A Night of Bites and Barking

“Seeking a Child for a Hefty Sum!”

Ji Jie froze like a wooden chicken, the scallion slipping from her mouth. She then turned her head, as if a puppet on strings, gazing incredulously at Qiao Qiao’s mother.

“Four-Master, what does ‘seeking a child for a hefty sum’ mean? Does it imply buying children with money?” Tou asked, taking a sip of soup. Having nearly finished her meal, she now had time to voice her confusion.

“No, not at all!” Yue Ye Si refuted, frowning as she wiped a trace of soup from Tou’s lips. She felt it best to shield Tou from the sordid implications of such a transaction.

“Then what is it?” Tou persisted, tilting her head.

“Well, it’s… it’s just like buying something!” Yue Ye Si stammered, having racked her brain for a better explanation but finding none, resorting to a vague and evasive reply.

“Huh? Isn’t that what I just said? Why did you deny me earlier?” A flicker of annoyance sparked in Tou’s eyes, sensing that her Four-Master was merely toying with her.

An awkward silence descended between them. Tou narrowed her eyes at Yue Ye Si, and seeing the panic in Yue Ye Si’s expression, she grew even more certain that her Four-Master was concealing something.

“Oh dear! My husband, Tou, why have you stopped eating? Come, have a Golden Lion’s Head! Such trivial matters don’t warrant your concern!”

Though Tou’s intense gaze didn’t quite make cold sweat trickle down her back, Yue Ye Si felt an unsettling prickle of unease within her heart. To break the tension, Yue Ye Si quickly scooped up a deep-fried, golden-brown Braised Lion’s Head and offered it to Tou, her eyes half-closed in a smile.

Indeed, at the sight of food, Tou’s thoughts of other matters vanished. She took a hearty bite; the crisp exterior yielded to tender meat, and the subtly spicy, refreshing taste instantly whetted her appetite.

While the two conversed, Qiao Qiao’s mother, wishing not to disturb their meal, had slipped out to the courtyard with Old Wang for a private discussion. She returned shortly, a warm and amiable smile still gracing her face, offering no discernible information to those who observed her.

Upon her return, she enthusiastically served dishes to the small Tou and introduced the various foods to everyone. Ji Jie had intended to ask something, but knew it would disrupt Tou’s meal, and she certainly had no desire to be scolded again.

In any case, she was determined to deal with Qiao Qiao later, and a few extra people wouldn’t make much difference. The practice of ‘seeking a child for a hefty sum’ in this world was far from simple. Having trained in forbidden arts, Ji Jie knew that only through such dark magic could one truly achieve the perfect ‘child for a hefty sum’.

Forbidden arts were immensely powerful and inherently malevolent. The demonic race itself had originated from humans who once practiced these very forbidden techniques.

And Qiao Qiao’s grandfather, a man from a century ago, had once been the Heart-Seed of the Heart-Eating Demoness. He must have acquired a vast knowledge of forbidden arts from her!

She resolved that once they left this place, she would dispatch her subordinates to capture the entire family and force them to reveal everything about the Heart-Eating Demoness and the forbidden arts.

Thus, dinner concluded amidst Ji Jie’s dark machinations. Of course, apart from Tou, none of the others had eaten their fill, including Qiao Qiao’s father and the Village Chief in the doghouse outside—even the dogs were included in that count!

****

The three of them were then escorted to a room furnished with two double beds.

Having eaten for so long, Tou was utterly exhausted. Upon entering the room, she sprang from her Four-Master’s back onto a bed, then sprawled out in a comfortable, star-shaped pose on the soft mattress.

“Oh dear! My husband, let’s sleep together!”

Tou felt her body suddenly grow heavy, sinking deep into the bedding. Her detestable Four-Master had, to her shock, also sprawled out in a star-shape, piling on top of her.

“Mmph! Get off me! You scoundrel!” Tou, now truly provoked, struck fiercely, using her hair ribbon to whip Yue Ye Si away. Then, settling into a duck-like sitting posture on the bed, she crossed her arms, sharply tilted her head, and spat in fury:

“You lustful pervert! Don’t you dare touch me again! Go sleep on your own side!”

‘Husband’ this, ‘husband’ that—it seemed her Four-Master had won that battle of addresses and had no intention of changing her ways.

Tou’s actions utterly delighted Qiao Qiao. The room only had two beds, one for every two people. She had planned to sleep with the maid big sister, but now, even better, another big sister would be sleeping with her!

She went over, took Yue Ye Si’s hand, and tugged at her, saying:

“Sister Yue, the Twin-tailed Sister won’t let you sleep with her, so you can sleep on our bed! Haha—don’t worry, Qiao Qiao is tiny, I can squeeze between you two and won’t take up any space!”

Earlier at the dinner table, Qiao Qiao’s mother had asked Yue Ye Si’s name, and now Qiao Qiao had begun calling her Sister Yue. As for Tou, Qiao Qiao had long known her name, yet she still preferred to call her Twin-tailed Sister.

“Mhm! Thank you, little Qiao Qiao, but I still intend to sleep with my husband.”

Yue Ye Si gently removed Qiao Qiao’s hand, then turned and walked towards Tou’s bed, her right palm aimed at Tou’s head, her ring finger gleaming with a fantastical blue-violet hue.

“Eternal Love Ring!”

This was Yue Ye Si’s Imperial Armament, a wedding ring worn on her ring finger, symbolizing eternity and love.

“A mere Imperial-tier artifact! Without a powerful master, it’s no different from scrap! Be gone!”

Yue Ye Si raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. A moment later, a blue barrier could be seen enveloping Tou.

“What is this thing?” Yue Ye Si had never before displayed this technique in front of Tou. Tou knew her master’s formidable strength; she had once broken free from the hair ribbon’s restraint when facing Purple Dragon of the Green Dragon Gang. Surely, there had to be a way to control the hair ribbon now!

She recalled Yue Ye Si’s words by the pond, how she had declared that she would no longer go easy on Tou, that there would be no polite toasts, only penalty drinks from now on.

Was she to fall under her Four-Master’s control once more? Tou shivered uncontrollably with fear.

As the blue barrier slowly contracted, Tou tried to attack it with her hair ribbon, but to no avail. When the barrier passed through her body, and her hair ribbon proved utterly incapable of breaching its defenses, she finally understood her Four-Master’s intention.

Her hair ribbon was about to be seized!

Then she would truly be powerless to resist her Four-Master!

“Oh dear! My husband, without that annoying hair ribbon to interfere, I can finally hold you close!”

Was Tou truly without the ability to resist? Yue Ye Si simply leaped onto the bed and embraced Tou, completely unguarded despite their close proximity.

‘Hmph!’

Tou scoffed internally. ‘This foolish master of mine is adorably stupid.’

“Ah! Ow, ow, ow! My… my husband, let go! You’re biting… are you trying to bite me to death? Haaah… I… I was wrong… Ow, ow, ow… I won’t hug you anymore, and I won’t… force you to do anything you dislike anymore… Please… please release your bite, okay?”

Tou had seized her chance, sinking her teeth into her Four-Master’s shoulder. With the same force she used to crack bones during dinner, she bit straight through, and crimson blood stained Yue Ye Si’s beautiful pajamas.

But in such a situation, who would care about the state of clothing? Yue Ye Si was writhing in agony, twisting on the bed like a maggot. However, Tou had no intention of letting her off easily. She clung tightly, refusing to be shaken off, and continued to bite her shoulder relentlessly.

“Please, I beg you! My little apprentice, I’ll never dare to do it again…”

Yue Ye Si was terrified of pain, utterly terrified! She had completely forgotten that she was a powerful expert of the Celestial-Human Realm, now pleading for mercy with precious tears streaming down her face.

“You scoundrel, you even dare to think there’ll be a next time! Just watch, today I’ll show you just how formidable I can be!”

Tou released her bite, cursed loudly, then, with lightning speed, opened her bloodied mouth and sank her teeth into Yue Ye Si’s other shoulder!

“Aaaah!!!”

Instantly, a scream like that of a slaughtered pig pierced the night, and then, as if a chain reaction, barks erupted from dogs throughout the village.

“Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof, woof!”

The commotion startled the sleeping villagers, who quickly scrambled out of bed, knowing that dogs typically only barked so frantically when powerful monstrous beasts appeared nearby.

However, seeing no change in the magical array protecting the village outside, they all grumbled and returned to their homes.

Yet, not long after, another pig-like scream of “Aaaah—” echoed, and the dogs began barking once more.

This sequence repeated several times, leaving the villagers in utter disarray!