I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

The man with the messy hair continued operating as instructed by Zhang Yangqing.

One after another, each flower bud holds something within it.

He carefully removed the body parts one by one from deep within the flower's heart, placing them on the stone slab beside him in order.

When pieced together, it forms the upper body of a woman; the area above the neck is empty, devoid of any structure.

The man with the torn hair frowned deeply as he looked at the fragments of the corpse.

After all, he was also a staff member here, and he must have been worried to see this guy in uniform dead here.

The man with the messy hair was silent for a while before he spoke, "How did this guy die?"

His gaze shifted from the body parts to Zhang Yangqing's face.

Zhang Yangqing said, "Why would someone choose suicide to avoid some kind of danger?"

Man with messy hair: "."

His expression froze. Wait, what does that mean? Did he commit suicide to avoid danger?

If danger equals death, then is suicide the way to avoid being killed by other terrifying beings?
He was filled with confusion, as if he had heard a completely illogical statement.

Zhang Yangqing seemed to sense what he was thinking, nodded, and then explained, "She can be resurrected if she commits suicide, but she's doomed if she's killed. There must be other accomplices in this building. She's not fighting alone. I'm curious, besides you, who else can freely enter this botanical garden?"

The man with the short hair thought for a moment and said, "The servants of the young masters and ladies sometimes come to pick things. They have the key to this place. I'm only responsible for looking after this place; I can't manage anything else."

Zhang Yangqing nodded and then asked, "I'm new to this building and not very familiar with it. Could you tell me about the staff here?"

He had already determined that the man with the messy hair was likely a "long-time employee" and a human, so asking him for information should be the right thing to do.

Zhang Yangqing's tone was neither probing nor hesitant; it was just a very ordinary inquiry.

After all, I've already helped you solve the problem, so why aren't you giving me some information?
The man with the messy hair thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I've been working here the whole time. I see the second young master more often. I've only met the third young master and the fourth young lady a few times. They came here with the second young master. Judging from their conversation, the person with the most power in this building should be the 'mistress' they mentioned."

"Then there were some servants, guys in black suits and white masks, men and women, I couldn't tell who was who."

When he spoke of his servants, there was a hint of unspoken apprehension in his tone.

Zhang Yangqing asked, "Do you belong to the Second Young Master's camp?"

The man with the messy hair nodded: "It should be. The first person I met when I started working here was the second young master. He asked me to take care of these flowers."

Zhang Yangqing said, "Could you tell me a little about the second young master? I'm afraid I'll run into trouble later."

The man with the messy hair smiled: "Don't worry about that. The second young master is very gentle. He usually wears a monocle with a silver frame and a chain hanging down, clipped to his collar. He speaks softly but clearly and never yells at anyone."

As if remembering something, the man with the messy hair added, "But there's one thing you should notice: the second young master has severe mysophobia. He always wears white, silk gloves and changes them frequently. He likes flowers but dislikes pollen. Since he came in, he hasn't touched any of the flowers. He makes us get whatever he needs."

Zhang Yangqing roughly figured some things out.

This ghost story is probably a faction war; if you choose the right faction, you should be able to survive here.

But the prerequisite is that you have to survive until you can choose a faction.

He doesn't have enough intelligence yet; he doesn't know which camp is safe and which is dangerous.

The man with the messy hair didn't know much about the other two young masters and ladies, and could only describe their appearances.

The third young master exuded nobility and liked to wear a long blue scarf around his neck, which reached his waist and fluttered behind him as he walked.

The fourth young lady was mature and beautiful, and always had a sword at her waist. The scabbard was dark red and engraved with patterns, and she was never seen drawing it.

The man with the short hair knew absolutely nothing about the "mistress," had never seen her, and dared not ask.

When the servants mentioned their mistress, they would lower their voices, as if they were talking about something unspeakable.

Many chosen ones who reach this stage probably think that if they can align themselves with the Mistress, their chances of survival will be much better. After all, she is the one with the most power, and it's always good to follow the strongest.

But Zhang Yangqing has no plans for the time being; he doesn't like to leave his fate to others.

Seeking refuge means dependence, dependence means being controlled by others, and being controlled by others means being abandoned at any time.

Moreover, once his reliance is eliminated, he will soon be purged himself.

But my body does have significant flaws.

Zhang Yangqing wanted to rely on himself, but his body seemed to prevent him from doing so.

Now, the problem with the man with the choppy hair is solved.

He would naturally give Zhang Yangqing some compensation.

The man with the messy hair took something out of his pocket and handed it to Zhang Yangqing.

It was an apple, not very big, reddish-green, as if it had just been picked from the tree, with two tender leaves still attached.

Zhang Yangqing held the apple, examining it from all angles, and asked, "What effect will it have if I eat it?"

The man with the messy hair shook his head, his expression serious: "This apple means peace and safety, it's very mystical."

Zhang Yangqing: "."

Are you trying to pull this on me?
He paused for a second, then stuffed the apple into his pocket.

Since it was given to him by the man with the messy hair, he had no choice but to believe it.

This is the gardener's expression of gratitude. In the world of ghost stories, NPCs' expressions of gratitude are often not ordinary ones.

Perhaps it has some "lucky" attribute, or perhaps it's a key item needed by some NPC.

It's better to keep it than to throw it away.

Zhang Yangqing picked up the pieces of the corpse from the ground one by one, wrapped them in the cloth given to him by the man with the torn hair, and tied them around his waist.

He picked up the knife again, weighed it in his hand, and intended to take it away.

Here Zhang Yangqing noticed a detail: when the man with the tousled hair saw him about to take the knife, his gaze lingered on the knife for a moment, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

He hesitated for a moment, but still didn't ask for it back.

As Zhang Yangqing walked out the door with the corpse, he encountered a melancholy and eerie figure waiting at the entrance.

He leaned against the wall, holding a sketchbook in his hand. The sketchbook contained the quick sketch he had just made in the garden; the lines were messy, but you could tell it was a flower.

Seeing Zhang Yangqing come out, he put down his paintbrush and asked, "How did it go?"

Zhang Yangqing said, "Most of the bodies have been found, but the heads are missing."

His brow furrowed slightly, a melancholy look on his face: "Then what should we do?"

Zhang Yangqing thought for a moment and said, "There are still two places where the surveillance cameras haven't been fixed. I guess it's in one of those two places. Let's go to the ninth floor first. I have another task to complete."

He didn't say what the mission was, nor did he ask about it.

Zhang Yangqing went to the kitchen first, opened the cloth bag containing the corpse, and put the body parts one by one into the refrigerator, piecing them together with the lower body from before.

The head wasn't found, but the arm was in the restaurant, so Zhang Yangqing didn't touch it for the time being.

He closed the cabinet door and turned to leave.

To reach the ninth floor, you must pass through the seventh floor. (End of Chapter)