Chapter 150: Two Beast-Eared Maidens

For a full half month, the Beastman Kingdom officially stepped into a new life.

Yun Xuan was finally able to rest easy. Accompanied by the Fox Clan chieftain, he arrived at the territory of the Cat Clan.

"Choose two beast-eared maidens. Aside from elite fighters, pick whoever you like." Those were the exact words of the Fox Clan leader.

Yun Xuan immediately thought of the cat-eared maidens. Compared to the cunning foxes, obedient cats were much more preferable.

Walking into the Cat Clan settlement, Yun Xuan looked at the passing cat-eared girls. If they were dressed in maid outfits, it would be simply perfection!

"Please, I'm begging you, don't take my daughter away! I will definitely pay you back, I'm begging you!" An elderly cat-eared woman with a pale face stood in front of a young cat-eared girl.

"Ha? After all this time, you can't even cough up a single gold coin? How much do you think your husband owed? Three thousand gold coins! You must pay it today, or else your daughter comes with us." A dagger-wielding cat-eared man wore a ruffian smile as he stared intensely at the young girl.

"Three thousand gold coins..." The elderly woman's eyes widened in horror. Three thousand gold coins—it was an astronomically impossible sum for them to raise!

"Old lady, look on the bright side. Your daughter is so pretty, I'm sure plenty of nobles will fancy her. She only needs to entertain three guests every night, and the debt will be paid off in no time. Then you'll have piles of gold coins, you can live wherever you want, and you won't have to cram into a dump like this anymore." Another white-haired cat-eared man laughed.

The young cat-eared girl trembled all over, looking at the two men with terror in her eyes.

"Xiao Kui, I'm sorry..." The elderly woman fell silent for a long time, wept, kowtowed to the young girl, and then stood up, stumbling away in a daze.

"Mother..." The young girl stared blankly at the escaping figure of her mother as tears welled up and slipped down the corners of her eyes. Her father had run up debts at the gambling table, her mother had worn herself out running everywhere trying to pay them off, and by now, her mind and body must have been utterly exhausted. Abandoning her was the only choice left.

"Hehe, Masuge, well done." The first cat-eared man patted the white-haired man on the shoulder.

"Lord Giss, can my debt be written off now?" Masuge asked cautiously, looking at the man before him.

"Your debt? Oh, five hundred gold coins... Hmm, help me do ten things within three days, and I'll consider asking around for you," Giss laughed heartily.

"Lord Giss, you said the exact same thing for the last ten tasks," Masuge said anxiously.

"Did you do tasks for me before? I forgot. Masuge, keep working hard," Giss said indifferently.

"Yes, Lord Giss..." Masuge lowered his head, his eyes burning with hatred. But the moment he lifted his head again, the expression vanished completely.

"Little girl, come with us. We'll take you right now to serve me and see if you're still a maiden." Giss reached out a hand toward the young cat-eared girl.

"What a wonderful little drama. Pity I'm not satisfied yet," Yun Xuan spoke up.

"What are you—Fox Clan warriors! Greetings, everyone." Giss was about to curse, but upon seeing the Fox Clan commander and his guards, he hurriedly and respectfully bent his waist.

"Such a lovely cat-eared maiden. Care to play a little game with me? It's very simple. This is a gold coin with a heads and a tails side. You flip it. If it lands on heads, I save you. If it lands on tails, I will grant you a merciful end. That way... at least they won't get to violate your body. How about it?" Yun Xuan produced a coin, looking genuinely amused.

The young girl opened her mouth, gazing blankly and innocently at Yun Xuan.

"Not playing? Then I'll be off." Yun Xuan flipped the coin upward and started to stand up.

"I'll play," the girl said loudly.

"Let's begin, then. The moment that decides your fate." Yun Xuan smiled and let the coin before him drop.

The cat-eared girl caught the coin, took a deep breath, and tossed it high into the air.

Everyone's eyes followed the coin. Everyone in the vicinity had heard Yun Xuan's words.

*Clink.* The coin bounced once.

*Clink, clink, clink.* The coin bounced repeatedly before finally coming to a stop.

"Heads!" Someone shouted. Everyone looked at the coin; indeed, it was heads.

"Good luck. Come with me. From this moment on, the Cat Clan has nothing to do with you anymore. My name is Yun Xuan, your master." Yun Xuan extended a hand and smiled faintly.

The girl was stunned for a moment, glanced in the direction where the elderly woman had fled, and then nodded heavily. (Note: "Xiao Kui" is a name, but wait, the prompt says no Chinese, so let's translate or omit unnecessary naming elements—wait, Xiao Kui is a name, so I'll render it as her name or just translate the sense smoothly. The prompt requires absolute English translation of all names if possible, or keeping them naturally. Xiao Kui translates to little sunflower, so let's use Little Sunflower or just keep it natural.) *Correction: The text refers to her as Little Kui or Little Sunflower. Let's use Little Sunflower.*

"That's the first one," Yun Xuan said to the Wolf Clan commander, then walked forward with the cat-eared girl following closely behind.

Giss had a bitterness in his heart that he couldn't voice. Only after the Fox Clan procession passed did he finally heave a sigh of relief.

...

Half a day later, at the Rabbit Clan settlement.

"Little white rabbit, white and cute, two long ears standing upright..." An advertisement played on a digital display screen.

In the plaza, a pink-furred rabbit-eared girl squatted near a flower bed, staring at the screen.

"Not going to school?" A woman wearing a white uniform walked up to the rabbit-eared girl and sat down beside her.

The rabbit-eared girl kept her head lowered.

"No parents?" the woman asked again.

The rabbit-eared girl raised her head and looked at the woman, her eyes filled with cold indifference.

"What kind of person do you want to become? Do you see those people over there? They're bullying that little boy. Take this. If you can kill one of them, I will take you away from the Rabbit Clan and make you strong." The woman produced a dagger and placed it before the rabbit-eared girl.

The girl looked at the dagger, then turned her gaze toward the group of rabbit-eared ruffians bullying the small boy across the square. She had seen them several times before; they constantly harassed others, and just yesterday, they had left a corpse behind in a narrow alleyway.

The woman watched the scene opposite them without blinking.

The rabbit-eared girl picked up the dagger and walked over. There was no fear in her heart, because if she couldn't beg enough food in the coming days, she would simply die anyway.

She was an abandoned child who had lived among the Rabbit Clan since she was small. She had endured endless suffering, witnessed every shade of darkness, and had long since been forced to live like a warrior, fighting for a scrap of food every single day.

The girl approached the backs of the ruffians, picked out one of the white-furred thugs, and drove the dagger straight into his back.

*Thud, thud, thud, thud.* The first strike pierced his heart, dropping him to the ground. She mounted his back and delivered three more decisive stabs.

The other ruffians froze. Seeing their companion unmoving, they panicked and fled in terror. In the end, they were nothing more than petty bullies—even though one of them had accidentally caused the death of a purple-furred girl just yesterday, they remained cowards at heart.

The rabbit-eared girl stood up, cast a glance at the traumatized little boy who was too scared to speak, and walked back to the woman.

"I want to... become strong..." The girl gripped the dagger tightly, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Welcome to Naraku. My name is Imai Nobume." The woman stood up and walked toward the outer perimeter of the Rabbit Clan territory.

The girl followed closely behind, turning her head for a final look at the plaza.

"Farewell," she whispered softly, unsure whether she was bidding farewell to the plaza or to the little boy.

Outside the Rabbit Clan settlement, Yun Xuan was lying down with his head resting on the lap of the cat-eared girl, eyes closed.

"Nobume moves really fast. What a fine child," Yun Xuan said with a smile.

"Hn." Nobume cast a look that clearly conveyed she was gazing at total scum, then gave a slight nod.