Chapter 265: Chapter 157: Say It! Are You Thinking About Another Woman?

"Don’t be so formal!"

In no time, the servants at the Post House had moved a bathtub into Lu Yuan’s room, running back and forth several times.

They filled the tub with hot water and even scattered some rose petals on top.

Seeing the servants were more or less finished, Lu Yuan dismissed them.

Lu Yuan looked at the petals in the tub and shook his head with a wry smile.

’Don’t tell me these servants think I’m planning to take a lovers’ bath? They even scattered flower petals.’

Lu Yuan stripped down and hopped into the tub.

’Ah, this feels amazing~ The water temperature is just right. If only my wife were here.’

Then we could have had our own ’Legend of the White Snake’ moment.

Lu Yuan took the opportunity to have a good soak and relax. He leaned against the edge of the tub and even dozed off for a while.

He had been truly exhausted today.

By the time Lu Yuan woke up, the water had grown a little cold.

After washing up, Lu Yuan called the servants to take the tub away.

Lu Yuan cracked his knuckles. ’Alright, that’s about it. I just need to make a few thermal boxes.’

After making the boxes, Lu Yuan collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. He felt tired, but not hungry.

The sleepiness was especially overwhelming after his bath.

「The next day.」

The Mansion Guards received the thermal bags from the Young Master Nephew and led a group of several dozen men up the mountain in a great procession.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan stayed in his room, examining the Long Snake’s body for anything he could use immediately.

After all, the Long Snake was enormous and still needed to be butchered.

He couldn’t exactly make a mess of his room with this thing.

So, to properly deal with it, he would have to find a spacious, open area outside.

Lu Yuan started by breaking off the Long Snake’s two large fangs and retrieving them from his System Space.

’Hmm~ This snake didn’t brush its teeth. They smell a little, but the material seems incredibly hard.’

Looking at the two fangs in his hands, Lu Yuan thought they would make a good pair of daggers.

He could also make them into two short scimitars, but he wasn’t used to wielding those.

While the Mansion Guards were still busy transporting the ice shards for him, Lu Yuan began working on the two snake fangs in his room.

He gathered his tools and began forging them step-by-step, following the methods described in *Alchemy*.

The daggers didn’t require any complicated forging techniques.

The difficult part was that the Snake Fangs were extremely hard, making them very tough to grind and polish.

After a full morning of work, Lu Yuan looked at the polished daggers, now with handles fitted to the roots of the fangs.

Lu Yuan was very satisfied as he looked at the pair of daggers in his hands.

Wanting to test how well the daggers worked, he went outside, found a wild tree, and slashed at it with a dagger held in a reverse grip.

A deep gash was instantly carved into the tree trunk.

Looking at the gash, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but praise the sharpness of the daggers made from the Long Snake’s fangs.

The cut surface of the gash began to turn black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lu Yuan was startled by this change.

’Could it be that these Long Snake fangs are poisonous?’

He tried a few more times, even cutting the trunk with an ordinary sharp tool for comparison.

Only the gashes made by the daggers turned black.

Now, Lu Yuan understood.

The Long Snake’s fangs were inherently venomous, likely because the snake itself was venomous.

Over hundreds of years, the fangs must have become saturated with venom, which was why they were now naturally poisonous.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan didn’t dare to handle the daggers carelessly anymore.

He didn’t want to get cut by them before he had a chance to develop an antidote.

The Long Snake never even had a chance to use its venom; it was blown away by Lu Yuan’s cannonballs before it could spit any poison.

Back in his room, Lu Yuan made two perfectly-sized sheaths for the daggers.

This would prevent any accidental injuries to himself or his allies.

"Young Master Nephew, we’ve brought the ice shards down from the mountain," a Mansion Guard said, knocking on Lu Yuan’s door.

"Bring it all in," Lu Yuan replied.

A few Mansion Guards dismissed the day laborers, then took turns carrying the ice shards inside, bag by bag.

Once finished, the guards withdrew, never saying more than necessary.

Lu Yuan first moved the ice shards into his System Space.

Under the cover of darkness, he found an open area, butchered the Long Snake, and stored the pieces in the thermal boxes he had made.

He filled the thermal boxes with the ice shards from Buxian Mountain.

「Another day passed.」

With their bountiful harvest, Lu Yuan and the others prepared to return to Taiping City.

Lu Yuan had harvested the Snow Clam and the Long Snake, while Gu Ziye had harvested several large bags of local specialties from the nearby Lower County.

Gu Ziye rode her horse, munching on the snacks she had bought in the Lower County at the foot of Buxian Mountain.

From time to time, she would ask Lu Yuan if he wanted any.

Lu Yuan declined Gu Ziye’s kind offer, as he wasn’t fond of such things.

On the main road, Lu Yuan occasionally saw pedestrians coming and going on bicycles.

Compared to bicycles, Lu Yuan still preferred riding a horse. At least he didn’t have to exert himself.

For ordinary families, bicycles were much cheaper than horses.

When he had set the price for the bicycles, Lu Yuan had also taken the common people into consideration.

Now, any family with a little extra money could afford one.

Looking at these products that were so out of place in this era, Lu Yuan mused on how he was changing the times. He really wanted to give himself an award—the "Great Figure Who Changed the Divine Ling Empire" award!

Lu Yuan and Gu Ziye chatted and laughed, so the journey wasn’t lonely.

At least everyone was on horseback, which was much faster than traveling by carriage.

「Seven or eight days later.」

They returned to the Zhao Mansion.

Zhao Qiao’er was sitting on a lounge chair in the central courtyard when she saw her darling sweetheart walk through the gate.

She stood up and called out, "Well, look who’s back! My darling sweetheart has returned."

"That’s right, Aunt Zhao. Your nephew is back," Lu Yuan replied.

Lu Yuan took out the local specialties that Gu Ziye had gotten from the county near Buxian Mountain and gave them to Zhao Qiao’er. "Look, this is what Yue’Er got for everyone during her trip."

Zhao Qiao’er accepted the gifts, clearly delighted, and chatted with Lu Yuan for a few moments.

Then, holding her belly, she swayed her wide hips as she walked over to Gu Ziye.

She took Gu Ziye’s hand and said, "Miss Yue’Er, you’re so thoughtful! Come, come, let’s go inside and rest. I’ll have the kitchen prepare some tea and snacks for us to sample."

Watching this scene, Lu Yuan felt a little bewildered. ’That’s not right. Why isn’t Aunt Zhao being all affectionate with me anymore? This feels so strange, I’m not used to it.’

Zhao Qiao’er knew that while her darling sweetheart had been away for over twenty days, Su Liyan had been in her room, thinking only of her man.

This wasn’t the time to be competing with Liyan for her man.

It was better to let her darling sweetheart greet Liyan first.

Zhao Qiao’er was giving priority to the main wife, Liyan.

That was why Zhao Qiao’er had pulled Gu Ziye away.

Lu Yuan watched Aunt Zhao lead Gu Ziye away. He didn’t see Aunt Song, figuring she was probably busy at the factory.

’Aunt Song is a real career woman. And what’s more, she’s quite attractive.’

Lu Yuan went to find Su Liyan.

Entering the room, he saw his mother-in-law taking care of his wife. He said, "Mother, darling, I’m back."

Su Liyan’s eyes lit up as she looked at Lu Yuan. "My love, you’re finally back."

Lu Yuan could feel the fervent gaze of his wife.

Indeed, ever since Su Liyan had married into the Lu Family, the two had never been apart for so long.

Su Liyan usually followed Lu Yuan around like a shadow.

Lu Yuan had been thinking of his wife the entire journey home, and how could Su Liyan have been any different?

Lu Yuan walked to Su Liyan’s side, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her on the forehead right in front of his mother-in-law.

Seeing this, Su Liyan’s mother knew she shouldn’t intrude on the couple’s sweet moment.

Su Liyan’s mother cleared her throat and said, "Since my son-in-law is back, I’ll go and rest. I won’t disturb you two lovebirds."

"Mother~ what are you saying?" Su Liyan lowered her head shyly, wondering to herself when her mother had become so open as to tease them like this.

Lu Yuan took his wife’s hand and said to Su Liyan’s mother, "Thank you for your hard work taking care of her these past ten-plus days, Mother. Leave the rest to me."

Su Liyan’s mother said with relief, "My daughter truly married a good man. He dotes on her so much."

After saying her piece, Su Liyan’s mother left to prepare some food for her son-in-law.

Lu Yuan leaned against the bedside cabinet, hugging his wife and feeling her warmth. He said gently, "I’ve kept you waiting."

Su Liyan leaned against his chest, one hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "My love, from now on, I want to be with you always. These days you were gone, I missed you like crazy."

Holding his wife and listening to her words, Lu Yuan became momentarily lost in thought.

When Lu Yuan didn’t reply, Su Liyan lifted her head to look at him, sensing that he seemed to be thinking about something.

Su Liyan placed a hand on Lu Yuan’s face and playfully pinched his cheek. She pouted, "You’re holding me, but you’re not even listening to me. Speak! Are you thinking about another woman?"