Xiao Wu's Ears Were Soft, and Tang San Danced Street Dance in Public

Jiang Ziming froze for a moment.

Then he could not help laughing.

"What? Isn't this pretty cute?"

He yawned, his tone utterly casual.

"Huh?"

Xiao Wu blinked her beautiful wide eyes, momentarily stunned.

"Master... I have ears and a tail. Don't you find that strange?"

"What's strange about it?"

Jiang Ziming stretched lazily and spoke as if it were only natural.

"I told you yesterday—just as you mysteriously showed up to apply for the job, I had looked into you before you came. Of course I knew you were a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft-Boned Rabbit that cultivated into human form."

He paused, then added,

"But why did you suddenly turn out like this? Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Is there something wrong with your body?"

Xiao Wu hurriedly shook her head.

"Rest assured, Master. I'm in excellent condition."

She lowered her head to look at the pair of rabbit ears she could not control, then explained softly and a little embarrassedly,

"I just don't know why... these ears and tail suddenly won't retract."

She silently thought that perhaps she had gone too long without fighting with soul skills, and yesterday's sudden burst of soul power had caused this abnormality.

After hearing that, Jiang Zihang waved a hand.

"Then it doesn't matter. When we're out, if anyone asks, just say they're hair accessories."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

"Mm! Thank you, Master!"

Only after seeing that her master did not dislike her because of her ears and tail did she finally let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest as though a weight had been lifted.

Then she heard the young man speak again.

"Hmm... Xiao Wu, your ears and tail look really soft."

Jiang Ziming looked at those fluffy rabbit ears and that marshmallow-like little tail, feeling an itch in his heart.

He had loved keeping pets in his previous life, and his favorite pastime had been petting cats.

And now his own maid had suddenly grown ears and a tail like a pet...

Seeing the curiosity in the young man's eyes, Xiao Wu's dewy pretty face instantly turned crimson.

She lightly bit her pink lip and lowered her head. Her voice carried a trace of nervousness, mixed with a faint, barely perceptible anticipation.

"Yes, Master..."

She paused, her voice becoming even quieter.

"Would you like to try? Try... whether they really are as... soft as they look."

Gulp.

Jiang Ziming swallowed.

Then he extended his hand, slowly reaching toward those fluffy rabbit ears.

The instant his fingertips touched the soft fur, Xiao Wu's body trembled lightly.

But she did not dodge.

Jiang Ziming gently pinched one of her rabbit ears.

It felt even better than he had imagined.

Soft, warm, and trembling faintly, like holding a living cloud.

Unable to resist, he rubbed it again, his fingertips gently stroking along the curve of the ear.

Xiao Wu's breathing visibly grew uneven.

Her cheeks were as red as ripe tomatoes. Her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt, and her entire body trembled slightly, yet she never moved away.

She even quietly tilted her head a little closer to him.

As if saying that it would be fine if he petted her a while longer.

Jiang Ziming then tried touching that little puffball tail.

The instant his fingertips touched the soft fur, Xiao Wu let out a soft "Mm" as though electrocuted. Her whole body pitched forward, and she nearly fell onto the bed.

"Master..."

Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz, trembling with embarrassment.

Jiang Ziming quickly pulled back his hand.

"Ahem, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself."

Xiao Wu shook her head and said softly with a red face,

"It's... it's okay... If Master wants to touch my ears or anything... you can do so whenever you like..."

By the end, her voice was nearly inaudible.

[Ding!]

[Xiao Wu felt both shy and happy when you touched her ears—Emotion Points +99!]

[You actually did this and that to Xiao Wu's ears and tail. Tang San went mad at the Assembly of Gods and danced street dance on the conference table in public—Emotion Points +999!]

Jiang Ziming's mouth twitched.

Good grief, Tang San had already started performing at the Assembly of Gods?

Suppressing his laughter, he got out of bed.

"Alright, enough fooling around. It's about time to get ready to leave."

Xiao Wu also hurriedly stood up, smoothed out her slightly rumpled skirt, and returned to her obedient maid demeanor.

Only, that pair of rabbit ears continued to twitch gently, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

More than ten minutes later, outside the Jiang Residence gates.

The carriage was ready, and several elders and attendants were already waiting at the entrance.

Morning light spilled over the bluestone road, casting long shadows.

Then, beneath everyone's astonished gazes, Jiang Ziming made his appearance with perfect composure.

Behind him followed a breathtakingly beautiful girl in a black-and-white maid uniform.

Her pink hair gleamed softly in the morning light. A pair of fluffy rabbit ears swayed atop her head, while beneath her skirt, her small rabbit tail appeared and vanished with every step.

With her head slightly lowered, she followed half a step behind the young man in a respectful posture, like the most dutiful maid imaginable.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

The elders exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock.

Who was this girl?

Could she be the legendary "cosplay"?

When had the young master acquired such a maid?

And those ears...

Were they hair accessories? Or were they real?

Among the crowd, the First Elder's expression was the most dramatic.

The moment he saw Jiang Ziming alive, his pupils contracted sharply, and he froze in place as though he had seen a ghost.

How was this possible?!

The five Soul Kings he had dispatched were among the most elite of the Jiang Family's shadow guards. Working together, they could have ended a battle in an instant.

Yet an entire night had passed, and the First Elder had not slept a wink.

The five Soul Kings were nowhere to be found, dead or alive.

Meanwhile, their target—the twelve-year-old boy—was standing here completely unharmed, even with a maid who had appeared out of nowhere.

The First Elder stared fixedly at the harmless-looking girl behind Jiang Ziming.

She stood respectfully behind him with her head slightly lowered, gentle in demeanor like a docile little rabbit.

But the First Elder's instincts told him that there was something wrong with this woman!

He had never seen her before.

She was so beautiful that she barely seemed human.

Most importantly, despite his cultivation as a Soul Emperor, he could not see through this maid's cultivation at all!

There were generally only two possibilities.

Either she was an ordinary person with no cultivation.

Or her cultivation was far above his own!

And judging by her calm, composed appearance, the First Elder did not need to think twice to know it could not possibly be the former.

At this moment, Steward Sun stepped forward, came before Jiang Ziming, and bowed slightly.

"Young Master, all your and Miss Xiao Wu's daily necessities, including changes of clothes, have been prepared. They are all stored in this storage soul-tool ring."

With both hands, he offered a storage soul-tool ring that looked exceptionally precious.

"This ring was also entrusted to me by the Patriarch before he departed, to be given to you."

Jiang Ziming casually accepted it without even looking, then immediately placed it in Xiao Wu's palm behind him.

Xiao Wu froze.

"Master?"

"You're my maid. Of course this should be entrusted to you for safekeeping."

Jiang Ziming said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world, his tone calm.

Holding the warm ring, Xiao Wu's eyes shimmered with tears.

She nodded firmly, her voice carrying a hint of solemnity.

"Please rest assured, Master. Xiao Wu will protect it with her life!"

"That won't be necessary..."

Jiang Ziming could not help laughing as he gently patted her head.

Seeing this, alarm bells blared in the First Elder's mind.

That storage soul-tool ring was one of the tokens of the Jiang Family Patriarch!

And the young master had casually handed it over to this maid of unknown origin?

Taking advantage of the moment when the other elders were talking with Jiang Ziming, he quietly shrank back, intending to disappear into the crowd amid the confusion.

Yet it was precisely this movement that drew Xiao Wu's attention.

The First Elder suddenly felt an icy soul power lock onto him!

That power was so overwhelming it suffocated him. Like an invisible giant hand, it tightly gripped his soul, leaving him unable to move even a finger.

He stiffly turned his head and met those pink eyes.

The peerlessly beautiful maid was smiling sweetly and gently at him.

Then, a soft, sweet voice rang directly in his mind:

"Those five little bugs didn't even leave behind ashes."

"If you don't want to end up like them, don't ever harbor any disloyal thoughts toward Master again."

"Do you understand?"

The First Elder's pupils abruptly dilated.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, only to discover that he could not even make a sound.

The threat of death was like a basin of ice water poured over his head. He froze where he stood, forgetting even how to breathe.

Not long after, Jiang Ziming led Xiao Wu into the carriage.

The curtain fell, hooves clattered, and the carriage slowly left the gates of the Jiang Residence.

Only after the carriage vanished at the end of the street did the First Elder finally regain control of his body.

His legs gave out, and he dropped straight to his knees.

Sweat dripped steadily from his forehead, spreading into a dark wet patch across the bluestone pavement.

He gasped heavily, as though he had just been dragged out of water, his whole body trembling violently.

There was no... no mistake!

That maid was at least a Titled Douluo!!!

With a face full of terror, he stared in the direction the carriage had departed, his mind utterly blank.

No matter how hard the First Elder racked his brains, he could not understand how things had turned out this way.

Since when had that useless young master obtained a maid at the level of a Titled Douluo?

Trembling, the First Elder lowered his head and discovered that a mysterious imprint seemed to have been branded deep into his soul by that pink figure.

He immediately realized that from this day forward, if he ever harbored any disloyal thoughts toward Jiang Ziming again, his fate would be no better than that of the five Soul Kings.

This old man, already past fifty, remained kneeling on the ground for a long time without rising.

Inside the carriage.

Jiang Ziming reclined against the soft cushion, lifted the curtain, and watched the Jiang Family estate gradually recede beyond the window.

Xiao Wu sat beside him, her hands folded atop her knees, her posture proper.

That pair of rabbit ears still swayed gently, and she was clearly in a good mood.

"Master, where are we going next?"

Tilting her head, she asked curiously.

"Oh, I haven't told you yet. We're going to Shrek Academy."

Jiang Ziming lowered the curtain and leaned back in his seat, a smile curling at his lips.

"Xiao Wu must know that place, right? Once we get there, it might feel familiar."

The girl blinked, then smiled sweetly.

"None of that matters. Wherever Master goes, Xiao Wu will follow."

Looking into her clear pink eyes, Jiang Ziming could not help reaching out and rubbing her rabbit ears again.

"Mm, I know."

The carriage traveled down the main road toward the distant horizon.

Morning light fell across the carriage roof, merging their shadows into one.