Chapter 45: It’s in the Bag This Time

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: It’s in the Bag This Time

Mao Xianing readily agreed, "No problem. Who is it? I’ll have my people arrest them and hand them over to you."

Feng Si’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled happily. "Thank you, Lady of the City." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Her thoughts turned to Mao Qiu, Mao Hua, and Mao Lian, the three sub-females who had been taken by the City Guard Team. She continued, "Oh, that reminds me. Three sub-females who work for me—Mao Qiu, Mao Hua, and Mao Lian—were taken by the City Guard Team for questioning. Could I trouble you to have the City Lord order their release? They have experience preparing fine food and would be excellent assistants."

At the mention of making delicious food, Niu Ding immediately beckoned to a City Lord Mansion guard at the entrance. "Go to the City Guard Team’s headquarters yourself and release those three sub-females."

...

Yang Junran returned, seething with frustration. As he passed the main gate of the City Lord Mansion, he ordered the guards, "A sub-female claiming to be here to present a recipe will arrive shortly. When she does, don’t bother with pleasantries. Put her in shackles and bring her to me."

’Trading food for safety? Impossible. It’s just a ruse to lure the sub-female out. Once she appears, her life will be in my hands. As for the recipe, she’ll talk. Whether she wants to or not.’

Yang Junran felt a bit of his anger dissipate. He took the elevator straight to the twenty-first floor, where the Little City Lord resided.

The entire floor was silent. It was spacious and high-ceilinged, transformed into a completely natural environment. There was a verdant green lawn, low-lying shrubs, and a grove of trees that wrapped around the windows. Sunlight dappled through the branches, casting mottled shadows of leaves onto the grass.

Niu Dou was lying under a tree, enjoying the patches of sunlight and basking in their warmth. When he saw his subordinate, he scrambled halfway up and demanded eagerly, "Where is she? Where’s the food?"

Yang Junran’s expression stiffened.

He quickly composed himself and continued walking forward, his tone casual. "She’ll be here on her own shortly. Those three sub-females were tight-lipped, but I was smart enough to take their communicators and contact the cook directly. Otherwise, she would have stayed hidden and never shown herself."

Uninterested in the details of the interrogation, Niu Dou was clearly displeased. He frowned deeply. "Didn’t you guarantee you’d bring the sub-female back if you went yourself?"

Faced with Niu Dou’s single-minded questioning, Yang Junran was about to speak when he heard footsteps on the grass behind him. He turned to look.

The Guard Commander from the City Lord Mansion came forward. He had received a report from his subordinates about the instructions left by the Little City Lord’s deputy and had rushed over to report in a low voice:

"Little City Lord, the sub-female named Feng Si entered the City Lord Mansion twenty minutes ago."

’She got here even before I did,’ Yang Junran calculated.

’So why isn’t she here yet?’

"Who’s guiding her? Why isn’t she here after all this time?" Niu Dou snorted, venting a puff of hot air in his anger. "Did they get lost or something?"

"..." Yang Junran pressed his lips into a thin line.

’I’m speechless. How could he ask such a stupid question?’

Before Niu Dou could derail the conversation any further, Yang Junran cut in coldly, "Then what are you all waiting for? Don’t you know she’s the sub-female the Little City Lord is looking for? Go and bring her here under escort."

’A bunch of morons. Do I have to teach them everything?’

Niu Dou’s eyes lit up in understanding. "Hurry up and bring her here!"

The Guard Commander: "...We can’t bring her over."

Both of them looked confused. It was an answer neither of them had expected.

What do you mean?

Niu Dou rose from the grass and stared at the Guard Commander, whose head was bowed low.

As a hot-blooded young man who preferred using his fists to his brain, Niu Dou clenched his hands. The muscles in his forearms tightened, and veins popped out, writhing like earthworms.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Have I been away so long that you think you can defy me?"

A Beastman’s strength was the same in their human form as in their beast form, only their appearance changed. Niu Dou’s original form was a prime bull, six meters tall and weighing six tons.

The pressure from those clenched fists made the air feel heavy. The Guard Commander broke out in a cold sweat. Even Yang Junran felt uneasy being so close to such a powerful male beast.

He took a step to the side, his gaze cold as he looked at the Guard Commander. Inwardly, he was deeply displeased with this man who dared to disobey an order and disregard the Little City Lord.

The atmosphere grew tense. The Guard Commander was so frightened he was on the verge of dropping to his knees. He didn’t have the courage to offend the Little City Lord, but he didn’t dare go and seize someone from the City Lord’s side, either.

He stammered, "Be-because she’s with the City Lord right now."

"What?!" Niu Dou’s anger caught in his throat.

"What?!" Yang Junran started, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

The Guard Commander recounted what he had seen, but he had only witnessed Feng Si entering with Mao Yang at the gate and couldn’t clarify anything else. Niu Dou, however, wasn’t one for complicated thinking.

To him, Feng Si’s arrival meant the arrival of delicious food, and with it, wealth.

His eyes wide, he jerked his chin at Yang Junran and said coldly, "Junran, I’ll take you there. You can explain to the City Lord all the benefits Feng Si can bring me."

The sense of foreboding in Yang Junran’s heart grew. He hadn’t had a moment to think things through before Niu Dou was already urging him to get a move on.

Niu Dou strode ahead, his steps quick and urgent. The Guard Commander followed him out. Still trying to sort out his thoughts, Yang Junran had no choice but to hurry after them.

At a low command from Niu Dou, the group stepped off the grass and onto the metal flooring. A clean, spacious, transparent elevator was waiting. The sub-female on duty there was quick-witted; she opened the elevator doors and watched as the Little City Lord and his party stepped inside.

The elevator doors closed, and it began its rapid descent.

The sub-female’s eyes darted. She immediately picked up her communicator, dialed a number, and whispered, "I vaguely heard something about cooking... a sub-female... The Little City Lord is heading down now."

The voice on the other end replied even more quietly, "Got it. I’ll transfer you another fifty coins in a bit."

After hanging up, the sub-female on the other end, Bai Dan, transferred the coins to her informant. A vicious smile crept into her eyes. "Haha... You ugly sub-female, your death is at hand!"

...

Under the guidance of a sub-female, Feng Si made her way to the kitchen.

She had successfully negotiated a partnership with Niu Ding, but a mere verbal agreement was not enough. She insisted that the terms be clearly written down, black on white, and that both parties sign a contract. It wouldn’t be a partnership agreement officially recognized by the South Desolate Empire...

...but Feng Si figured that if the City Lord tried to bully her later, she could take this contract, disregard her status as a mere sub-female, and file a complaint in Central City.

It would take some time for Niu Ding to summon the Civil Servants and draft the contract. In the meantime, the Lady of the City, who had been waiting at the side, had already devoured both jars of stewed meat with pickled cabbage. She looked at Feng Si, her appetite clearly not yet satisfied, and held up an empty jar, asking if she could have a few more servings.

Feng Si watched as a group of elderly men headed to the council hall to write the contract. She had just gone over the contents, and she would review it again before pressing her thumbprint. If there were any issues, she could have them make changes.

In other words, it would be boring to just sit there and wait. Besides, remembering that Mao Xianing could be a useful ally, Feng Si readily agreed to cook.