"Young Miss, lunch is here," came the voice of a maid from outside.
The two people in the room were both startled.
"You go open the door!"
Taking advantage of Xue Yi's moment of distraction, Xiao Qingruo quickly struggled free and ran to another chair, sitting down and taking deep breaths to calm herself down and return her flushed red face back to normal.
"Tsk, what a mood killer..."
Xue Yi made a few futile grabbing motions with his hand, somewhat reluctant to stop.
But he had no choice but to stop and open the door.
The maid walked in, holding two food boxes.
"Brother Xue Yi, this is for the young miss, and this is for you."
Xue Yi looked at the young girl and asked unhappily, "What's your name?"
"Replying to Brother Xue Yi, this servant is called Xia Chan," the little maid quickly lowered her head, not knowing what she had done to displease him.
Xue Yi said, "Xia Chan, very good. Go to the guards' quarters right away and find Guard Captain Li Qing of Squad D, and bring my clothes and belongings here. From now on I'll be staying in this side room. If there's anything, you can come find me directly, no need to ask the young miss every time." He assigned her a new task.
"Ah? Stay...stay in the side room?" Xia Chan was stunned.
Was this "personal" guard getting that intimately close?
She looked blankly at the young miss, finding it somewhat unbelievable, her mind already beginning to imagine the story between the two of them.
"What are you still dazing out for, go on." Xue Yi urged.
"Ah, yes, yes, this servant will go right away! Ouch!"
Xia Chan answered in a fluster, then hurriedly exited, accidentally tripping clumsily over the threshold.
She scrambled up in a panic and ran off quickly.
Seeing the silly cute demeanor of the little maid, Xue Yi couldn't help laughing, and his irritation dissipated.
He closed the room door again.
"Young Miss, remember to tell me your secret after the meal," he said with a smiling expression to Xiao Qingruo.
Xiao Qingruo snorted lightly, "Forget about it, I'd rather not go to the abandoned courtyard than tell you. It doesn't affect anything anyway."
"Oh? Is that so..."
Xue Yi was a little puzzled.
Could it be that her secret was not important at all?
He had assumed the young miss going to the abandoned courtyard had something to do with her ability to create illusions, he didn't expect it to be so dispensable.
Oh well, since that's the case, no need to ask about it.
Though without this pretext, there would be less opportunity to spank the young miss. He would have to find an excuse in the future to discipline her!
Of course he wasn't doing it just to satisfy his own desire to hit her, it was mainly for the long term plan!
For young girls, give them a few hits and they become obedient. The more you hit them the more well-behaved they become.
This is called Stockholm Syndrome!
"Let's eat."
Xue Yi opened the food boxes.
There were two boxes, he opened the young miss's first.
The young miss's meal was of course extremely good, with three dishes, a soup, two desserts and a serving of fruit, extremely appealing in color, aroma and taste, just looking at it made one drool with appetite.
His own portion also looked quite good.
The young miss's personal guard, despite the lack of precedent, should be ranked above first-class guards but below the Captain of the Guards in status, considered middle management in the household.
His meal also had three dishes and one soup, with dessert and fruit, just the presentation was a little less elaborate, and the utensils simpler.
Xue Yi took all the food out and arranged it together on the table, undifferentiated.
Xiao Qingruo's eyebrows creased, "Don't touch my dishes!"
Xue Yi picked up a ladle and sampled one of her dishes, clicking his tongue in praise, "As expected of the young miss's treatment, the taste is much better than the communal pots of soup and rice I used to eat in the barracks."
"You!" Xiao Qingruo instantly lost interest in the food he had touched, even her appetite was gone.
Seeing her disinclination to eat, Xue Yi laughed and said, "Let's eat, don't pretend with me. Don't forget you're just a good-for-nothing, not much nobler than me."
"I really ought to kill you!"
Xiao Qingruo clenched her fist tightly, hating his shameless expression and wishing she could chop him to death.
"Don't say that, life is good. When you're dead you can't enjoy such delicious delicacies anymore." Xue Yi started eating.
Although unhappy, Xiao Qingruo still had no recourse against him.
Moreover, after the earlier commotion, she was also unbearably hungry herself, so she could only pick up her chopsticks and eat from the mixed table with Xue Yi.
"Don't touch my soup!"
"Pah, we're in the same boat, why make divisions? Here, my soup isn't bad either, have a taste."
"Take it away, I don't want...Mmph! Xue Yi, damn you!"
Xiao Qingruo clenched her fist tightly, force-fed a spoonful of soup by him with the corner of her mouth wet, both angry and wretched.
Seeing her aggrieved appearance, Xue Yi secretly laughed to himself.
This young miss was quite amusing.
She was just a bit too dangerous. Once out of his sight, who knows how she might kill him.
So he still could not let down his guard. Joke and laugh when appropriate, and be serious when needed!
After the meal, the utensils were cleared away by the maids.
Xue Yi patted his stomach in satisfaction, sighing, "Finally I can relax. Being a guard is truly tiring. Being the young miss's personal guard really is much more comfortable."
Xiao Qingruo looked at him resentfully with the whites of her eyes, very aggrieved.
"Don't look at me with such immense hostility, you're a noble young miss, you should be magnanimous," Xue Yi laughed.
Then he asked, "I'm going to cultivate now, are you going to take a nap or do something else?"
Xiao Qingruo snorted, "Read books!"
"Read books?"
Xue Yi looked to the side.
This room had a great many books, seems she was quite the studious young miss.
However... what kind of books was she reading?
Xue Yi got up and picked up a few volumes to check the titles.
Then he was stunned.
Purple Sky Thunder Force
Barbaric Overbearing Body Art
Frenzy Wind Fourteen Swords
Chaotic Boulder Palm
Eternal Life Skill
...
These books were all secret manuals and classics on cultivation methods and martial arts!
"Don't randomly flip through them, many of these are secret manuals of the household not for external transmission. Guards who learn them will be beheaded!" Xiao Qingruo hurriedly came over to snatch the books away and put them back.
"This, emmm..."
Xue Yi was at a loss for words for a long time.
It was true that guards who secretly studied the household's profound martial arts would be beheaded, he had witnessed it himself, with blood spraying five stories high.
But he wasn't an ordinary guard! He was now the young miss's personal guard, with a very high status!
If he really wanted to learn, as long as it wasn't the most profound ones, it should be fine!
Though at the moment he had a question.
"Weren't you a good-for-nothing? What are you reading so many secret manuals for?" Xue Yi asked.
Xiao Qingruo said, "Conjuring illusions doesn't come from nothing. To simulate the Eternal Life state and power from cultivating Nine Heavens Thunderbolt, I have to be extremely proficient with the skill, only then can I perfectly simulate it. Otherwise the visual effect and aura would be off, and I'd definitely be suspected."
"I see, so you're a good-for-nothing with extremely abundant theoretical knowledge?" Xue Yi suddenly understood.
So this girl was something like Wang Yuyan, in the future when they encounter fights, can she give pointers from the side?
Xiao Qingruo nodded, then explained, "But don't expect me to teach you. The household has rules, profound secrets cannot be transmitted... At most I can give you some shallow basics for you to learn yourself."
Xue Yi smiled, "That's fine, I don't need to learn profound stuff anyway. When you have time, teach me a couple moves."
"That's more like it... And! Don't keep calling me good-for-nothing, it sounds awful!"
"Alright, got it. I'll call you Esteemed Good-For-Nothing Young Miss."
Xue Yi chuckled, no longer continuing to tease her. He went to the side room, sat down cross-legged, and started cultivating.