Chapter 365 - Sky Snow Manor (1/2)

”I'm glad that you are satisfied with it. When Sir Licong told me that it is for an important client, I was still worried that you would not be easy to please. I guess my worries were unnecessary!” a middle-aged lady smiled in relieved as she addressed Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.

”Don't mention it,” Lu Tianzi shook his head. ”If anything, I am grateful for your help. We wouldn't have been able to find a suitable residence this quickly if not for you.”

”If you are pleased with my service, then make sure to look for me next time you wish to transact in properties within Sacred Cliff City as well! I will give you a discount in terms of the commission charges,” the middle-aged lady gave him a thumbs up. ”If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave for now.”

”Farewell,” Lu Tianzi said, and Nanlan Qianxue gave her a slight nod as well.

After the middle-aged lady took her leave, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue finally turned their attention to the manor behind them.

The beautiful manor covered a square area of around a hundred metres on each side.

The three-storey main building took up the majority of the space, while a front yard and a back garden together took up around ten percent of the total area.

A low wall the height of two men lined the borders to block out curious eyes, and a simple concealing formation shielded the inside from any martial artist's perception.

Considering the fact that this was within Sacred Cliff City where every bit of land area was expensive, this was a rather impressive personal residence.

Of course, it was still nothing compared to the Sacred Lotus Treasury Headquarters or the Silvercloud Hall, but those were true behemoths within the city.

Lu Tianzi stepped through the main gate and entered the front hall with Nanlan Qianxue in tow.

There, a goateed man who looked to be in his fifties stood waiting in front of three young ladies, all of them facing Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.

The three young ladies looked to be teenagers, and had their heads hung low as though they dared not meet Lu Tianzi's gaze.

”Greetings, Master,” the goateed man bowed slightly. ”I am your housekeeper, Changyu. Behind me are Ningxi, Linrou, and Fengfei. Please feel free to pass us any orders, and we will carry them out as per your instructions.”

As he spoke, the goateed Housekeeper Changyu snuck a few curious glances at Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.

”You can call me Lu Tianzi, and this is Nanlan Qianxue. From today onwards, we will be in your care,” Lu Tianzi introduced himself. ”For starters, why don't you tell me more about yourselves?”

Lu Tianzi had only barely mentioned to Old Juan about his intention to purchase a residence when the latter immediately asked Licong for help regarding the matter.

With Licong's connections as a member of the Sacred Lotus Treasury, he linked them up with a property agent lady, who quickly managed to find them this manor at an affordable price.

Having been in the business for a while, the property agent lady obviously understood that a residence as big as the manor would need some form of regular maintenance.

That was why along with the manor, the housekeeper Changyu and the maids Ningxi, Linrou, and Fengfei, were all arranged for Lu Tianzi in advance.

This saved Lu Tianzi quite the amount of work, but hiring them was just the start.

From now, whether to retain or dismiss the servants would be up to him, as he would be the one responsible for paying their wages.

Therefore, the first thing Lu Tianzi wanted to do was to get to understand these servants better.

Since Lu Tianzi had already asked, the four servants naturally told him about themselves.

The goateed Housekeeper Changyu was a martial artist at the Peak Essence Condensation realm. He had once pursued the martial path, aiming for the peak of the martial world. Unfortunately, his talent was lacking, and he was never able to break into the Origin Core realm no matter how hard he tried. He used to work as a mercenary over the past few decades but had tired of such a life after getting a wife. Now, he did not mind earning less than before as long as he could have a stable job; all he asked for was to be able to visit his family at least once every fortnight.

As for the three teenage girls, their stories were much simpler. They had been sold as slaves since young because their families were too poor to raise them, and ended up here after a series of transactions. Their slave traders made sure to train them in terms of housework, and they were rather competent in what they do. However, their background also made them rather timid and afraid of getting into trouble. All three of them were only at the Essence Building realm.

After hearing their stories, Lu Tianzi dismissed them to get busy with their chores. The manor had been left empty for a while before this, so there were quite a lot of things to tidy up.

In addition, Lu Tianzi found nothing suspicious about their stories, and saw no need to get rid of any of them for the time being.

Of course, he would still keep his guard up until he was sure of their personalities.

But while Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue were trying to understand their new servants better, the servants similarly had their own thoughts about their new masters.

”What do you girls think of Sir Lu and Lady Nanlan?” Housekeeper Changyu secretly gathered the three girls and asked.

”They seem nice?” Ningxi said with a tinge of uncertainty.

”Yeah, it might be because of their age, but at least they were not fierce like most others. That's a good start,” Linrou agreed. ”And Lady Nanlan is so beautiful!”

”She really is!” Ningxi chimed in.

Fengfei merely nodded.

”Is that all that you girls thought about?” Housekeeper Changyu let out a helpless sigh.

The girls were too young and inexperienced after all, so their focus was completely off.

Choosing to serve a new master was equivalent to taking a gamble with their lives.

Their fates from now on would depend almost entirely on their new masters, so how could they be focusing on their masters' temperament and looks?

All right, perhaps their temperament mattered a little, but their looks?

”Does Housekeeper Changyu think otherwise?” Ningxi asked after seeing the look on Changyu's face.

”It is not that I disagree. It's just that my focus is on something else,” Housekeeper Changyu lowered his voice before sharing his thoughts. ”When I first heard from the property agent lady that it was someone from the Sacred Lotus Treasury who had instructed her to arrange for the residence and servants, I thought it is definitely meant for someone with a significant background. But now that I have seen them in person, our new masters don't seem to look all that impressive.”

”They don't?” the three teenage girls leaned forward, eager to hear his thoughts.

”Their cultivation levels are certainly decent for their age, but their dressing is what I am focusing on here,” Housekeeper Changyu explained. ”Don't misunderstand, I am not saying that they looked shabby. However, I have to admit that I was expecting something much more extravagant from someone who has connections with the Sacred Lotus Treasury.”

Housekeeper Changyu fell into deep thought as he spoke.

When he came across this job opening, he had agreed immediately because he saw it as the perfect opportunity to come under the wings of a big shot.

But now, Housekeeper Changyu was thinking that he might have been mistaken.