The Golden Lotus Sect was hiring new servants this spring. Many people from all around jumped at that offer, thinking that it would provide them an opportunity to join the sect for real one day. 

The head servant was used to receiving applications from all sorts, but she never thought she would run into a child like this. It was a young boy whose growth looked stunted from malnourishment, but that wasn’t what caught her eye. First, it was the black blindfold that had beautiful designs-- arrays-- sewn into it with golden thread. The second thing was the way the child held himself: his back was straight as a sword, his head tilted to the side as though listening all around him. 

Despite being so young, the child had a tranquil yet powerful air of a cultivator around him. The half of his face that was visible was pretty and assured the child would grow into a beauty one day. His hair was a long dark-brown color with lighter highlights that looked almost foreign. His skin was a wheat color that suited the tone of his hair very well. The woman thought it was a shame that he was blind. 

Mei Hua stood before the woman, waiting for her answer as she looked over his application. Just a year ago he was trapped inside of a filthy cage intended for slaves before he walked a crooked path following a wicked man. It wasn’t until he heard the name ‘Golden Lotus’ did he remember what he wanted to do and broke away from Wei. It was like he had awoken from a deep slumber.

From the dregs of his memory, Mei Hua recalled that the Golden Lotus Sect ‘raised’ the villain until it was burnt down on the night of the Blood Moon. If the sect was still standing, that meant the villain was still here somewhere, suffering. Mei Hua would have to sneak in and rescue the villain on the night of the blood moon. 

The head servant cleared her throat, breaking Mei Hua out of his thoughts. “I understand that you want to become a servant of the Golden Lotus Sect, however, with your blindness and lack of experience, I doubt that you would be able to survive here.” 

Mei Hua smiled softly at the lady, melting her heart. “Ma’am, since I am a cultivator, I can see even without my eyes. Also, I am positive that I can endure anything that you would throw at me. If you provided a bit of training, I would be able to perform anything you ask of me.” 

Over the course of a year, Mei Hua also learned how to act. He knew that adults liked a sweet, obedient, yet hard-working child. He knew when to play nice or when to bite. Now was the time to spit out honey-coated words. 

The head servant looked Mei Hua over, mulling over his words. Mei Hua indeed didn’t seem like a helpless child. He was so bright despite being blind. With her heartstrings tugging at the sight of the eager boy, the servant gave in.

“I understand. You better keep to your word or you’ll be thrown out. Now, is there any area in particular that you would like to be assigned to?” 

Without hesitation, Mei Hua said, “I would like to serve the young master Qing Xin.” 

The woman’s mouth dropped open at the child’s words. Everyone knew that Qing Xin was a child with outstanding cultivation, however, it was also known how much the child was despised. Why in the world would a sweet child like him want to be assigned to work for the young master? Did he have delusions that he could make friends with the boy and weasel his way into the sect if they grew close? She would have to douse his dreams before they grew too big. 

“Young man, I’m sure you must be mistaken! Young master Qing Xin is not someone you want to be assigned to because…” The head servant trailed off. How could she explain the abuse to a child?

Before the woman could utter another word she felt the atmosphere around her drop and she shivered. Mei Hua tilted his head to the side and said in a chilling voice: “Did I stutter? I said I would like to be assigned to Qing Xin and I meant it.” 

A poisonous flower! The woman thought, her heart aching. The cute, blind child was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She quickly nodded, taking a step away from the boy. 

“I understand. Then, I’ll have you assigned to the young master right away. One of the other servants will guide you to your quarters where you will be staying. We’ll have some servant robes tailored to fit you as well.” The head servant held out her hand with a wooden bracelet that read ‘servant.’ 

Mei Hua reached out and grabbed the bracelet before putting it on his left wrist. Even without seeing, he knew exactly where to reach. The head servant shivered once more, this child was a monster. 

Another servant led Mei Hua out of the screening room. They halted for a second, seeing that he had the blindfold on-- assuming Mei Hua was blind-- so they spoke up before walking slowly. 

“You don’t have to accommodate me,” Mei Hua said, “please walk at your leisure.” 

Huffing, the servant felt that his goodwill was wasted and so sped up. To his surprise, Mei Hua kept up with every step, staying a foot behind him at all times. The servant could feel his ears redden with embarrassment at getting worked up for nothing. 

“What’s your name?” The servant inquired, clearing his throat. 

“I am Mei Hua,” Mei Hua said, “and you?” 

“You can call me A-Yin, everyone does,” The servant said. 

Mei Hua nodded, committing the name to memory. He felt that A-Yin wasn’t a bad person. Maybe he could use him in the future. 

A-Yin led Mei Hua through courtyard after courtyard, passing large buildings that were used to house disciples or servants as well as classrooms and training rooms. Mei Hua’s ears twitched when he heard disciples training in the open space. He looked over to see about a hundred figures going through different sword stances. 

“This is the training courtyard,” A-Yin quickly explained, seeing Mei Hua’s head turned toward the noise. 

“I see,” Mei Hua said. 

A-Yin was thinking that, technically, he couldn’t see, but he didn’t want to be rude. Without another word, he led Mei Hua toward the back of the sect where the young master Qing Xin lived. 

The building was built from ancient wood, weathered after many years. The roof curved gently, covered in black tiles. It was a humble abode. Enough for a family of cultivators to live there. However, there was only a single child staying here. 

“We’ve arrived. I’ll bring you to your room first,” A-Yin said, opening the entrance. 

“I would prefer to meet the young master and greet him,” Mei Hua interrupted. 

A-Yin nearly stumbled over the threshold. He scratched his head feeling awkward. He really didn’t want to interact with the young master, and he wasn’t even sure where he would be at this hour. Seeing as the young master didn’t have any personal servants around to ask it would be hard to find him. 

“Ah, maybe you can do that later. I’m not sure where he will be at this hour…” A-Yin trailed off, feeling awkward. 

Without knowing what happened in the screening room, A-Yin felt pity for the blind child. He thought that he was sentenced to work here as punishment to drive him off, he didn’t think that Mei Hua had personally asked to work for the young master. 

Mei Hua stepped over the high threshold and walked through the house, leaving A-Yin to follow. He sent out a large radius of divine sense that was a hundred times larger than what he could have managed a year ago. He could see the walls of the house, outlined in white against the darkness. He could also feel the spiritual energy of another person on the porch outside. He followed that energy without thinking. 

A-Yin tried to stop the child with a few futile attempts. In the end, he just slumped his shoulders and accepted Mei Hua wandering around as he pleased. 

A breeze blew against Mei Hua’s face as he came to the room that Qing Xin was sitting in. The walls were made of sliding doors that connected to a porch and let in some fresh air. A youth was sitting at the edge of the porch with his legs dangling off the side. He was staring blankly off into the distance when he felt the intruding spiritual energy. 

Qing Xin looked up at the interlopers with narrowed eyes. Neither looked familiar. One was a boy who was shorter than him with a black blindfold on. It was the boy’s spiritual energy that he had felt. The person behind him was just a servant. Qing Xin allowed his eyes to roam over the child in dark robes that looked malnourished as he was too skinny.

Without bothering to speak, Qing Xin languidly raised an eyebrow in expectation of an explanation.

“Ah, this is-” A-Yin stepped forward but before he could finish was interrupted. 

“My name is Mei Hua. I will be your personal servant as of today. I hope I may be of service to you, young master.” Mei Hua cupped his hands and bowed toward Qing Xin with the utmost respect. 

Finally, Mei Hua had found the boy he was looking for. With the power that he had gained over the last year, he was sure that he would be able to protect this person. At least from mid-tier threats. He would work even harder to further his cultivation from now on. Now that he had found a purpose: to protect Qing Xin. 

Qing Xin’s ebony eyes looked at the blind child, unimpressed. How is someone like him worthy to serve me? He picked up a smooth stone from outside and tossed it as hard as he could at Mei Hua who caught it effortlessly. 

Mei Hua ran his hand over the smooth stone. He walked toward Qing Xin and held out the stone for the boy. “Here,” He smiled genuinely at the boy who was suspicious of him. 

A-Yin was watching the interaction between the two, his heart pounding. What would the young master have done if that really hit Mei Hua in the face? Agh, he didn’t want to know, he just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible! 

“Well then,” A-Yin said, “Should I lead you to your room then, Mei Hua?” 

Mei Hua looked toward Qing Xin and bowed again. “If you will excuse me, young master, I must get situated in my room and dress appropriately before I can serve you.”

Qing Xin went back to meditating, not bothering to acknowledge him. Mei Hua took this as his cue to leave and followed behind A-Yin who began to scold him for wandering around and blah, blah, blah. Mei Hua paid no attention and allowed the latter’s words to run in one ear and out the other. 

“This is where you’ll be staying,” A-Yin said, opening a door.

The room could be considered quite small to some. It fit a bed and a small table with a chair. There was a closet to store clothes as well. It was better than most places that Mei Hua had stayed in. He nodded, satisfied. 

“I’ll take your measurements now so that we can have your robes brought to you.” A-Yin took out a measuring tape and began to measure Mei Hua who stood stiffly while the other flitted about. 

With all the measurements taken, Mei Hua was forced to wait in his room for an hour before he got three sets of daily robes and three sets of nightwear. He quickly changed into the white robes with gold stitching-- a servant’s attire-- and hurried out to find Qing Xin.