RIIDMDR chapter 12

 

Out of the blind box came a mechanical watch and a bag of flower seeds.

The seeds were wrapped in a piece of paper that simply said “flower seeds,” making them look like a three-in-one product. Nan Xu figured they weren’t valuable, so he scattered them along the edge of the fence. Each day, when he returned from fetching water, he scattered some on the ground and forgot about them.

However, Nan Xu found the mechanical watch quite useful. On the second day of wearing it—perhaps because he kept checking the time and planning his next steps—Tingchuan soon noticed. He was curious about this self-moving object.

Demon lack the same thirst for knowledge as humans; rather, their fleeting curiosity fades into oblivion. Living too long gradually wears down their passion for innovation and research. Therefore, based on the accounts of the bird tribe and Tingchuan, Nan Xu could deduce that the demon realm was far behind the human world in development. Not only did they lack the internet and electricity, but they didn’t even have cars. Reluctant to sacrifice their spiritual power, demon spirit relied solely on their wings and legs to travel.

Thank goodness Nan Xu hadn’t been so stubborn as to insist on descending the mountain. Otherwise, even if he left, he would still have had to walk to find another place to live.

As he thought about this, Nan Xu felt an even stronger sense of belonging to the small courtyard on Zhuyu Mountain.

Upgrading the courtyard required a large quantity of stone. While these were common in the mountains, gathering them was no easy feat.

It was also the season for planting dry rice, and Nan Xu couldn’t afford to miss it. From morning until night, he carried bamboo baskets of stones back home and hurried to cultivate the land behind the vegetable garden. He was so exhausted every day that he could barely speak.

Tingchuan was deeply puzzled by human behavior. While cultivating land for planting was understandable, he could not fathom why they carried bamboo baskets home to collect stones after every meal.

He had been staying at the inn for nearly a week and had adjusted somewhat to Nanxu’s daily routine. He wasn’t as sleepy during the day as he had been at first. He occasionally ventured into the mountains and always returned with something. Thanks to him, Nanxu had pheasants and rabbits to eat.

After Nanxu had carried the stones for three days, Tingchuan took the job, perhaps because he felt sorry for Nanxu’s exhaustion from juggling so many tasks, or perhaps because he had finally recovered his energy and stopped feeling sleepy during the day.

Now, Nanxu only needed to work the fields and plant upland rice.

While Nanxu was busy tilling the land, two wild boar demons carrying loads of cabbage on their backs stared blankly at the giant billboard outside Zhuyu Mountain.

The billboard was enormous. The pole supporting it was about ten meters tall. Its solar panels and LED lights flashed colorful characters, making it incredibly eye-catching.

“Brother, what is this? I walk by this place every year, but how come I’ve never seen it before?” the dark-furred boar demon asked.

The other one shook its head. “I can’t tell. It’s not stone. There’s writing on it.”

“Wow! The words seem to be moving and glowing. So pretty!” the dark-furred boar demon marveled.

The nearby wild boar demon put the cabbage on its back and looked up at the stone for a long moment. Then he said, “Brother, it says here that there’s an inn in the mountains offering 20% off food and lodging.”

The dark-furred wild boar was incredulous. “How could there be an inn in any other mountain? I’ve never heard of any demons staying here. Could this be another hyena trick?”

Hyenas are incredibly cunning. They often lure demon cubs to secluded areas and devour them. They are omnipresent.

The light-haired eldest wild boar thought for a moment and shook his head. “That shouldn’t be the case. Hyenas are too impoverished to produce anything this rare. This glowing thing must have required a tremendous amount of spiritual energy!”

“Then let’s go into the mountains and take a look. If there’s an inn, we can go through it and avoid this long journey,” said the youngest wild boar.

The eldest wild boar thought about it and agreed. They say the Zhuyu Mountains are so high and steep that they’re extremely dangerous. The wild boars have always followed their elders’ advice and circumvented the mountains. The only way to resupply is to cross the mountains and head to the river valley where the mole tribe lives.

It’s said that the two demon tribes got along well in the past, but as the two brothers began their journey to sell their goods, the mole tribe became greedy. Whenever the brothers entered their territory, the mole tribe would rip them off, taking nearly half their silver.

The eldest wild boar gritted his teeth, thinking about it, and agreed to his younger brother’s suggestion. After all, the elders had passed down stories about the dangers of Zhuyu Mountain from generation to generation. They had never entered before, but now that a large, glowing sign had been erected, it seemed likely that there was actually an inn in the mountains.

The two brothers, carrying their cabbage loads, headed up the mountain. Nan Xu, who was busy behind the house, was unaware of their progress. After four or five days of hard work, he had finally reclaimed over three mu of land.

During this time, Tingchuan also helped out quite a bit. Nan Xu hadn’t expected Tingchuan, a fox demon with flowing robes and an ethereal air, to lend a hand in the fields just because Nan Xu missed his cooking.

Of course, that was only during mealtime.

Nanxu couldn’t gauge Tingchuan’s stamina limit, but he knew he was incredibly efficient. Tasks that often required Nanxu’s considerable effort were easily accomplished by Tingchuan, saving him a lot of work.

After finishing the last plot, Nanxu wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have bothered to farm with such basic tools if he weren’t truly short of food. Think about it. In the previous human world, even in the rural village where he grew up, there was mechanical equipment or oxen to help with the work. Few relied on just a hoe or a plow.

Several days later, after sowing rice, Nan Xu was still hunched over the field when he heard a notification from the system in his head:

[You have gathered all the materials. Do you want to upgrade your courtyard?]

Nan Xu perked up, put the rice back in the basket, brushed off the mud and sand, and headed toward the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Tingchuan reclined in a bamboo chair with a bamboo cup of tea on a bamboo table beside him. His movements were carefree and effortless. Hearing Nan Xu’s return, Tingchuan turned and looked over, a bit surprised.

Nan Xu’s gaze had already shifted from Tingchuan to the pile of stones stacked at the edge of the courtyard. Nanxu had only carried the very bottom bits; Tingchuan had done the rest.

I heard that Nanxu was renovating the courtyard. He had no idea where Tingchuan went every day, but Tingchuan brought back a wide variety of stones of varying sizes. Nanxu even found a few pieces of raw minerals. Of course, Nanxu had already moved those stones aside to prepare to make beautiful furniture pieces when he had the time.

Now, the stone mountain that Nanxu saw every day had a few more heavy granite slabs—clearly the ones that Tingchuan had just brought back.

When Nanxu returned without having rested or drunk any water and stared at the pile of rocks, Tingchuan asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Nanxu regained consciousness and shook his head, saying, “Nothing.”

He had indeed been eager to upgrade the courtyard. However, now that Tingchuan was sitting in it, the house had upgraded itself so unexpectedly. If Tingchuan saw the courtyard transform in the blink of an eye, he wouldn’t know how to explain it.

It would be better to wait until nighttime when he could secretly upgrade it. After all, several other conditions were still missing for the upgrade required for the first main mission, so there was no rush.

After thinking it through, Nanxu went to the kitchen for a drink of water before returning to the fields to continue sowing rice.

—

After dinner, Nan Xu bathed in the stream. He returned to the courtyard and made the bamboo recliner he had been dreaming of. He spent over an hour crafting it every night before bed, and it was almost finished. While working on it, Tingchuan checked on the nearby eggs he was caring for.

Nan Xu buried the eggs and didn’t bother with them again. Tingchuan, however, was quite attentive. Perhaps because of his natural craving for chicken, he cared for the unhatched eggs meticulously.

“Are there any rotten ones?” Nan Xu asked after Tingchuan had inspected them one by one and put them back.

Tingchuan shook his head. “No, they’re all alive.”

As a fox demon who had lived for so long, he couldn’t have made a mistake in sensing life forces in a few eggs.

Nan Xu felt a surge of joy upon hearing this. He had a vague idea of how to hatch eggs; at the time, it was a last-ditch effort. He wasn’t even sure if it would work. Now, over a week later and knowing the eggs were hatching smoothly, his worries had lessened considerably.

The nights grew longer and longer until it was completely dark and past seven o’clock. Before arriving here, Nan Xu hadn’t expected to go to bed after seven, but now, with no lighting or other entertainment options, what else could he do?

He returned to his bedroom as usual, but today he wasn’t in a rush to sleep. He listened to the noises outside. Tingchuan was in the yard, either counting stars or doing something else; he hadn’t returned to his room yet. Nan Xu didn’t dare fall asleep. If he did, he’d sleep until morning, and Tingchuan would surely wake up before him. Then, he wouldn’t be able to explore the yard anymore.

More than half an hour later, Nan Xu, who was almost asleep, heard the sound of a door closing. He jolted awake and counted to a hundred in his head before quietly getting up. He cracked the door open and peered out. The main room outside the bedroom was dark, but Nan Xu could see that the door was closed.

He opened his system, found the task reminder he’d seen that afternoon, and clicked “Confirm.”

The night was quiet and silent. He crouched by the bedroom door, waiting for the seconds to pass.

Because his system couldn’t be kept secret, he had to be stealthy when completing every task.

Finally, a new system notification appeared in his mind:

[Courtyard Upgrade Completed, Current Level: Level 1, Prosperity +5].

Though curious, Nan Xu didn’t plan to go outside and investigate, in case his movements disturbed Tingchuan. After all, foxes have incredibly good hearing.

Without waiting for the system to announce the mission reward, Nan Xu lay back in bed, feeling sleepy, and drifted off.