Catgirl

The black giant tiger let out a roar, its tiger's cry shaking the mountains and forests. The woman in white spat out a mouthful of blood. Seeing the black tiger charging at her, she decisively retreated, but she was nowhere near as fast as it. Her delicate body was sent flying with a swipe of its paw, rolling several times before landing right at Jiang Ming's feet.

The woman in white stared at Jiang Ming with wide eyes, blood continuously spilling from the corner of her mouth. She wanted to say something, yet no words came out.

Jiang Ming hurriedly backed away a few steps, lest she try to pin something on him. But one of her hands clutched his ankle tightly.

Jiang Ming frowned and stepped on her wrist with his other foot. In the end, the pain forced her to let go.

"You... glug glug..." The woman seemed to want to say something, but blood bubbled out of her mouth again.

The black tiger had originally wanted to pounce, but Jiang Ming turned and looked at it. His brilliant golden eyes fixed on the giant tiger, and as if it had sensed something terrifying, it turned and fled.

Jiang Ming turned back to the woman, a trace of amusement in his brilliant golden eyes. "You want me to save you?"

Upon hearing that, the woman nodded with all her strength.

"Then what can you offer?" Jiang Ming asked again. As he spoke, he took a healing pill from his storage ring and stuffed it into the woman's mouth.

The storage ring had been given to Jiang Ming by his mother, Ye Qingmei. It contained all kinds of pills and heavenly treasures, commonly known as a "bag of treasures."

The pill melted the moment it entered her mouth, and the woman's injuries instantly improved. "Who are you?"

Jiang Ming rolled his eyes. "I'm the one who saved you. Still asking who I am? Tell me, what do you plan to offer?"

"I am the daughter of the Wu Family head. If you save me, you can gain the friendship of our Wu Family," the woman quickly said.

Zhang Chengzhen froze for a moment. "What is the Wu Family?"

"You actually don't know our Wu Family? You're not from Azure Region, are you? Our Wu Family is one of the three great Lineages of Azure City, the foremost city in Azure Region." The woman went from astonishment to pride.

Jiang Ming scratched his head. "I don't need the friendship of your Wu Family. Offer something else."

"You're looking down on my Wu Family? You're finished! Let me tell you, my Wu Family is not to be trifled with!" the woman said excitedly.

Jiang Ming shook his head. "Damn it, what a waste of food." With that, he turned and left. At the same time, he lightly waved his right hand, sending a strand of Sun Power pressing down on the woman. Under Jiang Ming's careful control, her injuries became nearly as severe as before. She could not even speak, and could only writhe on the ground.

Azure Region? Where the hell is that? Jiang Ming cursed inwardly. Of the ninety-nine regions of Central Province, he only knew the strongest few, such as Heaven Domain, Spirit Domain, and Jiang Domain. He truly knew nothing about Azure Region.

Jiang Ming continued onward. After half a day's journey, he finally spotted a city ahead. The gates bore the two large characters: Peace City.

Jiang Ming had just been about to enter when the guards stopped him.

"New here, huh? The entrance fee is one low-grade spirit stone," one of the guards said.

Zhang Chengzhen took out a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone from his storage ring and tossed it over. "Keep the change." With that, he entered the city.

One Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone was worth one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, while one High-Grade Spirit Stone was worth one hundred low-grade spirit stones.

"This isn't a low-grade spirit stone, is it? Could it be a high-grade spirit stone?" the guard who caught it asked.

"It isn't high-grade. I've seen High-Grade Spirit Stones before, and they weren't this pure. This should be a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone." The other guard could barely conceal his excitement.

"Hurry and report it! A great figure has come to Peace City!"

As report after report was passed upward, the news eventually reached the ears of the city lord, Li Guangbiao.

"Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones... only Azure City in the entire Azure Region has them. Could someone from Azure City have come? But what would they want here? Peace City lies tucked away in a corner, with nothing worth showing off."

Li Guangbiao frowned as he thought without pause. In the end, he made his decision. "Treat it as though nothing happened. Do not disturb the visitor. Simply do your duties well."

"Yes!" The soldier who had reported the matter immediately withdrew.

Peace City was not large, not even as large as Father's palace.

Jiang Ming took a lap around Peace City before eventually stopping at the market. Inside the cages were children, women, and demon beasts.

But what made Zhang Chengzhen stop was a Catgirl: silver-white ears, a slender waist, and filthy clothes.

In my previous life, Catgirls only existed in fantasies. I never thought I would encounter one in reality. With that thought, he asked about the Catgirl's price.

"Greetings, sir. This Catgirl costs ten High-Grade Spirit Stones. Don't be fooled by how she looks now. Once she's cleaned up, she'll be a lotus rising fresh from the water, sparkling and dazzling," the merchant said when he saw Jiang Ming stop.

Jiang Ming froze upon hearing "sparkling and dazzling." That familiar manner of speaking... He then took out a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone and handed it to the merchant. The merchant recognized its value at once, his eyes immediately lighting up as he accepted the spirit stone and handed Jiang Ming a jade slip.

"This contains the forbidden curse placed on the Catgirl. You can use it to control whether she lives or dies." Jiang Ming accepted the jade slip and released the Catgirl from the cage. He did not mind that she was dirty. Taking her hand, he left directly. The Catgirl seemingly had not expected Jiang Ming to touch her so openly, and she was too stunned to react.

"Boss, that should be a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone. That guy looks like some rich young master. Should we make a move?" The person beside the merchant winked suggestively at him.

"Make a move, my ass! Think about what kind of person can take out a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone. Do you have the life to rob him?" the merchant cursed.

"Maybe he just got lucky and found a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone mine," the underling beside him muttered in rebuttal.

The merchant was so angry that he laughed. "Heh, a spirit stone mine? Without a backer, could you even mine it? I think your head is filled with nothing but mines."

Jiang Ming brought the Catgirl into an inn and rented a room. He instructed the staff to bring up a bucket of hot water, then told the Catgirl to take off her clothes and wash herself. Her pretty face reddened slightly, but she obediently removed her clothes, picked up a towel, and began wiping her body.

Jiang Ming glanced at her naked body. Small buds in front, nicely curved behind, skin like congealed cream, and an adorable baby face. She had two cat ears on her head and a fluffy tail behind her. After looking twice, he decided her figure was decent enough, though she did not have much of a bust. For now, she could be a maid.

Jiang Ming took out the jade slip and casually crushed it. Feeling the forbidden curse vanish, the Catgirl stared blankly at Jiang Ming.

"Stop staring. Wash yourself clean, then warm my bed tonight." At nine years old, Jiang Ming was already one meter sixty-five tall, half a head taller than the one-meter-fifty Catgirl. He did not look like a child at all, though little Jiang Ming was still growing.

Jiang Ming took out his own clothes for the Catgirl to wear. They were a little large, but still wearable. Since this was his first time going out, Jiang Ming needed to keep a low profile, so he had not worn anything flashy, only ordinary clothes.

"What is your name?" Jiang Ming asked.

"I... don't have a name," the Catgirl said weakly.

"Then from now on, you'll be called Naicha. You'll take my surname: Jiang Naicha," Jiang Ming said casually. Ordinary people were not permitted to bestow the Jiang surname, but as an imperial son, he had that right.

"Alright, I will obey Young Master's orders," Jiang Naicha answered softly with a bow.