Qing Shen was currently trembling. Fear overrode all of her actions and thoughts. Each breath was short and concise as if afraid to take up more air than she was allowed.

The outfit that she was forced into by the villa's maids was also a cause for concern. She had no idea why there was so many frills on one dress, but it was not her idea to judge. It didn't help that the dress wasn't even that long; it barely covered her thighs, and, even then, it was a little too short for comfort. 

However, she could only endure.

Her hands couldn't help but shake uncontrollably as well. She had overheard rumors from some of the nicer maids that the young master she currently served had sent several shell shocked servants away. Qing Shen could only imagine what torture, and depraved acts the man could have wrought to cause them to not even utter a word of defiance.

Steeling her nerves, Qing Shen walked through the long hallway adorned with carpets of the finest materials, and nearby decorations that, if sold, would probably feed a family for months. At the end of the hallway was a set of thick, wooden double doors engraved with depictions of dragons rising to the heavens. Just looking at the designs made her remember how she was forced to learn all about etiquette, and the proper ways she must go about speaking. From her time learning, and looking at the lavish setting, she felt as if there was a constant need to posture oneself in the best light possible.

Taking a moment to once again collect herself, Qing Shen paused to remember the faces of those who gave her strength. Her parents, while forced to sell her away, grieved all night long as she packed for her journey. A boy, older than her by one year, but was always getting into trouble proclaimed to the world that he would protect her as she was forced into the carriage that stole her away. She nearly broke into a smile as she remembered a time when he had somehow found a way to get beaten by a chicken. It was ironic that she felt comforted by him.

Her lips instead curled into a frown. Nearby, a vase caught her eye. It wasn't special, or contained any wonderful escape. The vase merely reflected her somber face back at her.

A face that the village had described as being akin to jade weathered by the elements of the country. Eyes so blue they reminded one of dazzling sapphires, sparkling in their resplendent beauty. Long, golden blonde hair trailed behind her head; put into a ponytail with a piece of jeweled string one of the maids insisted on. Something they said was a rarity in these parts. Pink, plump lips that spread across her face, and, even in a frown, were unmistakably beautiful.

Finally, Qing Shen gathered her courage. She strode through the doors knowing full well that she might never leave the same, but that was fine. She would endure.

Calmly she scanned the room. If anything she was rather disappointed by how lackluster it was compared to the grandeur of the rest of the villa. She felt as if she had gone to the wrong room.

The room itself only contained a bed, a desk, and a small tea table. There was a set of doors opposite to where she stood that were currently open, allowing wind to swish through the room. A few stacks of paper were lazily shifting in the wind from their place on the desk, held only by a precariously placed weight.

Qing Shen was nearly having a heart attack at this point. She expected something to happen by now! Everything about this situation was too jarring from her expectations that she momentarily expected that a trick had been played on her.

"Ah, I'm outside." A voice chimed into the whirlpool of her thoughts. It wasn't too deep, nor high pitched; if she had to describe it she would say relaxed. "Please join me, it's quite nice outside."

Qing Shen hurriedly complied, somehow happy that she could get this over with. When she stepped through the backdoors she found a small garden occupied by an even smaller koi pond and a set of reclined chairs. Surrounding the garden itself was a tall, white stone fence that loomed in stark contrast to the peaceful and rather simple adornings of the garden. They reminded her of a fortress that would ward off armies that threatened to knock. Her eyes, however, found the object of her fear, and suddenly she felt as if a weight had descended onto her shoulders.

Her so called young master seemed a little younger than her. Maybe fourteen or fifteen years of age. He fit the image of a pampered noble she had built up for all her years in her village. Thin, pale, and garbed in fancy silk that no doubt cost an entire ten years worth of labor.

If she wasn't so caught up in fearing them then she would definitely say that the Zhang family really knew how to live. The scenery was beautiful despite the size, and the plump koi fish darted around their enclosure, unaware that their little well was only for the entertainment of others. Next to her young master was a bowl of fresh fruit that he seemed utterly raptured with. Qing Shen would have assumed that he had went days without a meal at the speed he ate.

However, all of that was drowned out by the sheer presence that the boy radiated. She knew of an old master who had set up shop nearby her village a couple of years ago that had that same pressure. She also remembered when the old man decimated fifty armed men that were sent to fetch him. The old master had made it seem like they were mere toddlers to him.

While she already knew it, Qing She couldn't help but realize that she had no way out. Now it made her feel like a trapped rabbit being bore before a hungry bear. There was no contest, and certainly no escape.

"Why are you still standing?" The voice of her young master called again. She couldn't tell if he was angry or calm with his tone, but she didn't waste any time in bowing before him. Her waist bent as her head bobbed down to show her respect.

"I'm sorry for being late." Qing Shen had quite a few excuses: the villa was too large, the maids were too unhelpful, and the dress she was given was too hard to put on. However, she'd rather take the punishment then try to make excuses; she was here to endure, after all.

"Huh? Late? What are you talking about? You're here for the job, right?"

Not daring to look up, Qing Shen responded, hoping that she was saying the right things, "Yes, I'm here for the... job. Again, I apologize for my being late to assist you."

"Great! Let's get started as soon as possible! I've gotten so annoyed lately."

Qing Shen's heart dropped into a chilly tundra. She had thought that maybe she could be spared, but she hoped a little too much. With a resigned heart, she began to undo the straps on her frilly dress.

"Alright, I just need you to- Holy Immortal! What the hell are you doing?!"

Looking up from her bow, Qing Shen found an unexpected scene. The expert in front of her was averting his eyes, a rosy blush prevalent on his face.

Slowly she realized that throughout the entire encounter she had never once looked him in the eye. Now that she had the chance, she noticed that he had the most innocent brown eyes she had ever seen. Even if they were peeking through a few gaps in his fingers.

His face was normal. Not overly handsome or ugly like she expected, but it held a charm to it. His hair was equally jarring, where she had normally seen others try to keep their hair as long as possible, his was short. Like a blade had cut it so that it wouldn't pass his ears.

"W- why are you taking your clothes off?!" The innocent boy screeched again.

Qing Shen stared for a bit. She made no move to fix her clothes as she recollected her thoughts. Then, a mischievous grin spread across her pink lips as she returned to removing a couple of the straps that held her dress up.

The boy yelped again, but made his attempts to look through his mask of fingers much more apparent. Qing Shen was fine with it; she could endure. Maybe with a little smile that looked a little villainous to the outside.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Zhang, I'm rather new. Could you tell me what exactly is my job?" After a little bit of fun, Qing Shen finally rid herself of the uncontrollable fear that the innocent child had once held.

The cutely hiding child composed himself after he finally saw his tormentor stop. "Actually, I think introductions are in order. My name is Yong Zhang, er, I mean Zhang Yong. What's your name?"

"Qing Shen. I'm grateful to learn the powerful name of young master; it fits your brave and heroic aura." Qing Shen smiled behind her compliments. If he was as innocent to the opposite gender as she thought he was then getting on his good side should be easy.

However, the boy's smile didn't grow as she expected. In fact, he seemed to develop a frown before commenting, "Please don't do that; compliments, I mean. Anyways, Qing Shen, what level of cultivation do you have?"

"I'm sorry for my offense. My lowly self has only just completed the Body Strengthening stage, and achieved the Entry level for the Opening Meridians stage." Qing Shen was currently feeling confusion again after she felt like she had gotten a grip. What kind of young master likes not being complimented? It was like the sky was yellow when everyone said it was blue.

Her inner turmoil went unnoticed by her newly proclaimed young master. Instead he smoothly got up from his chair while his arms folded into an expression of deep thought. His slim left arm crossed his chest, right elbow resting in his left palm, and his right palm propped up on his chin all while his fingers drummed lightly on his lips. The brown eyes of his fell onto the small koi pond next to him, as if he were in a daze.

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"While not as great as I hoped, I guess it's better than those I've seen nearby… But this means I'll have to spend a bit more time grooming her. Oh! I could finally try out those things I've been dying to do!" With a concerning endpoint, Qing Shen watched as the boy turned before her, a smile in his eyes. "Do you know how to do Essence Infusion yet?"

Qing Shen blinked slowly, as if afraid to answer wrong. She wanted her shy, innocent boy back! "Yes, I was taught to do that as one of the first skills I learned. My teacher had said it was one of the most important foundational skills a practitioner must learn."

"Of course it's important! Spiritual Essence is finicky in what can absorb it. Mainly only things with a sufficient biological origin can even hope of taking in a sliver of the stuff! It's quite aggravating to say so myself! But it only begs the question as to why is it that animals can't absorb any of it. Perhaps it has to do with the biological process-" Qing Shen blinked again, it appeared that she had touched upon a favorite subject for the child. She had long since stopped listening to him as his words had gotten increasingly complex to the point she didn't know if they were speaking the same language anymore. In fact, his exuberant appearance was rather appealing to her as well. Maybe it might still be the shock of the situation settling in.

"Anyways," Qing Shen's attention shifted back to the calming boy. He still seemed a little out of breath from his outburst, but he was still fine. "I need you to come and infuse this ink bottle every day with your Spiritual Essence. As long as that is done then the rest of your day is your free time. I'll even offer cultivation resources, or gold as compensation for your work."

Qing Shen didn't answer right away. She was too busy gaping at the oddest request she had ever heard. Her appearance probably surmounted to quite the sight as originally she was holding on by steel nerves, and the fact that her expectations had been so poorly met. Now she had finally reached her maximum confusion, and was thoroughly thrown through a loop. That, with the continued stress of the original situation itself, caused the once enduring Qing Shen to finally snap.

"I… wait! Wouldn't you be able to do that yourself?! That request makes so little sense! I come here, stolen from my home, and expected to be assaulted by some noble whose head is so far up his ass that he can't even hear straight! Instead I get surprise after damn surprise from a little boy who barely reaches the height of my neck!"

"I'm still growing!"

Whether Qing Shen heard him or was so caught up in her complaining that she misheard him, was unknown. She did, however, continue on her rant, "And now I'm here, in a villa that is nearly the size of my own damn village, with a boy who could easily fulfill the task without any problems whatsoever! Why am I even here?! To be gawked at and dressed in clothes too Immortal damned tight to even be reasonable! I mean, what is with all these frills?! There's too many frills!"

Despite her heavy breathing and violently trembling body, Qing Shen felt good. It was nice to finally get that off her chest, and even if her actions caused her harm, she felt that she accomplished something. She was never good at enduring anyways.

"Um, I wanted to ask about the dress as well, but you didn't seem too uncomfortable in it so I didn't really say anything. If… if it's that bad I can ask a maid to get you some better clothes…" A nearby voice that was caked in concern shook Qing Shen out of her feelings of accomplishment.

With a face paler than snow she gazed up at the embarrassed figure of the boy before her. The supposed young master of the Zhang family. A noble who she had just rudely insulted, and probably shamed a million times over.

"I'm sorry…" Qing Shen realized that her actions could have her family involved if her grievances accumulated enough. "I don't know what came over this lowly servant, so please punish me in a way to absolve my crime."

"Uh, after you finish your daily task of infusing the ink bottle you must… um, train over there!" Qing Shen wanted to comment on how unsure he seemed, but held back her tongue.

Instead, she turned her head to where he was pointing and found a small, flat piece of dirt matted ground. Close to one of the white stone walls was an upright wooden dummy with a small barrel of hay wrapped around the pole that held it. Off to the sides of the dirt beaten ground were a few large stones with handles on the sides that probably weighed only a couple hundred of catties. All in all, she found that the training ground was perhaps worse than the one back at home.

"Yes, Young Master." Still, Qing Shen accepted that that was probably the goal of her punishment. She was still able to train, but compared to the heavenly elixirs he drank and the areas he trained, she was only a bug that could be squashed at any time.

"Little Yong, it is time for dinner." Suddenly, a voice familiar to Qing Shen rang out from inside.

She peered over from her spot on the garden to find a maid dressed in a similar suit to hers. The maid, however, wasn't the least bit uncomfortable in her too-tight-of-a-fit dress as she waltzed easily into the room, and quickly set down the dinner plate in her hand. Then Qing Shen flinched when she finally met the disappointed green eyes of the head maid who had dressed her earlier that evening.

She once again found her eyes landing on the dish that had been laid before her young master. Once again, she experienced the differences in her expectations as the meal was just a simple piece of steaming bread and warm soup. Qing Shen had seen better meals at home whenever her father had luckily hunted some wild game.

"Let me help." She said, hoping for some semblance of forgiveness from her strangely kind young master, and the absurdly cold head maid.

"I think you have made your point earlier. You do not need to concern yourself with the Young Master. Just fulfill his requirements." The head maid added, her eyes never leaving the brown haired boy who had just sat down.

"Miss Li, please excuse Qing Shen. She's probably tired, and I did speak for quite a while without caring for her thoughts on the matter." Qing Shen saw that he had turned to look at her from his seat that the table. He gestured to a nearby bottle of what she assumed to be wine, "If you must help for whatever reason, pour me something."

Hurriedly, Qing Shen set out to grab the bottle whilst the head maid Li watched over every one of her movements like a hawk. There was a set of jade cups nearby to which she carefully placed them down before the child, and began to pour. What she was a little worried about was that the liquid that came out wasn't like any wine she had seen before. It was orange and held no thick scent of alcohol that she was used to. Deciding that it was probably the difference in qualities speaking again, she keep pouring all while wondering if all the rumors she was so used to hearing were completely wrong.

"Is there something wrong?"

Qing Shen's head popped up at the sound of the young master's voice, and she paused her pouring. Feeling a little apprehensive with the head maid still looming nearby, she carefully shook her head. "It is nothing, I'm just surprised by the Young Master's choice in wine."

"Wine?" The young master parroted, once again drawing on Qing Shen's image that he was an naive child.

"Yes, it is quite unlike the ones I've seen."

"Um, what wine?"

Qing Shen paused, wondering if she had made a mistake again. She turned back to the cup that young master Zhang had drank from; there was still orange liquid floating about in it.

"I believe she is talking about your drink, Young Master Zhang. It truly is one fit for immortals." Head Maid Li happily added with a blooming smile. If Qing Shen didn't know any better then she would have been fooled into thinking that the maid was merely complimenting her master, but she quickly realized that she was mistaken somewhere once again.

"Miss Li, this is orange juice…" As if the undercurrent of teasing wasn't enough, Qing Shen visibly flinched when she heard that. To have mistaken fine wine for juice. She could only physically stop herself from curling up in embarrassment at this point.

The head maid had seen this, and smiled like a beast before its prey. "Why yes, I was just unsure whether your newest servant had mistaken your drink for wine. After all, I'm concerned with my subordinates who cannot even identify a simple children's drink."

"Then there be no need for worries. Miss Qing, there is no wine in this villa, so you shouldn't have to worry about that." The young master placated as Qing Shen felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment again for being called out so suddenly. Luckily, she was spared when young master Zhang continued, "Why would you even think I drank wine? I'm underage."

Qing Shen didn't really react to that comment as much as she thought she would. It was absurd to even think about how fitting that statement was when it pertained to her young master. In fact, she felt like she was finally getting a hang on enduring. It would probably be a useful skill to master as she had to deal with her newest, and maybe, just maybe, she might be able to understand why every single rumor she had heard was so utterly wrong.