“Mei Lingxi?!” William stepped back in shock. Still, he noted that her attire had changed.

Gone were the deep black robes with gold embroidery that first attracted his attention. He could still remember when Mei Lingxi had stepped out of her carriage and practically halted the street as the mortals chose to stare at her instead of continuing with their day.

In place of that, she was wearing robes that had the familiar green shade he had come to associate with the Jade Healing Sect. She had a golden sash tied around her middle, but other than that, it was rather plain.

Still, William thought Mei Lingxi was as beautiful as ever. The change in attire didn’t change that at all.

There was one thing that he was suddenly aware of. Something that also applied to Elder Yu.

He no longer felt the overwhelming need to drool after them. Sophia did say that the stronger he gets, the fewer women with higher cultivation could affect him.

“Mei Lingxi? What happened to Sister Lingxi? Are we strangers again?” Mei Lingxi pouted at him, making him immediately reconsider his self-control.

It still wasn’t at the level of staring at her dumbly, but William couldn’t deny that he was very much attracted to her. Something that couldn’t be said with Elder Yu.

If he tried to be objective, Elder Yu was just as beautiful as Mei Lingxi and maybe even more so. She also had far higher cultivation. Both of those things should mean that he should be drooling after her. Which obviously wasn’t the case.

William had felt strongly attracted to Elder Yu when he first saw her, but that was the same with any woman with higher cultivation. Perhaps once the first impression was over and done, personal feelings became more important.

Elder Yu was like an actual elder toward him, showing multiple times that she had his best interests in mind. Physical appearance was the last thing he focused on when in her presence. Mei Lingxi, on the other hand, made it a point to use her attractiveness as a weapon against him. Physical appearance was the only thing he focused on with her.

Elder Yu cleared her throat, “Attendant Mei, do remember your boundaries.”

That was said in a gentle tone, but Mei Lingxi stiffened nervously. “Apologies, Elder Yu,” she bowed deeply, “I thought Young Master Wei would prefer to continue from our previous interaction.”

“That won’t be necessary. You are in a different position now, and both of you should get used to it from the start,” Elder Yu turned to William, “I acquired her contract from Prince Yuan. She will be assigned as your new attendant to handle menial tasks.”

William was staring at Elder Yu with wide eyes throughout her speech while occasionally sneaking glances at Mei Lingxi. He raised his hand like a schoolboy and asked, “Elder Yu? Wouldn’t it be a waste of her talents? She was the manager of the Treasure Pavilion.”

He could see that Mei Lingxi agreed with him, though she didn’t try to speak up.

“That is up to you,” Elder Yu said flatly, “I’ll be blunt. Prince Yuan would have been killed if I had my way, but he unfortunately had some backing from the capital. Perhaps I will get my wish if Princess Jin succeeds in surviving. Either way, Mei Lingxi’s contract was given to me as an apology. Now I hand it to you. Her future is in your control.”

William recoiled in shock and spat with disgust, “A slave?” He hadn’t seen that coming, at all. There had been no evidence of actual slavery in the Tianxia Empire, but this ‘contract’ certainly felt like one.

“… Slave?” Mei Lingxi frowned, “You mean the practice of owning another human?”

“Indeed,” Elder Yu nodded, raising her eyebrows at William, “You know of such an antiquated practice, yet you are ignorant of some fundamentals. Fascinating. But no, Mei Lingxi is free to leave whenever she wishes.”

“Then what’s the contract for?” William was still suspicious. This just sounded like slavery with extra steps.

“It details what needs to be done for Attendant Mei to become a full member of the Jade Healing Sect. All you need to know is that it will be on your word.”

“So I can make her a member right now?” He asked challengingly.

“If you wish.”

William wanted to do it, just to see what would happen, but that impulse died when Mei Lingxi didn’t seem thrilled at the prospect. The extra time to think also let him realize that this might be a sort of test. If he asked for Mei Lingxi to become a member immediately, it would show he didn’t care much about the sect.

Or so William assumed. It could be something completely different, but no matter what it was, he felt that he had been too harsh with the idea of the contract. Was it any different from an employment contract from his old world?

Mei Lingxi could leave if she wanted to, but if she did a good job being his attendant, whatever that entailed, she would get a promotion.

“But Elder Yu, I don’t have a way to pay her,” William was almost convinced, and this was his last attempt at finding fault.

“The sect is responsible for payment,” Elder Yu now had a frown as she stared at him, “Wei Liang, do you not wish to have Mei Lingxi as your attendant? If that’s the case, I can find you another.”

This was now quite literally a bog standard employment contract. And it was one that Mei Lingxi greatly desired if the unsubtle looks she gave him meant anything.

“No, I do, Elder Yu,” William dipped his head slightly in thanks. He looked at Mei Lingxi and said, “I hope we can work together well, Sister Lingxi.”

“Thank you, Little Bro-Young Master,” Mei Lingxi cut herself off from being familiar when Elder Yu gave her a look.

“I’m glad you saw reason,” Elder Yu nodded, “The Grand Elder will arrive shortly with others to oversee any possible way to reduce the impurity in your body. Don’t get your hopes up too much since it might be too dangerous to do so with this level of concentration, but if they cannot, nobody can. You are in good hands.”

William’s heart raced a little, thinking about being able to finally get rid of his soul damage. Everything was ready, but it was just out of reach.

“Excuse my ignorance, Elder Yu,” Mei Lingxi cut in with a frown, “Why would Young Master need such esteemed figures for a minor problem like impurity?”

“They are needed when a disciple swallows around twenty pills of the third stage,” Elder Yu replied drily. Mei Lingxi had nothing to say since she was busy staring at William like he was a fool.

“Don’t let the foolish actions taint your impression, Attendant Mei. Your Young Master is at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm. I expect him to advance into the Foundation Establishment Realm as soon as this issue is resolved.”

William thought that Mei Lingxi wanted to be his attendant before, but after Elder Yu’s words, it felt like she was looking at him like he was a juicy meal. More than that, Elder Yu knew what she had done, and she was enjoying it.

Elder Yu suddenly looked away, staring at the apartment entrance, and said, “They’re here. Attendant Mei, retreat to your room, and be prepared. If they believe extracting impurities is possible, Wei Liang will need time to recover from the process. That is where your help is needed.”

“Yes, Elder Yu. I wish you success, Young Master,” Mei Lingxi bowed to both of them before disappearing into her room.

Just in time since the door shimmered out of existence to reveal the Grand Elder along with the two Elders Chen and one another, a woman who seemed to be on the verge of death. He could keep his eyes off her as she hobbled into the room, leaning on her cane.

“Elder Yu! Disciple Wei!” The Grand Elder beamed, “I have good news!” He motioned at the old woman, “Elder Zhou, with a little help from the Elders Chen, will be able to do it safely.”

“Don’t give the boy false hope,” Elder Zhou’s cane tapped on the floor as she got closer to William, “I need to see for myself what he has done.”

He yelped when the cane smacked him on the shin before any sound was choked off when Elder Zhou jabbed her fingers below his jaw. Thankfully, it was for a fraction of a second.

“Alright, now you can give the boy hope. Looks like his Qi is truly flowing as if there is no contamination,” Elder Zhou’s voice dropped off to a mutter, “Such a valuable subject to study. Shame.”

“Hmm,” Elder Chen Yi, who also wanted to study him, agreed with her.

“Marvelous!” The Grand Elder clapped his hand, ignoring the last several words, “Disciple Wei, are you ready?”

William was still rubbing his neck as he nodded. Why wouldn’t he be ready to rid himself of his soul damage?