Upon hearing the noise, Qing Yu, who was nearly dozing off from waiting, suddenly opened her eyes.
She looked up and saw a young man in coarse cloth standing at the courtyard entrance with a clean and handsome face.
"Isn't this Miss Qingge's husband, the young master? He doesn't look bad at all."
Qing Yu subconsciously thought this, but quickly suppressed it.
"Pah! This is the young master, what am I thinking!"
Quickly getting up, Qing Yu said, "Young master, I am Qing Yu, assigned as your personal maid."
Maid?
Lu Ye was taken aback, then shook his head with a smile, "No need, I don't require anyone to serve me. You may go back."
Hearing Lu Ye's words, Qing Yu immediately became anxious and fell to her knees with a thud.
"Young master, I will be punished if I return. Please give Qing Yu a chance, Qing Yu will definitely serve you well!"
Watching the pale-faced girl continuously kowtowing on the ground, Lu Ye sighed softly.
In the Martial Dao world, people at the bottom indeed have no rights.
Just like himself, thinking of the sect as home, only to be sold off by it.
Seeing Qing Yu kowtow so hard that her forehead was red, Lu Ye spoke.
"Alright, stop kowtowing, get up, I accept you."
"Thank you, young master, thank you!" Qing Yu quickly got up, not bothering to wipe the faint blood on her forehead.
"I'll go clean up for you, young master."
"Tend to your forehead first," Lu Ye said, walking into the courtyard.
"It's nothing, young master," Qing Yu already found a broom and started cleaning skillfully.
After a while.
Looking at the now spotless courtyard, Lu Ye began to look at the girl named Qing Yu in a new light.
Despite her young age, she was proficient in almost all tasks and did them efficiently.
Gurgle...
At this moment, Lu Ye's stomach rumbled slightly.
Hearing this, Qing Yu immediately put down the cloth and washed her hands.
"Young master, please wait a moment, I'll go to the dining room to get you some food."
Saying this, she dashed out of the courtyard.
Lu Ye only then remembered that since the wedding banquet yesterday and the subsequent series of events, he hadn't had anything to eat.
Only by reaching the Innate Realm would one truly be able to fast and absorb Heaven and Earth Energy to nourish oneself.
At this stage, skipping even one meal would leave him starving.
Especially for those practicing Martial Dao, their appetite is significantly larger, requiring plenty of energy replenishment.
"Having an extra maid indeed saves a lot of trouble."
Lu Ye had already accepted the idea of having a personal maid.
On the other side, Qing Yu hurried to the dining room.
"Uncle Qin, give me two meals, one is for the young master."
For those practicing martial arts, cultivation knows no fixed time, and mealtimes are irregular.
Hence, the dining room always had someone working, cooking, and preparing dishes.
Soon, two meals were placed in front of Qing Yu.
Qing Yu was a bit surprised to see two servings of coarse rice, each with a small chicken drumstick, tofu, and some greens.
This was the common meal among the servants, and Qing Yu was familiar with it.
What puzzled her was that in the dining room, the fragrant fine rice, braised pork, beef, and even Fierce Beast Meat were supposed to be the young master's meal.
"Uncle Qin, maybe you heard wrong, one portion is for the young master, Miss Qingge's husband."
Qing Yu forced a flattering smile at Uncle Qin, who was in charge of the dining room.
Uncle Qin shook his head, "Xiao Yu'er, it's not that I don't want to give it, it's that I can't."
Upon hearing this, Qing Yu quickly understood.
Someone had made arrangements for the young master's meal to be the same as the servants'.
But Qing Yu couldn't understand; he was Miss Qingge's husband after all.
Wouldn't Miss Qingge be angry if they targeted the young master like this?
"Well... thank you, Uncle Qin, I'll be off now."
Carrying the meal box, Qing Yu headed back to the courtyard hurriedly.
The young master must be starving; a bite is better than nothing.
...
"Young master, the meal is here."
Qing Yu hurriedly carried the meal box into the courtyard and handed Lu Ye a portion of hot food.
Lu Ye looked at it: two chicken drumsticks, some tofu, and vegetables.
This meal was actually better than what he had at Miscellaneous Peak.
Just as Lu Ye was about to start eating, he noticed another portion in the meal box.
It only had some vegetables and tofu.
"Is this all you're eating?" Lu Ye was a bit surprised.
Qing Yu smiled embarrassedly, "Young master, the servants eat only vegetables and tofu, but it's quite flavorful."
"Here, take one of the chicken drumsticks," Lu Ye said.
Qing Yu immediately shook her head.
"Young master, this is for you; if others find out, I'll be scolded."
Not saying more, Lu Ye looked at the two meals and began to eat.
Seeing this, Qing Yu quietly let out a sigh of relief.
After the meal, Qing Yu washed the dishes and meal box in the side room.
Lu Ye, meanwhile, set up a wooden stake in the courtyard and started training.
Though he possessed the Golden Finger of the Myriad Dao Pavilion, progress in Martial Dao required diligent practice.
The Martial Technique Lu Ye was currently practicing was called the Mountain Splitting Finger, a domineering Finger Technique.
In the Martial Dao world, every Martial Technique is divided into Entry, Skillful, Small Success, Great Success, and Perfection.
This Mountain Splitting Finger was one he initially acquired.
After two months of painstaking practice, he was close to reaching the Small Success Realm.
In the side room, though Qing Yu did not possess Martial Dao talent and couldn't understand Lu Ye's cultivation techniques, she felt his movements seemed impressive.
It was an inexplicable sense of admiration.
...
At night, Qing Yu finally learned that Miss Qingge's husband was named Lu Ye.
After practicing martial arts, Lu Ye had worked up a sweat.
Although Qing Yu had never been a personal maid before, she remembered that a personal maid should meticulously manage all aspects of the master's life.
After boiling the water, Qing Yu intended to serve the young master in bathing but was promptly declined.
Lu Ye couldn't help but smile wryly; such a scene of being bathed could only be imagined in a place like Red Romance.
He had never been to such places and was entirely unaccustomed.
After sending Qing Yu out, Lu Ye settled into the wooden tub.
Letting his mind drift, a small, ancient, and intricately designed Dao Pavilion slowly emerged in his mind.
Looking at the Myriad Dao Pavilion, emitting mysterious aura, Lu Ye took a glance.
[Myriad Dao Pavilion: 9/10]
"Just one more day before I can draw a reward again."
Feeling a bit regretful, Lu Ye knew his Martial Dao talent was low, slightly better than those without any talent, but only just so.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion allowed specific direction draws,
like specifying the rare [Talent] category to avoid randomly hitting the most common Elixir category.
However, drawing specifically required an additional expenditure of ten taels of silver, and the second time, a hundred!
Lu Ye had only been part of the Red Cloud Sect for two months, and the monthly stipend from the sect was in points, not silver.
Not to mention ten taels, even a hundred copper coins, Lu Ye couldn't afford.