"Hey handsome, how much for a night?"
A young woman's voice echoed in the dim cave.
At that moment, the young man pinned beneath her glared up, his eyes burning with rage.
Chu Jing's face showed not a trace of fear.
On the contrary, a hint of provocation glinted in her bright eyes.
She slowly reached out, gently tilting up the young man's delicate chin as she leaned in slightly.
Her slender fingers brushed against his chin, her voice laced with a playful tone.
"My, why are you looking at me like that? It makes me..."
She leaned close to his ear, her warm breath ghosting over the sensitive skin.
"...all the more excited."
Jiang Ji's face was a mask of resentment as he stared at the woman before him.
If looks could kill, Chu Jing would have died a thousand times over.
Though his heart seethed with indignation and resentment, he forced down his anger and tried to appear calm.
"Look, Female Master, just tell me what you want. I'm really not in the mood to play games. How about you untie me first? I'll do it myself, alright?"
"Absolutely not... Wait a minute! What did you just call me!?"
Chu Jing's first instinct was to refuse, as she was only teasing him for her own amusement.
He knew perfectly well this female was up to no good again.
So, he did his best to hide the murderous intent in his eyes while forcing a strained, ugly smile onto his face.
"Come now, Female Master. How about you untie me first? It's a bit hard for me to... perform when I'm trussed up like this."
However, as she heard him repeat the title, a sudden, inexplicable headache struck Chu Jing.
Her brows furrowed as a flood of memories that weren't her own rushed into her mind.
A few minutes later, Chu Jing finally accepted the incredible truth—she had transmigrated into a book!
It turned out the original owner of this body had an absolutely terrible reputation in this world—a notoriously wicked female.
Anyone who heard her name would give her a wide berth.
People feared her not for any great power she possessed, but for her appalling behavior.
Her treatment of her Beast Husbands could only be described as cruel.
She would either banish them from warm rooms during the freezing winter or viciously lash them with a leather whip.
And behind all this absurd behavior was a single goal: winning the heart of one particular man.
In her heart, she had always reserved the most important Beast Husband position for him.
Unfortunately, her parents took matters into their own hands and gave that position to a Snake Demon.
Upon learning this, that Male Beast grew to utterly despise her.
In the days that followed, she was forcibly assigned several more Beast Husbands, but she never truly accepted a single one.
Worse, in her desperation, she even used these Male Beasts as pawns.
But her efforts proved to be in vain.
In the end, with the help of others, that man got everything he wanted, including the love of the novel's heroine.
Meanwhile, she was cast aside, left alone and helpless.
When she finally looked back, everyone who had once genuinely tried to protect her had already left her.
And the Beast Husbands she had used, upon learning the truth, banded together against her.
This ultimately led to a tragedy: she was murdered by her own so-called "Beast Husbands," and her end was exceptionally gruesome.
A chill ran down Chu Jing's spine as she recalled these events.
She clutched the fabric over her chest, gasping for air.
Just then, an impatient voice sounded in her ear.
"Hey! What are you doing! Are you going to untie me already?"
Chu Jing had just managed to piece together the key information from her jumbled thoughts.
"I already said I'd cooperate. Don't tell me you..."
Before he could finish, she cut him off. "Be quiet!"
Chu Jing shouted.
His incessant chattering made her already dizzy head throb even more.
"If you're so annoyed, then just dissolve our partnership bond!"
Chu Jing sneered. 'If I really dissolve the bond, he'll be free of his restraints and tear me to shreds in an instant.'
There was an unwritten rule in the Beast World: once a male and female became partners, the male could not harm the female.
Any such action would result in punishment by the contract.
The contract's power was so immense that no male dared to defy it, lest they suffer unimaginable pain.
It was precisely this rule that had allowed the original owner to get away with her wickedness for so long.
Otherwise, her Beast Husbands would have ganged up and ended her life long ago.
Jiang Ji watched her sit down beside him. He had been fed some unknown fruit that left his body completely devoid of strength, making it impossible to break free. All he could do was shout from where he lay.
"Let me go! I'll never submit to you!"
Jiang Ji roared, his teeth clenched.
"If you have the guts, then dissolve our bond! We'll see what I..."
"And what would you do?"
By now, Chu Jing had collected her thoughts. She stood up and looked down at him.
She only just realized that Jiang Ji was wearing animal hides.
'No wonder he was so warm; animal hides aren't breathable.'
The coarse, heavy hides wrapped around his body looked cumbersome and sweltering.
She folded her arms, watching Jiang Ji with a leisurely air.
"You're Jiang Ji, right? I could agree not to lay a hand on you..."
At these words, Jiang Ji's expression did not relax.
"And I can also dissolve our partnership."
The moment she finished speaking, Jiang Ji looked at Chu Jing in disbelief.
"You agree?"
"Mhm, I agree."
Chu Jing nodded, her expression earnest.
Jiang Ji watched Chu Jing with deep suspicion. He clearly didn't believe her. With a light snort, he said, "You don't really think I'll fall for it, do you?"
Jiang Ji was convinced Chu Jing was just trying to trick him again.
"Before this, you've lied to me three hundred and eighty-seven times."
"This would be your three hundred and eighty-eighth attempt to trick me, and it's not going to succeed either."
Hearing this, however, Chu Jing was in no rush.
She pushed aside a nearby animal hide and sat down.
"Think it over carefully. It's up to you whether you want to trust me one more time. I've got all the time in the world."
「Time passed in silence.」
Jiang Ji was torn, struggling between the options to "believe" and "not believe."
He was filled with conflict.
On one hand, he was terrified of being tricked by Chu Jing again; on the other, he couldn't help but want to give her one last chance.
The inner turmoil was nearly enough to make him break.
Finally, Jiang Ji closed his eyes, made his decision, and said through clenched teeth, "I'll trust you one more time."
A satisfied smile spread across Chu Jing's face as she immediately stated her own condition.
"However—I have a condition."
A cunning glint sparkled in her eyes.
"You have to take me to find Rong Kai. His situation is rather dangerous right now."