Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King

Miss Yao arrogantly wrinkled her delicate nose, letting out a "humph," flicked her hair, swayed her skirt, and walked back with large strides. Li Xian followed closely, smiling, "May I ask, Miss Yao, now that I am newly free, how can I aspire to the Yu People status?"

Miss Yao said, "Weren’t you going to let me taste your culinary skills? What, are you trying to deceive me?"

She put her hands on her hips, pretending to be serious, "Let me tell you, if your skills don’t suit my taste, I won’t bestow this great opportunity upon you." She intentionally watched Li Xian get flustered.

Li Xian saw that Miss Yao intended to help but was trying to make things difficult first due to her temperament. So, he went along with her nature, rolled up his sleeves, and made a big show of preparing a dish, asking her to wait a moment. Miss Yao was only joking, but this started her curiosity, thinking, "This man has decent medical skills and Martial Arts too. Could he really be good at cooking? If so, he indeed has many talents. Very well... I can use this chance to observe him more."

Li Xian usually worked at the clinic, where meals were fully provided. Although the kitchen was clean and tidy, it hadn’t been used for cooking in a long time. When he first arrived at the miracle doctor’s pavilion, he had bought a jar of coarse rice.

He called out, then ran to the medicinal garden to steal things on watch. He dug up wild vegetables, caught birds, and stole snakes. Then he went to the big kitchen to conveniently ’borrow’ two racks of lamb, some ingredients, and essentials like rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, pots, bowls, plates, and chopsticks...

When Miss Yao saw Li Xian returning with large bags, she asked out of curiosity, and upon learning how he got them, she put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Ah, you...you... are stealing!" Li Xian retorted, "Isn’t the miracle doctor’s pavilion your territory? I’m making this for you to eat, how is that stealing?"

Miss Yao was momentarily tongue-tied, feeling that Li Xian’s glib tongue could spin things in bizarre ways, making it hard to follow. She found it quite amusing though. She then watched from the side, supervising how Li Xian cooked and prepared dishes.

Soon, the fragrant dishes lined up one after another. Li Xian presented four main dishes as a treat. Oil and Vinegar Lamb Chops, Rice-Stuffed Sweet Chicken, Phoenix and Dragon Harmony, and Four Waters Pavilion... among them, "Four Waters Pavilion" was a soup dish.

The broth was in four colors: green, red, black, and yellow, each occupying a corner distinctly. With a stir of the chopsticks, the four colors blended, releasing a fragrance, transforming into a golden hue. The essence of the soup was fully revealed, akin to the evolution of Martial Arts.

There were also four middle dishes and four small dishes. Each dish had its own subtleties and meanings behind them. They were from the Yu Nan Dao cuisine, which Li Xian had tasted by chance and refined on his own.

Li Xian’s moves were swift and smooth, pleasant to watch as he worked. He occasionally explained the meanings of the dishes and the reasons behind some preparation methods. Miss Yao watched in a daze, completely absorbed and not bored at all.

When she came back to her senses, the small wooden table was already filled with dishes. Li Xian set up the bowls and chopsticks, thinking, "The chance to become a Yu People is right in front of me. I just need some nice wine to get Miss Yao into a good mood and coax a few useful words from her."

He once again conveniently ’borrowed’ two jars of fine wine. Miss Yao was both angry and amused but boastfully claimed that the miracle doctor’s pavilion was her territory, so he could only act unscrupulously. Seeing the table full of dishes, she felt a bit odd inside: "Uncle Yao once told me he’s quite formidable and crafty, that if he encounters an opportunity, he’d squeeze every bit out of it. Seems he wasn’t wrong."

She chose a seat and sat down. Li Xian opened a wine jar and poured her a full drink. He presented it with both hands, saying, "Please, have a taste." Miss Yao jokingly responded, "Young sir, if your current low status were noticed by that elder sister, and she took you home to serve her day and night, wouldn’t you forget about everything else, lost in bliss?"

Miss Yao’s words were not far from the truth.

In past days, Wen Caishang indeed enjoyed such attentiveness. Li Xian, under her care, could attain glory and wealth, enjoying heavenly blessings. Yet, in the long journey of Martial Arts, indulging in temporary peace is surely not wise.

Li Xian said, "As a man, how could I remain in servitude under skirts for long?"

Miss Yao’s pretty face blushed slightly, thinking, "Why did I say that just now? It makes the women of the Yao family seem so wanton, it would be truly embarrassing if misunderstood by him." She cleared her throat lightly and picked up a dish to taste. Her eyes flickered, nodding repeatedly.

She then reached for a second bite, a third...

Li Xian’s various dishes, while simple in ingredients, embodied the local charm. In terms of rare ingredients and flavors, the restaurants and eateries of Jade City have explored this thoroughly. With ordinary ingredients, Li Xian could hardly stand out. And being the daughter of a great family in Jade City, Miss Yao’s taste would surely be discerning, possibly hard to please.

Thus, he played to his strengths, creating dishes very different from Jade City’s cuisine. Miss Yao, used to delicacies in Jade City, later tasted the fine food in Natural Sect in Guanlong Dao, and seldom tried the dishes of Yu Nan Dao.

This rarity intrigued her, compelling praise. Only then did she loosen her mouth slightly, intending to speak: "You seek the status of a Yu People, for what purpose?"

Li Xian put down his bowl and chopsticks, sincerely saying, "A person aims to climb higher. I might as well be honest with Miss Yao, I come from a poor background, by a stroke of luck, I stumbled into the Martial Arts, getting out of the clay embryo. Yet, opportunities are fleeting and don’t last forever. Without sect or faction, I eventually find my resources lacking, encountering bottlenecks. To seek progress, I wish to develop in Jade City. Unexpectedly, I fell into debt slavery by accident. Having gone through life and death, my ambition remains unwavering; now that the situation has stabilized, should there be a chance for advancement, I naturally grasp it firmly."

Seeing Li Xian’s honest words, Miss Yao knew them to be true. She, born into privilege, couldn’t fathom the dangers and hardships behind Li Xian’s seemingly light words. She said, "Very well then, since that’s the case, I’ll tell you about it."

"Yu People... are those registered in the records. The citizens of Jade City are protected by its laws."

"Ordinary people, to gain the status of Yu People, must labor hard for thirty years and require written proof from their place of work. They must lease a stable residence long-term, with neighbors who can testify for them. They then go to ’Ten Thousand House Tower’ to register, and only then can they become Yu People."