The first light of dawn had just pierced the thin mist over the Gray Sea Marsh, bringing a faint warmth to this nascent territory.
Xiaolan's day began amidst the steam of the public kitchen.
She deftly kneaded the rye dough, mixed with potato flour, into a long log, sliced it into equal portions with a kitchen knife, and then slid them one by one into the simple oven built of brick and stone.
The fire in the oven crackled, and the aroma of food gradually spread—a scent that was the most comforting thing on this barren land.
She was a maid who had followed the expedition from Green Vein City. Although her duty was to attend to Lord Velin's daily needs, on this territory where everything was being built from scratch, the lines between roles had long since blurred. Everyone was a builder.
After breakfast, she would go look after the settlers' children.
Most of them were dressed in ragged clothes, their faces smudged with dirt, but their eyes were the clearest. Xiaolan taught them to weave small animals from reeds and told them heroic tales from the Flower Province. The children, in turn, would gift her strange stones or brightly colored, unknown wildflowers.
She loved taking care of these children. It was as if her own little brothers and sisters were still by her side.
Today, the children surrounded her, their playful chatter revolving around the usual topics.
"Xiaolan, when I grow up, I'm going to be like the Lord! I'll hunt those nasty big crocodiles and protect everyone!" a sturdy-looking boy declared, brandishing a wooden stick as if it were a hero's sword.
"Okay," Xiaolan said, patting him lightly on the head. "But you'll have to be a bit nicer, then. Heroes don't bully little Dali."
The little boy's face turned red in a flash.
Just as she was stifling a giggle, a guard in leather armor strode over.
He had been a member of the Gray Wolf Mercenaries, but now a crude thorny insignia of the Klein Clan was pinned to his chest.
"Miss Xiaolan." The guard's voice still held the roughness of a Mercenary, but he was attempting to use more "refined" words. "Lord Velin is summoning his maid."
Xiaolan's heart skipped a beat. She had no time to notice the guard's strange grammar—she was a little afraid of Lord Velin. After all, her summons were never for anything "pleasant."
She followed the guard through the increasingly bustling camp, heading toward the three-story building under renovation next to the Central Square—the Lord's office and residence.
Just as she was about to knock, the office door was thrown open with a BANG.
The Captain of the Guard, Barrett, that man as steadfast as an iron tower, was striding out from within.
His face was flushed bright red, his expression a mixture of unconcealable shock and euphoria.
His muscles were tensed, his one eye was wide, and he was panting heavily, as if he had just defeated a behemoth in a gladiatorial arena.
He didn't look at anyone, rushing straight past Xiaolan while unconsciously muttering phrases like, "How is this possible," "destiny," and "breakthrough."
Startled by his appearance, Xiaolan took a step back, her heart pounding even faster.
'To make Captain Barrett act like this... what on earth did Lord Velin do in that office?'
With an increasingly heavy heart, she cautiously stepped through the open door.
The office was well-lit, and the air was filled with the scent of ink, parchment, and a faint hint of herbs.
Velin was sitting behind his desk.
He didn't look up, merely organizing a stack of manuscripts. The morning sun streamed through the window, casting a soft golden edge on his simple cotton shirt. His short black hair was slightly disheveled, with a few strands falling over his forehead, which only accentuated his young yet tranquil face.
"Sit."
Xiaolan sat down primly on the edge of the chair opposite him, nervously wringing the fabric of her maid's dress.
Velin finally finished tidying the papers and looked up.
"Aside from your work in the kitchen, what else have you been doing recently?"
He asked while jotting down some notes.
"I... I helped build the city walls as you instructed. When I had free time, I also helped Mr. Tumo and the others care for the wounded and watch over the children," Xiaolan said, trying hard to recall. "And I helped tan the crocodile hides."
"Have you felt anything unusual with your body? Like any sore muscles, or any movements that you find particularly strenuous?"
"No, my lord." She shook her head quickly, afraid he would think she was complaining about the hard work. "I have plenty of strength."
Velin didn't ask any more questions, just watched her quietly.
His gaze was so direct that Xiaolan grew nervous. She felt as if the Lord's eyes could pierce through her clothes and onto her skin.
Xiaolan pressed her knees together, her calves, clad in white socks beneath her maid's dress, held taut and straight. Inside her little leather shoes, hidden from view, her garlic-clove-like toes curled tightly inward, as if that could somehow release her anxiety.
However, Velin wasn't paying any attention to the little maid's distraction. A data panel was unfolding before his eyes.
[Name: Xiaolan]
[Bloodline: Summoned Giant (Black Iron Level) 46%, Phantom Veil (Secret Silver Level) 6%, Mixed Bloodline 48%]
[Ability: Cursed]
[Overall Evaluation: Severe bloodline conflict. Extremely high potential for cultivation. Extremely high difficulty for bloodline stripping.]
[Stripping Potion: Main Ingredient: Standard Original Blood Crystal 119g. Supplementary Ingredients: Powdered root of a nascent Mandrake 21g, 1 Shadow Leopard heart, 5g of Iris Dew.]
'It changed again!' A storm brewed in Velin's mind.
The required amount of Mandrake root powder had decreased by three grams, and the standard Original Blood Crystal requirement was down a full gram. That was a saving of over a dozen Golden Suns.
This meant that some of her recent actions were more aligned with the cultivation requirements of the "Phantom Veil" bloodline.
Velin's mind raced.
'Cooking probably had no effect, and the manual labor for endurance training had already been proven to have a negative impact.'
'Was it building the city wall?' An image flashed through his mind.
It was a scene he had unintentionally witnessed a few days before the rainy season, while inspecting the construction site.
A bent vine, having grown too quickly, snapped back, whipping its sharp leaves toward Xiaolan.
Velin was about to shout a warning, but he saw the girl's waist bend backward at an unbelievable angle, her entire upper body becoming almost parallel to the ground, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.
'Hmm... To avoid the vines and leaves, she had to frequently twist her body. Those movements require a lot of balance in the limbs and core strength... so flexibility is the key?'
'Yes, this is worth testing further.'
As he thought about systematic flexibility training, a word from his past life naturally surfaced in his mind—yoga.
Velin looked at the panicked little lab rat before him, his eyes glinting with a fervent light.
"Stand up." Velin's voice startled Xiaolan out of her reverie.
She stood up, confused and at a loss for what to do.
"Starting today, your daily tasks need to be adjusted." Velin said, walking around his desk while recalling the yoga practice mind maps he had organized for his teacher's wife in his previous life.
"I will guide you in a type of physical exercise that can train your physical abilities more efficiently."
"First, get on the desk."
"Huh???"