"Sure~ I'll leave it to you."
As Xiao Feng finished speaking, he immediately got out of bed, walked over to the wooden table, and sat down. He looked at Qing Lin with an encouraging expression.
"Swish swish..."
Qing Lin took a deep breath nervously. Following the example of the other maids, she soaked a towel in water and carefully used it to wipe Xiao Feng's face.
While Qing Lin was focused on wiping Xiao Feng's face, she noticed that he was staring at something intently. Subconsciously, she followed his gaze and discovered that her sleeve was open, revealing a few patches of green snake scales.
Her cute little face turned pale instantly. She quickly used the towel in her hand to cover the scales, her body trembling slightly as she apologized in a voice mixed with sobs, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Looking at Qing Lin's pitiful appearance, Xiao Feng sighed lightly in his heart. He reached out and patted her little head to comfort her, "Silly girl, there's no need to feel guilty. I just thought the scales on your arm looked beautiful, so I couldn't help but look at them."
"..."
Qing Lin was slightly stunned. It was the first time she had heard someone say that the scales, which even she found frightening, looked beautiful!
"Young... young master, are you really not afraid?"
Qing Lin raised her head slightly, her large, enchanting eyes looking at Xiao Feng timidly.
"Of course, it's true."
Xiao Feng reached out and took Qing Lin's small hand, slowly rolling up her sleeve. He gently touched the green scales with his fingers and said sincerely, "I think these scales are very beautiful and cool!"
To be honest, Xiao Feng wasn't lying to Qing Lin. In the era he lived in his previous life, human preferences were quite liberal.
Even if Qing Lin had more snake scales, as long as she was cute enough, there would still be plenty of people who liked her, regardless of whether she was half-human, half-horse, or half-spider.
[TN: o.o]
After staring into Xiao Feng's eyes for a while, Qing Lin felt his sincerity. Her fragile and scarred heart suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Qing Lin felt her breathing quicken and her heart race. Her large, green-tinged eyes began to show three small green dots.
Xiao Feng suddenly asked, "By the way, I don't even know your name yet."
"My... my name is Qing Lin."
"Qing Lin? That's a nice name."
Xiao Feng repeated her name softly, then said straightforwardly, "Why don't you stay with me from now on? I just happen to need a personal maid."
[TN: o.O]
"Ah?"
Qing Lin opened her mouth slightly in surprise, showing a look of disbelief.
"If you don't want to, I won't force you."
"I do!"
Qing Lin quickly exclaimed, "Xiao... Xiao Feng young master, I am willing to be your maid!"
When others saw the snake scales on Qing Lin's arm, they either showed expressions of fear or disgust. Xiao Feng was the first person to praise her scales, making him seem like a beacon of light in the darkness to Qing Lin. Even if it meant being just a small maid, she felt very content.
"Alright, it's settled then."
Xiao Feng patted Qing Lin's head with a smile and said, "But as my personal maid, you must train hard from now on. Otherwise, if I go to dangerous places, you won't be able to come with me."
"Young... young master, Qing Lin will train hard."
Qing Lin clenched her fists unconsciously, her pretty face full of determination.
"That's good. After breakfast, I'll teach you the basics of cultivation. Don't disappoint me~"
"Mm!"
Facing Xiao Feng's gentle and encouraging gaze, Qing Lin nodded seriously.
After Qing Lin helped Xiao Feng freshen up, she led him to the dining hall.
When Xiao Feng arrived at the dining hall, Xiao Yixian and the others were already there. He walked over and sat down next to Xiao Yixian.
Seeing that everyone was present, Xiao Ding quickly invited Xiao Feng and Xiao Yixian to start breakfast while inquiring about the current situation of the Xiao family.
Xiao Ding and his brothers had left the family to develop outside after Xiao Yan's cultivation talent had issues. It had been more than two years since they left the Xiao family.
Although Xiao Ding and his brothers communicated with Xiao Zhan through letters regularly, the content in the letters was limited and couldn't be as detailed as Xiao Feng's recounting.
With Xiao Ding and his brothers' curiosity, Xiao Feng briefly recounted the major events that had happened to the Xiao family in the past two years. He then asked about their experiences in Rock Desert City over the years.
[TN: Shimo City changed to Rock Desert City.]
As the three Xiao brothers hadn't seen each other for many years, there were many topics to discuss. Thus, breakfast lasted more than an hour.
From Xiao Ding and the others' conversations, Xiao Feng gained a detailed understanding of the power distribution in Rock Desert City.
In Rock Desert City, there were dozens of mercenary groups of various sizes. However, only three had fighters of the Dou Master rank. These were the Sand Mercenary Company, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company, and the Storm Mercenary Group.
Among them, the Sand Mercenary Group was recognized as the strongest because their leader, Rob, was a two-star Dou Grandmaster.
Unfortunately, besides Luo Bu, the Sand Mercenary Group only had one vice leader at the Dou Master rank. The rest were all Dou Practitioner.
In contrast, the Desert Metal Mercenary Company and the Storm Mercenary Group, while not having a Dou Grandmaster, had more Dou Master-ranked members than the Sand Mercenary Group.
To prevent being swallowed by the Sand Mercenary Group, the Metal and Storm Mercenary Groups had formed an alliance, creating a tripartite balance.
Understanding the current situation in Rock Desert City, Xiao Feng thought of helping Xiao Ding and his brothers unify Rock Desert City.
According to Xiao Feng's original plan, he would train in the Tager Desert for about six months.
During this time, he needed to search for the Storm Land and various poisonous creatures and snake-like magical beasts, which would require many people.
Instead of forming his own force, it would be easier to help Xiao Ding and the others strengthen the Desert Metal Mercenary Company.
However, there was no rush. Xiao Feng planned to accompany Xiao Yixian in Rock Desert City for two days, help Qing Lin start her cultivation journey, and then begin his main tasks.
After breakfast, Xiao Feng took Qing Lin back to train, teaching her the basics of the breathing technique.
For beginners in Dou Qi cultivation, during the Dou Disciple stage, they couldn't train with a method but could only use the basic breathing technique to absorb the Dou Qi from the world into their bodies.
Qing Lin's cultivation talent was excellent. In less than half an hour, she had mastered the breathing technique Xiao Feng taught and started her training independently.