"Huh? Brother Fu Ye, why are you wearing that red-faced mask Sister Yue'er made for you?"
Xue Ke asked, looking up with genuine curiosity. She couldn't understand why someone as remarkably handsome as her brother Fu Ye would ever want to hide his face.
"Well, I decided to take a little stroll through the auction house," Fu Ye chuckled, reaching down to pinch her cheek. "After all, I completely drained your emperor father's treasury of all fifty billion coins. If the imperial guards or nobles recognized me roaming around the capital, it would be more than a little awkward."
Besides, spending money like a completely unhinged tyrant was an incredibly therapeutic experience. This vulgar, limitless display of wealth had put him in an exceptionally good mood.
"Hmph! He isn't my dad anymore anyway," Xue Ke pouted, rolling her eyes playfully. "What kind of father willingly signs his own biological daughter over to a creditor as collateral? Any normal girl would be devastated."
Then again, her luck had been absolutely phenomenal. Her supposed "creditor" was someone she already knew, immensely handsome, and incredibly gentle with her behind closed doors.
"True. And that uncle of yours wasn't any better either. He lacked any sense of elder decency, trying to lay his hands on your older sisters back then," Fu Ye mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Though I did hear that your eldest brother seems to miss you quite a bit. Should I find some time to take you back to the palace for a visit?"
Over the past six months, Fu Ye had been completely hounded by that brat Qian Renxue. Every single time he sneaked into the Supreme Pontiff's Palace to indulge in some illicit, passionate fun with Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue would almost always be lingering around the halls.
Unlike the original timeline, Qian Renxue's relationship with Bibi Dong had transformed entirely; she clung to her like a devoted younger sister. Meanwhile, Emperor Xue Ye had suffered immensely after Fu Ye's sudden raid on the capital. Combined with the slow, agonizing poison that the Old Freak Dugu Bo was secretly administering in the shadows, the emperor's health was deteriorating by the day. As a result, Qian Renxue—disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe—was rapidly seizing control over all internal royal affairs.
Meanwhile, inside a dense, secluded grove on the outskirts of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy campus...
A series of agonizing, muffled groans and desperate whimpers echoed through the thick foliage. The corpulent, short figure of Yu Xiaogang was currently pinned face-down against the damp earth.
Inside the shadows of the trees, a long, orderly line of massive, hyper-muscular men had formed. They were heavily built, breathing heavily like raging bulls, their eyes filled with coarse amusement as they took turns brutally violating the self-proclaimed Grandmaster.
"Hey boss, this is the Heaven Dou Royal Academy after all," one of the burly men whispered, wiping sweat from his brow. "Digging a tunnel straight into the campus just to do this... isn't it a bit risky?"
"Shut up and keep moving," the leader growled, patting his coin purse. "Twenty thousand gold spirit coins have already been deposited into our account. The client paid for a thorough job."
"Oh! Hell yeah! Let's get to work, brothers!"
As the evening sky darkened, Yu Xiaogang's eyes filled with an ocean of pure, unadulterated hatred. He knew exactly who had orchestrated this daily nightmare.
"Bibi Dong... I hate you! I swear I will make you pay for this!" he screamed internally.
Unfortunately for him, he was nothing more than a pathetic Level 24 Grand Spirit Master whose only defensive skill involved a flatulent dog. Against a squad of hardened, paid mercenaries, he had absolutely zero ability to resist the physical abuse.
"Huh? This trash is actually daring to insult our most respected Supreme Pontiff?" one of the mercenaries barked, delivering a heavy slap to Yu Xiaogang's swollen face. "Third brother, stuff a rag in his mouth! He needs to learn his place!"
Ever since Yu Xiaogang had wormed his way into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, his life had become a non-stop cycle of physical degradation and nightly torment. Whenever the mercenaries found an opening, they would slip through their pre-dug tunnels to humiliate him. Remarkably, the academy's elite security system never seemed to notice their intrusions.
In reality, inside the central administrative office of the academy...
"Old Meng, do you think what we're doing is a bit... unprincipled?" Bai Baoshan asked, a flicker of feigned sympathy crossing his plump face.
"Sigh... what else can we do?" Meng Shenji replied, throwing his hands up in absolute resignation. "Right now, the academy can barely afford to pay our basic salaries. If that magnificent lady hadn't secretly sent us a massive stack of high-value bank notes, do you think we'd be living this comfortably?"
Meng Shenji shrugged. To put it bluntly, she simply gave far too much money.
Furthermore, he utterly despised Yu Xiaogang's arrogant demeanor. The man had zero combat strength, mediocre intelligence, and a completely repulsive appearance, relying solely on old connections to camp out as a premium instructor. Meng Shenji had been looking for an excuse to ruin him anyway.
"Old Bai, we're just doing what we must to survive. A single penny can break a hero's back. Just close one eye, open the other, and pretend we don't see a thing," Zhilin added, cementing the board's collective stance.
Back at Tianshui Academy...
"Brother Fu Ye, who is she? She's so tall! Is she a new sister joining the academy?"
Xue Ke asked as Fu Ye gently set her down from his embrace. Her wide, expressive eyes locked onto the tall cat girl standing nervously behind him.
"Ah... I... I am..." Jiang Jing stuttered, her body trembling under the little princess's gaze. She could tell the girl in front of her was significantly younger and smaller than herself, yet the sheer aura of nobility radiating from her was suffocating.
"Yes, she's a new addition to our Tianshui team," Fu Ye explained smoothly. "However, just like you, she'll be focusing entirely on our domestic and logistics operations. Since your Sister Doudou went to Spirit City for specialized training, this little girl can help take some of the workload off your shoulders."
The logistics work for the Tianshui team wasn't overly demanding. It mostly consisted of delivering fresh juices and clean towels during their two-hour daily training sessions, and occasionally preparing the specialized medicinal baths—which the maids were fully allowed to soak in afterward for their own cultivation. The rest of their time was spent studying advanced muscle massage techniques, yoga, and personal cultivation.
"Really?! A new older sister is joining our logistics crew?!"
Xue Ke's eyes practically lit up with pure joy. Managing the household alone had become rather lonely. When Doudou was around, the two of them could gossip and chat all day long, but ever since Doudou left for Spirit City, Xue Ke had been dying of boredom.
Standing at a petite 1.45 meters, the tiny princess walked right up to the 1.60-meter cat girl. Despite her short stature and delicate frame, Xue Ke's effortless royal presence completely dominated the space.
"Hi, big sister! What's your name? I'm Xue Ke, the head of Tianshui's logistics. Welcome to the family!"
Looking at the overwhelmingly enthusiastic Xue Ke, the cat girl froze for a moment before stammering out her response.
"My... my name is Jiang Jing. I am a slave that Master bought from the auction house..."
Xue Ke's pupils dilated in absolute shock upon hearing the word "slave." She quickly whipped her head around to look at Fu Ye, silently demanding an explanation for the poor girl's situation.
"Well, it's true. I bought her from the Heaven Dou Auction Center," Fu Ye admitted casually, rubbing the back of his neck. "But this little thing was a bit rebellious when we first met, so I had to give her a small... physical correction earlier."
Fu Ye saw no reason to hide the truth. He hadn't brought it up initially out of respect for Jiang Jing's dignity, assuming she would feel humiliated entering the academy under the stigma of slavery. But since she had blurted it out herself, he didn't need to walk on eggshells.
"Oh! Wow! So you were bought by Brother Fu Ye too?!"
Hearing this, Xue Ke became exponentially more excited.
Fu Ye's face instantly turned pitch-black. Can this little brat watch her phrasing? Saying it like that makes me look like a horrific human trafficker running a black-market syndicate...
"Huh?? What do you mean... 'too'?" Jiang Jing blinked, her brain completely stalling out.
"Hehe, let me tell you a secret!" Xue Ke giggled, wrapping her arm around the stunned cat girl's waist. "I was technically bought by Brother Fu Ye as well! My useless royal father owed Brother Fu Ye a massive debt, so he ended up using me as collateral to wipe out five hundred million gold spirit coins! By the way, how much did Brother Fu Ye pay to buy you?"