No gutter oil for the young mistress!
The man’s suit lapel bore the golden eagle emblem symbolizing the Jin Clan Consortium: “When the young master spoke with you this morning and heard you coughing, knowing you dislike going to hospitals, he specifically sent Butler Li with us and the private doctor to conduct a physical examination for you. We hope you won’t take offense.”
Tao Tao: “…”
“The young master knew that secretly tracking your location would surely anger you again, so he didn’t come in person. Just now, I heard this man shouting disrespectfully at you outside the door. I wonder if it’s necessary to…” The suited man made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.
Luo Hou’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
“No, it’s just a misunderstanding,” Tao Tao hurriedly said. “We’re friends. Untie him.”
“Yes.”
Just as the suited man was about to untie Luo Hou, Tao Tao changed her mind: “Wait, keep him tied up a bit longer. He’s too noisy. I need some quiet to think.”
Upon hearing this, the suited man eagerly stuffed several more pieces of cloth into Luo Hou’s mouth.
Luo Hou: “…”
The man turned on the room lights.
Tao Tao said: “Put sunglasses on him.”
Thus, the sunglasses from the suited man’s face were placed over Luo Hou’s less-than-perfect eyes.
Several doctors carried in medical equipment. Tao Tao frowned: “Let’s skip the examination.”
Cold sweat dripped down the suited man’s back: “This is the young master’s request. Please don’t make things difficult for me, young mistress. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Don’t call me young mistress.”
“That’s also the young master’s request.”
Tao Tao had no choice but to lean back in the chair and resign herself to fate: “Do as you please.”
The suited man considerately asked: “Would the young mistress like some late-night snacks?”
Tao Tao thought for a moment: “Sure, a bowl of noodles. Give one to Master Luo too.”
The suited man pulled out an iPad, knelt on one knee beside Tao Tao, and helped her order: “Mild spicy miso udon, salmon vegetable salad noodles, creamy mushroom bacon pasta, or tomato and shrimp pasta with cheese?”
Tao Tao: “…Never heard of any of those. Just egg-fried noodles from the night market stall outside will do.”
The suited man hesitated: “Before we left, the young master instructed that we must not provide the young mistress with any food that might contain gutter oil. If you insist on eating it, I’ll have someone go buy a bottle of olive oil right now. Please wait about ten minutes, okay?”
Tao Tao weakly waved her hand: “Forget it, I don’t want to eat anymore. Is there any Water?”
As soon as she finished speaking, several bodyguards carried in a double-door refrigerator. The suited man opened it, revealing shelves filled with various imported beverages and alcohol, gesturing for her to choose.
Tao Tao casually grabbed a bottle of mineral Water. Halfway through drinking, she noticed the packaging was quite beautiful, so she glanced at the price tag on the bottom.
She wished she hadn’t looked—it nearly gave her a heart attack!
—One thousand six hundred eighty-eight!
She almost spat out the Water, but when she saw the suited man swiftly set aside the iPad and extend both hands under her chin to catch the Water, she forced herself to swallow it back.
The suited man said considerately: “Young mistress, please don’t mind. This is part of my job. I receive a salary from the Jin Clan Consortium, so taking good care of you is only right.”
Suddenly curious, Tao Tao asked: “What’s your monthly salary?”
“One hundred fifty thousand,” the suited man replied. “After taxes.”
Tao Tao suddenly felt life was hopeless and simply stopped talking, closing her eyes to pretend she was asleep.
Perhaps Jin Youchen had specifically instructed them before coming, but the doctors worked efficiently, completing the physical examination just within the time Tao Tao could tolerate.
Finally, the doctor took out a syringe, but the man in the suit stopped him: “The young master has instructed that no blood may be drawn from the young mistress.”
The doctor applied medicine to Tao Tao: “Minor burns to the oral and nasal mucosa, slight swelling on the forehead and knees, a few scrapes on the palms, everything else is normal and nothing serious. You must eat on time from now on, otherwise you’ll become malnourished.”
The man in the suit only heard the first half and reacted as if facing a great enemy: “Heavens! How could the young mistress be injured so severely! Should we call an ambulance to take her to the emergency room? No, a helicopter would be faster. Shencheng First People’s Hospital has a helipad. I’ll go contact them right away!”
Another man in the suit behind him said: “I heard their surgical specialist went out of town for a conference today.”
“No problem, we’ll send another plane to bring him back!”
These people from the Jin Clan Consortium all seemed a bit unhinged. Tao Tao couldn’t pretend to sleep any longer and shouted: “…Are you all insane?”
Seeing her anger, the doctor quickly said: “If she doesn’t want to go, then don’t go. Resting quietly for a while will be fine. The young mistress isn’t made of glass.”
The man in the suit was half-convinced: “Really?”
The doctor explained to him for a long time until Tao Tao’s expression grew quite unpleasant, and only then did he abandon the idea of going to Beijing to retrieve the doctor.
He produced a bag from somewhere and handed it to Tao Tao with both hands: “The Little Genius smartwatch the young master gave you is an old model from several years ago, lacking many functions. This is the latest smartphone he specially selected for you. The SIM card is already installed, and the emergency contact is set to the young master’s number. He instructed that you should contact him anytime if needed.”
Tao Tao knew that if she refused, the man in the suit would start sweating nervously again, so she had no choice but to accept it.
“Does the young mistress have any other instructions?”
“No.”
“Then we won’t disturb you any further.” The man in the suit untied Luo Hou and asked his subordinate, “Where’s Butler Li?”
The subordinate’s expression was quite strange: “Upstairs getting a foot massage.”
Tao Tao suddenly interjected: “I remember the previous butler wasn’t surnamed Li.”
“Butler Li is new. He’s quite interesting. The young master likes him very much and trusts him greatly.”
Tao Tao fell silent again. The men bowed respectfully once more, reminded her to take her medicine on time, and then, as if nothing had happened, picked up the refrigerator and quickly left.
Luo Hou struggled free from the pile of ropes and white cloth, glaring angrily at Tao Tao.
Before he could start cursing, Tao Tao spoke first to cut him off: “I need a job. I’m out of money.”
Luo Hou’s face, flushed from breathing difficulties, instantly turned purple with rage: “Are you insane? You’d rather work at my foot massage parlor than be the young mistress of the consortium? Impossible. Even if I agreed, others wouldn’t. The kids here would be terrified just hearing you’re coming, like listening to a ghost story.”
Tao Tao touched the smartwatch on her wrist: “It’s so late, I wonder if Xiao You is asleep. I should have kept a bodyguard’s number earlier. Now I’ll have to trouble Xiao You to call them back…”
“Young mistress, let’s talk this through!” Luo Hou quickly stopped her. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that there really isn’t a suitable job for you. How could I dare let you give customers foot massages? The young master wouldn’t even let you eat gutter oil. If he found out, wouldn’t he have his bodyguards chop me into eight hundred pieces and throw me into the Yangtze River to feed the fish?”
“I’ll only stay a few days and then leave. I won’t cause you any trouble.”
Luo Hou was still hesitating. Tao Tao checked her watch again. “Xiao You has school tomorrow. Calling now would disturb his rest. What if he gets sleepy in class and gets scolded by the teacher…”
Luo Hou immediately said, “Only night shifts, from 6 PM to 3 AM, five days on, one day off. Shared dormitory provided. Base salary of 1,500 with commission. The job involves washing feet, foot massages, and partial body massages for customers. Sometimes you’ll have to endure harassment from male clients, but no matter what happens, you absolutely cannot lay a hand on them.”
“I’ll try my best,” Tao Tao said.
“Not ‘try’—you absolutely cannot fight back. If you do, they’ll either end up dead or crippled,” Luo Hou warned. “There are many underage Spirit Masters working here. If the police get involved, it’ll be a huge mess. You and I both know this, and I don’t want to repeat it a third time. Here’s the dormitory key. Take it.”
Tao Tao didn’t accept it. “I want a single room.”
“There aren’t that many rooms. Everyone stays in the dormitory. Even I share a room with Qiangzi.”
“I want a single room,” she repeated.
“Ying Tao Tao, don’t push your luck,” Luo Hou narrowed his eyes. “Even if you threaten me with the Jin Clan Consortium, I’m not afraid. If it weren’t for you taking that mission without permission, I would have gone to find the young master myself.”
“Oh,” Tao Tao asked, “Would the young master have changed his sexual orientation and fallen in love with you if you went yourself?”
Luo Hou: “…”
Tao Tao stopped fiddling with the watch. She spread her fingers and examined them under the dim candlelight.
After a moment, she said softly, “Luo Hou, my life force is fading.”
Luo Hou was taken aback.
Tao Tao had a unique constitution. Since childhood, Li Sanjiu had searched for various Spirit Objects to ward off evil spirits, feeding them to her and soaking her in them, hoping she would grow up safely. While these things didn’t achieve the effect he intended, they inadvertently forged an incredibly strong body for her, far surpassing that of an ordinary person. But now, her body was gradually weakening.
“My strength, speed, and agility are nowhere near what they used to be. I can’t break locks anymore, I get winded after running just a few steps, and it takes five or six hits to shatter a piece of crow-finger Wood.” Tao Tao recalled the scene in the Anatomy Building. “I can feel it. Ever since I woke up in the coffin, the Mark the Evil God left on me has weakened. Before, as long as I didn’t bleed, I was fine. But now, evil spirits actively attack me within their energy range. I don’t know why my death calamity has been delayed, but I’m sure it’s not far off.”
She looked at Luo Hou. “I don’t have much time left, and I still need to find out who killed the old man. So don’t worry, I’ll leave here before the Evil God’s Mark completely disappears. I won’t cause you any trouble. But for now, the matter at Chengho Medical College isn’t resolved yet, so I have to stay.”
Luo Hou looked at the dark circles under her eyes. “How long has it been since you slept properly?”
“I can’t remember,” Tao Tao said wearily. “I don’t dare sleep too deeply. I’m afraid of dreaming—I don’t know what might appear in my dreams. If I have an episode, I might scare others.”
Luo Hou thought for a moment. “Alright, I’ll have Qiangzi clean out the storage room later.”
“Thanks.” Tao Tao pulled a white porcelain bottle from her bag. “Let’s get back to Chengho Medical College. Based on my on-site investigation, the evil spirits in the building aren’t as dangerous as the three-star threat level suggests. Given the old man’s abilities, he shouldn’t have been unable to deal with them. I don’t understand why he didn’t completely clear them out and instead just used ghost-devouring vines to suppress them, letting it become a lingering worry for him.”
“Those students clearly had no Evil Qi on them and weren’t afraid of the peach talisman, but I just felt something was off.” She pushed the bottle toward Luo Hou. “This is the mucus left by the evil spirits. Have someone identify what it actually is. I’ll go back there in a few days.”
“Also, don’t tell anyone I’m here. Since someone went to great lengths to try to kill me, if they find out I’m still alive, it won’t be safe for me or for any of you.”
Luo Hou agreed. Tao Tao, having gone too long without rest, was now tired. She called out toward the outside, “Which one is Qiangzi? Come help me tidy up the room.”
A sturdy, earnest-looking young man ran in, eagerly taking Tao Tao’s bag. “Sister Tao Tao, follow me.”
Tao Tao went upstairs with him. Along the way, many technicians sneakily glanced at her.
Some pretended to be eating snail noodles at the dining table while actually stealing looks at her with their eyes; others hid behind the counter, quietly peeking out with half their heads.
Tingting at the front desk was even more excessive—she directly stood in the corner of the staircase, the path Tao Tao had to take, holding a demon-subduing pestle.
She stood motionless, pretending to be a statue, openly watching her.
Tao Tao passed by her without even a sideways glance.
After she left, Tingting patted her chest, still shaken. “Heavens, I actually saw the legendary Ying Tao Tao! Her aura is so strong—I didn’t dare breathe when she passed by!”
“Yeah, she doesn’t look eighteen at all. Is that sword on her back Tao Yao?”
“Three feet long, three inches wide, the wood gleams with a green light—it must be Tao Yao. The only Heaven-grade Spiritual Artifact in the Chaotic Tomb that even mortals can use without Spiritual Power.”
“It’s good to have connections. Even an artifact of that level can be obtained.”
As soon as the young man finished sighing, his head got a light smack. He turned around and immediately stood up respectfully. “Master Luo.”
Luo Hou, carrying bedding for Tao Tao, casually flicked his forehead. “Me shouting at her is one thing, but you can’t gossip behind her back. She’s the Bell Ringer’s grand-disciple. In terms of seniority, you brats should be calling her great-grandma.”
The young man asked, “Is she really staying here with us?”
“Yes,” Luo Hou said. “From now on, she’s family. Be polite.”