Chapter 837

But Freya wasn't looking for that kind of response. Her hands trembled as she touched Ryan's pecs. She felt a little frightened but was irresistibly drawn to their raw strength. "Ryan, stay with me for a while. Okay?" As her words fell, she started massaging his back with her lips. Ryan couldn't help but touch his waist with a deep frown. He wanted to refuse but couldn't bring himself to say it. He hadn't realized that his blacksmithing would have such an impact. After Freya had massaged his back with her lips for a minute, Ryan extinguished his cigar and stood up. His eyes shone brightly with vigor. "Wait for me!" he said. "Okay." Freya wiped her rosy lips. Ryan picked up the bowl of tiger bone wine and saw that there was still a third of it left. He raised his head, his veins bulging, and his muscles tensed. Before long, he gulped down the strong liquor. Freya watched with infatuation. Ryan was perfect in every way—even the way he drank was so handsome. With the stimulating effect of the tiger bone wine, Ryan satiated Freya. By the time they were done, it was about midnight. Since it was already late, Ryan decided to leave the shovel for the next day. When Ryan woke up, Freya had just brought breakfast into his room. After being pampered by Ryan the previous night, Freya's skin was rosy and radiant, and she looked even more beautiful. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly. "You must have been very tired last night. I specially roasted a goat chop and made some chive paste as a dipping sauce." Mutton and chives were both nourishing, so Ryan was secretly pleased. Freya really knew how to take care of a man. Having her around was truly a blessing. Afraid she might lose control again, Freya left after placing the food down. She went to the coop to clean up after the chickens and ducks. After enjoying a delicious breakfast, Ryan continued his work from the previous day. He quickly finished making the shovel. Now that he was done shaping the iron tools, the next task was sharpening them. The shovel, hoe, saw, chisel, and cleaver needed to be sharpened. The sharpening work alone took him three days because they didn't have whetstones. Ryan had to grind the tools on regular stones, which was very exhausting and time-consuming. After sharpening the tools, Ryan's hands felt numb and devoid of sensation. At that point, he couldn't even lift a bucket of water. The final step was attaching handles to the shovel, hoe, and saw. This was a simple task, and Ryan was done soon after. Excitedly, he used the shovel and hoe to dig into the ground. The iron tools were much easier to use and more efficient than wooden tools—they were almost a hundred times better! He then took the saw into the forest and sawed down five or six trees in quick succession. This was significantly more efficient than using an axe. After the excitement, he felt a wave of soreness and fatigue wash over him. He ached all over. His back, legs, shoulders, and his arms were incredibly sore. Ryan felt that he needed a hot bath to make everything better. So, he fetched himself a bowl of tiger bone wine and a cigar with a third of it left. Then, he went to the bathtub. To his surprise, someone was already bathing in it—Nina was washing herself leisurely in the bathtub. She had her hair pulled up into a messy top knot, revealing her delicate face and fair neck. She stretched out her arms, scrubbing one with the other. To add fragrance, Nina picked many wildflowers and scattered them in the bathtub. The flowers were golden, pink, and purplish-red, making the bath look extremely inviting.