A few peaceful days passed, and Lu Xin finally welcomed his first festival in town.
On the eve of the celebration, wheat ears and fruit decorations had already been hung along both sides of the street.
The square was already packed with various stalls. The faster caravans had already arrived at Morning Breeze Town and were arranged to stay by Field.
However, Lu Xin had been swamped with work these past few days, barely able to catch a breath.
Ever since he helped Lina find her cat in the forest, the little girl had been spreading the word about him everywhere.
Originally, he just helped the villagers with small tasks on a whim and accepted a bit of a tip. But now, the entire town knew he could use magic.
Yet no one came to cause trouble. To the townsfolk, picking a fight with a mage was just asking for a shortened lifespan.
Offending Lu Xin meant you might just drop dead one day.
And more importantly, Lu Xin charged very little, but his efficiency was extremely high.
The blacksmith’s boss asked him to help groom his horse’s mane.
Even the mayor’s wife sent someone to ask if he could do her hair on the day of the festival.
Since it was all paying work, Lu Xin naturally accepted everything without refusal.
“Lu Xin! How does this look?”
Ailya ran in from the doorway. He looked up and was genuinely a bit stunned.
Ailya was wearing a red dance dress with golden patterns embroidered on the skirt.
A silk ribbon was tied around her waist, tightly cinching her slender midsection. The neckline of the dress revealed her fair collarbone.
Lu Xin suddenly remembered that Ailya had been invited to perform as the lead dancer onstage tomorrow evening.
In the past, the mayor’s daughter had always been the one to lead the dance. After all, how could a festival with such special significance fall to an outsider?
But the mayor’s daughter had run off to the Kingdom and couldn’t make it back in time. And no one else could be found to fill the lead dancer role.
So Ailya, who usually practiced dancing and called herself a wandering dancer, was chosen.
“Looks good.”
“Just ‘looks good’?” Ailya pouted, leaning in close. Her finger tapped lightly on Lu Xin’s chest. “Take a closer look.”
Since she was so close, the first thing Lu Xin saw was the soft curve and cleavage in front of him. He glanced briefly before naturally raising his gaze upward.
The red dance dress really suited Ailya, especially against her fiery red hair.
“Very good,” Lu Xin said seriously. “You look good in anything.”
Ailya froze for a moment, then two rosy clouds bloomed on her cheeks. The tips of her ears quietly turned red.
She let out a “Hmph,” turned her head, and busied herself with adjusting the hem of her skirt.
Ailya: “~~~”
Lu Xin chuckled to himself, marveling at how hard it was to guess a woman’s mind.
She was usually so carefree, but today she came running to ask for compliments. And after getting one, she just ignored him.
On the day of the festival, Lu Xin had nothing better to do, so he set up shop in the square to sell bread.
But really, he was just slacking off.
Lu Xin: “=￣ω￣=”
While Lu Xin was enjoying his lazy time, a flash of silver-white caught his eye in the crowd.
Audrey wasn’t wearing her armor today, just a simple white dress, with her golden hair cascading over her shoulders.
She had lost some of her sharpness, replaced by a gentleness, giving off a big-sister-next-door vibe.
She had no attendants with her.
She strolled alone through the square, occasionally stopping to look at items on the stalls, her expression relaxed.
Lu Xin didn’t deliberately focus on Audrey. His stall was directly opposite the stage, and he was looking forward to Ailya’s performance.
As the sun set, its afterglow blanketed Morning Breeze Town, and music began to play.
Ailya stood in the center of the stage, surrounded by the other girls from the town.
Her dance steps were light and powerful. Every spin sent her skirt flying, drawing continuous cheers from the audience below.
When the song ended, applause thundered.
Breathing heavily, Ailya stood on stage. Her gaze swept over the crowd, landing on Lu Xin. She waved happily.
After the performance, Ailya rushed back to the bread stall excitedly, not even wiping the sweat from her face.
“So, how was my dance? Good, right?”
“Very good, but…”
Hearing Lu Xin’s words, Ailya grew a little nervous. Had she made a mistake somewhere?
“But I didn’t get enough of it.”
“You jerk, you made me so nervous.” Ailya clenched her fist and lightly punched Lu Xin’s chest. But after a moment of silence, she said softly:
“Then when we get back, I’ll dance just for you.”
After saying this, Ailya felt her face heat up. She didn’t dare lift her head to look at Lu Xin.
She convinced herself it was just because dancing made her too hot. Yes, that had to be it.
Off in the distance, Audrey was eating bread her subordinate had bought from Lu Xin.
She looked thoughtfully at the backs of Lu Xin and Ailya laughing together, a faint curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
That Lu Xin did have mana fluctuations on him, but it was strange.
She couldn’t discern his mana capacity, and thus couldn’t determine what rank his strength was.
Audrey guessed that the reason for this phenomenon was that Lu Xin had some item on him that was concealing it.
As for that dancer named Ailya, she also felt her identity was not simple.
She had carefully observed Ailya’s dance on stage. Based solely on the girl’s crisp, decisive movements, her physical skills were on par with a professional warrior.
After finishing the bread in her hand, Audrey continued wandering through the festival.
The moment Audrey turned and left, Ailya tilted her head slightly, glancing in Audrey’s direction.
Her eyes were displeased. She didn’t understand why the other woman was spying on her and Lu Xin.
As for Lu Xin, he naturally had no idea about any of this. His attention was drawn by a loud hawking voice.
“Don’t miss out! Rare goods from the Southern Merchant Caravan!”
“Magic items, rare materials, and tamed magical beasts…”
Lu Xin followed the sound and saw a crowd gathered around a gorgeously decorated tent. A banner embroidered with a coin pattern hung from the tent.
Lu Xin pulled Ailya and squeezed into the crowd.
His eyes swept over the shockingly priced magic scrolls and enchanted weapons. He was a little tempted, but his savings were meager.
However, just as he was about to leave, an inconspicuous cage in the corner caught his attention.
The cage held a beetle-like magical beast about the size of a washbasin, but it looked listless.
Its entire body was covered in dark red carapace. Its thick legs were bound by iron chains. It had a pair of short antennae on its head.
Most eye-catching were the golden, ring-like patterns on its back carapace, resembling tree rings, faintly glowing.
“What’s this?” Lu Xin asked curiously.
The vendor was a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache. Seeing Lu Xin’s interest, he enthusiastically introduced it:
“Good eye, customer! This isn’t just any magical beast.”
“This is a Crimson Pattern Beetle captured from the volcanic region in the south. A very rare species!”
“It’s born with a special bio-magnetic field. It’s great for relieving fatigue and regulating the body, especially…”
At this point, he glanced at Ailya beside Lu Xin, then lowered his voice and said to Lu Xin:
“… for certain physical discomforts in women. Those noble ladies and young misses really love pets like this.”
“But…” He changed his tone, somewhat regretfully. “This thing has a bad temper. It’s aggressive towards everyone, and its appetite is enormous.”
“To maintain its special magnetic field, it only eats magical beast crystals. Ordinary people can’t afford to raise it, so it hasn’t been sold yet.”
“If you’re interested, eight silver coins and you can take it away.”
“You’re definitely getting a good deal. This was shipped all the way from the south. The freight alone costs more than that!”
The last part was pure fabrication. He just shoved the Crimson Pattern Beetle into a cage, tossed it in a corner, and occasionally fed it slime crystals to keep it alive. It was a completely hassle-free task.
But if he didn’t spin it that way, how could he make the customer feel like they’d snagged a bargain?
Eight silver coins meant eight hundred copper coins.
Lu Xin patted his pocket. His fees weren’t high, usually just four or five copper coins. Not to mention, many people paid him with food.
Over these days, he had only saved up five silver coins. He was still three short.