“Rick was the new worker,” the old man’s voice slapped Lirzod like gently lapping waves.

“What?” Lirzod was nonplussed but felt equally thrilled. “When did he get in?”

The old man materialized behind Lirzod and lightly hit the head with his staff. “I told you to just watch.”

“Y-Yeah,” Lirzod rubbed the top of his head twice and then sneakily tried to snatch the staff out of the old man’s hands, but he miserably failed to even touch it.

“You are a thousand years too young to be touching my staff, child,” the old man disappeared and appeared at Lirzod’s back and hit with his staff, again on Lirzod’s head.

Lirzod could only rub his skull gently. “Will Rick kill that minister?”

“You will have known that if you hadn’t interrupted.” He spoke in an orotund tone. “Do you want to stay and listen, or do you want to leave this place?”

“I will watch. I’m interested in those three maids, and I want to know if they’ll ever realize that Rick’s their uncle? If they’ll be saved or not."

"Realize, huh…”

Lirzod paused for a moment before turning his head toward the old man. “Can you tell me the location of the Estate of Thousand Maids?”

“Why are you interested in its location?”

“Obviously, I want to go there if it’s still there.” Lirzod laughed a little, but then his expression turned somewhat serious. “Who dares to have a thousand maids when I possess only two, and that too without their permission? This is just too unbelievable to my eyes, ears, and all other organs with senses. They are itching like never before!”

“It all happened too long ago. Don’t feel too much for those ladies. Most of them are not as lovely as they look. As for the location of that estate, it’s quite far from your home and is also too dangerous of a place for you to be touring.”

“I don’t care how dangerous it is... If that estate still exists to this day, I want to own it—ahem, no, I mean, since it’s against the wishes of the maids, I want to destroy it for good!”

The old man slightly raised his staff, but Lirzod readily guarded his skull. However, the old man swung the staff from underneath, and it ended up pounding into Lirzod’s crotch, making him collapse into a heap of wretched mass that made queer sounds.

“YOU...” Lirzod couldn’t speak at all and clutched his crotch as tightly as he could. The pain was tangible and unexplainably real. A surge of discomfort spread throughout his body every time he moved a muscle. He couldn’t even breathe. He just lay in a curled fashion—in midair.

“You are a hundred years too young to have such concupiscent thoughts, child,” the old man put his staff away from Lirzod. “May this incident serve as a life lesson.”

“Screw you... and your staff, too!” Lirzod tried to get back to his feet even when under suffering. He threw a few punches, but wherever he punched, the old man’s body turned into leaves.

“You seem ready,” the old man fully turned into leaves, which then withered away into thin air. “For someone who isn’t a breather, you got back quick. You can take some pain. I’ll give you that.” His voice resumed, and so did the visuals from the past, “Let’s resume Rick’s tale. He entered the estate as the Dog Keeper. His motive was clear. He just waited for an opportunity to bring freedom to his three nieces. In all that time he had been there, he became a well-known figure among the maids, mostly because of his ability to work like a dog without saying a word. He finished any task he was given, as long as it was within his right as a worker to do so.”

Rick never tried to get to know his three nieces, until they introduced themselves to him. Though a Dog Feeder was a low-level job—even lower than the tenth-ranked maids—the maids still knew not to mess with the Dog Feeder, for he spoke with the maids of all levels. The maids of the top three ranks were the only ones allowed to raise dogs.

Of all the maids, his nieces were the ones he became the closest with. Those three used him greatly to be aware of the happenings of the top-ranked maids. Thanks to his help, they even managed to climb a rank and became the third-ranked maids—who were fifteen in total.

From bottom to the top, the number of maids significantly lowered: 250, 200, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50, 30, 15, 10, and 5.

Though the top three ranked maids enjoyed lots of luxuries, they had to make hefty sacrifices in return. Not only were they obligated to daily spend time with the minister, but they were also forced to share a bed with many guests who always wore masks even when being intimate. It was the price they had to pay for becoming better maids. Only maids such as those who’ve explored enough in the ways of lovemaking could capably please the guests. In case if any of them dissatisfied a guest, their hands were chopped and fed to the dogs raised by the maids themselves, and then the maids would be kicked out.

However, for every successful mission, the maids were given more riches from clothes to ornaments of all sorts, which they could take with them in case if they were kicked out of the estate. If a maid lower than rank three was forced to leave, she wasn’t allowed to take any stuff with her. Regardless of how a maid left the estate, they received little to no sympathy from other maids. Whether someone lost their arms or not, it didn’t matter.

New guests arrived every night and left by the time the sun showed up at the horizon. The estate's maids were leagues above any other maids of the nearby thousand villages and towns. Regardless of their rank, they were revered for their beauty alone. Though they beamed out warm luscious smiles at the townsmen, most couldn’t see through the pain they felt underneath their womanly chests. The mental stress of being an estate maid was simply unimaginable. Many of them who've entered the estate, alive and kicking, came out crippled. One wrong move, and they would have become women with no future left. They were forced to swallow all that terror and lot more things along with it.

The maids were allowed to roam in the nearby towns with two guards accompanying them. No more than five maids were allowed to leave in a group. At any time, only fifty maids were allowed to step outside of the estate, so only a maximum of ten groups could come out at once for touring the towns.

Because women from far away regions were usually chosen as maids, there existed a lot of communication problems and cultural differences among maids. They formed groups and ran politics among themselves. Newcomers were forced to join a certain group and be taught moral values by their seniors.

“No unions will last among maids, huh…” Lirzod muttered under his breath.

Upon hearing his words, the old man replied, “The minister was a smart guy. He never gave them a chance to unify as one. He gave little freedom to the maids, just enough of it, which eliminated their tension to an extent, and at the same time, they were attracting quite a many clients. To an average village guy, that estate was only a bit unusual, as most of its happenings were kept in the dark, except for the presence of sugarcane fields all around it, owned by the minister. It had many long-term deals with businesses from all levels of society—from the rich to the poor. There were more willing to protect its identity than those who tried the opposite. Even the individuals who were aware of its affairs could tell that powerful personnel were involved in it, so none dared to even discuss it in open.”

“This…” Lirzod didn’t know what to say. “A small fellow had so much control over everything around him.” At that time, Lirzod lay his eyes on the walls of the estate. The walls surrounding the estate were filled with confessions and quotes of men—painted with blood, for the maids they loved. Those men who weren’t born in gold weren’t even able to spend time with the maids, let alone buy them, an affair which cost a lot more. “He’s basically ruling over their fears.”

“Despite everything that surrounded the estate, some girls, who were wrapped in the darkness of poor life, viewed the life of an estate maid in much higher regard,” the old man said. “Living in abject poverty, they couldn’t make much money by staying in their homes, and couldn’t make ends meet. Knowingly or not, they step into a desert full of dry hopes.”

“So some women hated being estate maids while some held the opposite opinions, huh...” Lirzod took a deep breath. It was hard for him to digest all of it at once. “This is getting too crazy.”

“Like to a coin, there are always two sides to every story,” the old man’s voice sounded out like an echo in the mountains, and then just his face appeared in the air.

"I can't believe more women want to sell their priceless purity for material wealth! For God's sake, these are some overly smart women," a serious expression took over Lirzod's face. "In the end, they will become lone birds, won't they?"

The old man smiled a little. “I’m glad you’re understanding my words in your own way. I thought you were just ogling at the maids.”

“Hmph,” Lirzod snorted. “I’m not old like you. They have good looks and great smiles. Obviously, I’m bound to get bowled out by their beauty.” The wind blew about and made Lirzod’s hairstyle shift in the opposite direction. "Primera used to repeatedly tell me that material wealth is the worst poison of this world and that it has no cure. I wish those maids also held such an opinion. They exchanged their elixir for poison, and in return, they were forced to walk a dark path due to that dirty minister." The anger dwelling deep within his heart stirred just a little bit and subtly changed the look in his eyes to that of a determined man. The motile air around him grew denser as well.

For the most part of their conversation, the old man's lips formed a straight line, but they belatedly parted a little as he radiated out a refreshing smile. "You are getting too worked up," His staff patted once on Lirzod's shoulder, which brought him back to his usual self.

"Uh, my bad..." Lirzod slid his index finger on his eyebrow and flicked the drop of sweat, which traveled in a projectile fashion before ending up on the ground below them.

"You are right... and so was Primera." The old man stroked his grayish beard, which exposed the extra shades of color buried in it. "Material wealth can buy many things, but happiness, love, kindness, and the basic emotions necessary for any being to live well aren't on its list. Those who pursue material wealth alone will never become a great hollow, much less a great martial. By the time their eyes widen and see the real treasure of this world, their life's destination may no longer be in their sight."

"By the time these maids come out of the estate, they will lose sight of the things they held dear, huh..." Lirzod felt strange. Just the thought of him overlooking the well-being of his people made him feel uneasy.

“If that was all there was to it, it's not as bad of a result as you may think," the old man's words puzzled Lirzod.

"You mean?"

"Each of the maids who made it out will break the society in ways one can't entirely comprehend.” The old man’s voice was like a spiraling storm. “They ruin the lives of honest husbands, split families, be a role model for young girls through their decorated mien, and many other ways."

"That's true. It reminds me of the saying, ‘Never let a whore into your home much less your heart, or she’ll destroy your household.’ Women have too many weapons in the store, tailor-made to work against men was what Primera also used to say." As a young master of the Faceless Clan, he wasn't oblivious to the efforts girls made to get noticed by him, and the lengths they would go to get what they wanted. He couldn’t help but think of his desire. Meeting a billion beauties sure won’t be a walk in the park, but I hope it won’t be a walk in the dark.

"Indeed, women have many weapons in store, a lot more than a man does," the old man said in a tone which shifted gears as he spoke. "But men do not possess two important weapons that women have."

"What are they?" Lirzod asked out of intrigue.

"One's the most powerful, while the other is the most dangerous."

"Powerful and dangerous..." Lirzod's attention to the old man’s words soared. “I wonder what they are.”

"The most powerful weapon of a woman is her tongue."

"Haha, right..." Lirzod burst out into laughter.

"This isn't a laughing matter."

Lirzod covered his mouth with one hand, his skull with another. A second later, his legs closed the gap between them as well.

"Her tongue is her most powerful weapon, but it’s still not the most dangerous. Do you know what it is?”

“It’s gotta be their presence!” Lirzod didn't take much time to respond.

It was silent for a second, and not even wind made any sound.

BANG~!

A staff hammered down on Lirzod’s skull from behind, and the old man materialized fully again. “Foolish child! I know the type of presence you’re referring to. You must stop concentrating on their body, and instead focus on their personality. Women are emotional beings, and they carry sensitivities along with them. As a man, if you want to become a great husband, let alone a great martial, you must know women from in and out! The same goes for women. Otherwise, there’ll be no peace in their relationship. So look beyond the skin.”

“T-That’s what I was doing,” Lirzod pouted as he looked away while rubbing his head. “For starters, I wasn’t focusing just on their outer self when I talked about their presence.”

The old man gripped his staff slightly, startling Lirzod. He tried to escape, but he lost all control over his body, which moved closer to the staff. The old man gently placed it atop Lirzod’s head and tapped slowly, “Your ‘outer self,’ probably means the bodily appearance, but learn to include the outward personality as well, understood?”

“Uh, yeah...” Lirzod said, a bead of sweat dripping down his chin.

“I’m not convinced,” the old man raised his staff high into the air.

“I got it! I got it!” Lirzod said out loud in haste.

“Good.” The old man withdrew the staff. “Now tell me, what’s the most dangerous weapon of a woman? Be precise.”

Lirzod paused for a moment and began to ponder. “It’s...” He placed his index finger on his temple and tapped on it repeatedly. “Is it...” He looked up at the old man’s face, which was hidden from view, by the hood, “It’s gotta be their high-pitched voice, right? I mean, sometimes, you can only fight against that with silence.”

“The ‘tongue’ part was already covered.”

“But tongue and throat are different. We’re talking about the throat here.”

“No.”

“What? You must be joking.”

“No, I wasn’t.” The old man gripped the staff tightly, but this time, he hammered it on Lirzod’s buttocks, making him jump like a rabbit and squeal like a cat. “Talk about something consequential.”

“I was doing just that. Every woman is a wonder of the world and is worthy of every man’s attention!” Lirzod didn’t back down. The pain on his butt sure got his blood running hard. “How can I not consider everything related to them to be consequential?”

The old man paused for a moment and sighed. “I’ve seen many spoiled children, but you’re one of a kind. You’re only half spoiled, but maybe that’s because you’re half-brained.”

A few seconds of silence passed with Lirzod cursing the old man on the inside, hoping he’d slip on a banana peel and things like that. “So... what’s the answer?”

The old man sighed and said in a silvery tone. “It’s their smile.”

“Smile?” Lirzod blinked twice. He for sure didn’t expect that answer.

The old man then said in a gravelly tone, “If the curve of a woman’s breasts can conquer a king, her smile can conquer his kingdom.”

Lirzod’s expression froze like a duck stuck between poles.

The old man continued, his voice going off like a violent storm, “It can destroy kingdoms, dissolve dynasties, end empires, sink continents, and bring the world to its knees.”

The old man's utterance shook up Lirzod, down to the deepest expanses of his being.

“All said and done… knowing about the opposite sex is one thing, but controlling one’s carnal urges is an entirely different thing. After all, it’s one among the three terminal traps. And temperance is the key that makes you aware of such traps.”

“Terminal Traps?”

“Lust, Fortune, and Fame. The three principal dangers that encompass the body, mind, and spirit, and lead souls astray from a saintly life,” the old man’s words were weighty. “Only doom awaits those who get lost due to their own devices.”

“Don’t worry," Lirzod confidently replied. "I’ll beat lust with my left leg, fortune with my right leg, and fame with both.”

“Don’t answer just for the sake of answering.” The staff was in action again.