Lu Gouzi and I had agreed: as long as they dared to serve it, we would dare to eat it. There was no need for pretense. If we were truly poisoned, I figured we wouldn't die from it anyway. If they actually wanted us dead, they would have finished us off long ago; there was no need to go to such lengths. We decided that if we were to fall into a coma from poison, the moment we woke up, we would beat the hell out of the first person we saw.
I figured we had such confidence because they were plotting against us for only two reasons: first, the map I held, and second, the fact that I knew how to open coffins, and they needed me to open the next one in the Ancient Tomb. Regardless of the reason, these facts were our safety charms. With that charm, we could afford to be reckless. Relieved of my psychological burden, I slept soundly, straight through until the next morning.
Lu Gouzi and I got up, and before we could even wash up, that young monk arrived with the meal again. Just as we had anticipated, the food was different from last time. The previous meal had been mostly vegetarian, but this time, there was quite a bit of meat. At least the meat was cooked—I reckoned by the next meal, it would probably be half-raw. It would be a gradual change until we ended up eating raw meat, just like Huo Yinyang and his sister.
Chapter 401