [Yellow Gate Monster].
This type of monster doesn’t exhibit the direct slaughter like you, Luo Di,
There’s none of that shadowlike repulsiveness of the Joker,
nor the bodily unease of the Carnivorous Family.
This is a purely psychological discomfort, and contact with such monsters will unknowingly have an impact, perhaps even irreversible malignant effects, so be extra careful."
The two walked forward on the same asymmetrical stone steps,
the Yellow Gate slowly opening as they approached.
A deformed man resembling the "Elephant Man" stood at the door, dressed in the same tuxedo, awkwardly hunched over, making a gesture to invite them in.
They officially entered the house,
before their eyes was a seemingly normal vestibule, but upon closer inspection, it felt uncomfortable.
The design of various decorations, their placement and installation appeared normal, yet in detail lacked symmetry, or had an angle deviation of about 10 degrees.
The floor and wall tiles were made by joining materials of different sizes, with some places having an extra section, and some places missing a piece.
All kinds of designs that broke away from the everyday, like spikes scraping within them and causing a creaking sound.
All the lively servants within the mansion belonged to the {Deformed People}, similar to the Elephant Man at the door, as if cleaved from a whole, exhibiting biological asymmetry.
"Please proceed to the Banquet Hall from here."
The deformed man stopped at a spot without a door or passage, but where there was a "dog hole" at the bottom of the wall, indicating that they should crawl through it to reach the Banquet Hall.
Luo Di didn’t intend to crawl but approached the internal steward and asked with gray eyes:
"Is there any other way?"
"That would be a bit farther, please follow me..."
The steward moved his mismatched body to lead them up and down inside the house, finally passing through an underground maze-like area and taking an internal elevator to finally reach the Banquet Hall.
This Hall seemed completely normal, with a marble long table, crystal chandelier, and utensils all conforming to symmetrical design.
But strangely, Thɪs chapter is updated by novel✶fire.net
perhaps due to attempting to embrace various asymmetrical, uncoordinated things all along.
Upon seeing this normal structure again, Luo Di suddenly felt a strong discomfort striking him, even made him retch.
Yu Ze reached out to press the Shenmen Acupoint on his wrist, stabilizing his mind, transmitting messages as well.
『Old friend, this family is testing us both, any obvious discomfort reactions would lower the evaluations.
That might have been just the beginning, the upcoming banquet might be even more uncomfortable.
Hold on... Some monster organizations are , if you can’t adapt, you’ll be treated as fodder.』
Just then, a person crawled out of the dog hole which they previously refused to go through, the very reason Luo Di was able to come to the Invisible Manor.
Lebeite, with hair parted in the middle and wearing a high-necked sweater, holding a strange novel, patted the dust off from crawling through the dog hole, weakly stood up.
The first glance was at Luo Di,
The second noticed the other person Luo Di brought, touching Luo Di’s wrist.
Lebeite tried to find similar actions between friends in the novels he’d read, but couldn’t find any, looking puzzled, he moved his sickly body closer.
"Luo Di, you really came... Say, is it necessary for friends to ’hold hands’ ? I only know couples intertwine fingers."
"Yu Ze was just helping to suppress my acupoint."
"Acupoint! Chinese medicine! Oh, I remember, the divine doctor in the novel I read did just that... Hello, hello, Mr. Yu Ze, right?
To become Luo Di’s human friend, you must be highly outstanding and top-ranked in school; we’ll have the chance to discuss acupoints later."
Lebeite proactively extended his hand, and Yu Ze, as the guest, naturally shook hands.
The moment their palms touched,
both of their eyes flashed with a hint of change,
Luo Di suddenly noticed a zipper sound behind Lebeite, while Yu Ze seemed to have something breaking within him.
The nearest piece of tableware suddenly exploded,
ending the handshake abruptly.
Lebeite’s eyes lit up immediately, "You... indeed have the qualifications to visit my home, someone come clean up, father will arrive soon."