msmithbooks Chapter 577 - 576: Must Have Remembered Wrong
Chapter 577 - 576: Must Have Remembered Wrong
Reluctantly, Si Shuo poked her head out to look.
Below was a Golden Leopard Beastman, a messenger. Leopards were fast. Even in a bustling downtown area crowded with people, they could nimbly weave through the crowds or scale walls and leap across roofs. They were one of the most favored servants among the city’s nobility.
Si Shuo’s gaze uncontrollably drifted between the squatting Golden Leopard Beastman’s legs. Sure enough, there was a pale, dangling seed pouch...
"Si Shuo Divine Servant, my Princess invites you to a meal," the Golden Leopard Beastman said, grinning after his initial shock at Si Shuo’s appearance.
"But I don’t know your Princess. Besides, I just finished eating and was about to rest. Can we reschedule for another day?" Si Shuo asked with a light smile.
The Golden Leopard Beastman scratched his ear with a claw, looking troubled. "The Princess said that if the Divine Servant doesn’t want to come, it must be because I, a mere Beast Slave, don’t have enough clout. She said she wouldn’t mind having the Beast Soldiers help clear a path for you."
’Looks like I have to attend this treacherous feast after all.’
"Divine Servant, the Princess didn’t just invite you. Lord Xu Feng, several nearby City Lords, and the Zongwang will be there too," he said. The implication was that the Princess didn’t intend to make things too difficult for her; she had simply heard of her reputation and wanted to meet her.
Si Shuo nodded, and Zhi Le scooped her into his arms, leaping down from a height of seven stories—roughly thirty meters!
Even though Si Shuo often pestered Xu Chi and Yin Jiang to fly her through the skies, the intense, bungee-jump-like feeling of weightlessness terrified her. She clung tightly to Zhi Le’s neck, a scream caught in her throat.
Once they landed safely, she resentfully bit Zhi Le on the neck. Hearing the male suck in a sharp breath of pain, she huffed, "That’s for scaring me."
Zhi Le chuckled. "Don’t worry, kitty. I’d rather fall myself than ever let you get hurt."
The Golden Leopard Beastman prostrated on the ground, turning his head to bare his teeth in a smile. "Si Shuo Divine Servant, I can carry you there."
Zhi Le said coolly, "No need. I’ll carry my own female. You just lead the way."
The Golden Leopard Beastman glanced at Si Shuo. Seeing no objection from her, he nodded with a hint of regret and took the lead.
The closer they got to the city center, the fewer humanoid Beastmen they saw, but there were plenty of Beastmen in their Beast Forms. Some served as mounts, some pulled carriages, and others, like the Golden Leopard Beastman, delivered messages. The Beastmen they passed were dressed with particular care, especially the females, who sparkled from head to toe like walking prisms, so bright it hurt the eyes. They were typically surrounded by ten to twenty males.
The Princess resided in the Zongwang’s villa, located in the western part of the city. Next to it was a large, crystal-clear, jade-green lake surrounded by tall, straight weeping willows. However, it was late autumn, and the leaves had long since fallen, leaving only bare branches.
On a large patch of withered yellow grass by the lake, a huge tent made of Beast Skins had been erected. On the side sheltered from the wind, the flap was rolled up, offering a perfect view of the lake.
Many Beastmen were already seated inside, drinking and eating meat around crackling bonfires.
"Xiao Hua, who’s this? Not just anyone can attend the Princess’s banquet!" They had just arrived when a guard blocked their way, asking with a smirk. His eyes, however, were rudely sizing up Si Shuo in Zhi Le’s arms.
Zhi Le’s large cloak had her wrapped up so tightly that all he could see was a small bulge...
"Brother Zhao, this is the Si Shuo Divine Servant, whom the Princess specifically asked me to invite," the Golden Leopard Beastman said with a smile.
"Oh? Never heard of her. The Princess didn’t say anything to me..." the guard said bluntly, nodding.
Si Shuo’s eyes lit up. A serious voice came from within the cloak, "The Golden Leopard must have remembered wrong. Zhi Le, let’s go back. It’s cold out here."
Zhi Le nodded, turned, and bolted without a moment’s hesitation. The other males followed close behind, giving the Golden Leopard Beastman and the guard no time to react!
(#`O′) "Hey, don’t go! I’ll go announce you to the Princess..."
But their only response was the swirling autumn wind!
The guard was both furious and frightened. The Princess had clearly instructed him to give this group a hard time and knock them down a peg, but he never imagined they’d be so utterly uncompromising.
The guards and the Golden Leopard Beastman were dumbfounded. ’What do we do?’ None of them wanted to face the Princess’s wrath!
Although Si Shuo’s group had run off, she wriggled out of Zhi Le’s arms and softly called, "Xu Chi."
Hearing his name, Xu Chi immediately stepped forward, took her into his arms, and wrapped her snugly in his own cloak. "I’ll take A shuo to look around for a bit. We’ll head home later."
The female in his arms vanished. Zhi Le then took a rolled-up bearskin from his spatial storage, continued to hold it in his arms as if nothing had happened, and hurried back toward the caves with his Couple Brothers.
Si Shuo sighed softly. ’Back then, for a moment of satisfaction, I transferred Hu Hang’s Beast Mark. I never thought it would cause me to be targeted wherever I go.’
Xu Chi smiled and patted her back. "Come on, let’s go crash the Princess’s party and see what kind of trap she’s laid for us."
At home, they didn’t just focus on Cultivation; they also read frequently. The books Si Shuo had brought out were all classics on strategy and manipulation, like *The Art of War*, *Ghost Valley Master*, books on dark psychology, the *Thirty-Six Stratagems*, Psychology, and Leadership. There were also skill books with recipes, *Lu Ban’s Secret Manual*, and Tai Chi Boxing, as well as some books on aesthetics and improving literary appreciation.
The rainy season and the coldest season were long. They couldn’t just single-mindedly pursue Cultivation, as the results weren’t great, so they used reading to pass the time. One by one, the males and the young ones discovered the joy of absorbing knowledge from books and had become quite learned.
Si Shuo hummed in agreement. The two of them returned to the Beast Skin tent. Several bonfires were blazing inside, with Beast Slaves assigned to roast meat. Males and females sat together in groups of two and three, chatting.
The center of the tent was covered with a massive Mammoth Elephant Skin, on top of which were various other items that displayed power and prestige, like tiger pelts, lion pelts, and Dragon Bones.
A stunningly beautiful female dressed in snow-white fox fur lay languidly on an ivory bed, enjoying a shoulder massage and a leg rub from a handsome male. Another male knelt beside her, feeding her.
Si Shuo, who was clinging to Xu Chi’s arm, couldn’t help but squeeze it in excitement. ’Isn’t this the kind of VIP treatment you’d get by splurging at a high-end club in the modern world?’
’But that’s just a thought. I definitely couldn’t bear to have my own males serve me like that.’
Nearby, several males were gathered around a bonfire, each accompanied by a female.
Xu Chi pointed out one of the males to Si Shuo, tracing the two words for "Xu Feng" on her palm.
Xu Feng was handsome with a gentle temperament. He spoke in a calm, unhurried manner and seemed kind-hearted and easygoing. But to Si Shuo, it felt like he was wearing a mask; he was too perfect, and it felt fake.
"Princess," the Golden Leopard Beastman said in a small voice, shuffling over hesitantly.
Ling Xue shot him a glance, then looked behind him. She frowned in displeasure. "Where is that little bitch, Si Shuo? Did you deliver my message?"
Si Shuo clenched her fists. ’Oh, for fuck’s sake! My temper is flaring up. Who did I ever provoke to deserve this? We haven’t even met, and she’s already spewing such vile language.’
But she could also feel the rage simmering beneath Xu Chi’s tense muscles. She patted him gently. ’Revenge is a dish best served cold. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to teach her how to speak properly.’