Contempt

Early in the morning, before the sun was even out, the alarm beside Yu Rou rang, waking her from her slumber.

After waking up and tidying her bed, Yu Rou went to the bathroom to take a quick shower, wash her face, and brush her hair, before going to the kitchen to cook breakfast. However, she was not feeding herself.

Once breakfast was finished, Yu Rou carried the bowl of soup she'd just cooked and some other things to a large room that was isolated at the end of the hall.

"Brother, are you awake?" Yu Rou knocked on the door before going into the room.

"I'm awake," Yuan spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Let me brush your teeth."

Yu Rou proceeded to lift Yuan into a sitting position before brushing his teeth and wiping his face with a warm towel.

A few minutes later, she began feeding him the soup she'd personally cooked.

"How's the temperature?" she asked him.

"Perfect."

Yu Rou wore a smile on her face as she continued feeding him a spoon at a time.

"Brother, my four-day vacation from school starts in three days, so I will finally be able to play with you soon." Yu Rou said to him.

"That's great… I want you to meet a friend I've made in the game. She reminds me of you a lot…" Yuan said with a smile on her face.

"She…?" A slight frown appeared on Yu Rou's face when she learned that Yuan made a female friend.

"Is she pretty?" she decided to ask him.

"Yeah, she's very cute. I'm sure that you'll get along with her easily." Yuan said without hesitation.

Yu Rou's eyebrows trembled at his words, and she said, "I highly doubt that, Brother."

"Why not? She's already like a second sister to me."

"Second sister?!" Yu Rou exclaimed in a surprised voice, and she quickly said, "I hope you are not getting fooled by her, Brother. You are not very experienced with that kind of stuff, after all."

Yu Rou was worried that Yuan might've been tricked by some sly fox with unkind intentions, as these kinds of people were a dime a dozen these days.

"Listen here, Brother. You may not know this but there are many people out there who will willingly pretend to be your friends for their personal benefits, and once they have what they wanted from you, they will toss you aside like trash! Even though it's just a game, you must stay vigilant, especially with the females! They are the craftiest ones! Who knows what kind of trouble you'll get into with them..." Yu Rou gave him a stern warning.

"Haha… you are overexaggerating…" Yuan chuckled at her words, and he said, "Xiao Hua is not that kind of person. You'll understand it once you meet her."

"Don't worry, Brother, that will be the first thing I do once I can play the game!"

After chatting for a few more minutes, Yu Rou said, "Brother, it's time for me to go. I'll see you again later tonight."

"Have a safe day," Yuan said to her before entering the game.

Once Yu Rou left Yuan's room, she went to eat breakfast that was prepared by someone else.

"Young Lady, for breakfast we have…"

A middle-aged lady wearing maid clothes began explaining the food on the table for Yu Rou.

After Yu Rou finished eating breakfast, the maid said to her, "The car is ready, Young Lady."

Yu Rou gracefully wiped her lips with a napkin before nodding her head.

Sometime later, Yu Rou was escorted outside by another maid.

"Haaa… why must the Young Lady waste her precious time on that cripple? I even heard that her performance in school was lower than usual. She must not be getting enough sleep because of that cripple." One of the maids sighed in a pained tone after Yu Rou was gone.

"There's nothing we can do about it. The Young Lady insists on taking care of him by herself, even restricting us from going into his room without her permission," said another maid.

"Why does she care so much for him? I doubt he is able to do anything for her with that useless body."

"I have only heard of this from the older servants, but apparently the Young Master used to have a healthy body."

"Does it really matter what happened in the past? The fact is that he's a cripple now and will continue to be one in the future. I simply cannot fathom the Young Lady's thoughts. She could easily gather countless men with her status and beauty, yet she'd rather spend her time with a bed stricken cripple who might die at any moment."

"You should really watch your mouth. If the Young Lady hears such words, losing your job will be the least of your worries…"

While the maids in the house talked behind Yuan's back, Yuan was having the time of his life soaring besides the clouds in the sky on a flying sword.

"WOOOHOOOO~~! This is the best feeling ever!" Yuan shouted from excitement as he flew over mountains and rivers, feeling as free as a bird.

"Be careful, Brother Yuan. You'll fall if you lose control of your spiritual energy." Xiao Hua warned him from behind. And unlike Yuan, who needed the assistance of the flying sword to fly, she was flying in the air with just her spiritual energy alone.

"I don't understand why anyone would walk if they can just ride these things. If I could fly, I'd be flying everywhere— even in the streets!"

"Flying gets tiring if you do it for too long, and it consumes too much spiritual energy. Most people would rather save as much spiritual energy as they can in case they run into trouble. And because not many people have reached the Spirit Grandmaster level in this place, we will barely run into any Cultivators who can fly." Xiao Hua explained to him.

"I see… Anyway, how long before we reach our destination?" Yuan asked her.

"We will arrive in a few hours. But we'll also take short breaks in-between because Brother Yuan cannot remain on the sword for long."

"Sounds good." Yuan nodded.