Chapter 16

Zheng Fa rarely felt even a trace of sympathy for Wang Gui.

The seventh young master, who had just seemed like an enthusiastic boy, was truly unbearable when he acted like a monster.

He tossed Gao Yuan’s book chest onto the ground, lips curling slightly as if smiling, yet his eyes held not a hint of amusement.

Clearly, his earlier words telling Zheng Fa and the others to get lost were genuine.

“Not speaking?” Seeing Zheng Fa and the other remain silent, the seventh young master seemed to understand their thoughts: “Did someone tell you that following me means feasting on delicacies and living in luxury?”

“Bullshit! Do you think I’m easy to serve?”

Honestly, he had a clear grasp of himself.

The seventh young master glanced at them, then slumped back into his chair, one leg crossed over the other, lounging with careless arrogance:

“Are you hoping that when I become head of the household, you’ll become my lackeys and go out to bully others?” He sneered: “I’ll be honest—I’m young now, but when I grow up, this damn Zhao family headship? Let whoever wants it take it. I won’t have it. Wake up from your daydreams!”

Gao Yuan’s face turned pale.

He knew the seventh young master had a reputation for being erratic within the household.

But this level of behavior still exceeded his expectations.

Zheng Fa, however, felt no disappointment—he had come to the Zhao household with a clear goal: to witness the martial arts of this world and improve his family’s circumstances.

As for who the seventh young master was? Important, but not that important.

As for leaving after hearing those two remarks?

Zheng Fa wasn’t that naive. The Zhao household summoned him for evaluation—he had no choice. Whether he became a book attendant or not? He had no choice either.

Yet the seventh young master found their reaction overly extreme.

This barrage of sarcasm didn’t even seem meant for Zheng Fa and the other.

Seeing they still said nothing, the seventh young master seemed bored, and waved his hand at them: “Won’t leave? Then stand outside. Don’t block my view.”

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood by the doorway, watching through the translucent glass window as the seventh young master paced around the room, clearly angry, then sat back down and picked up the book again.

Then, after reading for a while, he seemed to grow even more irritated, stood up, and began pacing again.

His reading posture was serious, weary, and oddly familiar:

The kind you recognize instantly in an exam hall—someone trying hard but utterly lost.

In short: a mediocre student.

Zheng Fa was a little curious: aside from everything else, this stubborn determination to study despite not understanding—didn’t match the seventh young master’s lazy exterior.

He just didn’t know what book he was reading.

Time slowly passed; Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood by the door, ignored by everyone.

The sun climbed higher in the sky, and as noon arrived, the sunlight grew scorching.

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan had set out early that morning, barely had a drop of water, and now, baked under such fierce heat, they grew hot and parched, deeply uncomfortable.

Beside him, Gao Yuan kept licking his dry lower lip, but the more he licked, the drier it became—his lips cracked.

Both were growing mentally sluggish when a soft footstep came from behind. A maid approached, carrying a pale blue porcelain tray.

On the tray sat a tall string of grapes, washed clean.

Dewdrops glistened on the grapes, sparkling in the sunlight.

Zheng Fa clearly heard Gao Yuan swallow hard beside him.

The maid deliberately walked right up to them, even circling the tray beneath their noses before lifting the curtain to the study and stepping inside.

As the curtain parted, Zheng Fa felt a cool breeze drift from within the room.

He couldn’t help but glance curiously inside.

There were no ice basins, nor anything like modern air conditioning.

Where was this chill coming from?

He suddenly noticed an unremarkable blue pattern on the floor, faintly glowing.

The cool air seemed to emanate from that corner.

“A formation?” Zheng Fa thought inwardly: “Or just a simple lifestyle formation?”

What surprised Zheng Fa more than the seventh young master enjoying such a formation was that this world had actually created formations purely for comfort—

In Zheng Fa’s mind, this better revealed the extent of the immortal sects’ influence and the development level of cultivation civilization in this world.

The maid placed the porcelain tray before the seventh young master, who picked up a grape with his fingers and walked to the window.

As if deliberately letting Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan see clearly.

Outside, under the blazing sun, Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan’s mouths were so dry they could barely produce saliva.

Inside the window, the seventh young master slowly ate the entire tray of grapes, one by one.

After finishing, he grinned smugly at them, then sat back down and resumed reading the book.

Seeing his gloomy expression now, Zheng Fa couldn’t help muttering inwardly: Served you right.

By afternoon, seemingly bored, the seventh young master finally dismissed them.

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan followed the maid out of the seventh young master’s courtyard, heading toward their quarters.

The farther they walked, the more dejected Gao Yuan’s expression became.

Zheng Fa understood his thoughts—the seventh young master’s courtyard was large enough, yet he refused to let them live inside; his rejection of them was painfully obvious.

Arriving at their quarters, it was a single-story house with no courtyard wall.

The first room held a table and several chairs.

Inside the next room were two beds, each with a cabinet at the head.

No other furniture.

After leading them there, the maid said nothing and turned away without even a word.

Watching the maid hurry off, her back clearly avoiding them,

Gao Yuan let out a long sigh and gave Zheng Fa a bitter smile: “I’ve heard from my father about this seventh young master… sigh.”

Perhaps out of respect for his elders, he didn’t continue, only muttered painfully: “If today’s like this, how are we supposed to survive the days ahead?”

Zheng Fa took out his clothes from his bundle and placed them in the cabinet, saying nothing.

Gao Yuan rolled over on his bed and asked: “Don’t you have any thoughts?”

“What thoughts could I have?” Zheng Fa finished organizing the cabinet and shrugged: “The seventh young master isn’t that bad.”

“Huh?”

“He doesn’t like us, right?”

“That’s obvious.”

“But has he done anything to us?”

“Well…” Gao Yuan frowned, thinking. The seventh young master was good at annoying people, but he caused little real harm.

“So, he doesn’t like us, and I don’t like him—but whether we’re his book attendants? He probably can’t decide that anyway… Just make do.”

“But if he doesn’t like us, we won’t last long here.”

Zheng Fa nodded.

After all, he was a young master.

“I can’t be sent back—if I am, my father will kill me!”

Zheng Fa fell silent. Compared to Gao Yuan, his own cost of being sent back might be even worse: Wang the steward back at the estate was surely waiting for this moment.

As the two sat in silence, a man walked up to the door and said: “Master Xu is looking for you.”

Gao Yuan leapt up, his face bright with excitement: “He’s going to teach us martial arts!”

Zheng Fa, puzzled by how quickly he’d forgotten his earlier distress, asked: “Didn’t you train in martial arts before?”

“What do you know? What I trained in was peasant’s tricks—my father never dared teach me the household’s true martial arts!”