Halfway through his room, Yang Ze patted his head in annoyance.
"Damn it, I forgot to sign in to her talent." He had almost forgotten about his daily sign-in attempt. Initially, it was due to losing himself in cultivation, and then it was due to nervousness about facing Lin Yue.
Shaking his head, he decided to just get more of Lin Wan's talent.
Yang Ze didn't know how he spent the rest of his day. Occasionally, he would hear peals of laughter coming from another room, followed by silence. Midway, Lin Wan even called him to serve tea and cakes.
He didn't dare to refuse her, so he could only serve the two of them while cursing in his heart.
During the entire time, Lin Yue was constantly looking at him with a playful smile on her face. He just ignored her. He was already in such a situation due to a single woman. He didn't dare to imagine what would happen if somehow this young lady knew about him too.
"Why is he covering his face?" While Yang Ze was serving them tea, Lin Yue couldn't help but ask. She couldn't understand why Lin Wan needed to go to such lengths to hide this guy. Wouldn't it be better to just let him be? If she truly wanted others not to see his face, why not give him a mask?
"About that..." Lin Wei had already thought of an excuse. "I accidentally cut off his cheeks, and now his lower jaw just flops around."
"I thought it would be much better for him to stay like this than to show his unsightly appearance everywhere."
"Hmm..." Lin Yue rubbed her chin with some suspicion. Were it before, she would have believed her words immediately. But after what she saw... It was definitely a lie.
"If you are done serving, go away and clean the bedroom." Afraid that she would force him to take off the cloth from his face, Lin Wan immediately ordered Yang Ze to leave the two of them alone.
Yang Ze too nodded in response. Every second he spent with this devil woman was torture.
Turning around, he was about to leave when he suddenly turned around and took a look at their talents.
Lin Yue's talent was: Clear Heart(Blue), Pill Genius(Green), Miracle Doctor(Blue), Carefree Heart(Purple).
And Lin Wan's talent was: Sword Heart(Blue), Serene Mind(Blue), Persistent (Blue), Enlightenment (White).
Out of all those talents, only Enlightenment was dark, meaning he couldn't sign in to it any more.
Yang Ze hesitated for a long time before deciding upon Carefree Heart. It was the highest grade talent he had ever seen.
Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fists and chose to sign in.
[Congratulations on getting the Talent Upgrade Card.]
"EH!?" Yang Ze, who was still wondering if he was getting a purple talent or a gold talent, was stunned upon seeing the message that was completely different from anything that he had expected.
"Wha... what the hell?" He was about to curse out when he saw the two figures sitting behind him. Gritting his teeth in anger, he left the room, and it wasn't until he reached inside his own room and locked the door and window that he dared to curse in a low voice.
"What the hell is going on?" He couldn't understand why he would get such a thing all of a sudden. Just from the name, he knew the importance of the item, but it didn't change the fact that he missed a talent and such a high one at that.
Just when he was looking for answers, a message popped in front of his eyes.
[Any talents that can cause changes to one's personality or extreme body changes would be converted into consumable items.]
"...." Yang Ze looked at the message in silence, although his heart was already pounding with fear. He never once bothered to think about it, or perhaps he didn't want to think about it. In the future, he was bound to come across talents that would be far too destructive in nature. In that moment, if he too gets those talents, what would be his outcome?
If one of those talents caused changes to his personality, would he still be the same person?
Thinking about it, Yang Ze's back was drenched with cold sweat. If not for such a restriction, or should he say function, he would have stepped into a pit. After all, god knows just how many talents that can twist someone's personality are out there.
"Phew..." Letting out a cold breath, he looked at the inventory menu in front of him, which was a newly added feature.
It was just like a game inventory. With ten slots, one of which had a shining card.
"Should I use it?" Yang Ze looked at his talents, thought for a while before deciding to use his talent upgrade card on Enlightenment (Blue). It was due to this talent that he managed to step into the path of cultivation so soon. He was dying to know what would happen once this talent got upgraded.
Taking out the card from his inventory, he observed it for a while. Other than a smooth metallic surface, there was nothing else. The entire card was pitch black in colour and as smooth as butter.
"Upgrade." The moment he chose to upgrade his skill, the entire card shattered into countless specks of light that merged into his body, and then...
There were no visible changes.
Yang Ze hurriedly called up his personal panel and saw the talent.
[Enlightenment (Purple): Can enter enlightenment state for fifteen minutes every day.]
"Eh!?" Yang Ze rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was just seeing things. But even after rubbing for a good ten minutes when the text in front of him didn't change, he almost flew into a rage.
"Is this an upgrade or a downgrade?" Looking at the time that had been reduced from thirty minutes to fifteen, he wanted to cry, but had no tears. Who would have thought that upgrading would result in a reduction of time?
Calming himself, Yang Ze thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Perhaps the enlightenment state is strengthened?"
This was the only plausible explanation he could come up with. If not for the fact that he had used this talent once, he would have used it to test its effects.
Shaking his head, he just sat there in silence. With the discovery of the fact that some of the talents couldn't be gained and strengthened, Yang Ze had to make choices when selecting talent carefully. He didn't think he would be lucky enough to get Talent Upgrade cards every time. Perhaps it was just some kind of newbie benefit, or perhaps it was a one-time thing.
Soon it was night, and the only sound Yang Ze could hear was the chirping of insects. At the moment, he was quietly lying on his bed, wondering about his future in this world, when he saw the door to his room open.
Standing there was the familiar figure of Lin Wan, wearing a long black robe and a veil on her face.
"Follow me." Signalling him with a whisper, Lin Wan took him to her own room before shutting the door and windows.
Once inside, Yang Ze observed the room.
At first, he thought that her room would be filled with all kinds of luxuries. But looking at the room that only had a bed, a few sets of furniture and a rug, he didn't know what to say.
"Come." Tilting her head, Lin Wan walked forward where a large traditional paper curtain was placed, hiding the scenery behind it.
Curious, Yang Ze stepped through the curtain that separated the room before finding himself standing in front of a large wooden tub.
The tub was filled with water, and there were a few glowing red stones below it, making the water warm.
"This is?" How could Yang Ze not know what it was, but he still asked in confusion just to make sure he wasn't misreading the situation.
"Bathtub." Lin Wan replied without any emotion before turning around and looking at him, "Take off your clothes."
'Sure enough.' Yang Ze complained in his heart. Even though the woman in front of him was extremely beautiful, he still didn't like how he was being treated. But thinking about the bigger picture, he just exhaled in defeat.
'Forget it. I will be the bigger man.' Taking off his clothes, he turned around only to see Lin Wan pointing towards the tub.
Yang Ze didn't ask any questions; he quietly entered the tub and sat there in silence.
"Good." Looking at the boy who was quietly following her orders without making a fuss, Lin Wan nodded in relief.
She thought about it for a long time. She had two options... She could either imprison him and then squeeze him dry for the maximum benefit. OR... She could make him dependent on her.
After tasting the rapid cultivation progress as well as that heavenly pleasure, she was more inclined towards the first option. But it was like killing the goose that gives the golden egg.
Sure, she could get maximum benefits in the short term, but the boy in question would be harmed in the process. Perhaps his physique could even stop working. Perhaps he would die after a few days... No matter how small the probability was, she didn't want to take a risk.
And thus, she thought about the second plan... Making the boy dependent on her.
Since he wants to cultivate, she would guide him. She would fatten him first before squeezing him dry.
Perhaps, increasing his realm could result in greater progress for her! Even if it didn't, at least he wouldn't die of exhaustion.
As for the matter of his escaping from her clutches... Heh! With the progress she was making, it was but a pipe dream.
Picking up a small cloth bag from her table, she took out a few bottles of different powders.
"Is she taking off her clothes?" Yang Ze, who could barely see the room due to the curtain, could only make a guess based on the sound of rustling.
Last time he wasn't able to see her figure completely, but this time, he was going to make sure that he remembered every little detail about her body.
Unfortunately for him, his hopes were shattered when he saw Lin Wan walking back with not a single cloth missing from her body.
"Focus... Practice according to the Thousand Year Art." With a snort, Lin Wan poured the contents of the bottles into the water while Yang Ze immediately closed his eyes and began to practice according to his memories.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours.
After Lin Wan poured those powders into the bathtub, the water in it turned pitch black. Yang Ze, on the other hand, closed his eyes and began to breathe according to the technique.
He didn't know why this devil was suddenly so generous and going as far as to use precious resources upon him. He didn't think it was due to a change of heart, or she somehow suddenly fell in love with him after spending a passionate night.
He wasn't naive enough to think that in a world that has always been dominated by women, he would be universally loved. At most, he would be treated as an item... a treasure... Not a human.
Shaking his head, he cleared his head of the distracting thoughts and focused on absorbing them.
Lin Wan quietly stood there in silence for hours.
It wasn't until the water turned crystal clear and Yang Ze was almost done with his practice that she slowly took off her robe, then her clothes and quietly stepped into the bathtub...
"What the..." Yang Ze, who was suddenly interrupted, opened his eyes in confusion only to see Lin Wan stepping inside the bathtub, directly facing him.
*Gulp
In a bathtub that was barely enough for one, two bodies were resting quietly.
Feeling the soft touch of Lin Wan's feet moving across his legs, then to his stomach and finally to his waist, Yang Ze didn't even have time to react when Lin Wan pushed herself forward, completely burying Yang Ze's head in her perky breasts...