At that moment, hearing those voices, Ryan Ling almost tripped and fell on the spot. He was totally caught off guard. Just as he turned around, he suddenly noticed several women staring at him. They were all dressed in matching, super-revealing outfits—obviously maids from the City Lord’s Mansion. Realizing it was just them, Ryan’s pounding heart finally settled down. The last thing he wanted was to get discovered at this critical moment and have all his efforts go to waste.
"Hello, ladies!" Ryan quickly nodded and bowed to them. He absolutely couldn’t afford to offend these people right now—Alice had already warned him before he came in: the maids he needed to meet after bringing in the water were these very women. So, for now at least, he had to stay on their good side. Absolutely no picking fights!
"Wow, I didn’t expect this year’s water carrier to actually be a hottie!"
"Seriously! Every other year it’s either some old guy or a dude who’s hard on the eyes. What happened this year? Where’d they find such a handsome guy?"
"Totally! We haven’t been allowed to leave for years, and this is probably the first time we’ve ever seen such a good-looking guy. This is basically a once-in-a-lifetime treat!"
……
As those few maids chatted, more and more women gathered around. It was just like a bunch of palace maids who’d never seen a real man—other than eunuchs, anyway—and now, faced with someone like Ryan, they were all flustered and out of sorts!
Ryan really didn’t want to get tangled up with them. First, it would be a huge waste of time, and second, being surrounded by this many women was just asking for trouble!
"Ladies, I’m just an ordinary water carrier, okay? Please let me go!" Ryan begged for mercy, putting on his best pitiful face.
"What’s there to be scared of? So what if we cop a feel? It’s not like we’d take advantage for free—if you let us, we’ll even pay you!"
"That’s right, I’ve got plenty of cash here. You can have as much as you want. Of course, you know exactly what we want in return. So, deal or no deal?"
……
Hearing them talk like that, Ryan was totally dumbfounded. Where the hell had he ended up? Was this really the City Lord’s Mansion, or just a den of hungry she-wolves?
Right then, a fierce-looking woman in her thirties barked out, "What do you think you’re doing? Is this any way to behave? Screaming and carrying on like that—get back to work, unless you want a good thrashing!"
The moment she shouted, none of the other maids dared say another word. They all scurried off, leaving Ryan to breathe a sigh of relief. But then that fierce woman locked eyes on him and snapped, "Water boy, quit gawking and get to work! Fill the tub to the brim, make sure it’s done right, and then get out. Got it?"
"Got it, got it!" Ryan nodded over and over, secretly grateful for this scary woman—if she hadn’t stepped in, he’d have no clue how to shake off those maids!
Ryan quickly dumped four or five buckets of water into the tub, finally filling it up. By now, everyone else had cleared out, obviously off to prepare for Lady Miranda’s bath. With the City Lord’s bathing time coming up, all the top experts watching the place had pulled back too. Basically, there was no one around—this was his golden window!
Ryan didn’t hesitate for a second. He had to grab this chance and dive straight into Lady Miranda’s bedroom. If he could just find what he was after, he’d be home free!
Without another thought, Ryan flashed forward like a bolt of lightning and slipped into Lady Miranda’s bedroom. The place was huge, packed with all sorts of stuff. Ryan started to panic, searching for several minutes but still coming up empty. But he was sure the thing he needed was here!
"Where the heck is it?" Ryan was sweating bullets. He quickly whipped out his Wish-Fulfilling Staff—maybe it could help him track it down!
The staff did its job perfectly—one sweep and it locked right onto the space under the big bed. There was a treasure box hidden down there, and Ryan was sure his target was inside. Elated, he rushed over immediately!
But just then, a voice suddenly rang out: "Water boy, what are you doing here? Trying to steal something?"
Ryan nearly jumped out of his skin at that voice—he never expected to get caught at the worst possible moment. He turned around and saw it was that same fierce woman.
"I—I got lost! First day here, I honestly have no idea where anything is!" Ryan had considered just taking her out, but then he noticed several murderous gazes locked onto him from the shadows. These weren’t ordinary people—if they saw him making any suspicious moves, he’d be dead in an instant. So he played dumb.
"Is that so?" The fierce woman eyed Ryan skeptically.
Ryan didn’t dare meet her eyes and bowed his head.
Just then, a few maids called out, "Matron Rhonda, the mistress is ready for her bath! She needs you to attend her!"
"Got it!" Matron Rhonda nodded. Clearly, now wasn’t the time to deal with Ryan. Seeing how pitiful he looked, she seemed to believe he really had just gotten lost. She shot him two fierce glares and barked, "Fine, get out. We don’t need you bringing water here ever again. If I catch you in here a second time, I’ll skin you alive. Got it?"
"Understood! Understood!" Ryan nodded frantically, though his nerves were shot. He was just one step away from success—if he left now, it’d all be for nothing. But with no other choice, he had to retreat for now.
Slowly, he started moving away from the bedroom. Inside, the sound of bathing echoed out—Lady Miranda was already in the bath, and all those intimidating auras had faded away too. Ryan’s steps got slower and slower, his heart more and more unwilling. As he left, nobody was watching him anymore.
When he reached the City Lord’s Mansion’s outer wall, Ryan suddenly stopped. There wasn’t a single person paying attention to him—clearly, nobody cared about a nobody like him.
That’s when he made up his mind—this was his only shot. None of the mansion’s experts were watching, and Lady Miranda was still in the bath. Alice had said her baths lasted ages, so the bedroom should be empty right now!
"Go back!" Ryan steeled himself, then turned into a bolt of lightning and shot straight back toward the bedroom. He didn’t care if anyone saw—if he could just grab what he needed, he’d fight the whole mansion if he had to. But as he charged in, not a single person noticed him.
Talk about heaven’s help! Ryan clenched his fists and, in a blink, was back in the bedroom. He went straight for the big bed, pulled out the treasure box, and opened it. What he saw inside made him freeze—it was a severed finger, but not just any finger. The aura it gave off was overwhelming, exactly like the strand of hair from before. It was definitely the fragment he’d come for!
"You guys, close all the doors and windows—the mistress is almost done with her bath…" Matron Rhonda’s voice rang out again, making Ryan jump. He hadn’t expected Lady Miranda to finish bathing so quickly, and as Rhonda’s order echoed out, every exit was sealed. Ryan had finally gotten what he needed, but escaping now was going to be anything but easy.