On the sofa, Silvia had just settled his palms over his knees, preparing to regulate his breathing.
Suddenly, several wisps of fluffy ‘goodwill’ seemed to drift in through the crack in the door.
Were they just outside the door?
This piqued his curiosity considerably.
Normally, unauthorized intruders would trigger an alarm, yet the alarm remained silent.
Silvia walked towards the double doors, pushing them open to reveal a dazzling burst of sunlight.
He stepped to the other side.
There, an open-air courtyard lay bathed in sunlight, making him pause, his breath catching. He saw—
Several fluffy figures, piled together like furry mounds, basking in the warm glow.
A Ragdoll cat’s fluffy tail covered half its small face, while an orange tabby’s plump belly rose and fell with each breath.
The Silver Shaded cat, in particular, lay sprawled on its back, paws idly scratching at the air.
Its whiskers twitched softly even in its sweet slumber.
Beside them were three small puppies.
Nearby, brooms, snow shovels, and an ice bucket with un-melted cleaning foam lay scattered.
It seemed they had just finished their chores and were taking a well-deserved break.
Silvia observed the gathering of cats and dogs.
He recognized them, noting their striking resemblance to the cat-eared and dog-eared maids in the mansion.
However, their treatment here was clearly superior.
He was particularly drawn to the Silver Shaded cat lying on its back.
He was instantly smitten, perhaps because his own hair was also silver.
Silvia carefully approached, half-crouching to gently touch the cat’s soft belly.
The cat let out a contented purr, then arched its body, rubbing its nose against his palm.
Yet, it soon seemed to sense that something was ‘amiss.’
The Silver Shaded cat was startled awake by Silvia. It groggily opened its eyes, letting out soft, milky meows.
But upon seeing him, she instantly panicked, meowing incessantly and hissing at her companions.
She even lightly patted the orange cat’s rump with her paw.
“Woof-woof~”
“Meow!”
This finally roused them, and in an instant, they transformed into a group of dog-eared and cat-eared girls, kneeling neatly on the ground.
They wore sheer maid short skirts, their cat and dog ears swaying gently with each breath, tails restlessly sweeping the ground.
Then, in unison, they called out:
“Master~”
A moment later.
Silvia had roughly grasped the situation. According to these six little maids, they were ‘bonus’ exclusive maids.
They were responsible for his daily needs for the coming year.
Furthermore, the Ragdoll cat maid declared with conviction:
“We are absolutely clean, Master. We’ve only just started, and we take great care of our fur…”
“If Master has any worries, we can also… resolve your anxieties and desires…”
Upon hearing this, Silvia took half a step back.
He had never been surrounded by so many fluffy monster girls before.
Even at a cat café in Tanhua City, he had only petted some cats that hadn’t transformed.
“That won’t be necessary~”
That upward-inflected ‘resolve your anxieties and desires’ particularly reminded him of his previous misinterpretations in the mansion hall.
“Well then… I won’t disturb your rest. I’ll take my leave now.”
At his words.
The six little maids let out soft, uniform hums, their sweet cooing rising and falling, laced with a clingy affection.
“Safe travels, Master~”
As Silvia turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught the Silver Shaded girl still gazing at him with longing eyes.
Her tail thumped rhythmically against the ground.
Even after the double doors closed, the warmth of the cat’s body still lingered on his palm, mingled with the scent of sun-warmed fur, a fragrant memory that refused to dissipate.
‘Indeed, a good cat~’
****
Meanwhile.
In another master bedroom on the first floor.
Within the bathhouse, Xia Naxin was luxuriating in the tub. She raised a hand to coil her long hair, twisting each wet strand into a neat bun.
As her fingers traced her collarbone, she thought of Silvia, currently downstairs.
Xia Naxin gazed at her reflection on the ice wall, then scooped up a handful of warm water, letting it cascade over her glistening, ice-sculpted breasts.
She watched the beads of water trickle down her arms.
Her mind drifted to the scene when Silvia would transform back into a woman.
When that time came, she would definitely drag her back to the room.
‘Mmm~~~~~ I absolutely must lock her in the room…’
‘There’ll be no escape. If you don’t surrender your first experience, you’re not leaving, hmph~’
She murmured to herself, even drawing a heart on the water’s surface.
****
On the other side.
The second-floor hall was vast and brightly lit.
Ling Qinghe’s thoughts stirred, and eight magical phantoms immediately materialized in the void, poised to arrange the ‘Taiji Diagram.’
Each phantom was surrounded by a magical aura, imbued with distinct elemental attributes.
The Qian-position phantom held a blazing fire staff, its shaft engulfed in flowing flames.
The Kun-position phantom cradled a profound ice jade box, from whose seams escaped wisps of chilling mist.
The Zhen-position phantom had a thunderous giant wood staff suspended from its waist, crackling with purple lightning arcs.
The Xun-position phantom held a wind core between its fingertips, as whistling wind blades circled around it.
It was time for serious matters.
This time, Ling Qinghe had specifically chosen a being of immense magical power.
Moreover, Silvia had once been a woman, but for some unknown reason, had manifested in a male body.
Transforming him back now might yield a higher success rate.
“Activate the formation.”
Ling Qinghe commanded softly.
The Qian-position phantom was the first to raise its hand, striking its blazing staff into the ground, impressing a ‘three’ character onto the floor.
The Kun-position phantom tilted its jade box, moonlight reflecting from within to project a ‘hexagram’ onto the ground.
****
After a while.
Eight hexagrams had imprinted their characters, and the rudimentary form of the Taiji Diagram had taken shape.
Following this, Ling Qinghe lightly flicked her fingers, and eight streams of light infused their respective positions.
Immediately, the temperature in the second-floor hall polarized dramatically: scorching heat waves emanated from the Qian position, while bone-chilling cold assailed from the Kun position.
“Fetch the brushes.”
At her command, the eight phantoms simultaneously reached into their midsections, and when they withdrew their hands, each palm held a gigantic cinnabar brush.
Next.
Ling Qinghe raised her hand and gave a gentle wave. A nine-square grid appeared on the floor, and a black vortex emerged at the position of the Yin fish’s eye.
“For the Yin fish’s form, add three liters of profound snake blood, supplemented with moon-tide grass juice…”
The Yi-position phantom responded instantly, pouring forth glowing snake blood and moon-tide grass juice from its midsection.
In short order, the outline of the Yin fish gradually became defined.
Immediately, Ling Qinghe pointed to the Yang fish’s eye:
“For the Yang fish’s form, add seven catties of blazing fire sand, melted with red dragon’s saliva…”
At this, the Qian-position phantom hurled the blazing fire sand into the vortex, and red dragon’s saliva dripped down. The outlines of both Yin and Yang fish instantly became distinct.
“Draw the Yang fish scales, eighty-one scales in total, each etched with a ‘Li’ pattern…”
“Draw the Yin fish scales, thirty-six scales in total, each embedded with a ‘Kan’ symbol…”
Finally.
Ling Qinghe stood at the intersection of the Yin and Yang fish, recalling the ‘secret formula’:
“Taiji is born from Wuji, the mechanism of motion and stillness, the mother of Yin and Yang, neither Yin nor Yang, yet both Yin and Yang.”
As the incantation ended, the two fish converged, drawing an ‘S’-shaped curve at their juncture.
In that instant.
The Taiji Diagram abruptly rose, and the Yin and Yang fish patterns began to slowly rotate.
The Yang fish’s white pupils and flames merged, while the Yin fish’s black pupils and dark currents surged.
****
Nearby, Ling Cheyin sat on a rocking chair, completely oblivious to her sister’s actions. A look of bewildered amusement graced her face.
Qiye had unblocked her!
They could communicate again…
She was currently engrossed in writing a ‘small essay,’ intending to show weakness and apologize for her previous words. However, the more she wrote, the more it ‘strayed from the topic’:
‘If you’re lonely when I’m gone, well… endure it.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll behave myself and definitely won’t mess around behind your back.’
“Hey, do you want to know Zhennu Yibai’s current situation? If you do, send me your bath photos~”
Ling Cheyin continued typing.
‘Later, after I’ve weathered the storm… marry you? Or bring you out to live abroad, don’t stay in Tanhua City, the world is so big~’