Chapter 557 - 456: This Is a Favor You Can Never Repay in a Lifetime
Chapter 557: Chapter 456: This Is a Favor You Can Never Repay in a Lifetime
A fluffy white tail trailed behind her, longer than her entire body.
As she walked, her tail swayed merrily behind her, like a drift of living snow or a white reed plume brushing against the ground.
"Miss, please slow down! Be careful not to fall."
Seeing her young mistress run off, the Maid panicked and trotted after her, terrified she might trip and hurt herself.
"This old servant greets you, Miss."
When Butler Xiong saw the little girl, a brilliant smile lit up his face, and he bowed respectfully.
"Grandpa Xiong, who are they?"
The little girl nibbled on her finger, curiously looking at the children of the Human Race who were about her height.
"Answering your question, Miss, these are all servants of our Tushan Mansion."
"Servants?" The fox-eared girl blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "Grandpa Xiong, are servants people who play with me, like Sister Lulu and the others?"
"Well..."
Butler Xiong scratched his head. ’How can I explain that the Human Race isn’t worthy of playing with you, Miss?’
But just then,
the fox-eared girl noticed that among the children, there was one particularly good-looking little boy.
The fox-eared girl trotted over on her short little legs.
The Maid was startled and hurried over, afraid her mistress might touch the little boy.
Thankfully, the fox-eared girl stopped in front of the little boy and asked cheerfully, "What’s your name?"
The little boy looked up at the fox-eared girl before him and answered slowly,
"Xiao Mo."
"Xiao Mo... That’s a very nice name. Can you play with me?" the fox-eared girl asked, full of hope.
"Sure..."
Just as Xiao Mo was about to agree, the word "sure" already on the tip of his tongue, Butler Xiong hurried forward, squatted down, and said bluntly, "Miss, these are members of the Human Race. They are not worthy of playing with you."
"But why, Grandpa Xiong?" the little fox-eared girl asked, blinking her eyes curiously.
"There is no ’why’ about it, Miss," Butler Xiong said with a smile. "You are a noble Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, while these are merely filthy members of the Human Race. How could they possibly be worthy of serving you?"
"But..." The little fox-eared girl hung her head, her eyes blinking. Her expression was full of longing; she clearly just wanted a playmate her own age.
Butler Xiong shot a look at the two Maids who attended to the little girl.
The two Maids took the hint at once. They knelt before the little girl, took her small hands, and said softly, "Miss, it’s getting late. The Madam is waiting for you to have dinner. If we’re late, she’ll be angry."
"Aww... okay..." The little fox-eared girl drooped her head. Her long, white tail sagged lifelessly on the ground as she unhappily followed the two Maids away.
"AHEM..."
Once the little girl was out of sight in the front courtyard, Butler Xiong cleared his throat and spoke to the Attendants beside him:
"Take these two little girls away and teach them a lesson. From now on, they’ll be responsible for emptying the chamber pots for the other Maids in the mansion."
"These two boys have solid Root Bones. Have them start martial arts training; they can become estate guards later."
"As for this child..."
Butler Xiong looked at Xiao Mo, stroking his chin in thought for a moment.
’This little one is rather handsome. I can’t just raise him to be sold off as some boy-toy, can I? But he seems clever enough, doesn’t he?’
"Butler Xiong, Master Niu from the rear courtyard says he’s short-handed. He sent me to ask if you could spare a few people to help him out. The kitchen hasn’t had any new arrivals in a long time."
"That’ll work," Butler Xiong decided. "Then send this boy to the kitchens."
With the assignments settled, Butler Xiong addressed Xiao Mo and the other children:
"Let me tell you this one last time. Being sent to our Tushan Mansion is the greatest blessing of your lives. Here, you won’t be cooked and served for dinner."
"Here, you will want for neither food nor clothing."
"You can even live out your days here in peace until you die of old age! This is a luxury others would envy their entire lives."
"And the only thing you must do in return is show absolute loyalty to the Madam and the Young Miss!"
"Everything you have is a gift from the Madam and the Young Miss. A single one of their hairs is worth more than your life!"
"You could never repay the grace of Tushan Mansion in a hundred lifetimes!"
"Is that clear?"
"Yes, it’s clear..." the children answered again.
"Is that the best you can do? Louder!" Butler Xiong shouted.
"YES, IT’S CLEAR!" they all shouted in unison.
"Very good." Butler Xiong nodded in satisfaction and said to the Attendants beside him, "Take them away. Remember to teach them the rules."
"Yes, Butler Xiong."
Several Attendants and Maids led the five children away.
Xiao Mo followed a Cat Demon Maid to the kitchen courtyard.
Before long, Xiao Mo was led to the front of a large courtyard.
A passing breeze carried a complex and rich aroma of cooking food from the courtyard, tinged with the smell of smoke and fire.
Stepping into the courtyard, he found a massive kitchen.
Rows of stoves were set up on the left, right, and down the center.
Since it was approaching noon, a fire was blazing in every stove.
The temperature of the whole yard seemed to have risen by several degrees.
Sheep Demons, Dog Demons, Pig Demons, Horse Demons...
There were all kinds of Demons in the yard, as well as some members of the Human Race.
The ingredients for the dishes these Demons were cooking included the flesh and blood of various Magical Beasts and Spirit Beasts, as well as common livestock like chicken, duck, cattle, pigs, and sheep.
Xiao Mo saw a Pig Demon cooking twice-cooked pork, a sight he found rather dissonant.
"Master Niu, I’ve brought someone for you!" the Cat Demon called out sweetly toward the kitchen.
"Comin’, I’m comin’!"
A moment later, a tall figure with the head of a bull and the body of a man tossed the ladle he was holding from the central stove into the hands of a nearby Sheep Demon.
The Sheep Demon quickly took the spatula and continued to stir-fry, while Master Niu casually wiped his hands and walked over to the Cat Demon Maid.
"Greetings, Master Niu," the Cat Demon Maid said with a curtsy. "Butler Xiong heard you were short-handed, so he had me bring someone for you."
"Hmph."
Master Niu nodded, sizing up Xiao Mo.
But soon, Master Niu’s brow furrowed.
"Son of a bitch, what’s that Xiong Da playing at? I asked for a burly man."
"Do you know what ’burly’ means? It means a big man who can make your legs go weak, the kind that leaves you unable to get out of bed for days!"
"How old is this little Human Race pipsqueak? How’s he supposed to cook? He looks more like he’s meant to *be* cooked!"
The Cat Demon Maid didn’t get angry, simply smiling as she said, "Now, now, Master Niu, don’t be angry. You know the rules in Tushan Mansion. All our Attendants and Maids are raised from a young age to ensure their loyalty, so naturally, we only bring in children."
"This human child may be scrawny, but you can tell from his face he’s quite sharp. Besides, his skinniness isn’t a problem; he’ll fill out after a few days of proper feeding."
"If you truly don’t like him, Master Niu, we can pick another for you from the next group of servants we acquire."
"But it would be best not to cook him. We have a rule in Tushan Mansion—we don’t eat people. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?"
"Tch." Master Niu clicked his tongue and grumbled, "I know, I know. Dammit. It must be because Xiong Da’s wife was making eyes at me. He probably found out and is trying to screw me over."
"Whatever, whatever. You can go. If I work the kid to death, I’ll just get another one," Master Niu said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Thank you for your understanding, Master Niu. I’ll leave you to your work, then."
The Cat Demon Maid gave a slight smile, left Xiao Mo behind, and walked out of the kitchen courtyard with a sway of her hips.
"Hey! Kid! Stop staring! Ogling a woman’s backside at your age, have you no shame? Besides, that Cat Demon’s ass isn’t even that big! Not compared to my old lady’s rump, anyway!"
Master Niu shouted at Xiao Mo.
"..." Xiao Mo felt wronged. ’I just glanced back, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
"Alright, kid. From now on, you belong to me. Follow me!"
Master Niu turned and walked toward the stoves.
"I’m gonna tell you the rules of this Tushan Mansion!"