First meeting with Xiao Yi Xian! Taking her as a personal maid

Seeing the young man's somewhat fawning expression, Chu Zhou instinctively felt a surge of disgust.

If he had not been worried about dirtying his hands, he would have slapped him across the face. With his current status, settling this matter would have been easy.

Chu Zhou suddenly recalled some information he had seen online on Blue Star. The Dou Qi Continent used Huaxia writing and language.

But the Firmament Ledger was fair. After entering the Dou Qi Continent, "summoners" faced no cultural barriers; they naturally knew the language.

Once they left the Dou Qi Continent, however, those who had not known it before still did not know it. Many foreigners had complained about this online.

They all felt that people from Huaxia had an innate advantage on the Dou Qi Continent.

At present, learning Huaxia's language had become a worldwide craze.

But certain distinctive interjections did not automatically turn into Huaxia's language when summoners uttered them.

"You explained that well. I understand." Chu Zhou smiled and nodded.

He casually took out ten gold coins and handed them to the young man, then left without looking back.

Rather than joining the queue, he entered the Myriad Medicine Pavilion directly. After all, he had no intention of asking Xiao Yi Xian to treat any injuries.

Watching Chu Zhou walk away, the young man wanted to slap himself.

If he had shown a better attitude earlier, perhaps he could have forged a connection with this important man.

Still, receiving ten gold coins was a great blessing for him. It was enough to rent a small courtyard and cultivate in peace for a while.

The young man tucked the coins into his pocket and hurried away, his eyes watchful.

Only after entering an alley and taking several winding turns did he breathe a sigh of relief.

But a moment later, he suddenly felt pain in his neck, and his vision went dark.

At the same time, an emotionless, machine-like voice sounded:

[Player Yamano Kojiro, eighth death.]

[You may choose to revive in the same place and condition after a one-day cooldown.]

[You may choose to revive immediately at a random location in the Northeast Province of the Jia Ma Empire, randomly losing some possessions.]

Yamano Kojiro: "..."

Baka! Baka! How had he died out of nowhere?

What he did not know was that after giving him the ten gold coins, Chu Zhou had sent Aunt Luo a secret signal.

It meant that Aunt Luo should retrieve the coins and silence him.

Aunt Luo would never ask why. She carried out her task to the letter.

Meanwhile, inside the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, several maids were vying to give Chu Zhou an enthusiastic welcome.

"My lord, what would you like to buy?"

"Young Master, please look over here. We have rare first-tier medicinal ingredients carefully collected by our Myriad Medicine Pavilion."

Some of the other customers buying medicinal ingredients or waiting in line were initially puzzled by the sight. But once they discovered that Chu Zhou was a First-Rank Alchemist, their expressions changed.

Qingshan Town was only a small town. The powerful figures who were usually active there amounted to no more than a few low-level Dou Shi.

To many people, a First-Rank Alchemist was an important figure they rarely had a chance to meet.

There might have been plenty of people standing in long queues to seek treatment from Xiao Yi Xian.

But she was only a minor physician, unworthy even of carrying an Alchemist's shoes.

Chu Zhou felt the complicated gazes directed at him—respect, envy, concealed jealousy, admiration—but they stirred nothing within him.

Wearing the arrogance found on almost every Alchemist's face, he completely ignored the maids, made a show of browsing the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, then walked over to Xiao Yi Xian.

She wore a pale white dress. Her Woeful Poison Body had not yet awakened, and while her looks were not peerless, she was still a rare beauty.

A faint smile remained on her face, and she possessed a uniquely ethereal air that gave her a distinctive charm, making people want to draw close to her.

"Next!"

Sensing Chu Zhou's gaze, Xiao Yi Xian turned and met his eyes.

Her gaze lingered on his Alchemist's robes and First-Rank Alchemist badge for a long time, and a complicated light flickered in her eyes.

She did not initiate a conversation with Chu Zhou, instead continuing to examine patients and treat their injuries.

Chu Zhou was in no hurry to speak either. He simply stood beside her.

Before long, Yao Wancai, the owner of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, hurried over after hearing the news. With a warm smile, he said, "Your presence truly honors our humble shop, esteemed Alchemist. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Chu Zhou turned calmly and asked, "When does Xiao Yi Xian finish seeing patients?"

As the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's chief Physician, Xiao Yi Xian could not possibly spend all her time treating patients.

"If you have business with Xiao Yi Xian, esteemed Alchemist, I will have her stop immediately," Yao Wancai said decisively.

"Wouldn't that affect the Myriad Medicine Pavilion?" Chu Zhou feigned hesitation.

"Not at all." Yao Wancai immediately shook his head, his face full of smiles. "The Myriad Medicine Pavilion is a shop doing business, not a charitable institution offering selfless service. So many mercenaries get injured every day that Xiao Yi Xian couldn't possibly treat them all. There is no end to the injured."

"Then sorry for the trouble." Chu Zhou accepted the gesture of goodwill.

Without another word, Yao Wancai had the maids summon the shop's other Physicians to take over Xiao Yi Xian's patients.

Xiao Yi Xian was the chief Physician and the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's star attraction, but she was not its only Physician.

"Mr. Yao."

Led over by a maid, Xiao Yi Xian greeted him in a level tone, though her gaze rested on Chu Zhou.

She knew that being summoned so abruptly must have had something to do with this First-Rank Alchemist.

"Xiao Yi Xian, this esteemed Alchemist, Young Master Chu, has something to discuss with you. Haven't you always wanted to become an Alchemist? Perhaps Young Master Chu can offer you some guidance," Mr. Yao said by way of introduction.

"Hello, Young Master Chu. May I ask what business you have with me?" There was confusion and a measure of wariness in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes.

"I need a maid to help manage and prepare medicinal ingredients. I think you're a good fit, so I wanted to ask what you thought." Chu Zhou got straight to the point, stating his intentions.

Yao Wancai: ???

I fucking treated you like a VIP, and you want to poach my staff?

"Mr. Chu, openly poaching someone like this isn't very appropriate, is it?" Yao Wancai forced himself to say.

Although he might offend Chu Zhou, he could not simply watch his shop's star attraction get poached.

Without Xiao Yi Xian, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's business would suffer greatly, and its Herb-Gathering Team would earn considerably less as well.

"Didn't you just say that the Myriad Medicine Pavilion was here to do business, Mr. Yao?" Chu Zhou smiled faintly. "As long as the price is right, Xiao Yi Xian can naturally go from being the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's Physician to being my personal maid."

"Xiao Yi Xian works in partnership with the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. She isn't our servant, nor is she hired out!" Yao Wancai said, making it clear that he could not "sell" Xiao Yi Xian.

"Isn't that even better?" Chu Zhou stopped paying attention to Yao Wancai and looked at Xiao Yi Xian. "Since you're free to choose, Miss Xiao Yi Xian, would you be willing to leave the Myriad Medicine Pavilion and become my Alchemy Maid?"

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I don't believe I'm capable enough." Xiao Yi Xian politely refused him outright.

She felt that Chu Zhou was another ordinary man attracted to her looks and bearing—or, to put it crudely, lusting after her body.

She had long since learned to treat these ordinary men who coveted her with equanimity, so long as they did not cross the line.

Chu Zhou's looks, bearing, and status were all exceptional, and she did not dislike him.

But precisely for that reason, she could not become Chu Zhou's maid. Doing so would only harm him.

Yao Wancai immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, however, Chu Zhou leaned closer to Xiao Yi Xian and bent down to whisper, "No, you're definitely capable enough. After all, you have a special constitution, Miss Physician who knows her way around poison!"

Xiao Yi Xian's pupils abruptly contracted, and she felt the blood throughout her body freeze.