Chapter 16: Cold Violence

Zheng Fa, rarely, felt a flicker of sympathy for Wang Gui.

The seventh young master, who had just seemed like an enthusiastic boy, was truly unbearable when he chose to be cruel.

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

Clearly, his earlier words telling Zheng Fa and the other 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 some easy master to serve?"

To be fair, 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 indifference.

"Are you hoping that when I become head of the family, you'll be my lackeys and go out to bully others?" He sneered: "I'll be straight with you—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 assessment—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, huh? 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, seemingly angry, then sat back down and picked up the book.

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

His manner of reading was serious, weary, and strangely familiar:

The kind you see in an exam hall—you know they're trying hard, but they're utterly lost.

In short: a poor 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 otherwise reckless demeanor.

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

Time passed slowly; Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood by the door, ignored by no one.

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 by the blazing sun, they were both hot, parched, and miserable.

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, long 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—she even circled the grapes 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 could it be 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 life 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 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.

Now, seeing his gloomy expression, Zheng Fa couldn't help silently cursing: Serves 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; the rejection was painfully obvious.

When they reached 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 turned as if fleeing from them.

Gao Yuan let out a long sigh and said to Zheng Fa with a bitter smile, "I heard my father say long ago that the Seventh Young Master is a person like this... Alas."

As if to spare Tianhe Zunzhe, he did not finish, only muttering painfully, "The first day is like this; how will we get through the days ahead!"

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

Gao Yuan rolled over on the bed and said, "Don't you have any thoughts?"

"What thoughts could I have?" Zheng Fa finished arranging the cabinet and shrugged, saying, "The Seventh Young Master is actually not bad."

"Ah?"

"He doesn't like us, right?"

"That's too obvious."

"Then has he done anything to us?"

"It seems..." Gao Yuan frowned and thought for a while; the Seventh Young Master was good at annoying people, but his harmfulness was indeed not great.

"So, he doesn't like us, and I don't like him, but whether we are his page boys, I reckon he can't decide either... Let's just make do."

"But if he doesn't like us, we won't be able to stay here for long."

Zheng Fa nodded.

The Seventh Young Master is, after all, a young master.

"I can't be sent back, or my father will beat me to death!"

Zheng Fa fell silent; compared to Gao Yuan, the cost if he were sent back might be even more severe: Wang Guanshi of the estate was probably just waiting for this day.

While the two sat in silence facing each other, a man walked to the door and said to them, "Xu Sect instructor is looking for you."

Gao Yuan leaped up, his expression excited: "This means he's going to teach us martial arts!"

Zheng Fa looked at him, a bit puzzled that he had already forgotten the troubles from just now: "Didn't you already practice martial arts?"

"What do you know? What I practiced is called farm techniques; my father never dared to teach me the martial arts of the mansion!"