An absolute, utterly unhinged statement from an equally unhinged princess.
"I... I... I..."
The little cat girl, Jiang Jing, repeated the word three times in a row, completely stalling before she could even utter a fourth.
Sister, you were literally signed over as collateral to settle a five hundred million gold spirit coin debt. Are you seriously treating that like it's a massive point of pride?
Fu Ye was entirely speechless. Did I somehow break this girl's mind back then? How on earth did her mental logic become so deeply bizarre?
Indeed, Fu Ye felt completely defeated by her thought process.
Meanwhile, Xue Ke's inner thoughts were completely transparent: I am worth five hundred million, and I am proud of it. How much are you worth?
"I... I was bought by Master for three million five hundred thousand gold spirit coins..." Jiang Jing murmured, her voice filled with absolute helplessness and confusion.
She had never encountered anything so profoundly ridiculous in her entire life. At this point, a terrifying thought began to take root in her mind: Don't tell me every single beautiful girl living in this academy was personally bought from the outside market by this masked man...
"Alright, that's enough out of you. You always find a way to create chaos for me," Fu Ye said, laughing as he reached out to affectionately pinch Xue Ke's soft, delicate cheek. "Since you're so excited, I'm handing this little cat girl over to you. You'll be responsible for teaching her the ropes."
Hearing this, Xue Ke didn't hesitate. Reaching up with her tiny hands, she playfully yanked the red-faced mask right off Fu Ye's face.
Smack~
Leaning in without a shred of warning, she planted a sweet, fragrant kiss right on his cheek.
"Hehe! Don't worry, Brother Fu Ye! Xue Ke guarantees the mission will be a total success!"
With the mask removed and the seal lifted, Fu Ye's true countenance was completely exposed. The system-bestowed divine appearance, radiating an otherworldly charm and flawless symmetry, was nothing short of breathtaking.
"Good. Take proper care of her," Fu Ye replied, running a hand through his hair. He cast a sharp glance toward Jiang Jing. "If this little cat ever decides to be stubborn or disobedient, just come find me directly."
Jiang Jing instinctively stole a quick glance at Fu Ye's unmasked face. Driven by lingering fear, she didn't dare stare for long, but the brief glimpse left her dazed—he was jaw-droppingly handsome, possessing a face that didn't look like it belonged to a mortal.
In truth, the only command Fu Ye had hardcoded into her slave imprint was a absolute restriction preventing her from harming him or any of the other girls in the academy. Beyond that, just as he had done with Zhu Zhuyun, he intended to grant her maximum personal freedom. Her clothing, food, housing, and transport would be of the absolute highest quality.
When Zhu Zhuyun first arrived, she had been sharp and cooperative, quickly integrating into the Tianshui circle and earning his trust. Once she officially became his woman, Fu Ye had completely dissolved her slave imprint, as keeping a slave mark on his own partner felt wrong.
However, if Zhuyun had chosen to be relentlessly defiant and repeatedly tried to escape, Fu Ye would have stripped away her privileges and treated her like a literal slave. He held the same standard for this new cat girl. He could excuse her initial panic, but prolonged rebellion would not be tolerated.
Fu Ye never claimed to be a saint. He would never force himself onto an innocent, ordinary girl, but when dealing with a slave he had bought and paid for with his own capital, he wouldn't coddle her. A servant had to act like a servant. He offered a life of fairness, luxury, and peace, but it was entirely contingent on her behaving herself. After all, if she had been hauled away by any of those fat, depraved nobles at the auction block, her reality would be a living hell.
As for Ning Fengzhi buying her? Hmph. Please. Anyone who genuinely believed the old leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was a selfless, altruistic savior was a fool. No one manages a colossal, continent-spanning faction out of the pure goodness of their heart; everything was driven by profit and leverage. Naturally, Fu Ye operated under his own self-interests as well.
The world was vast, and beautiful women were plentiful. While he couldn't realistically claim every single one of them, he wouldn't hesitate to use a few clever methods when he found one he truly liked.
Later that evening, the campus grew dead silent under the starry sky.
Fu Ye was lounging comfortably in his private quarters, resting up after a long day. You might wonder where all his beautiful wives had gone.
Let us check the VCR inside the cat girl's new dormitory room:
"Wow! Sister Jiang Jing'er, your ears are so unbelievably soft! They feel amazing to rub!"
Shui Yue'er squealed with pure delight, her face flushed with excitement as she vigorously massaged the cat girl's furry ears. For her, nothing beat the absolute bliss of petting a cute feline!
"Mmm, wow! Jiang Jing'er's figure is actually incredible too! Though, it's not quite as ridiculously stacked as Sister Zhuyun's yet," Yu Hairou commented, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she playfully gestured against the cat girl's torso, comparing her measurements to Zhu Zhuyun's voluptuous curves.
"Such gorgeous eyes... heterochromatic blue and green. It's truly enchanting to look at," Wu Ling murmured, leaning in close to marvel at her striking irises.
"Hehe! Sister Jing'er's tail is seriously the best thing ever! It moves exactly like a real cat's tail!"
Dugu Yan laughed softly, her slender fingers continuously stroking down the length of the sleek feline tail, gradually sliding her hand down until she reached the highly sensitive root where the tail joined her lower back.
"S-Sisters... wait, please don't touch me there..."
Jiang Jing'er's face turned an intense, burning crimson as she sat trapped in the absolute center of the swarm of beauties. This was the first time she had ever been surrounded by so many gorgeous, fragrant girls.
"Hehe, it's fine! Let your big sister pet you a bit more. From now on, Sister Yan'er will completely look after you!"
Dugu Yan pulled the cat girl firmly against her chest, letting Jiang Jing'er rest directly against her torso, where she could feel the strong, steady rhythm of Dugu Yan's heartbeat.
"Ahn~"
A cat's tail was a strictly forbidden, highly reactive zone. The moment Dugu Yan's warm hand caressed the deeply sensitive base of her tail, a profound, electric shock raced straight down Jiang Jing'er's spine, making her gasp softly as every single hair on her body stood completely on end, her feline ears twitching rigidly.
"Sister Jing'er is just way too adorable! How about you sleep in my bed tonight, okay?"
"Sister Yan'er, that's cheating!"
"No fair! Let Hairou cuddle with Sister Jing'er tonight instead..."
The girls continued to tease, pamper, and play with their new feline companion late into the night. The addition of a sister with real cat ears and a tail had thrown the entire dormitory into a state of hyperactive excitement.
As the chaos slowly wound down, Jiang Jing'er lay in bed, her mind racing. She had fully expected to be met with mocking sneers, cruel insults, or cold isolation the moment they found out she was a purchased slave. Instead, not a single girl in the room cared about her low status or her level of cultivation. They welcomed her with open arms and unconditional warmth.
The contrast between this paradise and her past life felt completely surreal.
Back in her clan, she had always been treated as an unwanted burden, an outcast. The only person who had ever shown her genuine love was her mother; even her own biological father despised her existence. To make matters worse, her father had eventually fallen into a severe gambling addiction, completely draining the family's assets within six months. In the end, he had ruthlessly sold her to the auction house as a common slave, using her mutated Xuan Cat Martial Soul as a premium selling point to inflate her price.
In the dead of night, the room quieted down. Dugu Yan, who was sharing the bed with her, caught sight of the prominent, vivid red handprints still lingering on her sore bottom when the sheets shifted. Surprised, Dugu Yan asked her what had happened. When Jiang Jing'er shyly confessed the truth, the poison princess didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So... you actually tried to attack him and run away the very second you got out of the cage, and that bad guy Fu Ye pinned you down and spanked your butt raw?"
The cat girl buried her face in the pillow, remaining silent. She knew her actions had been foolish in hindsight, but in that moment of panic, survival instincts had completely taken over.
"Little sister, looking at it from a normal perspective, your instinct to run wasn't wrong," Dugu Yan murmured gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "But you clearly don't know what kind of man Fu Ye is yet. He is a man of immense principles."
As one of the senior matriarchs of the harem alongside Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan began to patiently educate the cat girl on her master's true nature.
"Think about it logically: he dropped a staggering three and a half million gold spirit coins to pull you out of that wretched auction block. He likely just saw how pathetic your situation was and wanted to bring you to Tianshui Academy so you could live a safe, luxurious life. Yet, the moment he frees you, you immediately try to claw his throat out. Anyone would be furious after their kindness was met with absolute hostility. Besides, with your incredibly exotic appearance, do you honestly believe you would have survived for more than an hour if you actually managed to run out into the capital alone?"
Listening to Dugu Yan's soft, rational explanation, Jiang Jing'er began to silently reframe everything that had transpired that afternoon.
"You really are a silly, pitiable little thing," Dugu Yan chuckled, gently patting her head. "Three and a half million is a fortune that could buy entire cities, yet he spent it on you, only for you to instantly turn on him. It's a miracle the bad guy only gave you a spanking instead of something far worse."