Beauty Gazes at Each Other

"Hmm?"

Lin Tianlu looked at the figure outside the door with some surprise.

It was a strange woman.

Her black hair was styled into a bun, held up with a jade hairpin. Her face was charming and exquisite, with a hint of tender allure rippling through her eyebrows.

She was tall and voluptuous, dressed in a long robe with a chest-high ruqun skirt and a light gauze shawl draped over her shoulders. In the dim light of the night, her curvaceous, full figure was faintly visible.

The moment their eyes met, the beautiful woman's eyes brightened slightly, a look of surprise on her face. But she quickly bowed gracefully.

"Good evening, sir."

"Well... uh, may I ask why this young lady is visiting so late?" Lin Tianlu asked, his tone a little peculiar.

The mature woman clasped her hands and wrists, her smile elegant and charming. "I live in the house opposite yours. My husband passed away early, and I've been raising our daughter alone for many years. It's inconvenient for me to be seen out and about casually, so I thought I'd visit when no one else was around. I hope you can understand."

Lin Tianlu suddenly understood.

In this ancient setting, it was indeed inconvenient for a widow to have too much contact with other men.

If it caused the neighbors to gossip, her reputation would be ruined, and she'd be branded with undeserved infamy.

Thinking of this, he also clasped his hands in a polite bow. "I was tired from cleaning the house today and didn't have a chance to visit you. It's my fault for you having to come over at night. May I ask your name, Madam?"

"You don't need to blame yourself, sir. You can just call me Mao Ruoyu." The mature woman gently shook her head, smiling softly. She slightly spread her arms and quickly took out a delicate package from the gauze draped over her chest. "Please accept this, sir. These pastries are freshly made today and are still warm."

Lin Tianlu chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, this is too kind. I should have been the one to bring a gift. How could Madam..."

"My child and I are alone here. We just want to get to know our neighbors as soon as possible. Besides, I heard the neighbors discussing that you seem to be a scholar. I only hope that if you encounter my child in the future, you might offer her some guidance and instruction. These pastries are just a small token of my appreciation."

Lin Tianlu hesitated for a moment before finally accepting the gift with a sigh.

"I will visit you tomorrow to return the favor."

Mao Ruoyu smiled gently. "If you have any inconveniences, sir, please feel free to ask for help. I'm quite familiar with Changling County and can certainly help look after things."

"Thank you, Madam."

After a brief exchange, they bid each other farewell. Lin Tianlu watched her figure gradually recede until she disappeared into the entrance of another house not far away.

"Women in this era certainly dress quite… openly."

He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Even with the gauze covering her, he could still vaguely see the fair skin of her chest, which was quite alluring.

Fortunately, he had seen plenty of… 'art' before transmigrating and was experienced enough to remain calm.

He closed the door and returned inside, carefully opening the package. A faint, pleasant aroma soon wafted out with the steam.

"This woman's culinary skills are quite good."

Lin Tianlu looked at the delicate white pastries arranged in the wooden box, quite surprised.

He picked one up and put it in his mouth. The soft, glutinous texture melted in his mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance and a cool sensation on his tongue.

"Did she add mint? The taste is truly sweet and fragrant. If I have the chance to ask her about it, learning a good cooking skill in this world would be quite a gain."

He shook his head, lost in thought for a moment. Happily chewing on half a pastry, he began to browse the books left by the previous tenant on the bookshelf.

The previous tenant's collection was quite extensive, covering everything from strange tales and biographies to humanities, history, and the Four Books and Five Classics.

He randomly flipped through them, intending to pick a few interesting ones to read through the night.

However, after opening a book, he was a little dumbfounded.

"Is this… Regular Script?"

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

Lin Tianlu sighed softly.

But he could still recognize the words with a little effort. Combined with the memories left by the deceased owner, he should be able to adapt gradually over time.

Whoosh—

The night wind howled outside, and a cool breeze filled the air. The candlelight in the room flickered.

Lin Tianlu pulled two books from the shelf, quickly swallowed the pastry, and rushed to shield the lamp with both hands. After the cold wind blowing in from the window gradually subsided, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close. Otherwise, I would have had to go to the kitchen for a light again."

Whoosh—

"Huh?" Lin Tianlu froze as he reached for the pastry beside him, then frantically shielded the lamp again.

The flame on the candle flickered erratically, nearly extinguishing several times. The light in the room dimmed, but it eventually managed to reignite.

"This is really disruptive. It's so inconvenient without electricity and lights in ancient times. I can't even open the window to get some cool air at night."

Lin Tianlu walked to the window with a speechless expression and simply closed it shut.

"This should… Huh?!"

He stared at the candle, which had almost gone out again, with utter astonishment and rushed back to shield it once more.

"What's going on? Is this room drafty?"

He turned to look at the walls but found no damaged openings. The windows on both sides were also tightly shut, clearly no evening breeze was blowing in through any gaps.

"That's strange. Could the candle itself be faulty? Is the wick made of fake material?"

Lin Tianlu sat back down with a peculiar expression, eating pastries and muttering to himself as he shielded the candle with one hand while starting to flip through the books on the table.

"Forget it. I'll buy some new candles and a bamboo lamp shade tomorrow."

Although the posture for reading was a bit awkward, it wasn't tiring. It was much easier than the days he spent on top of Taiyi Mountain before.

At least, there was a soft, comfortable bed here, right?

After such a long time, he finally didn't have to lie down like a corpse to sleep as soon as it got dark. Those half a months of wild living had made him feel like an old man of eighty or ninety.

The candlelight flickered, and a chilling wind swirled.

In a dilapidated old house already covered in cobwebs, Mao Ruoyu, the mature and beautiful woman who had just dealt with Lin Tianlu, was now continuously forming hand seals. Cold light flashed in her beautiful eyes, and she muttered incessantly.

If one listened carefully, they could hear--

"--Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish! Extinguish!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, veins pulsed, as if she was exerting all her strength.

But no matter how she urged her magic, the candle flame in Lin Tianlu's room, although it flickered up, down, left, and right with a strong rhythm, still refused to be extinguished.

"Why, why is this happening! Why is my Soul-Capturing Candle suddenly disobedient!"

She repeatedly sensed that the candle was on the verge of going out, but just as she smiled, it would reignite. This emotional rollercoaster was simply torture.

Once or twice would have been fine, but this stalemate had lasted for over half an hour!

"Could the Soul-Capturing Candle be malfunctioning? Or has the wick become damp and lost its power?"

"Doesn't that scholar feel the chilling wind and pervasive ghostly energy in the room? Isn't he even slightly afraid?!"

"You've already eaten so many of my Heart-Enchanting Pastries, hurry up and fall unconscious!"

"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 now filled with indignation and helplessness.

Immediately, she clenched her fists unwillingly, gritted her teeth, and stared intently at Lin Tianlu's location.

"I refuse to believe... you can stay awake all night without resting! As soon as you lose focus for a moment, I'll make sure you taste... the power of the Soul-Snatching and Spirit-Hooking Technique!"

The next morning.

Mao Ruoyu lay on the table with a gloomy face, her hair disheveled. Beneath her alluring eyes, there were faint dark circles, and she mumbled as if drowsy:

"Why... aren't you sleeping?"

She had gritted her teeth and endured the entire night.

By the time day broke, the prepared Soul-Capturing Incense and Heart-Enchanting Pastries had not had any effect whatsoever.

On the contrary, she hadn't slept all night, her eyes saw stars, and she had actually dozed off briefly just now in a daze.

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