The maid quickly brought over some snacks, all of which were Shu Qing’s recent favorites with a sweet taste.
“Little Immortal, here are the jujube flower pastries you love. We got a lot this time, and there’s also osmanthus cake, walnut crisps, tangyuan, and red bean buns. Please try them.”
Shu Qing glanced at them but didn’t make a move.
The maid was puzzled, “…Don’t they suit Little Immortal’s taste?”
Judging by his recent change in appetite, Shu Qing indeed favored sweets, so the maid’s preparations weren’t wrong. However, changes always come unexpectedly, and Shu Qing didn’t know why, but at this moment, he just didn’t feel like eating them.
“I want to eat meat now,” Shu Qing looked at the maid, “Do you have any meat?”
The maid couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that her efforts were in vain, but she quickly replied, “…Yes! There’s plenty of meat in the small kitchen. I’ll go get it right away!”
“Okay.”
Not long after, the maid directed two young servants to bring in an entire roasted leg of lamb. There was also Dongpo pork, beggar’s chicken, eight-treasure gourd duck, and crab meat lion’s head.
“Move quickly. If Little Immortal goes hungry, you’ll be in trouble.”
The maid was originally quiet and reserved, but after staying by Shu Qing’s side for a long time, she unknowingly learned his ways and became strong and fierce.
Hearing the commotion outside, Shu Qing inexplicably found it amusing, and his mood improved a bit. With a better mood, his appetite also improved. A few days ago, he found the smell of meat greasy, but now he was eating it in large mouthfuls and felt very satisfied. He even ate two bowls of rice, and after finishing, he could still eat some snacks. He ate tangyuan and several pieces of jujube flower pastries, and when it came to the red bean buns, he only picked out the bean filling to eat.
Seeing Shu Qing regain his appetite, the maid felt much more at ease. She was about to tell him about the special care from the King of the Underworld, allowing her to freely enter the Underworld and buy whatever he wanted, but another little maid suddenly came in, peeking around, “Sister Chun Li…”
The maid bowed to Shu Qing and went out first. After a few words, she quickly returned. Shu Qing had already picked out the filling from three red bean buns and was starting on the fourth.
“Little Immortal.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the servant you saved before… He’s been coming over these past few days, saying he wants to see Little Immortal.”
But Shu Qing wasn’t feeling well the past few days, so the maid didn’t report this matter. Now that Shu Qing seemed much better, she brought it up.
Shu Qing was puzzled, “…The one I saved?”
Who did he save? Did he actually save someone here? How come he didn’t know?
Chun Li explained, “It’s the one Little Immortal saved, the one with a long scar on his face, the one who looks quite scary.”
“…Oh, it’s him.”
Shu Qing remembered. Mainly, he wasn’t trying to save anyone at the time; he just used it as an excuse to find fault with a couple of little stewards.
But Shu Qing was even more puzzled, “He doesn’t belong to the Underworld, does he… Why is he still here?”
“…”
Because Shu Qing saved him, no one dared to casually expel this guy, and for such a small matter, no one dared to let the King of the Underworld decide, so they let him stay here for a few days.
Chun Li said, “Then I’ll have someone send him away.”
“Wait.”
Chun Li quickly stopped, “…Does Little Immortal have any other instructions?”
Shu Qing thought for a moment, “Let him in.”
“…Yes.”
Shu Qing had just eaten, and his pale face had a bit of color. His figure was tall and slender, draped in a light green coat, with long hair loose and no decorations, giving off a fragile and soft appearance that was still breathtakingly beautiful.
The servant was brought in by the maid, kneeling on the ground, but he looked up dumbfoundedly at Shu Qing, forgetting to blink.
“Don’t stare at me; your face is scary.”
“…”
The servant was immediately filled with shame and quickly lowered his head, “…I offended Little Immortal, please forgive me.”
“Forget it, it’s not your fault for being so scary,” Shu Qing said, “You surely don’t want to look like this yourself.”
“…”
That was indeed the truth. But Shu Qing’s words were too blunt and sharp, also quite hurtful.
“Why do you want to see me? Speak.”
“…Yes, I wanted to see Little Immortal to thank you for saving me that day… If it weren’t for Little Immortal, I would probably be dead. Little Immortal is my savior.”
Shu Qing silently chuckled, not saying a word. Savior. What a fresh term, he never thought he could be anyone’s savior in this lifetime.
“…My life belongs to Little Immortal now. If Little Immortal doesn’t mind, I’m willing to serve you forever.”
Offering to be a servant? Now that’s something new. In the entire Underworld, who doesn’t avoid him like the plague?
“You must have heard the rumors about me.”
Shu Qing was well aware of his notorious reputation.
“Everyone else is afraid of dying at my hands, yet here you are, willingly coming to me? Aren’t you afraid that one day I might actually take your life?”
“…Compared to those rumors, I trust what I see with my own eyes. Little Immortal saved my life… In my heart, Little Immortal is definitely not a bad person…”
Shu Qing was a bit taken aback. He smiled and continued, “You should know that I’ve recently angered His Highness and might fall out of favor… So trying to please me won’t do you much good. If His Highness really decides to deal with me, you’ll lose your life too.”
“No matter what situation Little Immortal is in, I’m willing to serve and accompany you… My life belongs to Little Immortal. If I die for Little Immortal, then it’s a worthy death.”
As the words fell, Shu Qing conjured a long sword out of thin air and tossed it in front of him. The sound of it hitting the ground was crisp.
“In that case, die for me now.”
“…”
“This is the worthy death you spoke of.”
“…”
Even the maid was startled. She could never see through Shu Qing’s actions, never guessing what would happen next.
“Are you scared?”
“…”
The other party knelt on the ground, keeping his head down.
“If you’re scared, then leave. You don’t belong to the Underworld, go wherever you want, you’re free.”
“Chun Li, see him out.”
“Yes.”
Shu Qing stood up, and the maid stepped forward. Just when everything seemed to be without suspense, the servant suddenly grabbed the long sword, trembling hands placing it against his neck.
Shu Qing raised an eyebrow. The maid stopped, hesitantly looking at Shu Qing.
The servant straightened his upper body but still kept his head down, not daring to look directly at Shu Qing.
“…I, I’m scared, but for Little Immortal, I can do it.”
“As Little Immortal can see, I’m ugly and wander everywhere, no one pays attention to me… Only Little Immortal is different, willing to speak for me and save me…”
“I’m willing to do anything for Little Immortal… Even if I die, it’s okay. After death, I can become a ghost in the Underworld and always accompany Little Immortal…”
Although his hands were still trembling, his tone gradually became firm. In the end, the blade pressed against his neck, and without any hesitation, he fiercely cut his skin. Blood immediately gushed out.
Clang—
Shu Qing quickly cast a spell, flinging the long sword away. He immediately used healing magic to stop the blood gushing from the neck.
At that moment, even Shu Qing couldn’t believe it. The ugly-faced guy in front of him actually went this far.
“Even if you’re willing to die for me, it’s useless,” Shu Qing said coldly, “You’re so ugly, I can’t stand looking at you every day.”
“…”
“But seeing as you went this far, I can heal your scar.”
It’s somewhat amusing that Shu Qing, who always talks about fighting and killing, is actually best at healing magic. At this moment, his spiritual power was inexplicably abundant, and he wanted to try if the essence he seemed to have absorbed from the King of the Underworld could be used for himself.
“Lift your face and look at me.”
Shu Qing mobilized his spiritual power, skillfully using it, his palm emitting tiny white lights. This kind of magic consumes a lot of spiritual power. If it weren’t for absorbing the King of the Underworld’s essence, Shu Qing wouldn’t bother.
He made an exception to let someone in earlier, precisely to test if the spiritual power could be effective. The white light in his palm gradually intensified, covering the servant’s entire face, then slowly faded away. As the light dissipated, the ugly scar running across the servant’s face truly disappeared, revealing a clean and handsome face underneath.
Sweat beaded at Shu Qing’s temples, and after withdrawing his hand, he slowly caught his breath. The spiritual power was quickly depleted. The part he absorbed from the King of the Underworld was almost used up in an instant.
“Turns out you look decent. Alright, you can stay by my side to serve.”
The servant, in disbelief, touched his face. The ugly, bumpy scar was gone, and his face was smooth and even.
“Little, Little Immortal… My, my face…”
Too excited to speak, half of his body still covered in blood, he began kowtowing.
“Thank you, Little Immortal! Thank you, Little Immortal!”
“My whole life… From now on, I’ll be Little Immortal’s most loyal dog forever!”
“Alright, no need to say all that.”
In contrast, Shu Qing remained indifferent. He tested the spiritual power and used it all up. Who knows if he can absorb more from the King of the Underworld next time, which made him feel a bit regretful.
“What’s your name?”
The servant paused, speaking softly, “…I, I’m called Xiao Cao.”
“Xiao Cao?”
“…Yes, I’m called Xiao Cao.”
So he’s a little weed demon. No wonder he’s so humble and weak, yet resilient.
Shu Qing nodded, “Alright, you can go now. I’ll call you when I need you. Chun Li—”
“Yes.”
The maid understood Shu Qing’s meaning and quickly walked over to Xiao Cao.
“Follow me.”
…
With an additional servant in the hall to serve Shu Qing, no one dared to object. The King of the Underworld wasn’t around, so such small matters were naturally decided by Shu Qing. By the time the King of the Underworld returned, two days had passed in the Underworld.
There were many accumulated matters to handle, so the King of the Underworld didn’t immediately go to see Shu Qing, spending the entire morning dealing with affairs in the study room.
In these two days, Shu Qing’s appetite improved a lot, eating more, and his spirits also improved. But he was a bit puzzled, “Why are there human world pastries every day recently? Didn’t they say it was inconvenient to buy them before, and it would take several days to eat them once?”
Chun Li finally spoke up, “His Highness saw that Little Immortal liked these, so he instructed me to buy more, specifically giving me a jade token to freely enter and exit the Underworld.”
Shu Qing almost slipped off his chair, “…What did you say?”
The jade token he found so hard to obtain, the King of the Underworld gave it to the maid so easily? The key point is that the King of the Underworld was gone for two whole days, and now that he’s back, the maid only tells him this?
[Author’s Note]
Who wouldn’t be charmed by such a little butterfly pecking at rice? [Sunglasses][Sunglasses]