The next morning, Lu Er changed into his own clothes, ran a hand through his hair once in the rough direction of tidiness, and headed downstairs.

  It was time for breakfast, so almost everyone was present. The air was thick with the scent of steamed buns and savory broth. The others had already grabbed their meals and were sitting at their usual table.

  Lu Er also grabbed some food and sat at the same table.

  "Are you going out?" Wan Reira asked, pausing with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth.

  "How did you know?"

  "You are wearing your own clothes."

  "Yeah," he confirmed, taking a bite of a bun. "Heading to the Xia family manor. By the way," he added casually, glancing around the table, "any of you actually live here in the Central Zone?"

  "Yes, we do," Chen Yuan replied without looking up from his bowl.

  "Oh, alright." Lu Er nodded.

  "Why? Did you want something?" Cai Hong asked while chewing his food.

  "No, I was just asking." Lu Er went back to his food. 'Guess I'll just have to go home.' He made up his mind and finished his meal quickly.

  After setting out and walking for some time, he arrived at the same station where he had boarded a public cart during the start of the Grand Awakening Ceremony.

  The Xia Family's residence was also inside the Central Zone and wasn't that far. It wasn't that expensive either; the fare for the private cart only cost around four greens. Yeah, so he waited for a public cart, paid 1 green crystal to the gaunt man collecting the fare, and sat at the back. He would have to walk for some time to actually reach his destination, but he couldn't do anything about it.

  The cart jolted into motion. Lu Er watched the ornate buildings and well-kept streets scroll by. 'Sigh. In terms of Earth's currency, I am earning nearly 50 million dollars per month, yet I am poorer than a beggar.'

  Actually, he indeed was poorer than a beggar because a beggar would only have zero money, while he was 22 Essence Stones already in debt, not to mention the more debt coming his way soon.

  After an hour of stops and starts, he disembarked at the designated plaza. From there, it was another twenty minutes of walking through progressively quieter, more opulent streets lined with high walls and guarded gates. Finally, he stood before his destination.

  The entrance to the Xia Family Manor was imposing. Two large, riveted steel doors, polished to a dull gleam, were set into a high wall of smooth, grey stone. Flanking the doors stood two D-grade Awakened cultivators. One was a man in his forties, while the other was a young man. Though it was just a guess, Lu Er was spot on about the cultivation of the guards. Above the gates, written in big characters, were the words: Xia Family Manor.

  Before Lu Er could even approach, the younger guard took a step forward, his expression hardening with annoyance.

  "Tch! I already told your lot, we aren't buying!" he barked, his voice carrying in the quiet street. He sounded more exasperated than truly angry. "Do you think we're fools? Take your trinkets and scram!"

  Lu Er looked left and right, then asked, "Are you talking to me? Because I was invited by—"

  "Even if you keep sending different faces, we can see through your pathetic little schemes!" the guard cut him off. "This is the Xia family residence. Leave now, or I will be forced to remove you."

  "I was invited by Lady Xia. Here is my identity plaque." Lu Er replied gently and handed him his silver plaque.

  The younger guard's eyes dropped to the silver plaque and paled visibly. "A-apologies, Young Master Lu Zhiheng. I didn't mean to offend you."

  "Young Master, please forgive him. He will make sure never to repeat such mistakes," the other guard suddenly intervened, his head bowed as low as it could go.

  He was much older than the other, thus had already seen many things in life. Especially these types of young masters, who took a lot of pride in themselves and loved to boast their authority when someone disrespected them.

  Internally, the older man was cursing. 'Idiot! I always warned him to keep his cool and not to act rashly. Now he's done it! He will get all of our family killed!' The young man was his nephew, whom he had gotten this job for after pulling a lot of strings.

  However, what he heard was something he had not expected.

  "It's nothing. You were just doing your job. There must be a lot of beggars and sellers around here causing problems." Lu Er waved his hand dismissively.

  The younger guard blinked, then bowed again, deeper this time. "Ah, Young Master is truly magnanimous. There are indeed many…" He caught himself, flustered. "No! I didn't mean that you look like one—"

  "Relax, man." Lu Er patted the guard on the shoulder. The guard sighed a breath of relief as Lu Er continued, "I should have arrived in a private cart with better clothes."

  "Your kindness knows no bounds, Young Master. We are grateful." The middle-aged man thanked, then slammed his fist on the wall beside him. The wall had a metallic plate connected to it, which caused the gates to grind open, letting Lu Er inside.

  Lu Er entered and saw another guard inside who was responsible for opening the gates.

  'They sure put the thought into this.' He praised the mechanism mentally.

  Outside, both guards saw Lu Er walking inside. Suddenly, the middle-aged man slapped the young man at the back of his head.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "You! I told you to keep your calm, not act recklessly. You almost got all of us killed! What if he wasn't benevolent and chose to punish you?!" he shouted in whispers.

  "Ahaha… sorry, Uncle," the younger guard chuckled, rubbing his head. He glanced back at Lu Er's retreating form, a strange, amused glint in his eye. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to us. We're Xia family guards, after all."

  "Sigh. Looks like the Young Lady has been too kind to you. You know absolutely nothing about the world."

  "Uncle, I know many things. You don't have to worry about me." Saying so, the young guard went back to his position.

  …

  Lu Er walked around the manor and arrived in front of a room. He slid the door open, and inside was a normal room.

  'Fuck, I am lost!’ He thought with a mental sigh. ‘Should have asked for a servant to guide me.’ He was about to close the door when his eyes landed on the fruit bowl. Among the exotic, faintly glowing spiritual fruits was a simple, perfectly green apple. The sight was strangely comforting. He stepped in, snatched the apple, and backed out, closing the door behind him. It was nice to eat a normal fruit rather than some Devil Qi fruit.

  Lu Er took a bite and walked around to look for any servant. The house was just too big for him to do anything by himself.

  He took a bite of the apple and threw it in the air, catching it, then taking another bite. Older people always advised not to play with your food, but Lu Er wasn't exactly the type to listen. Besides, who could stop him if he wanted to?

  After walking for a while, there was a corner in front of him. He threw the apple once again. "Oops." The apple was thrown a bit too far, so he had to run to catch it—

  Crash!

  Thud. Thud. Thud. Clang.

  "Ow!" Lu Er felt something scratch his face as he grimaced with his eyes closed. Unfortunately, it seemed that he had collided with someone coming from the other side of the corner.

  "Wah!" A timid, feminine shout, that sounded more worried than perplexed, came from on top of him.

  'On top of me?' Lu Er opened his eyes and looked at her. Her long, dark, slightly violet hair reached his face and felt almost like silk. Wide blue eyes stared at Lu Er as wispy bangs framed her face, just brushing above her bright and shiny eyes.

  'Shiny?' He took a second look. 'She is not going to cry, right?'

  "I am sorry. I apologize." She blurted out, bowing her head repeatedly even while still partly sprawled across him.

  "No, no, the fault is mine," Lu Er said quickly, trying to extricate himself gently. "I was the one running. Can you… get up please?"

  "Ah, right. Sorry for that." Flustered, Flustered, she scrambled to her feet, revealing her attire.

  She wore a light peach inner robe with long sleeves, paired with a simple dark skirt that flowed to her ankles.

  Lu Er also got up on his feet. But just as he did, a thin stream of blood flowed down his face.

  "Oh no! You are bleeding." The girl's concern immediately overrode her shyness. Without a second thought, she grabbed the hem of her own clean sleeve and pressed it gently against the shallow cut on his cheekbone.

  Hiss. The moment the cloth touched the wound, Lu Er flinched a little.

  Fu. Fu. She leaned closer, blowing soft, cool breaths near the wound. "Don't worry, my clothes are pretty clean."

  "Uh, you really don't have to do this," Lu Er said, but he made no move to stop her, instead let his face forward. A strange, warm sensation fluttered in his stomach—the guilty pleasure of a cute lady fussing over him.

  "Mmm, this might leave a scar," she mused, her brow furrowed in concentration. She glanced around furtively, as if checking for observers, then seemed to come to a decision. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

  "About what—" Lu Er was interrupted as he felt something warm across his face.

  A light green halo came from the girl's hand and slowly healed the scar across his face. Suddenly, realization dawned on his face as he realized who she was. A Ranked, slight violet hair, and timid, kind personality.

  Lu Er had done his research on rumors related to the Xia Family, and one name that came up constantly was another young lady of the Xia Family, Xia Sahui's younger sister, Xia Wakumi.

  Lu Er felt the urge to facepalm himself as he'd thought she was some another servant and was messing with her, acting like he was hurt.

  'It looks like they didn't use their 'Scion' methods on her. But isn't she too kind? Nothing like her sister. She must be the apple of everyone's eye in the manor, to be this protected.'

  After Lu Er's scar was healed completely, she sighed. "There, it's healed completely."

  "Thank you." Lu Er bowed properly and said, "I'll help you gather your stuff."

  "It's not a problem. I can do it my—"

  "No," he insisted, already kneeling. "You just helped me. Let me return the favor, or I'll feel terrible." He infused his voice with a note of earnest insistence.

  "Ah, okay." She agreed.

  He picked up the scrolls, books, and artifacts that she was carrying and started putting them into the wooden box that she was carrying. After they were done gathering everything, Lu Er quickly lunged at the box and picked it up.

  "Huh?"

  "I will carry the box. Tell me, where are we going?"

  "No, I will carry it myself. I can't bother you."

  "Uh, I'll need your help after this."

  "??" She didn't say anything, only tilted her head slightly.

  "Argh, I am lost, so I need your help to get out. Come on now, don't make me say it!" Lu Er said with a frustrated voice.

  The blunt admission and his exaggerated frustration drew a soft, surprised giggle from her. "Alright. Come with me, then."

  "You don't look much older than me. Are you a servant here?" Lu Er asked out of curiosity, at least he showed it.

  Xia Wakumi replied immediately, "Yes, I work here." She probably had some reason, and Lu Er didn't mind playing along. 'Does she not realize that she just showed me a Soul Gift which no servant would have? Looks like it slipped her mind.'

  "Oh, I see. Well, it seems the Xia Family is quite lucky to have you, Miss Servant."

  "No, no," she said softly, her gaze drifting for a moment, becoming distant. "It's rather me who is fortunate to have them…"

  "What?"

  "Ah! No!" She startled, blushing fiercely. "I-I mean I'm lucky to work for them." She stammered, betraying herself completely.

  'She is the worst liar I have ever seen.' Lu Er thought with internal amusement and asked, "No, I meant, what is your name? I can't keep calling you Miss Servant, right?"

  "You can!” She said, a little too quickly, her eyes wide. “In fact, I'd prefer if you always called me by that!" She seemed a little bit too enthusiastic about it.

  Lu Er was slightly taken aback as he replied, "Fine, whatever you like." He shrugged his shoulders slightly.

  Soon, both of them arrived at the same room Lu Er had stolen the green apple from earlier. She told him to put the material in a corner.

  Finishing the job, Lu Er told her about the reason he was there in the first place. He was there to gather materials on a loan.

  She heard about his situation and pondered for a while before saying, "If you also want the Spiritual Emulsifier, then I am afraid that your loan amount might exceed a thousand Essence Stones. On top of the ten percent is a minimum interest that Elders will give to someone like you. Are you sure you want to do this?"

  "Is that so? Hmm, ten percent of a thousand is a hundred Essence Stones, and my salary is only one Essence Stone per month. Looks like I might never be able to pay back unless I hunt strong beasts and monsters to earn more Essence Stones. It's a quicksand of debts."

  "Yes."

  "You are right. I will change it, then."

  "Yes, yes." She nodded.

  "And only buy 200 Essence Stones worth of material."

  Xia Wakumi stared at him. "No." She continued, "Are you sure you want to use the Assign Techniques? It doesn't seem helpful in your case. Maybe you want to reconsider it?"

  "But I have to take a risk if I have to grow,” he countered. “I am not an Awakened. I can't control Essence, so I need something to fight."

  "But without a Spiritual Emulsifier, you might not receive any result. You will only waste your money. It's like gambling with certainty of losing all your money." She argued, her concern evident.

  "Haha, why are you worrying that much?” he asked, offering a reassuring smile. “I am not actually going in debt. I just need to work for the Xia Family, and I don't think Xia Sahui will treat me that bad."

  She studied his face, then sighed, a small, resigned sound. "If you are fine with it, then I won't say anything. I'll take you to the Elder in charge."

  "Thank you."

  What happens when a young master from a declining cultivator clan decides to… be a decent human being?

  Who does that?

  -Karmic Cultivators

  -Slightly more farming, crafting and slice-of-life than most xianxia

  -MC doesn't discover his own path until Ch 10 so be patient

  -Gradually accumulating power growth.

  -No Harem