Chapter 10: Favorability Rises Again

Lu Chuan placed the supplies inside the house.

Somewhat surprised, he asked, “Why would you ask that?”

Bai Siyu’s cheeks turned bright red. “We… we already belong to you, so why haven’t you…”

She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, nervously wringing the hem of her clothing.

At that moment, Su Ruan boldly stepped in.

“We’re all people of the world, there’s no need to beat around the bush. If you really look down on us, or if you have any concerns, we’ll just leave.”

“Leave?”
Lu Chuan chuckled. “And where would you go?”

“That’s easy. You knock me out, and then just tell the authorities we escaped.”
“As for the two of us, you don’t need to worry.”

Su Ruan gritted her teeth and declared, “Worst case, we’ll become outlaws!”

Hearing this, Lu Chuan shook his head with a sigh. “Alright, alright, stop talking like that. I know what you’re getting at.”

“I’m not dissatisfied with either of you. Two beautiful wives? I couldn’t be happier. But right now, what’s most important is solving the grain tax issue…”

“And making sure you’re both well-fed and warm.”

Lu Chuan smiled. “Besides, like the saying goes—‘If the love is true and lasting, why worry about being together day and night?’”

“We’ve got a long future ahead of us.”

Before the two could respond, Lu Chuan added, “I’ll go make dinner. After running around all day, I’m starving!”

At that, Su Ruan’s face blushed slightly.
Bai Siyu, meanwhile, stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.

If the love is true and lasting, why worry about being together day and night?

Was Lu Chuan really just an ordinary farmer?

Bai Siyu stared at him, momentarily dazed.

…

Name: Bai Siyu
Age: 16
Appearance Rating: 91
Favorability: 55
Benefits upon sheltering:

Beginner Hunting Skills (obtained)

Beginner Beast Taming Skills (obtained)

Beginner Cooking Skills (obtained)

Intermediate Farming Skills (obtained)

Intermediate Beast Taming Skills

Her favorability suddenly increased?

Lu Chuan turned to look at Su Ruan.

…

Name: Su Ruan
Age: 17
Appearance Rating: 89
Favorability: 40
Benefits upon sheltering:

Personal Storage Space: 3 cubic meters (obtained)

Beginner Kiln-Firing Skills (obtained)

Beginner Night Vision

Storage Space Expansion: +3 cubic meters

Whoa?!

Su Ruan’s favorability had actually reached 40?

Ever since he brought her home, Lu Chuan had noticed that Su Ruan—the so-called daughter of a military family—had the slowest favorability growth of the two.

But the benefits she provided were also the most valuable.

Not to mention the personal storage space—just the night vision ability alone was incredibly powerful.

Sometimes, better vision could mean the difference between life and death.

Now, with favorability reaching 40, she unlocked another space expansion!

Lu Chuan felt incredibly lucky.

On top of that, Bai Siyu had just provided him with Intermediate Beast Taming, which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

—

In the kitchen, Lu Chuan quickly cooked up a simple meal.

The three of them sat around the table.

“Oh, right!”
Lu Chuan seemed to remember something and asked, “Do you two know someone named Zhou Tong?”

“Zhou Tong?”

Su Ruan and Bai Siyu exchanged glances, then asked in confusion, “You mean the officer who escorted us?”

“Mm,” Lu Chuan nodded as he took a bite of food and gave a bitter smile. “I ran into him on the street today.”

He then recounted everything that had happened that day.

After listening, Su Ruan frowned deeply. “Do you have some kind of grudge with him?”

“I’m afraid it’s because of us…” Bai Siyu said with a wry smile. “If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t be caught up in this pointless trouble.”

“What does it have to do with us?” Su Ruan asked, a bit slow to catch on.

Bai Siyu gave another bitter smile. “Haven’t you noticed? Zhou Tong’s had that lecherous look in his eyes ever since he saw us. He probably thought that if no one chose us, he could…”

“He had that kind of idea?”
Su Ruan slammed the table. “What a vile man!”

“Husband,” Bai Siyu cleared her throat and spoke seriously.
“My family used to be well off, but after a sudden disaster, everything changed. And as they say, ‘a distant magistrate is less useful than a nearby official.’ Zhou Tong may not be important, but he’s in charge here in Hongtu County. We really do need to find a way to deal with this problem.”

“Otherwise, not only could he tamper with our grain tax, he might also make our future life unbearable.”

Lu Chuan nodded, keeping her words in mind.

Then Su Ruan turned to look at the bow hanging on the wall. “Husband, lend me that bow. Give me two days—I’ll take care of this problem for you.”

Good grief, Lu Chuan thought.
Are you sure you’re not a mercenary?
Why do you sound even more bloodthirsty than me?

Before Lu Chuan could say anything, Bai Siyu quickly shook her head.
“This isn’t so simple. Killing Zhou Tong might be easy, but a man like that wouldn’t be so bold if he didn’t have someone backing him.”

“If we’re going to kill him, it must be clean and quiet—no trace left behind.”

“We definitely can’t let it be traced back to our bow and arrow.”

Su Ruan sighed. “Ugh, why does everything have to be so complicated?”

“Husband, whatever you need me to do, just say the word! We women of the martial world never back down from helping our own!”

Lu Chuan raised a brow.
What a ‘woman of the martial world.’
If people knew you were a general’s daughter, that’d make sense—but without that context, you sound more like a bandit.

—

That night, Su Ruan and Bai Siyu lay together under two cotton quilts.

The covers were thin, so they huddled close, using their bodies to keep each other warm. In the chill of winter, their limbs entwined—an unexpectedly intimate warmth in the cold.

“Do you think our husband is really just a simple farmer?” Bai Siyu asked. “He can hunt, build things, and he even seems literate.”

“He can read and write?” Su Ruan blinked. “How do you know?”

“‘If love is true and lasting, why worry about being together day and night?’”

“No ordinary farmer could come up with a line like that.”

Su Ruan’s eyes lit up. “Now that you mention it, those two lines really do sound more poetic than anything I’ve heard before.”

The two women snuggled together, whispering softly.

Outside, the cold winter wind howled through the night.

—

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan sat alone, rubbing his temples.
His head ached.

There was too much to do. He wanted to repair the house, but first he had to hunt enough game to afford it.

Which meant tomorrow, he’d have to head into the mountains again.