RIIDMDR chapter 15

 

The eldest wild boar was embarrassed, too. Glancing at Nan Xu, he guessed that he was the owner of the place and changed the subject. “We’re here to stay, I heard there are no rooms available. I wonder if we can have dinner here?”

Upon hearing that the two were staying at the inn, Nan Xu’s displeasure vanished and he became excited. He immediately became a different person and said enthusiastically, “Stay here! We have a room available. The last one!”

The wild boar brothers’ previous unhappiness faded upon hearing this, and they felt a little more joy. They had prepared to sleep outside in the courtyard for the night.

Tingchuan was very familiar with the small, dilapidated house. He immediately realized that Nan Xu had sold his room, and his expression changed.

Seeing this, Nan Xu soothed him: “Your room is a guest room. Since we have guests, we can’t just ask them to leave. You’ll sleep in my bed tonight, and I won’t treat you unfairly.”

Tingchuan hesitated.

Nan Xu walked up to him and whispered, “We have to make money. It’s not easy to have guests in these remote mountains. Shouldn’t we make some allowances?”

His tone didn’t sound like he was doing a good deed at all, and Tingchuan was skeptical.

Looking at the man squatting before him, whispering softly with his hand on the armrest and his eyes full of cunning, Tingchuan saw his desire for wealth written across his face. He couldn’t help but give in. “Okay, I can’t make it any cheaper.”

Nan Xu smiled and looked at the two wild boar brothers not far away. “It’s just one room. You two brothers should be able to get by, right? Five hundred silver coins for a night, breakfast included.”

Five hundred coins?

The wild boar demon looked at the cabbage he had brought over the mountains. It was huge, yet it only sold for ten silver coins each!

The two brothers fell silent. The price was painful for them; it was nearly as high as the mole tribe’s. They had hoped to find a bargain at an inn in the mountains, but now their hopes were dashed. But what if they didn’t stay? Would they really have to spend another night in the forest, plagued by the incessant howling of wolves?

Tingchuan rested his chin on his arm and observed the two wild boar demons with interest. He remembered Nanxu originally telling him the price was less than two hundred coins. Now, it had more than doubled, so he didn’t say anything. If he had known how eager Nanxu was for money, he might have offered a thousand yuan when the two boar demons entered the courtyard.

What a bargain they had gotten.

The two brothers remained silent for a long time. Nan Xu wasn’t anxious. He’d heard about prices in the demon world. Prices there weren’t as transparent as in the human world, where prices are clearly marked. They often raised prices depending on their mood. The price he offered for the inn was nothing.

“Shopkeeper, can’t you get any cheaper? My two brothers travel around the country selling cabbages, and we don’t earn much. We came to the mountains to find a cheaper place to stay,” said the eldest wild boar brother sincerely.

He spoke with a genuine air of honesty, and Nan Xu was reminded of people who earn their living by toiling in the human world. For a moment, his heart softened, and he was about to offer a concession when Tingchuan said, “No negotiation! Ask again, and it’ll be one thousand.”

Nan Xu swallowed his words. Tingchuan really seemed to dislike these two boar demons!

Tingchuan was too decisive, leaving the two brothers with no choice but to compromise. Fearing that asking for more would raise the price, they reluctantly handed Nan Xu five hundred silver coins. Realizing that the requirements for the inn upgrade had been met, Nan Xu immediately submitted the quest via the system.

[Main Quest 1 Rewards Issued. Reward List: Encyclopedia System Opened, Basket of Sweet Potatoes.]

Nan Xu knew his basket of sweet potatoes had been stored in the warehouse, which improved his mood. He then suggested a trade with the wild boar demon: cabbages in exchange for lunch and dinner. Since cabbages weren’t worth much, the wild boar demon was happy to agree.

Five large, fresh cabbages weighed over thirty pounds and formed a small mountain on the kitchen counter.

Tingchuan went to the back mountain to help Nan Xu carry the thick tree trunk, and Nan Xu went to the warehouse to take a look at the sweet potatoes that the system had sent. This time, the system hadn’t searched through them. It said it was sending a basket, but it was a full basket—half a man’s height—filled with large, plump potatoes. Unfortunately, it would take some time to make sweet potato vermicelli. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy the cabbage stew with vermicelli he had been craving for a while.

After grabbing a few sweet potatoes, Nan Xu headed into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and began making lunch.

The two wild boar demon brothers entered the guest room, carrying a pile of cabbage. As soon as they opened the door, both pigs were stunned. Five hundred silver coins, and all they got was such a shabby room? Besides a bed, there was no furniture. They couldn’t even find a place to sit; there wasn’t a single stool. This wasn’t an inn; it was a scam!

“Brother, have we been scammed?” the younger wild boar asked uncertainly.

The eldest wild boar’s face turned red and white with rage, leaving him speechless. He and his brother had traveled far and wide, encountering countless cunning demon tribes, some of which were as brutal as jackals. Yet he had never imagined that they would find themselves in such a deep forest.

“That fox demon’s gone. Should we kill the owner of this inn?…” Seeing his eldest brother’s grim expression, the youngest wild boar gestured tentatively and wiped his own throat.

They had been traveling together for years and had done this sort of thing before. In the deep mountains and forests, it was even easier to do so without being noticed.

Honestly, he’d rather seek revenge on the fox demon. After all, his hips ached, and he couldn’t defeat the fox, so he could only pick a soft spot. The eldest wild boar was tempted, but he quickly stopped thinking about it. “I can’t see the true form of the inn’s owner. He might be even more powerful than the fox. If we act rashly, we’ll be in trouble!”

The younger wild boar shook his head and said, “Brother, you’re a demon who’s seven or eight hundred years old. We’re the most fortunate in our clan. We can’t gauge a demon’s power. Maybe he simply has no power at all!”

The eldest wild boar thought about it and decided it wasn’t impossible. He had been to the turtle tribe’s territory before and knew how much they doted on their newborns. Many turtle demons struggled to transform even after reaching six or seven hundred years of age. This inn’s owner might be the same.

“Hurry up, big brother! The fox tribe will be back soon. How will we steal the inn’s supplies and run away then?” the wild boar brother urged.

Finally unable to suppress his anger, the wild boar brother nodded sullenly. “He was unkind first, and I’m unjust now. It’s not my fault.”

The two wild boar demons made up their minds and walked toward the kitchen with their heads held high. They could hear Nan Xu moving around in the room.

Unaware of the demons’ intentions, Nan Xu was washing vegetables when they attacked. Yesterday, Nan Xu had caught two pheasants. They ate one and smeared the other with salt, intending to save it for the guests staying at the inn today.

A chicken was simmering in the pot. Due to a shortage of ingredients, they could only make simple earthenware chicken. However, it was well seasoned, and the chicken was firm and tender. The aroma of the chicken, cooked in an earthenware oven, was as delicious as the signature dishes Nan Xu had enjoyed at other restaurants.

He was washing the cabbage when he heard movement behind him. He turned and was met with the terrifying gaze of a wild boar. His heart tightened, and he felt the danger approaching almost instantly. He immediately remembered the stun potion the system had given him a few days ago. He had assumed it was for future use against wild beasts, but he hadn’t expected to need it so soon.

Calmly, he opened the system in his mind and found the potion stored in his system backpack. If the boar made any move to attack, he would attack immediately. However, he pretended to be completely oblivious and said, “The food is ready. There are no ferocious beasts in the nearby mountains. If you’re bored, you can go for a walk.”

The two wild boar brothers slowly approached, and Nan Xu straightened his back without making a sound. As time passed, the atmosphere became extremely tense.

Suddenly, the eldest wild boar transformed into his original form and lunged forward, but the younger wild boar grabbed his tail.

Wait, a tail?

The younger wild boar stared at his eldest brother’s original form for two seconds, stunned.

A hint of confusion crossed the wild boar’s savage face. Nan Xu had never seen surprise and devastation on a wild boar’s face before.

The wild boar demon seemed to realize something. He twitched his nose and sniffed the air. “It smells so good, big brother! What’s cooking in that pot? I’m starving.”

Wild Boar Brother: …

Nan Xu: …

Nan Xu silently withdrew his outstretched hand, which held a syringe filled with green medicine.

For a moment, no one spoke, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.

The eldest wild boar brother missed his best opportunity to attack and silently transformed back into his original form. He smiled at Nan Xu and made up an excuse he didn’t quite believe. “Haha, I wasn’t familiar with my human form, so I accidentally transformed back.”

Nan Xu found the entire scene absurd, so he laughed dryly and put the potion back in his backpack.

The eldest wild boar demon brother had also just noticed the object that had appeared out of thin air in Nan Xu’s hand. Unsure if it was his weapon, he tilted his head and looked at his younger brother. He was somewhat puzzled as to why the plot hadn’t unfolded as they had agreed.

The younger boar demon had already forgotten his agreement with his brother. His nose was tingling, and the older boar demon brother, momentarily suppressing his anger, shifted his attention to his younger brother. He sniffed the air and found the kitchen fragrant, a scent unlike anything he had ever smelled.

The two brothers swallowed simultaneously. Nan Xu had been wary of a sudden attack, but now that the danger seemed to be over, he simply believed the explanation. Through his still-pounding heart, he calmly said, “Chicken hot pot made with wild pheasant from the mountains must be delicious.”

The younger wild boar demon abandoned his elder brother and ran to the stove. Sure enough, there was chicken stewing in the pot. The chicken was golden brown, and the broth was thick. Just one look at it, and the younger brother was almost paralyzed.

Nan Xu watched the people around him from the corner of his eye and noticed that their eyes were almost falling into the pot. He was speechless. Today, he had almost been in danger, but a pot of chicken had saved him.