Crystal Palace from Infinite Anime

"When a woman starts to feel curious about a man and wants to explore his secrets, that's often when she begins to fall." Lin Zhiyu smiled and joked with Jin Meiting in the dark, while also changing the subject as he didn't want Jin Meiting to continue asking questions or questioning.

Perhaps Busujima Saeko, like Kim Mi-ting, had doubts about Lin Zhiyu's words, but she just didn't ask anything, showing the demeanor of a lady... a great lady.

Lin Zhiyu certainly knew that there were more or less doubts in the hearts of Jin Meiting and Busujima Saeko.

There were many things that he couldn't explain directly, but he also knew that after he had successfully killed monsters with the two women twice in a row and obtained the mission rewards, even if he didn't explain anything, the two women would definitely still be willing to continue to be with him.

In this case, Lin Zhiyu was too lazy to explain any more. He just said that Shegan and Ushiwakamaru were the destined people in this world. In layman's terms, they had the halo of the protagonist.

If you follow the protagonist, are you still afraid of not getting any benefits?

Of course, Lin Zhiyu would never say that his ultimate goal was to follow behind Shegan and get assists so as to complete the main task given by the system, which was to seal the nine-tailed fox again.

Chapter 15 Ayu, stop!

After resting in the village for one night, Shegan and Ushiwakamaru hurried to leave the next day before breakfast, and the villagers could not keep them no matter how hospitable they were.

Lin Zhiyu and the other two had no intention of staying in the village, so they left the village with Shegan and Ushiwakamaru.

The sun in the early morning is warm, and the wind is slightly cool, bringing fresh air to your face.

Lin Zhiyu knew that according to the plot, Shegan was going to escort Ushiwakamaru all the way to Oshu, so after leaving the village, he deliberately asked Shegan and Ushiwakamaru where they were going next?

Before Shegan and Ushiwakamaru could answer, he smiled and said:

"Now that the world is about to fall into chaos again with the death of Taira no Kiyomori, my two companions and I want to go to a relatively stable place. Oshu seems to be a good place..."

"Eh? So Brother Lin and you guys are also going to Oshu?"

Upon learning that Lin Zhiyu and the other two were also going to Oshu, Ushiwakamaru beamed with joy, "That's great! It just so happens that Shegan and I are also going to Oshu! We can go together!"

"Ushiwaka!" At this time, Shegan pulled Ushiwakamaru's sleeve, looking doubtful.

Ushiwakamaru knew that Shegan was thinking about his safety and was worried about many things, but he was willing to trust Lin Zhiyu and the other two. After all, he had received a life-saving favor from others and had no time to repay them, so how could he suspect that they had bad intentions?

"That's it, Shegan! Next, let's go together! Brother Lin, you guys shouldn't mind coming with us, right?" Ushiwakamaru said excitedly.

Having been away from home for so long, he also hopes to have more like-minded companions around him.

Lin Zhiyu was waiting for Ushiwakamaru to say this, so he nodded and agreed happily.

Busujima Saeko and Kim Mi-ting both focus on Lin Zhiyu now, so naturally they have no objections.

And so, the five of them set out together.

In the days that followed, Shegan and Lin Zhiyu gradually understood why Ushiwakamaru wanted them to go together.

"Saeko-sister, please teach me kendo!" - This is what Ushiwakamaru would always say to Busujima Saeko when they were traveling together.

It turns out that after seeing how Busujima Saeko fought against the bride Luo with just a sword, this kid developed a deep respect for Busujima Saeko and wanted to learn her swordsmanship.

In her original world, Busujima Saeko was the head of the school's kendo club. She had taught many students who were interested in kendo and had considerable experience in teaching kendo. Teaching Ushiwakamaru was naturally not a problem for her.

This also reminded Saeko Busujima that Lin Zhiyu had previously said that he wanted to ask her for advice.

So after Ushiwakamaru found Busujima Saeko, Busujima Saeko came to find Lin Zhiyu again, intending to teach Ushiwakamaru and Lin Zhiyu at the same time.

"So I was just here by chance?" Lin Zhiyu sighed after knowing what Busujima Saeko was thinking.

"No! Mr. Lin, please don't misunderstand me. I just don't want to break the agreement." Busujima Saeko explained seriously.

Lin Zhiyu continued to shake his head and said, "Ms. Saeko, I just don't want to break the agreement... So after all, I'm just here for the ride, right?"

"Mr. Lin, I really didn't mean that. I..." Busujima Saeko frowned, struggling to figure out how to explain so that Lin Zhiyu wouldn't misunderstand her. Then she raised her eyes and found that Lin Zhiyu was looking at her with a smile.

At this time, Busujima Saeko realized that Lin Zhiyu was teasing her.

"Mr. Lin, please don't joke like this."

"Haha, I thought Miss Saeko wouldn't be fooled, but I didn't expect that Miss Saeko was actually afraid of making me sad just now."

"No, I just... I just don't want Mr. Lin to misunderstand."

As if she noticed that the atmosphere between the two of them was becoming subtle, Busujima Saeko's voice became much more hesitant, lacking her usual decisiveness.

The joke was just right, and Lin Zhiyu didn't continue talking about the same topic. At this time, he looked at Busujima Saeko and said as if on a whim:

"Speaking of which, Saeko, did you notice when I changed my name from Busujima to Saeko?"

Busujima Saeko really didn't have an answer to this question, so she just shook her head silently.

She only knew that it was not her who took the initiative to tell Lin Zhiyu that he could call her by her name.

It should be at some point that Lin Zhiyu called her Saiko for the first time, and she did not resist, so Lin Zhiyu always called her Saiko, which was a manifestation of closeness.

"But you, Saeko, always call me Mr. Lin. You are a very polite girl, but I feel that being too polite is not good. It makes people feel alienated."

"Well... okay, if Mr. Lin doesn't want Saeko to call him that, Saeko can change it, but..." Busujima Saeko hesitated and stopped talking before she finished.

Lin Zhiyu looked into her eyes and said:

"But what? But I don't know. If not Mr. Lin, then what should I call him?"

Busujima Saeko was indeed stumped by this question.

She felt that it was not appropriate to call Lin Zhiyu's name directly like Jin Meiting did. After all, Lin Zhiyu was obviously a few years older than her. How could she call an elder by his name directly? It was really rude and contrary to the education she had received since childhood as the daughter of a prominent family.

"Actually, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. People who are close to me usually call me Yu. Saeko, you can call me that from now on."

"Ah? Ah, Ayu..."

Busujima Saeko felt very awkward when she suddenly changed from "Mr. Lin" to "Ayu".

"What? Not used to it?" Lin Zhiyu looked at Busujima Saeko with a smile, and said, "You can also call me Brother Lin. I should be a few years older than you."

“…” Busujima Saeko fell silent.

She would definitely prefer to call him A Yu, and she couldn't bring herself to call Lin Zhiyu brother, as this would only make her feel more awkward.

After that, he taught Kendo to Hayashi Noriyuki and Ushiwakamaru along the way.

"Ayu, keep your back straight, don't slouch like that."

"Pay attention to the control of strength, Yu, your strength is too strong, but if you use too much force, it will be difficult to retract or change your moves in an emergency, which may cause you to suffer a great loss."

"Very good! Compared to yesterday, Yu, you have made progress again."

"Ugh~ Ayu, stop, I'm going to die~"

……

Just a change in address has actually greatly narrowed the distance between Lin Zhiyu and Busujima Saeko. In many of their daily interactions, if Busujima Saeko still calls Lin Zhiyu Mr. Lin, it seems as if there is still an invisible wall between the two of them.

But after Busujima Saeko started calling Lin Zhiyu "Ayu", and they often practiced kendo together these days, the relationship between the two became closer and closer.

This made Jin Meiting feel a little jealous.

Well...so the one who asked Ayu to stop was of course not Busujima Saeko but Kim Mi-cho.

The journey was long, and occasionally when they stayed overnight in an inn, Jin Meiting would sneak into Lin Zhiyu's room. Even though she knew that Lin Zhiyu was not afraid of magic, she still cast magic on him and said to him, "Little dog, the master also wants to lick you tonight~"

At times like this, Lin Zhiyu would always cooperate with Jin Meiting at first, and then at some point, he would start doing whatever he wanted.

After all, she is a mature woman, and Jin Meiting understands romance. Every time Lin Zhiyu disobeys, she either panics or blames him angrily, just like a queen who has been humiliated after having played herself out.

Lin Zhiyu loves humiliating the Queen so much that he can't stop...

The author says:

Author's words: These two chapters are a transition

Chapter 16: Sacrifice

That evening, the sky was dim and the sun was already halfway down the mountain.

A remote village far away from the official road. Lin Zhiyu and others came here with an elderly woodcutter.

"This is our village, Pingyuan Village. Do you see those two houses in front? That's my home."

The woodcutter who was leading the way and talking was a square-faced man in his forties with a thick beard.

About an hour ago, Lin Zhiyu and others met a woodcutter. As it was getting late, they asked the woodcutter if there were any inns or towns nearby where they could stay.

Then, Lin Zhiyu and others were brought by the woodcutter to a place called Pingyuan Village.

According to the woodcutter, within a radius of dozens of miles, Pingyuan Village is the only place to stay.

Moreover, Pingyuan Village is far away from the main road and is located in a remote area. It was only because Lin Zhiyu and others were lucky that they met a woodcutter who led the way. Otherwise, they might not be able to find Pingyuan Village and would have to sleep in the wilderness tonight!

Now, after a day's journey and seeing that it was almost dark, Lin Zhiyu and the others finally found a place to rest that was sheltered from the wind and rain.

The woodcutter's house consists of two houses, one of which is larger and has a small courtyard surrounded by a fence outside.

When Lin Zhiyu and others arrived with the woodcutter, a chubby little girl was squatting in the yard playing with insects. She was using a small wooden stick to drive several woodlice towards the location of a centipede.

"Yuanzi, why are you moving stones and digging the soil to look for bugs again? We have guests at home. Go call your grandma and tell her to light a fire and cook."

"Grandpa! What do you mean by guest? Is it something you can eat?"

"Little fool! Guests are the distinguished guests who come to visit our home. These older brothers and sisters behind me are the distinguished guests who came to visit our home today."

"Oh...but what does it mean to be a distinguished guest? Is it the same as not being allowed to eat like a guest?"

The chubby girl, who was only four years old, stood there with her eyes wide open, looking at Lin Zhiyu and others curiously, while asking her grandfather who had just returned from chopping wood.

The woodcutter was too lazy to explain to his granddaughter who was not very smart, so he patted her on the head and told her to be obedient and go into the house to find her grandmother.

The little girl looked at Lin Zhiyu and the others curiously one last time, then turned and ran towards the right of the two houses.

Lin Zhiyu and others, led by the woodcutter, then walked into the house on the left.

"Excuse me, my granddaughter, Xiaoyuan, doesn't like to think. She's only interested in delicious and fun things."

"Haha, kids are like this, aren't they?"

Lin Zhiyu was closest to the woodcutter, and he was basically the one who talked to the woodcutter in the team.

After they entered the house, they moved stools and sat down at the invitation of the woodcutter.

The woodcutter went out again to unload the firewood on his back, and then came back to continue greeting Lin Zhiyu and others.

At this time, Shegan, who was leaning on a Zen stick, seemed to have been holding it in for a long time and finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He said curiously, there are mountains everywhere around the village, but why do the woodcutters have to run so far to chop wood?

"Haha, if I hadn't run so far, wouldn't I have had the good fortune to meet those noble people today?"

The woodcutter smiled, but when he realized that Shegan didn't respond to his joking words, he continued in a low voice, "Alas... there's nothing we can do. There are often ferocious beasts in the nearby mountains. If the villagers want to chop wood or gather herbs, they have to go far away."

While they were talking, the chubby little girl Yuanzi came and told the woodcutter that her grandmother was already making a fire and cooking.

"Okay, Yuanzi, go and help grandma first! Grandpa wants to greet the guests, and you, little girl, don't think about causing trouble for grandpa." The woodcutter rubbed Yuanzi's head and then sent Yuanzi away.

The chubby little girl pursed her eyelids and stuck out her tongue, making a "lu" sound at the woodcutter, but still walked out obediently.

After Mariko left, Ushiwakamaru said with a smile:

"Yuanzi is so cute, why aren't her parents here?"

As Ushiwakamaru asked this tactless question, the room suddenly became quiet.

But the woodcutter did not let Ushiwakamaru continue to be embarrassed. He quickly forced a smile and said that Mariko's parents had died early due to illness.

"Uh... I'm sorry, uncle, I shouldn't ask so many questions." Ushiwakamaru felt embarrassed and immediately stood up and bowed to the woodcutter to apologize.

The woodcutter asked Ushiwakamaru to sit down and said that what was done was done. He was about to say something else when he heard the shouts of fellow villagers outside.

"Excuse me, everyone. I'm going out to see what's going on." The woodcutter smiled apologetically and walked out of the house.

Lin Zhiyu and others sat around the newly lit stove to keep warm. Just a few seconds after the woodcutter left, the little fat girl ran back into the house.

This girl was not afraid of strangers. After entering the house, she hid between Shegan and Busujima Saeko and warmed herself by the fire with everyone else.

"Big sister, big brother, are you hungry?" the little girl asked loudly with her head raised.

Although this girl doesn't seem to be very smart, a chubby and silly child like this actually makes her more adorable.

Busujima Saeko liked this girl very much, so she touched the fat girl's head and said softly:

"What's going on? Does Yuanzi have something delicious hidden in his hand and is ready to take it out to treat his brothers and sisters?"

Busujima Saeko had noticed long ago that Mariko was standing by the fire with only one hand extended to keep warm.

"The quantity is limited! Sister, I can only serve you." Yuanzi looked at Busujima Saeko innocently and pulled one of Busujima Saeko's hands in front of her.

So Busujima Saeko cooperated and spread out her hands, waiting for Yuanzi to put the good things in her hands.