'But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.'
'After all, I didn't have any real connection to the Black Widow before.'
'The Multiplication Factor was so high simply because she was a powerful figure.'
'A single word from her could change my fate.'
'But things are different now. I saved her life, so she's bound to treat me differently than she would a stranger.'
'Now that she's accepted me, the Multiplication Factor is naturally going to increase.'
'I just didn't expect to get a reward for it increasing, too.'
'This time, the reward was *Celestial Master*. It was obviously meant to teach me how to deal with the Xingzi.'
'But this couldn't have come at a worse time.'
'It's true that even a last-minute effort is better than nothing, but this is cutting it *way* too close.'
'There's no way I have time to put this beautiful woman down and try to learn a few moves from *Celestial Master*.'
'I'll have to look at it later.'
Lu Yuan was running for his life, darting about like a headless chicken.
He had no idea where he was going.
The Black Widow, clinging to Lu Yuan's back, kept glancing behind them.
Although she couldn't see the Xingzi at the moment, she knew they couldn't just keep running forever.
This young man was in incredible shape—he'd been carrying her for so long without even breathing heavily.
But he was bound to get tired eventually.
The Black Widow tapped Lu Yuan with a delicate hand and pointed to an old, long-abandoned house up ahead.
"Quick, dear nephew, hide in there. I'll find someone to come get us."
'This beautiful woman sure is quick to claim me as family,' Lu Yuan thought. 'She probably knows I'm the only one who can save her right now.'
'She's already calling me her dear nephew.'
Lu Yuan did as the beautiful woman said, even though he felt he could carry the Black Widow for a whole day without getting tired.
He just didn't know if he could actually outrun those Xingzi.
Now that she said she had a way to get help, he would naturally listen to her.
With that, Lu Yuan carried the Black Widow inside.
Once they had slipped inside, Lu Yuan gently set the Black Widow down.
The Black Widow began fumbling for something at her waist, glancing at Lu Yuan as she spoke.
"You must be exhausted from carrying me all this way. Get some rest."
Lu Yuan just stood to the side, grinning at her.
"Not at all. You're as light as a feather, Madam, and so soft and warm. It's like carrying a bundle of cotton."
'Voluptuous isn't the same as fat,' he thought. 'It just means she's fleshy in all the right places, like her thighs and rear...'
'My own dear wife is built like that, too.'
'But my wife is younger, with a flat stomach, and her body is incredibly supple.'
'The Black Widow is a bit older, with a little softness on her belly, and her whole body is pliant.'
'Like a big, white steamed bun fresh from the steamer—all warm and fluffy.'
Hearing Lu Yuan's words and thinking about how she had been pressed against his back the entire time, a blush crept onto the Black Widow's gorgeous face.
She shot Lu Yuan a look of mock reproach.
"And here I thought you were an honest boy. I didn't realize you were such a smooth-talker."
But Lu Yuan feigned a serious expression.
"But I'm telling the truth! You really are soft, Madam. And you smell so good... the scent is enough to make a man's head spin."
Lu Yuan's words made the Black Widow's face turn bright red.
But his words were so forthright that she just assumed the boy was genuinely innocent.
Far from being annoyed, she actually found him even more endearing.
However, now was not the time for such talk.
The Black Widow, her face flushed, let out a soft "pah" at Lu Yuan before pulling a peculiar Jade Pendant from her waist.
She then smashed it forcefully against the corner of the wall.
The Jade Pendant shattered on impact.
Then, the Black Widow pulled Lu Yuan down into a crouch in the corner.
"Done. We hide here. Someone will be here to get us soon!"
Lu Yuan nodded and squatted down in the corner beside her.
With just the two of them in the ruined house waiting for rescue, the Black Widow's curiosity got the better of her, and she started asking about Lu Yuan's background.
'It's not like I have anything to hide.'
So Lu Yuan told the beautiful woman where he was from and all about his family.
When she heard that Lu Yuan's parents had died while trading goods down south, leaving him all alone, a look of sympathy filled her beautiful eyes.
Perhaps it reminded her of her own past.
The Black Widow grabbed Lu Yuan's hand and said earnestly:
"When we get back, you must come and live at my home. From now on, I'll be your family."
"You and your wife never had a proper wedding banquet, did you? I'll throw a grand one for you. I'll even invite the County Magistrate."
Lu Yuan was taken aback and quickly waved his hands in refusal.
"Oh, that's not necessary. My wife and I are perfectly happy living in our village."
'There's no way I can go live with her.'
'If I lived with the Black Widow, my life would be nothing but awkward and constrained.'
'When you live in someone else's house, you have to follow their rules.'
'How could that ever be as comfortable as being in your own home?'
'Besides, the hardest thing to maintain in this world is a sense of boundaries.'
'We're on good terms now because I saved her.'
'She's grateful to me now, but over time, if we're living under the same roof, seeing each other day in and day out...'
'...friction is inevitable. I might overstep my bounds in some way.'
'When that happens, I'm afraid even something as simple as taking an extra piece of her favorite meat at the dinner table...'
'...could be enough to make her resent me.'
'And if I ever end up on the bad side of Taiping City's Black Widow, I'd probably lose everything, even a place to call my own.'
'Not to mention, I don't even need her help!'
'I'm not short on money; I just wanted to establish a legitimate status.'
'So, living together is out of the question.'
But the Black Widow had no idea what Lu Yuan was thinking. She just squeezed his hand and tried to persuade him.
"What are you worried about? My house is huge."
"I'll clear out a few rooms for you and your wife. Setting two extra places at the table is no trouble at all."
"My home is so big and empty. If you two move in, it'll liven the place up!"
Lu Yuan, however, maintained his earnest expression, keeping up his persona as a simple and honest country boy. He replied with a guileless look.
"My parents always taught me not to be beholden to anyone."
"You don't need to worry about me. My family has money, too. My grandfather used to be a County Magistrate."
"He left us a sizable inheritance. In fact, I just bought a few shops in the city yesterday. I'm not short on cash."
"I helped you simply because... well, because you're so beautiful. I couldn't bear to see a great beauty like you meet her end like that."
'On second thought,' Lu Yuan decided, 'I'd better reveal some of my financial situation.'
'After all, if we're going to be dealing with each other in the future, she could easily find out about the shops if she decided to investigate me.'
'If she found out later, my persona as a simple, honest man would be ruined.'
'It would just make her suspicious of my motives.'
'It's better to just be upfront about it.'
After Lu Yuan said all this, the Black Widow found herself completely charmed by him.
She thought this young man was so refreshingly direct and honest, yet also simple and sincere.
He hadn't saved her for her money; he had plenty of his own.
He had saved her purely out of the kindness of his heart.
And...
...all that talk about her being a great beauty...
Those sweet words genuinely made the Black Widow happy.
It wasn't as if no one had ever called her beautiful. The men in Taiping City who had praised her looks to her face could form a line from the east gate to the west.
But what was their praise compared to being complimented by a vigorous young man in his twenties?
Especially a young man as frank and guileless as him. It was a completely different feeling.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Zhao Qiao'Er's Multiplication Factor has increased to 8. Reward: Lu Ban's Ink Pot.]
'Huh??'
Lu Yuan froze, not having processed the notification yet.
The Black Widow beside him was just about to speak when a strange laugh echoed from above their heads.
Lu Yuan and the Black Widow immediately looked up.
Perched on a roof beam was a little fiend that looked like a white monkey, cackling as it stared down at them.
Lu Yuan hadn't even had time to react to the sight of the little fiend when he felt the soft hand clutching his let go.
The Black Widow had been about to say something more in response to Lu Yuan's earlier words.
But now, she simply patted his hand with her own, her brightly painted nails a flash of color, and sighed.
"Sigh... I was thinking that after we got through this, I would truly treat you like my own dear nephew."
"But now, it seems it wasn't meant to be for us."
"Don't worry about me. Go, now. Save yourself."