"Relax, my aunt's basically family!" Chiharu Mitsui giggled and yanked me—yes, me, Ryan Ling—straight inside. The second the door swung open, this wave of pure, green fragrance slammed into my face. Not your grandma's perfume—this was the real deal, the scent of living plants, so clean it went straight to your soul. Seriously, just breathing in this bath-fresh aroma, I felt like every single worry in my head was getting vaporized. If only life always came with this kind of cheat code!
Ghost Elder totally called it—Wendy Chiba is next-level. Her plant-control skills? Way beyond mine. Forget tracking down the *Primeval Heavenwood* through her (that ancient tree every cultivator dreams of), just picking up a few of her tricks would be a massive boost for my own Heavenwood sapling. Gotta admit, my hopes shot up the second I walked in.
"Auntie!" Chiharu chirped as soon as she bounced inside, voice so crisp it could wake the dead.
Wendy Chiba clearly missed her niece too—she popped right out, barefoot and wrapped in nothing but a bath towel.
"Chiharu! I can't believe you just dropped in—I missed you so much!" Wendy beamed, but then her smile froze. Wait a sec... why was there a guy standing next to her niece? And why was he (okay, me) staring straight at her chest? Cue instant scream mode.
"Who the heck is he?" Yeah, not many guys ever set foot in Wendy Chiba's place, and for her to run into me right after a bath? No wonder she freaked out.
Honestly, I wasn't thinking anything pervy—my attention was locked on Wendy's freaky plant-control aura. Plus, that addictive scent she gave off? It was actually making my *Primeval Heavenwood* grow faster. Talk about a win-win!
"Chill, Auntie, don't get worked up—he's, um, my boyfriend!" Chiharu jumped in, introducing me with a sly little grin. "Just call him Xiaofeng!" she added, making up my name on the spot.
After that, Chiharu shot me a worried look, like she thought I’d flip out—but I was cool with it. My eyes were still glued to Wendy, sweeping her from head to toe and back again, not missing a single pixel. (Hey, I'm a cultivator, not a saint.)
Wendy was crazy sensitive—being scanned by a guy like that? She yanked her towel tighter, but then, disaster: a gust of wind from outside sent the towel flying up, flashing her long, killer legs for the world to see. Talk about plot twist!
To be honest, Wendy Chiba is in her thirties, almost forty, but she’s so well-preserved it’s almost like she’s the same age as Chiharu. Plus, that unique fragrance she gives off is seriously irresistible to men.
"H-hi, Xiaofeng!" Wendy said, her cheeks a little red, but she still bowed politely to Ryan.
Ryan finally snapped out of it and quickly replied, "Hello, Auntie!"
"Alright, you two sit down, I’ll go change. Chiharu, make sure Xiaofeng gets some tea!" Wendy said, clutching her towel tightly around her chest and hips, afraid of any slips, and hurried into her room.
Ryan shook his head—he really didn’t have any dirty thoughts about this widow. He was just interested in her plant-control skills.
"Master, have some tea!" Chiharu quickly offered him a cup. The tea really was different from anywhere else—exceptionally fragrant and sweet.
"Your aunt is really something," Ryan said after a sip, feeling all his worries melt away.
"Of course she is! Otherwise, why would Master be staring so hard at her sensitive spots?" Chiharu teased, giggling as she covered her mouth.
"Hey, don’t get it twisted—I’m not into your aunt like that. Does she practice wood-type arts or something?" Ryan quickly steered the conversation back to normal.
"Master, you really do have sharp eyes! You’re absolutely right—my aunt is one of the very few wood-type onmyōji at Chiba Shrine, and she’s super talented. But the shrine keeps pushing her out, and after my uncle died mysteriously, she’s been living here in semi-seclusion." Chiharu hurried to explain.
"I see—then I’ll definitely have to pick your aunt’s brain later!" Ryan nodded. He still didn’t know much about wood-element techniques, especially how to raise the Primeval Heavenwood—like, what kind of fertilizer could make it grow faster? That was exactly what he needed to figure out!
After that, Ryan and Chiharu had a simple meal at Wendy’s place. It was all vegetarian, but honestly tasted amazing. After dinner, Wendy chatted with Chiharu about family stuff, while Ryan went to check out Wendy’s wood-element potion lab. The place was packed with all sorts of plant-growth reagents she’d mixed herself—some could make plants grow overnight, some could revive dying greenery, and some were so magical they’d make seeds blossom into full-grown veggies with incredible flavor.
Ryan browsed around and quickly picked out a few potions that could speed up plant growth. Mixing these together would definitely help the Primeval Heavenwood recover—after all the disasters it had been through, it was a bit depleted, and these potions were just what he needed.
Soon, Ryan poured the potions into the special yin soil where he was growing the Heavenwood. He’d brought this soil back from Hell—it was tailor-made for Heavenwood, and the yin-type reagents worked wonders on it.
With both combined, the Primeval Heavenwood visibly perked up. Its trunk didn’t get any taller, but the whole tree looked way healthier and sturdier.
Ryan was pretty satisfied. But just as he was about to leave the lab, a hidden little box in the back caught his eye. Remember, Wendy used to work at Chiba Shrine—and according to the Ghost Elder, she might’ve had contact with Heavenwood fragments inside the shrine. If she’d stashed this box so carefully, there could be something special inside!
Ryan glanced around—Wendy was still busy chatting with Chiharu, so she wouldn’t come in for a while. Perfect opportunity! Ryan didn’t hesitate and popped the box open, but to his disappointment, there was nothing special inside—just a bottle of red potion.
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!)
"What’s this?" Since he’d already opened the box, Ryan figured he might as well check out the red bottle.
Instantly, a wave of strong aroma hit him in the face.
"Close that bottle and hold your breath! Whatever you do, don’t sniff it!" Wendy’s voice rang out from outside.
Ryan jumped, quickly capping the bottle. The strong aroma faded, but he still felt weird—his body was heating up, and when Wendy hurried over, he couldn’t help noticing her chest looked even bigger than before.
"Wh-what is this stuff?" Ryan blurted out, suddenly realizing this potion was definitely not something wholesome. A lonely woman living alone… of course she’d have some questionable ideas!
"You—you’d better go find Chiharu, or tonight’s going to be rough for you!" Wendy shook her head. She didn’t say anything explicit, but Ryan instantly understood—this was definitely an aphrodisiac!
"Okay!" Ryan tried to suppress the effect with all his willpower, but the more he fought it, the worse it got. He even started to react physically!
"You—you’re affected that fast?" Wendy was startled. She’d used this stuff on other men before and never saw such a quick reaction.
But as soon as she said that, she remembered she was the elder here, blushed, and quickly covered her mouth. Ryan had already left, and he could feel sweat soaking his back—the potion’s effect was way too strong!
"What’s going on?" Chiharu jumped in surprise as Ryan appeared and scooped her right up.
"Cut the chatter—come with me to the bedroom!" Ryan was totally dazed, and without another word, gave Chiharu a playful smack.
Chiharu squealed, and Wendy nearly did too—she’d clearly never seen a guy this intense before. All the neighbors around here were weaklings; if they weren’t, Wendy wouldn’t have needed to use these tricks to tempt them.
But Ryan was something else. Watching his wild moves, Wendy couldn’t help but swallow. Even with just a sliding door between them, the scene inside was tantalizing in the lamplight.
In the blink of an eye, things got wild—Chiharu started screaming with excitement, totally lost in the thrill, not caring at all that Wendy was right there. It was pure madness!
Wendy was stunned—she almost wanted to barge in and push Chiharu aside herself. With fewer and fewer neighbors around these days, she hadn’t done "that" in a month, so of course she was tempted...