“You’ll make them whenever I ask, got it?” Li Chyou looked at him with a stern expression but it had softened quite a bit.

The boy wanted to say- Well, of course! That’s my job. But seeing as how she just started talking to him after a lot of coaxing, he kept it to himself and nodded, “As you wish, Young Miss!”

“Hmph!” she snorted and looked forward as they continued on their walk around Huangye town.

They didn’t particularly do anything, just walked around and saw the different sights the town had to offer them. But something that stayed consistent was the gazes of reverence and admiration the ordinary people threw at Li Chyou. There were also some lustful ones and as expected those were from males. It seemed Li Chyou was very well known around town.

At one point, the boy asked a question that had been bugging him since yesterday, “Young Miss, can I ask something?”

Li Chyou nodded slightly. Getting the go-ahead, the boy asked, “Where has Mistress gone?”

The person he referred to as ‘Mistress’ was naturally Li Yan’s wife. After a day of staying here, he had learned something as basic as her name, which was Li Fen. You’d think she would come to visit her eldest daughter’s new butler but apparently from what he gathered from the other servants, she was not here. They didn’t know where but that was to be expected; mere servants wouldn’t be privy to sensitive information such as the current clan head’s wife’s location.

And as expected one of the guards bellowed from behind, “Outrageous! Is this something a mere servant like you should ask!?”

“Do you think of me as air?” Li Chyou immediately shot a glare at that guard which made him shrink his neck. “I haven’t said a word and yet you had the gall to berate my butler!”

The boy throughout this exchange stayed mostly expressionless. Except when Li Chyou lashed out, he looked at her with disbelief.

Li Chyou noticing his gaze on her also glared at him but there was a haughtiness mixed with him. “And he’s right! Why do you as a mere servant need to know this?”

“Isn’t it natural for someone to ask the whereabouts of their mistress who they’ve never seen before?” the boy shrugged. He didn’t mind her haughtiness one bit, rather he actually understood something.

“It is-” she narrowed her eyes at him, “-especially for a butler like you.”

The boy smiled slightly but said nothing.

After a while of walking, Li Chyou entered a bustling tavern followed by the boy and her four guards called Whitewood Tavern. It was a big and relatively famous tavern within Huangye Town. Compared to the food at Cloud Tavern which was sold for copper taels and the more expensive ones for a few silver taels, the cheapest item in this tavern was sold for 1 silver tael.

There was a receptionist of sorts at the front who revealed a humble appearance and bowed when he saw Li Chyou and her entourage come in.

“Young Miss Li!” the receptionist respectfully greeted her.

“I want a table on the third floor,” Li Chyou stated her demands without small talk.

“Right away!” the receptionist smiled. He then began to walk towards the stairs, “Please follow me!”

Li Chyou and the others followed the receptionist up the stairs. Whitewood Tavern had three floors. As the boy ascended the stairs, he understood what or whom each floor was for.

The first floor was mainly for the common populace, the middle to upper-middle class. The second floor was for the slightly richer people, the upper class like merchants and other business owners. The third floor was for the really influential and rich people, the people from clans, owners of wealthy shops and so on.

They arrived at the third floor and found a table by the window they liked. The boy went ahead and pulled one of the chairs out. Li Chyou sat down and waited for a waiter to take her order. The boy stood beside her and the guards around her. The boy looked around and saw that the third floor was relatively deserted with no less than six people sitting down. There was a group of three, a couple and a fat man in expensive clothes who sat separately.

Soon a waiter came up and stood in front of Li Chyou, “What would you like today?”

“Give me a bowl of fried rice, roasted chicken with extra spice, and a jug of lemonade!” Li Chyou calmly stated her order.

“Right away!” the waiter smiled and hurried downstairs.

Once the waiter went down, Li Chyou’s eyes lit up as though she remembered something. She looked at the boy and asked, “Tell me the ingredients you need for Fried Chicken now so I can ask a servant to go buy it for me when we get home.”

“Understood!” the boy nodded and came closer to Li Chyou.

Alarmed by his sudden actions, Li Chyou asked with a stern expression, “What are you doing?”

“I was about to whisper it to you. The recipe is a secret and I’d like to keep it that way!”

Li Chyou was skeptical but eventually gave in, “Do whatever you want!”

The boy came close to her and whispered the ingredients in her ear. The sensation of the boy’s breath on her ear tickled her but she suppressed her urge to move away.

After he finished, her eyes widened and she looked at him in disbelief. “A-Aren’t those just common everyday items?”

The boy just smiled, “Did Young Miss expect something different?”

“B-But…” she had a disappointed expression and wanted to say something but nothing escaped from her mouth.

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“Young Miss,” the boy changed the subject, “Can I go outside?”

“Why?” she narrowed her eyes at him.

“To buy something,” he still had that faint smile on his face.

“What is it?”

“A herb.”

“Hmm…” it looked as though she was considering it. After a while, she looked up and waved her hand dismissively, “Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Young Miss!” he bowed and hurriedly left for downstairs. She looked in his direction for a while before shifting her gaze to one of the guards, “Follow him!”

“As you command!” the guard bowed and went after the boy.

Downstairs, the boy speed-walked outside the tavern. As he was going out, he saw another group entering. A girl with a seductive body and a magenta one-piece dress walked into the tavern followed by a plain-looking maid and three guards.

Looking at the clothes the guards and maid wore, the boy frowned. The Wang Clan’s Young Miss! Just like how the Li Clan wore yellow, the Wang Clan wore a combination of Magenta as the primary color and other colors. The Wang Clan’s Young Miss’ name was Wang Meimei, and like Li Chyou, she was 12 this year. Though her body was very well developed compared to Li Chyou, which was something he wouldn’t say out loud even if you beat him to death.

For a moment, Wang Meimei’s eyes met with his and she was taken aback. Those deep blue eyes which looked like the unfathomable ocean left a particularly deep impression on her. Even though the boy had half his face covered with a black cloth, she focused on the part he revealed and it was enough to leave her enthralled. He looked so pleasing!

Wang Meimei who had unknowingly paused in her steps was brought back to reality with a light cough from one of the guards. She turned around to glance at him. The guard revealed a solemn expression and said, “Young Miss, the boy’s clothes suggest that he’s from the Li Clan and a butler at that!”

“Really…?” the guard’s word had dimmed her unknown expectations.

“Young Miss, I think it should be better to focus on the fact that someone high-ranking from the Li Clan might be here,” the guard smiled bitterly at his Young Miss.

“I see…” Wang Meimei nodded and then looked upstairs with a ferocious expression, “As long as it’s not that bitch, Li Chyou, we’ll have no problems.”

“Understood.” The guard sighed and went back to his place.

Soon they saw a Li Clan guard leave the tavern. All of them except Wang Meimei revealed thoughtful expressions but then went upstairs.

On the other hand, the boy was inside a nearby herb shop with a stalk in front of him.

“Shopkeeper, can I get two bowls and some water?” the boy asked the old man in front of him.

The old man nodded lethargically, his beard swaying, and took out two bowls from under the counter. Then he pointed out back and said in a dull tone, “There’s a well out back. Suit yourself.”

“Thank you!” the boy beamed and took the two bowls before heading to the back.

Walking to the back courtyard, he saw a lone well in the middle. He drew some water out of the well and filled one of the bowls. It was a normal thing for customers to ask for various things to test the herb they got. And even though it was a bit weird, his request coincided with how one can test the herb he bought.

He put the water-filled bowl aside before taking the other bowl and filling it with his saliva. Of course, it was an arduous process, and even after a few minutes, he wasn’t even close to filling half the bowl but the results satisfied him. He took a leaf of the herb and dropped it in the bowl of water.

Crackle! Pop!

The water instantly started sizzling as though it was being boiled. Steam rose from the bowl and one could see the leaf dissolving rapidly. After a few seconds, the leaf was gone as well as half of the water.

“Yikes!” the boy took in a cold breath of air as he looked at the stalk of herbs next to him with slight fear, “The Five Vapor Parsley is really effective.”

Then he took a half of another leaf and dipped it in the saliva. The leaf was submerged in the saliva but nothing happened.

He let out a sigh of relief, “So my gamble paid off.” He thought of this ever since his days with Old Man Ouyang. There were many useless or less useful herbs and items in this world, one of them being the Five Vapor Parsley in front of him. It can vaporize water. The people of this world aren’t technologically developed enough to properly utilize it. So, aside from getting rid of water in some unreachable place, not even the common populace purchased it.

The boy took a leaf and shoved it inside his mouth. He chewed on it slowly turning it to mush. It surprisingly didn’t taste like parsley! It had a spicy taste but that was irrelevant. The boy emptied the bowls and washed them before coming back into the shop.

He smiled and thanked the owner before ordering another set of different herbs and left the shop. Feeling satisfied, he came back into the tavern. As soon as he headed upstairs, a feminine voice he’d never heard before rung out.

“Restrain your guards, washboard! Or, I’ll do it for you!”

He looked to where Li Chyou was sitting and he didn’t see her doing so. She had a ferocious expression as she looked at the red-haired newcomer. Wang Meimei looked at Li Chyou with a provocative smile.

“What did you call me!?” Li Chyou exploded.

The boy looked at the scene in confusion. Why are you so angry? All she did was call you a washboard. That’s a pretty weak insult if you ask- Oh…! His eyes wandered down to their chests and he felt that Wang Meimei had chosen an apt name for his Young Miss.

In comparison to Wang Meimei, Li Chyou really had no bust. But comparing their bust sizes wasn’t important to him; another question currently swirled in his head. Why haven’t I noticed before that she was flat as a board?

He kept thinking about it until something clicked. The feelings he had towards his Young Miss’ beauty were that of one’s feelings towards a painting. Sure it was beautiful and looked nice but that didn’t mean you’d start dating a painting[1]. You’d look at it, appreciate it and that was it. A painting’s appearance wouldn’t decide your life nor would you constantly keep it in mind.

He shook these unwanted thoughts out of his head and went forward to report Li Chyou of his return.

“Young Miss, I’ve returned,” the boy cupped his fists and bowed.

“Good,” Li Chyou’s ferocious expression had softened a bit.

“Oh, who’s this?” Wang Meimei looked at him with half-opened eyes which added to her sultry charm. Well, as sultry as a 12-year-old can get. She then looked at Li Chyou with a mocking expression, “Your new boy toy?”

“Boy toy!?” Li Chyou was appalled. She was going to refuse when the scenes of the boy undressing her every morning. Though he was wearing blindfolds, it was very embarrassing for a 12-year-old girl! Her voice became as quiet as a mosquito as she denied with surprisingly little conviction in her voice, “N-No…”

“Huh?” Wang Meimei was taken aback. Her expressions and mannerisms, why did it seem as though…?

Actually, even the boy and the Li Clan’s guards were astonished. The boy looked at his Young Miss with widened eyes full of shock. What kind of Young Miss are you?

However, he quickly composed himself and said with a loud voice, “I’m Young Miss’ new butler!” As he said this, he slowly edged closer to the still silent and blushing Li Chyou.

“B-Butler?” Wang Meimei was surprised. She remembered something her father told her but her memory was a bit hazy.

“Hyan!” Li Chyou suddenly jolted up and rubbed her left side. She looked at the boy with a red face full of indignation with tears in the corner of her eyes. He looked at her calmly and reminded, “Young Miss, it’d be best to act like the First Young Miss of Li Clan.”

Li Chyou pouted but didn’t linger on it; instead opting to ask, “What did you get from the shop?”

“Some stalks of mint!” one could tell from his eyes that the boy was smiling.

“Anything else?” she raised an eyebrow.

“And some Five Vapor Parsley!”

“What do you need that for?” Li Chyou was puzzled.

“Self-defence!” the boy replied concisely.

“What’s the need for that? Don’t we have guards?”

“Will they protect me if both of us were in danger?” the boy counter-asked.

“Of course not!” Li Chyou had an expression that said ‘as it should be’.

“That’s why! I don’t wish to die so young,” the boy shook his head with a bitter smile though no one saw it under his mask, “If my defense fails, then it’s up to fate whether I live or die.”

“Hey!” Wang Meimei cut in with a furious expression. “Do you treat me as non-existent?”

“Oh…?”