Chapter 167 The Outlandish Butler
Li Jianqi was a Formless Realm expert who had absorbed the Battle Soul of the Great Founder. Even though she was not well versed in formations, she did not have to be so careful.

However, both Uncle Jiao and her walked extremely carefully. The higher the realm, the more a practitioner was able to understand how tough the path to cultivation was, and the more he or she was able to understand that there was always someone more powerful than them out there. Moreover, the formations gave off an obvious prehistoric aura and were evidently not from any technique of the current Cultivation World. As such, neither of them dared to take the formations lightly.

They were not in the royal palace.

Who knew what sort of offensive capabilities Ye Que had incorporated into these formations? What if they attacked them without differentiating between friend and foe?

They were not really worried about dying in the manor, but mostly they were afraid of disgracing themselves. Li Jianqi was the genius of Silent Monastery and the Tang Empire’s Princess. If she had lost out to these formations and was unable to break the enchantments of a youth from the General’s Manor, she would have ended up as laughing stock. It was not something that she looked forward to.

Li Jianqi sat with one leg over the other on a red sandalwood chair at the main hall of the manor while she waited for Ye Que.

The Divine Sect Seminary disciples that were responsible for taking care of Ye Que quickly served Li Jianqi with a cup of refreshingly fragrant yet simple chrysanthemum tea.

Uncle Jiao did not sit down. No matter how high a post he had, he was still the princess’ butler to outsiders. He needed to make a show of their positions and act according to his role.

“When is your Master coming back?” Li Jianqi asked softly, supporting her tea cup with a palm.

“Master?” the disciple who was beside her was stunned.

“I’m talking about Ye Que,” Li Jianqi directly said his name as she lifted her head to look at the young man. “Ye Que is really slack in teaching his servants manners. They don’t even know who their master is. What sort of manor is this? Things can never be done without proper rules in place,” she thought.

“Are you talking about our Sect Leader?” the youth said without any expression.

“What nonsense. How many Ye Ques are there in your manor?” Li Jianqi rebutted, somewhat at a loss for words.

“I don’t know what time he’s going to come back,” the youth replied truthfully and calmly, as if unaffected by Li Jianqi’s emotions. He was also evidently telling her that he did not know anything about Ye Que’s itinerary and that she was looking for the wrong person for answers.

Li Jianqi looked at the youth, a little surprised. Her brows arched slightly as she thought, “I don’t understand what sort of rubbish you’re telling me.”

“What’s your name?” Li Jianqi asked.

“Lin Dashu,” the youth replied proudly, as if his name bore weight. In fact, he was a little famous in the Divine Sect Seminary and the streets of Luoyang City.

After all, he belonged to the original batch of ruffians who turned to Ye Que. He was smart and picked new ideas up quickly. Just the day before, he had entered the Psychic Realm under Ye Que’s guidance and could be considered as a true cultivator now.

He was a living example for the citizens of Luoyang.

A ruffian had become a cultivator with his own effort within less than a year. Was there anything else more motivating and pride inducing as this?

Why would he not be proud of himself?

Now, he had been reassigned to accompany Ye Que once again and was responsible for the lodging and daily necessities of his sect leader. It seemed to be a lowly task, but it placed him in close proximity with Ye Que, and the rewards he could receive were definitely far more than what he would have to give.

Li Jianqi was the first guest Lin Dashu was welcoming.

The fact that the manor’s first guest was the Princess of Tang State increased the admiration Lin Dashu had for his sect leader. He was impressed by Ye Que’s reputation; even the Princess had come to visit him.

No matter how smart Lin Dashu was, he was from the streets after all, and completely incomparable to the butler of a respectable family when welcoming guests. Was there a more crude way of answering the Princess by telling her truthfully that he didn’t know when Ye Que was coming back?

In actual fact, Lin Dashu could not be blamed. It was Ye Que’s bad habit.

His usual way of treating others had begun to affect his disciples subconsciously. The very first day he took up the role of butler, Lin Dashu had asked Ye Que about what he had to pay attention to if a guest showed up. After all, he had no prior experience.

Ye Que had replied, “Do as you wish. You can receive them anyway you want, no matter whether you recognize them or not. You’re going to be a cultivator in future, and becoming a butler is just a way of training your character. You don’t really have to take it very seriously. Treat this place like your own home.”

Since his sect leader had told him so, Lin Dashu, an official disciple of the Divine Sect Seminary, naturally understood his words in another way. He felt that his own sect leader was unafraid of anyone and treated everyone as he liked. He also thought that cultivators were unique and meant for great things in future.

Lin Dashu thought and acted in such a manner, but Li Jianqi was completely unaware that Ye Que had taught his attendants in such a manner. Naturally, she felt gloomy and was even a little helpless. She could tell with a single look that Lin Dashu was completely incapable of acting as a butler. He was no better than a waiter in a tavern.

Li Jianqi grunted coldly as she observed Lin Dashu with a side glance. “Your name suits you really well. You’re really dumb as a tree.”

Lin Dashu chuckled and remained silent. No matter how carefree in nature it was, he knew that he could not afford to offend the Princess. So far, he had merely spoken to her in a crude way that was a little awkward but still inoffensive.

Only three people were left in the great hall of the General’s Manor. Li Jianqi sat on the chair, with Uncle Jiao and Lin Dashu beside her.

Snowflakes began drifting outside the manor.

Snow was coming to Luoyang City early this year, and it fell more frequently compared to the last year.

A fire cauldron was placed at a corner of the great hall, and water was boiling in it.

Lin Dashu filled Li Jianqi’s cup with hot water the moment she finished the drinking. She kept drinking until she lost count of the number of cups of tea she had consumed. The snow-covered sky soon turned gloomy, and it was impossible to tell the time. In any case, Ye Que had still not appeared by the time Li Jianqi’s stomach was rumbling.

Chrysanthemum tea was capable of reducing heat.

No matter how great this capability was, however, it could not quell the impatience rising within Li Jianqi.

This was the first time someone dared to make her wait for so long since she became a princess. The impatience on her face was evident even to a fall, and even Uncle Jiao was feeling a little awkward by now.

He wanted to hint Lin Dashu, but he could not make too obvious movements. He arched his brows at Lin Dashu when Li Jianqi was looking away before hooking his finger toward the youth. Eventually, he even coughed a couple of times loudly.

Lin Dashu, however, remained motionless, as if he had not seen any of Uncle Jiao’s actions.

“Are you really that dumb?” Uncle Jiao thought, secretly worried. “Are you really blind or that stupid, kid? What are you standing here for? Quick, go look for your sect leader! Can’t you tell that Her Highness is getting impatient?”

Finally, Uncle Jiao had no choice but to summon up the courage and shift a few steps toward the youth quietly. He tapped Lin Dashu lightly, but the youth did not react. He then patted the young man, but still, he did not react.

Lin Dashu’s eyes moved slightly only after Uncle Jiao patted him for the third time. He turned his head quickly to look at the older man, his eyes blank, as if he was completely unaware of what had happened just now.

At this moment, both Li Jianqi and Uncle Jiao had realized that Lin Dashu had entered a meditative state of cultivation.

He had done so while standing up with both eyes wide open.