“Good that you know!” Li Fen nodded in satisfaction. Her attitude was haughty, excessively so. It seemed that she put no one in her eyes. Whether it was because of her strength or because of her status, it didn’t affect the boy one bit.

And this was something Li Fen, herself noticed. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was arrogant, even she knew that. But she only acted like this to see what her eldest daughter’s new butler would do? Would he feel angry? Would he feel slighted? Or would he be scared? But contrary to her expectations, the boy just looked at her without emotion.

This unsettled her. Why was that so? Why did this young lad not behave like one? Where was the hot-bloodedness? Where was his unyielding spirit?

She herself was a 1st Stage Tendon Transformation realm expert. Had anyone acted like this towards her, she’d have squashed their heads. Why did this boy in front of her who hadn’t even experienced the cruelty of life, not have the slightest reaction towards her arrogance? Wait…his gaze was unfocused. The boy’s thoughts were wandering!

That was indeed so. The boy was wondering about where her arrogance came from. She can’t possibly think that Tendon Transformation is the peak of strength, right?

He focused his gaze once again and looked at Li Fen who seemed to be looking at him with a peculiar expression.

Yikes! She must’ve caught me daydreaming!

Contrary to his thoughts, she asked, “What’s that in your mouth?”

The boy was stunned. Regaining his composure, he decided to answer truthfully, “Five Vapor Parsley!”

“!!!” Now, it was Li Fen’s turn to be stunned. She wasn’t sure if she heard him wrong. After all, who would be crazy enough to shove a herb known for vaporizing water inside their mouths?

“What did you say?” Li Fen asked just to be sure.

“Five Vapor Parsley!”

“Are you crazy!?” this time, Li Chyou spoke up. She directly grabbed his mouth and tried to pry it open. “Spit it out!”

The boy’s eyes widened. However, he wasn’t surprised. He was panicking! He looked at Li Fen who seemed to have a scary smile on her face.

“U-Um… Young Miss,” he tried to get her attention.

“What?” Li Chyou snappily responded. She seemed a bit worried and focused on prying his mouth open.

“Doing this is a bit unbecoming,” the boy hastily said.

“And keeping that herb inside your mouth is fine?”

“N-No, but it seems that Mistress is really close to murdering me!” the boy pointed over her shoulder.

Li Chyou followed his finger and saw her mother looking at her with that one smile which meant someone is in deep trouble.

Gulp!

Li Chyou gulped a mouthful of saliva and jumped back like a frightened rabbit. The boy finally free from her grasp rubbed his jaw. A fair hand grabbed onto his shoulder.

He followed the hand up to the arm and saw Li Fen smiling at him. Her smile was so broad that her eyes had turned into crescents.

“Why do you have Five Vapor Parsley in your mouth?” Li Fen tightened her grip on his shoulders.

“F-For self-defense!” the boy hastily spurted out. Li Fen’s hand was like a vice. His shoulder was already starting to ache under the pressure.

“Self-defense?” she frowned in incomprehension. On a side, Li Chyou was pretending to be blind, deaf, and dumb; trying to think of a way to escape her mother’s future punishment.

“Yes,” the boy nodded hurriedly, like a chicken pecking at rice.

“How would you do that?” Li Fen asked; her curiosity was piqued!

“Mistress,” the boy let out a bitter smile, “My methods depend heavily on the element of surprise. Wouldn’t telling you take away the surprise?”

“Hmph!” Li Fen snorted. “Is this grand aunt someone who will babble about your cowardly sneak attacks?”

“Of course not!” the boy denied. Of course, that was a lie. You look exactly like the kind of grand aunt who’d babble about my cowardly sneak attacks! Although the boy thought otherwise, he’d never say it out loud. He’d like to keep his head attached to his shoulders.

“Fine I’ll attack and you’ll use your sneak attack to defend, how about it?” Li Fen was adamant about knowing what he had up his sleeves.

“How can I, an ordinary mortal, try to sneak attack a Tendon Transformation expert like Mistress?” the boy was having a headache. Just what is wrong with the girls in the Li Clan?

“Oh and then who is this sneak attack for?” Li Fen was determined to get attacked today. No wait, that sounds wrong. She was determined to see what the boy would do.

“Mistress, enemies wouldn’t expend the effort to send anyone higher than the Qi Refinement stage to attack me. And on top of that, they’ll likely underestimate me for not being a Cultivator. So, this sneak attack will only work on those specific conditions.” The boy explained patiently and without revealing too much.

“I see…” Li Fen stroked her smooth chin contemplatively. She then looked at him as her eyes lit up, “How about I attack you with the power of a Qi Refinement Cultivator?”

The boy was feeling very stifled. He was afraid that he might start strangling her.

But, thankfully, someone came to his rescue. “Mistress,” Butler Yu peaked through the door.

“Oh, Yu Hao!” Li Fen greeted Butler Yu with a smile on her face. “How have you been doing?”

“I’m doing just fine! I thank Mistress for her kind intentions!” Butler Yu bowed slightly.

“There you go again,” there was a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. “How many times have I told you not to be so stiff with me?”

“Haha!” Butler Yu chuckled, “Mistress, Master is calling for you!”

“Yan`er is calling for me?” Li Fen was puzzled. She had just met up with him when she came back, why was he calling now? A certain thought flashed through her mind and she bashfully lowered her head.

“T-Tell Yan`er not n-now!” Li Fen ‘cutely’ stammered, “If he needs it, he needs to wait for night!”

The boy was watching this exchange from the side and felt that there was a huge misunderstanding going on. He looked at Butler Yu who had a similar face with his jaw slightly agape.

“M-Mistress, it is for work-related matters!” Butler Yu quickly explained and the atmosphere became awkward.

“I…” Li Fen’s face became as red as a tomato. She snapped her head towards the boy who swiftly looked elsewhere, not meeting her eyes as he bit his lips. He wanted to laugh; he really did. But he was afraid his head would fly.

“F-Fine, I’m going now,” Li Fen lowered her head and rushed out of Li Chyou’s room as fast as she possibly could.

Butler Yu looked at the boy who cupped his fists and bowed in response. Butler Yu smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

“Now, Young Miss!” the boy turned to Li Chyou who was daydreaming, and brought her back to reality, “Would you like to change?”

Night

The boy was washing his face with water. He cupped his hands and filled them with water from the pail.

Splash!

Splashing his face with water, he washed out the make-up on his face. The maids seem to treat him like a doll due to his ‘cute’ and ‘pleasing’ appearance. Of course, those were the maids’ words. He wondered if this would change once he grew up. As of now, it was a bit of a hassle to entertain so many big sisters. Yes, only the relatively younger maids who were in their 20s and early 30s would cling to him. The older ones would just tell them to stop. But even then they would barely put in any effort and would just a show with a wholesome smile on their face.

The boy smiled. As much as he felt annoyed, it was a bit lovely that there were people he could talk to. People with who he could see himself becoming friends. There were people who cared for, people who guided him.

He shifted his gaze to the sky. The towns of this era had relatively less light pollution, so the skies were filled with stars. It was incomparably beautiful. In the almost one and quarter month he came to this world, he never felt stopped and looked at the sights above or around.

With Old Man Ouyang, he was too busy learning about the world to care about anything else. He’d learn, digest, and think what he would do in the future. The more he learned, the more he understood that the Old Man was someone extraordinary. He knew he would be left behind one day. Maybe that’s why he never considered the Old Man as someone more than a teacher.

He wondered why he felt at peace here. Maybe it was because this place was stable. He didn’t have to worry about much. His duties were monotonous and he preferred them that way. He could socialize here, he was safe here and he didn’t have to worry about his survival. Sure he was the First Young Miss’, the heir to the clan’s butler. But supporting her was a task for the future him.

Right now, all he felt was the cool sensation of the water on his face as he marveled at the twinkling stars in the sky.

The boy wiped his face with a towel and stood up. He slung the towel on his shoulders and made his way into his room.

Entering his room, he hanged the towel on the chair and changed into his nightclothes. After that, he crashed on the bed.

He turned his head and saw the jade pendant on the bedside table. It had a seven-petal Lotus carved into it which would sometimes glow in green. This was inside the pouch the Old Man gave him before he left. It was underneath all the coins.

When he saw the pendant, the boy’s suspicions had been confirmed. The Old Man was from a sect, perhaps an elder. And it was the Seven Aquamarine Lotus Sect. It was a third-tier sect near Huangye Town which was close to becoming second-tier.

Around this part of the Xi Kingdom, they were one of the three big clans. The other two were the Jade Lotus Sect and the Smoke Lotus Sect. Yes, all three of them were from the same lineage before they were separated due to conflicting interests and internal strife.

The boy stopped looking at the pendant and closed his eyes. He didn’t plan on using the pendant; maybe when he had nowhere to go once again. But that was a bleak and depressing possibility...