This time, Victor Wei not only brought Ian Song the promised rewards, but also delivered all ten Martial Souls meant for Sanctum Martial Academy. The military sure knows how to get things done. As for Ian’s appointment at the Assassin Camp, he’d agreed to take up the post a year later.
Before leaving, Victor called the Meng twins—Lynn and Annie—aside and sternly warned them about something. Ian didn’t know the details, but judging by Lynn’s sour look after Victor left, it was probably some kind of warning.
Ian hadn’t spent much time with the twins yet, but he was already starting to get a read on their personalities.
The younger sister, Lynn Meng, was impulsive and couldn’t hide her feelings—otherwise, she wouldn’t have given Ian that attitude right after Victor’s warning.
The elder sister, Annie Meng, was much calmer, always wearing a gentle smile and giving off a steady, warm vibe.
After saying goodbye to the six deans, Ian led the beautiful twins back toward his residence, drawing plenty of curious looks from passing students, all secretly guessing at the twins’ identities.
It didn’t take long.
Soon, Ian brought the twins to his courtyard. Pointing to a few empty rooms, he said, “You can pick any two to stay in. As for beds and bedding, you’ll have to buy those yourselves. Here’s ten thousand silver taels—use it as you need, and ask me for more if you run out.”
As he spoke, Ian handed Annie Meng a ten-thousand-tael silver note.
“Thank you, young master.”
Annie accepted the silver note respectfully.
Ian went on, “I don’t really have any house rules here. Just make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, just ask me directly.”
“Young master, you’re so considerate,” Annie said quickly.
Lynn, meanwhile, quietly turned up her nose, muttering to herself about how fake he was.
Ian noticed, but didn’t mind.
After settling the twins in, Ian headed out into the courtyard, where he’d set up his own reclining chair.
Before he could say anything, Annie Meng brought over a pot of hot tea.
“Thank you.”
Ian smiled at Annie.
“No need to thank me, young master. This is just what a maid should do.”
"Mm!"
Ian nodded lightly and said no more, pulling out a book from his storage ring—a volume he’d brought back from the apocalypse world—and began reading at a leisurely pace.
Reading helps clear the mind.
It’s also a way to relax.
The three stories he’d told to Auntie Xie Huayu before were all from books he’d brought back from the apocalypse world.
That world, before the apocalypse, wasn’t much different from the real one—the global setup and even the countries were similar, just with different names.
Inside the house.
The twins were tidying up their rooms.
"Annie, what do you think of this Leon Huang?" Lynn whispered.
"He seems pretty good," Annie replied.
"Pfft, I bet he’s a total hypocrite. We’re stuck being his maids and he’s not even happy about it." Lynn grumbled, turning up her nose.
Annie’s pretty face turned a little stern. "Lynn, we’re young master’s maids now. We shouldn’t badmouth him in private."
"Don’t be so uptight, Annie. I’m just venting a little." Lynn stuck out her tongue.
Annie smiled again. "Alright, but you really shouldn’t say things like that. The Assassin Camp thinks highly of the young master. We need to serve him diligently."
"Okay, I get it," Lynn said, nodding on the surface but still feeling a little unconvinced inside.
Annie cooked lunch herself. It wasn’t quite as good as Ian’s cooking, but it was still pretty impressive.
"Sit down and eat with me," Ian said to the twins, who were waiting by the side.
"Thank you, young master. We’ll eat after you’re done," Annie replied with a smile, politely refusing.
"I told you, there aren’t so many rules here. Sit down and eat." Ian’s tone grew a bit firmer.
"Yes, sir."
Annie nodded.
After lunch, Ian went back out to the courtyard to read.
Before long, Winnie Shentu, Rose Changsun, Celine Murong, and Yvette Xue arrived together.
“Senior Huang, you really know how to live the good life,” Rose said enviously.
“Do I?” Ian smiled.
Just then, the twins each brought out two cups of freshly brewed tea.
“Please have some tea.”
“Thank you.”
The four girls were a little stunned—the twins were just too beautiful.
Once the twins went back inside, Winnie asked curiously, “Senior Huang, who are those two gorgeous sisters?”
“The military assigned them to me as handmaidens,” Ian answered honestly.
“Why would the military send you handmaidens?” Winnie was even more curious. The other three girls perked up, waiting for Ian’s answer.
Ian smiled. “I earned some merit on the Blood River Battlefield, so they sent me two handmaidens as a reward.”
“I see. But those two sisters are so pitiful—so beautiful, and yet they’re stuck being maids,” Winnie said, totally straightforward.
Anyone else might have thought Winnie was mocking Ian, saying he wasn’t worthy of having the twins as his maids. But Ian knew her personality—she wasn’t mocking him, just honestly feeling sorry for the twins.
Still, he found it pretty funny. “Winnie, don’t underestimate those sisters—they’re both late-Grandmaster experts.”
“Whoa, late-Grandmaster!”
When Ian revealed the twins’ cultivation level, all four girls looked shocked.
After their shock, Winnie gazed at Ian with adoration. “Senior Huang, you’re amazing—having two late-Grandmaster handmaidens!”
Ian just smiled and said nothing.
After seeing Winnie and the others off, Ian read for a while longer, then decided to seek out Harriet Gu. She usually brought him breakfast every morning, but hadn’t come today—clearly too embarrassed after her master caught them last night. As the man, he figured he should take the initiative.
Since that was the case, it was up to him to make the first move.
A short while later, Ian arrived at the girls’ dorm area.
Knock knock.
Ian knocked on Harriet’s courtyard door.
Soft footsteps approached; the door opened, and Harriet’s stunning face appeared.
“Why are you here?”
Seeing Ian, Harriet’s cheeks flushed red.
“I missed you.”
Ian said it straight, then strode forward and pulled Harriet into his arms.
“Hey, stop!”
Harriet struggled hard, her resistance much stronger than usual.
Just then, a teasing voice rang out: “Well, well, little Huang, you’ve got some nerve sneaking into my disciple’s place to bully her. You’re getting bolder!”
“Uh… Melody Empress, you’re here too!” Ian was mortified and quickly let go of Harriet—no wonder she’d been fighting so hard, her master was right there.
“What, I can’t visit my disciple?” Melody pressed Ian with a smirk.
“Of course you can!” Ian replied quickly.
“Alright then, just treat Harriet well. If I ever find out you’ve wronged her, you’ll answer to me!”
After Melody left, Harriet glared at Ian. “It’s all your fault—I embarrassed myself in front of my master!”
Ian just grinned—Harriet’s words weren’t really blaming him, but sounded more like playful teasing.
“It’s true, it was my fault. Let me make it up to you!”
With that, Ian pulled Harriet into his arms again and kissed her soft, moist lips.