Lu Xin sat in the wooden cabin, resting with his eyes closed.
After all, after being tossed around by Ailya all night, he didn’t have much time to sleep.
As for Ailya, he had already carried her back to her own room and laid her on the bed.
After all, this morning was likely to be anything but peaceful.
It was a pity about the herbs he had just dried.
He didn’t know if Ailya could take care of them.
Soon, the sound of horse hooves and heavy footsteps came from outside the door.
What has to come will come, but it seemed like a lot were coming.
Knock, knock, knock. A few knocks on the door.
“The door’s unlocked. Come in and have a seat.”
Lu Xin opened his eyes, looking at the scene before him with a slightly relaxed expression.
The door opened.
Audrey was on horseback, wearing her iconic silver-white armor, her golden ponytail swaying in the morning breeze.
Behind her were six fully armed knights, all sizing up the young man inside the cabin.
The one who opened the door was Town Mayor Field.
His face was plastered with an even more sycophantic smile than yesterday, and he was wiping sweat with a handkerchief.
Looking further back, there were quite a few townspeople gathered, craning their necks to peek and watch.
Lina was a bit worried about Lu Xin.
She wanted to step inside, but her parents stopped her.
“Mr. Lu Xin.”
Audrey dismounted, her cold voice a world apart from last night.
However, when she saw Lu Xin’s somewhat tired expression, she mistakenly thought it was because of her visit last night, so she softened her tone a bit.
“Regarding the guide matter, have you made your decision?”
But the real reason for Lu Xin’s fatigue was from being constantly drained by Ailya.
“Hold on, let me make a meal first.”
Hearing Lu Xin’s words, the knights exchanged glances.
But seeing that Audrey didn’t stop him, they didn’t dare to say anything.
Lu Xin busied himself unhurriedly at the stove, even frying two eggs, one of which was saved for Ailya.
He sat at the door with his bowl, eating bite by bite, completely ignoring the crowd of onlookers before him.
Field looked at Audrey, then at the relaxed Lu Xin, and whispered:
“Mr. Lu Xin…”
“How annoying. Can’t even eat in peace.”
Lu Xin swallowed the last mouthful of porridge and wiped his mouth.
“I’ll agree to it, but I have conditions.”
Town Mayor Field immediately leaned in, beaming with a sycophantic smile:
“Conditions are easy to discuss. Feel free to name your reward.”
“This isn’t about a reward. You need to satisfy my conditions first.”
Audrey nodded: “Go ahead.”
“Three bags of gold coins.”
The air suddenly fell silent.
The faces of several knights turned rather ugly.
Field’s smile also froze.
Even if he said to name anything, this wasn’t how it was done.
What did three bags of gold coins mean?
At one hundred coins per bag, that was a full three hundred coins.
This had already reached the minimum hiring price for an A-rank Adventurer.
A young knight couldn’t help but speak, contemptuously:
“Are you insane? A commoner like you…”
“Shut up.”
Audrey raised a hand to stop that knight, looking calmly at Lu Xin.
“Three bags really is too much. Our budget is limited. Can we make it one bag?”
“Fine, but I have more conditions,” Lu Xin said.
The knights behind Audrey were getting impatient.
They really wanted to step forward and teach Lu Xin a lesson.
But they didn’t understand why the Knight Captain was so lenient with this brat.
Lu Xin looked with satisfaction at the knights’ expressions, grinning smugly.
“Second condition: I want three demon beasts.”
“Demon beasts?”
“Any demon beast will do, but it has to meet three requirements.”
Lu Xin counted on his fingers.
“First, it can’t be low-level demon beasts like slimes.”
“Second, they must be alive. They can’t be killed.”
“Third, they must be delivered here before today.”
Some members of the Knight Order showed confused expressions, while others had the phrase “Are you fucking messing with us?” written all over their faces.
“What do you need demon beasts for?”
“To eat. How’s that for an answer?”
Audrey was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Alright.”
After saying this, she turned and mounted her horse, not giving Lu Xin a chance to make further demands.
“The demon beasts will be delivered within today. We’ll set out early tomorrow morning.”
After she finished speaking, she reined her horse and left with the knights.
Field glanced at Lu Xin, then trotted after the Knight Order.
The reason Lu Xin wanted the demon beasts was simple: he didn’t trust the Knight Order, so he needed more skills to survive.
Even if the entire Knight Order died, he had to come back alive.
He was a despicable outsider.
In the afternoon, the Knight Order’s people delivered one bag of gold coins and three demon beasts as promised.
One was a Wind Wolf that was tightly bound, with a wooden stick shoved in its mouth, struggling nonstop.
The other two were a six-meter-long Tree Python and an Owlbear that was already half-dead.
It could be said that aside from the Wind Wolf, the Tree Python and the Owlbear were both top predators in the forest.
Lu Xin looked at the three demon beasts, unable to suppress the grin on his lips.
He definitely hit the jackpot this time.
“The Knight Captain said, if they die, no replacements.”
The knights looked at him as if he were a madman, then dropped that line and left without looking back.
Lu Xin picked up the wooden spear, walked over to the demon beasts, and helped them breathe their last.
[Killed medium-level demon beast Wind Wolf. Beginning random extraction of its inherent abilities…]
[Extraction complete. Obtained ability: Air Flow Perception (Basic)]
[Killed medium-level demon beast Tree Python. Beginning random extraction of its inherent abilities…]
[Extraction complete. Obtained ability: Hardening (Basic)]
[Killed medium-level demon beast Owlbear. Beginning random extraction of its inherent abilities…]
[Extraction complete. Obtained ability: Night Vision]
Lu Xin tested each of the three abilities.
[Air Flow Perception] could sense the flow of air around him, and was especially effective against long-range attacks and stealth-type demon beasts.
[Hardening] would cause a gray light to appear on his body, making his skin as hard as stone, very firm.
[Night Vision] was just night vision.
This was also Lu Xin’s first ability that was both active and passive.
It was activated by default; if he didn’t want to use it, he could turn it off.
Just as Lu Xin was familiarizing himself with his new abilities, a familiar warm current appeared in his mind again.
[Conditions partially met. Liquid Manipulation has been upgraded to Fluid Mastery (Advanced). Hair Grooming has been upgraded to Silk Touch (Advanced).]
[Skill upgraded to Advanced. Total mana increased. Physical fitness strengthened.]
Lu Xin felt the changes in his body and stood frozen in surprise.
He never expected this unexpected bonus.
Both upgraded skills were ones he used often.
So he still wasn’t sure whether the upgrade condition was proficiency or hunting demon beasts.
Anyway, his cheat ability wasn’t going to tell him.
In the evening, Lu Xin went to the blacksmith and spent two silver coins to forge a handy short sword and several throwing knives.
He didn’t buy iron armor or other defensive gear.
First, he didn’t like dressing like an iron man; it was too bulky.
Second, because he had [Hardening], its defensive power was probably higher than the crudely made iron armor from the blacksmith.
Lu Xin gripped the short sword and casually cut down some roadside weeds.