Chapter 409: The Native’s Punishment

Su Nian curled up entirely, clearly terrified of Chu Tian as he was now.

‘I’m done for. What should I do? What do I do?’

‘Right. First… apologize, beg for mercy.’

Clearly, at this moment, Su Nian had no intention of resisting whatsoever.

She shook her head frantically, tears instantly streaming down her face, her voice carrying a sobbing tone, “Master, I didn’t mean it… Ahhh, (>_<) no, I was wrong!”

The girl’s pleas for mercy were broken and helpless, her tear-streaked face enough to soften any man’s heart but Chu Tian at this moment only stared at her coldly.

He slowly released his grip, his fingertips gently brushing over the red marks left on her neck. 

The tender motion only made Su Nian tremble even harder.

“It seems the Master has been too kind to you lately.” He leaned down, whispering in her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, word by word:

“Making you forget your place. Tonight, I’ll make you remember.”

“What true… punishment means.”

Su Nian shook her head, “No… Wuwu…”

Though Su Nian acted terrified, Chu Tian, her master, still let go of her neck.

‘It probably hasn’t reached an irreversible point yet.’

At the same time, she wasn’t actually that scared in her heart. 

In fact, she was even a little curious about what the punishment would be. 

Not because she wanted to grow stronger, but… she actually kind of liked this feeling of being controlled by him.

A shameful thought arose in Su Nian’s mind.

‘Even though I’ll be punished by this man before me tonight, I’m not completely resisting it. And after Chu Tian took the Truth Serum, he did admit he has feelings for me.’

‘It shouldn’t be too harsh, right? If so…’

Su Nian secretly glanced at Chu Tian’s expression. 

Though he was angry, there was no real murderous intent in his eyes.

That calmed her down a bit.

‘After all, if I really pissed this guy off, the consequences might be worse than I imagined.’

‘Still… thinking about the information I coaxed out just now, this risk was worth it.’

‘At least now I know that this horned demon bastard is actually human…’

On the other hand, Chu Tian’s face was gloomy.

The fact that he had been drugged and interrogated made him intensely furious.

Faced with this breathtakingly beautiful, elegant young girl before him, he truly… couldn’t bring himself to do anything too extreme.

But still he had to prevent this from happening again.

“Hmph.”

“To keep you from escaping tonight’s punishment, I’ll equip you with a ‘prop’ first.” Chu Tian smirked devilishly.

The next second, a pair of exquisite leather anklets appeared before Su Nian.

“Today is a day off. You’re not going anywhere!”

Chu Tian declared with full authority, simultaneously placing the anklets on the girl’s ankles.

A blush crept across Su Nian’s face.

‘Being fitted with anklets by Master… it’s like I completely belong to him…’

‘Well, it’s nothing much. I was already wearing a collar before. Besides, these anklets look pretty delicate, not like some crude torture device.’

Su Nian tried moving her feet and found the anklets weren’t heavy and didn’t hinder normal walking, though it seemed she couldn’t leave the manor’s grounds.

“Do they have any special functions?” Su Nian asked curiously, “Master, these anklets…”

Chu Tian shot her a glance and said, “Just to keep you from running off. That’s all. But if you want to know more features, you can experience them slowly tonight.”

Su Nian shrank her neck back, feeling there was a hidden meaning in those words.

At this moment.

The citizens of Academy City could never imagine that their revered, noble Star-Moon Saintess was currently being fitted with anklets and a collar by her master, locked inside Shadowmoon Manor.

If her adoring fans ever found out, they’d probably turn to stone collectively.

Chu Tian returned to the study, his expression completely darkening.

The taste of that cup of coffee still lingered in his mouth, but recalling it now only fueled his anger.

‘She said she loved Master the most, that she was conquered by Master’s charm… And it was all just to drug me?’

‘Hmph, women!’

Clearly.

Compared to being drugged into revealing his true identity, what angered Chu Tian more was—Su Nian had lied to him again.

‘That… those two months she lost her memory, we got along so well, there was such a connection…’

Chu Tian stood by the window, looking out at the snow-covered manor grounds, the fire in his chest burning hotter.

One moment she was docile and affectionate in bed, the next she dared to drug his coffee to pry for information.

‘It seems… I need to teach Su Nian a lesson.’

Chu Tian let out a cold laugh, opening the system shop that only he could see.

His gaze locked directly onto a skill he’d had his eye on for a long time but had always hesitated over.

[Divine Clone Technique]

[Price: 20,000,000 Annoyance Value]

[Effect: Creates clones that share the user’s strength and thoughts. The number of clones increases as the user’s power grows.]

Staring at the astronomical price tag, Chu Tian had been reluctant before.

After all, this wild little cat, though stubborn and fierce, was still his woman.

Using such methods felt like crossing a line.

But now, all hesitation had vanished in the face of that spiked coffee.

Since she liked testing his limits so much, he’d play along big time.

Chu Tian recalled Su Nian’s pitiful little maid act earlier, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smirk.

‘Nice acting. She almost fooled me.’

Without hesitation, Chu Tian clicked [Purchase] .

A massive chunk of his annoyance value was cleared out, but he felt no regret.

On the contrary, he was already looking forward to tonight’s “punishment time.”

This investment might earn him back even more from that clueless little girl.

Chu Tian closed his eyes, feeling the power of the new skill flowing through him.

The method of using the clone technique flooded his mind instantly. 

He could sense he could create a fully identical clone at any time, with his consciousness fully in control.

“Su Nian, Su Nian.”

He opened his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them.

“Tonight, I’ll find out your secrets too.”

“Only this time, I won’t need drugs.”

Meanwhile, inside the room.

Su Nian was holding a manga she’d found from the manor’s library, flipping through the pages lazily.

A fruit platter just delivered by the maid sat beside her. 

She picked up a glossy purple grape and popped it into her mouth, the sweet juice bursting across her tongue.

‘What’s the big deal?’

‘Said such scary things, like I was going to be locked in some sunless dungeon.’

‘But it’s just being told to stay in the bedroom and not go anywhere. I can still chat with Amy and the others on my magic phone, and the maids still bring me delicious meals on time.’

‘Heh. Looks like Master isn’t really that mad.’

The leather anklets on her ankles made a faint sound when she walked, reminding her of her current status, but otherwise, she barely noticed them.

Su Nian swung her slender calf, listening to the soft clinking, her cheeks warming slightly.

‘But that’s it, I guess. Master Chu Tian’s punishment probably won’t be too harsh, right? After all, he admitted himself that he likes me. Men always go soft on the women they like.’ Su Nian thought confidently.

‘If… if the punishment is really too much, then I’ll cry, I’ll throw a tantrum, I’ll roll around on the bed! Yeah! I’m a little nervous.’

The daytime carefree attitude and sense of luck gradually gave way to unease as darkness fell.

Night silently swallowed the last traces of light outside the window.

Inside Shadowmoon Manor’s bedroom.

Su Nian curled up in a corner of the bed, wrapping herself tightly in the thick velvet quilt, with only her delicate, pretty head peeking out.

She didn’t dare turn on the light, as if the darkness could be her camouflage.

“Click.”

A soft sound, and the bedroom door was pushed open from outside.

That tall figure stood silhouetted against the corridor light, stepping forward as if following the beat of hellish drums, one step at a time, steadily approaching the bed.

Moonlight slanted in from behind him, cutting his face into light and shadow.

The half in shadow was deep and unfathomable.

The half in the light was stunningly handsome, enough to make hearts pound.

“It seems you’re ready to accept your punishment.”

His voice was calm, devoid of any anger, yet it frightened Su Nian more than any thunderous roar.

“Master… I really know I was wrong…” Su Nian’s voice came out thick with sobs, muffled from under the quilt, pitifully.

“Oh?” Chu Tian chuckled softly, slowly sitting down by the bed.

The mattress sank under his weight, the pressure instantly enveloping her.

“What did you do wrong?”

“I… I shouldn’t have drugged Master, shouldn’t have tested Master…”

She rattled off the “correct answer” she’d been rehearsing all afternoon as fast as she could.

“No.” Chu Tian cut her off sharply.

His fingertip lightly tapped her forehead, separated by the quilt, yet it carried a hint of chill.

“Your mistake is that you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

Su Nian’s breath caught.

As Chu Tian said this, a flicker of regret crossed his mind, ‘I almost blurted out “like her” just now.’

The next second, a vast, eerie surge of magical power erupted.

Under Su Nian’s horrified gaze, the air around Chu Tian rippled violently like water disturbed by a thrown stone.

Space twisted, light and shadow folded.

A silhouette was pulled out from the void, rapidly solidifying.

It was a figure—identical to him!

Before she could react, the air on the other side underwent the same change.

A second silhouette materialized out of thin air.

One.

Two.

Including the original, three Chu Tians.

Three identical Chu Tians formed a triangular formation, completely surrounding her as she curled up in the corner of the bed.

They all wore the same spine-chilling smiles, staring at her with identical expressions of scrutiny and amusement, as if appraising a delicate toy about to be dismantled.

Su Nian’s mind went completely blank.

‘What kind of magic is this? Clone technique?’

‘What… What is he planning to do?!’