“Too expensive.”
Lu Xin shook his head, deliberately casting a glance at the beetle to show interest, then made as if to leave.
“Hey, hey, hey! Dear customer, please reconsider. Eight silver coins is already a loss for me.”
Lu Xin waved his hand and pulled Ailya around to leave.
The merchant raised an eyebrow slightly. It was rare for someone to show interest in this bug. He couldn’t let him go just like that.
“Six! Six silver coins! The lowest I can go!”
Lu Xin stopped and turned back, saying calmly, “Make it five. Your bug eats crystal cores—that makes it hard to sell.”
The merchant pretended to be pained, agonizing for a good while before finally gritting his teeth. “Fine! Five it is! Consider it a favor to make a friend.”
Ailya: “(°◇°)”
She stared at the two’s performance, dumbfounded. When she bought things before, she either left heartbroken or gritted her teeth and paid up.
She never imagined you had to act like this just to buy something.
Lu Xin pulled out the silver coins from his pocket, handed them to the merchant, and took the cage.
But in reality, the merchant had made at least two silver coins of profit from this deal. And yet, Lu Xin wasn’t losing out either.
He had never planned to buy it and keep it as a pet. His target was the Crimson Pattern Beetle’s skill—a support type, and from the introduction, it seemed to be a group buffer.
“Lu Xin…” Ailya bent down to look at the beetle in the cage, speaking in confusion.
“Why did you buy this bug? You’re not really going to raise it, are you? But it’s so ugly.”
“It’s fine. When we get back, I’ll roast it for you to eat.”
Ailya: “(○´･д･)ﾉ”
Ailya felt Lu Xin was acting weird. Spending five silver coins on a bug for barbecue for her?
It wasn’t that she was against it, but she still felt Lu Xin was hiding something from her, so she was a bit distracted.
Lu Xin looked at Ailya, who was keeping her head down following him. He clearly sensed she wasn’t as lively as before.
Could it be she didn’t like eating bugs?
Thinking about it, that made sense. Ailya was a girl after all. Even though she was gluttonous, she probably still felt a bit squeamish about bugs.
“Ailya.”
“Hmm?”
“You work so hard dancing every day. Didn’t you say your back and waist were sore? When we get back, I’ll give you a massage.”
Hearing Lu Xin’s words, Ailya’s gloomy mood instantly brightened. She clasped her hands to her chest excitedly and said:
“Great, great! And I don’t want this bug roasted—I want it steamed. I’ll eat it while enjoying your massage.”
Lu Xin: “……”
Looks like he was worrying over nothing. Ailya was still not picky about food.
The two wandered around the festival a bit more, watched some acrobatic performances, and tasted various snacks.
When the atmosphere reached its peak, a huge bonfire was lit in the center of the square, and everyone danced around it.
Once they had pretty much seen everything, Lu Xin and Ailya left the still bustling square and returned to the small wooden cabin at the edge of the town.
Lu Xin placed the cage on the table. The Crimson Pattern Beetle seemed to know what was coming and became unusually agitated.
“Sorry about this.”
Lu Xin opened the cage, used a knife to flip the beetle over and expose its vulnerable belly. The beetle, bound by iron chains, could only hiss as a threat.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Xin stabbed the knife into the gap in the beetle’s abdominal shell.
With a sharp screech, the beetle slowly stopped moving.
[Killed Low-level Demon Beast Crimson Pattern Beetle. Beginning random extraction of its inherent abilities…]
[Extraction complete. Acquired ability: Nourishing Therapy (Beginner)]
Without immediately testing the newly acquired ability, Lu Xin first stripped the beetle’s meat and took it to steam.
Apart from the meat, there was a thumb-sized crystal core inside the beetle, glowing with a warm orange-red light. It would be quite nice for warming hands.
The steamed Crimson Pattern Beetle meat resembled crab meat. Even without any seasoning, it gave off a fresh, savory fragrance.
That was probably related to its habitat in volcanic zones.
“Mmm, smells great.” Ailya was already lying on Lu Xin’s bed, ready and waiting. The aroma made her narrow her eyes and murmur.
After placing the food in front of Ailya, Lu Xin sat on the edge of the bed, ready to use the ability.
But then he realized he didn’t quite know where to start.
After returning, Ailya had washed herself with hot water. Now she was simply wearing a layer of white cloth.
Ailya’s thighs weren’t slender; they were fleshy but not fat. The perfect lines of her fair, supple thighs were strong and graceful.
Her petite white feet wiggled playfully. The soles of her feet were a light pink tone, her toes lined up from big to small, smooth and glossy.
She was practically an Alpine milk candy. If you filled your whole mouth with it and gave it a light chew, it would definitely awaken your taste buds.
There were still crystal-clear drops of water not yet fallen on her soles.
Watching Ailya lying on the bed, wolfing down the beetle meat without a care in the world,
Lu Xin slightly raised the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. ‘First try the skill, then slowly savor.’
Lu Xin spread his hands. A layer of warm orange-red light, the same color as the beetle’s crystal core, appeared on his palms.
He could clearly feel a soft, comfortable warmth radiating from his hands.
Even he himself relaxed because of that gentle power.
After a moment of silence, Lu Xin first grasped Ailya’s small feet and gently kneaded them with both hands.
“Mmm… so good… Lu Xin… it feels wonderful…” Ailya narrowed her eyes, her whole body going limp, and her voice unconsciously turned sweet.
“How does it feel?”
“Mm… I feel a warm current flowing through my body… comfortable and cozy.”
Lu Xin held Ailya’s feet in his palms, gently cupping them, and activated the effect of [Nourishing Therapy] to the maximum.
A warm current swept through Ailya’s entire body. She arched her back slightly in pleasure.
But gradually, Ailya felt the warm current weaken. She opened her eyes and looked at Lu Xin in confusion:
“What’s wrong?”
Blood was dripping from Lu Xin’s nose. When Ailya arched her back just now, he seemed to have seen something pink.
Yes, it was a pink inner layer. Ailya was so girly.
Even though this was his house, she was way too relaxed.
And Ailya, realizing a bit late, had her ears turning red. Her eyes darted away as she reached out to cover her cloth shirt slightly and stammered:
“Lu Xin… you… saw…”
“No, I didn’t.” Lu Xin stood up, first wiping his face with his hand, then finding some paper to clean the blood.
His nosebleed wasn’t because he saw some underwear. It was because he had overused the skill.
“Oh, then… are you still going to… massage me?”
“Of course, but it might not be as comfortable as before.”
Lu Xin adjusted his mindset a little and started massaging upward from her thighs.
But this time, he didn’t activate [Nourishing Therapy].
Massaging on, Lu Xin found that Ailya had fallen asleep.
“Hmm, eat and then sleep. But we did play hard all day today.”
Lu Xin pulled the blanket over Ailya, covering her, then stroked her cheek. After that, his hand began to reach for another spot.
Of course, it was Ailya’s red hair. Back when he was stroking the fluffball monster in the forest, he had wanted to do this.
Now he finally got his wish.
After stroking for a while, Lu Xin went out to the yard and enjoyed the leisurely evening breeze.
And just a few seconds after he left the room, Ailya opened her eyes.
She reached out and touched the spot on her face where Lu Xin had stroked, then twirled a strand of her hair. Her cheeks flushed.
“Hehe.” She suddenly chuckled, then curled up in Lu Xin’s blanket, gently sniffing his scent.
Nice