Bathing Together in a Hot Spring, Eating Xiao Wu

{Emergency adjustment: The protagonist's starting age has been changed to twelve; he is now eighteen. Xiao Wu is 100,012 years old. Both are adults. This does not affect the plot, so there is no need to reread for this.}

The moment the door closed, Xiao Wu stopped walking.

The Rose Room truly lived up to its name.

The entire room was decorated in rose hues. Deep-red rose petals carpeted the floor, stretching from the doorway to the bed, then from the bed to the edge of the bath.

The bed was perfectly round and absurdly large, easily spacious enough for four or five people to fool around on. It was clearly meant to satisfy the tastes of [upright gentlemen].

The most eye-catching feature was the bath in the center of the room.

It had been built from whole pieces of natural bluestone. Hot spring water bubbled up from a spring at the bottom, its steam gathering into a thin mist.

Petals were scattered around the bath as well. Steamed by the heat, they filled the entire room with the sweet fragrance of roses.

Xiao Wu stood by the door, twisting the end of her braid between both hands, winding it tighter and tighter.

"Brother..."

"Hmm?"

Xiao Wu pursed her lips. "This room... why is there only one bed?"

"After all, men... men and women should not touch casually!"

Pfft!

Ye Hua could not hold back his laughter. She had been so brave just now, dragging me into the Rose Room, and now she wanted to run away?

Ye Hua draped his coat over the back of a chair and looked at her. "It's the Rose Room. It was meant for couples."

"Mm, but my Xiao Wu is pure and spotless. You definitely wouldn't know that, right?"

Xiao Wu's gaze darted away from his, avoiding his stare. "I... of course I don't know!"

Ye Hua smiled without quite smiling and did not press her. He headed toward the bath. "Let's soak for a while. We've been traveling all day, and my legs are sore."

As he spoke, he unbuttoned his shirt.

His young body had fully matured. Six years of growth had left clear traces upon him.

He did not have an exaggerated eight-pack, but his muscles were subtly defined, giving him both masculine strength and a natural gentleness.

Xiao Wu looked as though she had been scalded by boiling water and abruptly turned away.

"Y-you-you! Why are you taking off your clothes?"

"To take a bath." Ye Hua shrugged. "Should I bathe with my clothes on?"

"But! But I'm still here!"

Xiao Wu's face turned bright red. Her hands did not know whether to cover her eyes or her face, so she simply turned around. "Y-you go first! I'll go after you're done!"

The sound of water splashing came from behind her, followed by Ye Hua's comfortable sigh.

"This hot spring is really nice. The temperature is just right, and there are petals too. It smells so nice, like—"

"Like what?"

"Like my Xiao Wu."

Xiao Wu spun around, grabbed the wooden ladle beside the bath, and hurled it at him. "Brother! Have you no shame?!"

Ye Hua caught the ladle and yawned. "Nope. I gave it to you."

Xiao Wu was speechless with anger.

Biting her lip and clutching the hem of her clothes, she suddenly said, "Move over a little."

Ye Hua raised a brow and obediently made room for Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu untied her braid, letting her long hair fall loose as she stepped into the hot spring.

The hot water rose over her ankles, calves, and knees.

The two sat facing each other through the hazy steam.

"Didn't you say men and women should not touch casually?" Ye Hua teased, scooping up hot water with the ladle and pouring it over Xiao Wu's shoulder.

Xiao Wu turned her head away with a coquettish snort. "You're my brother, so it should be fine."

Ye Hua laughed silently, but he did not expose her. Instead, he reached out and lifted Xiao Wu's right leg from the water.

Xiao Wu's whole body stiffened. "Brother, what are you doing?"

"Your legs must be sore after walking all day." Ye Hua pressed his fingers against her calf, neither too hard nor too soft. "I'll massage them for you."

Xiao Wu tried to pull her leg back, but his grip held it steady.

Starting from her ankle, Ye Hua slowly massaged upward.

The hot spring water combined with the warmth of his palm, making it exceptionally comfortable.

Then, when she was not expecting it, he attacked the sole of her foot!

"Hahahaha!"

"Ahahahaha!"

"Brother, let go of me!"

"It tickles, ahahaha!"

"That's all it takes?" Ye Hua grinned wickedly. "I only scratched you a little. I haven't even massaged you yet!"

"N-no need!" Xiao Wu begged repeatedly. "If you keep massaging, I'll die from the tickling!"

"Alright, alright. I'll be gentler, okay?" Ye Hua paused, then changed his technique.

His thumb worked along the meridians on the inside of her calf, slowly kneading away the sore, swollen muscles.

Under his massage, her tense muscles gradually relaxed, and a sense of comfort welled up within her.

"The other one." Ye Hua lowered Xiao Wu's right leg back into the hot spring.

Xiao Wu obediently offered him her left leg. Her toes accidentally brushed Ye Hua's lower abdomen, and both of them froze at the same time.

Ye Hua took a deep breath and quickly lifted Xiao Wu's leg, narrowly avoiding a spark catching fire.

Noticing something strange about Ye Hua, Xiao Wu pressed her lips together. "Brother, can I ask you something?"

Thankfully, the petals hid what was standing straight below. "Ask."

"If one day, a lot of people wanted to kill me, what would you do?"

Ye Hua's heart skipped a beat. "I'd kill them."

"First, I'd heat up a wok with oil, then tear out their tendons and skin them, coat them in flour, fry them until both sides were golden brown, and toss them into Star Dou Forest to feed the soul beasts. Their souls could be taken out separately and mixed cold; spiritual soul beasts like Skydream Iceworm would love that."

Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "Brother, are you a demon?"

Ye Hua spread his hands. "Who told them to bully you?"

"But what if," Xiao Wu carefully turned her head aside and glanced at Ye Hua from the corner of her eye, "you couldn't kill them or beat them?"

"Then I'd ask them to kill me first." Ye Hua shrugged. "But that day will never, ever come."

This was enough.

Xiao Wu broke into a radiant smile, then suddenly leaped from the water and landed on Ye Hua. Her fragrant lips directly sealed his.

"Brother," Xiao Wu said in a trembling voice, "you know that rabbits only recognize one nest in their entire lives."

[Ding—]

[Xiao Wu's rescue progress +6%]

[Current rescue progress: 95%]

[Detected a qualitative change in the relationship between the host and Xiao Wu. Stage reward triggered: Life-and-Death Link with Xiao Wu]

[If Xiao Wu does not die, you will not die, and vice versa. Of course, if subjected to imprisonment and torture, you may still actively commit suicide. Life-and-Death Link will erase all pain from suicide and revive you painlessly, with unlimited uses.]

[Furthermore, your blissful sex life with Xiao Wu can promote the growth of both your soul power. No matter how wild things get, you will be restored to normal by the next morning, so feel free to do it more often.]

[The next stage reward will unlock when rescue progress reaches 100%.]

[System prompt: Please keep up the good work, Host, and save more goddesses betrayed by hypocrites.]

Hearing the system's notification and seeing Xiao Wu curled up into a trembling ball, Ye Hua smiled, pulled her apart, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and slept with her.

At the same time, in an ordinary hotel in Soto City.

Bang!!!

"Brat! I told you not to act so arrogant!"

Tang San was viciously sent flying, crashing into a hotel support pillar as blood burst from his mouth!