RIIDMDR chapter 25

 

Xu Ji looked at the mark on his arm, his smile growing wider. For the demon clan, he wasn’t actually very old, only four or five hundred years old—the equivalent of a person in their thirties in the human world—yet he already shouldered the responsibility of an entire clan.

When he looked at Nan Xu’s arm again, he was stunned to see that the mark was gone. Once formed, spiritual energy leaves a mark on both parties. If either party violates the agreement, the mark will serve as a punishment. He had never encountered such a situation before.

However, seeing Nan Xu’s perfectly natural demeanor without a hint of doubt made him feel that the person before him was even more mysterious.

After taking care of that matter, Nan Xu appeased his stomach, which had been “singing the Empty City Stratagem all morning”[mfn]唱了半天空城計 → literally “singing the Empty City Stratagem all morning.” This is a humorous way of saying “his stomach was growling from hunger,” using a reference to The Empty City Stratagem (空城计), a famous trick from Romance of the Three Kingdoms where someone bluffed with an empty city. In modern slang, it often refers to an “empty stomach making noise.[/mfn]. The mountain boar had a strong odor, and its taste in soup wasn’t good, so last night, Nan Xu braised the meat and bones. By this morning, it had soaked up the flavor nicely—just right to eat as a side dish with porridge.

Speaking of the perfect side dish, pickled vegetables were undoubtedly the best. Although radishes weren’t readily available, cabbage was a good alternative. Nan Xu planned to pickle some after breakfast since he had just baked a few pots of pickled vegetables a few days ago.

Both the pork and the bones were incredibly flavorful. While Nan Xu waited for the porridge to finish cooking, he and Xu Ji nibbled on them. Perhaps it was the aroma that filled the entire inn, waking Xu Le from his sleep. Without opening his eyes, the child dozed off and fell into Xu Ji’s arms. “Daddy, it smells so good,” he said.

Xu Ji glanced at Nan Xu, who was teasing the puppy with the pork bone he had just gnawed on. He then took a smaller piece and offered it to his son, letting him hold and eat it.

Xu Le sat on his father’s lap and narrowed his eyes as he ate. He had never tasted such fragrant meat before. It was not only delicious, but it also warmed his stomach and made him feel comfortable all over.

“Dad, I love my brother’s cooking,” said Xu Le in a baby voice as he rubbed his belly.

Xu Ji knew his son was benefiting from the spiritual energy, so he patted his head. “Dad will bring Lele here to eat in the future.”

Nan Xu watched the intimate moment between the father and son from the corner of his eye, their conversation filling his ears. Admittedly, he felt a little envious.

As a child, he had longed for a family. While some had considered adopting him, they always gave up the idea for various reasons. As he grew older, his hopes faded. He realized that even if he joined a family because of his good behavior and understanding, he might not receive the parental love he dreamed of.

The rice porridge in the pot was almost done, and the aroma of rice wafted into the air. Nan Xu stood up and served four bowls. Xu Ji followed and took two bowls out. Nan Xu took two more bowls and poured one into a ceramic bowl under the kitchen window. A slight misfire had occurred while cooking that bowl, leaving a small chip on the rim. He couldn’t bear to throw it away, so he used it for the puppy’s meal.

The porridge was scalding hot. As the puppy leaned closer, the steaming heat scorched its nose. It barked and followed Nan Xu, its tail wagging.

Nan Xu thought the puppy was well behaved. While they were eating, he asked about it. Honestly, even though he wasn’t a demon himself, he knew it was strange for canine demons to take an ordinary dog with them when migrating.

Just like the bird demons, even though they and ordinary birds live in the Taifeng Mountains, they can’t get along as a single tribe.

Xu Ji said, “When Lele was young, he came across a fierce beast while hiking in the mountains. The little dog’s mother protected him. Later, the mother dog died while foraging shortly after giving birth to him. The little dog wasn’t afraid of us demons and would often come to our tribe to beg for food. Lele always saved some food for him. When we escaped from the mountains this time, the little dog heard us and followed us, so we had no choice but to take him along.”

Food is scarce in the outskirts of the demon world. Birds and beasts forage for food in the mountains. Fortunately, demons don’t hunt them since there’s no way they would feed them. This clearly shows that Xu Ji is a grateful demon. Moreover, carrying him on such a long journey is a real feat. Lele sat on a bamboo chair, swinging his legs while eating porridge. Overhearing the two of them talk, he slipped off the stool and ran over to Nanxu thoughtlessly. He grabbed Nanxu’s coat and said, “The puppy is for brother.”

Nanxu was a little surprised. “For me?”

Xu Le nodded. “My brother has food. The puppy will be hungry following me.”

The child had seen his uncles and aunts reluctant to eat their food along the way, so naturally, he wouldn’t bother feeding the puppy. But the puppy grew thinner and thinner each day, so Xu Le could only pull grass for it to eat and occasionally share some of his own rations with it. That’s how it had managed to survive until now.

Needless to say, he was very fond of the puppy. Giving the puppy to Nan Xu was like giving his best gift in the world. He certainly didn’t consider the possibility of Nan Xu refusing.

Xu Ji was just about to stop his son when he heard Nan Xu’s gentle voice: “Are you really willing to give it away?”

Xu Le glanced at the fluffy ball nuzzling Nan Xu’s feet and nodded firmly. “It loves its brother, too.”

Nan Xu smiled and patted Xu Le on the head. “Okay, thank you for giving it to me. I love it, too.”

Now that he had opened the inn, he had plenty of food. With Tingchuan, his best hunter, around, raising a puppy was no burden at all. Living in these mountains, he truly needed a guard dog.

Xu Le was somewhat reluctant to let go, but when Nan Xu said he liked the puppy, Xu Le smiled brightly and said with childish sincerity, “Its mother is amazing. It will grow up to be like her.”

The matter of the Canine Tribe was settled, and the system notification chimed in at the perfect time:

[The Canine Demon Tribe has moved to Zhuyu Mountain. Prosperity +18.]

Nan Xu took a look and muttered that the system was too picky.

After breakfast, the father and son prepared to descend the mountain and reunite with their tribe. They had heard that the valley they had chosen was flat and that it was only a few hills away from the inn. Xu Ji said that once they were settled, he would bring his tribe to thank Nan Xu.

“This wooden house that the innkeeper has is perfect for living in. We’d like to build one like it,” said Xu Ji. “The main peak of Zhuyu Mountain has unique terrain. Spending the night here brings spiritual energy into your body. I just spent last night there, and many of my old wounds have healed. It’ll be harder for malicious demons to target me. Unfortunately, we, the canine demon tribe, can’t help others. However, if any demons with ulterior motives enter the mountain in the future, we’re willing to help.”

As the saying goes, a neighbor is worse than a distant relative. By renting Nan Xu’s land, Xu Ji also wanted to make his canine demon tribe’s position clear. Other demons will eventually learn of the benefits of Zhuyu Mountain. If they all want a piece of the action and the dog demon clan doesn’t show any interest, they will be squeezed out. Xu Ji understood this principle perfectly.

Nanxu, who was human, certainly had no idea that spiritual energy could be present overnight. Tingchuan hadn’t mentioned it either. The wild boar demon who had stayed at the inn the previous time had been driven away after roaming around before bed that night. So, until Xuji mentioned it today, Nanxu hadn’t realized how beneficial his inn was to the demon race.

No wonder the system thought his inn could thrive in the forest—it had built-in benefits. Nanxu felt much more reassured about his inn’s future.

Before leaving, Xuji noticed the various plants in the courtyard and considered the future survival and development of his dog demon clan. He counted his silver coins and decided to spend them all to buy seeds and other supplies from Nanxu.

Nanxu also strongly supported their self-reliance through farming. Otherwise, if they had to hunt in the mountains every day for food, their harvest would eventually run out.

There was still some unhusked rice in the warehouse. When Nan Xu went to get some, he suddenly remembered that the Bird Tribe’s crops were only Grade B, whereas the seeds sold in the mall were all Grade A, so he left their supplies untouched and bought seeds for Xu Ji from the mall.

Xu Ji gave Nan Xu a total of 2,458 silver coins, and Nan Xu collected a 400-silver-coin “handling fee.” In addition to the grain seeds, Nan Xu included some vegetable seeds.

He secretly gave some extra wheat seeds. Tingchuan liked wheat-based foods and insisted on eating those grown in Zhuyu Mountain. He suggested that the canine demon clan grow more wheat so that, in the future, they could pay their rent with it. It was a good idea; after all, he was the only one who couldn’t grow that much food.

Nan Xu briefly explained to Xu Ji how to grow different crops. Upon hearing that vegetable seeds were also available, Xu Ji was overjoyed and thanked Nan Xu profusely.

After the father and son left, Nan Xu began pickling vegetables. He had only seen the process before and had never tried it himself. Controlling the amount of salt was a major challenge. Recalling his effective communication with the system the previous night, Nan Xu asked, “006, do you know how to pickle vegetables?”

After waiting a few seconds under Nan Xu’s expectant gaze, a cold message appeared on the screen: “Sorry, this function is not yet available.”

Unable to rely on the system for advice, Nan Xu could only experiment on his own. He had plenty of cabbage from the loot, and even if he didn’t, there was plenty more growing in the fields. With a few trials, he was sure to find the perfect salt ratio.

After adding different amounts of salt to each pot, he marked them and moved them to a cool place.

With Tingchuan away, Nan Xu was responsible for caring for the chicks. He first glanced at the chicks from yesterday. They seemed anxious without Tingchuan. Nan Xu thought with amusement, “Maybe the chicks will recognize a fox demon as their mother!”

Today, however, chirping sounds came from the eggs that hadn’t hatched yesterday, indicating that new chicks had hatched. Would the chicks that hatched today recognize him as their mother when they saw him for the first time?

Nan Xu felt overwhelmed by the thought. He would still want to eat eggs in the future, but how could he do that if they recognized him as their mother? Nan Xu thought for a moment, ran out, brought the puppy in, and placed it on his lap. He carefully pried open the straw covering the eggs, revealing only the puppy.

The bewildered puppy: “?