Chapter 2411 — Something Wrong with the Food

"No, I just got back." Wei Zhao looked at the somewhat flustered Xiaoshu, and something stirred faintly in his heart. Xiaoshu really was acting a little strangely today.

"Ah! Then let's eat together—I've bought it all already. Let's eat while it's hot, it won't taste good cold." Shen Yushu got out of the car carrying a bag of food.

"All right." Wei Zhao nodded.

The three of them walked together into the villa's dining room. Gu Mengyao opened up the dinner Shen Yushu had bought and was rather surprised. "Xiaoshu, you went to a cha chaan teng?"

"Mm... I went to a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant and bought a few of their specialty dim sum and dishes, just for a change of flavor," Shen Yushu said.

"That's fine too. It's been a long time since we've had this kind of food." Gu Mengyao nodded. Before Wei Zhao moved into the villa, whenever Uncle Qing had business to attend to, she and Xiaoshu would go out for dinner at hotels, restaurants, tea houses, and Western eateries. It had been a long while since they'd lived that sort of life.

"Exactly, so Xiaoshu bought some today. Arrow-brand Bro, let's eat together, shall we? Xiaoshu's starving!" Shen Yushu nodded as she spoke.

"Sure..." Wei Zhao nodded, fetched the tableware from the kitchen, and sat down at the dining table. And so the three of them began to eat heartily.

Only, after the first bite of the teriyaki chicken leg rice Shen Yushu had brought back, Wei Zhao's brows knitted slightly. He was just about to say something when he heard Shen Yushu ask, "Arrow-brand Bro, how does it taste? Is it good?"

"Oh, it's quite good." Wei Zhao had meant to say something, but in the end he didn't. He lowered his head and went on eating the chicken leg rice.

"That's good then..." Shen Yushu nodded...

Gu Mengyao blinked, a little puzzled, pondering this rather strange exchange between the two of them.

There was nothing wrong with the conversation itself, but Gu Mengyao just felt something was off about it—an indescribable feeling, and yet she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong...

But Wei Zhao knew there was something off about it! Because in the chicken leg rice, he had tasted a flavor that was somewhat familiar!

Ansicao—precisely the herb that Wei Zhao had been missing before he cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art! A rare herb. Though Wei Zhao had never tasted it himself, he had read about it many times in the records, and his memory of it was fresh. He had nearly suffered a qi deviation because of Ansicao, so naturally he could not easily forget its flavor.

And now, suddenly tasting this flavor in the chicken leg rice, Wei Zhao was immediately somewhat perplexed!

Ansicao, though it could calm the mind and steady the spirit, was effective only in relation to the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. For anyone else, eating Ansicao was much like taking sleeping pills—before long they would grow drowsy and soon fall asleep.

There were no major side effects, but whoever took it would generally sleep very deeply. Even thunder or an earthquake might not wake them!

So for such an herb to be used in the chicken leg rice of a cha chaan teng was bizarre beyond words! Wei Zhao knew that some nourishing restaurants would put sleep-aiding medicinal herbs into their food—things like eleuthero, schisandra, or sour jujube seed—but those were only auxiliary; they wouldn't put you straight to sleep.

Ansicao was different. This stuff was even stronger than sleeping pills. If a restaurant put something like this in its food, wouldn't all the customers fall asleep after eating it?

The reason Wei Zhao hadn't asked, however, was that he somewhat suspected Xiaoshu. While Wei Zhao had been eating just now, Xiaoshu had watched him eat with her own eyes. Though it could be understood as Xiaoshu wanting to know whether the food she'd bought suited Wei Zhao's taste—and indeed, Shen Yushu had afterward asked Wei Zhao a question—Wei Zhao still felt something was a bit off!

Still, Wei Zhao quickly finished the chicken leg rice before him, and then ate quite a bit of the side dishes Shen Yushu had brought back.

Gu Mengyao had a smaller appetite. She ate only half of the large box of chicken leg rice before she was full.

"Arrow-brand Bro? Are you full? Why don't you finish Sister Yao's too?" Shen Yushu glanced at the half box of chicken leg rice Gu Mengyao had left and asked Wei Zhao.

"Xiaoshu!" Gu Mengyao frowned.

"Then I'll finish it. I'm a bit hungry anyway." Wei Zhao nodded and, without saying much more, simply took the box of chicken leg rice from in front of Gu Mengyao and began to eat.

Gu Mengyao's mouth fell open in astonishment. Was she and Wei Zhao indirectly kissing again? But this time, it wasn't the distaste she'd felt before—there was only a faint stirring of the heart, which made her cheeks flush slightly...

The reason Wei Zhao took Gu Mengyao's chicken leg rice wasn't actually to play some indirect-kissing game, but to see whether Gu Mengyao's portion contained Ansicao. If it didn't, that would prove only his own box was tampered with—and Shen Yushu would naturally be the first suspect... If it did, then Wei Zhao didn't want Gu Mengyao eating much of it either. Though the stuff was harmless, it wouldn't be any fun if Gu Mengyao overslept tomorrow and was late for school because of it.

As for the Ansicao itself, Wei Zhao didn't mind. Eating more of it would have no effect on him at all—it would only aid his cultivation of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. He had been short of this very herb back then, and now it had conveniently been replenished.

Wei Zhao wolfed down the chicken leg rice before him, then stood up and said, "I'm going back to my room to cultivate. You two should rest early as well—so much has happened today, you must be exhausted."

"Mm... yawn... now that you mention it, I suddenly feel a bit sleepy too..." Gu Mengyao yawned, thinking she'd caught it from Wei Zhao.

"All right." But Wei Zhao knew that Gu Mengyao was sleepy because she had eaten Ansicao. If she weren't sleepy, that would be the real problem!

Still, Wei Zhao noticed that Shen Yushu showed no ill effects whatsoever. At least, he couldn't see any drowsiness in her eyes. Theoretically, the Ansicao should already be taking effect...

But Wei Zhao said nothing. He and Yao had long since noticed that something was strange about Shen Yushu, so they decided to play along and not bring it up. He simply rose and headed for the bedroom.

"Yawn..." Only then did Shen Yushu yawn, and she said to Gu Mengyao, "Sister Yao, Xiaoshu's sleepy too! Let's go to bed!"

"Okay." Gu Mengyao nodded, and she and Shen Yushu went upstairs together.