“So, you’re the new butler, eh?” the middle-aged man behind the table looked at the boy with interest. He had a short goatee, a head full of black hair with some white mixed in, and a calm look.

The room he was in was plain and had only a desk and a chair in the middle. However, the walls were lined with shelf after shelf which had numerous scrolls and books stacked on them. There was something written under every shelf.

“I am but Elder already knows that,” the boy replied honestly.

“Indeed I do,” he took a puff from the pipe in his left hand before letting out a breath full of smoke. Guess, they were right…he is indeed pleasing to look at! Looking around, the room was filled with a fog-like smoke that smelled like burnt tobacco.

“Tell me,” the elder man forward, “What are you here for, kid?”

“I’d like some information and a man to stalk the eldest son of the Murong Clan.”

“Hmm,” the man let out a sound of interest. “And why is that?”

“I’d like to halt the Young Miss’s love immediately,” the boy revealed without the slightest lie.

“Oh?” the man smiled, “Pretty cruel, aren’t you? To crush your Young Miss’s dreams like that?”

“I’d like to say I’m doing this for the clan but-” the boy shook his head, “It might be good for the Young Miss as well.”

“And why do you say that?”

“It’s better to nip her dreams in the bud rather than to do it when it blooms[1].”

“Is there something wrong with loving that Murong brat?”

“Unrequited love is a painful thing to endure. Especially, if later on, it brings betrayal.”

“It seems you know quite a lot,” the man took another puff from the pipe.

“Only guesses,” the boy replied humbly.

The man exhaled and said, “Guesses and speculations are valuable in my line of work; especially since it gives us a direction to work with. But we should regard them only as support and not a fact.”

“If I was certain of my speculations I wouldn’t have come to Elder, no?” the boy raised an eyebrow.

“Right you are!” the man chuckled. “If you weren’t the First Young Miss’s butler, I would’ve liked to take you under my wing!”

“I thank you for your kind praise,” the boy bowed.

“Stop with the formalities,” the man waved his hand. “I understand that you already know my name from the guard that led you here but why don’t you introduce yourself formally?”

“Right, Elder Li Tian,” the boy nodded, “I am First Young Miss’s butler-”

Thud!

Before he could say anything, a large sound came from behind Elder Li Tian as a book fell from the shelf and hit the ground. He frowned and looked behind before picking up the book and placing it where it belongs.

Afterward, he turned back and said, “Are you doing this out of your own volition, or has someone put you up to the task?”

The boy shot him a puzzled look not knowing what he was talking about. But he soon revealed an understanding expression as it clicked inside his mind. “It was the Mistress who assigned me the task.”

“Li Fen, eh?” Elder Li Tian looked annoyed, “Tch, that hag still pushes the troublesome stuff to other people!”

“H-Hag?” the boy looked at him in surprise.

“Shocked that I’m calling her a hag?” Elder Li Tian looked at the boy with a smirk. “I’m her younger brother; I know very well the coquettish and insufferable bitch that lies underneath that graceful demeanor.”

“Uh…” the boy raised a finger as he was going to refute that claim when Elder Li Tian continued, “She’s already bet you something that involves her being naked, hasn’t she?”

The boy promptly shut his mouth and lowered his finger, unable to refute.

“Did you take the Patriarch’s surname just like Mistress?” the boy swiftly changed the topic.

“Huh?” Elder Li Tian shot him a puzzled look, “Why would I take a surname I always had?”

Now it was the boy’s turn to be confused, “…So you’re from a different family named ‘Li’?”

“Did some water get in your brains or something?” Elder Li Tian scolded him. “We were from the branch family!”

“Ah?” the boy exclaimed in disbelief. His thoughts became uncertain. I-Is that really alright? Isn’t incest supposed to be…bad?

“Enough!” Elder Li Tian waved his hands. “Back on topic.”

The boy coughed lightly and stopped thinking unnecessary things, “Then once again, I ask you for the information on Murong Fang and personnel to stalk him.”

“I see,” Elder Li Tian and walked around as he brushed his finger over the books and scrolls on the shelves. As he did this, he asked, “Is there something specific you need from the man I send? Any specific information?”

“Yes, I want the information of where and when he goes out; mainly, information about his love interests.”

“Ho?” Elder Li Tian turned around and looked at him with a bemused expression. “Using the ‘Love Affair’ trick to crush the First Young Miss’s heart, how straightforward!”

“I mean, from what I know, talking it out with the Young Miss hasn’t borne any fruit,” the boy shook his head. “The carrot has already failed, so only the stick remains[2]!”

“Here,” Elder Li Tian walked towards him with a scroll in his hand and gave it to him. “Information pertaining to the heir of the Murong Clan in Huangye Town.”

“…Elder, you could’ve just said ‘Murong Fang’, you know?”

Elder Li Tian, “…”

“Well, I thank you for your assistance!” The boy cupped his fists and bowed.

“Yeah, yeah!” Elder Li Tian waved his hands dismissively, “Just burn the scroll afterward.”

“Understood!” The boy replied firmly before leaving.

Elder Li Tian looked at his retreating figure with an expressionless face. Brother-in-law seems to have chosen a very interesting young lad!

Night

After returning back to Li Chyou and apologizing for leaving without telling her, the boy spent the rest of the day taking care of her as he usually did. Now, he was sitting upright on a chair and reading the scroll he got today. Due to absorbing Qi, he would no longer be exhausted after his duties.

As he read, he kept on grinning, and sometimes there would be disbelief in his eyes. After he was done, he set the scroll on the desk and let out a turbid breath of air.

“I wasn’t expecting this. But I was expecting not to expect this,” he closed his eyes as he digested the information he got.

Murong Fang was in a relationship as he had guessed. A pretty boy like him doesn’t have a girlfriend in this medieval era? Ridiculous! But what he didn’t expect was that he was this big of a player! He actually had a fiancé! And it was none other than Wang Meimei!

Yikes! Her rival is already engaged to her crush whilst she hasn’t even confessed! It’s truly unfair.

Knock! Knock!

There was a series of knocks on his door. He got up from the chair and walked at an unhurried pace before opening the door. There was no one there! He looked left and right, no one there either! Finally, he glanced downwards and saw a box on the floor.

He looked around once again. Good, no one there to see him! He cautiously took the box and placed it on his desk. He sat on his chair and looked at the box. It didn’t look dangerous. There’s no ticking sound. So, it’s not a bomb.

I shouldn’t look at it just yet! He thought cautiously. He got up from the chair, turned off the lantern, and sat cross-legged on his bed. Just like before, he emptied his mind or rather, focused on nature. And like before, he absorbed Qi through all 107 acupoints. The Qi made its way throughout his body, strengthening and invigorating it. After making its way, the little bit of Qi congregated in his dantian; filling it up by a little.

After he finished cultivating, he opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. Looking out the window, it seemed that the sun had still not risen. So, he didn’t cultivate as long as he did last time.

Will this time keep shortening? At one point, will just a moment of cultivation give me tremendous amounts of Qi?

He shook his head bitterly at this irrational thought process. From the beginning, the act of Cultivation doesn’t have a time limit. You can absorb Qi as long as you can but it all depends on how much Qi you can handle.

If one absorbs too much Qi, they will enter a state called Qi Intoxication which is just like being drunk but magnified by 3 times. Dizziness, nausea, incoherent speech, short-temper, etc. are the common symptoms of Qi Intoxication. But unlike normal intoxication, Qi Intoxication has no hangover period.

Of course, if the expenditure of Qi is equal to the absorption of Qi, you won’t suffer from Qi Intoxication. That’s why there are no cases of Cultivators becoming intoxicated in battles.

The boy looked at the box that was on his table. He sighed and got up before igniting the lantern and sitting at his desk. He slowly opened the box but there was no trap!

There was a scroll inside. He picked it up and unfurled it. The heading read, ‘The Abnormalities of Li Chyou’.

The boy began to reading and with every line, his frown deepened. At one point, his frown eased and he looked at the scroll in disbelief as he read it again to make sure he read everything right. By the end of it, he had put down the scroll back on the desk and slumped on his chair with a hollow expression.

“Unbelievable…”