Chapter 8
Chapter 8: You Tried to Set Me Up—So I Took All of You Down in One Sweep
Mu Mei Xi’s head buzzed so hard she almost lost control of her ability.
Damn Jiang Tea Tea.
She took Chu Ming’s one million. She took Mu Mei Xi’s twenty million. Then she turned around and robbed Jiang Zong Shen of fifty million.
And Mu Mei Xi couldn’t even complain.
If she admitted she’d paid too, her husband would blame her—and blame Yi Zhu.
So she swallowed her teeth and swallowed her blood, forced into silence.
Jiang Zong Shen mistook her pale face for heartbreak over the fifty million. He sneered and started cursing Chu Ming instead. “Chu Ming isn’t anything good either.”
“Before it came out that Jiang Tea Tea wasn’t our biological daughter, he was practically licking our boots. He couldn’t wait for her to come of age so he could marry her and bind his family to ours.”
“But once Yi Zhu came back and it was exposed, his face changed. For three years he kept suppressing Jiang Tea Tea and chasing after Yi Zhu.”
“Now, to please us and avoid being blamed for dumping a girl with no ability, he didn’t hesitate to send Jiang Tea Tea into someone else’s bed.”
Disgust hardened Jiang Zong Shen’s face. “That kind of selfish man only sees profit. Remind Yi Zhu to stay away from him. I don’t want him using us, ending his engagement with Jiang Tea Tea under the pretense of righteousness, then turning around and chasing Yi Zhu and calling me Dad.”
Mu Mei Xi forced herself to nod. “Fine. I’ll talk to Yi Zhu.”
How could she admit she’d already openly supported Chu Ming and Yi Zhu being together—waiting for Jiang Tea Tea to be used up so Chu Ming could annul the engagement?
Far away, Jiang Tea Tea watched the total hit her account.
Seventy-one million.
She smacked her lips in satisfaction. Human money really was easy. All you needed was a mouth—no magic power required.
Once she returned to the demon clan, she could brag to every little demon in sight: with a few repeated lines, she’d made two men and one woman pour seventy-one million into her hands.
There was still time before 7:40.
With her freshly scammed fortune, Jiang Tea Tea went to the capital planet’s biggest beastfolk and half-beastfolk soothing clinic.
In a fit of righteous fury, she spent 880,000 star credits on a full set of soothing tools—the kind the original Jiang Tea Tea had wanted so badly but could never afford.
The fake heiress Jiang Tea Tea’s lifelong dream had been to become the M31 star system’s top soothing therapist for beastfolk and half-beastfolk.
Without awakening an ability, she had no mental power. Her path had always been steep and brutal.
At school, what she studied most was how to use specialized tools suited to different beastfolk and half-beastfolk to calm their mental power surges.
For example, feline beastfolk and half-beastfolk: during a mental power surge, they’d shift into beast form, fur thick and long. They loved being brushed, scratched, petted—soothed into pleasure until their restless mental power finally settled.
To fulfill the sacrifice contract, Jiang Tea Tea would have to walk that path. She would have to become the galaxy’s top soothing therapist for beastfolk and half-beastfolk.
After paying, she noticed a message on her lightbrain: a thank-you note from an orphanage in a remote star system.
When she read it, something clicked.
That was why the fake heiress had merit light.
From the age of six, she’d been donating to that orphanage with her allowance.
Her merit came from donating to help others, saving lives, and being repaid with gratitude.
Jiang Tea Tea was a tea tree demon with only twenty percent magic power recovered. To her, merit was a tonic.
A delicious one.
To ensure a steady supply, she tried transferring fifty million to the orphanage.
The instant the transfer went through, invisible merit light fell onto her like warm rain. Her entire body went soft with comfort.
On impulse—her brain short-circuiting from how good it felt—she transferred the remaining twenty-some million too.
In the blink of an eye, she went from a demon with more than half a hundred million to a broke demon with a blissful smile.
Then she went to the First Hotel.
The First Hotel on the capital planet hovered ninety-nine meters above the ground, suspended by levitation technology. It had 199 floors and 299 guest rooms.
No matter what floor you stayed on, you could see a different slice of night. It was a landmark of the Zhen Lin Empire’s capital planet.
The moment Jiang Tea Tea arrived, a beautiful staff member approached with a professional smile. “Hello. Are you Miss Jiang Tea Tea?”
Jiang Tea Tea lifted a brow. “I am.”
Chu Ming really did know how to save effort. The Jiang family knew how to wash their hands clean, too.
The staff member’s smile widened. “Miss Jiang Tea Tea, your fiancé Mr Chu Ming booked a room for you and prepared a dress. I’ll take you up to rest, wash, and change. Dinner is at nine.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t bother exposing the lie. Her voice stayed bright and sweet. “Sure. Thank you.”
“This way, please.”
She followed the staff member into the lift and arrived at Room 1960 on the First Hotel’s 196th floor.
“Miss Jiang Tea Tea,” the staff member said, guiding her farther in, “your bathwater is ready. I’ll take you over.”
Jiang Tea Tea smiled, pure as a saint. “Okay!”
The bathroom was huge.
A gorgeous red dress hung neatly on the rack, a bow tied at the front. The bath was filled with flower petals—and an unknown liquid that stung the nose with a sharp, bitter scent.
The staff member looked envious. “Miss Jiang Tea Tea, your fiancé really loves you. This dress is the newest style of the season.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded solemnly. “I love him too. After you leave, please message him for me. Tell him I’ll wash up fragrant, put on the dress, and discuss marriage properly with his Dad and Mom.”
“I’ll definitely pass it along.” The staff member bowed slightly. “I won’t disturb you. If you need anything, just call.”
Jiang Tea Tea watched her go. Once the door shut, she moved to the bath and dipped her fingertips into the water.
Aphrodisiac.
Made for the human race.
A shame for them—she wasn’t human. She was a tree. Useless on her.
She went to the dress, dried her hand, tore off the bow, and stepped out of the bathroom.
The curtains were drawn. The lights were off. The room was pitch-black. Only the bathroom doorway leaked a strip of light, and the sound of running water made everything feel intimate—suggestive, inviting.
Jiang Tea Tea melted into the shadows and waited.
About five minutes later, the door clicked open.
A pot-bellied, bald, greasy half-beastfolk man slipped in. Behind him trailed a thin, bare tail, almost hairless. His face was leering and eager.
He didn’t turn on the lights. He shut the door and immediately started stripping.
By the time he reached the bathroom doorway, he was naked, flesh wobbling like a mound of oil. He licked his lips, rubbed his hands, and stepped into the bathroom.
Jiang Tea Tea shifted to the side of the doorway and listened.
She counted silently.
Around thirty seconds later, the half-beastfolk man stepped back out.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, Jiang Tea Tea’s hand turned into a green tea branch. She whipped it sideways.
Thwack.
The branch cracked across his forehead and knocked him out cold.
Jiang Tea Tea flicked her wrist, the branch returning to a human hand. She crouched, opened his lightbrain, and sent messages—one each to Chu Ming, Chu Ming’s parents, Jiang Zong Shen and Mu Mei Xi, and Jiang Yi Zhu.
Then she waited.
Less than two minutes later, Jiang Zong Shen and Mu Mei Xi arrived.
The instant they pushed the door open and stepped inside, Jiang Tea Tea’s branches snapped out again—two crisp strikes to their foreheads. Both dropped unconscious.
Then she did the same to the rest.
Chu Ming.
Jiang Yi Zhu.
Chu Ming’s parents.
All of them collapsed in neat, obedient silence.
Jiang Tea Tea stared down at the people who’d schemed to sell her, lined up like gifts waiting to be unwrapped.
She stripped them all, stacked them onto the bed like building blocks, and pulled the blanket over them.
Then she opened her lightbrain and called the Police Bureau anonymously.
“Hello, is this the Police Bureau?” Jiang Tea Tea’s voice was calm, almost polite. “I’d like to report a crime. First Hotel, 196th floor, Room 1960. People are violating empire law—group sexual misconduct.”