Do You Still Need a Maid?

A light breeze brushed past, stirring the girl's ear-length hair.

The three of them approached the girl and fell silent. Yang Tian was no good with words and had no idea how to comfort her. After all, this was his first time encountering something like this.

Back in Odin Town, Yang Tian had very few friends.

He had beaten Zhang Hu up plenty of times before they finally became friends. Then there was Brother Yuan.

Perhaps he would see those two again in another year or two.

But Yang Tian was already a fifth-level Knight. He would keep improving, and by the time those two came to take the Squire assessment, the gap between them might be even wider.

After all, Yang Tian had now awakened his internal spiritual power and was cultivating both his internal and external power.

Although two hundred was said to be the limit of external spiritual power, it was still possible to break through that limit and keep improving.

"It's all right, little girl. We'll kill every last one of these demon beasts!"

"Do you have any other family, like a grandfather or grandmother?"

At last, Li Xin bent down and stroked the girl's head, comforting her gently.

"I only have my grandma left, but she's sick. That's why Mom and Dad worked so hard out here. They wanted to earn more money!"

"But they got eaten!"

The girl cried, clearly at a loss over what to do.

Then Yang Tian spoke. "Maybe they've gone somewhere else!"

"I only have a grandma too. My mom and dad were also eaten by demon beasts, so we have to be strong and take good care of our grandmas!"

"I wasn't even two years old back then. My mom and dad died protecting me too!"

"Don't cry. We humans still have to protect our homes. There are even fiercer demons ahead of us. They've left even more people without families, without their moms and dads, or even their grandparents..."

After thinking for a long while and putting his words together, Yang Tian spoke calmly, drawing on what he knew.

Then all three females turned to look at him.

He had it that bad?

That was what all three were thinking. Compared with his experience, it certainly seemed so!

They truly felt they could relate to his pain.

After all, Yang Tian knew there was a girl in the story who seemed to have gone through just that. Her name was Shi Xiaoxue...

"Yes, you're right! Weiwei won't cry. Someday, I'll become as strong as all of you and kill these demon beasts!"

The little girl gritted her teeth, then stood up and spoke with determination in her eyes.

But was that determination?

It seemed more like hatred-hatred for demon beasts.

Yang Tian shook his head. Perhaps this was the conviction keeping the little girl going.

If he dispelled that hatred, he did not know whether she could hold on.

"Yes, we'll do the same. We'll kill these demon beasts and protect our homes!"

Li Xin spoke indignantly as well.

Looking at Yang Tian, she seemed to understand why he was so withdrawn and blunt.

He had been through too much.

Lin Jialu felt the same, regarding Yang Tian with greater sympathy and concern.

Perhaps the weak liked to huddle together and tend to one another's wounds.

Yang Tian did not agree with Li Xin's words. Demon beasts also lived on this land. Killing them all would strip them of their right to survive.

Perhaps, as with the demon beasts on Knight Sacred Mountain, they could be given places to live, and both sides could simply leave each other alone.

But demon beasts fought among themselves too!

That was none of his business.

Big fish ate little fish, and little fish ate shrimp.

In the end, they escorted the girl named Weiwei back to a shabby mud-brick house with a tiled roof.

It had two rooms and a kitchen. Though simple, it had everything they needed.

If demon beasts had not run rampant, perhaps this would have been a warm and loving home.

"Cough, cough... Is that you, Weiwei?"

A violent cough came from one of the rooms, followed by a kindly question.

The three followed the little girl, whose eyes were still red and wet.

She entered the room and threw herself down beside her grandmother.

"Grandma, Mom and Dad were eaten by demon beasts!"

The little girl burst into tears as she told the old woman.

Tears suddenly streamed from the old woman's kindly eyes too.

The news struck like a thunderclap.

"Grandma, you have to pull yourself together. Your son and daughter-in-law are dead. Do you want to abandon your granddaughter too?"

The three of them followed her inside. Seeing that the old woman had lost the will to live, Yang Tian spoke bluntly.

Li Xin felt helpless, but perhaps Yang Tian had a way to handle this.

Lin Jialu nudged Li Xin with her shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Li Xin, is he always this blunt?"

Li Xin smiled wryly, recalling her first encounter with Yang Tian and what had happened between them.

Then Li Xin said, "You haven't seen how sharp his tongue can be. When he tells you off, he really makes you feel you're the one in the wrong!"

Yang Tian continued speaking.

"I have a way to help you recover, or at least strengthen your body enough to live another ten years or so. By the time you pass away, your granddaughter will be able to live independently and start a family. She won't have to starve or be left all alone!"

At those words, a little life returned to the old woman's eyes.

Yang Tian had spoken plainly, but as she looked at her granddaughter, who was only five or six, she knew he was right. If she died too, how would this girl take care of herself?

Weiwei then said firmly, "Grandma, his mom and dad are gone too. They were eaten by demon beasts, and he only has his grandma left. I'll become strong like him someday and protect you!"

"Yes, good girl. I'll get better. At the very least, I'll live to see you married!"

The old woman smiled kindly at her well-behaved granddaughter, then looked at Yang Tian.

With some disbelief, she asked, "Can this old body of mine really recover?"

Yang Tian nodded and said confidently, "It can, but you'll need to take some medicine every day. Keep at it for six months to a year, and perhaps you'll be able to get out of bed!"

As it happened, there were medicinal herbs in the Purple Star Mountain Range too. Yang Tian had given his grandmother all the Red Refining Fruit, marrow-cleansing grass, and other herbs he had gathered on Mount Odin.

These herbs were like the Essence Cultivation Liquid distributed by the Odin Sub-Temple. Taking them reduced illness and nourished the body.

Yang Tian had not yet learned any of the Guardian Knights' healing skills. Perhaps when he returned, he could ask his teacher to teach him a few first.

"That would be wonderful, but child, a poor family like ours doesn't have that much money!"

The old woman spoke to Yang Tian helplessly.

Yang Tian replied, "You won't need any. I'm a Knight. I can go into the mountains and gather herbs for you. Just set your mind at ease, and don't suddenly give up on living!"

The old woman nodded, then looked at her granddaughter and said, "Weiwei, this young man is our benefactor. Quick, kowtow to him!"

Perhaps, in the old woman's eyes, that was the only way to express her gratitude to Yang Tian.

But he was a Knight. Did he need a maid? She had heard that important people like him took in maids, who then had good food and clothes.

"Child, do you still need a maid? Once Weiwei is a little older, she could look after you. I'll teach her to wash clothes and cook..."

Then the old woman voiced her offer.

She was only trying to secure a future for her granddaughter.

"No, Grandma. Please don't say that again!" Yang Tian immediately refused.

He had never entertained such an idea. Perhaps only the wealthy enjoyed luxuries like that.

Right now, he was still penniless. Even his weapon was the most ordinary kind.

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