Chapter 108: Many Thanks to Sister Shulan for Stepping In and Saving My Wife, Zhao Qiao’er

The next day, as dawn broke.

The morning light transformed into ten thousand golden threads, passing through the carved wooden window, casting dappled, shifting light and shadow upon the brocade-covered kang bed.

In the air, the sweet, cloying scent of last night's red candles having burned to their end mingled with the unique feminine fragrance of a peerless mature woman, brewing an atmosphere of languid intimacy within the room.

Lu Yuan, bare-chested, sat upright at the edge of the kang bed.

Two great beauties, their charm at its peak, swayed their fully ripened, beautiful forms as they attended to him, helping him get dressed.

Lu Yuan looked down. In his line of sight was Aunt Qiao'er's soft, raven-black hair, loosely tied into a lazy bun.

She was squatting on the floor. Those slender hands that should have been pampered and delicate were now deftly pulling cotton socks onto his feet.

"Goodness, the way you two are fussing makes it seem like I can't do anything myself."

Lu Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Aunt Qiao'er lifted her face.

That fully matured face had alluring eyes like silk, her gaze swirling with rippling spring water, as if trying to drown a person's soul within.

"Master~"

Her voice was both delicate and coquettish, every word seeming dipped in honey.

"Just let the two of us serve you a bit~"

"It's only right and proper for us to serve our own man~"

As she spoke, she had already gently slipped the warm, soft, thousand-layer-soled cotton shoes onto Lu Yuan's feet.

At the other end of the kang table, Aunt Qin was taking breakfast items one by one out of a gold-painted lacquer food box.

The braised pork knuckle in the green porcelain dish was sliced as thin as a cicada's wing, translucent against the light.

The sugar-preserved hawthorns in the rouge-red dish were as brilliantly colored as a beauty's lips.

The snow-white little buns were shaped into plump carp, their eyes dotted with red beans, looking lively and lifelike.

Hearing Aunt Qiao'er's syrupy tone, Aunt Qin merely pursed her lips into a smile, full of charm.

She pushed a bowl of millet porridge, cooked until it had a thick layer of rice oil, in front of Lu Yuan. The porridge was sprinkled with crushed walnut and melon seed kernels, its aroma wafting enticingly.

"What your Aunt Qiao'er says is right."

Aunt Qin's voice was so soft and warm it felt like you could squeeze water from it.

This softness was different from before; it was the genuine, bone-deep obedience and tenderness a woman reserves only for her own man.

"What you do outside is important business, and the two of us can't really help with that."

"You're not often at home either. Now that you're back for a little while, if you won't even let us serve you and care for you..."

She lowered her eyelids, her long, delicate eyelashes casting faint shadows on her cheeks.

"Then how empty our hearts would feel~"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan's mouth split into a wide grin.

"Who says you can't help?"

"I actually have a huge matter that I need to ask Aunt Qiao'er to handle for me!"

Huh?

Aunt Qiao'er's exquisite face instantly lifted, her captivating beautiful eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.

Clearly a mature, beautiful, and sexy woman, she now looked like a little girl who'd just been given candy.

"Huh?"

"I... I can help?"

Lu Yuan nodded heavily, his gaze burning as he looked at her.

"First, wash your hands and eat. I'll tell you in detail after we finish."

...

Steam rose from the kang table.

Lu Yuan laid out the entire matter of the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony and the Petition of Ten Thousand People.

This wasn't something you could accomplish in a game by clicking a mouse, finishing a quest, and watching your reputation points shoot up with a "whoosh."

This required promotion!

He needed to make every common person in the four provinces beyond the Great Wall know who Lu Yuan was, know what Zhenlong Temple had done for them!

And when it came to promotion, throughout the entire region beyond the Great Wall, no one was more capable than Aunt Qiao'er.

Lu Yuan's plan was simple.

He wanted Aunt Qiao'er to utilize all the shops, carriage and horse businesses, teahouses, and taverns of the White Deer Chamber of Commerce spread across the region, turning them into information nodes.

Organize the best storytellers and ballad singers.

Compile his deeds of eliminating the Nurturing Malevolence Sites and rescuing the common people into the most accessible stories, clapper talk, and lotus ballads, spreading them to every rural corner.

He even wanted to hire the best artists to paint his deeds into comic booklets, giving them away for free along with the Chamber of Commerce's goods!

After all, in this era, the vast majority of older people were illiterate.

But if it was pictures, then everyone could understand!

With Aunt Qiao'er's status as the number one chamber of commerce beyond the Great Wall, it was simply perfect for promotion.

Of course, this thing was like the American presidential elections; doing this kind of thing required a small fortune.

Previously, Lu Yuan was unwilling to spend a woman's money.

Hmm...

Of course, that was still the case now.

Lu Yuan had a bit of male chauvinism in him; spending a woman's money really didn't sit right.

But now, circumstances forced action; he couldn't afford to care anymore.

He could only ask Aunt Qiao'er to help provide the funds to get this done.

After hearing Lu Yuan's plan, Aunt Qiao'er's beautiful eyes shone brilliantly, but she deliberately put on an unhappy face, letting out a coquettish hum.

"Hmph~"

"Auntie's whole person is yours already, why separate what's yours and mine, talking about begging or not begging!"

"Auntie won't listen to you anymore~"

That pouting little expression was clearly a coy plea to be coaxed.

How could Lu Yuan not see through it? He grinned, deliberately putting on a stern face, pretending to be fierce.

"Alright!"

"Then this matter is handed over to you. You have to treat it as a top priority!"

"If I come back and find you haven't done it well, see how I'll spank you!"

Far from scaring Aunt Qiao'er, these words made her beam with joy. She seized the moment to put on an act of being frightened, her face full of "terror" as she begged for mercy.

"Aiya~~"

"Master, I know~~"

"Auntie is your woman, after all~~"

"You have to be gentle. If you break me, who will serve you in the future~"

Having said that, Aunt Qiao'er casually picked up a carp-shaped bun from the plate beside her and brought it to Lu Yuan's lips, her voice sickeningly sweet:

"Try it. The new Shandong master chef in the kitchen made it. He says it symbolizes... surplus year after year, husband and wife living in harmony."

She said the last four words very softly and quickly, but a faint blush crept up to the tips of her ears.

Aunt Qin, watching Zhao Qiao'er's seductive, bone-deep act from the side, secretly rolled her eyes with a charming expression.

Really infuriating, this shameless, slutty big mare!!!

This lustful donkey truly doesn't rest for half a moment, her seductive tricks coming one set after another!

She snapped back to reality and, not wanting to be outdone, looked at Lu Yuan and asked in a delicate voice:

"Yu'an'er, what about Aunt Qin? What can Aunt Qin do to help you?"

Lu Yuan took the bun, took a big bite, and shook his head as he ate.

"Having Aunt Qiao'er's Chamber of Commerce is enough. The rest depends on me."

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself.

Promotion is just an amplifier; his own strength and achievements are the foundation.

Hearing Lu Yuan say he didn't need her, Aunt Qin's sexy red lips pursed slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

...

Breakfast was soon finished.

The two great beauties then packed Lu Yuan's things.

There wasn't much for them to pack, just stuffing a few more stacks of money into Lu Yuan's cloth bag and adding some dried rations and snacks for the road.

Noticing the awkward way the two great beauties walked as they got off the bed, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something.

Looking at Aunt Qin's sexy, mature back, he teased with a mischievous smile:

"Aunt Qin, so you really were a virgin?"

Aunt Qin's body stiffened. She whirled around, giving Lu Yuan a look that was both shy and seductive.

"Of course!"

"You thought Auntie was lying to you before?"

Lu Yuan nodded. He had indeed always thought Aunt Qin was lying to him.

After all...

"That towel with the proof of virginity before..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Yuan himself froze. A thought flashed through his mind, and he instantly understood everything!

Seeing his look of sudden realization, Aunt Qin revealed a cunning, fox-like smile.

"Now you know why that thing didn't work back then, right?"

She didn't wait for Lu Yuan to speak, sighing with emotion herself.

"Speaking of which, I really have to thank that fake handkerchief."

"If it hadn't been ineffective, and all those fake Taoists hired before were useless, my brother's subordinates wouldn't have sent people everywhere and finally found Zhenlong Temple."

"And if they hadn't found Zhenlong Temple, I wouldn't have met you~"

At this point, Aunt Qin leaned in again, her face full of curiosity.

"By the way, that thing didn't work for anyone else's rituals, so how did it work in your hands?"

Lu Yuan looked at her helplessly.

What else could it be?

In the end, it was purely Lu Yuan using brute force to smash through the problem!!

If the ritual method didn't work, then he wouldn't use it. Lu Yuan directly took up his ritual sword and confronted that evil entity head-on!

"Because I'm amazing!"

Lu Yuan glared at Aunt Qin.

"Goodness, you! Hiring someone for a job and not telling them the truth!"

"Because of this, how much trouble it caused me back then!"

Faced with Lu Yuan's "accusation," Aunt Qin wasn't afraid at all. Instead, her whole body softened, looking at him coquettishly as she acted spoiled.

"Aiya~"

"Auntie knows she was wrong~"

"Didn't I... compensate you with both my person and my heart~"

Seeing her coy, pleading look, the little bit of anger in Lu Yuan's heart had long since vanished.

He couldn't be bothered to say more.

Thinking back, the ways of the world were strange. If not for that little hiccup back then, his relationship with Aunt Qin wouldn't have progressed so quickly.

Without Aunt Qin as the connection, there wouldn't have been Aunt Qiao'er later either.

When the old man at the frontier lost his horse, who could have known it would turn out to be a blessing?

All because of Aunt Qin's little scheme back then, he ended up gaining these two peerlessly beautiful, mature women who could topple kingdoms as his wives for free.

No matter how you calculated it, this deal was not a loss.

A little past eight in the morning.

Everything was packed. Lu Yuan shouldered his cloth bag; it was time to set off and continue towards the next Nurturing Malevolence Site!

Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin had only managed to wrap themselves in knee-length cloaks, not even having time to properly fix their hair, yet they insisted on seeing Lu Yuan off to the main gate.

The early morning in Fengtian City was piercingly cold.

Walking from the rear courtyard to the front courtyard, the wind whistled through the corridors, stinging their faces.

Aunt Qin's hand, however, was warm. She suddenly pulled a cold Mauser pistol from her sleeve and pressed it into Lu Yuan's hand.

"Yu'an'er~"

"Keep this with you~"

Huh?

Lu Yuan was taken aback, looking down at this well-maintained, gleaming piece of gear.

Without waiting for his reply, Aunt Qin directly stuffed the Mauser pistol into Lu Yuan's cloth bag, her movements brisk yet careful.

"My brother gave this to me for self-defense. I'll just ask him for another one later."

She raised those soul-stealing eyes of hers, filled with unresolvable worry.

"This thing might not be useful against those evil entities, but it's useful against other things."

"Carry it. It doesn't take up space anyway."

After stuffing the pistol into Lu Yuan's bag, Aunt Qin then asked curiously:

"Huh?"

"Yu'an'er, do you know how to use a gun?"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Yes."

Although he hadn't handled a gun in reality, back on Earth, Lu Yuan had been a bit of a military enthusiast, so he definitely knew.

As for this pistol...

Lu Yuan thought about it and decided to keep it.

Aunt Qin was right. It didn't take up space anyway, so he'd carry it.

Although Thunder Techniques were useful, this thing... was also quite useful!

Its main advantage was surprise attack!

After all, unless one reached the level of Celestial Master He Xun, who could conjure Thunder Techniques with a mere gesture, there was always a bit of a wind-up motion beforehand. It wasn't as quick as pulling this out from your pocket and firing.

However, this thing was mainly for ambushes and could only be used against people.

Like that night when Aunt Qin shot Zhao Bing in the head.

It was so fast that Zhao Bing's master had no time to react, completely unable to use his techniques to save him.

A sudden, unexpected attack was good.

The three of them soon arrived at the central courtyard.

Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an were already waiting there with their gear, each carrying a heavy wooden box.

These two lads were clever and had sweet mouths.

As soon as they saw Lu Yuan, they immediately bowed and called out:

"Brother Lu!"

Then, turning their heads and seeing the two beautiful aunts behind Lu Yuan, without a second thought, they opened their mouths and called out crisply:

"Greetings, Sisters-in-law!"

This truly made Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin's hearts bloom with joy.

For these two great beauties, this address of "Sisters-in-law" was more pleasing to them than receiving mountains of gold and silver.

The group arrived before the vermilion-lacquered main gate of the Zhao Residence.

Lu Yuan stopped, turned around, and looked at the two great beauties behind him, wrapped only in thin cloaks.

"Alright, just see me off here."

"It's cold outside. Wrapped in so little, you'll catch a chill."

The two great beauties looked at Lu Yuan, the reluctance in their eyes almost overflowing. They were just about to offer a few more words of advice when, not far away, a clear, cold female voice tinged with urgency came through.

"Uncle-Master Lu Yuan!"

Huh?

Lu Yuan followed the sound.

He saw a slender, graceful figure running towards them against the cold wind.

It was Shen Shulan.

Today, she hadn't brought any attendants, coming alone.

Her simple, elegant Taoist robe fluttered in the cold wind, accentuating her upright posture and ethereal aura.

Before Lu Yuan could speak, Shen Shulan had already run up to them.

Her face, usually as cold and clear as frost, that of a dignified elder sister, now carried a trace of unconcealable joy. Her breathing was slightly hurried, and the tip of her nose was red from the cold.

"I heard from my father and Celestial Master He Xun last night that Uncle-Master had returned to Fengtian. Shulan thought she must come to pay New Year's respects to Uncle-Master."

Having said that, she gave Lu Yuan a slight, solemn bow.

"Uncle-Master, Happy New Year."

Her attitude was extremely serious, carrying the respect a junior holds for a senior.

Lu Yuan was somewhat amused and embarrassed by her formal manner, quickly waving his hand.

"Goodness, too formal, what's this about..."

"Happy New Year to you too, all the best."

Shen Shulan slowly straightened up. Her clear eyes, like a cold pond, gazed at Lu Yuan. The corners of her lips lifted into a very faint smile as she said earnestly:

"Uncle-Master has the kindness of imparting the Dao to Shulan. This bow is only proper."

Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then understood Shen Shulan was referring to him sharing information about the Nurturing Malevolence Sites with her.

Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head, saying:

"How can that be considered any kindness? It was just you helping me, and me naturally returning the favor."

At this point, Lu Yuan suddenly turned his head and gave a slight, meaningful raise of his eyebrow to Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin behind him.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Aunt Qiao'er's delicate, alluring face, his tone intimate and matter-of-fact.

"Qiao'er, what are you standing there for?"

"Hurry up and thank her."

This utterly natural "Qiao'er" made everyone present, including Aunt Qiao'er herself, freeze in shock.

This was the first time Lu Yuan had addressed her so intimately in front of outsiders.

And the next moment, Lu Yuan did something that shocked everyone even more.

He turned back around and, facing the noble Shen Shulan, bowed deeply with utmost seriousness.

His voice was clear and solemn, echoing in the cold morning air, every word carrying weight.

"That day, many thanks, Sister Shulan, for taking action and saving my wife, Zhao Qiao'er."