"Phew... It's a little cold, but whatever, I'll make do..." In a small lake surrounded by trees, Wu Yan shivered as he soaked in the water, rubbing his body clean of blood and grime.
Although it wasn't winter yet, it was already late autumn. The lake water wasn't below freezing, but it definitely wasn't above single digits either.
If his body now hadn't been far stronger than his old scrawny frame, Wu Yan would never have dared to come down here for a wash.
As he cleaned himself, Wu Yan pondered inwardly.
Now, all his missions in the Giant Beast Forest had been completed, and he had reached Level 18. He could be considered a minor superhuman now. Though he had no idea how strong the people of this world were, he should be strong enough to protect himself... right?
Should he find somewhere people lived and stay there?
Wasn't that how novels always went? After the protagonist transmigrated, he lived like a wild man in the mountains, then arrived in a city, caught the eye of some great clan, great empire, or whatever, entered their faction, underwent a test, and then the crystal ball exploded, his genius reputation exploded, his little universe exploded... At that point, all those emperors and clan heads would come running over and say, "Hmm, what a promising young man. Are you interested in dating my daughter?"
Hmm... A granddaughter would work too!
Hey, wasn't he supposed to be thinking about whether he should leave the Giant Beast Forest? How had he started fantasizing instead?
Wu Yan had no idea that his thoughts had already veered far off course. He was grinning foolishly with his mouth wide open like a hippopotamus, clearly fantasizing to the extreme.
Splashing water onto his face, Wu Yan looked at the utterly deserted lake and sighed. "It'd be great if a beautiful woman came along to scrub my back..."
You were thinking too much...
Hmm... Or perhaps not.
Just as Wu Yan finished speaking, a delicate voice reached his ears from nearby.
"Wow! A lake! Great! I'm taking a bath. My whole body feels awful."
Wu Yan, who was washing himself in the lake, shuddered from head to toe at the sudden delicate voice.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he had fantasized so much that merely hearing a voice had satisfied him.
"Miss! Don't be in such a hurry! Let us check whether there's any danger first!" At that moment, another female voice sounded. It was steadier and much gentler than the somewhat childish voice from before, apparently speaking to the "Miss" she mentioned.
"Oh, come on, such a cute lake couldn't possibly be dangerous. You all wait here. I'm going in—I can't stand it anymore." Wu Yan nearly plunged headfirst into the water. He really wanted to tell her that charging in just because something looked cute was quite a peculiar taste...
"Miss! Slow down!"
The corner of Wu Yan's mouth twitched as he watched a petite figure run out from the woods, feeling an ache somewhere.
God knew that he only fantasized. What he said earlier had merely been a joke...
Slowly, a young girl appeared before Wu Yan. She had smooth black hair, a cute dress in a distinctive style that clearly did not belong to this world, and a small white jacket over it.
The girl had a face as beautiful as a Celestial Immortal, with something of a baby-faced charm. Though her petite body was under 1.7 meters tall, her figure was as voluptuous as a succubus's. That was obvious enough from the pair of D-cup-or-larger breasts on her chest.
The little beauty giggled sweetly the moment she saw the water. Whether she had failed to notice Wu Yan or was truly unbearably uncomfortable, she started taking off her clothes without a word, leaving Wu Yan dumbfounded.
Baby face with huge boobs? Long black hair? An airhead?
Looking at this adorable little beauty, Wu Yan instantly couldn't remain calm.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!" Wu Yan practically shouted in embarrassment. For no other reason than that the beauty across from him was moving so efficiently that she was nearly stripped already.
Wu Yan clearly saw her body stiffen. She froze in a pose where she could neither continue undressing nor stop, then turned her head mechanically toward him, her eyes landing on Wu Yan, whose mouth was still twitching.
The two gazed deeply at each other as an eerie silence descended over the scene.
After a long while, the little beauty's mouth slowly opened wide. Seeing this, Wu Yan inwardly cried that things were bad.
From the conversation earlier, it was clear that the little beauty wasn't alone. She had companions.
Though Wu Yan didn't know whether her companions were capable, if she cried out and brought them here, even if he was the "victim," he would still get a taste of being unable to clear his name even by jumping into the Yellow River.
Not to mention that he was naked. Wu Yan had no desire to be watched by a crowd.
All these thoughts flashed through Wu Yan's mind in less than a second. Therefore, he made a prompt decision and shouted at the little beauty without hesitation.
"What are you doing? Peeping on me while I bathe?"
The little beauty stiffened again. Her lips, which had been about to form an "ah," turned into an "O" due to someone's shameless words.
Wu Yan's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he let out a quiet breath of relief.
At least he had avoided getting ganged up on...
Seeing the little beauty completely unable to speak, Wu Yan immediately revealed a mischievous smile.
During the past month, Wu Yan had practically lived a silent life. Aside from occasionally exchanging a few words with the shameless system, he spent every day shouting "Hah," "Ha," and "Ya" at magical beasts. Even if he had boundless energy, he would have been exhausted by that routine.
And now, after finally encountering someone who seemed capable of having a conversation, how could a shameless guy like Wu Yan possibly resist teasing her?
Wu Yan's expression turned serious as he shamelessly said, "What? Are you planning to keep watching? You peeping tom!"
Startled by Wu Yan's words, the little beauty finally closed her mouth. Her face gradually turned red, and she raised a trembling finger to point at him.
"Y-you... you..."
"What do you mean, 'you'? Are you trying to argue? I was bathing here when you suddenly barged in and watched me. If that doesn't make you a peeping tom, what does?" Wu Yan abruptly waved a hand, doing his best to put on an angry expression, though his eyes were full of amusement.
At that moment, the little beauty had forgotten that a peeping tom was someone who watched in secret, rather than openly. She only knew that, judging by the situation, she really had barged in while someone else was bathing.
Therefore, the little beauty could only look utterly lost. She lowered her hand, unable to decide whether she should run or stay, and could only stand there stiffly without knowing what to do. In the end, she became so anxious that tears nearly fell.
Wu Yan chuckled as he watched the flustered little beauty, feeling immensely pleased. With his hands clasped behind his head, he admired her little self-directed performance for a while, then curled his lips and finally decided to let her off.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. But could you turn around? I need to get dressed!" Though he didn't mind being seen by a beauty, it was better to be a little restrained at a time like this. Otherwise, there would be no fun left.
So he still wanted to have fun...
"O-okay!" Hearing that, the little beauty nodded vigorously and turned around. Yet she felt that something was off, as though she had somehow ended up at a disadvantage.
Should one say that a girl's sixth sense was truly accurate?
Wu Yan stepped out of the water, opened the system menu, and rapidly tapped a few times. After spending 100 Item Points, a set of shirt and trousers similar in style to the little beauty's clothes, with a slight Western flavor, appeared in his hands.
After a rustling sound, Wu Yan finished getting dressed and smiled at the little beauty, who still had her back to him.
"Alright, you can turn around now."
Heaven have mercy, when had a young girl ever experienced something like this?
She could only turn her head back uneasily, looking at Wu Yan with a timid expression.
Shaking his head in amusement, Wu Yan, without the slightest sense of guilt, asked her, "What's your name?"
She took several slow breaths, and her expression gradually calmed. Looking at Wu Yan, she hesitated before saying, "Meililu. Meililu Lolly!"
"Little Lulu, right?" Wu Yan rubbed his chin, then patted her head and said with a grin.
"You're the little one! I'm not little at all! I'm already seventeen!" Somehow finding the courage, Lulu, who had been so timid moments ago, involuntarily shouted.
At the same time, Lulu found the situation rather strange. It wasn't just that he had called her by such an intimate, mushy nickname that not even her father used, or that he had patted her head so familiarly. More than anything, she was curious about Wu Yan.
It sounded as though he had never heard of me before.
Normally, whenever she stated her name, no matter who heard the word "Lolly," they would immediately become ingratiating and respectful toward her.
Yet this man, who did not seem much older than her, acted as if he had never heard it at all. His expression was utterly natural, making Lulu feel both curious and a little annoyed.
Her appearance, the appearance that everyone adored and that made countless men lose their minds, seemed to be nothing more than decoration to this man.
"Well, don't sweat the details!" Completely unaware of the young girl's thoughts, Wu Yan casually waved his hand.
Did Wu Yan not like beautiful women? Wrong! Of course he liked beautiful women. No man disliked beautiful women, and Wu Yan was no exception. But although Lulu had a face more beautiful than that of any twenty-first-century celebrity, Wu Yan was not some lovesick fool. Besides, compared with Lulu, he preferred two-dimensional beauties!
Therefore, aside from his initial surprise, Wu Yan showed no excessive reaction. He was still himself! He wouldn't put on an act for a woman—that was too tiring, even if she was very beautiful! That was just who he was!
Of course, two-dimensional girls were an exception!
"So, can you tell me what you're doing here? Don't tell me you really came to peep on me bathing?" Wu Yan said with a grin.
"O-of course not!" Lulu protested, waving her arms and legs about. This person was far too awful.
"I only came here to train. I saw a pretty lake and wanted to take a bath, but who knew someone was already here?" Little Lulu puffed out her cheeks in displeasure. After all, she had nearly stripped herself naked earlier, if not for him speaking up in time.
Wu Yan nodded in realization, a gleam flashing through his eyes as he looked at Lulu.
Meililu Lolly:
Wu Yan's mouth fell open in astonishment, and he was speechless inwardly.
Although level did not necessarily represent strength, without level, one definitely had no strength.
Through his battle with that dead wolf, Wu Yan had come to understand that every ten levels marked a dividing line. It wasn't difficult for a Level 10 warrior to defeat a Level 19 warrior. As long as he had better equipment and abilities than his opponent, victory was possible!
But for a Level 19 warrior to defeat a Level 20 warrior, he would absolutely have to risk his life! And he might still be the one who died.
When Wu Yan fought that wolf, he had only been Level 15. He had been able to kill that dead wolf only because he possessed the Kusanagi Sword, which could cut through iron like mud, and because of the mysteries of Swordsmanship Proficiency. Without those two conditions, a Level 15 Wu Yan facing a Level 20 magical beast would have been seeking death, no question about it.
Who would have thought that a random young girl who appeared out of nowhere would have a level even higher than his, nearly twice as high?
Wasn't this level an entire tier above that dead wolf that had nearly forced him to death?
This proved the truth of this world: Wu Yan was still too green...
Before you continue