As Ye Ming began laughing hysterically that his fantasy dream seemed to have been true, he continued to inspect the surroundings.
"Eastern fantasy decoration room, check." Ye Ming commented as he noticed a porcelain vase that could easily cost up to 3 million dollars.
He got up from the bed and admired some of the paintings that depicted a cultivator riding a sword in the sky.
"Hmm, the brushwork is really done well. This can also cost a fortune." He approved.
However, when his eyes inspected the painting more closely, he suddenly felt his eyes aching.
Following that, he seemed to have witnessed the impossible of the flying sword manifesting into some spirit. It changed its direction and was pointed at him.
In the blink of an eye, the sword started thrusting straight at him, prompting Ye Ming to panic and cover his eyes with his arm.
He even stumbled backward and nearly tripped to the floor, only to feel a soft and warm sensation on his back.
Afterward, the manifestation of the sword was deflected by a transparent-like silk.
His eyes widened in shock when he could sense the impact of the silk deflecting the supposedly powerful sword spirit.
"That's a real damage?" He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling like he had just escaped death.
"Young Master, please be careful of your steps and allow this maid to explain first."
It was at this moment that he recalled there was a maid in the room with him.
He lifted his chin and looked up. Despite being addressed as a maid, her porcelain-like skin radiated a soft, ethereal glow under the lantern's light, which sharply contradicted her position. How was this supposed to be a maid's appearance?
"Damn, this face is the exact one that I describe using AI to immerse my readers to imagine how a jade beauty looks." He clicked his tongue in amazement.
Her appearance was something that could easily make men go crazy for her, yet somehow he didn't lose his cool.
No, rather than saying he can't feel hard from looking at her, it was more safe to say that he was able to control his emotion.
'Am I always this composed in front of a beauty?' Ye Ming wondered, feeling shocked by his emotion. Like any single man would be when living alone, he would naturally spend a little extra time browsing through naughty content to enjoy himself.
Shaking his head, Ye Ming knew exactly what to do since he had written so many of these trashy transmigrated novels.
It was like a gathering of women captured, then rinse and repeat.
"Ugh, can you tell me what your name is and my name?" Ye Ming asked her.
The maid didn't seem surprised and nodded. She first helped Ye Ming regain his balance and bowed slightly.
"Young Master's family name is Ye, with the given name being Ming. I'm a maid assigned to you, called Qing Lan."
"Hmm, as expected. The same name as the one I've been using." Nodding in understanding, Ye Ming proceeded to feel his body. It was very fit, completely unlike his old self who had drowned himself with unhealthy food.
"Anyway, you're Qing Lan, right? Am I the useless Young Master who's about to be discarded or dethroned? And do I also have a useless spiritual root and have the most garbage talent possible that you can never find anywhere in the world? But despite all that circumstance, are you the only one who remains loyal to me?" He continued, throwing her a bunch of very cliche scenario possible questions.
"Pfft." Qing Lan giggled in response before realizing her mistake.
She quickly bowed her head and pleaded for mercy. "Apologies, Young Master. I didn't mean to laugh."
"What's there to laugh at?" He shrugged his shoulders. Although he wasn't mad, he didn't understand what was funny from his words.
"Um, I don't know where Young Master got all those questions from, but none of them are valid. Though the Young Master did warn and mention you might act a bit out of standard upon your return." Qing Lan clarified.
Her clarification was equivalent to adding more mysteries and confusing elements to Ye Ming.
"Okay, so I'm not getting discarded or dethroned. But one thing is for sure. My parents aren't present at all. Either my mother or father is being imprisoned or in a faraway place, right?" Ye Ming questioned.
Startled, Qing Lan's expression turned awkward, almost as if she had been rendered speechless by his question.
Meanwhile, Ye Ming misunderstood her awkward expression as validation for his claim.
"Aha, I knew it." He snapped his fingers and smirked coldly.
"Let me guess, my mother's family disapproved of my father and brought her back to their home place for imprisonment, most likely to force her to marry another man. Or is it my father, being the scumbag he is, went into a disappearing mode because he has to save the world cause aside from him, no one else can do the job!" He continued, feeling proud that he already got all the basic cliche troupe down.
"Um, that's not—" Qing Lan wanted to speak, but quickly got interrupted when the door to his room suddenly burst open.
"You little scoundrel! How dare you curse your mother and father the first thing you do when returning!"
"What the heck?" Ye Ming was startled by the door bursting into debris, followed by an intense killing pressure directed at him.
"Save me, Qing Lan!" Based on instinct, Ye Ming quickly latched onto Qing Lan and hid behind her. "Quickly, use your silk and detain the intruder. They must be here to dethrone me by using my disrespect to my parents as an excuse."
"..."
Right after Ye Ming finished his statement, the atmosphere turned silent.
In fact, the silence was actually so loud that if there was a mosquito, everyone would be able to hear the buzzing sound. Though in an Eastern fantasy setting where cultivators had unfathomable ability, they would still hear the buzzing sound regardless.
Meanwhile, Qing Lan held a bittersweet smile on her face as she turned to Ye Ming.
"Um Young Master, I don't think I can do that." She said weakly.
"Why? Are you not on my side?" Ye Ming's face turned aghast when he thought Qing Lan was actually a disloyal one. She couldn't have been posing a fake loyalty act earlier to deceive him and then attempt to kill him, right?
"Oh, dear lord. I am the swindled young master who's about to get pincered by them." He clasped both his cheeks with his hands, showing an "O" shape in his mouth. The current him resembled just like the one famous painting, The Scream.
"Young Master?" Qing Lan raised an eyebrow and tried to approach him.
"No, don't touch me. I can't believe I trusted you so easily. I was a fool— no, a buffoon!" Ye Ming hurriedly retreated from her and hopped back to his bed. He then raised his blanket as if it was a form of shield.
"Young Master, if I wanted to harm you, then wouldn't I have allowed the previous sword manifestation to harm you?" Qing Lan smiled bitterly and reasoned with him.
Sure enough, Ye Ming recalled that scene and realized it.
"Oh, right… that did happen." He lowered his blanket and faked a cough.
"I was just acting earlier. Was I good at it?" He continued, seemingly trying to regain whatever honor was left of him from that previous act.
Without a doubt, Qing Lan naturally understood it wasn't an act.
Nevertheless, she smiled brightly and nodded. "Of course, Young Master's acting is unparalleled."
Although knowing that she was just pleasing him, Ye Ming felt satisfied that she didn't pursue the matter.
Meanwhile, the conflict still remained, given the intruder was still standing from afar, seemingly debating whether to act or not.
"Anyway, who is he and why did you say you can't detain him?" Ye Ming asked, feeling confused by the situation. If Qing Lan was indeed loyal to him, then why did she act so nonchalantly upon an intruder?
This intruder literally smashed his doors into debris and was imposing such a heavy killing intent on him!
If he was really cherished by her, then why couldn't she just detain him.
The plot was not making any sense!
As he scratched his head from the confusing matter, Qing Lan's response instantly resolved it.
"Young Master, that person is not only stronger than me, but he's also your father." Qing Lan said, her face clearly sympathizing with him, given it was clear that what would happen next was obvious.
"Oh, the intruder was my father, and he heard me just talking crap about him." Ye Ming chuckled as he became enlightened.
"I think talking crap is an understatement, Young Master." Qing Lan corrected. "You cursed him of his wife being snatched back to her home and being forced to marry another man, essentially saying he will be cuckolded. Then you double down by claiming your father is a bastard for being self-righteous and away to save the world."
"Are you really on my side, Qing Lan?" Ye Ming twitched his mouth when she practically repeated his words in front of someone who could easily doom him.
"Yes, I am." Qing Lan nodded, turned around, and faced Ye Ming's father.
She bowed and said politely, "Master, the Young Master has just awakened and isn't in his right mind yet. I'm sure you have been warned in advance."
"Indeed, but I have yet to hear an apology from him."
"Eh, you say that, but I don't even know your name." Ye Ming spread his arms wide, indicating that he was clueless of him.
"Also, I don't have my memories, so how could you blame me? The father I remember isn't even you… actually, I don't even know who it is since I came from the orphanage."