Chapter 558 - 457: But Then Again, Isn’t Everyone Like This?
Chapter 558: Chapter 457: But Then Again, Isn’t Everyone Like This?
Master Niu led Xiao Mo toward the stoves.
Xiao Mo’s ears were filled with the clatter of pots and pans, the sizzle of oil, and the sounds of stir-frying...
"You little Human Race thing, you got a name?" Master Niu asked.
"I do." Xiao Mo nodded. "My name is Xiao Mo. The ’Xiao’ is the one with the grass radical, and the ’Mo’ is the one that means ink."
Master Niu waved a hoof. "You don’t need to tell me all that. I can’t read. As long as I know how to say it, that’s good enough."
Xiao Mo: "..."
"My name is Niu Dali. I’m real strong, so they call me Dali. I’m only gonna tell you the rules here and the important rules of the mansion once, so you better remember ’em."
Master Niu stood with his hooves clasped behind his back and began to speak.
"First! There are four head chefs in this kitchen. I’m one of ’em."
"You see these two stoves in the middle?"
"These two stoves are only for cooking for two people. One is the madam of our Tushan Mansion, and the other is our Tushan Mansion’s young miss."
"Remember, you’re not to touch these two stoves, not even the cutting boards! If you do and get executed for it, don’t blame me."
"Next, the other stoves are for cooking for the mansion’s servants. There aren’t really any special rules for those."
"From now on, you’ll chop wood, tend the fires, and be my assistant. If you’re clever, you might get a chance to cook for the servants someday. Then it wouldn’t be impossible for you to marry a Human Race wife with big boobs and a big butt and have a few chubby sons."
"But if you’re not, you’ll be tending fires for the rest of your life. You won’t even get a sniff of a woman."
"Here in our kitchen courtyard, as long as it’s food for the servants, you can eat it. Our Tushan Mansion is rich, and the madam is very generous. We won’t short you a few bites. You’d better hurry up and put some meat on those scrawny bones. If you work yourself to death, I’ll just throw you out to feed the wild dogs."
"Last, and most important!"
Master Niu turned around, staring straight into Xiao Mo’s eyes with extreme seriousness.
"Remember this! The young miss of our Tushan Mansion likes to run around all over the place. Besides the female demons, you are absolutely not to touch her. Don’t even think about touching a single strand of her hair, or even any of her belongings!"
"Do you understand?"
"Understood, Master Niu!"
Xiao Mo nodded, his gaze then falling on a Pig Demon not far away.
The Pig Demon had just finished stir-frying twice-cooked pork. It picked up a piece, took a taste, and then, with a satisfied flap of its pig ears, transferred the contents of the wok to a plate.
Seeing the Pig Demon eating pork, Xiao Mo’s brow furrowed, his expression complex.
Seeing Xiao Mo’s reaction, Master Niu chuckled. He casually picked a piece of braised beef brisket from a pot, popped it into his mouth, and chewed with great relish.
"Kid, to us of the Demon Race, these non-sentient animals, even if they’re our ’kin,’ are no different from livestock! If we eat ’em, we eat ’em."
"By the same token, as a member of the Human Race, you’re no different from what’s in these pots to us!"
"You’re just lucky you were sold to Tushan Mansion. Otherwise, a human like you would’ve been stewed in a soup long ago. You lot are good for work, and good for eating."
"Ah, forget it... Telling a little brat like you all this, you probably don’t get it anyway." Master Niu waved a dismissive hoof. "Go get your clothes. You’ll start as a helper, tending the fires. From now on, you’ll live in the woodshed."
"Yes, Master Niu."
Xiao Mo nodded. He went to a storeroom to collect two sets of kitchen courtyard uniforms, then returned to help the chefs by moving firewood and tending the fires.
Although Xiao Mo was scrawny, he was a clever worker with a sharp eye.
After half a day, Master Niu felt this Human Race kid wasn’t half bad. Maybe he really could become a cook in the future.
Only after the meals for everyone in Tushan Mansion were finished did it become the cooks’ turn to eat.
Life in the kitchen courtyard was exhausting, but Xiao Mo did eat quite well.
There was more than enough food, and it was rich and oily.
Xiao Mo had barely finished his meal and started to rest when it was already time to prepare dinner.
That evening, after the sun had set, Xiao Mo finished his day’s work. He ate dinner, boiled some water for himself, and took a quick bath in the courtyard before finally returning to the woodshed to sleep.
Exhausted from a full day’s labor, Xiao Mo was completely drained.
Lying on a pile of firewood topped with a mattress, just as Xiao Mo was drifting off to sleep, the system’s voice echoed in his mind.
Xiao Mo was instantly wide awake.
[You are an orphan named Xiao Mo. In this Demon Race’s World, the status of the Human Race is akin to that of non-sentient pigs and dogs.]
[While begging on the streets, you were kidnapped and sold by the Demon Race, ultimately ending up in Tushan Mansion in Xianhu City.]
[Though not yet five years old, you toil away every day to the point of exhaustion. But no matter what, you have survived.]
[You possess a Daoist root and may achieve great things on the path of cultivating Daoist Skills, but you lack the opportunity to begin.]
[Mission 1: If the opportunity arises, you must diligently cultivate your Daoist Skill. The greater your achievements on this path, the greater your reward will be when this life experience is settled.]
[Mission 2: In the Demon Race’s World, the conflict between the Human Race and the Demon Race is severe. The Demon Race’s increasing oppression of the Human Race will eventually lead to a great war. The Host may choose to join the Human Race’s rebellion or to stay out of the Human-Demon conflict. The choice is entirely up to the Host’s will. Depending on the Host’s choice, different types of rewards will be given at settlement.]
[Mission 3: In Tushan Mansion, there is a mother and daughter, both of the ancient Nine-tailed Celestial Fox clan. The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox girl is the same age as the Host. She has a special constitution, and her bloodline talent far exceeds that of an ordinary Nine-tailed Celestial Fox.
Because of her special constitution, the young Nine-tailed Celestial Fox girl must attain the Dao and achieve Ascension within three thousand years. Otherwise, the Celestial Dao will not tolerate her existence, and her body and Dao will perish.
The higher the Realm of the young Nine-tailed Celestial Fox girl, the more bountiful the Host’s reward at settlement. When she attains the Ascension Realm, the Host’s reward will reach its peak.]
[Note 1: The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox clan is born from love, attains the Dao through love, and can also die for love.]
[Note 2: The rewards for Mission 3 are the most generous.]
[Note 3: When the young Nine-tailed Celestial Fox girl reaches the Ascension Realm, all missions will be settled. If she fails to reach the Ascension Realm in this lifetime, the Host will have two more lifetimes to help her attain the Dao. After three lifetimes, all missions will be settled regardless of their progress.]
[The concept of "love" is simple, yet since time immemorial, it alone has been the most difficult to comprehend.]
[The world laughs at the Fox Race for being shackled by love, but is the rest of the world any different?]
[This "love"—can the Host see through it?]
As the voice of the Hundred Generations Book faded, silence returned to Xiao Mo’s mind.
Only the bright moonlight, spilling quietly through the window, illuminated the cold, dry firewood and fell upon Xiao Mo’s face.