5: Humble maid, outsider

Just as Mu Wuchen was wondering if he had said something wrong to make the girl, who had been perfectly fine moments ago, become so nervous.

Hua Jingrou actually took a few steps forward, and with a 'thump,' she knelt before Mu Wuchen, trembling as she raised her right hand and offered it to him.

Her face, which was originally quite pretty, had turned somewhat pale, and her lips were trembling.

Mu Wuchen was a bit speechless. Shan Qingwu's cautiousness was already ridiculous; what was this girl up to now?

Although puzzled, he still reached out and gently played with Hua Jingrou's outstretched hand for a few moments, causing Hua Jingrou's body to jolt as if electrocuted, but she dared not withdraw it.

The feel was good, smooth, soft, and tender, just a bit shaky and cold.

"Tell me, why are you so scared?"

Seeing her so afraid of him, Mu Wuchen assumed he had said something too harshly earlier. He deliberately maintained a smile, and his tone was as gentle as possible.

However, Mu Wuchen's actions appeared in a completely different light in Hua Jingrou's eyes.

The strange caress, the chilling smile, and the words that seemed like a question but were actually like an interrogation shattered the last sliver of hope in her heart, causing her to suddenly burst into tears...

"The seed... it was... it was my right, my right hand that stole it..."

Hua Jingrou said tremblingly.

Mu Wuchen was speechless for a moment, then carefully recalled the various harsh methods of the original Mu Wuchen, and only then did he understand.

In the original Mu Wuchen's mansion, if anyone touched his things without his permission, the hand that took it would be chopped off.

Goodness, she was actively offering her hand for him to chop off...

Looking at Hua Jingrou, who was already crying like a pear blossom in the rain but dared not make a sound, Mu Wuchen shook his head. An ignorant young girl who had been poisoned by evil forces for too long...

Mu Wuchen then sorted through the original owner's memories in his mind and was immediately horrified.

His right arm was clearly several times harder than his left arm because he had once dug out someone else's immortal bone and attached it to his own arm; this guy was also a bully who picked on the weak, offending all kinds of son-in-laws, good-for-nothings, and geniuses who had their engagements broken off; not only that, he had offended more than one family named Lin, Han, Ye, Xiao, and Chu...

Looking at the numerous beautiful women he had brought home, Mu Wuchen's heart pounded. Even without him, this guy probably wouldn't have lived much longer.

Mu Wuchen shook his head, pushing these thoughts aside, and said to the whimpering Hua Jingrou beside him:

"Don't worry, I won't chop off your hand."

Mu Wuchen expected her to stop crying, but unexpectedly, Hua Jingrou, who had not dared to make a sound, suddenly burst into a loud cry, weeping in a way that truly made one pity her.

He won't chop off her hand, so is he going to chop her directly?

Mu Wuchen inwardly thought, 'Not good, this girl has misunderstood again.' His eyes darted around, and he immediately made a decision.

"Stop crying, if you cry anymore, I'll strip you naked and throw you out!"

Mu Wuchen's Linghai Realm aura erupted, and he directly reprimanded her in the tone of the original owner from his memories.

Hearing this familiar tone, Hua Jingrou's body suddenly trembled, and she actually stopped crying, only daring to look at Mu Wuchen timidly with her red, swollen eyes...

...Mu Wuchen was completely speechless.

"The trash plants in my mansion are growing too poorly. From now on, all the spiritual plants in the entire mansion will be under your care. If they still look as withered as they do now, I'll gouge out your eyes and hang you upside down from the ceiling, do you hear me!"

Hua Jingrou, whose hand and life had been spared, immediately shivered, but after a few breaths, she became much more obedient, softly 'hmm'ing and nodding her head.

Mu Wuchen rolled his eyes. Goodness, she didn't like soft treatment, she preferred harshness.

After dismissing Hua Jingrou, only Mu Wuchen and Su Meier remained.

Seeing Mu Wuchen look at her, Su Meier smiled:

"Young Master Mu is truly full of vigor; he doesn't even spare toad spirits."

By this time, after a considerable period, Su Meier felt confident again.

She completely failed to understand why she had succumbed to Mu Wuchen at that time, and even succumbed to Mu Wuchen with an empty mind, calling Mu Wuchen "Master." It was simply a disgrace!

Mu Wuchen knew she was past her cooldown period and couldn't win a fight, so she wanted to get back at him with words.

Mu Wuchen was not angry, merely saying indifferently:

"Miss Su, in my eyes, there's no difference between a fox and a toad. When I get tired of playing with one, I'll just send her away and get another."

"You!"

Hearing his words, Su Meier's chest heaved with anger. She had intended to mock Mu Wuchen, but it felt like punching cotton; Mu Wuchen didn't seem to care at all, and even said she was no different from an ugly toad!

"Su Meier, don't play tricks. I can not only control your body but also decide your life and death. If I die, you won't live either."

Saying that, Mu Wuchen leisurely rose from the large chair and slowly came to Su Meier's side, whispering mysteriously into her ear:

"I read in ancient texts that ancient emperors, when they ascended to power, established one empress, three secondary consorts, three hundred favored concubines, and three thousand serving concubines. If you behave well, perhaps in the future I'll bestow upon you the title of one of the three thousand serving concubines—"

Su Meier gritted her silver teeth, her heart seething with anger.

She, a dignified Demon Empress, even if she became an Emperor's woman, with her beauty and cultivation, she should at least be one of the three hundred favored concubines, yet Mu Wuchen placed her in the position of one of the three thousand serving concubines!

It was enough to infuriate a fox to death!

She turned her head away, a proud expression on her face.

However, just as Su Meier was fuming, three more words popped out after Mu Wuchen's drawn-out voice.

"'s maid..."

He actually wanted her, a dignified Demon Empress fox-girl, to be the maid of the lowest-ranking three thousand serving concubines!

"Mu Wuchen, don't go too far! This Emissary is an Eighth-Rank Heavenly Fox, a Demon Emperor Realm Great Demon! Even if I've lost my cultivation now, I'm not someone you can just bully!"

Mu Wuchen glanced at Su Meier and asked.

"Little fox, do you know what humans are most interested in?"

Su Meier was slightly taken aback, unsure why Mu Wuchen asked such a random question. Then she spoke:

"What is it?"

Mu Wuchen gave an evil, charming smile.

"It's contrast."

As if sensing that Su Meier hadn't grasped the profound meaning, Mu Wuchen added:

"Contrasting things can arouse people's interest. For example, the powerful falling into distress, the loyal betraying, the licentious being innocent, the holy degenerating, and the ascetic..."

Upon hearing this, Su Meier seemed to recall something strange, and her eyelids twitched slightly. She waved her hand and said:

"Never mind, my cultivation isn't high now, so being a maid is quite good."

Saying that, Su Meier, a dignified Demon Emperor Realm expert, actually took the cup Mu Wuchen handed her and went to pour him immortal tea...

When Mu Wuchen drank the fragrant immortal tea and nodded contentedly, Su Meier was surprisingly delighted to discover that her cultivation, which had originally only been Body Tempering First Layer, had actually improved a little, reaching Body Tempering Second Layer.

Could pouring tea actually increase cultivation?

Just then, a maid who had just gone out ran back anxiously, seemingly about to report something.

"Mu Wuchen, come out!"

Before she could even speak, an arrogant and disdainful voice reached Mu Wuchen's ears.