Beauty Gazes at Each Other

"Hmm?"

Lin Tianlu was somewhat surprised to see a figure standing outside the door.

It was an unfamiliar woman.

Her glossy black hair was coiled into braids and fastened with a jade hairpin. Her features were charming and exquisite, and a hint of tender allure rippled between her brows.

She was tall and full-figured, dressed in a long robe and a chest-high ruqun skirt, with light gauze draped over her shoulders and sleeves rolled up. Under the night's glow, the graceful curves of her plump figure could be vaguely seen.

The instant their gazes met, the beautiful woman's eyes brightened slightly and she revealed a look of surprise. But she quickly bowed gracefully and said,

"Good evening, sir."

"Good... Uh, may I ask why you've come visiting so late at night?" Lin Tianlu asked, looking slightly perplexed.

The mature woman clasped one hand over her wrist and smiled with elegant charm. "I live in the residence opposite yours. It's just that my husband passed away early, and I've raised my daughter alone for many years. It wouldn't be proper for me to show my face casually, so I thought I'd wait until no one was around before coming over to pay my respects. I hope you can forgive me."

Lin Tianlu understood.

In this ancient setting, widows indeed couldn't have too much contact with other men.

If the neighbors began whispering behind her back, she might lose her reputation and be saddled with all sorts of baseless, vicious slanders.

Thinking of this, he cupped his hands politely. "I was rather tired from cleaning the house today and haven't had the chance to visit you. Instead, I've made you come over at night. That was my fault. I just don't know your name, Madam..."

"Sir, there's no need to blame yourself. You may call me Mao Ruoyu." The mature woman gently shook her head and gave a soft, mellow laugh. Spreading her arms slightly, she soon took an exquisite package from beneath the gauze at her chest. "Please accept this. I made these pastries today, and they're still warm."

Lin Tianlu immediately gave an awkward laugh. "This... How could I accept this? I should have been the one to visit and bring a gift. Madam, you..."

"We're only a widowed mother and an orphaned daughter in this household. I merely wanted to greet the neighbors as soon as possible. Besides, I've heard the neighbors talking. They say you seem to be a scholar, so I only hope that if you happen to meet my child, you might offer her a little guidance and instruction. These pastries are just a small token of my goodwill."

Lin Tianlu hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he had no choice but to accept the gift.

"I'll be sure to visit and return the favor tomorrow."

Mao Ruoyu smiled gently. "If you ever find yourself inconvenienced in any way, you're welcome to come ask me for help. I'm fairly familiar with Changling County, so I can certainly take care of a thing or two for you."

"Thank you, Madam."

The two exchanged a few more hurried words before bidding each other farewell. Lin Tianlu watched the woman's back gradually recede until it vanished through the gate of another residence not far away.

"Women in this era really dress boldly."

He couldn't help muttering to himself.

Although the light gauze covered her body, the pale, tender skin at her chest could still be vaguely seen, giving her a particularly alluring charm.

Fortunately, before transmigrating, he had already seen countless lewd pictures and was rich in experience, so he remained exceptionally calm in dealing with it.

After closing the door and returning inside, he carefully opened the package. A faint, secluded fragrance soon drifted away with the heat.

"This woman's cooking skills are pretty good."

Lin Tianlu looked at the exquisite white pastries arranged in the wooden box and was quite surprised.

He picked up a piece and put it into his mouth. Its soft, glutinous texture seemed to melt instantly. As it slid into his stomach, its fragrance lingered between his teeth and lips, bringing a cool sensation to his throat and tongue.

"Could she have added mint? The flavor is truly sweet and fragrant. If I get the chance, I should ask her about it. Being able to learn some good cooking in this world would count as a worthwhile gain."

He shook his head and let his imagination run wild for a while. Then, with half a pastry dangling from his mouth, he began picking through the books left behind by the previous tenant on the shelves.

The previous tenant had read an astonishingly broad range of books, from strange tales and biographies to history, the humanities, and even the Four Books and Five Classics.

He casually rummaged through them, intending to pick out a few that interested him and read them through the night.

However, after opening one of the books, he was slightly dumbfounded.

"Is this... Regular Script?"

He had almost forgotten that ancient times didn't use simplified characters.

Lin Tianlu let out a soft sigh.

Still, he could recognize the words after distinguishing them a little. In addition, the memories left behind by that scholar meant he would probably gradually grow accustomed to them after some time.

Whoosh—

The evening wind howled outside, threads of chill spreading through the air, and the candlelight in the room flickered along with it.

Lin Tianlu pulled two books from the shelf and hurriedly swallowed the pastry. He stepped forward and shielded the candle with both hands. Only after the cold wind blowing in through the window gradually dispersed did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Otherwise, I'd have to borrow fire from the kitchen again."

Whoosh—

"Hm?" Lin Tianlu had just picked up the pastry beside him when he froze. In a fluster, he once again shielded the candle.

The candle flame swayed incessantly, nearly going out several times. The light in the room dimmed somewhat, but in the end, it somehow managed to burn again.

"It really won't let me have any peace. No electricity or lamps in ancient times—how inconvenient. I can't even open the window at night to enjoy a cool breeze."

With a speechless expression, Lin Tianlu walked over to the window and simply shut it.

"This should do... Huh?!"

He stared in astonishment at the candle, which nearly went out again, and hurried back to shield it once more.

"What's going on? Could this room be drafty?"

He turned to examine the walls but found no damaged holes. The windows on both sides were also shut tightly. Clearly, no evening wind was blowing in through the cracks.

"That's strange. Could the candle itself be defective? Did they use inferior materials in the wick?"

With a peculiar expression, Lin Tianlu sat down again. While eating pastries, he grumbled and shielded the candle with one hand as he began flipping through the books on the table.

"Forget it. I'll buy some new candles on the street tomorrow, along with a bamboo lampshade."

Although reading in this position was a little awkward, it wasn't particularly tiring. Compared with his days atop Taiyi Mountain, this was practically easy.

At least he had a soft, comfortable bed here, didn't he?

After so long, he finally didn't have to flop down and play dead the moment night fell. Those two weeks of living like a wild man had made him feel like some eighty- or ninety-year-old grandfather.

The candle burned dimly as an ominous wind coiled through the air.

Inside a dilapidated old house long since covered in cobwebs, the mature beauty Mao Ruoyu, who had just dealt with Lin Tianlu, was now continuously forming hand seals. A cold glint flickered in her beautiful eyes as she muttered under her breath without pause.

If one listened carefully, one could hear—

"—Go out! Go out! Go out! Go out already!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her veins throbbed as if she were exerting every ounce of her strength.

But no matter how she urged her technique, even though the candle flame in Lin Tianlu's room trembled up and down and from side to side with almost rhythmic precision, it remained stubbornly unextinguished.

"Why? Why is this happening? Why has my Soul-Capturing Candle suddenly stopped obeying me?"

Again and again, she sensed that the candle was on the verge of going out, only for it to flare up again whenever she revealed a smile. Her emotions rose and fell like a frying pan over a fire, torturous beyond words.

Once or twice would have been fine, but this had already dragged on for more than half an hour!

"Could the Soul-Capturing Candle have malfunctioned? Or did the wick become damp and lose its efficacy?"

"Could that scholar really not feel the ominous wind filling the room and the ghostly aura spreading everywhere? Isn't he afraid at all?!"

"He ate so much of my Heart-Enchanting Pastry—why haven't you collapsed yet?!"

"Stop reading, stop reading! What's so good about these pedantic books? Don't ruin your eyes. Hurry up and lie down to rest!"

Mao Ruoyu's beautiful face was already filled with frustration and helplessness.

Then, extremely unwilling to give up, she clenched both hands, bit down hard with her pearly teeth, and glared fixedly at the place where Lin Tianlu was.

"I refuse to believe... that you can go an entire night without resting or dozing off! The moment you lose focus, I'll make you taste the might of the Soul-Snatching and Spirit-Hooking Technique!"

The following morning.

Mao Ruoyu lay facedown on the table, her face ashen and her hair disheveled. There were faint dark circles beneath her seductive eyes, and she murmured as if half-asleep.

"Why... didn't he sleep?"

She had gritted her teeth and endured the entire night.

Yet until dawn, the Soul-Capturing Incense and Heart-Enchanting Pastry she had prepared had never produced the slightest effect.

Instead, after staying awake all night, she had stars swimming before her eyes and had just dozed off in a daze.