“Rise and shine, Young Miss!” the boy opened the curtains, letting the sunlight invade Li Chyou’s room.

“Mn…” like yesterday, she let out a sound of complaint and didn’t get up.

“Let’s get right into it!” he mumbled and folded his sleeves.

Fifteen Minutes Later

“Open your blindfold!” Li Chyou ordered him.

The boy untied the black blindfold from his eyes and shoved it back into his pockets.

With a smile, he asked, “So, Young Miss, what do you want to do today?”

She got rid of the blush and lowered her head in deep thought before saying, “Let’s walk around the town.”

“Understood,” he nodded. “I’ll inform some of the guards.”

“Go ahead,” Li Chyou waved her dismissively.

“I’ll be right back, Young Miss!” the boy bowed and left the room.

The boy walked through the halls, drawing the attention of both genders all while doing so.

Looking at the people gawking at him, he muttered in an annoyed town, “This is getting troublesome!”

He dug around in his pockets and took out another black cloth much bigger than the one he used as a blindfold. Tying it around his head, he covered the lower half of his face. Sounds of disappointment rang out from the admirers while the maids secretly swore to spend more time with him later into the night.

“Much better,” the boy sighed in relief and continued on his way. Very soon, he reached his destination, the Enforcement Pavilion. It was where the guards and disciplinary disciples worked. The boy admired the three-story pavilion for a while before walking forward to enter it.

“Halt!” the guards at the entrance crossed their spears in front of the entrance, barring him from entering.

“Greetings!” the boy cupped his fists and bowed, though his voice came out a bit muffled because of the mask.

“State your purpose!” one of the guards asked.

“I’m First Young Miss’ butler. She wants to walk around the town, so, make necessary preparations.”

“Understood!” the guards were stunned but regained their composure before one of them went inside.

After a while, the guard came back and cupped his fists. “Four of us will be stationed in front of the entrance in five minutes!”

“Very well,” the boy nodded. “Thank you for your hard work!” the boy smiled under his mask and left.

“Hey, Chang!” seeing the boy leave, one of the guards called the one who just went inside. “So, that’s First Miss’ new butler?”

“That he is,” the guard called Chang nodded.

“What did you think?”

“Not sure,” Guard Chang frowned. “He seems weird to say the least.”

“Weird, you say?” the other guard was taken aback by the answer.

“Even though he works as a butler, he doesn’t have that servile aura to him.”

“And why does that make him weird?” the other guard asked inquisitively. “Butler Yu is the same, no?”

“But Butler Yu can wipe the floor with us without even breaking a sweat. But he-” Guard Chang looked in the direction where the boy left, “-he’s just an ordinary mortal.”

“You’re stressing too much,” the other guard laughed. “As you said, he’s an ordinary mortal! Almost everyone in here can kill him with a casual slap.”

“Haah~” Guard Chang sighed and scratched his head. “Maybe you’re right!”

“Just relax!” the other guard clapped his back. “Also, you’re buying drinks today!”

“I swear I’ll win Landlord[1] one day!” Guard Chang’s response only drew laughter from the other party.

On the other hand, the boy had already returned to Li Chyou’s room. He had taken off the mask from his face.

She was playing with the hems of her sleeves. “Young Miss, the guards have been informed. They’ll be at the entrance in five minutes,” the boy reported.

“Good! Play me a song!” she ordered.

“Huh?” the boy was stunned by this abrupt request. “But Young Miss, I don’t have a flute.”

Knock! Knock!

Sounds came from the paper window. The boy walked towards the window and opened it only to see Butler Yu looking at him with anticipation.

“Butler Yu,” despite his shock, the boy hastily cupped his hands and bowed.

“Here you go,” Butler Yu tossed him a rod-like object. The boy grabbed it and felt awkward. Butler Yu threw him a flute.

“Uh…” he looked at Butler Yu with a strange gaze.

“Don’t worry. This will be your flute from now on,” Butler Yu ‘eased his worries’.

“I-I see…” the boy was speechless. But that’s not what I’m worried about? And what’s with that expression on your face like you’re looking forwards to this? Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on me?

“Haah~” sighing, the boy turned around only to see Li Chyou smirking at him.

“Play me a song now!”

“As you wish!” the boy helplessly nodded and put the flute to his lips.

He took a deep breath and blew into the flute. A beautiful melody filled the air.

Fly Me To Polaris[2]

The boy had closed his eyes and focused on the song. Li Chyou was the same and swayed to the gentle tempo of the song. Unbeknownst to both of them, the melody had permeated through the halls outside the room and a crowd of people stood motionless as they listened to the boy’s song. The birds had stopped chirping and the cicadas buzzing. The flora swayed gently with the breeze. The song reached many both inside and outside, enamoring them.

After two to three minutes, the boy’s lips separated from the flute, ending the song. He looked around and sighed helplessly. Will this happen every time?

Li Chyou still had her eyes closed as if she was still savoring what he heard.

“Ahem,” the boy lightly coughed. “Young Miss!”

Li Chyou opened her eyes and looked at him with irritation, “Tch!”

The boy’s eyes widened in shock. D-Did she just click her tongue at me? At the next moment, he saw her smiling at him. Is she mentally handicapped or something?

Actually, Li Chyou was just happy at the fact that he was her butler and she could request a song from him any time she wanted.

Well, if the boy knew what she was thinking, he’d definitely vomit blood. What am I, a radio station?

“Let’s head out!” Li Chyou stood up from her chair and ordered.

“Understood!” the boy walked ahead and opened the door, only to see a crowd of people standing there.

The boy awkwardly stood there. Seeing that they weren’t moving, he lightly coughed.

“What’s wrong?” Li Chyou came from behind and asked when she saw the crowd. “Hey! What are you doing here?” she yelled at the crowd.

Only then did the crowd come back to their senses and dispersed, though there were murmurs. Mainly about the musician or how good the music was. Being a Cultivator, Li Chyou naturally heard their words of admirations, her lips crept up unconsciously.

“After you, Young Miss!” the boy stood in front of the door and gestured her to go ahead.

“Yes, come with me!” Li Chyou walked out of her room and the boy followed close behind.

They walked through the halls but Li Chyou felt something was off. People kept staring at her. Yes, that was the problem! Shouldn’t they be awed by the boy’s appearance? She turned around to see the boy silently following her, a black cloth covering the lower half of his face.

“Why are you covering your face?” Li Chyou questioned him.

“It’s a bit problematic when people stare at me while I’m doing my job!” the boy hung his head.

“Indeed…” Li Chyou nodded. After a pause, she turned around and spoke, “You’re not allowed to cover your face when we’re alone.”

“Understood,” the boy nodded.

Li Chyou turned around and continued on her way. After a while, the boy heard her humming. She was humming the song he played just a few minutes ago!

The boy looked at her with a bitter smile. Is it my fate to become a personalized music player?

Soon they reached the entrance. There they saw four burly men standing with weapons in their hands or sheathed by their side. When the men saw Li Chyou, they cupped their fists and bowed, “Greetings, First Miss!”

“Yes,” Li Chyou looked at them casually and said, “I’m heading out for a bit, so follow me.”

“As you command!”

With that, Li Chyou walked out of the entrance with the boy and her now four guards following behind her. The guards were all at the upper stages of Blood Condensation; so unless the elders or clan heads of the rival clans attacked, Li Chyou’s safety was guaranteed.

“So,” Li Chyou looked at the boy as she walked, “You know how to cook?”

“I do,” the boy nodded.

“Who taught you?”

“The owner of the tavern I worked at.”

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow, “Where did he go?”

“I don’t know,” the boy shook his head, a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

“Then can you cook for me?” Li Chyou asked with anticipation, not noticing his emotions.

“Huh?” the boy was startled. But he composed himself and said, “I can.”

“What can you cook?”

“Beef Briskets, Rice Noodles, Roasted Chickens, Meat and Vegetable Dumplings, Spring Rolls, Szechuan Style Chicken, Fried Chicken…” the boy went on to list 25 more dishes and Li Chyou’s mouth watered the more he went on. However, she noticed an anomaly.

“Wait, what’s ‘Fried Chicken’?” she asked with an inquisitive expression.

“It’s a sort of chicken dish which has a crisp skin. So, when you bite into it there will be a crunch. The crispy skin is also made with various spices to make it taste better.”

“Where did you learn this?” Li Chyou frowned. She had no recollection of a dish called ‘Fried Chicken’, though she no longer arrogantly claimed to have eaten every dish.

“I don’t know!” the boy shook his head.

Li Chyou somehow expected to hear this answer but still pouted in dissatisfaction. This bastard never seemed to know anything, didn’t he?

“Then where did you learn how to make the other dishes?”

“From the tavern owner,” he replied plainly.

There was something wrong with his answers but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Rather, she was too preoccupied with a question in her mind. “Can you make this Fried Chicken for me?” she asked with a pleading look.

“I can make it for you but the materials may be hard to find!”

“Huh?” Li Chyou looked at him proudly, “Do you think the Li Clan is a second-rate clan? Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.” The guards behind also puffed their chests up with pride.

Seeing her proud expression, the boy opened his mouth several times but closed them without saying anything.

“Say what you want to!” Li Chyou was getting annoyed.

The boy let out a helpless sigh and closed his eyes, “But isn’t the Li Clan a second-rate clan compared to the big clans from the Xi Capital?”

Complete silence! It stayed like this for a good minute or so. When he saw no one was speaking, the boy opened his eyes and became stunned.

Li Chyou was looking at him with puffed-up cheeks and watery eyes. She was trembling as though she found it hard keeping her grievances inside.

The boy looked at her with a slightly agape jaw and widened eyes. What happened?

“Bastard!” Li Chyou spat out with a shaky voice and then turned around, not looking at him anymore.

The boy turned around to see the guards looking at him with a dark expression.

The boy stared at the sky with a rueful sigh. So, this is the price for speaking the truth…