RIIDMDR chapter 10

 

Nan Xu paused for a moment, then reluctantly entered the kitchen.

After eating several meals of husked rice, only a small amount remained in the bamboo tube. He washed the rice and poured it into the pot. He added a few more bowls of water, covered the pot, and began to simmer it. Soon, the air was filled with the fragrant aroma of rice.

Smoke curled upward and drifted away into the forest as the wind blew. Nan Xu squatted by the fence and rinsed his mouth with saltwater. His last blind box had included a seasoning gift pack with both coarse and fine salt, so he didn’t feel bad about using it. However, he wasn’t accustomed to maintaining constant oral hygiene. He thought that if he didn’t win toothpaste in the next blind box, he’d have to find a way to make his own.

In his previous world, though, toothpaste was readily available in supermarkets, with every brand and flavor imaginable. He’d never considered how to make it before.

If only he could go back, he could just look it up online.

This wasn’t the first time Nan Xu had lamented. He needed so many things, and the system couldn’t possibly provide them all. Therefore, he would have to do many things himself in the future. However, his inability to make these things limited his ability to enhance his life’s happiness.

Breakfast was simple. Each of them received a bowl of white rice porridge accompanied by a cold dish made from wild mountain vegetables. They sat opposite each other at the main table and drank every drop from their bowls.

After eating, Nan Xu cleared the table. Too lazy to wipe the table himself, Tingchuan used a bit of spiritual power, and in an instant, the soup and oil stains disappeared.

“Does this technique cost spiritual power?” Nan Xu couldn’t help but ask.

Tingchuan rested his elbow on the table and supported the side of his face with his hand. His long black hair fell across his temples, and he looked lazy.

“Well, I used up all my spiritual energy from breakfast,” he said.

Nan Xu was stunned. He had no idea how much spiritual energy was used. He wondered if Tingchuan was complaining about breakfast. “Is that all for one meal?”

The rice isn’t from Zhuyu Mount,” Tingchuan answered, somewhat bafflingly.

Nan Xu was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Tingchuan to be able to tell the difference. “How did you know?”

Tingchuan replied, “The taste is different. Food made with ingredients from Zhuyu Mount has stronger spiritual energy.”

Nan Xu finally realized why he had said that. Since the rice wasn’t from Zhuyu Mount, Tingchuan hadn’t absorbed much spiritual energy from eating it. Therefore, he only had enough to use this small technique.

“Well, this rice was grown by the bird tribe,” Nan Xu replied.

Tingchuan asked, “Are there any other crops on the mountain?”

Annoyed and amused, Nan Xu grabbed his bowl and prepared to return to the kitchen. “Food isn’t just wild vegetables from the mountains. How can it be grown on such a large scale without anyone planting it?”

It was clear that Tingchuan didn’t know much about growing food. He nodded and asked, “Do you know how to grow it?”

Nanxu held his breath for a few seconds as the pressure of work returned. “Probably a little. After these two days are over, we’ll clear some land nearby and grow some for ourselves.”

Tingchuan was satisfied.

He seemed unfamiliar with the various crops humans cultivate, but that wasn’t surprising. The living habits of demons differ greatly from those of humans. Ning Jian had heard that bird members like the Gui often secretly lay eggs in other birds’ nests, leaving their own offspring to be raised by others.

Looking at Tingchuan again, Ning Jian was glad that he hadn’t been given a child. He only exploited his boss by painting him a pie, which wasn’t excessive.

“What skills do you have?” Nan Xu asked. “Do all demons have their own special abilities?”

Tingchuan rested his chin on his arm. A moment of confusion crossed his narrow eyes. “I’m pretty good at fighting,” he said.

Nan Xu: …Really? I don’t believe it.”

Nan Xu washed the dishes and walked toward the back of the house, carrying a hoe and a sickle. Tingchuan basked in the sun in the yard with his eyes closed. Bathed in sunlight, a young man wearing a light blue, wide-sleeved robe leaned against a bamboo chair. His shoulders were broad, yet he looked frail. Nan Xu wondered if the East Sea was short on resources. How could a fox be so skinny and hungry yet still boast about its fighting prowess?

—

The flat land behind the house spanned about four or five acres. However, Nan Xu had examined it carefully and realized that not all of it was fertile and soft. The land toward the bamboo mountain was much sandier and rockier. Currently, the only land suitable for growing vegetables was the half-acre plot near the back of the house.

The young greens had sprouted a few days ago, forming a vibrant green layer. The roots were quite strong. Nan Xu estimated that they would be ready to harvest in a week or two.

Beyond the vegetable patch, weeds had sprouted again due to the rain a few days earlier. Nan Xu spent most of the morning clearing rubble from the ground and piling it around the plot he had created.

When Tingchuan arrived, he saw Nan Xu with muddy feet and a sweaty head. He held a hoe in his hand and bent over occasionally to pick up and throw stones. His face flushed faintly from the exertion. He realized that humans were different from demons. Their lives were short, and they had little energy that constantly needed replenishing. Even the slightest bit of effort made them look ferocious.

But humans, even more so than demons, are adept at survival and finding ways to survive. Just as they did over two thousand years ago after the Great War, humans managed to send all remaining humans to another realm where they lived and multiplied for a long time. Meanwhile, the demons left behind slowly slumbered amidst their dwindling spiritual energy, wounded and aging.

“Are you awake?” Nan Xu asked, noticing him approaching.

He had just realized this while weeding the field. Many fox species seem to prefer sleeping during the day but are active at night. Judging by Tingchuan’s appearance that morning, he had probably suffered from jet lag and hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

Tingchuan hummed as he stood beside the vegetable patch Nan Xu had just dug. “What are you having for lunch?”

Nanxu wasn’t surprised and smiled. “I have to clean up the vegetable patch the next two days, so I won’t have time to hull the rice or look for food. Let’s go to the river at noon and see if there are any fish or shrimp in the cages!”

Tingchuan was silent for a few seconds, feeling a bit disgusted. “Fish again?”

Nanxu thought Tingchuan was picky and said helplessly, “It’s just one meal. Wild animals in the mountains are very clever, but fish are easier to catch.”

Tingchuan said nothing more and slowly walked back to the front yard. Nan Xu watched him leave, guessing that he was going to sleep again.

After another hour of work, Nanxu was incredibly thirsty. He carried his hoe back to the house to get some water and cook. As soon as he reached the front yard, he saw a pheasant thrashing about, its wings and beak tied with string.

Nan Xu’s eyes lit up when he saw Tingchuan emerge from the house. He exclaimed, “Tingchuan! Did you go out and catch that?”

“Yes,” Tingchuan replied. “Can we have chicken for lunch?”

Immediately, Nan Xu’s impression of Tingchuan changed. He had spent a month setting traps without catching a single chicken, yet Tingchuan could casually go out and bring one back. Was this a gift from a fox?

Now that Tingchuan was in the family, would Nan Xu no longer have to rely on his ineffective traps?

“Of course. Would you like it braised or stewed? We have dried mushrooms at home. How about chicken stew with mushrooms?” Nan Xu said calmly.

“I suppose anyone who’s been eating fish for a month would be craving other meats, right?”

Tingchuan replied quickly. “Anything’s fine. Just make it your way.”

His voice was gentle, and his gaze was mesmerizing. Nan Xu’s mind faltered, almost drifting off.

Although he knew that Tingchuan simply wanted him to cook to obtain the spiritual energy in the food, Nan Xu’s heart still raced when those two lucky charms looked at him. He secretly berated himself for his lack of concentration.

But wasn’t this skill of easily seducing people a trait of the fox demon spirit? In TV dramas, don’t they always say that a fox demon spirit can trick a king into giving up his kingdom for a beautiful woman?

“Okay, I’ll go clean up.” Nan Xu went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and headed to the stream with the pheasant.

Although the water was flowing, he always made a point of walking downhill when handling fish, and he did the same today. He walked to his usual rock, squatted down, and, with a deft movement, cut open the pheasant’s belly.

Tingchuan followed him and sat on a nearby rock, watching his movements like a supervisor. Nan Xu caught sight of this and instructed him, “Go boil some water. It’ll make it easier to pluck the pheasant’s feathers afterward.”

Tingchuan got up and went back. A short while later, he returned to the river holding a wooden basin. Perhaps the kitchen was running low on water.

Sure enough, Tingchuan scooped up some water from upstream and slowly walked back, his whole demeanor radiating laziness.

After Nan Xu finished preparing the chicken, he returned to the kitchen of the wooden house. The wooden basin held hot water, but the stove was ice-cold. Blackened firewood sat on the stovetop as if someone had tried and failed to start a fire.

Nan Xu was puzzled. “What did you use to heat the water?”

Tingchuan’s expression shifted slightly. “Spiritual power.”

Nan Xu had heard Ning Jian describe the current situation in the demon world. He was particularly distressed by Tingchuan’s constant use of spiritual power. It was as if everyone else was eating coarse food while Tingchuan scattered rice to feed the chickens.

Nan Xu’s thoughts were evident on his face as Tingchuan shifted his gaze. “I don’t know how to light a fire.”

Nan Xu pursed his lips, feeling somewhat curious about Tingchuan’s behavior. He offered a half-hearted reassurance: “Oh, it’s okay. You’ll learn how.”

Tingchuan: “Yeah.”

After scalding the chicken, Nan Xu sat in the yard and plucked its feathers. The pheasant smelled unpleasant, but Nan Xu was preoccupied with the plump meat and didn’t seem to mind. Tingchuan, however, dragged his stool to a different seat, out of the wind.

Nan Xu: …What an arrogant employee.

Tingchuan sat down, squinting his eyes lazily again.

“You’re in the East Sea. Don’t you have to prepare the wild chickens from the mountains yourself?” Nan Xu asked, watching the nearly asleep Fox.

Looking at Tingchuan’s expression, could it be that there aren’t any pheasants in the Donghai Mountains?

Tingchuan half-opened his eyes, his voice tinged with sleepiness. “I don’t usually eat them.”

“What do you eat?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan: “No.”

Nanxu: “You don’t need to eat?”

Tingchuan: “Yeah, I haven’t eaten anything in three to five years.”

Nanxu was speechless. Being a demon was easy. When he was bothered, he could just say he didn’t want to eat.

“You’re a better cook than the little Demons in the Donghai, and your bed is great. This inn will have guests,” Tingchuan added, as if trying to comfort Nanxu, who would die if she didn’t eat.

At this point, Nanxu had no doubts; he was certain that when he painted a big pie to coax Tingchuan to stay as an employee, he only heard the words “free food and lodging.”