Chapter 12

Ningguang called out to stop her, saying, "Mister Lu Lin has already met with me, and I have a thorough understanding of the details regarding the Guili Plains. Ganyu, you and Mister Lu Lin..."

"Lu Lin is a wonderful person. During the Lantern Rite holiday this year, I'm planning to take him to Mt. Aozang to visit my master." When the topic turned to Lu Lin, Ganyu's heart grew calm — she even openly acknowledged her relationship with him.

Sis, he's a scoundrel — anything but a good person!

Ningguang was speechless inside. She wanted to say something but didn't know where to begin. Was she supposed to drag Ganyu into the lounge right now and show her the strawberries she'd grown at the mountaintop?

That wouldn't prove they were left by Lu Lin anyway.

The relationship between an adeptus and a human was inherently difficult to untangle. Without sufficient evidence, bringing it up to Ganyu like this might even backfire.

She was perceptive enough to know that trying to reason with a girl who had already fallen in love was a thankless endeavor.

She had also considered bringing up the matter of Hu Tao, but on second thought, whatever she could see, Ganyu could see just as well. If there were hidden circumstances involved, she was actually the one who didn't know the full picture — there was no need to meddle unnecessarily.

No matter how hard she tried, she never could have imagined that just a short while ago, Ganyu and Hu Tao had both reached the summit together.

And she herself... might she one day join their ranks?

"Congratulations, Miss Ganyu, on finding a wonderful match." Ningguang smiled warmly. "Mister Lu Lin carries himself with remarkable grace and talent, and he rendered great service at the Guili Plains. I'm quite curious about him myself. Could you tell me, Miss Ganyu — what kind of person is he, really?"

"Miss Ningguang wants to learn more about Lu Lin?"

"Of course. A talent this rare — naturally I'd want to know more. Who knows, there may even be opportunities for cooperation in the future."

"We're having a small gathering at Wanmin Restaurant tonight. Why don't you join us for a chat, Miss Ningguang? My perspective on Lu Lin may be a little biased — you're welcome to see and hear for yourself."

Ganyu said this because she had complete confidence in Lu Lin. What she didn't know was that Ningguang had already formed a very fixed impression of him.

Your perspective isn't just a little biased — it's completely skewed!

Ningguang grumbled inwardly, but outwardly nodded in agreement. "Then let's go together tonight. It'll also be a good chance to check in on Hu Tao and Xiangling."

She did genuinely want another encounter with Lu Lin. Only by meeting him face to face could she learn more about this scoundrel and figure out exactly what cards he was holding.

It was a pity that Yelan wasn't in Liyue right now. With her assistance, dealing with Lu Lin would have been far simpler.

Inside the Serenitea Pot, Lu Lin slept lightly and woke after only half an hour. Hu Tao, having experienced her first storm and been carried to the peak again and again, had yet to recover and was sleeping soundly in his arms.

The spirited girl was wrapped in nothing but white stockings, her fair and tender skin hidden beneath the covers — out of sight, yet the soft, delicate sensation of her against him made Lu Lin feel a renewed warmth stirring within.

Watching the girl's adorable, peaceful sleeping face, he couldn't bring himself to wake her. Besides, she had just completed her transformation today — it wouldn't do to put her through too much more.

Lu Lin suppressed the heat rising in his chest and turned his attention to the system's background notifications.

Hu Tao's Conquest Progress had originally been at ninety percent, but after the two of them had spent a pleasant afternoon together, it had advanced to one hundred percent.

[Daily interaction with Hu Tao — providing her with positive emotional value — grants 100 Points.]

[Daily interaction with Ganyu — providing her with positive emotional value — grants 100 Points.]

[Hu Tao's Conquest Progress has reached 100% — reward: 1,000 Points, 500 EXP.]

[System Level has risen to Level 2. Rewards: Host Entry: [Healing Touch]; Residence Entry: [Silver Tongue]; Serenitea Pot usable range expanded; System exchange shop inventory updated.]

[Healing Touch]: The host's vitality is greatly enhanced, and healing ability is significantly strengthened.

[Silver Tongue]: The holder's abilities related to the mouth are greatly enhanced — including eloquence, language learning, and more.

Hu Tao's Conquest Progress reaching one hundred percent had granted a one-time reward of 500 EXP, successfully pushing the System Level up to Level 2. With the System's upgrade, all its functions received a boost as well.

[Host: Lu Lin]

[System Level: 2 (300/10,000)]

[Host Entries: [Critical Moment], [Keen Intellect], [Healing Touch]]

[Elemental Attribute: Cryo, Pyro]

[Points: 2,550]

After Hu Tao took up residence, Lu Lin had also gained the Pyro elemental attribute. Moreover, he could feel that both his Cryo and Pyro Elemental Power had been substantially enhanced — likely a benefit of the System's level-up.

The newly acquired Host Entry, [Healing Touch], was also a remarkable healing ability that filled the gap in his current lack of recovery options.

As for the Residence Entry [Silver Tongue] — he had already decided who to give it to.

Hu Tao single-handedly kept the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor running, and she had put no small amount of effort into advertising to expand the business. She was also a self-styled dark street-corner poet, and her natural eloquence was already quite impressive.

So Lu Lin decided to further enhance that aspect of her abilities — he would give [Silver Tongue] to her!

That way, whether she was drumming up business or composing poetry, she would handle it all with far greater ease and far less strain.

Before long, around five in the afternoon, a well-rested Hu Tao finally woke up.

"Ahh~ That was such a good sleep!" She pushed herself up from Lu Lin's arms and stretched languidly without a hint of self-consciousness.

Her lovely figure was on full display, and the heat Lu Lin had only just managed to settle began to stir again.

Sensing the change in him, the mischievous girl leaned in close to his ear, her breath warm and sweet. "Lu Lin, you really do have boundless energy, don't you."

"Don't tease me right now — have you forgotten who was begging for mercy earlier?"

The girl stuck out her tongue playfully. "Hmph! That was a matter of my constitution — I'm just too sensitive. Otherwise I'd never beg for mercy!"

"It's not entirely your constitution. There's something I need to tell you..." Lu Lin wrapped an arm around her slender waist and explained the matter of the Entries to her.

"Whoa! Entries — they can be combined like that? This is way too fun!" Hu Tao grew more and more excited as she listened to Lu Lin's explanation.

"You're interested in the Entries?"

"Of course — it sounds like a blast! And I've already experienced one firsthand."

"I just gave you a new Entry. Want to try it out right now?"

"Let's go!"

"Then let me tell you about what this Entry does first..." Lu Lin leaned close to Hu Tao's ear and whispered softly.

As he explained, the spirited girl's ears turned visibly red. Even Hu Tao, who was never short of mischievous ideas, felt a little flustered once she understood what he meant.

"Whoa! It can do that?" Her plum-blossom eyes were wide with astonishment — yet there was an unmistakable glimmer of eagerness in them.

If it was with Lu Lin... trying it out should be fine, right?

"Want to give it a try?" Lu Lin could tell from her surprised but not unwilling reaction that this was going to work out just fine.

He pulled Hu Tao back into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her lips. Their breath mingled together, and this time Lu Lin could clearly sense the change in her.

Before, she had been quite bold, but her technique still fell noticeably short of Lu Lin's. Whenever she took the initiative to provoke him, she always ended up begging for mercy — a classic case of all enthusiasm, no skill.

But this time, she was just as enthusiastic — and no longer lacking in skill.

It was as though she had mastered it on her own, without any instruction. Her technique had undergone a qualitative leap; she could now match Lu Lin move for move, holding her own completely.

Had [Silver Tongue] taken effect?

[Silver Tongue]'s effect was to greatly enhance all abilities related to the mouth — kissing technique naturally fell within that scope.

Lu Lin had already suspected as much, and now that his suspicion was confirmed, his anticipation only grew.

The kiss didn't last very long. Hu Tao released his lips and caught her breath for a moment, then trailed downward along his neck — collarbone, chest, abdomen — until she reached her destination.

Hiss!

Lu Lin drew a sharp breath.

He had expected [Silver Tongue]'s effect to be impressive, but not this impressive.

With his formidable stamina — enough to keep pace with Hu Tao for over an hour — he nearly surrendered on the spot.

Fortunately, Lu Lin was no pushover. He held himself together through sheer force of will and avoided any embarrassing outcome.

The Entry's effect was absurdly potent. Lu Lin had only offered a few brief pointers on technique, without going into any real detail, and Hu Tao had grasped it completely — calling it self-taught mastery would not be an exaggeration.

And the effect in practice was explosive. Lu Lin felt as though he had been doused from head to toe with a bucket of ice water under a blazing summer sun — a sensation so refreshing it nearly lifted him off the ground.

Ten minutes passed. With a low groan from Lu Lin, all the ambient noise in the room faded away, and a rare, tranquil silence settled in.

After quite a while, Hu Tao slowly lifted her head. She pursed her lips like a cat that had stolen a treat.

Gulp.

She really had stolen a treat — and there was still evidence at the corner of her mouth.

The little thieving cat deftly extended her tongue and erased the last trace of evidence entirely.

Watching that expression on her adorable, delicate face, the contrast was almost unbearably alluring.

The sight of it instantly reignited Lu Lin's spirit, and in the blink of an eye he had recovered his readiness for another round.

Seeing how quickly he had recovered, Hu Tao immediately pulled a long face and shook her head frantically, pleading in a soft voice, "It's getting late — we still have to go to Wanmin Restaurant! We can't be late!"

"Right, right. Go take a bath then."

Lu Lin knew the hour was growing late and that they needed to meet up with everyone at Wanmin Restaurant, so he didn't press further. Instead, he scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.

The two of them washed up quickly, changed their clothes, and left the Serenitea Pot together, heading for Wanmin Restaurant.

The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was a fair distance from Wanmin Restaurant. The two walked side by side through the streets, chatting as they went.

"Lu Lin, I feel a little strange," Hu Tao said, wrinkling her cute nose.

"Strange how?"

"That thing I swallowed just now — it seemed to contain a very powerful life force. When I absorbed that life force, something felt like it changed."

Lu Lin didn't think much of it at first — it wasn't strange for that to carry life force — but when Hu Tao said she had absorbed it and felt a change, that was something different from what he'd imagined.

"What kind of change?" Lu Lin grew serious.

"There's a sort of... fullness in my chest." Hu Tao looked down at her own flat chest.

Lu Lin thought of a possibility. He had just acquired the Host Entry [Healing Touch], which granted him an enormous reserve of vitality. Could that be the reason?

And beyond healing wounds, vitality could also promote growth and development. Could Hu Tao be developing again because of this?

The theory wasn't without merit.

Lu Lin leaned close to Hu Tao's ear and quietly shared his speculation. The spirited girl let out a delighted cry. "Really? Really?!"

"Whether it's true or not — we can just try a few more times and verify, can't we?" Lu Lin said with a grin.

Even if it did promote development, the effects certainly wouldn't show immediately. They'd know more after observing for a few days.

But regardless, this was good news for Hu Tao. The ever-carefree Hall Master Hu let nothing weigh on her mind — except for one thing she had always quietly brooded over: her standing as Liyue's number one Pyro sub-carry.

"Oh my, oh my — this Director is definitely eating a lot tonight to get plenty of nutrition!"

"Sure, sure. I'll order you a papaya milk stew."

"Papaya milk stew? What dish is that? I don't think Wanmin Restaurant has it."

"Mmm~ It's something wonderful that's said to help with development. If Wanmin Restaurant doesn't have it, I'll figure out how to make it for you sometime."

"Ooh, then this Director will be waiting for your good news~" The girl spun around excitedly and leaned up to Lu Lin's ear to whisper, "Make it soon!"

Chihu Rock. Wanmin Restaurant.

Master Mao had specially set aside the best private room for Xiangling to entertain her friends.

Lu Lin and Hu Tao arrived first. Xiangling was busy in the kitchen working on several large dishes, while Master Mao was out front greeting wave after wave of customers.

"Hu Tao and Mister Lu are here! Come in, come in — the private room is on the third floor. Head on up and I'll have the dishes out in just a moment."

Xiangling greeted the two of them warmly.

"Good evening, Xiangling — do you need any help?" Hu Tao bounced over to Xiangling's stove and exclaimed in admiration, "It smells amazing!"

"No need! The food will be ready soon — go sit in the private room and I'll be right there."

"Alright then, we'll head up!"

The two had barely settled into the private room when the door opened again, and Ningguang and Ganyu stepped inside.

At the sight of Ningguang, both Hu Tao and Lu Lin were momentarily taken aback.

Hu Tao had crossed paths with Ningguang a few times before but didn't know her well, so her appearance came as a surprise. Lu Lin, for his part, hadn't expected that the very person he had toyed with that morning would come looking for him by evening.

He wasn't worried that Ningguang would say anything to Ganyu, though — because Ningguang had no evidence whatsoever.