The hot air slowly dissipated from the room, hovering over the stunned servants' faces. They blinked absentmindedly, and their gazes slowly fell on the little animal in the room that was licking itself leisurely.

"Can we..." The servants couldn't help but move closer to the warm room, "Can we go in?"

The sacrifice subconsciously stood in front of them, pulled up his bathrobe, glanced at the servants' shoes that were dripping with dirt, and his expression became somewhat resistant and embarrassed: "...If you have anything to say, just talk outside?"

The servants looked at the sacrifices in disbelief, and the breathing of the little animals in their arms gradually became weaker.

Cang Tai stood outside the door, trembling, holding the seemingly motionless little black cat in his arms, watching the servants being driven away one after another. His hand, which was raised to knock on the door, trembled a little, and he stopped in mid-air several times when he was about to knock.

...Bai Liu, the Bai Liu who is said to be able to kill small animals at will, will he really take him in?

Sota hugged the little black cat tightly in his arms, swallowed nervously, closed his eyes and finally prepared to clap.

The paper door opened automatically, revealing Bai Liu, who was wearing a loose white bathrobe with dripping hair. The collar of his robe was slightly open, and a coin pendant could be seen hanging on his fair chest.

Bai Liu's cold and indifferent eyes and eyebrows were shrouded in the steam evaporating from his body, and there was a vague sense of alienation. When he spoke, his tone was ordinary and calm, as if he had expected that Cang Tai would appear in front of his door:

"You've been standing at our door for nearly ten minutes. What's going on?"

Bai Liu was holding the little white cat with silver-blue eyes and long white fur in her arms. The bell on its neck had been undone. The cat was nestling curiously in Bai Liu's arms, tilting its head to look at Sota, stretching its head and meowing, and even stretching out its claws to pry at the motionless little black cat in Sota's arms.

But Bai Liu did not stop this action, he allowed his pet to be intimate with Sota.

For some reason, Sota suddenly relaxed. His knees went weak and he knelt in front of Bai Liu, tears streaming down his face. "Please, save [Shota]."

Bai Liu lowered his eyes: "I don't do things without value. What can you bring to me?"

As if he had seen hope, Sota tightly grasped the corner of Bai Liu's robe, his eyes reddened: "...As long as you are willing to save [Souta] now, I will be your most useful servant in the future, and I will never betray you!"

Bai Liu was silent for a second, then he raised his eyes, his pupils dark: "The deal is done."

Thirty minutes later, after being washed, Sota sat on the tatami of Shiraki with a dull look on his face. Next to him was a small black cat that was also washed clean and was eating hard. Its fluffy tail was raised high, and you could see...

Really not shy.

Bai Liu withdrew his gaze from Xiao Hei's tail and fell on the little white cat sitting next to him with dignity and grace.

The little white cat leaned against Bai Liu, tilted its head back and meowed coquettishly, rubbed against Bai Liu, and then curled up beside Bai Liu's legs to sleep, being very well-behaved.

...This regular routine reminded Bai Liu of Xie.

After eating and drinking its fill, the other little black cat wiped off its dying look and ran around Bai Liu like a dog. It would jump into Bai Liu's arms and squeeze the other little white cat away, then jump up to lick Bai Liu's nose and twist its butt on the ground to chase the corner of Bai Liu's robe.

In short, it looks very much like a lizard.

A black cat and a white cat, they look and behave very similarly.

Bai Liu never believed in chance in games. If he guessed correctly, this should be the bad taste of a certain evil game designer.

Bai Liu lowered her eyes and looked at the two cats sleeping soundly on her knees, one on the left and the other on the right. The white cat curled up into a small ball and rested its head in the palm of Bai Liu's hand, while the black cat slept on its back with its swollen belly bulging and a gurgling sound could be heard from its throat.

At first, Sota was a little embarrassed that his black cat was so lively, and wanted to take the black cat back, but when he looked up, he was stunned.

He saw that Bai Liu, who was rumored to torture small animals, actually calmly stroked the heads of the two kittens with the back of his hand. He did not move the two kittens who were sleeping close to him, but raised his head and said calmly, "It's late, go to bed."

Cang Tai let out an "oh" in a daze, and slept on the tatami that Bai Liu had brought him. Two little cats slept beside Bai Liu's pillow, following him like guardian angels.

Under the protection of these two "guardian gods", Bai Liu quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sota thought he would have a restless sleep tonight, but soon his eyelids began to droop, and he yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

the next day.

Cang Tai slept well all night, and when he woke up, Bai Liu had already changed her clothes.

Bai Liu's clothes were a black outer coat and a long white lining with a crane and cloud pattern on the collar, while he himself was wearing a relatively low-key gray attendant's outer coat.

When they were dressed and walked out of the room, Cang Tai immediately saw many servants with red eyes, who had not slept after a night of rain, standing in the central open-air square. They were holding small animals with drooping heads, tangled hair, and bodies that had been stiff for a long time in their hands, and they were staring at the room opposite.

The sacrifices were walking out of the room one after another. When they noticed the servants opposite them, they paused, then avoided their gazes as if to avoid seeing these servants, walked away quickly, and gathered together to discuss in a low voice:

"They chose their own servants, so they should do their duty as servants."

"Why should I give them a room? My room is barely big enough, and it's not the biggest room. They don't have no place to live, either."

"Yeah, yeah, and I don't know what diseases their dogs and cats have. What if they infect my cat? It looks like it's sick..."

"I am also worried about my own place to live. Why should I give it to these servants for no reason?"

"...You are so crazy. Why don't you go back to your own place and stand outside my door all night?"

After hearing these complaints, Cang Tai was stunned.

He knew that some clear and terrifying conceptual changes had occurred in everyone, and he couldn't help but think of the food chain theory that Bai Liu had talked to him about on the boat yesterday.

【Anyone who enters the food chain of desire will lose the ability to empathize. 】

[In their eyes, there are only prey that are inferior to them and predators that are superior to them. ]

Cang Tai subconsciously looked at Bai Liu who was standing next to him. Bai Liu's expression was still calm, as if he had expected this step.

After breakfast, all the offerings and attendants were brought to the door of the boathouse. The weather was good today, and the sun was scorching. The attendants held black umbrellas to support the offerings, and most of them had expressionless faces.

The leader of the team today was Yu Chuan again, but judging from Yu Chuan's expression, he was not happy leading the team:

"Today I will take you to the Kitahara family. They were the highest tax paying family in Luming County last year. You should go there first for them to choose from."

"After noon, you will go to the Yufune family, which is my family, and the highest tax-paying family in Luming County two years ago."

"...Today you are going to visit the eight major families. If you are lucky enough to be chosen by a family, and take their surname and become a member of that family, then you can even move out of the houseboat and enjoy a higher level of treatment."

Yu Chuan's face was gloomy, and he pulled the corner of his mouth with a forced smile: "Let's go to the Kitahara family now."

The moment Yu Chuan finished speaking, Bai Liu heard a clear system prompt:

[System prompt: Player Bai Liu unlocks the side story mission - obtain the shrine key from the head of the Kitahara family.]

[The body of the old evil god was imprisoned in a shrine on the mountain. He was suspended there and slept every day, listening to the suffering of the people. Only the most painful souls could make him open his eyes and look at the sacrifices that were going crazy because of the pain.]

[Please ask the player Bai Liu to steal the shrine key that imprisoned the body of the old evil god, so that the old evil god can open his eyes for you. ]

Bai Liu lowered her eyelashes.

Cang Tai held a black umbrella to cover Bai Liu. He glanced at Bai Liu, whose skin was so white that it was almost transparent in the sunlight, and was almost dazed for a moment - this was the first time he observed Bai Liu's appearance so closely under such strong light.

"From what you told me yesterday and Yusen's reaction today, it seems that Kitahara and Yusen have a competitive conflict." Bai Liu turned his head to look at Sota, and his voice was so low that it seemed like a whisper, "Is that so?"

Sota was stunned for a moment before he stammered, "Should, should be."

"If I want to be chosen by the Kitahara family today," Bai Liu thought, "what should I do?"

After a while, Cang Tai scratched his head and whispered in Bai Liu's ear, "You shouldn't worry about whether the Beiyuan family will choose you."

"Big families will select high-quality sacrifices. You are the most beautiful child among the sacrifices. The Kitahara family will definitely choose you."