The male supporting character was actually myself.

He truly is an honest man; he's very down-to-earth.

Then he thought that he really needed someone he knew well to run errands for him, so he casually took out a coral bead and handed it over, saying, "This coral bead is the essence of the deep sea. Wearing it during cultivation can calm the mind and improve efficiency."

In return, you'll have to work hard as the housekeeper for a while and be at my beck and call.

Chapter Eighteen: You'll have to put up with it...

"This little demon dares not accept any more favors!" The clam spirit knelt down again with a thud.

He only wanted to do what he could to repay a debt of gratitude. But the Sea God not only allowed him to accept the merfolk's gifts with peace of mind, but also paid him a fee to hire him. Wasn't that contrary to his original intention?

Jiang Chen couldn't help but twitch his lips. This clam spirit was good in every way, except that her legs were too weak and she would kneel down all the time. It was really hard to get used to.

Having no other choice, he put on a stern face and, adopting the air of a sea god, forcefully issued the order.

The first requirement is that the clam spirit accept the coral pearl and obey its commands.

Secondly, he was given the name "Hai Dayou" and was instructed not to reveal his true identity as the sea god.

Third, he gave the clam spirit Hai Da a few taels of silver, telling him to go for a stroll in the streets to get used to the mortal world, and to buy some personal items to move into the east wing.

From now on, he will be the steward of this courtyard, preparing food, clothing, and lodging for Young Master Jiang and Young Master Wen.

The clam spirit left the courtyard gratefully with the silver, muttering to itself with delight, "Hehe, my name is Hai Dayou! I finally have a name! Hai Dayou... This name was personally bestowed by the Sea God. It's wonderful to receive the blessing of a god!"

It was still early, and Wen Menglong was still sleeping soundly.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen returned to his bedroom to continue meditating and cultivating. The original owner was an underage sea god and lacked sufficient strength. If he wanted to break through as soon as possible, he could only seize the time to cultivate diligently.

"Ding-dong~ Splash!"

Just as he closed his eyes and focused intently on swallowing, he suddenly heard stealthy, thieving noises coming from the kitchen.

Wen Menglong hadn't gotten up yet; Hai Dayou had just left the house, so where did this commotion come from?

Without sending out any more soul weapons, Jiang Chen transformed into a streak of light and rushed into the kitchen.

The graceful young woman was busy in the clean and tidy kitchen, boiling water, picking vegetables, washing vegetables, and chopping vegetables with nimble movements, completely unaware that someone was already standing at the door.

"Firefly?!" Upon closer inspection, Jiang Chen realized it was the little mermaid and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

The sudden voice startled her. Liu Ying hurriedly put the things on the table away, turned around, and blinked her innocent big eyes at Jiang Chen, not knowing what to say for a moment.

It can't be that the spirit woman sent him to find a marriage partner, can it?

But I don't want to expose the other party's purpose in wanting to repay Lian Yunshang's kindness...

Liu Ying was stunned for a while before stammering, "I... I also want to experience life in the world like Brother Chen, so... I came here to broaden my horizons! Yes, that's exactly it, I want to broaden my horizons."

But I had no money, and I wasn't very good at interacting with people. I was cold and hungry, so I had no choice but to beg Brother Chen to take me in.

Seeing that the other person didn't seem to be coldly trying to kick her out, she forced a smile and pleaded pitifully, "I can cook, do laundry, and clean. I can do these chores quickly and well!"

Brother Chen, will you take me in?

"I can be your maid. I saw many wealthy young men and women on the street with maids running errands for them. Don't you need someone you know well who can help you?"

Jiang Chen: ? ? ?

Did the place I randomly chose really turn out to be a feng shui treasure land?

Why are so many people flocking here?

Could it be... Oh no! Could it be that Lian Yunshang secretly told Liu Ying what her savior's true appearance was?

This is because her best friend was trapped under a golden pagoda and couldn't get out, so she wanted to help repay the debt of gratitude.

Is Wen Menglong still destined to marry a fairy?

No!

We must never let him see the beautiful fireflies, otherwise, what if the young scholar falls in love with a beautiful woman at first sight and becomes irresistible?

Just as Jiang Chen was about to refuse, she heard the door to Wen Menglong's room open, and the person in question stretched and walked out, blocking the courtyard. Liu Ying had nowhere to hide.

"You can stay if you want, but you'll have to make some sacrifices." He frowned, an idea forming in his mind, and cast a small spell on the firefly.

So the once beautiful little mermaid now had a large black birthmark on her right cheek. This birthmark was so conspicuous that it instantly turned her from a beauty into an ugly woman. Although her eyebrows and eyes remained unchanged, all one could notice at a glance was the unsightly birthmark, making people overlook her original beauty.

"I..." Liu Ying, unaware of the change in her face, covered her mouth in surprise with her small hand as soon as she opened her mouth, "Why has my voice changed like this?"

Besides her beauty and graceful figure, what other races envy most about mermaids is their beautiful voice. However, at this moment, Jiang Chen cast a spell on her, making her voice hoarse and low, sounding like that of a very old woman.

He lowered his voice and reminded him, "Don't let anyone discover our true identities, and you absolutely cannot develop real feelings for Wen Menglong. Otherwise, I will definitely take it upon myself to report this to the clan chief. If you disobey the clan's orders and get together with a mortal, you will be suppressed under the Golden Pagoda just like Lian Yunshang. Do you understand?"

"I understand now, but why did Brother Kechen make my voice like this?" The innocent Liu Ying still couldn't understand and asked in a low voice.

Jiang Chen made a shushing gesture and replied softly, "From now on, you are Liu Ying, a maid I bought with my money. You will be responsible for washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning at home. Of course, I will use magic to take care of these things. This is just to give you a reasonable and legal identity."

"If you have nothing else to do, you can wander around the human world. If you need money, just come to me. As long as you don't try to take advantage of Wen Menglong, I will restore your original appearance and voice after a while."

Liu Ying looked confused, but still nodded obediently.

Unaware that he was surrounded by a group of gods and demons, Wen Menglong slept soundly all night. He drew sweet well water from the well and began washing with salt. Just as he was about to turn back to his room, he saw a slender girl in a green and white dress coming out of the kitchen. He immediately felt strange and asked, "Miss, who are you...?"

"I am a maid bought by Young Master Jiang." Liu Ying, carrying the food, turned around as she spoke, startling Wen Menglong who was completely unprepared!

The hoarse voice, coupled with the dark birthmark on half of her face, made her appearance rather unappealing.

Realizing his lapse in decorum, he felt ashamed of judging people by their appearance and quickly bowed, saying with a flushed face, "I'm sorry, I didn't know Brother Jiang had brought a maid. I apologize for my rudeness."

"Young Master Wen, you'll be able to have breakfast in a moment." She clearly had no feelings for Wen Menglong as she carried the food into the room.

To the fireflies, humans were nothing more than a short-lived alien race.

Even if someone is beautiful, it's just a shell. She prefers a partner with whom she can be together for a long time, even if he's not a mermaid, he has to be an immortal being so they can stay together forever.

Wen Menglong found it strange. After buying the courtyard, Brother Jiang had been staying with him almost all the time. When did he buy a maid?

"Squeak!"

Just as he was wondering, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open and a man in his twenties with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a decent appearance, dressed in a blue-gray long robe, hurriedly walked in. The man was obviously not expected to have anyone in the courtyard and was stunned for a moment. Then he bowed and said, "Good morning, Young Master Wen. I am the steward hired by Young Master Jiang. My name is Hai Dayou."

housekeeper?!

There was a maid who suddenly appeared, and now a steward has come out?

Wen Menglong looked inside the house and then at the courtyard, his face full of confusion, and called out loudly, "Brother Jiang! Brother Jiang, is this your steward?"

Chapter Nineteen is truly pitiful.

Just as Liu Ying came out of her room to fetch other dishes from the kitchen, she heard Wen Menglong's question and quickly walked over. She was immediately startled by Hai Dayou's intense aura—a thousand-year-old demon!

A bad thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that she and her group had provoked something terrible?

Almost simultaneously, Hai Dayou, the clam spirit, also sensed the other party's strong aura and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart—the merfolk!

Oh no, could she know the identity of the Sea God and come here to cause trouble?

The clam spirit and the mermaid stared intently at each other, their hearts pounding with tension.

With a major battle about to erupt, Wen Menglong was still completely bewildered. "Butler Hai, don't you recognize the new maid in the house? Why are you staring at her like that? It's very impolite."

A maid?!

housekeeper?!

The two stared at each other, both feeling uneasy.

"Oh no, oh no! Could this be arranged by the Sea God? How can the steward not recognize his own maid? Isn't this going to expose us?"

"Huh? He's the steward? So he's the helper Brother Chen found? Oh no! She clearly said she was a maid but didn't know the steward in charge. Doesn't that make Wen Menglong suspicious?"

I was so busy fooling Wen Menglong that I forgot to tell Liu Ying about Hai Dayou's situation!

Jiang Chen, who was busy using magic to clean up the mess in the kitchen, hurriedly came out of the kitchen to smooth things over, "Hai Dayou, this is a maid I just bought from a slave trader, named Liuying; Liuying, this is the housekeeper I told you about before, I sent her to buy things this morning."

"You two have come to pay your respects to Young Master Wen. From now on, the responsibilities of managing this household, including food, clothing, and shelter, will fall to you two."

The clam spirit and the mermaid both breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, they weren't enemies. Otherwise, if they had really fought, they weren't sure they would have been able to defeat each other!

However, why does the Sea God/Brother Chen keep the mermaid/millennial demon by his side?

"Could it be... that this thousand-year-old demon is the clam spirit who was tricked by Lian Yunshang? Did Brother Chen give him some kind of compensation? Why did he become Brother Chen's steward in the human world? Could it be because Brother Chen gave too much? A perfectly good reward was stolen and ruined by Lian Yunshang. What a pitiful clam spirit."

"Perhaps... it was only out of pity for this unattractive mermaid that the sea god took her in. With her appearance and such a hoarse voice, she would probably be ostracized and bullied in the mermaid race, where the mermaids are known for their beautiful appearance and heavenly voices. What a pitiful mermaid."

The two instantly transformed their wariness and doubt into pity for each other, and after exchanging greetings, they obediently looked at Jiang Chen and awaited his instructions.

"So Brother Jiang got up so early!" Wen Menglong belatedly realized and couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Look at Jiang Chen, she got up early and hired a steward to go and buy things; she also bought an honest and kind maid from a slave trader and even prepared breakfast, while I slept until now and only got up now, how shameful!

From today onwards, I will definitely learn from Brother Jiang and be more diligent. I will give up sleeping in the morning and use the time to study. I am sure I will be able to learn more thoroughly!

"It's not too early, but since we just bought a new courtyard, we need to hire a steward and buy a maid to make things more convenient. It just so happens that we met suitable ones early this morning." Jiang Chen chuckled and then invited him to have breakfast.

Since Liu Ying, who was a maid, and Hai Dayou, the steward, were not allowed to eat with their master, they obediently went into the kitchen.

"Butler Hai, please take good care of me from now on, as we'll be living under the same roof."

Liu Ying felt sympathy for the clam spirit who had suffered an undeserved calamity, especially since her brother Chen had said that the clam spirit was of humble origin and had no one to rely on, and had to cultivate in a remote and impoverished place. It was truly not easy for her to have achieved what she had today.

She was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see pitiful people. Seeing that the other party was a simple, honest, and honest fairy, she unconsciously spoke softly and gently, placing the food on the table and smiling lightly: "This is food I made with my magic. Although we can all abstain from grains, it is still necessary to satisfy our cravings occasionally. Try it. The food contains the unique energy of our mermaid race, and long-term consumption is beneficial to cultivation."

The clam spirit was not good with words, and upon seeing this, she hurriedly bowed and said, "Miss Firefly, you are too kind. I... I am just feeling a little ashamed of the favor I received and wanted to help out in a small way. I will need your help in the future."

Thank you for preparing the meal, young lady. This small gift is just a token of my appreciation!

He has cultivated for hundreds of years, but he has never seen many young women, let alone had any contact with the opposite sex.

At this moment, filled with pity for the pitiful mermaid and extremely nervous, Hai Dayou's hands trembled slightly as he took out a luminous pearl from his magical bag made from a seashell he had shed.

"This is a luminous pearl naturally formed in the deep sea." Knowing that the item was rather shabby, the clam spirit lowered its head and stammered, "The place where I cultivate is too barren, and I haven't traveled too far in the past few hundred years, so I can't offer anything more decent."

"If you don't mind, please accept this; it's just a small token of my appreciation."

Brother Chen was right after all; being a clam spirit is really tough!

Even though he was short of money, he still tried his best to reciprocate. He even offered to help Chen Gege because the reward he received was higher. His character is truly impeccable.

"This bead is so beautiful!" Liu Ying smiled as she held it in her hands and examined it carefully, praising, "It has a dense and smooth texture, and its color is crystal clear, warm and elegant. It is truly an extremely beautiful luminous bead."

I really like the gift from the sea steward, so I won't refuse it. In the future, besides three meals a day, just tell me if you need anything else. Mermaids can do a lot to assist in cultivation.