Chapter 37: A Grain of Sand in Time
The back kitchen of the Lord's manor.
Several home cooks were cooking beef, filling the air with the aroma of meat, and on the adjacent tray there was an unplucked bull's head.
"Ah Cheng, what are you daydreaming for? Come and lend a hand." The family's cook hurriedly urged a young household servant standing behind him.
"Are you going to say something? Why are you standing there with your mouth watering? This is something the young master specifically requested, if you steal it, you'll be beaten to death!"
"I'm not hungry." Ah Cheng stared directly at the ox head beside him and whispered,
"This dahuang... this dahuang cow used to be our plow ox at home."
"Your plow ox? Did you sell it to the master's mansion?" The family chef's meat chopping slowed down slightly, but his mouth didn't stop,
"Even so, you can't be lazy, or you'll risk being punished by the young master for wasting time."
"Okay." Ah Cheng had no choice but to step forward and start helping with the work, but his mind drifted back to the past, occasionally glancing at the cow's head.
Cows are gentle creatures, they are large in size and strong, yet they have a gentle disposition and are easy to get along with.
Ah Cheng originally came from a farming family in the outer city area, his parents made him work, but he found other tasks tiring, while tending to the cows was quite pleasant.
When he was young, he was quite afraid of these huge creatures like cows, afraid that if they got angry, one kick would send his small body flying.
Afterwards, they slowly got along and he started to play freely, riding on the back of this yellow cow, walking slowly for a good while.
This big yellow cow can also be considered his companion from childhood to adulthood.
However, a few months ago, there was a famine in Yan City, so he had to sell the plow oxen and fields.
Plow oxen and fields have always been the lifeblood of farmers, the ones that put food on the table. If it weren't for no other choice, who would be willing to sell them?
Ah Cheng's family had no time for drama because not long after, Ah Cheng sold himself as a slave and became a servant in the lord's mansion.
"Brother Chen, can I ask how much the lord's mansion bought this yellow cow for?" Ah Cheng asked quietly.
"Not too sure, it seems like it was two or three taels of silver? Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's a bit more expensive than me. The contract for selling myself was only for two taels." Ah Cheng fell silent for a moment and said.
Now it was the turn of the house cook to be silent. It took him a long time to say, "Don't be too hard on yourself, this world is like this, filled with people with a hard life."
"Yes, the world is not good, otherwise we can't blame Lord Guo, can we?" Ah Cheng's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"If you want to blame someone, blame the famine, blame that Martial Saint who is just famous but useless. When he lost that inhuman war, he had to pay compensation, burdening the court's taxes even more. We farmers can't make a living anymore."
"Do you want to die? Shut up! Can you say that? If anyone hears, they'll kill you." The chef scolded hurriedly.
The concept of "inhuman" was quite distant to them, so much so that the ordinary people in their small town didn't even understand what it really meant. But it still had some impact on them.
A single speck of dust from the era falls on an individual's head and becomes a great mountain.
Some people are responsible for carrying the heavy burden of the mountain on their backs, while others enjoy a peaceful life sitting on the mountain. Everyone has their own role.
While Ah Cheng was chatting with the chefs, a dark figure suddenly jumped in through the window. With lightning speed, the figure attacked, and with a few soft sounds, the chefs all fell to the ground and couldn't get up.
The 8th rank martial artist Qiao Mu naturally had complete dominance over ordinary people, without any suspense.
He held a short spear in his hand, just now he used the spear shaft to strike. With his current spear technique and control, he could knock out ordinary people without killing them. It was an easy mark to handle.
This time, when infiltrating the Lord's mansion, a long spear was not easy to carry, so he specially purchased a customized short spear. The spear shaft is divided into two sections, and by twisting it, it can be connected to become a long spear.
"As expected, it's the kitchen. The preparations I made earlier were not in vain," Qiao Mu muttered to himself.
Qiao Canxue had long suspected that Lord Guo Yan, the city lord, was associated with the Wuji Association, so she conducted some investigations on Guo Yan and also learned some information about the Lord's mansion. That's why Qiao Mu was able to immediately know where the kitchen was.
The Lord's mansion is divided into an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard. The guards in the inner courtyard are stricter, as it is where the Lord and his family reside.
The kitchen is located in the outer courtyard.
Qiao Mu is currently an 8th-rank martial artist, which is already quite high in Yan City. For example, Military Officer Chu, who was in charge of over a thousand soldiers in the military camp, was also an 8th-rank martial artist. Quite prestigious.
If it weren't for Qiao Mu not practicing body techniques, he might have taken the risk of directly infiltrating the inner courtyard this time.
And he sneaked into the kitchen with a plan in mind.
After all, isn't that how they act in TV dramas? First, sneak into the kitchen, then knock out the chef and the servant, and finally, change into the servant's clothes and go out.
Qiao Mu didn't have any experience doing this, so he came to the kitchen first.
"It smells so good." Qiao Mu didn't hear the conversation between the home chef earlier, he just felt a little hungry.
"The Lord of this city eats so well? I never have such good food normally."
He was a newly promoted 8th rank and hadn't had a chance to earn money yet.
Although he was a centurion before, he died before receiving his salary.
Old Huang and the others collected a lot of compensation money, but since Qiao Mu was not really dead, he didn't ask for it.
Qiao Mu's daily food expenses were still at the level of his previous training, and on his birthday, he would just go to a noodle shop to order a bowl of longevity noodles.
"Today is my thirtieth birthday, thirty-first birthday, thirty-second birthday. We should celebrate. Otherwise, let's eat three big bowls of beef here."
Qiao Mu was about to eat some beef when suddenly his eyes fell on the young servant Ah Cheng who had fainted on the ground.
The 8th rank martial artist strengthened his vision. With Qiao Mu's current vision, he could sense that Ah Cheng's body had just moved slightly.
"Pretending to faint? Shaking in fear? This kid is quite cunning."
Of course, Qiao Mu's spear technique was skilled enough. But mainly because this young servant was only around thirteen or fourteen years old, with a childish look on his face. Qiao Mu instinctively held back.
"I really am a good person."
Qiao Mu approached Ah Cheng, who was pretending to be unconscious on the ground, and looked down at these few people. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Should I just kill them all to avoid trouble?
As soon as this thought emerged, he suppressed it and didn't think about it any further.
After crossing over, Qiao Mu conducted many experiments, both big and small, to test his immortality abilities and how to improve Death Assessment.
In these experiments, Qiao Mu mainly tried various ways to play with his own life, rather than playing with others' lives.
Sometimes Qiao Mu also thinks about a very dangerous thing.
This Death Assessment doesn't necessarily say that you have to save someone in order to have a high-quality death.
If he massacres a hundred or a thousand people, and is executed as a villain or sinner, the impact of his death itself will definitely be significant. In theory, perhaps it could also be considered a high-quality death?
With Qiao Mu's current strength at the 8th rank, it is easy for him to massacre ordinary people. It's much easier than storming the Lord's Mansion, a piece of cake to earn points.
Qiao Mu is not afraid of death, so the laws of Great Yan cannot punish him.
If he really does this, it is estimated that he, who cannot die, can quickly earn points at lightning speed and soon become the biggest disaster on the nine continents. Even immortals would feel scared upon seeing him.
However, as a human being, there should still be some moral bottom line.
This might sound a little silly.
While Qiao Mu may talk recklessly and seem reckless, he still has a moral compass in his heart.
Judge by actions, not by thoughts. This idea just passed through his mind like a joke, and he didn't take it seriously.
Speaking of actions, Qiao Mu's deaths these few times were really for saving people.
Just as he was preparing to take action and knock out Ah Cheng who was pretending to be unconscious.
But outside the kitchen door, there came the sound of dogs barking from far to near, as well as the sound of footsteps.
The voice of Childe Guo resonated outside the door:
"The cooked beef smells so good, the aroma can be smelled from this far away."
"Tsk tsk, dogs' noses are really sensitive. When it's time to eat meat, they know to run to the back of the kitchen by themselves."
Listening to the sounds outside the door, Qiao Mu's face turned dark.
The cooked beef that he had almost put into his mouth, was it dog food?
The servant Ah Cheng on the ground felt a tremor in his body, and unconsciously tightened his grip on his own thigh.
