Madam Eats Meat, Commander Drinks Soup

Seeing the menial servants begin to bustle about, Luo Fang chuckled softly and thought, Heaven truly is helping me. It is not that I, Luo Fang, refuse to give this pack of lowly beasts a chance to turn their lives around.

It is that they were born with wretched fates and lack the blessing for it.

Luo Fang reclined in his chair, leisurely watching the busy crowd.

Whenever he grew tired of lying down, he would get up and stroll around. If anyone dared slack off, he would lash them with his whip.

Naturally, he controlled his strength well, injuring only flesh and skin without touching their tendons or bones. He struck only their backs, never their hands or feet.

"Faster, faster. Work harder, all of you. If you cannot hold on, think about the reward money. Think about chicken legs."

"Hehe, after bitterness comes sweetness. Perhaps you might even earn Madam's favor."

His sense of superiority was on full display; it was easy to talk when he was not the one bearing the burden. Seeing the menial servants' envious, awestruck gazes made him secretly delighted.

As he passed Li Xian, he saw that although Li Xian was not walking quickly, his steps were exceptionally steady. Luo Fang gave a soft sound of surprise. "You brat, your legs are pretty nimble."

"I used to like running around everywhere." Li Xian wiped away his sweat. His back was already drenched through.

"Put some more effort into it." Luo Fang did not think much of it. After a brief reminder, he went elsewhere.

Once he had gone some distance away, Luo Fang spat lightly and cursed under his breath, A worthless life, yet he was born with such a fine physique.

What a pity. What use was it anyway?

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived, and they could finally rest for a short while. The kitchen cooks pushed carts of freshly prepared food over.

They handed the hot rice and dishes to the menial servants one by one.

Even during their break, the servants on the water-carrying line were not allowed to wander about.

"Yours."

The cook handed him a tray. Ravenously hungry, Li Xian said, "Not enough. Give me more."

"Ordinarily, extra food would cost you at least one copper coin. Still, it has not been easy for you lot."

The cook ladled over a large scoop. Seeing that Li Xian was young and thin, he felt a pang of pity and silently added another scoop of vegetables.

He picked out two extra pieces of meat, deliberately choosing a fatty one.

Li Xian froze. "Th-thank you." He wiped the sweat from his hands clean, grabbed the food, and shoved it into his mouth.

The moment the food entered his mouth, the flavor was clearly different.

It was far saltier than usual, but this saltiness... was precisely the medicine that sustained life, quickly restoring strength.

After finishing the coarse rice and vegetables, Li Xian picked up the last piece of fatty meat. Just looking at it made saliva pour from his mouth.

In my previous life, I would not even have glanced at meat scraps like this.

But now... he only hated that there was not enough to eat. He bit gently into the fatty meat, and grease filled his mouth. At this very moment, the taste was beyond words.

[Skill: Water Carrying]

[Proficiency: 0/1000 Proficiency]

[Description: Carry water a thousand times, walking swiftly without spilling a drop. Young man, do your waist, arms, and legs feel sore?]

Even an ordinary skill could gain extraordinary effects when practiced to a certain level.

Weeding had given Li Xian supreme tenacity and endurance.

Water Carrying, meanwhile, trained the coordination of his hands and feet.

"Wild Bull Fist has not improved one bit today. Since I cannot change my current situation, I will do my best to master [Water Carrying]!"

A trace of determination flashed through Li Xian's eyes.

The road lay beneath his feet, and his legs belonged to him. If he wanted to move forward, no mountains of hardship or seas of peril could stop him!

"Back to work, you lowly beasts."

Luo Fang swung his whip, which cracked and snapped through the air.

Night had already fallen. Torches lined the water-carrying route, and Li Xian's group continued carrying water.

And so they endured through the night.

Amid utter exhaustion, the menial servants' expressions turned numb.

Then, with a thud, one servant toppled straight to the ground.

Luo Fang checked his breathing. Though he was still alive, he was plainly beyond saving.

"Carry him away, carry him away. Useless trash, wasting the estate's cultivation."

With one fewer person on the water-carrying line, everyone's route naturally grew longer. The burden was divided among every remaining servant.

From then on, someone collapsed every half hour.

Some had exhausted themselves until their heart meridians ruptured, while others had the meridians in their arms and legs severed... Li Xian pretended to be at death's door, yet somehow never died.

In silence, in numbness...

Three days passed in a flash.

Over those three days, nearly a hundred menial servants died, and the routes had to be redrawn.

"I see you have a rather sturdy build. You can really take a beating and keep going. From now on, you will be responsible for this stretch."

Luo Fang assigned Li Xian to receive water at the estate entrance and carry it directly to the fiercely burning cauldron.

This stretch had claimed the most servants' lives!

With two buckets of spring water in hand,

Li Xian felt deeply uneasy as he carried the water into the estate. Following the directions, he made his way all the way to the cauldron.

Only now did he see the end of the water-carrying route.

In a spacious courtyard stood a four-legged square cauldron taller than a person.

The fire beneath it burned fiercely. Even from five or six zhang away, the scorching heat rushed at his face, burning his skin with pain.

"No wonder... the weather outside is bitterly cold, while the fire here burns fiercely. With the servants carrying water back and forth between such cold and heat, how could they possibly survive?"

Li Xian understood at last. Then he counted the days. Three had already passed. There were fewer than four days left before the guard competition!

Anxiety stirred in his heart, yet Wild Bull Fist's proficiency remained at [712].

The farther things went on, the more servants died, and the farther they had to walk.

"Overthinking cannot change the situation. It will only disturb my mind!"

Li Xian strengthened his resolve and continued carrying water back and forth.

At last, he endured until the fourth day and night.

"Splash, splash..."

The final bucket of water was poured into the bronze cauldron, turning into clouds of steam. The flames went out. It was finally complete!

Luo Fang, the overseer of the menial servants, Pang Long, the guard commander, and the others all lowered their heads in respectful greeting, awaiting Madam Zhuang's arrival.

Li Xian was there as well. He stood in a secluded corner with his head lowered, staring at his toes.

From the corner of his eye, he could glimpse Madam Zhuang's skirt hem and her white silk phoenix-patterned embroidered shoes.

He did not see her face, only hear her voice.

"This meat shall be taken and eaten by me. Divide the remaining broth into ten portions.

Pang Long, take seven portions and distribute them as you see fit, but do not drink it all yourself. Luo Fang, take three portions, mix them into soup, and distribute it among the menial servants to drink."

"You have all labored for me. Consider this your reward."

Her voice was calm, carrying an authority that could not be defied.

Before anyone could recover their senses, a gust of wind swept past, and Madam Zhuang had already vanished without a trace.

Luo Fang stepped forward and fawned over him.

"Commander Pang, we do not need three portions of the broth. Let these two portions be our tribute to you."

Pang Long was tall and heavily built, his features rugged. He gave Luo Fang a flat glance and said coldly, "Madam has made her arrangements. If she said three portions, then it is three portions. Do you dare defy her?"

"I would not dare, I would not dare." Luo Fang smiled obsequiously, wiping the cold sweat from his brow as his legs trembled beneath his robes.

"Hmph." Pang Long snorted coldly, ordered someone to take away seven portions of the broth, and turned to leave.

The remaining three portions... naturally fell into Luo Fang's hands.

Luo Fang dearly wanted to swallow it all for himself, but Madam had given her command personally. Even Pang Long obeyed it strictly, so how could he dare disobey even a fraction of it?

He muttered to himself,

"Madam said, 'distribute them as you see fit.' I will drink one and a half portions, and Bi Hao is at a critical stage in his martial training, so he can have one portion as well.

"The remaining half portion... I will pour it into clear water and simmer it into soup for the menial servants. Fine, I will count it as letting them have a bargain."

He spoke with such intoxicated absorption

that he completely forgot Li Xian was standing nearby and had heard every word. Li Xian could not help clenching his fists.

The words "distribute them as you see fit" had clearly referred to Pang Long. As for the latter half, Madam Zhuang's intention had plainly been for all three portions to be mixed into soup and shared among the thousand-plus menial servants.

Yet by the time it reached Luo Fang's mouth,

Bi Hao, who had done nothing at all, would receive one portion of the broth. Luo Fang himself would monopolize one and a half portions.

Li Xian and the others, who had worked themselves to death, could only share half a portion!

Who would not be indignant? Who would not be enraged by such disparity? Especially Li Xian, who had reached a crucial moment and would soon face Bi Hao in a contest.

"Hmm?"

Luo Fang noticed Li Xian, but merely sneered in disdain and did not take him seriously at all.

Li Xian clenched his fists. A trace of ruthlessness lurked in his exhausted eyes.

Over the remaining three days, no matter what, he would bring Wild Bull Fist to Minor Accomplishment!