《The Devil Herself》 Dungeon Time Screaming, I drag my broken legs behind me over the cold dungeon floor. Face down in a puddle is a man wrapped like a mummy in restraining tape. They dumped him in with me, not caring if he lived or died. But I keep crawling on my side to save him. There are still bubbles from him exhaling and no telling when he¡¯s going to inhale that puddle. Letting him drown in my own blood would be too much. It¡¯s bad enough that they plan to kill me tomorrow. His odds aren¡¯t looking too good now that he¡¯s joined me. But I can¡¯t let him die like this. Even if it¡¯s the last thing I do, I¡¯ll save him from my blood puddle. My soul can¡¯t take the alternative. As soon as I reach him, I pull his head up by the hair and he gasps for air. With how broken my arm is, I can¡¯t keep his head up for long, so he splashes back face first. I drag myself a bit closer. With another scream, I pull him up so his head rests on my hip. As he coughs up some blood, I lay back down content to die staring up into the blackness of the cell¡¯s ceiling. The young lord certainly didn¡¯t hold back. When I close my eyes, I still see his enraged face as his friends held me up for the beating. The blackness is lovely by comparison. But the blackness doesn¡¯t help the memories from the explosion. We had just reached cruising altitude and the captain had turned off the fasten seatbelt sign. I was taking drink orders. There are always weird people on the Vegas flight, and this was shaping up to be no exception. For many, the party was starting on the flight and the wine was flowing. But not as much wine as the dinner party last night. The lord wanted everyone¡¯s cups full to overflowing for negotiations with the visitors. Mummy man starts spitting the blood soaked taped out of his mouth before resuming another round of coughing. Whatever he¡¯s coughing up stings my leg as he hacks all over it. The blackness is also better than taking a peak to find out. I tell him, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive.¡± A raspy voice responds, ¡°You have my thanks.¡± Such a polite mummy, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I always have to remind my niblings to mind their Ps and Qs. It¡¯s not that they forget so much as testing their boundaries. Though as their aunt, I might not be as consistent as I should be. He asks, ¡°Why are you in here?¡± ¡°Well, I was going back to 16C to nicely explain to the man that we don¡¯t take Discover, but then boom, no more plane. Wait, no no no, that couldn¡¯t be it, no. Exploded people go to hospitals not dungeons.¡± I blink my eyes and there¡¯s that face, red with anger. ¡°No, I was pouring plum wine at the party then the drunk young lord snuck up behind me. When he wrapped his arm around me, I reflexively kneed him in the crotch. He went down to the floor crying. I went down to the dungeon to await execution.¡± The mummy lets out a raspy chuckle. I ask, ¡°What are you in for?¡± ¡°I was also at the party. And after the party, the lord invited me to his private study to discuss a deal and there the coward drugged me. What honorable man would drug a guest? Then the coward was still too afraid of me that he wrapped me up in every qi suppression seal he could get his hands on, while he waits on someone strong enough to chop off my head. He couldn¡¯t even break my skin.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°That sounds like Lord White Fang. Why learn something he can pay for?¡± That earns me another chuckle, a bit less raspy then the last. After he finishes another round of coughing, I continue, ¡°At least we won¡¯t be dying alone.¡± ¡°I have no plans on dying. My brothers will come and then we will make the Lord pay for his transgressions.¡± We lay in silence for a bit. In the dying torch light, I can almost make out his clothes underneath the seals, but not enough to even see the colors. If I had to guess though, he¡¯s in excellent physical shape. He¡¯s probably eye candy, but right now the blackness of the ceiling looks best. It hurts the least. Taking a mental stock of my body, I¡¯m guessing both my legs are broken, as well as my left arm, right wrist, a handful of ribs and maybe my nose, not counting all the scrapes, cuts and bruises. Removing my head would be mercy at this point. He speaks first, ¡°What should I call my savior?¡± ¡°Um,¡± starts my undignified response, ¡°that¡¯s a good question. No one ever asks a maid her name around here. It¡¯s always ¡®hey you,¡¯ or ¡®servant girl.¡¯ If I was a maid, I was called Lin. But if I was a flight attendant, you can call me Ellen. ¡°With all this pain I might be a maid who dreamt of being a flight attendant. Or maybe I am a flight attendant dreaming of being a maid? My head is all mixed up. Maybe it¡¯s a concussion. What should I call you?¡± At least he doesn¡¯t chuckle at my blatant insanity. Instead, he says, ¡°I am Liang Jun, the Sword of Jubilant Light, the fourth disciple of the Celestial Sword of the South and the true heir to the Golden Bamboo Palace.¡± ¡°That seems like quiet the mouthful. Perhaps there is something shorter I could call you?¡± None of those titles gave me a clear answer, like my lord or young master. This time he gives a true laugh that still turns into a coughing fit. ¡°Jun, call me Jun. I owe you a life debt, Ellen.¡± He says my name with some hesitation, as if it¡¯s strange on his tongue. What is a life debt worth to someone dying like me? But his soothing voice continues, ¡°You saved me in my darkest hour, in the heart of enemy territory and with great struggle. For that I will be eternally thankful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome?¡± I thought I had already said that. We talk for a while. I talk about growing up in Nebraska and becoming a flight attendant to go see the world. He tells me about the little war of inheritance over his uncle¡¯s territory. The mummy might be a prince or something. This uncle was a ¡°Great Lord,¡± whatever that means, and had no children. So, the whole family tree has turned into a blood bath. He gets pretty far down his rabbit hole about how both his cousins are evil and terrible and on and on. I ask, ¡°Perhaps we could talk about something else? Maybe something with more action or a bit of humor? It doesn¡¯t even matter if it¡¯s true. Since I¡¯m dying, I would like to die as happy as possible. No reason to make this situation less pleasant than it already is.¡± This derails him for only a moment. ¡°We won¡¯t die down here. My sect brothers will come.¡± ¡°Who are these sect brothers?¡± I can hear the smile in his voice as he says, ¡°There are my four brothers from the Silver Gate Sect here with me. Luan is a medic of impressive knowledge. If anyone around here can heal you, it¡¯s him. Ming is a swordsman and another disciple of my master. Zhen is a martial artist who specializes in close combat. And Tai, who is, well, you¡¯ll understand when you meet him.¡± It appears we have found a happy subject. ¡°How did you meet them?¡± ¡°I met Luan first. We both entered the sect in the same year. He was the man to know if you need to get patched up quickly, but not attract the attention of the medical pavilion. Back in those days, we always had to come up with creative ways to pay him. Cultivation materials were strictly controlled, and mortal money is worthless in a sect. ¡°Luckily, I discovered his sweet tooth pretty quickly. So, it worked out well. I got to keep my favorite roast chicken legs and trade all the honied whatsits to him. To be fair he also got a willing subject to practice his stitching.¡± No sweets for the mummy. ¡°Chicken wings do sound good around now. Nice and crispy and extra spicy. The only thing good about watching football.¡± ¡°The lady likes spicy foods then. You and Ming have something in common.¡± I slowly drift off as he describes meeting Tai in some absurd sect competition. Jailbreak I try to keep Ellen talking and engaged in conversation. Luan is adamant about not letting people with head injuries fall asleep and judging by what I can see of her legs, Ellen has had quiet a beating. She tells me of a fantastical world where even mortals fly through the sky and there is so much food people fear getting fat. It must be a previous life. It is said that you can remember almost anything on the edge of death. Shortly after I fail to keep her awake, I hear footsteps on the other side of the door. Then there is a thud instead of a jingle of keys. It takes another few thuds for Zhen to learn he can¡¯t punch through the lock of a reinforced cell door. I can still hear her weakening pulse from where I lay on her hip, so hopefully there is still time. After more thuds and some scraping sounds, Zhen pulls the door, with frame, completely out of the wall. If there was any possibility of finding a brute force solution, he was going to find it. Ming and Luan rush through the opening as Zhen sets the door down the hallway a bit. Tai packs up his roll of lock picks with minimal glaring at Zhen. Before I can finish saying, ¡°I knew you would come.¡± Ming has removed all the suppression seals and Luan is checking me for additional injuries. The only casualty is my clothes. With access to my qi, I use my space ring to change into something more suitable for enforcing justice. In a whisper, Ming says, ¡°We have a plan. The cowardly lord won¡¯t live to see the dawn.¡± I hold up a hand to stop him and pull a blanket out of my storage ring. As gently as possible, I wrap Ellen in it. Now that I can see her, the damage is worse than I imagined. Her clothes have been reduced to rags and don¡¯t cover any of the bruising over her chest and arms. There are scrapes all along one side from when she dragged herself across the floor to save me. No wonder she thought she was going to die. Luan whispers, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. They are already at death¡¯s door. There¡¯s no way they can survive joining our assault. We will have time later to give them a proper burial.¡± ¡°Then we will have to make time to stabilize her. We can kill the Lord after.¡± ¡°She¡¯s essentially a breathing corpse Jun.¡± I look Luan in the eyes, ¡°She saved me at my darkest hour. I must do what I can for her.¡± ¡°You are serious. This is crazy. I can¡¯t revive the dead and she isn¡¯t going to make it.¡± I pick her up and she groans in pain. That has to be a good sign. ¡°You¡¯ll heal her anyway.¡± Carrying her out into the hallway, I tell the squad, ¡°There is a change of plans. First, we will take her to our place on the edge of town. Then we will deal with the Lord.¡± Tai looks between her and I and raises an eyebrow. I tell him, ¡°She¡¯s simply more important. He can wait a few hours. She cannot. I don¡¯t want to be lectured about priorities by you of all people.¡± He rolls his eyes and goes back to scouting down the hallway. Zhen laughs, saying, ¡°I never imagined Jun would be the one making time for a woman over killing his enemies.¡± Tai throws the dead guards they killed on their way here into the cell. Zhen carefully lays the door back over the hole he made as if anyone besides a blind man couldn¡¯t tell that the call was broken into. As I start walking, Ellen cries uncontrollably from the pain, but somehow silences her sobs by burrowing her face into my chest. I whisper into her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The worst is over now. I¡¯m getting you out of here.¡± She passes out again before we even reach the top of the dungeon stairs. The sky is just starting to lighten by the time we get outside. We run as fast as possible out of the manor. Once we are in the clear, I race ahead at my top speed. Only Tai is able to keep up. The house we rented is large and on the edge of town. Tai gets the doors, and I lay Ellen down on a bed in a nearly empty guestroom. The rest of the squad arrives after I light a few lamps and while Tai gets clean water. By some miracle she¡¯s still breathing. Ming says, ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this. They are going to notice the jail break any minute. Zhen took point.¡± As Tai brings in a few stools, I say, ¡°Then Luan better get to work.¡± He opens his med kit and grimaces as he inspects her wounds in the better light. I wet a cloth and with Luan¡¯s nod of approval start wiping her face and hands. Whatever was on the floor of that cell couldn¡¯t be goof for her health. Zhen asks, ¡°Who the hell is she? Her face is too smashed to recognize.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°This is Lady Ellen. I doubt you have been previously introduced and you will treat her with the utmost respect.¡± I look each of them in the eye hoping to reinforce the point. Luckily, they don¡¯t push. We all fall quiet as Luan focuses on his work. He pours an elixir down her throat, and she starts to stir. Her eyes slowly blink open, and I give her hand what I hope is a supportive squeeze. Bleary eyed, she takes in her surroundings. We don¡¯t look like much dressed as we are to go into battle. Zhen stands out the most in his bright red robe and short brown hair. Ming looks like a poor lord¡¯s son, in battle leathers but his hair in a top knot. Tai is dressed like he¡¯s going to seduce the maids, in a slightly too tight uniform opened to show off his chest. At least Luan looks like a doctor with his glasses and professional blue robes while he measures ingredients to put into his mortar and pestle. I ask her, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She turns to look at me. ¡°Jun?¡± I chuckle. This is the first time she¡¯s seeing my face after all. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still alive?¡± Luan chimes in saying, ¡°Yes, but I have no idea how. I¡¯ve found three things that should have killed you before I even try to calculate how much blood you lost.¡± He starts waving a crystal over her to measure something. ¡°So, I¡¯m dying?¡± Luan calmly says, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡± And I slap him in the head. ¡°Not if I can help it.¡± I pull out the longevity root I save for emergencies. ¡°Jun, you shouldn¡¯t use that. That¡¯s for you in case you¡¯re the one on the brink of death. It¡¯s too rare to use on some stranger.¡± He measures one last ingredient before mixing up the contents of his mortar and pestle. ¡°I owe her a life debt.¡± He pounds the pestle extra hard as he asks, ¡°Do you understand how rare longevity root is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine to use as I see fit. Use it.¡± The other three start inching out the door. Now Luan¡¯s glaring at me. The contents of the mortar must be completely obliterated under his angry grinding. ¡°She¡¯s on borrowed time as is.¡± ¡°Even more of a reason to use it.¡± He looks down and checks the medicine he has made. He turns back to her and gently warns, ¡°This might be a bit cold.¡± He puts on a glove and starts scooping up the salve. Looking at me he says, ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even know if I could make something to save her in time. Take a good look at her Jun.¡± He spreads some of the salve on her ribs and she moans with relief, nearly startling him off his stool. Her muscles noticeably relax everywhere he puts the salve. She says, ¡°Thank you for that. Your pain killers are wonderful.¡± He reminders, ¡°Don¡¯t move. You¡¯ll only make things worse for yourself.¡± ¡°I know better than that. But I agree with the doc over here. Don¡¯t waste something precious on little old me. If saving your life is the last thing I really do, it was worth it.¡± She closes her eyes again, but this time she¡¯s smiling. ¡°For someone with no measurable qi, you are healing surprisingly fast. You¡¯re lucky you don¡¯t have a perforated lung. However, you have other severe abdominal damage. For now, I can set your broken bones and give you a few stitches.¡± She nods in agreement. He continues, ¡°And if we¡¯re all still alive after we deal with Lord White Fang, we can revisit the longevity root topic.¡± She says, ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± and apparently falls asleep. ¡°Looks like the elixir is kicking in. It will let her sleep while we set her bones.¡± We both take a moment to stare at all the damage she sustained. I say, ¡°It really is a miracle she¡¯s alive, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than a miracle. I have no idea how she¡¯s alive. In fact, there¡¯s some evidence that she was dead for at least a few minutes. It¡¯s suspicious that she¡¯s able to heal like this with neither any cultivation nor any interference from someone like my master. Before I even think about that root, are you even sure we can trust her?¡± He turns back to me to carefully gauge my response. I give him my most reassuring grin. ¡°I trust her at least as much as I trust you. I got to know her well while we were lying in that cell.¡± His look tells me that he thinks I¡¯m acting crazy. But he can¡¯t argue with my track record of reading people. I assist him as he sets and splints each of her limbs with the practiced ease one only gets from working long hours in battle field hospitals. He¡¯s still grumpy by the time we finish. Despite the sun now peaking through the window, no alarm bells have sounded to warn of our escape. The lord must think we are running and have too far a head start or they¡¯re stupid. Could really go either way with Lord Winter Fang. A maid brings us breakfast and takes away all the waste from Ellen¡¯s treatment. Luan and I eat our eggs in silence. Each of us sitting on our stools, watching Ellen sleep peacefully. She looks better cleaned up, though she still looks awful. Her face is basically a big bruise, but now her nose is straight and taped in place. She has one usable hand, but most of her is in a cast. He approves her to try to keep some broth down. If she¡¯s still alive tomorrow he might change her mind. The maid returns with the broth, and I take it from her before she can get close to Ellen. Luan says, ¡°I thought we were in a hurry. Let the maid do her work so we can get going. Today is already going to be long enough as is.¡± Since I¡¯m watching her closely, I notice the subtle change in Ellen¡¯s breathing. She¡¯s awake. The maid bows and says, ¡°Yes master,¡± while reaching for the bowl. But I hold it out of her reach. ¡°This will only take a moment Luan. You both can go.¡± The maid darts out of the room. Luan harumphs, but leaves. The door closes with a click, and she cracks an eye open. I smile and say, ¡°I have a bit of broth for you. Your job is to keep it down and heal.¡± She opens both her eyes wide to look at me. With my free hand, I lift her into a sitting position. ¡°Still not dead yet?¡± I chuckle. ¡°You¡¯ve done a good job of healing so far, at least considering the circumstance. I think your outlook is promising. Ready for some soup?¡± She nods yes with a wince. I hold the bowl up to her lips and let her slowly sip. She manages half the bowl before grasping my wrist with her good hand and pulling it away. ¡°That enough?¡± Mortals must eat well to heal well. ¡°I think that¡¯s all I have room in me for now. I feel as if I¡¯m about to burst.¡± I put the bowl down on the small table beside her. ¡°I¡¯m about to fight Lord White Fang. Either we will succeed, and I will seize this territory,¡± I pull all my mortal money out of the storage ring and set it on her end table, ¡°or I won¡¯t be coming back. This is for just in case. I¡¯m sure Tai has concocted some story about you for the staff. Young wife flees her drunkard husband. Whatever happens, I want you to take care of yourself and heal. The house is paid for the next few months. Know that I plan to see you after my victory.¡± She looks at the pile of money with confusion all over her face. I lay her back down tuck the blankets close around her. Sleep comes over her quickly, but she whispers, ¡°Go get ¡®em tiger,¡± as I head out the door. Still Alive? I wake up in a dark room with a single candle burning. It takes me a moment to remember I¡¯m safe in the room Jun brought me to. There are loud noises outside, like someone is hosting a rager. The drunken singing must have woken me up. I sit up slowly. It takes three tries, but I make. Peaking under the blanket, I see that both my legs are in a cast as well as my right elbow and left wrist. I tap my chest and find my whole chest is covered in bandages under the thin gown they found for me. My face only has some tape on my nose to hold it in place. I get a good look around the room, but there really isn¡¯t much in here. Just my bed with a thick green wool blanket, a couple of stools and a night stand. The pile of money he left me is still there. Untouched as far as I can tell. Next to it, is a steaming bowl of soup and a note. I pick up the note, but I can¡¯t read the strange characters. Putting it back, I look at the bowl of soup. Then I look at my one good hand. Yeah, I still hurt too much to want to wear hot soup. I wasn¡¯t glaring at the soup long before the door opens and in comes the medic from earlier. He quickly masks his shocked expression as he comes over to sit by my bed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to find you awake.¡± I snort. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m surprised I¡¯m alive too.¡± He nods along with that and does a quick check of my bandages. For someone so skeptical, he¡¯s surprisingly professional. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve stabilized. But you¡¯ll need to be careful. The maids will have to help you with everything, and I mean everything. You absolutely can¡¯t walk or even think about standing on your own for now. Those casts will need to be on for at least a month.¡± I nod. ¡°Yes sir. I understand. Also, I would like to thank you for everything you have done for me.¡± He sighs and rakes a hand through his long brown hair. He looks like he just came from a fight. His blue robes are splattered in blood and his glasses are caked with grime. ¡°Now I must ask, how are you alive?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the doctor. You tell me.¡± Clearly uncomfortable, he starts fidgeting with his sleeve like a little boy. ¡°That¡¯s the thing. I don¡¯t know. You have no cultivation, no artifacts, no connections that I know of. Jun is keeping his lips sealed, but he assures me that your background cannot harm us.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He sighs again, but before he can question me further the door opens. In steps a man who likes very tight pants. Luan asks him, ¡°Does Jun want me already?¡± He gives Luan a nod. With a huff, Luan turns and leaves. Tight pants takes his place on the stool. He places a hand on his chest and in a soft voice says, ¡°Tai.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you Tai.¡± He nods. Then he looks me over and frowns before walking out the door. I go back to glaring at my cooling soup. There is no more steam, but it¡¯s probably warm. I decide to risk it and am reaching for the soup, when he returns followed by a gaggle of maids. The maids look like they were all attending that party. Hair flying every which way and one even has lipstick smeared across her face like she¡¯s fresh from a very energetic make out session. One grabs my soup before I can pick it up. Lipstick looks at me like she is sizing up a fish at the market. She tells Tai, ¡°We can dress her to hide the casts and bandages, but there¡¯s no amount of makeup that can hide her face.¡± Tai nods, snaps his fingers and rushes back out the door. I gulp as Lipstick turns her full attention back to me. ¡°We have been instructed to make you presentable for the new Lord of White Fang¡¯s dawn court. Given your state,¡± she looks me up and down again with a deepening frown, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much we can do. But we will do our best my Lady.¡± Then she bows to me. An awkward silence follows as they all stare at me expectantly. I nod. They burst into a flurry of action. One starts measuring me and calls the numbers out across the room. Lipstick starts listing clothes to a group of maids who rush out to find them. Soup girl spoon feeds me as another maid brushes my hair, which makes for a bit of embarrassing dribbling that soup girl dabs up with a soft cloth. What follows must be the most hectic hour of either of my lives. Lipstick controls the chaos like a sergeant preparing for battle. Gorgeous silks and sparkling jewelry are brought in, and she sorts them into an outfit. By the time she¡¯s done, every inch of me below the neck is covered. My hair has been twisted up into some fashionable bun. Glittering rings adorn my gloved fingers. As if cued by an invisible signal, Tai returns just after they finish with me carrying a strange hat. It has a brim as wide as my hand, and a long gossamer veil hangs down all the way around like it was made for a fashionista beekeeper. Somehow, it¡¯s the perfect shade of green to match the outfit Lipstick dressed me in. He gives Lipstick an approving grunt and some coin. She smiles and says, ¡°please let me know if we can be of any further assistance.¡± He nods and gently places the hat on my head. After giving me another careful visual inspection, he gently carries me outside to a freaking gilded palanquin held by four burly guards. Inside I lay on a pile of cushions while more of that gossamer fabric shields me from view. It¡¯s still dark out, so a torch bearer leads the way, and Tai takes up the rear. Another six armed men surround the palanquin forming a huge armed escort as they carry me up the hill to the Lord¡¯s manor. Execution Day It¡¯s too dark for me to see exactly what happened but the manor reeks of blood. Somehow, I keep the soup down between the smell and the rocking. I peak out the curtain curious if we are getting close to our final destination. I¡¯m carried to what was the Young Lord¡¯s private training ground. It¡¯s centered around a large dirt field. At one end of the field was a covered stone patio, originally meant for meditation. Now it¡¯s been turned into some sort of makeshift throne room. Half the white awning is flapping in the wind behind Jun while he sits in a fancy chair. The sheer curtains used to close off the space for meditation are half open, framing him. Torches have been lit behind him, illuminating everything but his face. The tile beneath his feet has fresh blood spilled all over it and there is some poor servant on his hands and knees making every effort to mop it up. Jun is talking to a man I recognize as the head butler. He says, ¡°Let¡¯s make this transition simple. Any servants who want to leave can leave. Any who want to stay will receive a bonus equivalent to their annual salary once this manor is put back in order. Also, any who try to defy us will be killed on the spot. Any questions?¡± The butler grovels while making intense eye contact with the blood stained tile saying, ¡°No my Lord. You are most generous my Lord ¨C ¡° Jun cuts him off with a wave of his hand. ¡°You are dismissed.¡± The butler runs back into the main house. Luan is off to the side patching up the arm of another member of Jun¡¯s squad. This one looks like Jun¡¯s mini me. Same hairstyle, same sword, even his clothes look like what Jun was wearing when he left. The only differences I see are that he looks younger and has less muscle mass. He must be Ming if he¡¯s the squad¡¯s other swordsman. My palanquin is brought up next to the throne. Jun stands and personally carries me to a lounge chair covered in cushions, which has been positioned a bit to the side behind the throne. He quietly asks, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Honestly, better than I expected.¡± He also looks better than I expected. Most of the blood has been washed off his face and he¡¯s wearing a fresh robe. With a smile, he says, ¡°That¡¯s the best news I¡¯ve heard all day.¡± As he arranges the pillows to prop me up, I ask, ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He chuckles and says, ¡°It will take more than a cowardly Lord¡¯s mercenaries to stop me. Don¡¯t worry, none of this blood is mine.¡± After he makes sure I¡¯m situated, the smile vanishes to be replaced by an icy expression. Once Jun is seated back on his chair, Tai reappears with a few maids in tow. These might be some of the ones who dressed me earlier, but they¡¯ve cleaned up. He gestures them to stand next to me. They bow in greeting and stand out of the way, but still in my field of view. Tai nods at me in satisfaction before racing off to another task. After Luan finishes stitching up the other swordsman, he comes over and offers me a vial of something for the pain. I take it without hesitation. Jun sorts through people as the sun comes up. Luan and Ming flank his throne. Then Tai and the last squad member escort various victims, I mean defendants, to be tried. The process is simple, and I have a disturbingly good view. Someone gets dragged up in chains or by knife point. Luan asks them, ¡°Do you agree that our Prince, Liang Jun, the Sword of Jubilant Light, the fourth disciple of the Celestial Sword of the South, Lord of White Fang and the true heir to the Golden Bamboo Palace, had the right of vengeance when the former Lord White Fang broke the laws of hospitality?¡± There was surprisingly little variation in people¡¯s response. A few of the better dressed men tried to argue quoting statutes and verse. Then Ming would cut off their heads in one smooth stroke. Their corpses were piled at the far end of the training field. Most took a good look at the blood and weapons and decided to live. They would immediately start praising Jun and swearing fealty. These people were tied up and put to the side of the training field. Some of the hot heads started cussing Jun out and Ming removed their heads from their shoulders before they could finish speaking. It¡¯s still morning when the squad finishes sorting through the people of the manor. Most of them were loyal to the paychecks the former Lord provided and seemed to accept that there would be a new signature on them. With the morning light, more and more people are shown into the courtyard. First they gather in clumps along a broad brick walkway that lines the training field, careful not to step into the bloody mud of the field. Though the walkway is broad enough for four men to comfortably walk next to each other, people are soon packed like sardines among the practice dummies and trying to not press into racks of spears. They know something went down and that their attendance is being politely requested by the guy who took down a fortress in an afternoon with five people. Many look disheveled, as if they are still wearing their clothes from yesterday. A few might be minor nobles, but most appear to be important tradesmen, farmers, and mercenaries who happened to be in town yesterday. All wearing their badges of office or family crests, trying to gather as much legitimacy as possible as if that would deter Jun¡¯s blade. Jun tells his squad, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± They drag the former Lord and his only heir from inside the manor into the center of the field. They are chained and gagged. Tai forces them to kneel. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it When Jun stands, the whole space quiets and all you can hear is the wind bringing the scent of blood and death with it. He walks toward them like he has all the time in the world. The squad members leave the field and come stand by my chair as if I¡¯m an important person to the proceedings. I look around at what everyone else is doing like a tourist and find I¡¯m the only one doing so. Everyone else has their eyes locked on Jun¡¯s strides. The heir who is responsible for throwing me in the dungeon and beating me up has tears streaking down the dirt on his face. When Jun stands in front of them, he starts sobbing and begging for mercy. It reminds me of how I begged. Jun ignores him and instead speaks to the crowd. ¡°I came here as a peaceful guest. We exchanged gifts. I even ate at his table. But then this coward drugged me. He tried to kill me and present my head to my cousin. My brothers and I fought back. Now you are here to bear witness to what happens to my enemies.¡± The heir starts begging and crying louder. Jun looks straight at me, like he can see through my veil. He draws his sword and beheads him in a single powerful stroke, swift enough to make a guillotine envious. When his head hits the sand, I feel something inside me snap into place. The disruption caused by having both the soul of a maid and the soul of a flight attendant cease. The maid¡¯s need for vengeance satisfied. Jun walks to the former lord next. He is silent with downcast eyes and accepts his fate with dignity. It¡¯s another clean strike. Jun wipes down the sword and sheaths it. Then he takes a few steps away from the bodies towards the crowd. ¡°I am an honorable man, unlike your former lord. I will not attack my guests. Those under my protection have nothing to fear from me. But I want everyone here clear about what happens when someone betrays me.¡± He takes the time to look around at each person present, as if he could memorize their faces. ¡°Going forward, I intend to protect my people, and I mean all my people including guests and women. I will not permit any under me to act with dishonor towards the weak. If I so much as hear of a maid being forced, my sword will take care of him.¡± I feel like that comment is somehow directed to me. He continues, ¡°I know that this is a rapid change for many of you and that change can be confusing. So, we will take the time to clarify your personal motivations today.¡± He waves a hand, and Tai brings forward one of the people he spared earlier. They are generously allowed to walk under their own power, but they are still forced to kneel at Jun¡¯s feet. Jun goes and publicly negotiates for each one¡¯s release. Many of them are local patriarchs or important merchants. One by one, he basically takes various family members hostage or demands the loans and supplies he needs to wage war against his cousins. I watch the man who rescued me from hell press the eldest sons of families into his army and demand they lend him their heirloom swords and magical tools. All while claiming that now their success and his success are aligned. Even with his positive spin on in, terror is still the theme of the morning. All in attendance agree quickly without protest. Their loved one¡¯s bonds are cut, but they aren¡¯t permitted to leave until their family returns with their part of the bargain. It¡¯s impressive that his power is such that not a single person left alive dares to say a negative word let alone raise a sword. I spend the time he¡¯s negotiating sorting out my mental self. I think the soul of Lin the maid faded when her dying wish was fulfilled. What¡¯s left is just little old me, Ellen. The only feelings left of Lin are some whisps of triumph and delight at watching a grown man beg and then lose his head. I also have two lifetimes worth of memories, though I don¡¯t think those are worth much. Between the mass executions and the threats, I think I¡¯m holding up okay, which means utter silence and promptly pretending it didn¡¯t add to the continuous stream of trauma that this world seems to have in store for me. Servants come and go offering me food and drink. I wave it off, because I¡¯m really too injured to feed myself. Not a single servant recognizes me. It could be the veil, the bruising, or the fact that Jun¡¯s calling me Lady Ellen. And according to Lin¡¯s memories, Ladies might as well be a separate species from maids. At some point I fall asleep and when I wake up the sun is high in the sky. Looking around, I find Luan¡¯s suspicious gaze watching me. I wave back. Jun notices I¡¯m awake and walks back over. He pulls his throne over to sit down next to me. ¡°How are you feeling after all that?¡± ¡°Better, whatever Luan has been giving me has helped.¡± My voice sounds much better than it did this morning. All the rasp is gone. ¡°I assume you must be tired.¡± I yawn in response and he nods in understanding. He tells the maids, ¡°Go make up a proper room for her. Whatever is best suited to a Lady.¡± They rush off. I try to swing my legs over the edge of the chair and Luan rush over shouting, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare move. There is no way in hell you are ruining all my work. Down.¡± I flop back down into the lounger. ¡°I was just preparing myself to move to a bed.¡± Jun says, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll take you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t take me everywhere until the casts come off. I don¡¯t want to burden you.¡± He scoops me up into his arms like I weigh nothing. ¡°You¡¯re no burden. In fact, you could probably use some fattening up. There has to be a couple of strong maids around here to help you when I¡¯m not around. I¡¯ll have them sent to you later.¡± I sigh a bit dramatically, which causes Jun to chuckle. Luan is all business watching us like a hawk as we head into the manor. Tai also follows us inside. I can feel all the staff¡¯s eyes on us watching the belligerent warlord personally carry a woman about. When I was a maid, finding out the identity of such a woman was an essential survival skill. I mentally wish them luck, because I¡¯m still not sure how I fit into this hostile takeover. The head butler appears to personally lead us to Lady White Fang¡¯s room. Many things are missing from the room like all the rugs and a few pieces of furniture. But someone lit incense to cover up the smell of whatever massacre happened in here and all sorts of new d¨¦cor is being carried in. The head butler says, ¡°I apologize that the suite is not yet perfect for the Lady, but I promise that everything will be finished by this evening. However, the bedroom is ready.¡± The butler waits outside the doorway, but Luan and Tai follow us in closing the door behind them. Once again, Jun carefully sets me down on the bed and expertly arranges the pillows. Then he turns to his men. They are staring expectantly, but I think I can leave this to Jun to take care of. Luan loses the staring contest first and spits out, ¡°Can you now explain who she is?¡± Tai puts his hands on his hip. Jun says, ¡°I already told you. This is Lady Ellen. Did you forget?¡± Luan retorts, ¡°No, we didn¡¯t forget.¡± Jun continues in a bored voice, ¡°She saved my life, and I am returning the favor. She is not someone you need to worry about. As opposed to the White Fang medical staff that are probably running off with the store room as we speak.¡± Luan swears under his breath and runs out the door. Jun turns to Tai and says, ¡°Do you have anything to add, or will you just trust me on this?¡± He gives a sigh of frustration. Jun continues, ¡°How about you focus on something important like getting into the safe?¡± He rolls his eyes but heads out the door. The maids hovering outside the door take this as their signal to enter with a tray of food. Jun takes the tray and dismisses them. We are careful about not removing my veil before the door is closed. Once it¡¯s off, it feels like I can finally relax. Jun doesn¡¯t say anything as he helps me eat a slightly thicker soup. As he tucks me in, I feel the most relaxed I have since coming to this world. New Normal I spend my next few days on a very strict bed rest. One of the gossipiest maids worms her way onto my personal staff, so I¡¯m never out of the loop. She tells me about how Jun has sent some sort of official packet of paperwork off to an Imperial Magistrate and from her description, I think Tai is the courier. I also briefly meet Jun¡¯s last squad member, Zhen, but I didn¡¯t stay awake long enough to have an actual conversation. He and Ming are somewhere in the manor. But only Luan and Jun visit me. Luan is incredibly suspicious of me, but it¡¯s a lot of wasted effort. I don¡¯t get up to much besides sleeping. My grand plan is to try to pass myself off as a Lady in front of the staff based solely off the memories of a maid. After I¡¯m healed, I hope to find some sort of gainful employment in a safe city. But if gossip maid is to be believed, nowhere in the White Fang territory is particularly safe, nor any of the surrounding territories. Those not being dragged into Jun¡¯s inheritance war are all finding other reasons to kill each other. Such is the wonderful world of cultivation. The good news is that Jun has opened the coffers and is hiring everyone to make weapons, which is conveniently the major industry of place and the original purpose of his visit. Money is flowing and the good times are rolling according to her. Apparently none of the people in that mound of corpses earlier this week is publicly missed or mourned. I haven¡¯t heard a word about it. Jun is also raising an army, which means many attractive and employed young men will be available to flirt with in large numbers. Such an event might as well be the biggest thing in the maids¡¯ social calendars since the history of time. ********* After three days, I start going a bit stir crazy with no one but the maids to keep me company. Since propriety demands I treat them more like furniture than people, I might as well be in solitary. Over half the news I hear from the gossipy maid is when I fake being asleep. Luan comes by on the forth morning and decides my stitches can come out early. I¡¯m trying to sit as still as humanly possible. He carefully removes them from a scrape on my side. In my impatience, I ask him, ¡°If my stiches can come out early, does that mean the casts can come off early as well?¡± He sighs in frustration at my movement from talking. ¡°Ordinarily, I would say no way could a mortal get her casts off early. But your rate of recovery is holding if not speeding up. What¡¯s the rush?¡± ¡°This room, though luxurious and beautiful, gets very boring very quickly now that I¡¯m awake during the day.¡± I try not to wince as he removes another stich. ¡°Then read a book.¡± He starts plucking them out faster. ¡°I can¡¯t read the crazy characters you call writing. Unless you¡¯re willing to teach me?¡± This gets a raised eyebrow. ¡°And why would I do that?¡± He puts down his tools and I hope that means all the stitches are out. ¡°To keep an eye on me? As a reward for good behavior? It can¡¯t be that hard to find a reason.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You would need to memorize hundreds of symbols. Ignoring the fact that you can¡¯t even write them out right now, are you sure you are up to such a challenge?¡± He pulls out one of his crystal measuring devices and starts to scan me. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find me up to the task. I can be quiet studious, and it¡¯s got to be more interesting than the ceiling.¡± Every day, he seems to find another thing to measure. I¡¯m pretty sure this is the first time I¡¯ve seen this blue one. ¡°Heck, you could even consider it payment for willingly subjecting myself to all your extra measurements.¡± He freezes. ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m just checking you like I¡¯ve been doing every day since you¡¯ve come under my care.¡± Uh oh, did I catch him doing something he¡¯s not supposed to without permission. I laugh at him. ¡°I really don¡¯t mind your scanning stones, but you don¡¯t need to lie about it. If you¡¯re nice about it, I¡¯m open to letting you take even more measurements.¡± He thinks it over for a moment. ¡°And why do you think I would want those?¡± ¡°Because you want to replicate my healing rate.¡± If he could duplicate my freak accident, he would be set for life. He sighs and I know I¡¯ve got him. He rubs his temples for a moment and says, ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m going to want some pretty detailed diagnostics.¡± ¡°Deal as long as you make me flash cards.¡± He groans but agrees. That afternoon he measures everything he can think of from qi mapping (spoiler alert, I have a mortal¡¯s worth of qi) to anthropometry where he measured the length of my parts with weird clamp looking devices. But he does make me the flashcards after I explain what they are. He tries and fails to pry out where I learned such a study technique. Jun comes and joins me for a quiet cup of tea for like five minutes every afternoon. But he never brings up my crazy deal with Luan. In fact, we don¡¯t talk much beyond celebrating the first time I can drink from a cup on my own, a major achievement. ********* By the end of the week, I¡¯ve learned enough characters to read simple books, and Luan has conclusively proven that not only have I never cultivated a day in my life but there is nothing detectable helping me heal. However, I was able to talk him into letting me rejuvenate outside instead of keeping me cooped up in the bedroom. But I¡¯m only allowed outside with supervision and the maids apparently won¡¯t cut it. In case I get up to something more suspicious than healing even though the best I can do is sit up on the second try nowadays. Jun¡¯s too busy being a Lord, so the other three take turns watching me. Ming must have drawn the short straw, because he gets first watch. I get to sit out on the patio from execution day, while Ming goes through his very rigorous exercise routine. There are hardly any scorch marks left from the pyre of executed bodies. I mostly sit, study my flashcards and let the maids wait on me hand and foot. The only downside is that I¡¯m back in the veil, because it might as well be a law around here that no Lady is allowed to be as ugly as my beaten face. It¡¯s healing surprisingly slowly. Luan thinks this is because it wasn¡¯t as injured as the rest of me, as if the mystery healing force can do triage. Ming is by far the most interesting thing I¡¯ve seen in days, so I might have watched him a bit too closely. He started the day reorganizing the training ground like a Type A stockroom clerk preparing for the battle of the shining metal dummies. That took him at least an hour and I lost interest pretty quickly. But I did manage to learn my new flashcards. Then he started a series of warmups and stretches where he systematically warmed up his muscles one group at a time, which was only marginally more interesting than equipment arrangement. So, I took a nap. By the time I woke up he was properly warmed and had started drilling. Now his drills are impressive. Sure, Lin gave me memories of the feats of strength of cultivators, but it¡¯s not like she ever got to sit and watch one drill magic for hours. He cut into the dummies several feet away from his sword tip, which looked like crazy magic to me. But then he suddenly ignited his sword and there was fire all over the training field. I was mesmerized until he stopped for lunch. After and awkwardly silent lunch, where I could only eat a figure out how to eat a few bites under the veil, he meditated a few feet away from my lounge chair for the rest of the afternoon. I spend the rest of my first day out trying to soak up as much sunlight as I can with every inch of my skin covered. It wasn¡¯t very effective, but I do feel better for getting out of that room for a bit. Minichapter Teatime with Jun For the last few days, Jun has been making time to sit and drink a single cup of tea with me. It¡¯s always in the late afternoon. Mostly in my bedroom, but yesterday we ventured out into my suite¡¯s living room, which was a lovely change. Today he carries me out into the garden from the training ground. There is a lovely little gazebo overlooking the lake set up for tea. Bushes and trees block out the manor buildings, giving the illusion of privacy. He takes care of me down to the smallest detail. From gently setting me down on a chair with perfectly arranged cushions to pouring my tea and placing the cup in my still unsteady hand.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I¡¯m still not sure how to start up a conversation with him, but the quiet is comfortable. The kind of relaxing I always dreamed of on vacations. We both sip our tea. It¡¯s at the perfect temperature. Hot, but not burning. I¡¯m seated so I have a good view of the lake and he is in a chair right next to mine. His facial expression doesn¡¯t change, but I notice a subtle drop in his shoulders as he sips his tea. Like tension is leaving his body. He finishes his cup before me, but patiently waits for me to finish mine before carrying me back to my room. Overall, my time with him is nice, short, and I have no idea what to make of it. Good Morning! The next day is Zhen¡¯s turn to supervise me. First thing in the morning, he barges into my room and slams the door open so hard he cracks the wall while shouting ¡°Good morning!¡± My maid responds, like any sane mortal, by screaming into my private bathroom and jumping out the first floor window to the garden. Leaving me to face a cultivator with nothing but my night gown. Zhen laughs as we both watch her run across the garden towards the kitchens. He says, ¡°She¡¯s making excellent time.¡± I manage to sit up on my first attempt this morning and can¡¯t help my smile at this little victory as I say, ¡°Good morning.¡± He returns my smile with an impish grin. ¡°I can promise you that I am now very awake,¡± raising my arm to show off the sleeve of my night gown I continue, ¡°but I¡¯m not quiet ready to go out. Do you think you can ask a maid to come without causing her to run shrieking out a window?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best Lady Ellen.¡± He leaves with a bow. A few minutes later a pair of maids arrive and get me ready. They seem calm on the outside, but they talk around my question about whether or not Zhen threatened them. I¡¯ve had new outfits to wear every day since my arrival and today is no exception. Today¡¯s baggy long-sleeved dress is a lovely shade of green, with matching white stockings and gloves. I think Luan forbade shoes, so I don¡¯t get any ideas. The maids carefully lift me into my special chair. It¡¯s special because they attached handles absolutely everywhere on it and now people can carry me around without touching me. However, it doesn¡¯t come with a seatbelt, which makes each flight of stairs an adventure. A maid shows Zhen in with the utmost respect, while not letting him near the door handle. He asks, ¡°Ready to go to breakfast?¡± ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry before the food gets cold.¡± Before the maids can awkwardly lift me, he lifts the chair up with one hand under the seat and carries me out of the room like a waiter with a serving tray. I only startle a little and grip the handles. He races down the halls and everything blurs. I¡¯m too scared to even scream, but he does a great job of balancing me. If I were a bowl of soup, I doubt he would have spilled a drop. We stop just as suddenly as we started. When the world comes back into focus. I¡¯m seated at a table for two and Zhen is across from me. We are in a private sun room that belonged to the previous Lady Fang. She used it when she wanted privacy. The three large floor to ceiling windows give a lovely view of the garden pond and I know they are enchanted so no one can see in. Small potted plants are everywhere: on the floor filling the corners, over flowing the shelves and several pots are even hanging from the ceiling. Zhen claps and servants bring piles of steaming food on fine china. After they leave, he says, ¡°There should be plenty of privacy for you to eat with your veil off here.¡± He starts loading both our plates high with food as I carefully hang my veiled hat off the back of my chair. He starts stuffing his face without a care in the world, most of it even lands in his mouth. I only stare for a moment because I¡¯m too hungry to care and the food smells better than anything Luan has been letting me eat. I accidentally let out a small moan at the first bite of meat and Zhen pauses for a moment to smirk, but quickly resumes his shoveling. I eat half my plate then I sit admiring the flowers, while he devours the rest of the dishes. A few are already blooming with small purple and pink blossoms. He finishes by laying back in his chair and letting out a satisfied burp. ¡°Looks like your face is healing nicely.¡± He sips something from a cup that looks like a child¡¯s toy in his giant hand. It might be breakfast wine, but I know for sure is that it¡¯s not the tea I was served. ¡°Thank you.¡± I let the silence return and he starts squirming in his chair like a toddler. I pour myself another cup of tea and go back to looking at the flowers. Before I¡¯m even halfway through my cup, he says, ¡°What do you want to do for the rest of the day?¡± ¡°I want to stay out of my room.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And¡­? It¡¯s not like I can do much. I can review characters for reading. I can read a children¡¯s book. I can even sit in various places. Did you have something in mind?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± his eyes look like a little boy¡¯s who about to stir up mischief, ¡°have you ever heard of the time Jun and I were sent to reinforce Grass Reach Fort?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Sitting up straighter, he pours him self another glass and says, ¡°Several years ago, Jun and I were assigned our first joint mission.¡± Then he does not shut up for several hours. After receiving permission, Zhen does not shut up. I can¡¯t tell what could be real and what¡¯s embellished in this land of magic. But I¡¯m certain that this story has been thoroughly embellished. First, Jun gets them super lost on a very empty plain with nothing but grass in every direction and absolutely no landmarks. Then the remarkable Zhen finds a river, possibly by letting Jun fall into it face first. Next using Zhen¡¯s amazing skills they follow the river to a town, which conveniently contains a bar that was probably a brothel. All of the ladies were completely enamored with Zhen. So Jun had to smuggle him out after securing directions to the fort. When they arrive at the fort, Zhen is such an aggressive and manly warrior who manages to piss off the forces that they insist of laying a siege. They were about to leave to pursue an actual strategically important target, but Zhen was Zhen. During the siege, Zhen sneaks out to do some recon. Though he does find the information he¡¯s looking for, he gets side tracked and sleeps with someone he really shouldn¡¯t have. So, Jun comes and rescues him. Though they both make it back to the fort, Jun is gravely injured and Zhen vows to get revenge for his brother. Jun is dying. The fort is starting to starve. Zhen thinks about making a last stand. But just in the nick of time, some competent backup arrives. They have someone patch up Jun, but he¡¯s stuck on bed rest during the battle. Zhen avenges his brother and to celebrate sleeps with some more people he probably shouldn¡¯t have. The leader of the reinforcements tells Zhen that he needs to leave asap, but in a way that¡¯s very flattering. To get Zhen out of there even faster, this leader even gives Jun some special qi medicine he was saving up. This story conveniently ends around lunch time. There is a rerun of Zhen¡¯s table manners, and I contemplate how any self-respecting woman would want to touch him before he has been disinfected. With his mouth full of rice, he asks, ¡°Lady Ellen what is your favorite food? I¡¯ll try to arrange it for next time.¡± Luckily, none of the rice reaches me across the table. ¡°What I keep craving are spicy chicken wings. Or anything spicy at all. Luan has forbidden a lot of foods at this point. I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s approved this meal.¡± He gives me a wink that all but says Luan¡¯s approval wasn¡¯t sought for this meal. ¡°You must eat well to heal well.¡± As if he¡¯s ears were itching, Luan walks in shouting, ¡°Zhen, of all the places in this maze why did you take Lady Ellen here?¡± Zhen gives him his signature mischievous grin. ¡°It¡¯s private. It¡¯s pretty. We are close to the kitchen. This is clearly the best place to recuperate in the whole manor.¡± Luan is now close enough to see the remains of lunch on the table. ¡°Lady Ellen, what did I tell you about eating light while you are recovering?¡± ¡°That I should take it slow and see how my body feels as I heal. But honestly, it was delicious, and I feel fine.¡± If I didn¡¯t know better, I would say the meat was medicine because of how much better I¡¯m feeling. Zhen crosses his arms. ¡°I made sure she would only eat the best. Do you not trust me?¡± ¡°Of course I don¡¯t trust you with this. I know you. I know what happened after your every gut wound. Now why would I trust you on this?¡± Zhen looks away and says, ¡°But I would never hurt the Lady who saved Jun.¡± Luan sighs like a drama queen and runs his hand through his hair making some strands stick straight up. ¡°I¡¯ll start with scanning your abdomen today Lady Ellen. Hopefully, he hasn¡¯t done too much damage to your digestive system.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not in any pain. Honestly, I feel better than yesterday.¡± Luan scowls at this and waves a white crystal all over more core. Everyone is silent until he finishes. Turning to glare at Zhen, he says, ¡°You got lucky this time. She¡¯s still healing as usual.¡± ¡°Does that mean I can eat like this for the rest of my recovery?¡± Luan does another once over of the table. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend anyone eat like this ever. But you can now eat a balanced diet, including meats and fibrous foods.¡± ¡°Yay, chewing!¡± Zhen laughs. ¡°And next time I will bring you spicy chicken!¡± Luan glares at Zhen again. ¡°She¡¯s a mortal Zhen. Mortals can¡¯t take your level of spicy and live.¡± Rolling his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. But she wants at least a little bit of kick.¡± ¡°If the other mortals can prepare it without wearing protective equipment, she can eat it.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Luan groans again but continues with the rest of my check up and daily scans. Zhen tries to be casual and keeps sipping his wine, but I can tell he¡¯s paying close attention. However, he runs out of wine. ¡°Luan what could possibly be taking this long? You never take this long with me.¡± ¡°Why bother taking my time with you when you are so good at ripping stiches and shredding casts?¡± Zhen stomps off to get more wine and gives me a wink as he leaves. Luan watches him to make sure he¡¯s actually gone, before turning his attention back to me. With another sigh, he says, ¡°I thought he would never leave¡± I laugh, ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem that bad.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they all say. Don¡¯t let his charm get to. If you ask, I can probably get him removed for the rota all together.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Luan, or at least as fine as I can be right now. And the last thing I would want to do is impose on your time further. I¡¯m still paying for those reading lessons.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no imposition. If anything happens to you, we will all have to answer to Jun.¡± A shiver races down his spine, ¡°And no one ever wants to be on Jun¡¯s bad side.¡± When Luan is finishing up, Zhen returns carrying a tray of drinks. He sets everything down on the table with a thud, but nothing spills. ¡°Luan, I brought you a drink. Come sit with us for a moment before you continue on your way. I was just about to tell Lady Ellen another story.¡± ¡°Alright, if you insist.¡± Zhen pulls a chair out of thin air and Luan sits in in. Then Zhen assumes the role of host. First, he pours mine out of a cherry colored teapot. Then he pours Luan some out of a blue teapot. And lastly, he pours himself some wine from a jug. Luan picks the cup up with both hands and takes a sip before spitting hot tea all over the table. ¡°ZHEN, how dare you put your hot sauce in my cinnamon tea.¡± Fire erupts from his mouth as he stands up throwing his chair across the room. Zhen gives me a quick bow and says, ¡°It looks like I must be off my Lady. But don¡¯t worry I will return after I cool him down.¡± Luan jumps with the intent of strangling Zhen. Zhen holds him almost like one would a small child. Luan¡¯s hands wrap around his throat, but they don¡¯t seem to be very effective, like if I were to try to strangle a stone column. Patting Luans back like he¡¯s a baby, Zhen coos, ¡°There, there, Luan, how will you ever gain a spice tolerance if I don¡¯t build it slowly? It was just a drop.¡± Luan breaths fire directly into Zhen¡¯s face as he¡¯s carried out of the room. Luckily none of the plants are burning. Two Weeks Later Despite Luan¡¯s initial predictions, I continue living and two weeks pass. Jun¡¯s still too busy to talk to me much. But his squad does a good job of keeping me company. Luan¡¯s still suspicious of me but seems to accept that I¡¯ve been too injured to get up to much. Zhen has told me so many stories in way too much detail and some of them might even be true. And Ming, well Ming, just continues doing his three step workout routine: step 1) reorganize the entire training ground, step 2) stretchy stretch, step 3) drill baby drill. Today is no exception and I must admit that this does give me plenty of study time. But today, the manor is a buzz with news, and no one will tell me what it is. Gossip maid, won¡¯t gossip in front of me if she knows I¡¯m awake. And heaven¡¯s knows Ming isn¡¯t going to talk to me unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary. I try to focus on my flash cards but then there is a loud bang and a dust cloud appears in the middle of the training grounds. Once the dust settles, Zhen is standing in the center of a small hole with Ming¡¯s sword at his throat. He¡¯s holding his hands up in surrender and says, ¡°Brother Ming, how about we talk about this?¡± With one sausage like finger, he gently pushes the sword away from his throat. Ming says, ¡°If you didn¡¯t want my sword at your throat, you shouldn¡¯t have interrupted in the middle of my drills.¡± ¡°Well Brother, I thought you would like having a sparing partner for this afternoon, since Jun is debriefing Tai. But I can see that I¡¯m not welcome here.¡± Before Zhen can even take a step, Ming sheaths his sword and bows to Zhen with his hands clasped in front. ¡°I apologize Brother. It would be an honor to trade pointers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± I can hear the satisfied smirk before he turns to wave hello at me. I wave back. Zhen continues, ¡°How about we show the Lady what we can do?¡± Ming draws his sword again, and says, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare hold back on me.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. With a laugh, he says, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± The bits of the spar that I can follow with my weak mortal eyes, show that Zhen only brought his fists to a sword fight and despite all logic to the contrary appears to be winning. He can somehow punch a super powered sword. That has to be magic. The flashcards get forgotten for a while and I just try to follow the fight. Even though he promised not to hold back, Zhen is clearly going at Ming¡¯s pace. Between the slashes, he gives what sounds like actual useful advice like your left foot is too rotated or you still need to follow through. Zhen manages to tire Ming out and leaves him in a panting sweaty pile on the training ground floor, before coming over to sit next to me. He pours us both a fresh cup of juice and spikes his with a little something from a flask. His cup smokes a little. After we each take a sip, he asks me, ¡°So what do you think of the news?¡± I manage to not yell. In the most polite voice I can muster, I say, ¡°What news? No one has told me anything.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk,¡± he tells towards the training ground, ¡°Ming why haven¡¯t you told Lady Ellen the news?¡± The pile makes an unintelligible grunt. Zhen sighs. Then he drags Ming by the arm to my table and dumps him in a chair, before sitting back down like dragging people through the dirt is perfectly normal and civil. He leans in towards me while pouring a cup for Ming, ¡°Tai returned at some point in the dark with a letter from the Emperor¡¯s court, which was what we were expecting.¡± I nod and take a sip. The juice is a little too sweet for my taste, but according to Luan my body needs all the calories I can get. ¡°But here¡¯s the good part,¡± his eyes twinkle, clearly expecting me to beg for it. Instead, Ming says, ¡°And the Imperial Court addressed Jun as Prince, Liang Jun, the Sword of Jubilant Light, the fourth disciple of the Celestial Sword of the South, Lord of White Fang and the true heir to the Golden Bamboo Palace; therefore, acknowledging that he is the rightful heir to his uncle¡¯s territory and validating the war he¡¯s about to wage.¡± Then Ming knocks the juice back like it¡¯s a shot and refills his cup. Zhen says, ¡°I was almost there.¡± Ming rolls his eyes, ¡°I should have told Lady Ellen sooner or I should have waited. You can¡¯t have it both ways brother.¡± Undeterred, Zhen says, ¡°Of course I can.¡± Ming sips this cup. Zhen continues, ¡°Anyways, that¡¯s the big news, Tai is back and Jun was acknowledge by some court too far away to bother to send any support. And since Tai is back, now I can just sit and wait and for him to find his welcome home gift.¡± ¡°And you decided to hide at my training grounds?¡± ¡°He probably won¡¯t find it until he wakes up. And after that trip, he might sleep for days.¡± There¡¯s a loud boom and I turn to see a mass of purple smoke pouring out of one of the upstairs windows. ¡°Or he could wake up right now.¡± Ming takes another sip. ¡°I¡¯m not helping either of you.¡± There¡¯s a blur and Zhen is laughing his ass off in his hole in the center of the training ground, while a purple blob tries to punch his face it. It appears to be about as effective as tickle torture. Ming tops up both our cups and then turns to watch. Minichapter Teatime with Jun 2 Jun comes and picks me up from the training ground. By the time he arrives, Zhen and the purple blob version of Tai are still slugging it out. He only gives them a passing glance with his icy demeanor and snaps his fingers to signal some maids to carry me to the gazebo for tea. They place me in my usual spot overlooking the lake and he sits in a chair next to me. We go through our usual routine, where he silently pours my tea, and I silently accept the cup. Then we both relax into the silence as we enjoy the tea.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. After a few sips, I decide to risk it. ¡°I hear congratulations are in order.¡± ¡°If they are from you, I suppose I must accept them.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°All that news really means is that I don¡¯t yet have any enemies of note at the imperial court. Nothing was truly achieved.¡± ¡°I suppose you might have at least one more friend there than your cousin though.¡± He chuckles and we finish our tea in silence. Tai’s Turn Tai isn¡¯t allowed to rest for long (not that he appears to really needed much judging by the beating he tried to give Zhen), because he gets to watch me the next day. He¡¯s set up in a large office that looks like it was set up for several clerks to work in together. There are several desks in the center of the room with filling cabinets lining the walls. He¡¯s dressed in his usual skin tight pants with a matching silk shirt open to show just a bit too much chest. Tai is situated at the largest desk, surrounded by stacks of paper. I was given a desk next to his. I watch Tai as he works and I¡¯m sure he¡¯s watching me back. This office certainly runs differently than any I¡¯ve ever worked in. I¡¯m old enough to have hands on experience with paper files, but this system is older than old school. Tai has to make ink from scratch and instead of staples I think one of the lesser clerks literally sews the pages together. Every part of this process seems to move at tortoise speeds, despite the flurry of hands involved. I try to stay out of the way and focus on reviewing my flash cards. He does join me for lunch. We have food that Luan certainly approved of: soup, rice, and lots of veggies. Though Tai doesn¡¯t say much, it¡¯s not the comfortable silence of Jun or the outright avoidance by Ming. Tai watches me closely and makes almost too much eye contact since I removed the veil to eat. In the middle of my bowl of soup, I cave and try to start a conversation. ¡°How was your trip?¡± He blinks. ¡°Good.¡± I try again. ¡°I¡¯m not in your way over at my desk, am I?¡± He gives me a smile that doesn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°No.¡± He¡¯s certainly a thrilling conversationalist. I finish my soup and start on the main course while wracking my brain for another conversation topic. But third times a charm, right? ¡°Where are you from?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°The Silver Gate Sect.¡± Four words is progress, right? Probably enough progress for today. But then he surprises me and says, ¡°You?¡± I manage to not choke on my rice; however, I take my time chewing while I think out my answer. I decide to answer with where my body is from. ¡°A small farming village, about two days travel from here for a mortal.¡± He nods. ¡°Which?¡± ¡°Fairwick.¡± I get another nod. He looks expectantly at me as if he wants me to continue. But I have no idea what he wants to hear. If he really wants to know, he¡¯s clearly capable of asking. We finish eating shortly after. He waits to summon the servants to clear the dishes until after I put my veil back on, which I¡¯m grateful for. My face still has a few too many colors, but I¡¯m looking a lot better. However, I¡¯m still concerned that someone on the staff will recognize me. So I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to stop wearing it. Shortly after lunch, Luan appears. Instead of starting with my treatment, he goes straight to Tai¡¯s desk and leaves his own pile of paper. They immediately start a conversation in hushed tones. I don¡¯t try to make it out, but they keep gesturing between me and the paper so I have a hunch it¡¯s about me. When Luan finally makes it over to my desk to do his check up on me, Tai comes with. Off comes my veil, and Luan says, ¡°Let¡¯s start at the top. You remember her head wounds when Jun brought her?¡± Tai nods and crosses his arms. ¡°With only the slightest pain cream and three stitches by her hairline here,¡± he gestures around my temple, ¡°she has already this much.¡± Tai leans in close. Then Luan takes out one of his scanning stones and starts to detail my organ recovery. Apparently, my chest cavity was practically an Ellen smoothie. Somehow, my organs have unruptured and put themselves back in order. ¡°She was able to drink soup almost immediately and eat just a few days later. Now she¡¯s somehow digesting whatever Zhen¡¯s been feeding her.¡± Tai raises an eyebrow at that. I let this lecture continue for a bit too long, before I interrupt. ¡°She can hear you, you know?¡± Luan freezes for a moment, before says, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lady Ellen. Tai was just curious about your recovery.¡± I look at Tai and say, ¡°Luan still hasn¡¯t figured that out yet. But he¡¯s been very thorough in measuring anything that could possibly explain it. Mostly, he¡¯s found reasons I should have died, but that hasn¡¯t been helpful in explain how I¡¯m alive.¡± I turn back to Luan, ¡°And you, I¡¯ll forgive you if you bring me another three books you think I can actually read.¡± Tai smiles at my demand and Luan agrees before resuming his lecture. This time remembering to talk to me. Jun comes to collect me for tea at the tail end of the lecture. So Luan has to basically repeat the whole lecture for Jun. And then I finally get to leave for tea. First Steps The day has finally come. Luan waves his stone over my legs one more time and says, ¡°I think you can start walking-¡° ¡°YES!¡± I try to jump out of my chair, but he firmly pushes me back into it. I cross my arms and glare at him. He continues, ¡°But you have to take it slow. If you go too fast, you might reverse all the healing and end up back at square one.¡± ¡°How slow?¡± ¡°First the crutches for a short jaunt down the hall. Let¡¯s see how you handle the pain.¡± I wave the maid over who just entered with the crutches, as if she was waiting on a cue. Luan would intentionally keep them out of my sight, so I don¡¯t get ¡°ideas,¡± or worse, give Zhen ¡°ideas.¡± They can be terribly contagious. He keeps his arms out to catch me as I stand up for the first time since entering this world. It¡¯s a bit sore, but nothing like Luan was warning me about. My legs are more stiff from disuse than anything. I make a show of using the crutches, but I don¡¯t really need them. However, I know he¡¯ll send me back to the chair if I don¡¯t use them. Luan is with me every step of the way. If I fall and break anything, heaven only knows what Jun would do to him. I make it down the hall to Tai¡¯s study at a steady pace. Tai watches us enter like we are a pair of clowns, who came for his own personal amusement. He gets up from his desk to get a better view. I tell Luan, ¡°See I¡¯m doing just fine.¡± ¡°Lady Ellen, there is no need to rush this. We can take this nice and slow.¡± He tries to take my crutches, but I hold on to them tighter not wanting to give them up. Apparently, he won¡¯t rip them from my hands, so I ask, ¡°How long does this break need to be before you let me up again?¡± He sighs with aggravation, but I haven¡¯t annoyed him to hair messing levels yet. I still have room to push him. He looks to Tai for support, but Tai is barely suppressing his laughter with a hand over his mouth. ¡°We have plenty of time.¡± ¡°Luan.¡± I want to walk, but I know I can¡¯t out run him even if I was completely healed. ¡°How about fifteen minutes?¡± He doesn¡¯t sound certain about that. ¡°I¡¯m walking better than you expected, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Ten minutes?¡± I smile victoriously, ¡°I knew it.¡± Tai loses his battle to hold in his laughter and chuckles. Luan glares at him and Tai only laughs harder.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Word of my first steps spreads quickly through the manor, because within those ten minutes I manage to gain quiet the audience. First Zhen comes racing through the door as if worried he was going to miss it. Then Jun arrives with some nervous man in an official looking hat. Even Ming comes to watch. Tai announces, ¡°Ten minutes.¡± At least someone is keeping Luan honest. I smile and stand up with the crutches. The crowd parts in front of me as Luan repeats, ¡°Slowly, please take it slowly. There¡¯s no need to rush.¡± While keeping his arms out. Everyone else falls silent to watch me take slow, but confident steps out the door. Luan clearly wants me to return to my room at this point, but I want to see how far I can go. So, I head off towards the sun room with all the flowers. Luan almost pulls the plug on my adventure, when I reach a set of three whole steps. ¡°Lady Ellen, please there¡¯s no need to push yourself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just three steps Luan. What¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡± Luan looks frantically between Jun and me hoping someone will see sense and stop my madness of attempting three whole steps. Jun keeps his face expressionless but doesn¡¯t say anything to help Luan. So, I keep charging ahead and take the steps one at a time. Luan is in front of me freaking out the whole time; however, I make it down with out incident. Zhen cheers loudly when I reach the bottom causing the staff in attendance to golf clap a very polite applause. There are a few more steps on the way, but I make it without so much as a slip. My audience follows me the whole way there. I do feel a bit tired, probably because I have barely moved in a month. But I¡¯m not going to give Luan the satisfaction of telling him that it feels good to sit. I prop my crutches against the table, but I don¡¯t let the maids take them. Zhen sits down next to me, saying, ¡°Great job Lady Ellen.¡± Jun sits down on my other side, dismissing the staff who were following him around. They scurry off like demons are nipping at their heels. Luan and Tai join us. Tai is still smirking at Luan, who all but collapses in his chair from his nerves. I guess Ming doesn¡¯t want to be left out, so he sits too. They all look at Jun expectantly, so I stare at him too. Jun seems to be ignoring the rest of them for now and looks straight at me. With a small grin, he says, ¡°Excellent job getting back on your feet.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhen, unable to keep quiet a moment longer, says, ¡°Soon you¡¯ll be running all over the manor and then all over the town. That is if there¡¯s any town left when Jun¡¯s done with it.¡± Jun doesn¡¯t dignify that with a response. The worry wart says, ¡°Not everywhere just yet.¡± I cross my arms, ¡°Any why not?¡± ¡°You barely made it up that last set of six steps. Don¡¯t you dare think about heading to the second floor by yourself.¡± ¡°I made it up those just fine.¡± The swaying on the last step was just fatigue, really. Luan continues, ¡°And that¡¯s before we even discuss security.¡± Tai nods in agreement. Jun finally turns and looks at the rest of them. ¡°She¡¯s not a security threat. As long as it¡¯s safe, she has my permission to enter anywhere and everywhere she pleases.¡± Luan runs both his hands through his hair. Judging by the fluff height, he is going to snap at someone soon. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Zhen says, ¡°He¡¯s always serious. It¡¯s one of his problems.¡± Needlessly hopping to Jun¡¯s defense, Ming says, ¡°Jun¡¯s commitment and imperturbable temperament are what enables him to continue to lead us to victory.¡± ¡°Yes, we know you idolize his glacier face.¡± Luan says, ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. And no offense to Lady Ellen, but we don¡¯t know much about you. We don¡¯t know you¡¯re affiliations, your relations, your background-¡± ¡°Enough, I already told you that she isn¡¯t a security threat. What happened in that dungeon wiped her slate clean.¡± Looking about ready to boil over, he crosses his arms and says, ¡°Regardless, she still isn¡¯t ready for much physical activity, let alone anything as strenuous as running.¡± Risking his wrath, I say, ¡°Which means what?¡± ¡°Which means you are allowed to walk, at most, and I do mean, at most, half the day. But you can always take it slow and not rush and not fall down the stairs and overall not break more bones.¡± I resist rolling my eyes like a passive aggressive teenager. Searching for a Purpose With my new found freedom, I¡¯ve decided to find something that I can plan to do after I¡¯m healed. I can¡¯t expect to live off of Jun¡¯s kindness forever. Since Jun has permitted me unlimited access to the grounds for now, I might as well take advantage of it. I¡¯m sure Luan if not Tai are having all the household staff update them on my activities, waiting for me to get up to something to prove their paranoia. But they¡¯ll just have to keep waiting. The first place on my list is the kitchen, because it¡¯s conveniently close. Day one is not the day to test Luan¡¯s patience about my step count. After breakfast, I shuffle into the kitchen. This place is the heart of the staff in the manor, because it¡¯s where all the food is and who doesn¡¯t like food? The room is as large as my apartment in my last life. Down at the far end is everything that needs a fire: ovens, stoves, spits, etc. Most of the room is filled with counters to handle all the cutting, mixing and general prep found in every kitchen. However, what stands out most are the smells of hot soup and roasting chicken. Lunch is coming. When I step inside, it¡¯s a buzz with activity and whispers, but as soon as I¡¯m spotted it falls silent. The maids stand straighter and only look directly at the task in front of them. A little old woman I recognize as the head chef hobbles towards me with her cane. She¡¯s squat and a bit taller than my waist. Her frizzy grey hair is falling out of its bun. Proof that she¡¯s been running this kitchen since well before dawn. With a bow she says, ¡°How can we help you my Lady?¡± Which I mentally translate to, ¡°What do I need to do to get you out of here?¡± Since I¡¯m pretending to be a Lady, I don¡¯t even try to return the bow (heaven only knows how that would go on crutches anyway). ¡°I¡¯m only here to observe and learn how you run the kitchen. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll stay out of your way.¡± After it¡¯s out of my mouth, I realize it was probably the worst thing I could have said. The ¡®don¡¯t worry¡¯ alone is a red flag among all the staff that someone needs to be worried and it¡¯s probably them. If they¡¯re lucky they might live to scrub the blood out of the floor boards after their friend¡¯s head is relocated. She handles me well and with another bow successfully sequesters me in a chair near the fire with a good view of the whole room. Discreetly, she sends a young maid running. I don¡¯t sit for long, no telling who she¡¯s calling for backup, and I¡¯m only allowed to walk until lunch. So, I go and closely watch what each station is up to. There are girls kneading some sort of dough. It comes together quickly with all the nervous energy they pour into it. I¡¯ve always been terrible at anything pastry, so I don¡¯t watch for long. Next are a pair of girls peeling and chopping veggies. They are incredibly precise in their dicing. If I hadn¡¯t been told that all the staff were mortals, I would have suspected magic was involved. By the time I approach the soup pots, the young maid returns with the head housekeeper. I kind of despise both the head chef and head housekeeper equally, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve noticed yet. They are loyal to their favorites, but Lin was never a favorite. The head chef demanded extra staff from the head housekeeper for the dinner where I kneed that idiot in the crotch and I¡¯m sure I was sent into harm¡¯s way to keep the favorites safe that night. The head housekeeper and the head chef could not be more different women. It¡¯s a well known fact that they hate each other, so I must be terrifying for the head chef to call her as back up. Or they could have trauma bonded through Jun¡¯s mass execution.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The head housekeeper is tall and thin. Her pin straight black hair is cut into a bob with severe bangs, highlighting her menacing gaze notorious for haunting the dreams of every maid in the manor. She enters with the confident strides of one accustomed to being obeyed. As I sip a sample of soup, I pretend to not notice her entrance, which is easy with my veil. They give each other a professional nod, but still exchange glares. It¡¯s nice to know that some people can¡¯t change in the face of adversity. She approaches me with a deep formal bow. I wave for her to rise, and she somehow stands without looming over me. She says, ¡°Milady, I am the head housekeeper.¡± I let an awkward silence fall after this statement. She knows that one shouldn¡¯t interrupt a Lady without good cause in this manor. Perhaps I don¡¯t feel like being kind after Lin was abandoned in the dungeon, so I keep sipping my soup. Or I just hope to watch her squirm. Undeterred by the silence, she gives me a smaller bow and says, ¡°Now that you are back on your feet, may I be so bold as to offer the Lady a tour of the manor or perhaps take you to see a few places of interest. The roses in the east side of the garden are in full bloom.¡± I pass the soup cup back to the cook, who takes it with a bow before using it as a reason to rush over to dish washing. Though I may have worn out my welcome in the kitchen, I have no intention of being shepherded around. I want to see how things are actually run around here. Lin stayed in her lane and studiously avoided knowledge about anything else going on around here and we all know how well that worked as a long term survival strategy. ¡°I¡¯m sure your offer is well intentioned, but I do not require a tour at this time. And I would hate to waste the time of the head housekeeper.¡± Her jaw clenches subtly. I always enjoy polite insults. Turning away from her, I hobble towards the chickens roasting on spits. Despite all the important people in the kitchen the young lady turning the spit and basting with sauce hasn¡¯t stopped in her duties for a moment. In fact, I think her terror only enhanced her focus on just the spit because she jumps when I say, ¡°You¡¯re doing an excellent job of cooking that.¡± She gives me a bow and starts to tremble slightly. The head chef and head housekeeper are whispering on the other end of the kitchen trying to regroup. Not wanting to terrify the hard working girl more than necessary, I keep moving along. I carefully inspect what each person is doing in the kitchen and making mental notes of not just who appears good at their job despite the surprise inspection, but how this kitchen is laid out and functions (spoiler, it¡¯s very differently than a modern American kitchen). I move into the pantry before they¡¯ve stopped whispering. The staff hiding in here immediately try to look busy or flee. I take time to look in every shelf. Despite Jun being in control for almost a month, there are still signs of looting: broken locks, suspiciously empty shelves and broken glass kicked under shelves. No one has even made an attempt to clean it up while hiding here. No wonder the head chef is panicking. She¡¯s technically responsible. Luckily for her, I don¡¯t particularly care. From the pantry, I continue down into the cellar. Due to my crutches, my progress is sluggish to say the least. So, the head chef has no trouble catching up to me with her cane. The door to the cellar is locked, but all it takes is a nod and she opens it for me without a word. I don¡¯t know how full this cellar was to begin with, but it¡¯s only a quarter full now and Jun didn¡¯t drink it all. Surprisingly, most of what¡¯s left are qi filled spirits. Despite those being the most valuable and probably difficult for even the previous Lord to obtain. They must be hard to fence. There¡¯s only one large cask of the cheap wine, but it¡¯s so huge I don¡¯t know how they got it down here to begin with. It¡¯s both wider and taller than the door. I¡¯m still careful in inspecting every shelf and find a few empty and open bottles. But they¡¯re not my problem, so I say nothing as I head back up the stairs. The head chef quietly locks the door behind me and doesn¡¯t rush me up the stairs. I go through the cold storage, the butcher¡¯s, the root cellar and some miscellaneous storage. The head chef follows behind me and opens everything without hesitation. I learn a lot about how things are stored and categorized in a manor with magic but no electricity. Lin was only familiar with how food things were done in her poor village house, and they didn¡¯t have access to even a tenth of the not looted ingredients I see. By lunch time, I¡¯m good and tired. I make it to the sun room and relax into my extra cushioned chair, while I wait for the food to be served. It¡¯s probably petty, but I don¡¯t say anything to the head chef on my way out. I let her stew on her situation. At least I won¡¯t send anyone to beat her to death even though I witnessed more than a minor transgression. Overall, I¡¯m not sure if I learned anything that will help me career wise, but you never know. Blackmail might be lucrative. Housekeeping The next day, I decide to walk straight into the morning housekeeping meeting where the dayshift maids are briefed on their daily duties. I still remember where and when it¡¯s held. Even though I¡¯m getting better on the crutches, I still arrive about halfway through the meeting. When I open the door, the entire room falls silent. They all stare as I hobble inside. The head housekeeper rushes up to greet me with a very formal bow. She says, ¡°Milady, how can we serve you today?¡± With my best impression of the late mistress, I wave my hand for her to rise and say, ¡°I don¡¯t need anything at the moment. Pretend I¡¯m not even here. Continue your meeting.¡± It¡¯s clear she wants to get me out of here, but I wave her back up to the front of the room as I take a recently vacated seat in the back. All the maids near me are stiff as brooms and are carefully inspecting their shoes. The rest are watching the head housekeeper for either help or the cue to run for their lives. It might take every shred of courage the head housekeeper possesses, but she seems dignified back at the front of the room. Only hesitating a moment before she resumes the meeting. It¡¯s surprising how similar it is to the morning meetings before Jun. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter who the Lord is, some things stay the same. A manor is still a manor. Laundry must be done. Floors need sweeping. And that¡¯s before we talk about dusting or windows. After she dismisses everyone to their tasks, the head housekeeper comes up and once again asks how to get me out of here as politely as possible. I enjoy watching her grit her teeth even harder when I repeat what I said yesterday, ¡°I¡¯m sure your offer is well intentioned, but I do not require a tour at this time. And I would hate to waste the time of the head housekeeper.¡± With that I hobble out of the room towards the laundry. After a quick whisper to her number two, she follows behind me at a respectable six feet. The laundry is insanely different from my modern standards and if Lin hadn¡¯t dropped off dirty clothes here I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize it as a laundry. The room is very hot with large cloth filled cauldron being stirred at one end. The rest of the room is filled with women hitting the clothes or scrubbing the linens. A bunch of them are doing tasks I don¡¯t even recognize. However, things are being cleaned.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. They are silent even before I enter, probably because they are on their toes from the meeting. My new memories tell me that this is the heart of all the housekeeping gossip and is usually filled with chatter. It was a safe place that the late mistress avoided in case she got splashed with dirty water or even worse stepped in a puddle with her expensive silk slippers. Even though I¡¯m posing as a Lady, I¡¯m willing to risk reputation just to see what I can glean down here. Lin never worked in the laundry, because she was deemed too frail. And back on the farm, she just washed things in the river. I¡¯m sure a washer and dryer could be built with qi, but why would the blood thirsty cultivators waste it when it¡¯s so cheap to hire mortal servants. Like yesterday, I go and carefully inspect what each person is doing. The most interesting is the spot removal section. It¡¯s surprisingly organized and they clearly know what to use for which stain on which fabric. But I move along when one of the girls starts sniffling back tears after I watch over her shoulder for five whole minutes. From there it¡¯s an easy walk outside to where they hang the laundry to dry. Many maids where hiding here and I watch them flee back into the manor as I approach. Each carefully trying to look busy by holding at least one rag or empty basket. I manage to hold in my laughter. The head housekeeper follows me trying to do damage control. After the parade of extraordinarily busy maids, there not much to see out here. So, I hobble back into the manor and guiltlessly drag in mud all over the door. It doesn¡¯t slow down the head housekeeper for more than a moment. With a snap of her fingers, a maid rushes over to clean it. She follows me like a scared puppy all morning. We visit where they are mending and I can¡¯t help but think it¡¯s a bit dark to see their progress. The room is basically a large closet stuffed full with three women surrounded by baskets. Poking around one of their baskets, I find a lamp that they tried to hide. Heaven only knows why they¡¯re hiding a lamp they need to work by. It¡¯s not even a fancy one that would be worth stealing. Either the late mistress wouldn¡¯t allow them one because she was being stingy or they are supposed to work elsewhere and I found their hiding closet. I continue through the rest of the house making sure to drop in on every housekeeping department and each team of maids I can find. Never saying anything. I even keep silent as I white glove test each room I find currently being cleaned. All eyes are on me as I carefully inspect my gloved fingers, before wiping them on my handkerchief regardless of the result. I leave them to guess the results. The head housekeeper has a serious tooth grinding problem that gets progressively worse as I go through the manor. And I might even admit to enjoying it. The only places I don¡¯t actively try to inspect are the floors and the chimneys. But each cleaning closet is opened. Every storage room checked. The head housekeeper is using the same script as the head chef and has the keys out for the few locked rooms before I even ask to open the doors. There are definitely fewer signs of looting, but that might mean that she put in late night effort to hide them. Mostly bolts of cloth were stolen, but only of the middling quality. I¡¯m guessing it has the same fencing problems as the qi liquor. Going around the manor checking up on all the things housekeeping is responsible for causes me to walk the most since I regained my footing. I certainly feel accomplished with myself by the time I sit down for lunch. I might have found less looting (and blackmail material) than yesterday, but I can tell that I¡¯m healing. And what do I really have, if I don¡¯t have my health? Letter Time After visiting housekeeping, I sink into my cushioned chair in the sun room waiting for lunch. Tai joins before I can fully relax. He pulls a letter out from thin air and waves it in my face. A grin I¡¯m sure he thinks is charming decorates his face as his eyes watch me a bit too closely. I¡¯m feeling lazy, so I don¡¯t even try to swat it out of my face. Instead, I ask, ¡°And this is?¡± His smile falls, since I failed to take the bait. In my defense, I¡¯m not a fish. He turns the letter to me and waves his hand to emphasize what¡¯s written on the front. Looking closely, I say, ¡°It¡¯s addressed to me?¡± He nods and passes it to me before sitting in the chair across from me with perfect gentlemanly posture. The staff start laying lunch out on the table. It¡¯s mystery soup, rice and grilled chunks. I open the letter. He¡¯s probably already read it and resealed it. The envelope is made of a thick creamy cardstock and the letter inside has some heft to it as well, despite being only a single sheet of robin¡¯s egg blue paper. Dead center in the piece of paper is the name Yan Su. Nothing else is written on the card. I stare at it for a moment and have to sift through Lin¡¯s memories for a while before I understand what it is, because it would make an awful business card. ¡°A calling card?¡± Tai nods and eats a spoonful of soup. I set the card aside and tuck in. The mystery soup reminds me of lobster bisque, which is a nice surprise. The rice is plane white rice and mercifully contains no surprises. But I have no idea what the chunks are. It could be meat, but I wouldn¡¯t put money on that bet. I could ask, but I fear I would get an answer. Each chunk is the size of a domino and has what I assume to be grill marks. I think it tastes like chicken; however, the texture is extremely chewy, almost like bubble gum. But I resist trying to blow a bubble.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Tai has the most varied palate out of Jun¡¯s squad. I never know what to expect. His meals have all been delicious and have helped me from getting too bored during my convalescence. Meals here are generally pretty boring if the kitchen gets to decide what to make. The only other member of Jun¡¯s squad who likes to eat interesting things is Zhen, but he has a taste for junk food spicy enough to blind a mortal so I can¡¯t always eat it. Also, as per usual, Tai watches every bite I take carefully. As if to report back to nanny Luan that I have eaten my vegetables. But then again, he watches everything I do in front of him with that level of detail. Incase all my injuries are a ruse and I suddenly light the room of fire, or worse reveal that I¡¯m the daughter of a sworn enemy (spoiler, I¡¯m not). Tai isn¡¯t a chatty one, so I have plenty of time to think about that card. I don¡¯t have any memories of Lady Yan Su, but the Yan¡¯s are well known in White Fang. They are a local merchant family, whose current leadership are aspiring to be more than a big fish in a little pond. The late mistress thought that they as a family were basically well dressed monkeys aping their betters. So, I doubt she treated Su well. That she came to call on me implies she thinks of herself as lower rank. That she left a card implies that she wants to meet. And that Tai took time to carry her card to me implies something as well, but I¡¯m not sure what. He could want me to meet her, or he could want to watch me interact with other mortals like a cultivator¡¯s lab rat. Or he could just want to prove that I can read. To keep myself from pondering longer, I decide to ask, ¡°Why did you bring me someone¡¯s calling card?¡± He shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°Thank you for bringing my mail. However, there¡¯s staff for that. Is Yan Su important to you or something?¡± He chuckles and shakes his head no. ¡°Am I in a position to even receive visitors?¡± ¡°If you want.¡± This is starting to feel like twenty questions, but all I know is that I¡¯m not looking for a vegetable, animal or a mineral. I eat a few more of the chewy blocks with rice. If the late mistress deigned to have a personal tea with any of the local Ladies, she usually picked a time and sent a runner informing her guest when to arrive. It feels heavy handed, but when in Rome. ¡°So, I can just send a runner and tell her to come for tea tomorrow afternoon.¡± He nods in agreement. ¡°And you¡¯re okay with that?¡± He gives a non-committal shrug before picking up his soup bowl and slurping the last bit down. I copy him and slurp the soup. It¡¯s good enough to savor every last drop. I set the bowl down and then he speaks without prompting. ¡°It¡¯s only the beginning.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll send the runner.¡± He nods again and snaps his fingers. A butler rushes to his side and Tai gestures towards me. The butler turns and with a small bow asks, ¡°How may I help you Milady?¡± He takes care of sending the runner and starts the process of scheduling a tea time for the kitchen to set up tomorrow in one of the sitting rooms overlooking the garden. Shameless Butlers The next day, I decide to go see what the butlers are up to for two reasons. First, they are in charge of receiving guests and I have one incoming. Second, they¡¯ve been suspiciously quiet. I know there were a bunch of them before I died. And I understand no one has dared to gripe about anyone¡¯s deaths due to the hurricane of blood that is Jun. But there would be complaints about having to do their work because they died. There would be complaints if they fled in fear of Jun. There would even be complaints if they enlisted in Jun¡¯s army. Especially if anything happened to the head butler. He is the son of the head chef and the husband of the head housekeeper. If something happened to him, at least one of them should have completely lost it. I think if he died, they would be at each other¡¯s throats each blaming the other. But they seem to be doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances. However, I haven¡¯t heard anyone talking about a single butler. I¡¯ve only seen butlers around Jun and his squad, but no where else in the manor. They¡¯ve been steering clear of me, which is odd since everyone else is treating me as a Lady. Even if I were only a guest for one night, some of them should be around. But no, they¡¯ve ignored me. If I were actually a Lady, I would be offended. Heck, I should probably be offended. So, I¡¯ve hobbled to the door of their ¡°secret¡± lounge, the Gentleman¡¯s Gentleman Club. It¡¯s an old storeroom off on the edge of the least used wing of the manor that the previous lord let them hang out in. It¡¯s a place where they lounge on unwanted furniture, drink cheap booze and smoke the stubs of the lord¡¯s cigars. In summary, they go and pretend to be actual gentlemen. Not bothering to knock, I throw open the door and am not prepared to see what I find. Luckily, the veil covers my shocked expression. Inside are almost all the butlers crammed in like sardines. They all turn, see me and freeze in shock. The table in the center of the room is covered in open bottles of every sort missing from the cellar. All of them are apparently drinking their breakfast today. But that isn¡¯t what¡¯s disturbing. What¡¯s disturbing is that they are apparently playing dress up with the late Lord and his heir¡¯s clothes. It would be one thing if it was just trying on a hat or a formal outfit. A couple of them even are. However, I had to walk in on half of them enjoying the very expensive silk underwear that Lin had to personally help the late Lady White Fang prepare, so they wouldn¡¯t get ¡°inappropriate thoughts about other women¡±. They are literally standing around in nothing but used undies, day drinking, while hiding from their day jobs. The head butler is the first to collect himself. Instead of acknowledging that he was caught red handed in the late Lord¡¯s lucky red dragon boxers, he says, ¡°Milady, for reasons of propriety this is not a place for woman of your stature. Please close the door.¡± As if I was the one at fault. ¡°What in heavens name is going on in here?¡± He adjusts the late Lord¡¯s golden reading glasses on his face and says, ¡°Nothing you need to concern yourself with Milady.¡± If only mind bleach were a real thing, then that might be true. But this cannot be unseen. I say a bit too loudly, ¡°Put some clothes on,¡± as I step into the room. However, today I am a Lady and there are some things no Lady can let slide.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He bows and they all step back as if there was somewhere to flee except out the doorway I¡¯m standing in. It¡¯s a storeroom, so it doesn¡¯t even have a window. But all they are good for right now is staring in terror, so I say, ¡°Now,¡± with a stamp of my crutch. The room explodes into chaos. After everyone is dressed, I make them leave all the evidence in the room, lock the door and then nail it shut. All I have to do is hold out my hand and the key is given to me. The now appropriately dressed head butler shows me to a sitting room and has only the nicest of teas brought out for me. I¡¯m sure he can feel my stare through the veil, because he¡¯s very careful to keep his eyes on the floor. Since I am now confident that I know what happened to all the loot from his mother and wife¡¯s departments, I just move on to my business and let the perv squirm. ¡°This afternoon my first guest at this manor will be arriving. Can I trust you to handle this properly or must I make alternate arrangements?¡± With a nervous bow, he says, ¡°It would be an honor to be of service to you, Milady.¡± I spend an enjoyable hour grilling the head butler over all the minutia of receiving a guest at White Fang Manor. He manages to hold in the tears, but by the end of it I think the message of you will give me only the highest quality service or else I might pass this key along. By the time of Lady Yan¡¯s arrival, the head butler has rallied over half of the housekeeping staff to ensure that not only will my guest be shown nothing but the highest of White Fang¡¯s hospitality, but I will look damn good as I host her. Even the maids are showing a new deference, taking out only finest of china and the good silver has suddenly reappeared. When I change into a fresh outfit for tea, one of the late Lady¡¯s dresses is now tailored to be a perfect fit. They even made me a new matching veil. It ties under my hair and only covers my nose and mouth. It¡¯s an upgrade over the veil hat Tai crafted. Also, I find a long chain to keep the key on my neck under my clothes until I find a good hiding spot. I wait for Lady Yan¡¯s arrival at a lovely table in the garden with no less than four attendants doing their best statue impersonations. The chef certainly pulled out all the stops on the snacks and they look like the should be on the cover of a fine dining magazine. Makes sense that she doesn¡¯t want anything to happen to her beloved son and by extension no staff member wants to be personally responsible for anything happening to the head butler. I certainly know what can happen without the favor of a department head. Lady Yan is personally escorted by the head butler and several maids follow behind like little ducklings. She¡¯s a bit over dressed for an afternoon tea, but it some how fits with all the extra attention she¡¯s currently being given by the staff. She greets me with a deep bow and says, ¡°I am Lady Yan Su. It is a honor to meet you.¡± I hope she can hear the smile in my voice as I say, ¡°Welcome, Lady Yan. You may call me Lady Ellen. Please have a seat.¡± She sits elegantly and politely waits for me to start the conversation as etiquette dictates. I motion for the hovering staff to bring out the tea and snacks. As the tea is being poured, I take a good look at Lady Yan. She¡¯s petite and her dark brown hair is up in a sophisticated bun with a few too many jade hair pins stuck in. Her blue silk dress fits well, and the brocade pattern was very fashionable according to the late Lady. She is also decked out in so much jewelry, I¡¯m surprised she doesn¡¯t jingle. I take a sip and follow suit. Let¡¯s start this off slowly. I say, ¡°You¡¯re my first visitor since I¡¯ve come to White Fang. I hope you¡¯ve brought me news of what I have been missing.¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Ellen,¡± then she talks nonstop for several hours about all of the who¡¯s who of White Fang. It¡¯s the crash course in local politics that I had been looking for, so I make sure the tea does not stop flowing. She does tell it with several embellishments and a bit of emphasis on recent scandals. Apparently, some of the local men Jun massacred were very eligible bachelors. A few were recently engaged and now there has been a shuffling of marriage prospects across the White Fang elites. There is also now a surplus of very eligible daughters. Luckily, Lady Yan¡¯s son made good decisions that day and his marriage is proceeding as scheduled. Since she has very generously told me everything I wanted to know and then some, I decide to take an interest in why she risked life and limb to say hello. As she takes another dainty sip from her tea cup, I ask her, ¡°Lady Yan thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Is there anything you wanted to ask me before you leave?¡± Her polite smile widens ever so slightly, as if she were waiting for this. ¡°I would not dare be so bold. But I would like to thank you for the wonderful tea. I¡¯ve had a marvelous time. Perhaps we could do this again?¡± Ah, she wants to be seen as my friend and probably rub that connection in the faces of her enemies. That¡¯s easy enough for me to arrange at the moment. ¡°I like that idea Lady Yan. I hope you have a lovely evening.¡± With that dismissal, she gives me a polite bow and is shown out. Mini-Chapter Dinner with Jun After tea with Lady Yan, I relax until dinner. Because of Luan¡¯s standing orders, the usual maids carry me to the table in my special chair with all the handles. Though I do make one of the butlers following me around carry my crutches for just in case. Technically, dinner is served in the dining room every day. In practice, everyone takes their dinner in their rooms, and I demand to be carried to the dining room just to get away from my bed. It¡¯s a spacious room with a long table and highbacked chairs. There is a large window with a lovely garden view. The other walls are covered in paintings of landscapes and the wolves of White Fang. Behind the head of the table is a hand painted silk screen, which the late Lady would change seasonally. It still shows a spring scene of plum blossoms and bamboos. But today is special. Jun is waiting for me when I arrive. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. He looks pristine as usual when he isn¡¯t killing people. His long straight black hair doesn¡¯t have a strand out of place. Today, he is wearing the colors of White Fang, green and silver, and there is not a wrinkle in sight on the fabric. Does being a cultivator helps keep clothes look freshly pressed? I¡¯m seated next to him. As soon as I¡¯m situated, the servants start bringing out the food. There are not only twice as many dishes as usual, but there are twice as many people serving them. Jun doesn¡¯t bat an eye at this sudden change in behavior. But for all I know, this his first time having dinner in here. The head chef is certainly pulling out all the stops. We eat in a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes. Then Jun says, ¡°I heard you received a guest this afternoon for tea.¡± I¡¯m guessing someone has already written up a report about my conversation and maybe they¡¯ve already given it to him. But it¡¯s not like I have anything to hide from Jun. ¡°Yes, I met Lady Yan Su this afternoon. She was very chatty, but friendly. How was your afternoon?¡± We make quiet small talk through the rest of dinner. I manage to not spill anything on myself tonight and he tells me a bit about his slow by steady progress on building his army. I don¡¯t understand almost any of it, but I try to take a polite interest. Crutchless I¡¯ve managed to go through every department at the manor. After the incident with the butlers, everyone seems to get the memo. I find negligible signs of looting going forward. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re just covering their tracks or if stuff was returned, but I don¡¯t find any blackmail nearly as valuable. Though I do keep the staff on their toes. They know I¡¯m watching and not being subtle. I¡¯ve gone over all of the grounds and seen what there is to see (or isn¡¯t in many cases). Most of the repairs from Jun and Co.¡¯s destruction are finished. They are still waiting for a few custom parts, which are taking forever since Jun had all the local craftsmen prioritize outfitting his army above everything else. I do get to visit a few of the workshops within the estate and it¡¯s amazing to watch a blacksmith hand craft a sword. I¡¯ve even started having tea with more of the local ladies. So far they have been cautious of me, but I¡¯m the only one of Jun¡¯s people meeting with anyone socially. It¡¯s an opportunity too rare for them to pass up. There¡¯s only one problem. I haven¡¯t found what I¡¯m going to do after I¡¯m healed. And judging by the look on Luan¡¯s face that day is coming faster than anyone was really expected. He¡¯s been silent, but he¡¯s double and triple checked every measurement he¡¯s taken on me today. With a sigh, he puts down the last scanning crystal. ¡°How are you feeling? Is there any pain any where when you walk or move about.¡± ¡°No, I told you I¡¯m feeling pretty good. I just get a bit tired in the afternoons, but after a nap I¡¯m fine.¡± He picks up the scanning crystal and waves it over me again. ¡°You¡¯re healing is remarkable. It appears that you are almost completely recovered, and that speed has only increased since you resumed walking.¡± ¡°Figured out why yet?¡± ¡°No idea, unless you have something to finally share.¡± I shrug. ¡°I probably know less than you do. But I have a big question for you.¡± He runs his hand through his hair and looks me in the eye. I say, ¡°Can I be done with the crutches?¡± He sighs because it was too anticlimactic. ¡°I have no reason to insist you keep using them if you are telling the truth about your pain, but I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t want you to rush and end up reversing your miraculous progress.¡± ¡°Because that would ruin the data you¡¯ve been collecting?¡± He ignores that and continues, ¡°I want to monitor you closely for at least two more weeks and you still need to take it easy. No intense physical activity and make sure there¡¯s always someone nearby to help you especially around stairs.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Not like I have a bunch of options, so I agree. I keep wracking my brain for career options. If I ask nicely, Jun might give me some capital to start a business, but I really don¡¯t understand an industry well enough in this world to do well running an Inn or something. Also, with my reputation as a Lady, my options are pretty limited. I might be able to become a governess for some of those almost eligible young ladies, but I don¡¯t know enough to do much more than fake being a Lady. I could even go on a grand tour of this magical world and explore until I get murdered. Between Lin¡¯s memories and the stories from the visiting Ladies, this place is insanely violent and as I am I stand no chance if I get tossed out of the manor. With my new found freedom from crutches, I take myself on a walk through the garden to try to clear my head. By tea time, I still haven¡¯t calmed down. I¡¯m so lost in thought pacing lakeside, that I jump when Jun says, ¡°Is something on your mind Ellen?¡± He¡¯s standing right next to me, and I hadn¡¯t even noticed. How embarrassing. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out.¡± He steps even closer, like he wants to get a good look at my face through my veil. ¡°I thought I would find you celebrating being crutchless, but I come and find you pacing and muttering with worry. If you let me know what¡¯s bothering you, I would love to offer my assistance.¡± Jun¡¯s just too helpful, even when he¡¯s in my personal space. So, I blurt out, ¡°I¡¯m just nervous about what will happen when I¡¯m completely healed.¡± Confusion flashes across his face, but it returns to its usual neutral so quickly that I¡¯m not sure if it really happened. He asks, ¡°What do you think is going to happen?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I have no idea. You¡¯ve been incredibly generous letting me stay here while I recover and I don¡¯t want to impose on you. But I still haven¡¯t found anywhere else to go, let a lone figured out a way to support myself, and yeah¡­¡± I reach under my veil and rub my temples before just taking the whole thing off and throwing it on to a chair. Jun says, ¡°You will always be welcome in my home for as long as you like. Since you saved my life, I¡¯ve considered you one of my people.¡± He leans in real close and says, ¡°And I always take care of my people.¡± It feels like a weight has been removed from my shoulders. I smile up at him and say, ¡°Thank you Jun. I don¡¯t know what would have happened to me without you. But I don¡¯t want to live off your kindness forever.¡± With a smile that any celebrity would kill for, he says, ¡°For you, I have plenty to share. And now that you¡¯re well, we should celebrate.¡± He¡¯s so close now, I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ll headbutt his nose or something. ¡°If you insist,¡± I go and take up my usual seat at our lakeside table, ¡°did you have something in mind?¡± He laughs and sits down next to me. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can think of something to surprise you with by dinner.¡± ¡°Okay, then surprise me. But if I¡¯m going to stay here, I want to at least be helpful to you in some way. I feel like I know so little about this crazy place and I would be useless at fighting in your war.¡± ¡°So far you¡¯ve only been walking around this place for a few days,¡± his eyes twinkle with mischief here and I¡¯m sure he remembers my stories about my previous life, ¡°and you¡¯ve already been incredibly helpful entertaining my guests and getting all the staff back into order. ¡°I had been concerned that after the sudden transition to my control, they would never shape up. And heaven knows I don¡¯t have the time to manage all the staff while raising an army. How about you just run this place for me?¡± From my understanding and Lin¡¯s memories, that¡¯s an incredibly strange request. That job would typically go to his wife or maybe a very close relative. Then again he¡¯s single and he¡¯s waging war against what¡¯s left of his family. ¡°If you¡¯re sure, I would be honored.¡± He laughs again. ¡°And if you¡¯re concerned about self-defense, which is completely understandable given the circumstances, then I will make sure you¡¯re taught. But know I will do all in my power to insure your safety.¡± By this point the tea is probably over steeped, but he pours it for us anyway. I feel calm as I drink the extra bitter tea. Mini-Chapter Celebration Dinner Jun is true to his word and by dinner time the whole manor has scrapped together a small party. The dining room is decorated with flowers. He even got a musician playing a qin. His whole squad is there. When I arrive, Ming is completely focused on the musician. Luan is slumping in his chair with his arms crossed. Tai and Zhen have their arms over each other¡¯s shoulders and appear to be having some sort of drinking competition. Jun is the first to notice my arrival and stands up to greet me. He says, ¡°Ellen, I want to wish you congratulations again on your recovery ¨C¡° Luan interrupts, ¡°She¡¯s not completely recovered until I say so. It will take at least another week.¡± Not to be derailed, Jun continues, ¡°I wish to congratulate you again on leaving your crutches behind. And I would like to propose a toast.¡± At the mention of a toast, Zhen cheers loudly and passes me a glass. Luan dives across the table and swaps my cup for one containing juice. I laugh and take it without complaint.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Luan glares at Zhen and takes the cup he confiscated. Ming comes over and grabs his cup as well. Jun says, ¡°This toast is for you Ellen. May we drink to your health.¡± Zhen cheers loudly again before knocking back the whole cup and teasing Tai for drinking too slowly. After everyone has settled down a bit and the food is brought in, Jun says, ¡°I also have another announcement.¡± Tai raises an eyebrow at this. I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s not used to getting news with the rest of us. ¡°Going forward, Ellen will be in charge of managing the manor and all the staff that we¡¯ve been too busy to handle.¡± Luan says, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Tai nods in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have the time. Within a week of walking, she had all the housekeeping staff in order and don¡¯t get Zhen started on the food.¡± Honestly, I¡¯m not sure about what happened with the head chef either. I do know that on my second walk through the kitchen, a bunch of spices miraculously returned and that there were fewer empty shelves. But it¡¯s not like I told the head chef to do anything. ¡°There is no better choice and if we leave things as they are, this whole territory will be wrecked while we¡¯re out on campaign. You both know it.¡± He stares at them for emphasis. Tai says, ¡°It¡¯s your territory.¡± Zhen pours him another glass and says, ¡°Lady Ellen, if I can keep eating like this, I might be tempted to never go out and fight again.¡± Ming chimes in, ¡°Brother, there isn¡¯t anything in this world that would take the fight out of you forever.¡± With that, the booze flows and we eat well into the evening. A Gift The next morning, I wake up extra early so I can get off to a good start on my first day running the manor. But there is a surprise right outside my door. Zhen is standing there bright eyed and bushy tailed and no evidence of a hangover. He whisks out a book with a smirk and hands it over saying, ¡°My Lady.¡± I accept it with a reluctant, ¡°Thank you?¡± He stands next to me as I read the title, ¡°An Introduction to the Basics of Cultivation.¡± Lin was very certain that she wasn¡¯t able to cultivate. A man came through the village she grew up in once a year and checked the children to see if any had the spark. Lin weaseled her way into being checked twice and it was a hard no after that. ¡°But I can¡¯t cultivate.¡± He says, ¡°Now I know you¡¯re a bit older compared to when most people start, but in the grand scheme of things, cultivators live a long time. So don¡¯t worry about that. We can definitely teach you enough for basic self-defense.¡± And my other body was never exposed to magic. So, it¡¯s not like I brought it with me. ¡°No, they checked when I was a child, like they check everybody. I can¡¯t cultivate.¡± Now it¡¯s Zhen¡¯s turn to be confused. ¡°That guy was wrong. Luan is positive that your dantain has the spark. ¡°He¡¯s been measuring it carefully. That¡¯s how he confirmed not only did you not use any personal qi to heal yourself, but that your meridians were so small you probably never cultivated a day in your life.¡± ¡°If you say so, I¡¯m willing to try. Just don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± With a nod, he leads me out into the courtyard where Ming is already practicing this morning. We sit down together under the awning on the ground facing each other. ¡°Last night, Jun found the best intro manual in the library, but it was still kind of terrible, all things considered. It¡¯s much worse than even the freebies at the sect, so he stayed up all night annotating it for you. ¡°The first few chapters are all about how to meditate properly and very basic simple stretching exercises. They should dovetail nicely with your recovery. If Luan disagrees, send him our way and we will set him straight. He opens the book to the first chapter and Luan comes running out yelling, ¡°What are you doing Zhen?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Zhen laughs and says, ¡°You found out quickly.¡± I¡¯m like 90% sure Luan has the staff spy on me. It¡¯s possibly it¡¯s just Tai and then he feeds the info to Luan. But given the speed at which he found this out, it¡¯s probably a good confirmation that he¡¯s having me watched. Regardless, he found out since I read the title aloud in front of my room. Luan peers over my shoulder and speed reads the page. Zhen says, ¡°See nothing to worry about. It¡¯s the basics of the basics. Nothing more dangerous than sitting still.¡± Luan glares as Zhen as he sits next to us. He says, ¡°But we don¡¯t know how she healed in the first place. Messing with her qi could reverse everything for all we know.¡± I say, ¡°But according to you, we know practically nothing besides I¡¯m still alive.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to get glared at. Zhen talks him down at bit and Luan gives permission so long as he can scan me as I try to circulate my qi for the very first time. Zhen says, ¡°I¡¯m going to walk you through this first one. I¡¯ll demonstrate it and then you try it.¡± He closes his eyes and says, ¡°First you inhale and as you inhale you bring in energy. You want to inhale so deeply that energy makes it down to your dantian, right below your belly button. ¡°Then you hold the breath for a four count while trying to get your qi to move. Ideally you¡¯ll circulate it, but you have to work up to that. Now just try to get movement. ¡°Finally, exhale. As you work on building your foundation, focus on exhaling the impurities in your body.¡± I watch him breath for a bit, but I think I¡¯m missing something. Afterall, breathing is the kind of thing I do without thinking. If cultivating was as easy as breathing, I think I would have noticed already. However, when in crazy cultivator land it¡¯s worth trying the crazy cultivator advice. So, I inhale long and slow, just like he showed me. I visualize the energy coming in with my breath and that it¡¯s super cultivator oxygen to give me super powers. On the exhale, I think about the carbon dioxide leaving and taking away dirt with it. After a few breaths, my belly feels warm. Like I just took a heating pad off. However, every time a leaf so much as rustles, I end up opening my eyes and taking a peak. I¡¯m sick of sitting still from all my recovering and this is testing what¡¯s left of my patience. After a few minutes, Luan says, ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s a risk for anything related to her recovery, but Lady Ellen I¡¯ve met four year old with more focus than you.¡± I shrug. ¡°It¡¯s not like I expected to be good at this. I was told twice growing up I couldn¡¯t cultivate at all, so I¡¯m surprised that you guys are telling me that it¡¯s even possible.¡± That takes him for surprise. ¡°What do you mean you were told you couldn¡¯t cultivate?¡± ¡°You know those recruiters that travel around looking for the very rare cultivator born to mortal parents?¡± He nods. The recruiters are well known. They are low level cultivators that travel to a village or two a day, looking for that one in a hundred thousand kid that can cultivate, so they can get the finder¡¯s fee from a sect. ¡°Since my village was located just off of the Imperial Highway, one stopped by in our town at least once a year. Anyway, I asked two of them to test me and they both said it was impossible, that I was a true mortal.¡± Luan blinks for a second while he processes that information. ¡°But it¡¯s impossible for those who are truly mortal to grow the right meridians, let alone spark their dantian.¡± ¡°Either they were both wrong, which I suppose is possible, or I make even less sense than you expected.¡± He freezes. ¡°You¡¯ve never made sense. I need to check something.¡± Then he races off into the manor. Zhen and I watch him go, before he turns back to me and gives me pointers until breakfast. Amnesty Day After breakfast, I call for all the department heads to assemble at my new office. I find them loitering like naughty children waiting to see the principle outside the door. The head butler opens it, and I motion for them to all follow me inside. I sit at the large wooden desk and watch them shuffle in. There¡¯s not much in the room yet beside the desk and chair. The one picture frame window lets in a little light but most of it is blocked by a large tree. Despite being the late Lady¡¯s office, it¡¯s sparse. There are plain white walls with a few half empty bookshelves. Almost like someone stole the paintings and half the records in here for some unfathomable reason. For the department heads, it¡¯s a standing room only situation but they all manage to cram in. I take a cue from Jun and let them stew in their nervous energy while looking at them each in turn. It¡¯s very effective. Then I let them stew a moment longer before I say, ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all heard, I am now in charge of managing the day to day of the manor for Lord White Fang. I have high standards and high expectations, so that this is a place worthy of our Lord.¡± I might be a fake Lady, but he sure as heck ain¡¯t a fake warlord. Keeping him happy is a great long term survival goal for everyone here. ¡°Though I do intend to do my best for Jun, I am still a Lady. And I am aware of my faults. First and foremost, I am a Lady of leisure who enjoys being lazy and am certainly unaccustomed to working as much as you.¡± Translation, I expect you to start before I wake up and stop after I¡¯m asleep. If I catching relaxing while I am working, it won¡¯t end well. ¡°Now I know this has been a confusing time. Many of you have struggled and are perhaps second guessing your choices. But today is a new day. A great day to turn over a new leaf and start on a clean slate. ¡°I wish to start off our relationship with a most valuable gift.¡± They all lean in closer. ¡°The gift of time. I am willing to grant you a day of amnesty.¡± They all take a sudden step back as if they¡¯ve been slapped. ¡°You know what I have seen, or in many cases haven¡¯t seen. Anything returned, replaced or generally reported today will be forgiven. I want this place running in peak condition as soon as possible and punishing you all would take valuable time.¡± They are all closely examining their shoes not wanting to attract attention as the first person requiring amnesty. ¡°Not that I won¡¯t punish you and your assigned staff, but I value efficiency above your petty squabbles. You have until tomorrow morning to get me your current inventories and the expense reports for the last few years.¡± At least half the room begins to sweat. ¡°I especially don¡¯t care about what happened during the late Lord¡¯s rule. For instance, if you had one account book for the late Lady White Fang to review and a second more accurate one, which kept track of where the money actually went. I want to see both.¡± The head chef and head gardener start to fidget. ¡°Something tells me that most of the missing silver, paintings and portable accessories are surprisingly close if only someone would look for them.¡± I look at the head butler, who lacking the ability to feel shame, does not even twitch.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Then I call out each department head and roast them for a bit about all those little details I saw on my initial tour. They don¡¯t assist each other, it¡¯s everyone for themselves in front of their new Lady. I call out the head butler last. With the confidence of a con artist, he says, ¡°Of course milady, I will have those reports on your desk in no time.¡± Since I blatantly doubt him, I clarify the punishments. ¡°Tomorrow, should any looting, embezzlement or other crimes against the White Fang Estate be discovered, they will be processed according the traditional house rules. ¡°Tell me head butler, what it the punishment for staff stealing from Lord White Fang?¡± The edges of his mouth turn up slightly as he says, ¡°Their hands are to be cut off, they are to receive at least 3 lashes, and then be thrown out bleeding into the street.¡± He sounds familiar enough with this description, that I wonder if he enjoyed enforcing it. ¡°And embezzlement?¡± ¡°A public beating, where if the guilty confess to where the money is they get their head cut off in an honorable execution. Otherwise, they are to be flogged to death.¡± What a lovely justice system I¡¯ve found in White Fang. ¡°And those that aided and abetted?¡± He is now smiling like a psychopath. ¡°They are to have one ear removed, receive five lashings, and then be thrown out bleeding into the street.¡± But there is still one more topic I must cover. ¡°There is something I must make blatantly clear. I expect you to uphold a high degree of professionalism.¡± The butlers in dead men¡¯s undies has been rather unpleasant nightmare fodder. ¡°I never want to see you or any of your staff in a state of undress ever again for any reason. During your working hours, I expect you to be working in uniform and not pregaming for an orgy.¡± All but the head butler have the decency to look uncomfortable. I continue, ¡°What you get up to in your personal time can stay your business as long as it doesn¡¯t bring trouble back to me. I also do not want to see, to hear or to smell anything unpleasant related to such activities.¡± I take a moment to look at each of them in turn again. A bit louder than I mean to, I ask, ¡°Do I make myself clear?¡± They obediently chorus, ¡°Yes, Lady Ellen.¡± ¡°You have until dawn to get this place in order. Tomorrow we will see if we have a good day, a day of progress or a day filled with blood and justice. I personally hope you show me that you can do better than the gross incompetence witnessed thus far. You are dismissed.¡± They all run out of my office like bats out of hell and I don¡¯t bother to suppress my eye roll. Next on my to do list is to acquaint myself with the record books remaining in this office. The most recent ledger is from well over a year ago, so I decide to start there and work backwards. Within fifteen minutes, I¡¯m fed up with the ridiculous spelled out numbers they use. It might still be base ten, but it¡¯s no way to do math. My brain might dribble out my ears before I can get through the first ledger. I take some scratch paper and break out the Arabic numerals from my other other life. My bare basics of double entry accounting are better than this. I make it about a quarter of the way through the first ledger, when the head chef comes in with a few books and falls to her knees. With tears running down her face, she says, ¡°Lady Ellen, I¡¯ve come to beg for mercy for my son. Please let him live. He has such a bright future ahead of him and ...¡± And she rambles on for a bit. Then hands over the double set of books she¡¯s been keeping. I take the books. She stays kneeling on the floor, forehead touching the rug. I look through the book. To my surprise only takes me a moment to figure out which was her private copy, it has her payment as the first line item. When I look up, she¡¯s still there. I say, ¡°I am sure you have better things to do than stare at the dirt on my floor all day. Was there something else?¡± ¡°No, milady.¡± ¡°Then why are you still here? You are dismissed.¡± She carefully stands up, looking closely at all her surroundings as if she¡¯s about to be ambushed. Unsurprisingly, nothing happens. She backs towards the door without making a sound, as if hoping I¡¯ll forget she¡¯s there. I don¡¯t have the patience and say, ¡°Get back to work.¡± The news that I really am not taking heads today got around quickly. Within the hour, each department head arrives for at least one confessional. To my surprise, I do have all the accounting ledgers by the end of the day. Turns out that when so many people are on the take, good records are a necessity. The inventories appear to be taking longer. But if they work through the night, I might find the reports on my desk first thing in the morning. Suspicious Numbers This morning I¡¯ve been watching Lady Ellen extra closely. Heaven only knows what she¡¯ll do with her suddenly attained power. It is beyond comprehension why Brother Jun trusts her and all he had to say about it was, ¡°Tai, I am a wonderful judge of character. Trust me when I say her allegiance is not split. She needs us. We need her. It will all work out.¡± So now I have to watch yet another person before they can stab Jun in the back. I listen to Luan¡¯s pointless interference over a lovely omelet at my desk. Then she leaves the range of the listening stone I put in Luan¡¯s kit. I get through a recon report about Ru Liang¡¯s movements. She has once again failed to engage her brother¡¯s army in combat, choosing to lurk about near the border instead. I¡¯m sure she was devastated that no one cut of her dear cousin Jun¡¯s head. Lady Ellen is next picked up on the listening stone in her new office. Now, I don¡¯t know if I had any particular expectations as to what the former maid was going to do to her old boss. But granting amnesty before accusing every single department of theft wasn¡¯t it. We all knew that there was some pilfering; however, it appears that I have severely underestimated the full extent. Not enough to threaten to kill the whole staff. She doesn¡¯t hold anything back as she grills them one by one and I¡¯m starting to understand why Jun thought she would be good in this role. But when did she see a half-naked butler. I think I would have noticed. Then she scolds them for pregaming for an orgy, and I spit my tea out all over my desk. The butler assisting me this morning rushes over and starts frantically patting the documents hoping to salvage them from the wet. I look at him closely. His uniform covers all the places that I would find signs of rough and wild sex. Since apparently the whole department is now disposable, I ask, ¡°Did Lady Ellen find some butlers about to do something wildly indecent?¡± He freezes for a moment mid wipe. Once his brain restarts, ¡°I have no idea what you could be talking about.¡± An outright denial, he must have been there personally. ¡°I can help you out. It would be a small favor after you¡¯ve helped me salvage this report. Lady Ellen has set her sights on head butler like an archer tracking prey.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He blots carefully for a moment as he mulls it over, as if the gears that make up his brain are unaccustomed to thinking. ¡°The other day she strode into the Gentleman¡¯s Gentlemen Club without notice and we were having a small party. The alcohol had gotten to a few of the butlers, but nothing indecent was happening.¡± ¡°Out of uniform?¡± He nods emphatically, ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Naked?¡± His eyes dart to the ground with guilt. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Half-dressed?¡± ¡°Basically.¡± So, they had kept it in their pants, but only barely. ¡°What happened after she found out?¡± ¡°She closed our club and sent us back to work. Had us nail up the door and everything. We know she keeps the key on her, but she can¡¯t figure out where. All of her maids have looked.¡± He goes on for a bit about why housekeeping hasn¡¯t given permission to go through one of the walls yet. Lady Ellen must have found some nice blackmail in there then. Too bad it won¡¯t be worth much, if we kill most of the staff for their indiscretions. After that interesting tidbit, the day proceeds as usual fielding intelligence reports, trying to locate more iron for weapons fabrication, and writing reports for Jun. Somehow, Lady Ellen finds the stamina to work all day in her office only leaving for an inconveniently late dinner. So, I¡¯m very hungry when I break in to see what she plans on using the manor¡¯s budget for. She is a surprisingly neat person and there is nothing left out on her desk. Though there are a few more books on the shelves then when I planted the listening stone in here this morning. I sit in her chair and open the locked drawer. Inside I find the expected pile of paper still smelling of fresh ink. My stomach growls. Laying it out on the desk, I immediately notice that almost all of the fresh sheets are covered with strange symbols. There are about a dozen unique symbols arranged in chunks that must be words and then the chunks are arranged in columns. This is the strangest writing system I have ever seen. Why would she keep something encoded in a locked drawer and not hide it properly? She is the worst spy I have ever seen, but this code is something else. Dinner can wait. I haven¡¯t found this sort of a challenge since we¡¯ve taken up residence in White Fang. By dawn I have still not cracked the code. I settle for transcribing the letters as is and showing them to Jun immediately. Not even bothering to knock on the door, I stomp into Jun¡¯s room. Since this fails to wake him, I poke his cheek while shining my candle in his eyes. Promptly, he¡¯s sitting upright and swatting my hand out of his face. ¡°Tai?¡± I thrust the documents into his face. Bleary eyed, he takes it and stares at it for a good few minutes. He spins the paper around a few times all while trying to blink himself awake. ¡°Tai, what am I looking at?¡± ¡°Proof that Lady Ellen is keeping secrets from us.¡± ¡°How do you figure that?¡± ¡°I have never seen a code like it in my life.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not a code then?¡± He normally wakes up faster than this. I should have used a bucket. ¡°What else could it possibly be?¡± ¡°How about we ask her?¡± He peers towards the window. ¡°It can wait until after breakfast. I¡¯m going back to sleep. You should have time for a bit of shut eye as well.¡± Then he has the audacity to lay back down and roll over, so his back is to me. I stomp out of the room as loudly as possible. If he won¡¯t see the sense, I¡¯ll make her confess. Math Might Be Evil I walk out my door to go to breakfast when a man with a deep hood appears out of nowhere a step in front of me. I scream and before I can take a step back, he grabs my wrist. Everyone comes running. Zhen is the first to arrive and he says, ¡°What the heck is happening here? Tai, why is Ellen screaming?¡± I try to peer under the hood, and he just throws it back. It really is Tai. I say, ¡°A strange man in a hood jumped in front of me and I was so startled that I screamed.¡± Luan comes with a flock of maids. ¡°Ellen are you okay? Tai didn¡¯t break anything right?¡± Tai releases my wrist, and I wiggle it to check. ¡°I think I¡¯m fine.¡± Jun rushes in and says, ¡°What is going on?¡± Tai thrusts some paper into my face and says, ¡°Explain.¡± To keep from going cross-eyed, I grab the paper and take a good look at it. It¡¯s just my scratch paper from checking the books yesterday. I flip it right side up and take a closer look, but I don¡¯t find anything alarming enough to merit an early morning jump scare. Jun says, ¡°Tai, I¡¯m sure that this is nothing. There must be a reasonable explanation for what you found. Relax, this is your time to rest up before we head out on campaign.¡± Tai glares at him. I check the paper one more time to see if I missed anything now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off. But I don¡¯t even find a small arithmetical mistake. ¡°What do you want me to explain?¡± Tai looks me over closely and I¡¯m sure my confusion is written all over my face. I¡¯m not awake enough to figure out what the problem is here. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°What does what mean?¡± ¡°The symbols of your secret message.¡± ¡°There is no secret message. This is just my scratch work from yesterday. I checked the math in the ledgers. All that¡¯s written here is math.¡± I point at the top left corner and read out, ¡°17+2= 19. 19+11=30. There is no profound meaning let alone a secret code.¡± Jun says, ¡°See, there was a reasonable explanation.¡± Tai crosses his arms. Jun steps between us and puts his hand on the small of my back before leading me down the hall. ¡°Tai this can wait until after breakfast.¡± He walks me to the table and makes sure to sit between Tai and me. Tai spends most of breakfast looking concerned at Jun as if I brainwashed him. Jun manages to eat while shooting icy glares at his close friend. After breakfast, it¡¯s decided that proving my math skill against the accounting clerks will exonerate me. Jun has to rush off to some sort of morning drill but promises to check on me before lunch with a warning that Tai isn¡¯t allowed to do more than watch me until then.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The accounting clerks work in a room just down the hall from Tai¡¯s office and there are many similarities: same desks, walls filled with files and plenty of paper. The only difference I kind find is that they use a cheaper ink. I sit down at one of the desks. One of the clerks stands in the center and reads out numbers for us to add and subtract. Tai stands behind me watching every brushstroke I make on the paper. The most embarrassing part is that I do my calculations faster than these professionals. This only seems to heighten Tai¡¯s suspicions. Clearly math is evil, but only when I do it. After at least an hour of this I say, ¡°Tai, surely you have seen enough. I have work I need to do today.¡± He shakes his head no. ¡°Again.¡± So, we do another set. While I¡¯m waiting for the other two clerks, I say, ¡°How about I just show you how it works?¡± After confirming that I got the correct answer again, I pick up a clean sheet of paper. I write a vertical line and say, ¡°One.¡± He nods. To the right, I make a two and say, ¡°Two.¡± He nods again. I continue and he nods in agreement until I reach ten. Then I don¡¯t get a nod. He stares at it for an awkward minute and says, ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°The number that comes after nine is called ten.¡± Then I count on my fingers until I reach ten. This was clearly not the explanation he was looking for. He crosses his arms. I look at the clerks for help, but they are studiously not making an eye contact while trying to seem busy at the far corner of the room. ¡°What do you want me to explain?¡± I don¡¯t want to be kicked out of the manor for insufficiently teaching a grown man how to count. ¡°What is this circular symbol?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a zero.¡± ¡°Zero?¡± He would not make a cute parrot. ¡°Yeah, nothing, nada, null, a place holder, it¡¯s zero.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nonsense to keep track of nothing.¡± I want to scream who cares if it¡¯s nonsense. It¡¯s not hurting anything. Instead, I try to act like an adult. ¡°It¡¯s very useful for certain things, because sometimes you need to know when something is all used up and there is nothing left.¡± I look around the room to scrounge up an example. ¡°Look at that desk over there.¡± I point at the desk across from mine that the clerks have abandoned for the one further away. ¡°On it, we can see three brushes and zero apples.¡± Tai looks at me like I¡¯m crazy, so I look away. But I manage to make eye contact with the youngest clerk. I ask him, ¡°Do you understand?¡± He gulps and says with a trembling voice, ¡°I think so. It like if you loaned someone money and then after they paid you back their balance would be zero.¡± I smile. ¡°Exactly!¡± Tai seems unconvinced but lets me continue my counting lesson. I write out all the numbers up to one hundred. Then I try to explain adding numbers in columns. At some point, the clerks inch close enough to see what I am doing. I carefully explain carrying the one and then ask, ¡°Are there any questions?¡± Tai shakes his head no. The clerk that might be in charge of the other two says, ¡°It¡¯s novel, but it doesn¡¯t seem all that practical to me. At least not for what we do milady.¡± I explain subtraction next and am careful to not broach the subject of negative numbers. I¡¯m walking Tai through the calculations on the sheets he shoved in my face when Jun finally arrives with Luan in tow. He takes one look at the situation and gives me a wink. Thank the heavens, I think he¡¯s going to break me out of here. I give them a quick recap of the counting numbers, addition and subtraction. Jun says, ¡°Honestly, zero is rather baffling. But I have a feeling that it might be more useful than it appears. I will mediate on this further when I have the time.¡± Tai throws his hands up in the air, clearly exasperated. Luan says, ¡°I think it could be useful for the occasional edge case, like household ledgers.¡± I nod, just wanting to leave. I stand up and then Tai says, ¡°Where did you learn this?¡± Apparently, I¡¯m not leaving yet. Unable to keep it in, I sigh and say, ¡°As a child in school or maybe my mom or something. I was really little.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been where you grew up. No one is even literate.¡± I shrug. I don¡¯t really want to tell this jerk about my other childhood. Jun says, ¡°Tai, if you¡¯ve got this much time lying around for such an insignificant matter, I¡¯m sure I can find more work for you, like drilling the vanguard.¡± He steps between us again and says, ¡°Given what I know, I would be very surprised if Ellen didn¡¯t have a few more tricks up her sleeves. So Tai, you might want to brace yourself.¡± Then we walk out of there before Tai can protest again. Missing Money When I¡¯m finally free of Tai, I go take a good look at the inventories that were delivered. They are more thorough than I was expecting. Each is at least an inch thick and just a preliminary glance tells me it¡¯s not because they wrote in extra large print. But first things first, I finish up checking the last ledger and then check all the big numbers. You know the ones that are all about total department funding and net expenses and they don¡¯t match. The reports with the secret funds match themselves and the reports of the household ledgers match themselves, but there is at literal ten percent discrepancy between the two. This is not what I wanted to find. After putting up with all their tears of remorse and lump reimbursement to repay what they stole, I thought I would be through the worst of it. Then all I would have to worry about was my staff being easily bribed because they took out loans from who knows where to get that cash to me asap. Instead, I still have to find a few thousand gold pieces, certainly more than any singular department skimmed off the top. Either they are all somehow in on it together, or I need some new suspects. I quickly double check my numbers before calling the butler lurking outside my door and tell him ¡°Bring in all the department heads immediately. Their absence will be viewed as a confession of guilt.¡± He closes the door behind him with the utmost respect and propriety, but I can hear him running through the hall sounding the metaphorical alarm. Now I know that they didn¡¯t have access to the household ledger. It was kept in a special safe by the accounting clerks, who technically work directly under the Lord and Lady. I guess the Lord or Lady could have been cooking their own books to amass a personal slush fund that the other didn¡¯t know of. But where¡¯s the money now? It¡¯s enough gold that I know Jun will want it found. A thousand gold can by fifty swords or even more spears. And a bit over three thousand gold would look mighty pretty in his war chest. The first to arrive is the head chef. She enters with a look of a martyr, crying and saying, ¡°My Xinhai didn¡¯t do it. He¡¯s a good boy and all the gold he borrowed I returned yesterday. He couldn¡¯t have done it.¡± I silence her with a wave of my hand while we wait for the others. The momma¡¯s boy arrives next and enters without a smidge of remorse let alone guilt. They pack in just fine like yesterday morning, but they are clearly worried. I grill them in turn about who, what, where, and when the money and ledgers were handled. The results are interesting. They never directly talked with the late Lady about their department budgets. Instead, everything was handled through clerks. I get a list of names. Then I ask where the late Lord and Lady White Fang kept personal valuables.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. With no loyalty to the dead, the head housekeeper blurts out, ¡°The late Lady had a small safe in her main closet behind the shoe shelves. The late Lord had a similar safe in his personal library behind the bookshelves on the western wall just next to the window. They are both protected by powerful arrays, so no one was able to loot them.¡± I tell them to stay put and open the door to go find one of the cultivators. But I don¡¯t have to go far, because Tai is standing outside waiting for me. My office is totally bugged. I should have seen that coming. But it¡¯s not like I did anything wrong. The bug can be tomorrow¡¯s problem. I hand him my list of twelve suspects and assume he heard everything. He leans in close and asks, ¡°How much?¡± I whisper to him, ¡°3,614 gold pieces last year. I haven¡¯t had time to check further back.¡± He lets out a whistle and gives me a nod. Then he rushes off at the speed of blur cultivators like to move at. I pretend that that wasn¡¯t rude and go back to my desk. Not wanting to let them out of my sight just in case, I make them all stand silently while I start looking through the inventories. Though I do let the head chef make me a cup of tea. I¡¯ve only taken my first sip when there is a polite knock on the door. I say, ¡°Enter.¡± And the head butler opens the door with a slight bow. On the other side are Tai and Jun. Tai has several bodies over his shoulder like sacks of potatoes and Jun is holding someone up by his collar. I can¡¯t tell who, because their nose is broken and has bled snotty clumps everywhere. Jun says, ¡°Please assemble all the staff at the training ground immediately.¡± The departments heads rush out knowing their lives depend on it. I walk straight there just a few steps behind Jun and try to avoid stepping in the blood trailing on the floor. Though I¡¯m certain I fail, cleaning my shoes is technically housekeeping¡¯s problem now. I stand on the patio in roughly the same spot where I watched the last set of executions. Jun throws the bloody nose guy in the courtyard dirt and Tai piles his captives on the ground next to him. Ming stops his drilling and guards the beaten staff with Tai. The staff assemble into the same walkway the spectators crowded into on execution day and just as silently. Jun comes and stands next to me, overlooking the courtyard and staff. He stares them down calmly and carefully. Like he is in completely control and wants everyone to remember that. After a few minutes, staff stop arriving and I guess everyone is here that is coming. Jun loudly says, ¡°I have called you to assemble today to show what happens when those that betray me, because I must have failed to make it clear the first time.¡± He steps forward and drags the bloody nose guy off the ground. ¡°Despite the generous amnesty which Lady Ellen offered everyone yesterday, these four ignored it in favor of keeping their stolen profits. The head clerk, his personal secretary and two the vault guards embezzled thousands of gold pieces from the White Fang Estate and thought they had gotten away with it.¡± He drops the man back into the dirt, who curls into a ball. ¡°Lady Ellen revealed their treachery as soon as your unearned amnesty was through. It took my brother even less time to find them and the gold.¡± He kicks the man, and he flies across the courtyard into one of the training dummies with a loud bang. ¡°As Lady Ellen stated, they will be punished to the full extent of the traditional house rules. Brother Ming, what are the house rules regarding embezzlement.¡± Ming nods, a flash of understanding as he finally figures out what¡¯s happening. ¡°A public beating, where if the guilty confess to where the money is they receive an honorable beheading. Otherwise, they are to be flogged to death.¡± The guilty don¡¯t even try to defend themselves as Ming and Tai slap them across the courtyard like rag dolls. One tries to say something and then Tai promptly breaks his jaw. Jun stands there cool as a cucumber and I¡¯m just grateful for the veil. I pick a spot on the roof across the courtyard and stare at it, so I look like I¡¯m taking the whole scene in, because I know I¡¯m going to start flinching otherwise. It doesn¡¯t take too long for two cultivators to beat four mortals to death. No one questions their guilt. No one says anything. No one sheds a tear. When it¡¯s over, Jun says, ¡°It is finished. You may resume your duties.¡± I follow him as he heads back into the manor. He leads me back to my office. At the door, he smiles and says, ¡°Good job today. Let me know if you need anything else.¡± Accidental Tea Party For reasons beyond my control, news of my new status as the official Lady of White Fang has gotten around creating a reason for people to drop in and congratulate me. I¡¯m not sure who exactly is responsible, and I know the news was going to get out anyway, but I feel like blaming the head butler. Unsurprisingly, Lady Yan is the first to arrive saying, ¡°I wanted to bring by a little something now that you¡¯re recovered.¡± Of course, I have to invite her for a cup of tea. But then Lady Deng arrives before the tea is poured, so of course she wants a cup too. Both of them are dressed in modest cut, but very expensive silk dresses in shades of blue. And I suspect that their rivalry includes who can get away with wearing the most hair accessories. Almost as if they are competing to see who wears it better. Then the flood gates open and release nothing, but self-important women all allegedly wanting to bring the Lady of White Fang a beautiful wrapped gift. If they were coming to see my freshly recovered face for the first time, then they must be sorely disappointed. I¡¯m keeping the veil. Even though I still lack Luan¡¯s official endorsement of health, I tell each and every one of them that ¡°I¡¯m fully recovered and in the best health I can be.¡± My theory is Luan just wants to keep scanning me in case I do something that will make him famous. So, I will remain under official observation until he finds a more interesting lab rat. The twelve and counting Ladies and I move this impromptu tea party out into the garden, where five tables have been laid out with a full tea service, complete with snacks. It¡¯s a nice private courtyard on the opposite side of the manor from Jun¡¯s office. Hopefully, the invasion of Ladies won¡¯t disturb him. I think of this courtyard as the rose courtyard, because it is lined with all different varieties of roses. The gardeners say that except for the dead of winter there is always something blooming here. The food might not be the fanciest of snacks. Heck, a few of them look suspiciously like leftovers from yesterday¡¯s tea. But the head chef clearly went out of her way to make them look fancy with a fresh berry drizzle here and an artfully arranged cut vegetables there. Her terror of me is most convenient even if yesterday¡¯s executions gave me nightmares. We fill four of the tables and the fifth has a few seats open for any stragglers. Given how status obsessed their culture is, it takes them surprisingly little time to fill in the seats according to some pecking order I¡¯m still working out. Closest to me are the Ladies whose families, clans and businesses have the most important monetary ties to Lord White Fang. So, Lady Yan takes the seat to my right and Lady Deng takes the seat to my left. Heaven forbid, that one should get so much as an inch ahead of the other. They drink the same tea and eat exactly the same number of snacks. The other Ladies watch them eat with the same anticipation of a gambler about to watch the game he bet on. Lady Yan says, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve recovered Lord Liang has been most generous with you. You two are starting to settle down, right milady?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. With a calm tone of voice, I clarify, ¡°The Lord and I are only dear friends.¡± Then Lady Deng says, ¡°I understand completely, milady. I remember being young and my family not approving of then young master Deng. But Lord Liang is a powerful and successful man. I¡¯m sure they will come around soon.¡± ¡°After everything that¡¯s happened, I¡¯m grateful to have such a reliably friend as Lord Liang. But I think I¡¯m past the point of getting my family¡¯s permission.¡± I don¡¯t even know if that distance can be measured in miles. There is a chorus from the other ladies trying to show their support before a polite chatter fills the courtyard. Lady Yan and Lady Deng keep trying to one up themselves about something to do with bolts of cloth and such and such weaving that I fail to understand. Instead of redirecting the conversation, I let them have at each other while listening to the chatter. Apparently, several of the other ladies are going to spread rumors about me while I¡¯m in earshot. According to a very knowledgeable lady in pink, Jun and I are star crossed lovers. My parents were against the match because of the political situation in the Golden Bamboo Forest, so I ran away with him. Then my (nonexistent) older brother came to bring me home and I refused with a fiery speech that was so impassioned he beat me half to death. I wear the veil and discarded my family name since I¡¯m still in hiding, which makes absolute perfect sense given how bold Jun has been projecting his location. I tell myself it¡¯s not worth denying it again. They are only going to comfort me more. Why believe anything until it¡¯s been officially denied? I would rather deal with the head butler than this flock of beauties. But I do my duty to a tee. One of the old bats who sat at the table to my right, comes over to me. She¡¯s wearing in a heavily embroidered green dress and not a strand of her silver hair dares to fall out of a severe bun at the back of her head. She says, ¡°Milday, thank you for this most sumptuous tea. If you like that blend, I think you¡¯ll like the spring white tea I brought you today. Perhaps, you would like to open it and let us all try it before we go?¡± Opening a gift from a visitor in front of the other guests is rude and using it now would be tantamount to saying that the White Fang Manor needs charity and was ill-prepared to receive guests. Or just make me look like an idiot. I say, ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to trying it later. If you are in the mood for a white tea, I¡¯m sure we have some to that will fulfill your craving.¡± I wave one of the maids over and continue, ¡°Go and bring a selection for Lady Xue.¡± She hides her frustration well and thanks me politely. But I¡¯m not falling for obvious traps today. Perhaps it was worth it to read all those etiquette books while I was trapped in bed? It takes another hour before the first Lady leaves and an hour after that for the last one to go. I retreat to my office to recover. Inside, the mound of gifts covers my entire desk. Sighing, I sit down and carefully open each one. The first few are normal: a fancy lacquer box, embroidered gloves, tea. I make a list of who gave what so I can send the mandatory thank yous. I have the maids cycle through my office to put the gifts away. But then I open a small box and inside is the skimpiest negligee I have ever scene. As if sensing underwear, the head butler walks in to help deal with the gifts when I¡¯m still frozen in shock holding it up. His eyes twinkle in approval. I slam it back into the box. He gives me a polite bow. I would throw it out if I wasn¡¯t worried about a butler taking it to wear. But I don¡¯t want any of them getting turned on over the fact I was the previous owner. It will not be the next pair of lucky boxers. After he takes a set of normal gifts out the door, I put it in my locked drawer and decide that future me will use it for kindling. The only problem is that it¡¯s just the first of the sexual gifts as if I had hosted a wild bachelorette party instead of an accidental tea. In the end, I give up and just let one of the maids take it all away with the instruction to store it out of my way. The last thing I do is write a quick letter to the head chef, praising her skill at throwing together such a tea party at the last minute. I even throw in a few pieces of silver. Yesterday was certainly about the stick, but I can throw a carrot in here of there. I don¡¯t want all the people working directly under me to live a life of terror at my presence. Knowing that none of her staff would steal directly from her, I leave the letter with one of the cooks and call it a day. Short Tour One of the tasks Jun must complete before his campaign is a tour of his territory. It normally takes two weeks, but Jun could probably solo it in a few days. However, he decided my presence is required so I am now two days into touring the White Fang. We¡¯ve made it about halfway by carriage so far. Jun has horses with fancy qi infused horseshoes that allow us to travel obscenely faster than a horse naturally can. But probably still slower than Jun. Somehow the very official Lord of White Fang carriage has stayed together despite the speed, dirt roads and crazy shaking (only a handful of nails have fallen out). It was commissioned by the late Lord White to show his prestige to all who see it and not because he was an insecure in any way. Everything is in the White Fang grey and green. Wolf motifs have been shoved everywhere they could be crammed. All it lacks is an attached whistle to howl our arrival and cushions that actually provide enough padding to protect my mortal butt. We are visiting all the parts of his estate I will be managing while he¡¯s gone. So far, meeting with the locals has been pretty formulaic. The carriage rolls into town. Whoever¡¯s in charge comes out to greet us as Jun helps me out of the carriage. We are shown around the one to two things worth mentioning and at least three that weren¡¯t. The local mayor, steward or whatnot is watched very carefully as they try to prove just how useful they are. Anyone who shows signs of embezzlement, incompetence or the slightest bit of insubordination to me finds themselves enlisted as cannon fodder for Jun¡¯s army. He¡¯s not risking leaving me any trouble behind. As romantic as Jun trying to protect me as best as possible while he¡¯s away sounds, I¡¯m certain he¡¯s doing this to protect his supply line. Should that get cut off, his brand new army will quickly wither. Despite this obvious fact, all the towns are apparently getting their news from the same source as the Ladies who came to celebrate my recovery. There has been no shortage of suggested romantic views and dishes delivered with a knowing wink. Throughout all of this misdirected suggestion, I¡¯ve been clinging to etiquette like a life boat. It¡¯s the only shield I have to keep me from accidentally crossing that line with my savior and now boss. We are sitting on opposite sides of the carriage. Where I get shaken up like a martini, my hair flying in all and Jun¡¯s mysterious cultivator powers leaving him looking like he just got dressed. Right now, as the forest blurs past the window, I¡¯m trying to wrangle my hair back into some semblance of a bun while Jun politely looks away reading reports. The landscape is nothing like where I grew up in Nebraska. It¡¯s filled with rolling mountain peaks and dense pine forest. The people who live here have had to carve out little towns from the forest. The communities are small with the area barely growing enough for subsistence, especially with how vertical the landscape is. Their clothes are sturdy and dyed with cheap dull colors that basically label the peasants. Nothing as bright or soft as what I¡¯m wearing. It feels strange to be the one looking rich, even if I can¡¯t get my hair to look right while being bumped around in the carriage. Once I¡¯m done with the messy bun, he looks up and says, ¡°Our next stop is Wolf Mine. It¡¯s a small and known for two things. Their primary industry for the last few decades has been charcoal and firewood. It is also the site for the Wolf Mine that I ordered reopened when no one would sell me iron.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. His cousins and their allies have gone out of their way to make a trade embargo on White Fang. It probably didn¡¯t help that the major iron supplier was very upset that Jun murdered his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. He continues, ¡°The mine only recently started producing some ore thanks to Ming¡¯s assistance. He should be meeting us once we arrive.¡± He passes me the preliminary mine output report. As I start to skim it, I ask, ¡°Why was the mine closed?¡± ¡°A combination of cave-ins, a desire to artificially increase the price by the late Lord and his father-in-law, and just lower yields.¡± I hope it¡¯s worth it to get the place up and running again. ¡°And Ming has helped?¡± ¡°The iron in his sword calls to the iron in the mine.¡± Yes, of course that makes perfect sense. Why can¡¯t a cultivator use a sword as a metal detector? The carriage stops suddenly, and I have the wind knocked out me from slamming my back into the carriage wall. Jun looks at me with concern and I awkwardly wave saying, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He gets out first. After I catch my breath, I exit the carriage with the help of Jun¡¯s hand. The only publicly acceptable platonic touching between genders I¡¯ve come across that doesn¡¯t involve punching in this crazy place. This mining town appears to be about half way up the mountain and has a good sized river flowing through it. The welcoming party consists of an old lady wearing a chain of office, a slightly younger lady holding a platter of what I hope is fish, and nervous man who¡¯s already sweating in fear of Jun presence. The old lady gives me a deep respectful bow and the other two quickly follow suit in a clumsy fashion. Luckily, she doesn¡¯t spill the snacks. I motion that they can rise. Jun says, ¡°We are ready to see your progress.¡± Keeping her eyes on the ground, the old lady says, ¡°Of course my Lord and Lady. Please follow me. First, allow me to show you the quality of the ore we are currently extracting.¡± She very carefully shows us everything to do with the mine before taking us up towards the mine entrance. Throughout the tour the town is silent, almost like a ghost town. I wonder if they evacuated it before our arrival. As if he can sense Jun, Ming appears at the entrance to the mine pulling a cart of ore behind him. He looks picture perfect and way too clean for someone who was just working digging up rocks underground. Jun gives him a nod and says, ¡°Greetings brother, I hear that you have made excellent progress and found a deeper vein, which appears very promising.¡± Ming stands a bit straighter with that complement. He says, ¡°I would appreciate the opportunity to show senior brother my progress.¡± Jun agrees and I take the opportunity to go check out the books instead of walking down into a scary hole, which has killed over twenty mortals in living memory. Being buried alive might be a worse was to go than my previous deaths. I sit and check the books in a quaint little room. It has a little wooden table with a little wooden chair and a little window overlooking the river. Staring out the window is all that keeps me from feeling claustrophobic. The view is spectacular. The river actually has a waterfall as tall as my old apartment building. If only I knew how to make a water wheel. I¡¯m sure that would be useful somewhere in the weapons making process. But I don¡¯t even know who I should suggest ideas too to invent it. My head is in my hands when Jun comes to check on me. He asks, ¡°Did you find another problem?¡± I sit up straight and smooth the wrinkles out of my dress. ¡°No, nothing of the sort. The records might not be perfect, but it¡¯s within acceptable error. Nothing regular check ins can¡¯t fix.¡± ¡°That is good news. Any trouble while we were out then?¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯m just a bit tired and still getting used to all of this.¡± I look out the window at the waterfall and the strangeness hit me again. Perhaps, I¡¯m just feeling safe enough to feel a bit homesick. ¡°I¡¯m ready to head out when you are.¡± ¡°How about a quick tea break?¡± My face must look exhausted or something if he wants to ensure I rest a bit. I agree and he leads the way out to a beautiful and private little garden nestled by the forest on the edge of town. Everything is already set up like he somehow planned this in advance. We sit down and the maid brings us a fresh pot of tea. As I reach to take the pot from her, she whispers in my ear, ¡°I added just a pinch of thick root milady,¡± and then gives me a wink. Great, aphrodisiac tea. Then again, they will put thick root in just about anything around here. Resisting an eye roll in favor of a more lady like dismissing wave, I pour it in both our cups. It really is a wonderful place for a romantic tea: beautiful plants, birds chirping, and not another human in sight. No wonder the staff think we are on a date. I take a sip of the tea and can¡¯t contain the sigh that escapes as I relax. Jun smiles. Post Tour Check In (Jun POV) I came back from the tour with Ellen to a desk covered in waiting paperwork. I¡¯m about three quarters of the way through it and have finally reached the reports from Tai. Then Zhen barges into my office and now that the door is reinforced, it stays attached to the wall. He sits down on the other side of my desk and props his feet up. Narrowly avoiding dripping mud over the out pile, he sets two glasses in front of us on the desk. He watches me carefully as I read through the rest of the report. Since it was written by Tai, it¡¯s succinct. But it¡¯s not like I invited Zhen, so I take my time. As I sigh, sign and put it on top of my out pile, Zhen fills the glasses. After putting the out pile a safe distance from Zhen¡¯s feet, I take a sip. You never know what Zhen will bring to drink, but he will take offense if you don¡¯t empty at least one glass. Tonight, it¡¯s a surprisingly pleasant wine. He¡¯s planning something he knows I won¡¯t like. I lean back into my chair and wait for him to start. We look at each other in the eye for a moment and Zhen is the first to look away. I take another sip. He starts with saying, ¡°Brother,¡± and I know he doesn¡¯t want to have this talk either. ¡°How was your romantic getaway?¡± I chuckle and he manages to hide his grimace. The only one who doesn¡¯t get unnerved by my laugh is Ellen. Probably because she doesn¡¯t know better. ¡°I can see how it could appear that way. But I assure you, nothing happened besides work.¡± How did Luan and Tai pressured him into having this talk? ¡°So, the news of romantic views and you taking the tenderest care of Ellen are all figments of the local imagination?¡± ¡°It was a work trip. There is much to do to get everything ready so we can take back the Golden Bamboo Palace. And as you know, Ellen is staying here to manage this end of our supply line.¡± I down half the glass to calm myself and he doesn¡¯t interrupt me. ¡°But really, nothing happened. I have been treating Lady Ellen with the utmost respect. We both know how fragile mortals can be, so I was careful.¡± With a knowing smirk, he says, ¡°I think you were more than careful.¡± I try staring at him again and this time he doesn¡¯t flinch. ¡°She¡¯s still adjusting to her new life here. I certainly enjoy spending time with her, but I¡¯m not rushing into anything right now. I certainly don¡¯t need an additional distraction.¡± ¡°So, if I took her out for drinks?¡± Given Zhen¡¯s history, he really would. ¡°As if you could get her to agree to such a thing. And I warn you that should you treat her with anything less than the respect due to the Lady of White Fang, you might find yourself in an unfortunate situation, like never needing another drink again.¡± Zhen¡¯s booming laughter fills the room like my threat was a love confession. He leans so far back in his chair I¡¯m surprised he doesn¡¯t end up on the floor. Only Zhen laughs off threats as if they were compliments.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Congratulations brother on finally find a woman you like, if only a little bit. Heaven knows many have tried to chase you, but I¡¯ve never seen you show even a hint of interest.¡± He refills our glasses and continues, ¡°I was starting to wonder if you were planning to stay alone forever.¡± I take another sip and say, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad back at the sect.¡± He laughs again, this time hard enough to start spilling wine on the desk. ¡°Yes it was. Remember that rumor about how you must have taken a vow of celibacy for rejecting Lady Xixi.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. I¡¯ll grant you that she¡¯s pretty, but I¡¯ve had better conversations with a horse.¡± He laughs again. ¡°Well, I wish you luck, since you have no experience courting women. The more I get to know Lady Ellen, the more I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ve never met anyone like her. She thinks about things in such an odd way. I never know what she¡¯ll say next.¡± I nod. ¡°She is an excellent conversationalist, but she is also comfortable with silence. Truly, lacking in neither skill.¡± He smiles as he says, ¡°You certainly like her. Personally, I think my ideal woman will be able to snap my bones clean through on a whim. But I wish you luck with Lady Ellen.¡± Of course, you would like someone who casually threatens you. That¡¯s how you like to spend your time. ¡°I don¡¯t need luck for that, and I don¡¯t have time for distractions.¡± I empty my glass and slam it upside down onto my desk, so he can¡¯t refill it. He laughs some more as he empties his glass and leaves. I wait a moment before following him from the roof tops. I might not be as sneaky as Tai, but I can hide my presence well enough to eavesdrop on Zhen. Unsurprisingly, he meets up with the rest of my brothers in a room the furthest away from my office they could find. If I¡¯m careful and don¡¯t get too nosy, Tai probably won¡¯t notice me over Zhen¡¯s loudness. He quickly rehashes our conversation emphasizing that he thinks that though I like Ellen, I haven¡¯t actually done anything. Summarizing my relationship as, ¡°They are taking a work first and everything interesting later approach.¡± Luan says, ¡°He found her in a dungeon! Am I to believe that the man who turned down scores of the most attractive and powerful ladies our sect has to offer is suddenly smitten by a mortal with a past so mysterious that even Tai hasn¡¯t figured it out yet?¡± It really wasn¡¯t that bad. I was just waiting to meet the right person, and I thought Luan of all people could understand that. Instead his paranoia has increased. Zhen tops off his glass and tells him to have another one. Tai is the next to share his perspective. ¡°I¡¯ve looked through all your data and you proved that she couldn¡¯t have seduce him with chi. Heaven knows that she was not attractive in the state he found her in.¡± There¡¯s a pause as they all take a moment to remember her condition when I carried her out of the dungeon. Not attractive is putting it nicely. Tai continues, ¡°Also, he appears to know the source Lady Ellen learned all her strange information. It isn¡¯t a secret to him and maybe that¡¯s why he¡¯s interested.¡± Apparently, Tai¡¯s paranoia has decreased. But it¡¯s true that I still remember those details of the wonderous place from her previous life, Nebraska. A land with fields as far as the eye can see and even mortals fly through the skies. She can decide who and when to share such information. It¡¯s not my place to tell such secrets. Ming is next. ¡°He must see something in her that I¡¯m clearly missing. She¡¯s a mortal that has done almost nothing besides sleep and read since he took her in.¡± Tai catches him up on the whole zero incident. Ming ends up asking for more details and Tai says, ¡°I¡¯ll show you, but I haven¡¯t been able to find anyone who does calculations similarly. However, Jun wasn¡¯t surprised at all. He¡¯s expecting more from her, but I can¡¯t guess what.¡± They speculate wildly about Ellen for a bit but none of them have any ideas beyond doing what I asked when they volunteered to follow me, trust me. I leave when Zhen waxes on about how he thinks I¡¯ve been lonely for female companionship for a while, but I am too much of a workaholic to attend to those needs. If they have this much time to discuss my sex life, then I think I can move up the campaign by at least a week. Cultivation Progress I¡¯ve been practicing my one whole cultivation technique every morning before breakfast. Progress in growing my attention span is slow, but it¡¯s still progress. Even though I don¡¯t need a sitter anymore, each of Jun¡¯s squad takes a turn watching me in the morning. Unsurprisingly, Luan is the first under the guise of a checkup. He sneaks up and sits down next to me without me noticing. When I open my eyes, I jump and only scream a little bit because he¡¯s leaning in really close with one of those stones. He says, ¡°You have actually improved. To be clear, you¡¯re still at the level of a small child but at least you can focus.¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost able to make it circulate the whole way around.¡± He sighs like I don¡¯t already understand how pathetic my cultivation abilities are. ¡°And then you¡¯ll have reached the first level. I found that it was easier to circulate my chi after I understood more about anatomy. Perhaps it will help you.¡± This suggestion is surprising. Since when does Luan offer help for free? But I accept his offer. He explains the parts of the body complete with a little diagram. It¡¯s nothing I didn¡¯t learn in grade school, but I don¡¯t interrupt him. The only thing I didn¡¯t know about was my mana network. As far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s a completely new system that my original Ellen body didn¡¯t possess, and I think I would have had an easier time understanding how to use a tail or a third eye. I ask, ¡°So it¡¯s like my nervous system and my circulatory system had a weird incestuous child system in my body, that doesn¡¯t work well for me since it atrophied like a forgotten muscle?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that.¡± The hair fluff grows but is still well below critical height. I should have another one to two outbursts of frustration, before I really need to be careful. He continues, ¡°Imagine that your body is composed of very tiny bits. These bits are different for different jobs, but they are all connected. Your bone bits connect to your muscle bits that connect to your blood bits.¡± I nod at the weirdest explanation of a cell I¡¯ve ever heard. He accepts that as understanding and says, ¡°The chi transfers through all bits. When circulation is done properly, you will intentionally pass your chi through every bit using your mana network. ¡°I¡¯ve marked your meridians, which you can think of as the focus points for this network, on this paper and you can treat it like a map. Just follow the plotted course and you¡¯ll be able to circulate your chi.¡± That almost makes sense. Checking my understanding, I say, ¡°I use this map to pass my chi through every cell of my body and once I accomplish that I will successfully reach level 1.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He gives me a triumphant smile. ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± Then his brow furrows, ¡°Wait, what do you know about cells?¡± Surely, with all this mystical power running around someone has discovered super microscope vision or something. So, I don¡¯t hesitate to tell him the not much I know, ¡°Nothing to in depth. There¡¯s like a membrane and a nucleus and the mitochondria is the powerhouse of a cell. I don¡¯t remember the other parts off the top of my head though.¡± I¡¯m sure my sixth grade biology teacher would be upset that that¡¯s all I remember, despite it being my favorite class that year. I have a vague recollection of DNA and RNA, but I don¡¯t have a clue where those go, so I don¡¯t bring it up. Hopefully there won¡¯t be a test. He looks at me quizzically. I must have said something wrong, but it¡¯s not like this information is even in Jun¡¯s annotated notes. I really don¡¯t remember much else. He packs up his little bag and says, ¡°Keep working on it. You¡¯ll get there soon.¡± The next morning, I open my eyes after my meditation to find Ming of all people watching me. This is a man who I don¡¯t think dislikes me but is indifferent to me in the way most people don¡¯t have strong opinions about other people¡¯s furniture. Noticing I¡¯m paying attention to him, he says, ¡°Good morning, you are almost there. If you like I can give you a few pointers to help you around the points where you are currently getting stuck. The first time is the hardest, and then it will get easier as each cycle cleanses your meridians.¡± I agree. He sits behind me and tells me, ¡°Now start to circulate your chi from your center.¡± As I circulate it up and around, he gently pokes my back and helps me redirect around all the clogged parts and gives me a path through the messy section around my neck. With his help, I complete the first loop, and I feel something change. Like my body is a bit to warm. I smile and jump up in a most unladylike way shouting, ¡°I did it! Thank you!¡± Then I smell myself and try not to gag. He stands and gives me a polite nod. ¡°Glad I could help. Know that the smell is going to get a lot worse until you complete your foundation.¡± He walks away and I rush to bathe before breakfast. A day later, I¡¯m able to successfully circulate my chi on my own. Each pass through, more gunk is cleared out of my system and I am now paranoid about BO. I hear loud footsteps approach me and open my eyes to find Zhen standing there smiling like an idiot. He says, ¡°I hear congratulations are in order. You have finally taken your first true step on the path of cultivation.¡± ¡°Thank you, but I still have much to learn.¡± Being not much for humility, Zhen laughs and says, ¡°Be proud of your success. Most people your age could never start circulating their chi no matter how hard they tried, too stuck in their ways.¡± That is totally not what he said before. He said I had plenty of time, jerk. He laughs again at the face I make and sits down in front of me. ¡°Now watch what I do. You can learn much by watching those further along in cultivation.¡± He closes his eyes and takes a long deep breath. His chi immediately starts building and flooding the area. I can feel how he keeps moving his chi in time with his slow steady breaths. The whole process feels big and robust just like Zhen. Before I can actually learn anything, Jun walks over and gives Zhen a light shove in the head, toppling him over on to his side. Despite the rotation, Zhen holds his position like nothing happened: legs still crossed, eyes closed, and not so much as a hitch in his breathing. Jun says, ¡°Don¡¯t watch the oaf. He cultivates like a barbarian. Strong, but I don¡¯t think you want to go around tearing your clothes off and punching everything in sight.¡± I smile at that. ¡°So far your notes and Ming¡¯s advice has been the most helpful. Though I do appreciate Zhen¡¯s support.¡± He offers a hand to help me stand up and I take it hoping I don¡¯t get any gross on him. He says, ¡°How about you join me for breakfast in the garden?¡± Breakfast in the Garden ¡°Thank you, if you give me a sec, I¡¯ll go change and meet you there.¡± He waves his hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Everyone goes through this awkward phase, and I have a small gift for you that should help with that.¡± We walk in silence through the garden. It¡¯s a beautiful day in early summer. Butterflies are visiting the blossoms and the breeze smells sweet, at least compared to me. I¡¯m careful to walk downwind of Jun. Breakfast place settings are already placed at our usual tea table. The staff immediately serve the food before making themselves scarce. I am now trusted to make the tea like a proper lady. I select Jun¡¯s favorite green tea and put just enough into the pot. Too much, and it tastes bitter. Too little and it¡¯s basically water. At first, I was too American to understand this concept and Lin was too poor for it to have mattered. Perhaps somewhere out there in this world, there is coffee. But for now, all I have is tea. Then I check the water temperature. It needs the right amount of bubbles. Rolling boil is not what we are looking for. Luckily, the kitchen staff are good at delivering the water at about the right temperature. I can even pour the water over the leaves without spilling it now. As I start the tea steeping, he says, ¡°Here, this will help keep you clean as you cultivate.¡± A small handkerchief appears out of thin air above his hand. He continues, ¡°You should be able to use this now. All you need to do is put a small amount of chi in every time you meditate and keep it in direct contact with your skin. As you establish your foundation, it will need to be cleaned frequently. But after that, maybe once a week.¡± I take it and immediately try to force some of my chi into it, while I hold it in my hand. It requires some mental shoving, but I figure it out in a few minutes. It starts working immediately, because I can feel the grim leaving all the usual post workout sweat stain spots. ¡°This might be the best gift I have ever received.¡± He chuckles at that and says, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± His smile says that he¡¯s glad I like it so much.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. This gift goes a ways in explaining how all these cultivators always look prefect but doesn¡¯t explain all their mysterious habits. I pour the tea and find the courage to ask, ¡°How did you make this appear out of thin air?¡± They all do it and I have no idea how, so I¡¯m sure this is a dumb question. He chuckles and slides a thick jade ring off his finger. ¡°This is my storage ring. It holds most of my personal belongings. You need chi to use it, so it makes sense that mortals don¡¯recognize them.¡± He passes it to me to look at. The outside looks simple and smooth, but the inside is covered with engravings so small I can¡¯t read them. I pass it back. Sliding it back on to his finger, he says, ¡°This ring is attuned to me. As long as I use it regularly, it won¡¯t let other people in. Storage rings are fairly safe places for a person like me to keep important possessions, because I am at a high enough cultivation level. ¡°But almost anyone can break into a foundational cultivator¡¯s ring, so I wouldn¡¯t bother getting one for a while.¡± He takes a sip and smiles. I finally got it right. He says, ¡°You have also learned how to make a good cup of tea.¡± I take a sip and have to admit that it¡¯s no coffee, but it does taste good. ¡°Well, you have been an excellent teacher about both tea and cultivation.¡± We start eating and I¡¯m still overly enjoying feeling clean. He says, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how are you healing. As far as I know, you have made a full recovery, yet Luan insists otherwise.¡± I snort, but quickly regain my ladylike composure. ¡°I think he wants to keep scanning me so he can figure out how I recovered. But everything seems to work right and look right.¡± I unhook the veil from one of my ears to show the proof that is my face. ¡°See, no bruises, scabs or even scars.¡± He looks my face over very carefully. I put the veil back on once he looks back at his food. He asks, ¡°So why do you still wear the veil?¡± I chew my mouthful of fruit as fast as etiquette allows before saying, ¡°Mostly, I really don¡¯t want anyone to recognize me especially while I¡¯m staying here.¡± Lin might not have been important, but she sure worked with lots of people. Jun doesn¡¯t need to know about the lady in pink¡¯s tale of us being star crossed lovers. He says, ¡°Makes sense. Also, I recently made a decision, and I want you to be the first to know. I plan to make a more official announcement this afternoon.¡± This sounds serious enough that I put down my utensils and give him my undivided attention. ¡°I¡¯ve moved up the schedule. We are going to leave for war in two weeks.¡± My lovely veil does a good job of hiding that I¡¯m gaping like a fish. ¡°Two weeks?¡± I thought I had at least a full month left. He nods, ¡°Two weeks. There really isn¡¯t a reason to wait longer.¡± ¡°I thought there was still a lot left to do?¡± ¡°Not really, everything is almost ready and what isn¡¯t will be by the first supply run. I¡¯m planning on a strength exercise of running the troops out to that river in your report about flood control measures, which won¡¯t take a full week.¡± At least he won¡¯t be leaving me unprepared to deal with its annual flood. He continues, ¡°And then there¡¯s that eastern town¡¯s militia who isn¡¯t being talked down. It will be a show of force or our first combat exercise. Either way, that will only take a few days.¡± ¡°So, I have only two weeks to prepare your sendoff party?¡± He smiles. ¡°I know you¡¯ll do great.¡± I resist screaming.