RIIDMDR chapter 18

 

Nan Xu wanted to go inside the warehouse to take a look. Seeing this, Tingchuan followed him. It was unclear whether the two wild boar demons were truly unable to move or were just pretending. Nan Xu walked over to them to take a look. Seeing no movement, he ignored them and picked up the sweet potatoes that had fallen on the ground.

Nan Xu had taken half of the basket of sweet potatoes to the kitchen at noon, soaking them in water in preparation for planting them in the field once they sprouted. He had left the other half in the warehouse, but now the two wild boar demons had packed them all into bags, leaving him with nothing.

Nan Xu suppressed his disgust and anger. The attack that had been intended for him at noon hadn’t ended yet, and now this evening’s incident had occurred. Even Nan Xu, who had the best temper, was disgusted by the other party’s repeated actions.

He put the sweet potatoes back in the basket, ready to kick a boar demon to vent his anger. Tingchuan then stretched out his leg. With one kick, the eldest boar demon shuddered and let out a hoarse cry of pain.

His kick seemed light, but Nan Xu wouldn’t underestimate it. Seeing how he had toppled two burly men with a flick of his sleeve made it clear that the force he exerted wasn’t related to the amplitude of his movement.

“Don’t play dead,” Tingchuan said.

Perhaps Tingchuan’s kick had hit the eldest boar demon hard after all. His eyes darted around, and he tried several times to turn over but failed. Tingchuan looked at the younger boar demon.

Fearing he would be kicked too, the younger boar demon immediately rolled over and crawled belly-first onto the ground, appearing obedient.

“What are your intentions in coming to the mountain?” Nan Xu asked.

It’s no wonder he was overthinking things. These two boar demons hadn’t done anything good all day.

Upon hearing this, the boar demon’s younger brother immediately shook his head. Embarrassed by Tingchuan’s overwhelming presence, he quickly said, “No, no. My older brother and I saw a billboard outside the mountain advertising an inn. We used to stay with the mole tribe, but they’ve become increasingly greedy, always wanting more and more from us. So, we gritted our teeth and went into the mountains to find an inn.”

Nan Xu sneered as he continued to ramble about the greed of other demons.

The younger brother shrank back and continued, “We searched the mountains for days before finding this place. We really just wanted to stay here.”

“Then why did you try to attack me at noon and steal sweet potatoes at night?” Nan Xu asked.

Surprised that his elder brother’s lie had failed to fool the innkeeper, the boar demon’s younger brother hung his head, not daring to speak.

Upon hearing that the two wild boar demons had considered attacking Nan Xu, Tingchuan kicked them again. The young boar demon cried out and quickly said, “You charged us five hundred silver coins for a room with only one bed? We thought we’d kill you and steal the inn’s belongings. But we didn’t expect your cooking to be so delicious. You even gave us spiritual fruits that increase our spiritual power. We’d never seen such spiritual fruits before, so we decided to steal some.”

Five hundred silver coins…

Nan Xu was at a loss for words. He rarely had the pleasure of raising prices, and it had nearly gotten him killed. As for the spiritual fruits, Nan Xu guessed that they probably thought the spiritual power in their food came from sweet potatoes.

As if knowing what Nan Xu was thinking, Tingchuan said, “Five hundred isn’t too much. The demon world’s spiritual power is priceless. You can offer ten thousand.”

Nanxu admitted that Tingchuan had persuaded him once again, but he decided to let the ten thousand go. He would be assassinated over price tags a few more times, and he didn’t want to be as lucky as he was today.

Understanding the boar demon’s motives helped Nanxu’s anger subside considerably. So, when Tingchuan considered destroying the two boar demons’ cultivation again, Nanxu showed rare mercy and stopped him.

“Just throw them away,” Nanxu said.

Tingchuan searched the two boar demons and found several bags of seeds and over a thousand coins. Carrying one bag of seeds and one stack of coins in each hand, he walked out the door and disappeared into the pitch-black night.

Nan Xu opened the packets of seeds in the moonlight and examined them. Unable to identify the crops, he used his encyclopedia for a final search.

[Chinese Cabbage Seeds (B): Growing period 70 days, compact, uniform head, dark green leaves, tender and veinless, few outer leaves…]

Nan Xu: …

Sure enough, he was still half awake at night. There was a huge pile of cabbage in the yard, and he was still wondering what kind of seeds were tangled in the wild boar demon.

[System upgrading. Time required: 18 hours.]

This was the first time Nan Xu had ever encountered such a situation. He watched the system turn blue and clicked on it a few times, but found no response. He quietly returned to his room and went to sleep.

He slept through the next morning. Tingchuan had just returned when he opened the door. Nan Xu was puzzled. He had never stayed out late catching chickens and rabbits before, so where had he been last night?

Just as he was about to ask, he noticed that Tingchuan looked glum and weak. Thinking he was about to catch up on sleep, he hurriedly said, “Wait while I make breakfast. Eat before you go back to sleep.”

Tingchuan paused and responded.

Breakfast was stuffed pancakes with a filling made from wild mountain vegetables that had a unique flavor. Nanxu devoured several in a row. He didn’t worry about what he ate for breakfast; even if he ate too much, he’d digest it after doing some morning exercises.

Tingchuan chewed slowly, his eyes narrowed. Nanxu noticed that he looked sleepy, unlike his usual self. He sensed that something was amiss and asked, “Are you sick? Do demons get colds?”

He was worried that Tingchuan had caught a cold from sleeping outside.

Ting Chuan lifted his head and glanced at Nan Xu. From the other’s eyes, he could clearly see genuine concern, so he swallowed back the words of perfunctory reassurance he had intended to say and instead replied, “This isn’t just a cold—it’s an old ailment that’s been with me for years.”

Tingchuan’s humanoid appearance was so deceptive that Nanxu had mistaken him for someone of his own age. He had forgotten that, in this demon world, even a child could be over a hundred years old. It was only after Tingchuan spoke that Nanxu remembered to ask his age.

Nan Xu thought that those two wild boar demons couldn’t hold out for a second in Tingchuan’s grasp. With such profound magical power, they must be at least seven or eight hundred years old!

Tingchuan was silent for a moment, then said, “About four or five thousand years. I can’t quite remember the exact number.”

Nan Xu’s mouth hung open, and he forgot to chew the food in his mouth. He was completely stunned. Five thousand years? This wasn’t a demon; it was a living fossil!

The courtyard was silent for two or three minutes. Tingchuan still hadn’t heard Nan Xu chew. He looked up and saw the man sitting across from him, frozen in place with blank eyes.

Nan Xu finally regained consciousness after Tingchuan had finished another pancake. Chewing the now-cold filling in his mouth, he said, still somewhat dazed, “It’s been so long!”

Tingchuan didn’t react as if he were being looked down upon. He replied naturally, “This age is normal in the demon world. Some people even live over 10,000 years.”

Nan Xu’s eyes nearly popped out. Over 10,000 years old? Wouldn’t that be incredibly boring?

“Does your Fox Clan have an ancestor that old?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan shook his head. “No, I’m the only one left in the Fox Clan now. The one who lived to be nearly 10,000 years old died in the great war over 3,000 years ago.”

“What about other clans?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan replied calmly, “They’re all dead. Those who survived later died of illness. Only a few people my age remain from other tribes.”

Nan Xu couldn’t help but feel sad. He couldn’t imagine what had happened in that great battle. Just hearing these few words made him feel grief.

Seeing Nan Xu’s dismay, Tingchuan continued, “The demon world’s spiritual energy is dwindling. Even if they survive, their entire clan will become extinct. So, even if they don’t die in the great battle, they will choose to return to the Pure Land in the years to come.”

Nan Xu suddenly remembered Tingchuan’s words about him being the oldest demon. Could he also choose that in the future?

As if he had read her thoughts, Tingchuan chuckled and said, “I want to live for at least a few more hundred years, but you humans can’t.”

Before he finished speaking, Nan Xu understood the hidden meaning in his words, and the sadness in his heart instantly dissipated. After all, he himself couldn’t live past a hundred years, yet he was worrying about others not living past ten thousand. It was quite amusing.

“I’m only in my twenties,” Nan Xu sighed softly. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to live for thousands of years.”

Tingchuan raised an eyebrow slightly. “It’s just like a hundred years; it’s the same day.”

Nan Xu was a little envious.

After eating and tidying up the dishes, Nan Xu finally remembered Ting Chuan’s earlier mention of an “old ailment.” But in the end, he had forgotten to ask what that ailment actually was, only sighing to himself about getting on in years.

Tingchuan had gone back to his room to sleep, so Nan Xu couldn’t wake him up and ask him questions.

It would probably take two days for the charcoal in the earthen kiln to be ready, and the sweet potatoes in the pot weren’t sprouting quickly. So, Nan Xu took his hoe and went to the back of the house. First, he scattered cabbage seeds in the ground, and then he cleared a plot of land where he would plant sweet potatoes in a few days.

The weather grew hotter, and working in the fields became increasingly agonizing. After a busy morning, Nan Xu’s straw hat was sunburned. He planned to finish as much work as he could in the fields before the arrival of the summer sun.

Tingchuan didn’t come out for lunch. Nan Xu tiptoed into the guest room but didn’t see him. He paused for a moment, then returned to his own room. Sure enough, he found Tingchuan lying on his bed.

Hearing the commotion, Tingchuan opened his eyes and leaned up slightly. He asked, “Do you need help?”

Nan Xu waved his hand. “No, it’s already noon. Do you want to get up and have lunch?”

I’m not sure if it’s because I know Tingchuan’s age, but I always feel a sense of respect when I talk to him. However, Tingchuan doesn’t look like a long-lived demon, so it feels inappropriate.

After hearing that, Tingchuan lay back down. “You eat.”

Nanxu saw that Tingchuan looked better than this morning and was about to close the door and leave. But just as the door was barely open, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you sleeping in the guest room?”

Tingchuan lazily mumbled, “No, the wild boar demon slept there. It stinks.”

Nanxu: “Huh?”

After closing the door, Nanxu returned to the guest room. Honestly, he couldn’t smell the stench Tingchuan had described, but foxes have a keener sense of smell than humans do. To prevent the next customer from being put off by it, Nanxu carried the mattress to the yard and hung it on a bamboo rack to dry. Then, he went to the stream to wash the removed duvet cover.

I thought Tingchuan wouldn’t be disgusted after such torment, but who knew he’d still follow Nanxu into the bedroom that night?

Nanxu: “I’ve already washed and dried it.”

Tingchuan, still dismissive, said, “No, the wild boar demon slept with it.”

Nanxu said, “Okay, I can’t change that.”

The next time he saw the bird tribe, Nanxu planned to ask for some down to make a bed blanket for Tingchuan so that he wouldn’t be so disgusted by others. Suddenly, Nanxu realized something and said, “I’ve slept in my bed, too!”

Tingchuan looked her up and down and said seriously,
“Humans smell quite good.”

Nanxu: …

He blushed for no apparent reason.