For someone with Blair Lockehart's cold personality, Wu Ling's method was to make her speak first. The way to make her speak first was to make her feel the gap.
Under Juxing Lockehart's arrangement, Blair received treatment that was a complete reversal from before. Not only were her previous privileges restored, she also received more guidance from the elders than she had in the past.
Then they let her "accidentally" overhear the elders' conversations, making Blair understand even more clearly that everything she had now came from Wu Ling. If Wu Ling did not do something before leaving, then as time passed, her treatment would eventually return to what it had been before. She might not escape her fate of death either.
In the original story, she went to find Alban because she had no choice. Now that a better option had appeared, she could still tell which side mattered more.
Through another "accidental" overhearing of the elders' conversation, Blair learned Wu Ling's whereabouts. So, on the morning after Wu Ling had stayed another five days, Blair "happened" to meet him.
"..."
Looking at Blair standing before him without saying a single word, Wu Ling knew she needed only one final push. He said, "You are Blair Lockehart from a few days ago, correct? Is something the matter?"
Blair pressed her lips together.
In the end, she was still only eight years old. No matter how early she matured, she still feared death. Between life and dignity, she made her choice.
"Your Highness, Holy Son, are you still lacking servants?"
Afraid Wu Ling would refuse her, Blair placed herself very low.
Where the lowered Blair could not see, Wu Ling's lips curved slightly.
"Done."
At noon that day, Wu Ling brought Blair back to House Lockehart. Under Blair's nervous gaze, Wu Ling and Juxing entered a room and talked for a long time. What she could never have imagined was that the two had already finished the discussion long ago. Now they were only putting on a show.
The result was that when Wu Ling left that afternoon, there was one more cat-eared little maid in his carriage.
Blair did not know why the dignified Holy Son liked this kind of outfit. But she could leave that place.
As that thought rose, Blair looked out the window toward House Lockehart.
"If the clan head agreed, then the engagement should be resolved too. Alban..."
Blair shook her head hard.
"He abandoned me first. In the end, the situation I faced back then and the death waiting for me in the future were both because of him. Why should a fiancé I have never even met decide my fate? Now I belong to His Highness. You could say he saved my life."
During these past few days, through House Lockehart's obvious and hidden hints, Blair quickly accepted the truth that only Wu Ling could save her life. She also quickly adjusted her own position.
"His Highness said he saw potential in me. Aside from obeying his orders, I may move freely. He will also give me cultivation resources. If I grow to a level that satisfies him in the future, I can even leave the maid status behind."
In other words, not only was the threat of death gone, she had also followed the Holy Son, a genius with limitless potential. Most important, the Holy Son's personality was extremely good. For the first time, Blair felt anticipation toward her future.
The road was long. The half-month journey quickly let Blair adapt to her work. Those fifteen days of close contact also helped her understand Wu Ling's personality as the Holy Son again.
What surprised Blair most was that whenever she cultivated on the road, Wu Ling could often point out her problems with a single sentence. Every improvement made her cultivation speed rise, and for Blair, who had not been able to settle down and cultivate in a long time, that was a genuine delight. Wu Ling's actions also gave her a new understanding of the word genius.
After they returned to Spirit City, people such as Bibi Dong and the Spirit Hall elders said nothing about the maid Wu Ling had accepted. Of course, the necessary investigation still happened.
In less than three days, all information related to Blair, including three generations of ancestry and information on her former fiancé Alban Regis and everyone connected to her, was placed on Bibi Dong's desk.
"Her identity has no problem. She can stay at Ling'er's side. But speaking of which, so Ling'er likes girls like that?"
Others might think Wu Ling had accepted a maid on impulse, but Bibi Dong, who knew him well, understood that anyone Wu Ling allowed near him was someone he recognized, or at least recognized in part.
For example, Oscar, whom Wu Ling had personally gone to find, was indeed one of the best talents on the continent if Wu Ling himself was excluded.
Then there were Vulcan Brand, Cassian Glaive, and Serena Ivory. Although they were constantly defeated in front of Wu Ling, that was exactly Wu Ling's recognition of them. Otherwise, they would be like the six team members who had joined Wu Ling in the tournament more than a month ago. Forget seeing Wu Ling. Wu Ling was too lazy to even remember their names.
To summarize, if Wu Ling agreed to let that girl serve as his maid, then she must possess something he acknowledged. Wu Ling would not accept another person's request just because they were pitiful.
"Is it talent, or appearance? Judging by Ling'er's behavior, it may be both."
Bibi Dong thought for a while but could not settle on an answer. In the end, she let it go. She believed Wu Ling could handle such matters well, so she did not dwell on it.
Of course, nothing was absolute. The only one who objected to Blair's arrival was Serena Ivory, who currently had a crush on Wu Ling.
Wu Ling was powerful, his abilities were rich, and he was filled with mysteries. It seemed as though nothing in this world could truly trouble him. Those factors combined into something like poison, constantly drawing Serena Ivory's body and mind toward him.
But even though Serena Ivory's hints toward Wu Ling had become almost explicit, to the point of nearly backing him into a corner and making her feelings impossible to miss, Wu Ling continued acting as if he did not see them.
When Serena Ivory questioned him about Blair becoming his personal maid, Wu Ling gave her only one answer.
"What do my affairs have to do with you?"
Looking at Wu Ling's cold expression, Serena Ivory's heart chilled by more than half. In the end, she could only leave silently.
After that, daily life continued as usual. After half a month of rest, which in truth meant Wu Ling simply did not feel like moving, Wu Ling finally set out for the Polaris Empire under the escort of Chrysanthemum Sage and Ghost Sage.
By the way, Blair, as his personal maid, also followed Wu Ling to the Polaris Empire.
The journey was still half a month. Close enough. There was no need to be too precise.
Wu Ling's first stop was one of the Polaris Empire's upper three sects, the sect known as the greatest support-type force under heaven.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.