Click.

  The shutting door behind him awakened the dazed Bubai from his act.

  Bubai looked back, mumbling as if speaking to the shadows, “That’s right. I got new clothes. Time to head home.”

  He then departed, taking calm and steady steps away from the place.

  Feeling no prying eyes on his back even after covering some distance, Bubai picked up his pace…

  When he finally left the shopping district, Bubai finally breathed an inward sigh of relief.

  Good Merlin. Finally out!

  By the way she had looked at him, he almost thought that tigress would never let him go!

  Fortunately, he didn’t end up in the worse-case scenario nor will he have to worry about ending up in it in the future.

  Now that he’s free, there’s no way he’ll fall into this honey trap again. Not uh.

  That store has officially been added to his blacklist!

  No matter what she was scheming, what can she do to him if he never steps foot in that den again?!

  Still, when Bubai thought that there was another hungry predator sniffing after his tracks, why does he get a bad feeling…

  Bubai’s mind ran through the hypnotized performance he put on.

  Well… he played out how the fairy had described upper-level dream fishing victims should be like. There should be no problems, right?

  Or... did he miss something? Uh… that peculiar feeling at the start...

  It’s not like he would really bump into her anywhere else, right? Right?!

  While somebody was worried about raising strange and unnecessary flags, the subject of his anxieties…

  Back in Jade Lotus Accessories and Attires.

  In a hidden private changing room at the back of the shop…

  The attendant with sun-kissed skin was loosely slipping on the flowing gauzy garment onto the young lady with cyan hair fitted in a loose yet mature updo.

  Seeing the young lady finally done with rinsing her mouth using milk, the attendant couldn’t help but hesitantly ask, “Mistress, why sully your chaste self to serve him? Surely, Mistress could have left it to us servants.”

  “Ah…” Her mistress answered with a sigh like the rustle of autumn leaves, her deep sea gaze meeting her servant’s in the reflection of the bronze basin’s milky water.

  “Xiao Cui, sooner or later, it’ll be my fate. So I would rather pick who I play with while I still can.”

  “But Mistress. There’s nothing good about this one,” Xiao Cui protested, her brow furrowing. “He’s just an ugly man with mediocre talent in cultivation.”

  “Heh…?” Susu leaked a melodic laugh as light as the flutter of a butterfly's wings.

  “Xiao Cui. Never just look at appearances. How could someone that Feng Qi has her eyes on be so simple?”

  Xiao Cui’s breath caught in her throat, her astonished face on full display.

  “The Spring Saintess from the other courtyard? How come?! Even the core disciples can’t catch her eye. What does this no-name bum have?!”

  Susu’s gaze drifted to her raised hand, examining her painted nails with an almost casual indifference.

  “Ah la… he did do exceptional well to hide it. Even I didn’t see it at first. I just wanted to see what he has to make that block of wood pay attention to him, but now…”

  She paused, her expression indifferent, though her eyes hinted at something deeper—perhaps intrigue, perhaps desire.

  “If it wasn’t because I still have a performance to hold tonight, I would’ve played with him all night to dig out his secrets. Too bad, he got off easy.”

  The smile in the beauty’s eyes grew as if savoring a private joke.

  “Ah… Xiao Cui, mark him down as a potential target. Even if he fails to meet the mark, he’ll still make a good pawn to irritate that piece of rough jade.”

  Xiao Cui gasped softly, her eyes creasing in surprise. “Really... that good?”

  Susu’s gaze, once gentle, now sharpened to a keen edge. "Put away that curiosity. He’s not something a lowly servant like you can covet, understand?"

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  The voice cold as winter’s breath caused an avalanche of panic on Xiao Cui’s face and she fell to her knees. “Slave doesn’t dare!”

  “Ah…” Susu’s expression softened slightly, but only just.

  A delicate finger lifted Xiao Cui’s chin, forcing the trembling servant to meet her indifferent gaze. “It’s best you put away your little thoughts. I’d prefer not to see you dead over some foolish drama.”

  When her chin was released, Xiao Cui bowed her head in submission, her nasally voice barely above a whisper. “Yes, Mistress.”

  “Alright, get up. I should get going.”

  Susu reached for her veil on the side table. With a grace that echoed the flutter of a swan’s wings, she hung it over the bottom half of her youthful face.

  When the gauzy fabric settled into place, a faint smile curved on her lips, and an eerie transformation began...

  Beneath the veil, her youthful features gradually matured, her face shifting closer to one of seasoned allure in a woman’s primes.

  At the same time, her slim, delicate figure became fuller until the previously loose robes hugged her curves in all the right places.

  The alterations to her appearance came to a seamless end, leaving in its wake a vision of a gorgeous beauty dressed in the vibrant courtesan attire.

  The newly transformed lady admired her own reflection in the tall bronze mirror, her lips curling into a satisfied smile. “Yes, I do prefer this more mature look better… Xiao Cui.”

  With her call, the metallic groan of hidden mechanisms stirred behind the wall, and the slab where the bronze mirror was hung slid away, revealing a hidden passage.

  Stepping into the tunnel shrouded in darkness with a graceful stride, the gorgeous mistress cast a final glance over at her attendant.

  “Notify me immediately when he arrives. Next time... I won’t let him off so easily. Mmheheheh...”

  The echoes of her dark, half-suppressed cackle faded away as the mirror slid back into place, reflecting the ominous future yet to come...

  East District.

  “Huh, why do I suddenly feel a chill up my spine?”

  Bubai shuddered and looked around, just to see the law enforcers flitting about the rooftops or on the lookout at the crowns of the pavilions, their goals veiled in mystery.

  The chilling feeling couldn’t be coming from them, right?

  They were simply passing by and don’t seem to be targeting him, but it really seemed like someone had poked the hornet’s nest again.

  It can’t be his doing, right? Right?!

  For some odd reason, Bubai felt his paranoia acting up more than usual ever since he learned that tonight was going to be the Blue Moon.

  That really unsettled him more than he cared to admit, and Bubai couldn’t help but hurry back home.

  When he finally arrived, Bubai was relieved to find no enforcers surrounding his tower like he imagined.

  Not seeing any suspicious signs of trouble, Bubai chided himself under his own breath, “Guess I’m just being paranoid… the stress must be getting to me.”

  Looking at the undisturbed tower where his waifu waited, Bubai debated whether to head straight in, but another responsibility nagged his mind at that moment.

  In the end, Bubai let out a resigned sigh, “We can go buy the sword later. First, I need to check on my little cat spy.”

  The past day's hectic chaos had left him with no time to spare for his pet.

  The cat was his firsthand news to Elder Mo, and he didn’t want to add another miss to his record.

  So, Bubai went past his tower, heading toward the rendezvous spot he set not far ahead.

  On his way, scrutinizing stares came from the neighbors roaming about, but there were no cliché fools blocking his way to invite trouble.

  When Bubai finally approached the location, he spotted the cat girl right where he expected—squatting atop a lamppost, her forlorn figure outlined against the bleak sky.

  Once vibrant banners of her mood, her ears were now flat and her tail hung low.

  Upon spotting him, her tail faintly perked up, only to drop back down, and she turned away, letting him talk to her back that was basically hung with a “do not disturb this sad cat” sign.

  But since she’s here, that means there was still room for a workaround.

  Stopping a few paces away from the lamppost, Bubai gently called out, “Hey, Xiao Mao. Are you not happy to see yummy fish?”

  Miss Meow didn’t respond, stubbornly keeping her back to him.

  Bubai tried again, a bit louder this time, “Come on, I’m sorry I’ve been busy with something. But I’m here for you now, aren’t I?”

  Still, she acted as if she hadn’t heard him, her ears flicking but otherwise remaining unresponsive.

  Bubai sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Never knew this cat could be so moody sometimes.

  “Alright, alright,” Bubai adopted a more coaxing tone. “I wanted to keep this a surprise, but…”

  Reaching into his storage pouch, Bubai pulled out a small, dried fish from his storage space. “Xiao Mao, lookie what I have here. Your favorite fishy~”

  At the mention of the fish, the cat’s ears perked up slightly, though she still didn’t turn to face him.

  Sensing he was making progress, Bubai continued, “You like this, don’t you? Just come down here, and this lil’ tasty will be yours.”

  Miss Meow’s tail twitched while her head was raised, and Bubai could almost see her nose twitching to sniff the air on the other side.

  Knowing she was hooked, Bubai temptingly waved the small fish back and forth in the air, “Fishie, fishie~ tasty, tasty~”

  That finally did the trick.

  With a sudden burst of movement, the cat girl whooshed off from the top of the lamppost, and barely after landing, she flashed over...

  Without missing a beat, she directly munched on the dried fish in his hand, her cat eyes wide and fixed on him in an expectant manner.

  Bubai chuckled, letting go of the fish and reaching to pet the cat girl’s head.

  “The competition is coming up. I’m afraid I can’t spend the next few days with you, so I spent the past day to prepare this little surprise for you. Like it?”

  Miss Meow eagerly slurped up the fish and let out a satisfied purr.

  She then scurried around and hopped onto his back, nimbly piggybacking on his shoulders with legs curling around his neck like a contented vine.

  Pon. Pon. Her paws patted his head with the solemnity of a judge, and the cat gave her verdict. “Bad yummy fish miss a day, but Ben Meow will forgive yummy fish this time.”

  Bubai’s smile was a crescent moon of relief.

  Lucky him that he found some fish in that dead Long Batian’s loot. Seems the bloke also had the idea to tame a cat, but the benefit now fell on his shoulders.

  What a good man. Even in death, that guy still helped him deal with the pet of his dear master.

  Happy to fulfill what his predecessor cannot, Bubai patted Miss Meow’s bare smooth legs affectionately.

  “Alright, let’s go find a nice, comfortable spot to sit and talk. I’ll reward you with more fish once I’ve fed you nice and full.”

  “Meow fish?! Meow fish! Meow! Meow! Itadakimeow!” Miss Meow let out delighted meows, fist pumping the air while rocking back and forth in excitement.

  Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Bubai set off confidently, ready to get an update on the latest scoop from his feline informant and to feed her his... yummy, yummy snack after.