Chapter 18 - 13 The Wicked Master and the Dog Servant

Words : 1645 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 18: Chapter 13 The Wicked Master and the Dog ServantIt is hard to say whether it was the Demon Mark causing trouble, but the memories Yue Jinghua retained appeared to be disjointed and fragmentary. The memories regarding the Lie Family Mansion in Yue Jinghua's mind were scant, suggesting that "she" must have had a hard time within the castle. The Lie Family Mansion was established by the Old Castle Master Lie Changgong, a Dark Heavenly Master, and his wife Feng Wanwan. Lie Changgong was a high-level Dark Practitioner who reached the Dark Heavenly Great Success, a well-known Dark Practitioner in Shang Kingdom. His wife Feng Wanwan was even more famous, a disciple of the renowned elixir clan - Danlu, and a high-level Alchemist. Together, the couple had once helped the Monarch of Shang Kingdom quell several wars and epidemics. After that, the Lie Family's pharmacy named Yongchun Hall spread all over the Shang Kingdom, gaining a modest reputation on the Eastern Continent. Lie Changgong and his wife had only one daughter, Lie Rou. Born dignified and beautiful, she took no interest in Dark Skill nor Elixir Pills. At the age of fifteen, while out enjoying the spring, she happened to meet a dashing young lord from Longzhan Country and the two fell in love at first sight, pledging their lives to each other. That young lord was none other than Yue Jinghua's profligate father, Duke Yue Nian of Longzhan, the most infamous libertine. Yue Nian was the heir to the renowned Blood Cherry Duke Manor of Longzhan Country. Born with a free spirit and known for his charitable nature, the couple led a harmonious and happy life for more than ten years after their marriage. Following Lie Rou's marriage, Feng Wanwan met with misfortune on an outing to gather herbs. Heartbroken by the loss of his wife, Lie Changgong succumbed to a Heart Demon during Dark Skill practice. He went insane and his whereabouts became unknown. Since then, the management of the Lie Family Mansion fell into the hands of Lie Changgong's second brother Lie Changshun and third brother Lie Chang'an. As one of the two major powers on the Eastern Continent, with the Duke Mansion being prestigious, the two brothers curried favor with the Duke Manor, seeking benefits every year. However, once the Yue Residence fell into decline, they immediately changed their faces. Trying to avoid her creditors, Lie Rou returned to the Lie Family Mansion, where her uncles, the two brothers, placed her and her daughters in the most secluded courtyard of the entire mansion. This is all of Yue Jinghua's memory about the Lie Family and the Lie Family Mansion. On the way back to the castle, Yue Chen struggled to walk on his own. Left with no choice, Yue Jinghua could only let him ride on her horse as they headed towards the Lie Family Mansion. Leaving the bustling streets and turning several corners, the prosperous sights of Polo City slowly faded into the distance. About half a mile on the way, the residential houses in the city vanished. Ahead, an imposing mansion began to emerge. The mansion's walls, towering several meters high, loomed over tens of acres to the east of the city. Inside, various flying eaves and rooftops, glazed tile pavilions, lush willows, and bright flowers, all very grand and magnificent. Polo City, as the capital of Shang Kingdom, is a place where real estate is gold. That the Lie Family Mansion could erect such buildings within the city also showed their extraordinary wealth. Yue Jinghua furrowed her brows as she remembered her poverty-stricken and undefended state during her trials. When they reached the vermilion main gate, Yue Chen gestured with his hand toward the north, signaling Yue Jinghua to enter through the smaller side gate. "Why should we enter through a lowly side door instead of the grand entrance?" Yue Jinghua pulled on the horse's reins, stopping the Gale Horse, and asked aloud. Her words caught the attention of the four House Guards standing at the main door. The Lie Mansion Guards, all dressed in black armor and waist swords, looked fiercely intimidating. Seeing Yue Jinghua and the injured Yue Chen, not a single guard came forward to salute or send someone to help. Each of them simply stared straight ahead, clearly treating Yue Jinghua and her companions as if they were thin air. "Young Master Yue Chen is injured. Have someone prepare a soft palanquin to take him back to his room, and then summon a doctor to check his wounds," Yue Jinghua, unable to hide her irritation, pointed at one of the guards. The house guard sneered in his heart, but said aloud, "I am presently on duty. The Third Master has ordered that no one is to leave their post without permission, violators will be dealt with according to the mansion's rules." The nearby house guards all echoed in agreement. The house guards had long ceased to treat the Yue Family's siblings as their masters, a fact Yue Chen had grown accustomed to, and he made to dismount his horse. "Clap clap clap clap," came several clear and pleasant claps. Yue Jinghua, instead of getting angry, smiled and applauded: "Well said, since the mansion's rules have dictated so, we certainly cannot insist. This guard is commendably devoted to his duty, a true role model for the mansion." "I dare not take credit; I only ask Miss Jinghua and Young Master Yue Chen for understanding," the guard thought scornfully in his heart. "How dare you, a mere servant, you're not permitted to call the young master by his name, does the mansion's rules allow you to address the young master and miss by their names in private?" In a flash, before the eyes of the guards, it all became a blur, they saw the guard who had responded having his sword drawn from his waist. The hilt of the sword struck the guard in the face, instantly a taste of blood surged in his mouth, breaking several teeth. "Yue Jinghua... you..." the guard was about to counteract but felt something cold on his neck, and all the other guards were stunned. A gleaming sword was laid across the guard's neck. "Rule number one of the Lie Family Mansion: Masters are masters, servants are servants. Those who walk on two legs are masters, those who crawl on four legs are servants and dogs. Upon seeing a master, salutations are due. When a master speaks, you listen on your knees. If the master wants you dead, you cannot live." Yue Jinghua stood proudly, her words striking like metal upon stone: "I, Yue Jinghua, have the blood of the Old Castle Master Lie Changgong coursing through my veins. He, Yue Chen, is the only adopted son personally recognized by my mother Lie Rou, among the Second Generation of the Lie Family Mansion. We are the masters, and you are the servants; when the master says it's east, it's east, understood?" With a thrust, the five-inch blade sank effortlessly into the gate, like a knife through tofu. The guard was terrified to the point of pallor. "Sister Jinghua, you're back," a fragrant breeze wafted over, and a woman emerged from inside the gates. She was dressed in a pale green pleated long skirt, her waist slender and flexible, with an oval face and willow-shaped eyebrows, her eyes clear; the newcomer was a breathtaking beauty seeming untouched by the mundane world. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Eldest Miss," seeing the newcomer, the house guards immediately became respectful, a stark contrast from their earlier treatment of the Yue siblings. The woman, seeing Yue Jinghua, wore a face of joy and pulled her hand affectionately, "Sister Jinghua, you're back safe and sound, that's wonderful." Lie Sisi, the eldest granddaughter from the second branch of the Lie Family Mansion's master, she was generous in nature, graceful in demeanor, and despite her young age, she had already earned a good reputation within the mansion and the city. Unlike "the useless ugly girl" Yue Jinghua, Lie Sisi was among the most outstanding of the Lie Family Mansion's third generation. At the tender age of fifteen, she became a Dark Jade Great Success Practitioner, and a year ago, she even became an entry-level alchemist. In memory, Lie Sisi was the only person in the Lie Family Mansion who showed a warm and pleasant demeanor towards "Yue Jinghua," and she was also known to be Yue Jinghua's intimate friend. It was even her suggestion that "Yue Jinghua" apply for the Xuanji Royal Academy, proposing that Yue Jinghua participate in the trials at Beast Mountain, saying she could take care of Yue Jinghua while studying in the Inner Court. Unwarranted offers of help, the girl's excessive enthusiasm made Yue Jinghua slightly uncomfortable, and she subtly withdrew her hand. "Someone, go inform Aunt Lie that Sister Jinghua is back. Young Master Yue Chen is injured; I shall have the mansion's physician see to him immediately," Lie Sisi commanded, her brows soft and eyes kind, as she ushered the two inside the mansion. After Yue Jinghua and Yue Chen entered the mansion, Lie Sisi's face immediately lost its tenderness. With a grim expression, she walked to the gate, pinched with her fingers, and pulled the hundred-refined iron sword out in its entirety. "Yue Jinghua, you had your way to heaven yet did not take it, but instead you've barged back into hell without a door—this time, do not blame me for being heartless and ruthless," she clenched her hand, and the sword crumpled into an iron ball.

Chapter 18 - 13 The Wicked Master and the Dog Servant

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