The Regent's Cat Concubine

When Qiao Mi regained consciousness, she was no longer human. To be precise, she had turned into a cat.

In the biting cold wind, she shivered, curled up beneath the snow-laden branches of a small pine tree. Fortunately, the blizzard had just stopped, leaving only the accumulated snow on the tips of the branches, which drifted down slowly onto her head.

The melting snow quickly seeped into her fur, chilling her to the bone. She raised her paw—no, her claw—and rubbed herself awkwardly, already on the verge of a breakdown.

Half an hour ago, she had been a high school student bursting with youthful energy. Half an hour later, she had become a stupid cat lost in a blizzard.

At first, she simply thought the world had grown enormous. If not for the furry cat paws she used to dig through the snow, she might have believed it. When she focused her eyes, she could vaguely see a pink cat nose with tiny icicles clinging to it.

"Meow!" The cry for help that came from deep within her soul, when it reached her lips, turned into a weak, pitiful mew, almost like that of a tiny kitten—heartbreakingly sad.

Damn it. She couldn't even speak anymore.

In this frozen wilderness, she didn't have the courage to leave her current shelter. Most importantly, she still couldn't accept walking on four legs.

No one knew how long she waited. By the time her little belly, pressed against the ice and snow, had gone completely numb, an unknown creature finally appeared on the distant slope. The light reflecting off the endless snow was so blinding that she couldn't make it out clearly.

"Meow, meow, meow!" She used the last of her strength to cry for help, praying that it would be a human—a kind cat owner.

Soon, as the figure came into focus, Qiao Mi felt that fate might not have given her the protagonist's halo for a time-travel story.

She had seen tigers—those large carnivores—at the zoo, but a pure white tiger as massive as a mountain? This was her first time. If not for the faint, imposing Chinese character for "king" on its forehead when it lowered its head, she would have thought it was some new species.

"Meow..."

She whimpered weakly and shrank back behind the tree trunk. The creature was too powerful. The warm breath from its nose alone was enough to blow away the snow around her.

It seemed to be looking at her. Its tiger head tilted slightly, unmoving, and its brownish, glowing predator eyes were too oppressive for her to bear.

Both were felines, but it stood at the top of the food chain, while she was at the bottom—instinctively afraid of the pressure from a superior predator.

Qiao Mi had nowhere left to hide. The small pine tree, as thick as three fingers, was a giant to her, but to it, it was insignificant. When the messy branches blocked her tiny cat body, it let out a dissatisfied snort, vaguely revealing sharp, massive teeth.

"Meow!"

Its enormous paw suddenly swiped at her. Qiao Mi barely dodged. That claw strike was devastating, leaving a terrifying deep pit just a centimeter away. She was so frightened that her fur stood on end, thinking she was about to become tiger food.

She bolted on all four paws into the snowstorm. Such a move clearly angered the great tiger. Its next swipe, without any effort, snapped the small pine tree that had been her shelter.

"Growl!"

It let out a low roar, the deafening volume making Qiao Mi's limbs go weak. She almost got stuck in the snow, unable to pull out her paws.

Thus, a strange scene unfolded in the deep mountain snow: a white cat laboriously crawling through the snow with pitiful meows, while behind her, a great white tiger leisurely followed, as if playing a game of cat and mouse.

Only when the cat could run no more did the white tiger slowly dig her out of the snow, lower its head, open its icy, terrifying jaws, and gently pick her up.

...

Qiao Mi woke up from the heat. Unlike the nightmare where the white tiger ate her in one bite, she was now sleeping under its belly. The thick tiger fur covered her securely, and she soaked in its scorching warmth.

Probably because she had slept so comfortably, her little cat chin, resting on its front paw, stuck out a soft pink tongue in an instinctive, gentle whimper that tugged at the heart.

It was looking at her sideways, seemingly charmed. Its cold, heavy predator eyes flickered. Opening its mouth before she could react, its massive tiger tongue licked her palm-sized cat face.

When it finally withdrew its tongue with satisfaction, her snowy white cat face was completely drenched, and even her pink tongue was covered in its saliva...

Qiao Mi: "!!!" So disgusting~

But intimidated by its aggressive gaze, she secretly retracted her tongue into her mouth and instinctively swallowed. The taste didn't carry much meaty odor.

Later, Qiao Mi realized that the white tiger had carried her into a cave—probably its lair. Without the blizzard's assault, she had at least saved her cat life.

At first, she was afraid the tiger was keeping her as a snack, but gradually she realized that wasn't the case. First, in the days they spent together, she never saw it eat anything. Second, when she was starving to death, it somehow brought back a lactating goat for her to suckle.

At first, Qiao Mi wasn't quite comfortable with this feeding method, but hunger eventually made her forget some of her human instincts.

Day after day, she and the white tiger lived in peace. Most of the time, it lay in a corner of the cave with its eyes closed, resting. If Qiao Mi, who had gained a little weight, got sleepy, she would obediently crawl into its arms to sleep. It seemed to like that.

Half a month later, sunlight began to shine over the deep mountains, and the snow gradually melted, signaling the arrival of spring.

When tender green grass shoots sprouted one by one from the remaining snow at the cave entrance, something magical happened.

"Little cat, come here."

The white tiger, which had not opened its eyes for three consecutive days, spoke for the first time upon waking, looking at Qiao Mi playing with a grass ball in the corner.

Unlike its usual terrifying roars, this deep male voice was extremely pleasant to the ear. Qiao Mi, dazed, crushed the grass ball she had painstakingly formed, staring blankly as it rose, its massive body taking up nearly half the cave.

Then, a flash of light.

Where the white tiger had stood, a tall, slender figure now appeared. The man was over two meters tall, with flowing white hair, completely naked.

...

Everyone said that the cat kept by the Regent King Jing Cong was spoiled to the heavens. No matter when you saw her, she was a pure white, well-behaved ball nestled in the Regent's arms. Even during court sessions, she was placed on the soft dragon throne—more precious than the young emperor himself.

Some said the cat was simply lazy to the core, but only Qiao Mi knew her suffering. It wasn't laziness—she just didn't like walking on four legs.

Today, the atmosphere in the court was unusually solemn. Inside the resplendent and majestic Chaotian Hall, the civil and military officials knelt in neat rows.

At the forefront, Grand Chancellor Pei Zhen stood before the ministers, wearing his vermilion-and-purple crane court robe, which made his tall and upright figure even more handsome. His face, as flawless as jade, bore a calm expression as he raised the white jade tablet in his hand and spoke.

"In those days, the Regent King himself decreed that when His Majesty reaches the age of fifteen, he would oversee the administration. Now His Majesty is sixteen. The matter of his assumption of power cannot be delayed any further."

Pei Zhen, at twenty-six, was also a remarkable figure in the Jing Kingdom. Young as he was, he had risen to the head of all officials. Upright and incorruptible, he was also a handsome, elegant man who attracted the affection of many common women.

Qiao Mi, nestled in the Regent King's arms, was no longer sleepy. Her bright, black gem-like cat eyes gazed intently at Pei Zhen at the bottom of the jade steps. His clear, pleasant voice enchanted her.

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, a low laugh came from above her head, tinged with a chill that rippled through the vast, silent hall, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

Qiao Mi flinched at the cold laugh. Sensing her unease, the man holding her rarely showed gentleness, stroking her little cat head. His cool fingertips slowly ran through her thick white fur, and she couldn't help but purr.

"Meow~"

Just as the tension peaked, her adorable little meow instantly softened the frozen atmosphere.

"Assumption of power? What does Your Majesty think?"

The young emperor, suddenly called upon by the Regent King, felt chills run down his spine. The jade beads on his imperial crown rattled violently as he stammered, "R-royal uncle has served as regent for many years, and the people are at peace. I am still young. The matter of assuming power can be postponed."

Truth be told, Qiao Mi deeply sympathized with the young emperor. Ascending the throne at six, he had been made a puppet by Jing Cong, living for years under the high risk of losing his head at any moment. If not for Grand Chancellor Pei's righteous opposition to the Regent King, the boy emperor might already be a tiger specimen.

But still, the sixteen-year-old young emperor was quite handsome. Unlike Jing Cong's white hair, his black hair tied under the imperial crown was glossy. The male members of the royal white tiger clan were all exceptionally good-looking. His red lips and white teeth were precisely what Qiao Mi liked.

Hmph—unlike his imperial uncle, who had a celestial appearance but was an icy old pervert.

Suddenly, her little head was tapped. Bewildered, she looked up and met the amused gaze of the twenty-nine-year-old pervert. Her cat tail shot up in fright, and she quickly burrowed into his arms, no longer even wanting to look at her beloved Pei Zhen.

"Meow~"

...

Jing Cong had set up a regent's residence within the imperial palace. He rarely stayed at the Regent's Mansion, and today was no exception. Escorted by iron-armored soldiers transformed from black panthers, he rode his dragon palanquin all the way to the Xuantian Palace.

Entering the inner hall, he suddenly grabbed Qiao Mi by the scruff of her neck and lifted her. Looking at her pitiful, pleading cat eyes, he pressed a finger to her furry forehead, then unceremoniously threw her plump, cute self onto the crimson-gold dragon bed.

A flash of light, and Qiao Mi, landing on the soft dragon bed, instantly transformed.

"Ah!" Her usual faint meow turned into a crisp maiden's cry.

This was a mystical world where humans and beasts coexisted. As long as a beast had a spiritual root, it could take human form and even practice magic. Though not at the level of gods, they could still summon wind and rain. Over millennia, beasts capable of transformation had taken the lead. They lived just like humans, yet were beyond human reach.

Unlike the earliest beasts who transformed on their own, later generations of beast-born would be born as human infants. At one year old, they would take the form of whichever parent was stronger. Those with strong spiritual roots would turn back into human form and, through cultivation, grow stronger, able to switch between human and beast forms at will.

Those without spiritual roots would remain in beast form, but with training and medicinal aid, they could still transform into humans.

Of course, lower beasts existed in this world too—destined never to transform, their fate to end up on the dinner table.

Three years ago, when Qiao Mi met Jing Cong, he was at a critical juncture in his magical cultivation, needing to return to his beast form for seclusion. Out of a rare moment of compassion, he had brought her back to the Regent's Mansion and raised her for three years, feeding her countless medicines without success in transforming her.

Until last month, when he took a notion to channel a stream of magical energy into his finger and press it to her forehead. After enduring terrible pain, she finally transformed.

Later, she learned that forcibly transforming someone in this way could easily kill the beast. If Qiao Mi hadn't had a spiritual root in her original form, and if she hadn't been fed medicine for years, Jing Cong's single finger press would have made her a dead cat.

"Ah! You threw me again!"

Rolling across the bed, Qiao Mi, having returned to her maiden form, was completely naked. She arched her round, tender little bottom and scrambled for the blanket. At her tailbone, indistinguishable from a human's, swayed a long white cat tail.

That was the side effect of forced transformation. Not only the tail, but two pink, translucent cat ears stood atop her head.

Jing Cong shed his outer black nine-clawed dragon robe, his gaze dark and deep as he watched the girl writhing in the bed. Her two slender, jade-white legs were slightly parted as she crawled, her swaying cat tail half-concealing her wrinkled, flower-like anus, stirring an itch in the heart.

Just as Qiao Mi had hidden most of her body under the luxurious velvet quilt, a sudden pain shot through her crotch—Jing Cong had grabbed her tail.

"Ah! Don't pull my tail! It's real—it hurts!" she cried out.

"Come out."

To be honest, Qiao Mi really disliked the nudity that came with taking human form. First, because Jing Cong had said that three years ago she saw him without clothes, so for the rest of her life she belonged to him as his cat. Second, because at this moment, with her small, perky breasts exposed, being ogled by the old pervert was truly uncomfortable.

...Hey, looking is one thing, but why touch?

Given the disparity in height and strength, even in human form, Qiao Mi, held in Jing Cong's arms, was no bigger or stronger than a kitten. He parted her two slender, well-proportioned legs and sat her between his thighs, beginning the daily routine of being touched.

The girl transformed from a cat had snow-white skin as smooth as curds, and her delicate, curvy body delighted the man. As for Qiao Mi's appearance, she was exquisitely carved like jade. The Regent King, who had never been interested in women, had changed his temperament since last month.

His long fingers grasped her perky, pink-nippled breasts, teasing her nipples lightly. Qiao Mi blushed on all four ears.

She had a pair of small human ears, and among her flowing black hair stood two one-finger-long furry cat ears. At first glance, she looked endearingly cute, and her hearing was several times sharper than an ordinary person's.

Jing Cong especially loved her cat ears. Whenever she was frightened, the short, pinkish-furred ears would tremble slightly. If he opened his mouth and took them in...