Chang Ping

Early summer.

The Law Enforcement Hall of the Sacred Family in the Glory City.

"Chang Ping, do you know your crime?" His voice swept through the room like a cold wind, making everyone shudder.

Steward Shen Ming sat in a grand armchair, his little triangular eyes narrowed as he glared down at the kneeling young man like a venomous snake.

The young man was sallow and gaunt, his cheeks slightly sunken. He looked so frail that a gust of wind might have blown him over.

Kneeling on the cold, hard floor tiles, he bowed his head and clenched his fists, fury burning in his eyes.

"I'm innocent!" Chang Ping raised his head and glared at Shen Ming defiantly.

A cold glint flashed in Shen Ming's eyes. "You broke into the Eldest Young Lady's room and tried to molest her, and you still claim you're innocent? Guards! Take this shameless dog of a servant away and castrate him!"

Two burly servants rushed into the hall. They grabbed Chang Ping by either arm and dragged him toward the door.

Chang Ping let them haul him away. He neither begged for mercy nor uttered a single soft word. He gritted his teeth and glared at Shen Ming.

This scum had always treated him like a beast of burden, making him work and withholding his wages. Now he'd framed him with a baseless accusation and wanted to make sure he could never have children.

If only he could stay alive. Then he'd make Shen Ming pay ten times over for every humiliation he'd suffered!

"Wait!"

Just as Chang Ping was about to be dragged through the doorway, a sultry woman's voice rang out.

Chang Ping turned his head. The Eldest Young Lady, Shen Xiu, stepped over the high threshold and entered the hall.

She had a devilishly perfect figure and wore revealing, seductive clothes. Her wine-red hair was tied back, and her long, snowy-white legs flashed in and out of view beneath her purple-red miniskirt.

"Put him down. Then get out!"

Shen Xiu glared at the servants with her phoenix eyes. They immediately released Chang Ping and fled the hall on their hands and knees.

Chang Ping brushed the dust off his trousers, straightened up, and stood tall, looking at Shen Ming provocatively.

"Eldest Young Lady, what do you mean by this?" Shen Ming glared viciously at Chang Ping, then asked Shen Xiu in confusion.

How dare the brat make a face at him? He was acting so brazenly. Could he and Shen Xiu be involved?

The brat was poor, untalented, and plain-looking. Was Shen Xiu blind?

Shen Xiu folded her arms over her chest and parted her red lips. "Castration is far too lenient! He watched me bathe. At the very least, we should cut off his hands and feet, chop off his nose and ears, and gouge out his eyes. Only then will my anger be appeased."

?!

The moment he heard Shen Xiu's words, Chang Ping fell to the floor, utterly terrified. It was as if he'd plunged into an ice cellar.

He'd thought Shen Xiu had come to save him. He never imagined she'd come to hurt him too.

Damn it!

Why am I so unlucky? What did I ever do to deserve this? Chang Ping wailed inwardly.

He wasn't from this world. He'd come from Earth, transported by some mysterious, unknown force into the world of Tales of Demons and Gods.

With no system and no particular skills, he'd been forced to work for the Sacred Family.

He went to bed later than a dog and got up earlier than a chicken. The other servants bullied him, and Shen Ming the old dog made his life difficult.

He'd endured it all because once he'd saved up two thousand Demon Spirit Coins for tuition, he could study at Saint Orchid Academy. As someone familiar with the story, he was sure he could change his fate.

He'd have enough money after getting paid tomorrow. Then he could leave.

Who could have guessed that he'd suddenly be falsely accused of peeping at Shen Xiu?

If he'd actually done it, he would've accepted his punishment.

The problem was, he hadn't!

He guessed that Shen Ming the old dog didn't want to pay his wages and had made up an excuse to torment him.

"Fine. We'll do as the Eldest Young Lady says! I'll call someone in right away!" Shen Ming smirked maliciously. Go on, keep showing off, brat! Let's see how this steward deals with you. Heh heh heh...

"No need." Shen Xiu closed her phoenix eyes and raised a hand to stop him. "I'll take him back and deal with him myself. He's just a lowly servant. That shouldn't be a problem, should it, Steward Shen Ming?"

"No problem, no problem!" Shen Ming hurriedly waved his hands.

Shen Xiu was the Family Head's half-sister, after all. He could afford to grant her this small favor.

"It is a problem!" Chang Ping jumped to his feet and raised a fist in protest. "I came to work for your family. I didn't sell myself to you! Even if I've done something wrong, the City Lord's Mansion should handle it. You have no right to punish me!"

Shen Ming was amused by Chang Ping's naïveté.

"Kid, you really are adorably stupid! The Sacred Family is a Peak Family. Even if we killed you, the City Lord's Mansion wouldn't say a word. You're just a penniless, powerless tramp!"

Shen Ming turned to Shen Xiu, who was already growing impatient, and said respectfully, "Eldest Young Lady, take him away."

Shen Xiu shot Shen Ming a sidelong glance. Then she suddenly spun around, grabbed Chang Ping by his vulnerable throat, and dug her sharp nails into his skin. Blood flowed at once.

Chang Ping could barely breathe.

Holding him up with one hand, she carried him out of the hall as casually as an empty plastic bag.

Shen Xiu looked delicate and soft, but she was astonishingly strong.

Chang Ping's face turned purplish-red as he choked. I'm done for!

Watching them disappear into the distance, Shen Ming narrowed his triangular eyes and muttered, "Why does some servant peek at her bathing every month? Aren't they afraid to die? Come to think of it, what does Shen Xiu do with the servants she takes away? They all vanish without a trace. Strange!"

"Bang!"

The door burst open with a crash.

Chang Ping flew through the air in a graceful arc and landed on the spotless agarwood floor.

He'd been deprived of oxygen, and his mind was completely blank. He couldn't think at all, only draw in great, mechanical gasps.

A mysterious fragrance filled the room, faintly mingled with the smell of blood.

Shen Xiu turned, shut the door, and slid the bolt into place.

She took off her shoes and, wearing flesh-colored ankle socks, stood with her hands on her hips and sauntered toward him, full of allure.

But her face remained cold.

In his daze, Chang Ping felt his waistband suddenly loosen. His buttons were undone one by one, and a chill brushed his chest.

He opened his eyes and saw Shen Xiu straddling his soft belly. Her burning phoenix eyes fixed on him as she extended her sharp, pointed claws and slowly reached toward his left chest.

"What are you doing?" Chang Ping trembled in panic and instinctively raised a hand to push her away.

Shen Xiu seized his wrist. With a crack, she twisted his arm into a grotesque knot.

"Ah!!!"

The intense pain jolted Chang Ping fully awake, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Don't be afraid!" Shen Xiu covered Chang Ping's mouth with her right hand and pressed her left hand against his chest. She licked her crimson lips and said, "I just want to borrow your heart. I'll give it back when I'm done."

"Pfft!"

Before Chang Ping could agree, Shen Xiu's claws pierced his skin and clutched his heart.

As he watched his beating heart disappear into Shen Xiu's mouth, Chang Ping asked in despair, "Why... me?"

Shen Xiu stood up, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped her face. Looking down at Chang Ping, she explained, "Because only the heart's blood of a Virgin Boy can help me cultivate!"

After wiping her mouth clean, Shen Xiu grabbed Chang Ping by the throat and carried him to the bed.

She pressed her hand against the wall. The bed suddenly flipped ninety degrees, revealing a hidden passage. The faint sound of rushing water came from within.

Shen Xiu tossed Chang Ping into the passage as if he were a sack of trash, then pressed the wall again. The bed flipped back into place.

The ease with which she'd done it made it clear this wasn't her first time.

Chang Ping slid down the straight passage. His breathing grew weaker and his consciousness hazier with every moment.

Suddenly, a cold, mechanical notification sounded in his ear.

[Golden Finger acquired! Congratulations, you have obtained the S-rank talent—Physical Augmentation. Your strength will increase by one pound every minute!]