Lily Spencer glanced at Adam Spencer, and only after he nodded did she walk over. The delicate maid took out a handkerchief from her waist, but Lily Spencer shook her head—after doing so much hard work, not a single bead of sweat had appeared on the little maid’s forehead.

At this moment, Adam Spencer finally got up from the meadow, brushed off the grass clippings from his body, wiped away the green grass stains from his cotton shirt, and smiled as he cupped his hands in greeting.

The maid did not turn to look at him and said indifferently, “I don’t like you, so there’s no need for you to try to get close to me. People like you may look innocent and gentle on the surface, but deep down you’re full of stale and decaying feelings, which is disgusting.”

Her tone was emotionless, her chin slightly raised. There was no deliberate attempt to create distance, yet a natural air of superiority emanated from her. As a personal maid serving Her Highness the Princess of the Tang Empire, she could order around most officials of the empire, let alone a minor figure like Adam Spencer.

Adam Spencer smiled and shook his head, then turned and walked toward the earthen stove by the stream.

He had only one little maid, while the noble had countless maids. His only little maid was pulled away by one of the noble’s many maids for a chat, and while the noble still had other servants to wait on her, he could only go and fetch firewood, boil water, and cook for himself.

Perhaps it was the harsh winds and sand of the borderlands that had made his skin so thick, but there was not a trace of embarrassment in his smile.

As the sun was about to set, Lily Spencer returned carrying a large pile of snacks like dried milk curds. Adam Spencer was staring blankly at a bowl of burnt meat porridge in his hands, but when he saw her, he took the snacks without hesitation and stuffed them into his mouth, mumbling, “Why does she like chatting with you so much? Doesn’t she realize I haven’t had a proper meal in days… This kind of cheap sympathy from nobles is really misplaced sometimes. The way she smiles, it’s like a wolf grandmother wanting to eat little girls—she thinks she’s being gentle and proper, but it’s even faker than the watered-down wine sold in the taverns of Weicheng.”

“She’s actually pretty nice.” Lily Spencer picked up the burnt porridge beside him, lifted the tent flap, and was about to leave to make it again, but he called her back.

“What have you two been talking about these days?” Adam Spencer asked.

Lily Spencer furrowed her delicate brows, struggling to recall for a long time before answering, “I think… you know I don’t really like to talk… Most of the time it’s her talking about things on the grasslands, but I’ve already forgotten what exactly she said.”

Hearing this, Adam Spencer’s mood improved greatly. He hummed a little tune, chewed on the delicious dried milk curds, and said, “Next time she wants to talk to you, remember to charge her, or at least bring back more of these milk curds.”

Night fell.

Lily Spencer used stream water to extinguish the stove fire, carefully checked everything, then dragged a bucket of hot water toward the small tent. The people on the slope by the stream watched this scene, knowing that the little maid was preparing foot-washing water for Adam Spencer, and who knows how many of them showed expressions of contempt at the same time.

This contempt was, of course, directed at Adam Spencer.

After washing his feet, Adam Spencer crawled into the woolen bedding, then pulled the pair of icy little feet that reached over from the opposite side into his arms, letting out a groan that was somewhere between pleasure and pain. After yawning twice, he said, “Let’s sleep.”

Lily Spencer had worked much harder than him during the day, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

But Adam Spencer didn’t know when he opened his eyes again. His gaze seemed to pierce through the patched tent, falling upon the starry sky, and then upon a handkerchief.

Recalling the gold-edged handkerchief that the maid had taken out, he knew his guess was correct, though he didn’t know what good it would do him even if he had figured it out.

Chapter Seven: Night Drinking, Dreaming of a Sea

Staring at the top of the tent, memories of the days since leaving Weicheng surfaced in Adam Spencer’s mind.

All along the way, the curtains of that luxurious carriage remained tightly closed. Except for the little boy with obvious barbarian blood who occasionally got out to play, there was never a chance to see the princess. Only the delicate and proud maid would occasionally issue orders.

For some reason, that maid liked to call Lily Spencer over to chat.

And for some other reason, that maid made no effort to hide her dislike for him.

Adam Spencer thought she was a very good actress. Because whether in Weicheng or on the journey, whether it was the attitude of those grassland men under her command, or the temperament and expression she herself displayed, it was hard to see… that she was not a maid.

This was what struck him as odd. He had always thought that the true nobles of the upper echelons of the Tang Empire shouldn’t have much idle sympathy for someone like Lily Spencer.

But these were not the things he truly cared about. What he had been paying attention to these past few days was the old man in the carriage wearing a worn robe. If his guess was correct, that kindly looking old man should be the master of the Southern Gate of the Dao of Haotian, whom General Ma had mentioned.

Since he was very young, Adam Spencer had aspired to enter that mysterious world, but had never found a way in. He was willing to follow this group back to the capital precisely because there was such a true cultivator among them.

Unfortunately, along the way, he never found a chance to speak with the well-guarded old man. Only during camp meals did he occasionally meet the old man’s gaze for a brief moment. In that instant, he seemed to see kindness and even encouragement in the old man’s eyes, which left him all the more puzzled.