Full Time Servant

Why did Xiaoyao want to learn these things? Actually, this wasn't because he was bored or felt he hadn't learned enough to specifically find such an obscure skill.

Xiaoyao had already stated his reason—it was because of his boss. His boss needed to understand these things, so he had to learn some.

Fine, I'll first investigate who your boss is and why you need to learn this.

Originally, the Young Miss felt this matter should have passed, at least temporarily concluded. But what left her speechless and helpless was—

"..."

Today, the Young Miss saw Xiaoyao again. This time he wasn't a Taoist apprentice but a little monk, mixed in with a group of Buddhist monks.

This was something the Mo family did every year—having people perform rituals for blessings.

What act are you putting on now?

This time the Young Miss didn't interrupt the blessing ceremony or pull Xiaoyao away, but afterward she caught him for questioning about what exactly was going on.

Xiaoyao's answer was similar to before—he knew a bit of this too and mixed in every year. Besides earning some extra money, he could also discuss Buddhist philosophy with eminent monks.

His reason for learning Buddhism was the same as Taoism—to see if either had methods for resolving fate. Buddhism and Taoism were one family; except for practitioners of both who could distinguish clearly, common people didn't make such distinctions.

Families like the Mo family would invite both, so Xiaoyao also sought solutions from both for his boss.

"Your Buddhist chanting sounds very good. You seem quite proficient in this." After casually asking a few questions, the Young Miss had no mind to continue pursuing it, because the results were all similar.

"So-so. I understand music and rhythm somewhat—this isn't much." Xiaoyao replied.

"Is your bald head real or fake?" The Young Miss looked at Xiaoyao's smooth scalp, very puzzled about this.

"Real. I shaved it yesterday." Xiaoyao replied.

"...You actually shaved your head for this?" The Young Miss asked in surprise. Generally, very few people in this world would shave their heads unless they were monks.

Except for balding people, bald hairstyles were rarely seen on the streets.

"What does it matter? I'm a man—just consider it changing hairstyles. Bald heads are actually quite handsome too." Xiaoyao said indifferently. He felt bald heads were also handsome and very intimidating.

"..."

The Young Miss shook her head helplessly: "You really don't care about anything. What are you doing this for?"

"For my boss, and also to earn some extra money. There's a lot of profit in this kind of work." Xiaoyao replied quietly.

"Cover your bald head first, or people will think you're naturally bald."

"It's fine—bald is bald. But it does seem a bit cold. I'll wear a hat." Xiaoyao smiled and casually took out a small leather cap, covering his bald head.

If it weren't winter, Xiaoyao would definitely be too lazy to wear a hat—how much cooler without one.

"Looking at you, have you shaved several times? Been a monk for several years?" The Young Miss asked. From Xiaoyao's hat, it definitely wasn't prepared recently and had been modified many times.

Xiaoyao was still growing, so if he changed yearly over these years, the hat would definitely need enlarging. It seemed he'd been a fake monk quite a few times.

"Yes, I can get ten taels of silver every year. The Great Master has always been generous with these things." Xiaoyao nodded.

"Right, Grandfather has always valued these matters highly and won't shortchange them." The Young Miss nodded. "Sometimes I think Grandfather values them too much. I heard he's even done some uncomfortable things because of this."

"Uncomfortable things..." Xiaoyao thought silently. Yes, uncomfortable things—things that violated ethics and shouldn't have happened because of such matters.

"Well, I'm not too clear either—just heard people mention it." The Young Miss shook her head.

"...You'll know if you investigate. Perhaps it's also a good thing." Xiaoyao said lightly.

"Then I'll investigate and see. Eh, Xiaoyao, you're a bit strange. Usually you seem not to care about anything except work—why the leisure interest this time?" The Young Miss found it somewhat odd.

"You'll know by investigating. I'm leaving first—the kitchen is waiting for me to wash and cut vegetables." Xiaoyao said, then disappeared, leaving the puzzled Young Miss behind.

At this time, the Young Miss hadn't connected the events yet. Later she would understand.

...

A few days later, the Young Miss was called over by her father, the Mo family First Master. His expression was very serious, making the Young Miss feel she'd somehow done something wrong again to displease her father.

About this, the Young Miss seemed not nervous at all, because this wasn't the first time. Though she didn't know what today was about, such situations had occurred many times. Even if it were the first time, she wouldn't care much, let alone now.

"Xiao Yu..." The Mo family First Master said in a deep voice, his expression very serious.

"Present, Father. Whatever you want to scold me for, please do it quickly. I'm going out afterward—there's drinking to be done." Young Miss Mo Yu said very sincerely.

"Nonsense. You're a girl, yet you spend all day drinking and causing trouble outside. What kind of behavior is that?" After hearing Young Miss Mo Yu's words, the Mo family First Master forgot what he was supposed to say and habitually gave her a scolding first.

After hearing this, the Mo family Young Miss seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, patting her chest: "Oh, so Father wants to talk about this today. Let's postpone it then—I thought it was something else, making it seem so serious."

After saying this, she turned to leave, feeling she could delay this matter and listen to Father's scolding when she had time.

"Come back." The Mo family First Master roared angrily.

"Father, can I listen to your scolding tomorrow? I'm going drinking now." The Young Miss replied with a bitter face, strongly requesting to postpone the scolding.

"You stubborn girl. Your old father isn't trying to discuss that with you. I'm already too lazy to lecture you about anything. I have other matters to discuss with you." The Mo family First Master said with a headache. Regarding his daughter, he no longer knew how to teach her. He didn't know who she resembled or who she'd learned from to have such a personality.

"Ah, you're not talking about that? Then what? I don't think I've done anything recently, just fought with the Bai family once, and..." The Young Miss muttered, recounting some outrageous things she'd done recently.

"..." The Mo family First Master felt somewhat helpless. He didn't know about these matters—if he had, he would have already yelled at the Young Miss.

Forget it. Put these matters aside temporarily and discuss more important things. This daughter seemed beyond saving.

"I'll settle accounts with you about those things later. I'm asking you now—what have you been randomly investigating recently? Some things can't be casually discussed." After helpless resignation, the Mo family First Master got to the point.

"Random investigation? Oh, I understand—so it's about this." The Young Miss understood. So her father was being so serious because of her recent investigations.

However, she was somewhat puzzled. The things she'd investigated didn't seem like big deals—why was her father so nervous and serious?

There must be problems here, definitely.

From her previous investigation attempts, the Young Miss knew there were problems, because when she'd inquired before, no one would answer her. Everyone seemed to deliberately avoid the question. At that time, she understood this matter was very problematic.

Now she felt this problem might not be as simple as she'd imagined. Even her father was so serious—this was enough to explain everything.

"Father, must even you avoid discussing this matter?"

"Yes. This is a gag order from your grandfather. No one in the Mo family, regardless of who they are, can discuss this matter. Yet you're investigating it so blatantly. If some interested parties wanted to harm you, your future would be ruined." The Mo family First Master said.

"What exactly is going on?" The Young Miss became increasingly curious about what could be so serious.

"We can discuss this matter between father and daughter. Don't speak of it after learning about it. Though I don't know why you want to know, you have the right to know about this matter, and you've grown up now." The Mo family First Master said calmly.

As a father, he should let his child know what they should know, understand what they should understand, and do what they should do. Excessive protection and concealment would only create opposite effects.

"..." The Young Miss didn't speak, because such situations made the matter's seriousness even more apparent.

"Regarding Grandfather, you should understand somewhat—he's someone who greatly values destiny reading and geomancy." When the Mo family First Master said this, he looked at the Young Miss, seemingly waiting for her reaction or just making a habitual pause.

"Yes, I know." The Young Miss nodded. She didn't think of anything else, just nodded in response.

"He habitually consults fortune tellers before doing anything major or making any decisions. Not only that, when any Mo family member is born, their fate is calculated, their name chosen, and their cultivation decided based on this." The Mo family First Master continued.

"Those with good fates receive his attention. Those who could benefit the Mo family receive his focused cultivation. Speaking of it is somewhat tragic—people born in the Mo family over these decades have had their fates arranged from the moment of birth..."

The Mo family First Master paused again, then sighed: "Perhaps, this itself is also a kind of fate!”

(End of Chapter)