Hua Manchun returned to Flower Fairy Mansion, and the first thing he did was call for his old servant, Ru Yu.
Thirty years ago, Ru Yu was one of the most favored women at Flower Fairy Mansion, but now, aged and faded, she was left by Hua Manchun's side, serving as a housekeeper.
Ru Yu was fortunate.
In front of Ru Yu, Hua Manchun extended his index and middle fingers, moving them like scissors for a moment.
Ordinary people seeing this gesture might think Hua Manchun wanted to smoke, but Ru Yu understood: Hua Manchun had a fire in his heart that needed to be vented.
Hua Manchun was a Lust Cultivator, the master of Flower Fairy Mansion, and he had special ways and people for venting his fire.
In Flower Fairy Mansion, there were only a little over three thousand people, and apart from Hua Manchun, all were women.
Over five hundred people lived in the manor's central area, all in their prime, and Hua Manchun's most favored group; Ru Yu certainly wouldn't use them to vent his fire, as less than half might survive the ordeal.
Over a thousand lived on the manor's outskirts, some older or those who had offended Hua Manchun, having lost his favor and only doing odd jobs around the manor.
Some made beds, some swept and dusted, others hauled carts and did heavy tasks, making Ru Yu seem truly fortunate by comparison.
Ru Yu couldn't let these disfavored people vent his fire either, as they might only infuriate Hua Manchun further.
Over five hundred others lived outside the manor, all with cultivation, responsible for patrols and safeguarding the manor, making them too crucial to be used for venting fire.
The last group, around a thousand, neither favored nor disfavored, just people Hua Manchun remembered if seen but might forget if not, were the most suitable.
Ru Yu picked thirty people from this group and sent them to Hua Manchun's residence, where they stood trembling with fear, sweat pouring down, knowing what was about to happen.
Hua Manchun waved his hand; Ru Yu, seeing this, hurriedly left the hall, staying with others in the courtyard, for the enraged Hua Manchun could kill at any moment, keeping a distance was wise.
Hua Manchun shouted towards the courtyard: "Ru Yu, how could you forget the rules?"
Ru Yu shivered and, with her head lowered, said, "Master, I—I have followed your orders."
"Do I need to give orders for everything? Draw water for my bath!"
"Still bathing..." In her extreme tension, Ru Yu blurted out and quickly added, "The old servant speaks too much, I'll get water ready for you now."
"Wait a minute!" Hua Manchun stopped Ru Yu, "What do you mean still bathing? Have I bathed already?"
Ru Yu was stunned for a long time, then said with her head down, "The old servant is muddled, I must have remembered wrong, Master hasn't bathed yet, I will prepare the water..."
Ru Yu wasn't the only one acting strange; the other maids in the residence were also uneasy.
Hua Manchun commanded: "No one leaves until this is clarified; what exactly happened?"
The people stammered the story out.
According to Ru Yu and the others, Hua Manchun had returned two hours earlier, bathed, and then left again for unknown reasons.
Hua Manchun was startled and asked: "What did that person look like? How could you mistake me?"
Hearing the word "mistake," Ru Yu was terrified: "Master, this old servant really was blind, I didn't see it at all, that person looked exactly like you."
Asking other maids, they all agreed with Ru Yu: "That person really was the same as the Master. We served him during his bath, not only was his face identical, but his body too! Not a single scar or mole was different."
First enraged, Hua Manchun then fell into deep thought.
Someone was impersonating me, and so accurately, it must be a Drama Cultivator.
But what was this Drama Cultivator's purpose?
Ru Yu said the person left after bathing and did nothing else, with dozens of maids testifying to this truth.
Hua Manchun didn't believe it, so he had Ru Yu and dozens of maids tied up and whipped, yet Ru Yu didn't change her story, nor did the maids.
Could what they said be true?
If the intentions can't be discerned, this matter becomes difficult to handle.
The next morning, Hua Manchun's fire had subsided, and the bodies of several women were quietly buried by Ru Yu.
Hua Manchun cleaned himself up and went alone into the deep mountains, purportedly to manage business.
The Flower Fairy Mansion sounds small but is no less expansive than Hai Chi Ridge, with large mountainous areas owned by Hua Manchun, and indeed many businesses, yet even Ru Yu knew nothing about what businesses Hua Manchun conducted.
He left in the morning and returned at dusk, asking Ru Yu: "Nothing unusual at home, right?"
Having just been beaten, Ru Yu truly didn't know how to respond.
She nodded: "Nothing special happened."
Hua Manchun felt unsettled and went to the main hall, intending to call relevant people to clarify the matter thoroughly.
Just as he sat in the chair, Hua Manchun suddenly noticed a new painting behind him, depicting three beauties; one holding a brush, another brandishing a long sword, and another wielding needle and thread.
These were Hua Manchun's three most beloved women: one named Yu Ping, adept at poetry and prose; another named Yu Jun, trained in martial arts since childhood, a Martial Cultivator of the Third Layer, also serving as Hua Manchun's personal guard; and the last named Yu Wan, best at needlework.