Chapter 1: My Mistress Wants to Take Me as a Disciple, Are You Willing?

"Ning Mu, do you think this mistress is beautiful?"

"……Beautiful!"

"Then…… if this mistress were to take you as a Personal Disciple, would you be willing?"

Cangjian Villa, main hall of the backyard.

In this vast hall, at this moment, besides the Manor Mistress Liu Qingmei, who sat in the seat of honor and still possessed a lingering charm, there remained only Ning Mu, who stood in the hall, slightly hunched over, his expression respectful, dressed in the guise of a servant.

The Manor Mistress had long since dismissed those around her, ordering the servants to stay far away.

As Cangjian Villa was a renowned major sect in the Jianghu, Liu Qingmei had lived in luxury for years and naturally carried an air of grace and nobility.

Moreover, her attainments in Martial Dao were not in the slightest inferior to those of her husband, the Cangjian Villa Villa Master Ye Bufan, which only served to make her powerful aura more apparent.

Even at the age of 38, she remained full of charm and graceful, her supple and firm skin not losing out in the slightest even when compared to her daughter Ye Yin.

Her full, upright peaks were shielded by clothing, yet it was still difficult to conceal their towering prominence.

Especially those long legs hidden beneath her skirt hem; whether intentional or not, they were currently being displayed to Ning Mu in a fleeting, visible manner.

Ning Mu appeared to be keeping his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart.

Yet the corner of his eye had already taken in all of this graceful charm and mature allure.

What is so good about a young girl? A beautiful mature woman is the best fantasy for a young man's admiration.

The soul of A-Man burned fiercely.

As Liu Qingmei's voice fell.

Ning Mu displayed his inner panic and unease at the right moment, immediately kneeling down and shouting with a trembling voice: "First Madam…… this servant is terrified. This servant is but a low-level maid in the backyard stables; how could I dare to have such presumptuous thoughts!"

"That the Mistress would take this servant in, allowing me to survive in these chaotic times, is already a great act of kindness!"

"This servant has neither virtue nor ability; I have never dared to harbor such extravagant hopes, nor do I dare to tarnish the reputation of the Mistress and the Villa!"

"I beg the First Madam to retract her command!"

Ning Mu was righteous and stern.

And as the plump and mature Liu Qingmei sat on the grand armchair, when the words landed, her pair of peach-blossom eyes were filled with scrutiny and suspicion.

Cangjian Villa, a renowned major sect of the martial arts world, with a heritage spanning several hundred years.

Within the villa, the inner sect disciples alone numbered in the hundreds.

And the outer sect and servants were countless.

Like this stable maid before her, there had never been any interaction before, and they might not have even met.

But……

Even so, she had no choice but to do it.

Seeing that the other party's expression did not seem fake and was genuine panic, Liu Qingmei finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then.

Her beautiful eyes revealed a hint of complexity as she looked at Ning Mu and said in a gentle voice: "You may rise. It is truly because you resemble a deceased nephew of this mistress that I had this thought."

Liu Qingmei casually found an excuse.

She was also puzzled as to why it had to be this servant boy who had sold himself to the villa.

Several days ago.

An illusory light screen had suddenly appeared before her eyes.

The light screen had a voice, calling itself some kind of system, and she was referred to as the 'Host'.

【Congratulations to Host 'Liu Qingmei' for obtaining the Xia-Lu A System……】

She recognized the two characters for Xia Lu.

But that strange-looking symbol behind it was something she had never seen before.

What was absurd was that this servant boy before her was actually her Binding Companion! It was simply the most ridiculous thing under heaven.

Although she and her husband Ye Bufan were joined by the orders of their parents and the words of matchmakers, they had lived in mutual respect for over twenty years and had given birth to a daughter; even if she were to bind a companion, it should have been her husband!

Why did it have to be this lowly servant who couldn't be brought into polite society?

And before she could even be puzzled.

This 'system', which was like an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon, issued her a task. Yes.

In her heart, this system was no different from an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon! Who in the world could invade a person's mind, other than the legendary Outer Realm Heavenly Demon? 【Task One: Detected the Host's current predicament; husband has been severely injured by the Demonic Path giant Yin Hongling using the Sucking Yang Demonic Art and is on the verge of death. The Host must kill one hundred members of the Demon Sect within two days. Task reward: One Returning Yang Pill, which can stabilize the Host's husband's injuries; if the task fails, the Host's husband's injuries will worsen!】

She thought that after her husband was bedridden with severe injuries, she had been working day and night on the villa's affairs and had hallucinated from exhaustion, so she ignored it.

Not to mention the difficulty of killing one hundred Demon Sect members in two days.

She had never even heard of this Returning Yang Pill.

Martial Arts cultivation emphasizes talent and diligence; the path of pills is favored by those of the Demonic Path.

But before two days had passed, the light screen appeared again, popping up the words "task failed," and then punished her.

Her husband Ye Bufan's injuries indeed worsened several times over in an instant.

His already thin frame became even more withered.

And in a single night, he coughed up half a basin of black blood; by yesterday morning, his breath was already as thin as a thread, and he could have passed away at any moment.

Countless famous Jianghu doctors were at their wits' end.

At this point, Liu Qingmei had to take this light screen that only she could see seriously.

Yesterday at noon.

She received another task issued by the system.

【Task One reward: Huan Yang Dan Sui Pian X4, 10 Xia Lu points; task failure: internal energy will be reduced by one-tenth!】

The details of Task One were this process.

【Task Two: Have a heart-to-heart talk with the Binding Companion Ning Mu and take him as a Personal Disciple. Task reward: Huan Yang Dan Sui Pian X6, 25 Xia Lu points; task failure: cultivation base will regress by one-half, husband's injuries will worsen by one-half!】

【Notification: This System is unique to the Host; outsiders cannot pry into it.】

The moment she saw these two tasks, Liu Qingmei immediately felt the urge to kill this person named Ning Mu! But after calming down, she still put away her murderous intent.

With his injuries worsening by half, she feared her husband would not survive!

And if she completed these two tasks, she could obtain a Returning Yang Pill; perhaps her husband could still be saved! Thus.

She had people go and inquire about the background of this person named Ning Mu.

Upon learning that he had been sold to the villa as a youth due to hunger from a drought, and that his parents had long since passed away in that same drought, she could not help but feel a bit of sympathy.

What followed was the scene currently unfolding.

Seeing that Ning Mu was unaware of the situation and was also fearful and trembling, the repulsion in her heart lessened significantly; she took the initiative to find an excuse, using a deceased nephew as a pretext to continue the conversation.

In any case, she had already made up her mind.

She would nominally adopt a Personal Disciple, and then just keep him there without paying him any mind.

With the resources of Cangjian Villa, supporting one Maid is no problem at all!

Once she exchanged for a Returning Yang Pill for her husband this time, no matter what strange tasks the System issued, she would treat them all as if she hadn't seen them.

At worst.

After curing her husband, she would just die.

Death would surely be enough to shake off the intrusion of this "Outer Realm Heavenly Demon"!

Pondering this in her heart, Liu Qingmei looked at the respectful Ning Mu and said softly, "Seeing you today, I find your character honest and your manners proper; I am very pleased. Do not refuse me—from this day forward, you shall move out of the stables. Later, I will have a servant find a courtyard for you, and you shall stay there well."

Liu Qingmei's voice seemed gentle, but it was filled with an unquestionable tone.

【Notification: Xia Lu A, Liu Qingmei, has completed the task issued by the Host. Reward for the Host: 50 points of Martial Dao Cultivation Points, one Earth-Tier Martial Arts 'Frost-Proud Saber Technique', and one Earth-Tier Wuji, the famous saber 'Wind-Snow Cold Crow'!】

Looking at the information popping up on the System Interface.

Ning Mu knew when to stop while he was ahead.

Immediately, he said with a grateful face, "Since Madam requests it so, if I were to decline again, it would appear that this Disciple is being coy... I have drifted for half my life, only regretting that I have not met a wise master. If Madam does not despise me, I am willing to acknowledge you as my Master!"

"Master is above, please accept this Disciple's three bows!"

After saying this.

He honestly kowtowed to Liu Qingmei three times.

(End of chapter)