Conquer the other worlds with abandon, they've fallen in love with me!

The aroma of cooking oil wafted from the kitchen.

Arya stood in front of the stove with her back to Lin Yu, her apron tied in a crooked bow at the back of her waist.

She bent down to reach the spice jar, her skirt taut, making her round hips stick out.

Lin Yu withdrew his gaze and took out the book "The Complete Book of Magic Potions" from his pocket.

The leather cover gleamed with a dark red sheen in the firelight.

Lin Yu turned to the first page. The paper was yellowed and the edges were curled. The handwriting was in a cursive style, and the illustrations were so detailed that they showed the veins of every single herb.

In this world, potion recipes are the potion master's livelihood, generating huge profits, and are rarely circulated on the market.

Therefore, the contents of this book, if converted into gold coins, could fill an entire room.

Lin Yu turned a few pages.

The recipes are arranged from easy to difficult. The first few pages contain the most basic healing potions with common ingredients and simple steps.

Lin Yu's comprehension skills made it easy for him to understand, but refining magic potions required more than just understanding; technique was the most important factor.

There are also differences among potion masters. Some can concoct high-level or even top-level potions, while others can only concoct basic potions even after a lifetime of effort.

However, the "Complete Book of Magic Potions" in Lin Yu's hand is different from ordinary recipe books.

In addition to detailed text descriptions and illustrations, each page of this book contains something even more hidden.

When Lin Yu's gaze fell on the illustration of a certain material, the illustration seemed to come alive.

The three-dimensional shape, texture details, and even the color changes under different lighting conditions of the medicinal materials are directly imprinted in my mind.

What's even more peculiar is that when Lin Yu finished reading a recipe, he could see the techniques for handling the herbs, the rhythm of controlling the heat, and the force and angle of stirring the crucible.

Countless subtle techniques and ineffable experiences flowed naturally into the depths of his consciousness, like a gentle stream.

This is not a simple memorization; it is more like a highly experienced potion master sealing his life's work and experience in some mysterious way within the pages of the book, which is now being passed on to the reader without reservation.

This is why Lin Yu was so eager to get his hands on the book.

This book can help him skip the long and tedious practice period and quickly take him from a complete novice to a proficient one.

Lin Yu looked at these potion recipes page by page, and then flipped to the next page which contained various unconventional recipes.

Invisibility potion, hypnotic potion, aphrodisiac potion, enlargement potion...

With a thirst for knowledge, Lin Yu took a few more glances at the four types of magical potions, but he paid less attention to the fourth one.

Because... Lin Yu doesn't need to. Every morning when he wakes up and looks down, he suffers from megalophobia and faints, causing him to oversleep.

Without much thought, Lin Yu continued flipping through the pages and found a formula specifically for treating women's physiological problems.

One of them is labeled "applicable to certain special physical constitutions of demi-human races".

Lin Yu paused his finger on the line of text; this was what he was looking for.

This potion can repair damaged magic circuits, and for ordinary monster girls, it is an effective treatment for "excessive secretion".

Bell's illness was this.

Fortunately, the potion is not difficult to make, and the materials are not rare. A week is enough time to make it.

Lin Yu closed the book and tapped the cover with his fingers.

The most pressing issue now is purchasing materials, which are needed for both learning alchemy and treating Bell's illness.

Lin Yu didn't have a single copper coin in his pocket.

Besides, we can't keep eating and living off Arya forever. The tax issue hasn't been resolved yet, and now we've added another mouth to feed.

Although Arya didn't say it, Lin Yu could tell that she wasn't well-off either.

We need to raise money, but the fastest way to get the initial seed funding is... to ask Bell.

Bell amassed a considerable fortune during his years as an adventurer, and his farm was doing quite well.

A cow's daily milk production can fetch a good price at the market, and her life is more comfortable than any other household in Holm Village.

As an aside, Bell's own milk was not sold as a product; it was usually all dumped.

It had never been consumed before it met Lin Yu.

It's perfectly reasonable for her to pay for the medical materials when she's receiving treatment.

Without thinking much, Lin Yu stuffed the book back into his arms.

The sound of dishes clattering came from the kitchen, and Arya came out carrying some food.

A steaming bowl of mushroom soup, with oil floating on top of the noodles, and minced meat and chopped mushrooms mixed together.

A dish of pickled radishes, thinly sliced ​​and neatly arranged, and a small plate of dark bread, toasted to a golden brown, with a piece of butter on the side.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Arya placed the bowl in front of Lin Yu and then cleared away the clutter in front of him.

She sat down opposite him, placed her hands on the table, and watched Lin Yu drink his soup.

Lin Yu scooped a spoonful and put it in his mouth. The umami flavor of the mushrooms mixed with the aroma of meat melted on his tongue. The saltiness was just right, and a warm feeling spread from his stomach outwards.

"It's delicious," he said.

Arya smiled and picked up her bowl as well.

She sipped her soup very softly, the spoon making a slight clinking sound as it touched the rim of the bowl.

Halfway through the meal, she suddenly asked, "Lin Yu... what kind of person do you think Miss Bell is?"

His tone was casual, as if it were simply out of curiosity.

Lin Yu looked up at her.

Arya's gaze remained fixed on the bowl, as she stirred the soup with her spoon, without looking at him.

"He's very tall," Lin Yu said. "He used to be an adventurer, he's alright, pretty straightforward."

"Oh." Arya nodded, then asked, "Does she live alone?"

"It should be."

"That's pretty impressive." Arya picked up a slice of radish, put it in her mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.

"Can one person manage to run a farm, milking cows and feeding chickens? Is that enough?"

Lin Yu thought for a moment: "She probably couldn't handle it all, so she hired me."

Arya fell silent.

She was drinking her soup with her head down, her eyelashes drooping, making it impossible to see her expression.

A few seconds later, she put down the bowl and stood up: "I'll go heat up another cup of milk." After saying that, she turned and walked towards the kitchen, her steps faster than usual.

Lin Yu watched Arya's retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The milk was served quickly.

Arya placed the cup in front of Lin Yu, and instead of withdrawing her hand quickly as she had in the morning, she paused for a moment longer.

My fingers touched the back of his hand; it felt cool.

"Thank you." Lin Yu picked up his cup and took a sip.

The milk was thick and slightly sweet.

The Bell family's milk was indeed of higher quality, a whole grade thicker than the milk Arya bought from the market.

"Is it good?" Arya asked.

"Um."

"That's good." She lowered her eyes and smiled slightly.

After finishing his meal, Lin Yu stood up to clear the table.

"I'll take it." Arya snatched the bowl away first. "You've been out all day, get some rest."

Lin Yu didn't argue. He sat down at the table and watched Arya carrying dishes back and forth between the kitchen and the dining table.

Her movements were very light, the apron straps swaying behind her waist, making the wooden floor creak under her feet.

After tidying up, Arya came out of the kitchen, took off her apron, folded it, and placed it on the cabinet.

She walked to the window and opened it a crack, letting in the night breeze and causing the candlelight to flicker.

"Mr. Lin Yu." She spoke softly, her back to him.

"Um?"

"Are you going to Miss Belle's place first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Let's go," Lin Yu said, "but first we'll go to the market and buy some things."

"Buy something?" Arya turned her head. "What do you want to buy? There's a general store on the east side of the village. It doesn't have many things, but it has everything you need for daily life."

"You can't buy the medicinal herbs at the general store," Lin Yu said. "We'll have to go to the nearest town."

Arya walked over and stood by the table.

She hesitated for a moment, then reached into her apron pocket, took out a small cloth bag, and placed it on the table.

The bag was small, tied at the top, and somewhat shrunken, indicating that it didn't contain much.

"Take this first." She pushed the bag towards Lin Yu. "It's not much, but it should be enough for an emergency."

Lin Yu didn't take it. He looked down at the cloth bag on the table. This money was probably all of Arya's belongings.

'What a naive woman,' Lin Yu murmured to himself. 'Isn't she afraid I'm a bad guy who'll take the money and run away?'

Of course, Lin Yu's goal was never money.

"Here's yours back," Arya said again. "The milk and smoked meat you brought back will save me a lot of money; consider this an advance payment."

Lin Yu looked up at her.

Arya looked at him, her expression serious and composed.

The candlelight cast a warm glow on her face, her eyes bright and unwavering, without any hint of the superiority often associated with almsgivers.

"Okay." Lin Yu picked up the cloth bag and weighed it in his hand.

He unbuttoned the coin and peeked inside. There were about a dozen copper coins, three silver coins, and one gold coin, all neatly stacked.

That's probably all of his belongings.

"Thanks." Lin Yu took out the gold coin and pushed it back, then put the cloth bag into his pocket. "This is enough. I'll pay you back when I have more money."

"No rush." ​​Arya turned and walked towards her room, pausing at the door. "Um... Mr. Lin Yu."

"Um?"

"What do you want to eat tomorrow morning? I'll get up early and make it."

"Whatever, everything you make is delicious."

Arya didn't turn around, but Lin Yu noticed that the tips of her ears had turned slightly red.

"Okay," she said, pushing open the door and entering the room.

The wooden door closed with a click of the latch.

Lin Yu sat at the table for a while, then got up and blew out the oil lamp.

......