Chapter 27: The Maiden (Seeking Flowers and Collecting 0.0)

  He walked quickly to the light and soon saw a huge gate in front of him. Looking up at the massive door, Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, wondering if this was a county town or a manor. If it weren't for the sign hanging above the gate indicating that it was a manor, Zhao Fei would have really thought it was a county town.

  Standing at the gate, looking at this magnificent gate, Zhao Fei was hesitant. He didn't know whether he should go up and knock on the door or not. Nor did he know what the owner of this mansion was like, and if he would be driven away by the servants for being too presumptuous. After all, the servants in a large estate were notorious for bullying others. Zhao Fei had watched many TV shows before, but none of them depicted a servant who didn't bully others. Should he just forget about it? But looking around at the dark surroundings, Zhao Fei felt a chill run down his spine. A distant howl echoed through the air, and Zhao Fei instinctively retreated several steps back.

  He looked around at the pitch-black surroundings, then glanced back at the large gate behind him. Zhao Fei thought for a moment, forget it, he'd just die then. Even if they weren't willing to take him in, asking for directions would be fine too.

  Zhao Fei gritted his teeth and stepped forward. Knock, knock, knock... "Is anyone there?" Zhao Fei lightly knocked on the door. After a while, he didn't hear any sound from inside. "Could it be that no one is here? That's impossible, with the torch lit, how could there be no one? Could it be that my voice is too soft and no one heard me? Forget it, I'll try again." Zhao Fei increased the force of his knocking on the door and raised his voice. Knock, knock, knock... "Is anyone there?"

  After a while, a voice came from inside the door. Zhao Fei's mood became increasingly anxious, not knowing what kind of person would come out next, whether it was a dignified and majestic one or a sly and cunning one? The large gate opened, and an old man with white hair walked out from inside the door. Seeing that the person who came out was a benevolent-looking old man, Zhao Fei's mood immediately calmed down a lot, and he hastily paid his respects to the old man. "I've seen you before, sir."

  "No need to be polite, do you have something to say?" The old man looked around and then sized up Zhao Fei again, finding that he was just a child, and not even the kind who could truss a chicken. Moreover, there was no one accompanying him. His vigilant expression relaxed a bit, but he still had a cautious look on his face.

  "It's like this, old fellow. I'm from Zhaojia Village in Changshan County myself. A few days ago, I left the village to visit a friend, but on my way back home, I got lost. As night began to fall, and seeing that there was a fire here, I thought I'd come and bother you for a night, and leave at dawn tomorrow. I hope you can make an exception for me."

  After listening to Zhao Fei's words, the old man looked at the luggage behind Zhao Fei again. The old man roughly believed Zhao Fei's words. "I can't make decisions for myself, young master, please wait a moment, I'll go ask the owner."

  "Then I'll trouble you, sir." Zhao Fei bowed again to the old man. The old man then retreated behind the door and closed it.

  Zhao Fei was anxious. He hoped the owner of this house was a good person and could let him stay for the night. After waiting for a while, the door did not open. Looking at the dark surroundings, Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel anxious, pacing back and forth in front of the door, rubbing his hands nonstop.

  The creaking sound came again, and the old man walked out of the door once more. Hearing the noise, Zhao Fei hastily ran over and grabbed the old man's hand. "How is it, Old Sir? Has your family's master agreed?"

  Seeing Zhao Fei's appearance, the old man burst out laughing. "Haha, young master, don't be impatient, my family's master has already agreed. Follow me and I'll show you the way." After finishing speaking, he led Zhao Fei inside and turned around to close the door.

  "Thanks a lot, sir." Zhao Fei was very grateful and hastily expressed his thanks.

  "You're too polite, Master. Don't keep calling me 'old master'. I'm just the steward here. Just call me Zhang Bo." The old man said with a smile, looking at Zhao Fei calmly.

  "That young man was obedient. Ah, Zhang Bo, the master of the house is there. I want to personally thank him for his kindness, otherwise I would have had to sleep in the wilderness." Zhao Fei said very sincerely, he found it hard to imagine that the master of this estate was so easy-going, so he wanted to see for himself.

  Zhang Bo looked at Zhao Fei, his expression somewhat different. However, seeing that Zhao Fei's expression was very sincere, he said: "The sky is already very late, and the master has also rested. But I will convey your intentions to the master."

  After listening, Zhao Fei showed a disappointed expression and said helplessly: "Since that's the case, thank you, Uncle Zhang."

  "You're too polite, young master. From the beginning to now, you've already thanked me so many times. Young master is indeed knowledgeable and reasonable, I suppose your family education must be very good. It's probably also because of a decline in fortune." Zhang said sincerely. Observing Zhao Fei's words and actions, he seemed like a fallen noble family.

  "It's nothing, I learned all this from our village chief..." Zhao Fei said to Zhang Bo as they walked. The estate was really big, and even after walking for a while with Zhang Bo, they still hadn't reached the sleeping quarters. As he chatted with Zhang Bo, Zhao Fei couldn't help but take in the grandeur of the estate. It was truly majestic and awe-inspiring, opening up Zhao Fei's eyes to a whole new world. He couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions as he took in his surroundings. What a waste, building such an extravagant estate must have cost a fortune, enough to feed so many people if they had sold grain instead.

  "Alright, we're here," said Zhang Bo, interrupting Zhao Fei's daydream. "Although it's a bit simple, please don't mind, young master." Looking at the house in front of him, Zhao Fei couldn't help but mutter to himself, simple? If this house was considered simple, then his own room wasn't even worth mentioning as a toilet.

  "Thank you, Uncle Zhang. I'll go rest first then." Zhao Fei bowed to Uncle Zhang again before turning around and pushing the door open to enter.

  He carefully looked around the decorations in the house, and Zhao Fei couldn't help but sigh: "This is the life of a rich person, compared to which his own home can't even be considered a doghouse." Just as Zhao Fei was talking to himself, a wave of fatigue surged up. "Forget it, I'll just go to sleep first." Putting down his luggage, Zhao Fei lay on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

  The next day, Zhao Fei got up early again. He pushed open the door and took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, feeling refreshed. As he walked out of the house into the courtyard, he began to practice his Wu Xing Quan (Five Elements Fist) again. However, he didn't know that a pair of eyes rich in spiritual energy was staring at him.

  "Haha, it's really too funny! What is he doing? One moment he's acting like a monkey, the next he's acting like a bird. I wonder if there's even a bigger fool than him. What on earth is he doing? How can someone make such strange movements? But it's really too funny! Hehehe." Outside the training hall, a small head was staring at Zhao Fei without moving, and making soft noises. Meanwhile, Zhao Fei, who was focused on practicing his boxing, didn't notice.

  After finishing a set of boxing moves, Zhao Fei straightened up his body. He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  "That little kid, why did you stop? I haven't laughed enough yet, how can you just stop?" A clear voice came from behind Zhao Fei. Suddenly, it startled Zhao Fei. "Who is it, who's there."