The next morning, Feng Yongrui woke up early and cleaned himself up with a water spell. When he was done, Feng Yongrui went to the first floor and observed the area.
Based on the information he had about 'Feng Yongrui', the first floor was the place where the servants gathered together, chatted, and ate.
There were several tables around the room with wooden benches on each side of the rectangular table. It reminded Feng Yongrui of the cafeteria where he used to eat at school. Feng Yongrui was quite early, so he found an empty table and sat down.
"Host, what are you doing?" he suddenly heard the System's voice.
"Huh? I'm sitting down here," Feng Yongrui muttered.
"Go get your food first!" the System hissed. "Or do you want to eat the table?"
"Ah, right..." Feng Yongrui stood up, took a plate, and filled his plate with rice and vegetables.
He returned to his seat and began eating. Halfway through his meal, Feng Yongrui heard someone walking closer to him and looked up.
"Big Brother," Feng Yongrui gave a small smile. Actually, he didn't know why, but he was pretty embarrassed inside his heart. Perhaps he was feeling this way because of reading the letters last night... Or perhaps he felt this way because he had to act like a fool...
Either way, Feng Yongrui couldn't bear to look at Big Brother's eyes directly. Instead, he focused on his meal.
"Yo, it's you, Fool," Big Brother greeted him.
Big Brother sat down opposite him and watched him eat.
Feng Yongrui tried to ignore the piercing gaze above him, but the vegetables in his mouth suddenly tasted so dry...
"Uhm, Big Brother," Feng Yongrui finally couldn't stand it anymore and looked up.
"Eh? Why did you stop eating?" Big Brother asked.
Feng Yongrui looked at Big Brother sheepishly. What was he supposed to say? That he couldn't eat properly because the latter was staring at him?
"I-it's okay... Uhm, Big Brother, why don't you eat?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Ah, my bros will help me take my food. Tsk, tsk, look at you. No wonder you're nothing but a bag of bones, why don't you eat some meat, hm?" Big Brother cocked an eyebrow.
"That..." Actually, Feng Yongrui didn't want to take the meat because he had no idea what meat it was. This place was different from Earth, so the animals and plants were naturally different.
Feng Yongrui had no idea what animal the meat came from, but the color was a bit scary, and he wasn't too keen on getting a stomach ache on his first day of work.
One of Big Brother's minions brought a plate over, filled to the brim with rice and three different kinds of meat and sauce. Big Brother grinned and started eating.
When Feng Yongrui was almost finished eating, he began to get a headache. He was very close to finish eating his meal, but if he finished eating now, then what was he supposed to do? Leave Big Brother? Or chat with that guy?
If he left Big Brother, and the latter felt offended, then he would be done for. If he were to stay, then he would have to chat with Big Brother... but he didn't know what to talk about!
Feng Yongrui looked at his plate and the three pieces of vegetables left and decided that he would just... chew, very slowly, until Big Brother was done eating and left.
"So awkward..." Feng Yongrui muttered inside his head.
"Host, you know I'm embarrassed at your performance, right?" the System grumbled.
Feng Yongrui rolled his eyes.
"I don't care what you think of me, you know," he muttered.
"Tsk. Rather than nibbling at three pieces of vegetables like this, maybe you should talk to him! You should find out more information! You should find out information about Xu Chao, about the Phantom Realm, and so on..."
"...And what would I need that information for?" Feng Yongrui replied sarcastically. "Am I supposed to report this to Chen Tengfei through one of my letters? Oh wait, It's not a letter, it's a boot-licking diary~"
"Anyway, why should I find out more information about Xu Chao?" Feng Yongrui asked. "I mean, didn't you send me a file about Xu Chao already? I don't need to investigate anything anymore..."
"Hahaha... About that..." the System's voice grew smaller, and Feng Yongrui narrowed his eyes.
"What happened?" he asked quickly.
Feng Yongrui felt uneasy and looked at the files that the System had given him.
"Wait, where's the file about Xu Chao?" Feng Yongrui's eyes widened and he flipped through his memories.
It was really gone!
"Host, previously, I was supposed to send you the file about 'Feng Yongrui', right? But I sent you the wrong file... The file about Xu Chao wasn't meant to be given to you. After all, it would be like 'cheating' if you already know what 'Xu Chao' is like..."
"So you took the file away from me?" Feng Yongrui raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Host..."
Feng Yongrui sighed. Anyway, after being with the System for such a long time, what was there to be surprised about?
"Fine, whatever," Feng Yongrui sighed.
Feng Yongrui stopped talking with the System and refocused on his meal. Big Brother was already almost finished, making Feng Yongrui rather surprised. He sure ate quickly!
When the two of them were finished eating, Big Brother stood up first.
"Yo, Fool, I'm going to go and do my stuff first. You go and do your job. If anyone messes with you, make sure to tell me, okay?" he reminded.
Feng Yongrui nodded quickly.
"I know, Big Brother. Don't worry about me," Feng Yongrui nodded and waved goodbye.
Big Brother gave a hearty smile and left with his minions. Once the group was gone, Feng Yongrui finished eating, stood up, and made his way to the stables.
According to the information he had read, there were 4 Phantom Stallions in Xu Chao's manor. There would be one pair of Phantom Stallions in charge of pulling Xu Chao's carriage when he went out of the mansion. The other pair would be the "extra" one, in case something happened.
Feng Yongrui walked to the Phantom Stallions' stables based on the information and stopped right outside the stable. The stable was made of wood, and Feng Yongrui could feel an intense demonic aura behind the stable door.
Feng Yongrui was rather worried. The System had said that Phantom Stallions were docile in front of the person they liked, but based on the original 'Feng Yongrui''s letters, he had had a hard time dealing with the Phantom Stallions.
So... would this task be difficult or not? Feng Yongrui wondered.
After taking a deep breath, Feng Yongrui unlocked the stable door and entered the stable. He saw four separate stalls, one for each Phantom Stallion. The Phantom Stallions were really beautiful.
They looked like they were made of transparent glass, although some parts of their bodies were murkier than other parts. Their manes were white color and their hooves looked like solid ice cubes shaped like a horse's hoof.
When Feng Yongrui entered the stable, he did not smell anything. Instead, he felt like he had entered a cold, air-conditioned room with a hint of perfume.
Feng Yongrui closed the stable doors and walked closer to the Phantom Stallions' stalls. On the door of each stall, there was a name for each of the Phantom Stallions.
There were four stallions, namely Starmane, Dreamer, Blossom, and Velvet. The first two were male, while the other two were female.
Feng Yongrui first approached Starmane, since his stall was the closest to the door.
Feng Yongrui had never taken care of horses before, so he wasn't exactly sure on what to do. He stretched out his hand tentatively, meaning to stroke Starmane.
To his surprise, Starmane did not avoid his hand or bite him. Instead, Starmane moved closer and nudged his hand gently.
"Uhm, hello, Starmane," Feng Yongrui muttered awkwardly. Was it better to talk to the animals? He had heard several people talking to their pets back on earth, but this was the Phantom Realm. What if the Phantom Stallion had its own intelligence?
Feng Yongrui felt the cool touch under his palm and stroked Starmane a few more times. A few moments later, Feng Yongrui grew bolder and moved his hand to stroke Starmane's white mane.
The mane was soft to the touch and reminded Feng Yongrui of his own hair. The texture was smooth and the mane was glossy. Throughout the entire time, Starmane did not complain or get angry at him, so Feng Yongrui was relieved.
Feng Yongrui moved to the next stallion, named Dreamer. Just like Starmane, this stallion did not attack him or avoid him. The third stallion, Blossom, was even more enthusiastic than the other two.
When Feng Yongrui had yet to reach her stall, she had already moved closer, sticking her head out of the stall and waiting for him to stroke her. When Feng Yongrui ran his hands through her soft mane, she gave a small hum of contentment.
The last stallion, Violet, was rather shy. When Feng Yongrui walked closer to her stall, she backed away slightly. After stretching his hands for a few minutes, though, Violet seemed to grow accustomed to him and slowly walked forward.
After "greeting" all the stallions, Feng Yongrui gave a small smile. In his letter, 'Feng Yongrui' had claimed that Starmane was pretty violent, kicking him with its hind legs.
However, from what Feng Yongrui saw today, it seemed like all the stallions were pretty docile in front of him.
"Thankfully, it seems like I won't be encountering any problem with this job," Feng Yongrui muttered.
***
What would you name your horse and why?
Comment below~~