Mythical Creatures Strategy Guide

Warm, smooth, rising and falling slightly with the rhythm of breathing.

Chu Sheng snuggled in comfortably, resting the top of his head on the other's chin. A few strands of hair brushed against his nose, tickling him and carrying that sweet fragrance.

His fingers unconsciously tightened, sinking into an incredible softness.

The softness changed shape in his palm, the creamy texture overflowing from between his fingers, impossible to grasp no matter how hard he tried.

This was followed by a suppressed gasp.

Then he woke up.

Chu Sheng opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a blanket of white. Arthur's hair was spread out on his arm, shimmering with a faint golden luster in the morning light.

Arthur's chin rested on his head, his right arm was around Arthur's waist, and his left arm...

His left hand holds the greatest source of life in the world.

The shirt fabric was very thin, and he could clearly feel the temperature and shape of the magnificent sight in his palm, and even feel the slight protrusion at the top pressing against his palm through the fabric.

His fingers remained clenched, and he unconsciously squeezed them.

Arthur woke up.

She had been awake for at least five minutes. Her ahoge (cowlick) stood straight up, trembling slightly.

Chu Sheng looked up and saw that her ears were bright red, the color spreading from her earlobes all the way down her neck and disappearing below the collar of her shirt. Her platinum eyelashes were trembling, her lips were pursed, and her hands were tightly gripping the edge of the blanket.

Chu Sheng's mind raced at that moment.

Galakrond, give me your power, save me!

Option 1: Pretend you're still asleep and wait for her to lose her temper and break free on her own.

Risk: The longer it drags on, the higher her anger level will be.

Option 2: Immediately let go and apologize profusely.

Risk: It's tantamount to admitting you knew what you were touching, which will immediately max out her anger level.

Option 3: Wake up naturally.

Risk: Unknown.

Chu Sheng chose option three without hesitation.

He pretended to have just woken up, yawned, and casually released his left hand, rubbing his eyes. His right hand slid down from her waist, and he used it to prop himself up on the ground to sit up.

"Good morning." His voice still carried the confusion of just waking up, his eyes hazy. "Has the rain stopped?"

Arthur did not answer, remaining in the same position, his ahoge trembling.

Chu Sheng pretended to be calm and looked around. Yin Ye was still huddled in the corner, and Ella had changed her sleeping position, her tail slowly sweeping back and forth on the ground.

The rain outside had indeed stopped, and sunlight streamed in through the edge of the collapsed roof, filling the air with the fragrance of fresh grass after the rain.

As it turned out, Chu Sheng's choice was correct.

Arthur pretended not to know anything and went to find a stream to wash himself.

After all, it was she, not Chu Sheng, who was restless in her sleep last night. She herself was out of sleep in the middle of the night and rolled over next to Chu Sheng.

The stream water was cool, and Arthur cupped his hands and patted them on his face several times until the heat on his cheeks finally subsided a little.

Useless.

My ears are still burning hot.

She looked up, and her face was reflected in the stream. Her long, platinum blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, a few stray strands clinging to her cheeks. Her shirt collar was slightly open, and there was a red mark on her collarbone where something had pressed against it.

Chu Sheng's chin.

She touched the red mark with her fingertip, then withdrew her hand as if she had been burned.

You can't think about it anymore, Arthur!

Arthur took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to calm her racing heart by silently reciting a prayer. Holy light flowed through her body following the guidance of the prayer, but instead of calming down, her heartbeat quickened.

She opened her eyes, looked down at her chest, and saw a tiny wrinkle on her shirt.

Inside the farmhouse, Chu Sheng was packing his luggage.

His movements were so slow that even Ella noticed something was wrong.

"Chu Sheng, you've folded that blanket five times already."

Chu Sheng looked down and saw that the blanket in his hand was indeed folded neatly and squarely, with sharp edges, comparable to the internal standards of the Imperial Knights.

He threw the blanket into the pile of luggage in annoyance and turned to pack his dry rations.

Silver Leaf huddled in the corner, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "Did you have a fight with the cow?"

"No." Chu Sheng's voice was normal, so normal it was almost unnatural.

"Then why did she go out to wash her face alone and take so long?" Yinye asked suspiciously.

"Girls naturally take longer to wash their faces."

Silver Leaf's pointed ears twitched. One hundred and sixty years of life experience told her that something must have happened that she didn't know about.

But she couldn't be bothered to ask. The grey elves' philosophy was that everything was just fleeting smoke in the face of a lifespan of thousands of years.

When Arthur returned, he had changed his clothes.

It was a casual outfit that Chu Sheng had never seen before: a light blue short-sleeved top with a lace trim around the neckline and fitted cuffs. The bottom was a beige long skirt that reached the ankles, revealing a glimpse of leather ankle boots as he walked.

Her hair had been re-braided; her long, platinum blonde hair was now a loose plait, hanging from her left shoulder to her chest, tied at the end with a blue ribbon. Her ahoge (cowlick) still stood up on her head, swaying slightly in the morning breeze.

Chu Sheng's gaze lingered on her for a moment.

Why does she look a bit like a certain anime heroine with a mechanical arm?

It's not Johnny Silverhand.

"Let's go." Arthur's voice was the same as usual, and there was nothing wrong with it. "Let's travel as much as possible today and reach Gray Town before dark. There are inns there, so we won't have to sleep on the floor."

The carriage resumed its journey. The air after the rain was fresh and pleasant, and the grass on both sides of the road was covered with water droplets that glistened in the sunlight. The hooves of the Pegasus trod on the damp earth, making a "pat-pat" sound.

Ella lay on the board outside, chasing the various scents on the wind: grass, soil, wildflowers, and cow dung from the distant pasture. She called out each scent aloud, like a human scent broadcaster.

"Green grass! Wet green grass!"

"Wildflowers! The fuzzy kind! Chu Sheng, what are those fuzzy flowers called?"

"Dandelion," Chu Sheng replied casually.

"Dandelions! And...wait, is this horse manure? No, it's cow manure! Fresh cow manure!"

"Ella, can you please stop being so disgusting?" Silver Leaf protested loudly, pinching her nose.

"Why? It smells so good! Don't you think so?"

Yinye decided to stop arguing with a dog about whether poop smells good or not.

Chu Sheng leaned back in his chair, quietly flipping through the strategy guide in his hand, but he didn't absorb a single word.

His gaze fell on the pages of the book, but his peripheral vision drifted to the light blue figure sitting upright in the front of the car.

Arthur hasn't looked back once since he got on the bus. His ahoge, however, has been standing straight up, occasionally swaying slightly.

Chu Sheng closed the manual and shut his eyes.

He had to admit that it felt really good.

It's not the kind of sleazy, opportunistic kind of "good," but the kind of pure, aesthetically pleasing "good."