RIIDMDR chapter 33

 

Nan Xu half-believed it as Tingchuan pushed him back to his room. Lying on his bed with nothing else to do, Nan Xu looked through his system account.

Nan Xu felt bad about the 699 silver coins he had just received and was holding in his hands. He had spent all of his recent earnings, leaving him with nothing. It was truly insufficient. The cabin had been upgraded, so wasn’t it time to raise the room rate?

While pondering the price increase, Nan Xu suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked the guests yet.

When he asked them, Tingchuan didn’t hold back. He said, “That group is all from the bird tribe: the White Phoenix, the Snow Crane, and lastly, the White-fronted Shearwater.”

Nan Xu thought that if their original forms were beautiful, their transformed human forms wouldn’t be much worse.

“Do you know each other? Why are they all greeting you?” Nan Xu asked.

Tingchuan shook his head and replied, “I don’t remember them very well, but they greeted me. I guess it’s because I knew their ancestors, and perhaps I’ve seen one of them as a child.”

He spoke tactfully, but Nan Xu felt like he had grasped something. Just because Tingchuan said he knew their bird ancestors didn’t mean they were of the same generation. After all, Tingchuan was old in the demon world.

Having inexplicably discovered the truth, Nanxu roared inwardly. How could there be demons in this demon world who didn’t age? As others age, their appearance and demeanor bear the marks of time. Yet with Tingchuan, it was as if nothing had happened in those thousands of years.

Nan Xu remained silent, so Tingchuan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Nan Xu smiled sheepishly and said, “I just think that if word gets out about your method for maintaining eternal beauty, many demons will flock to it.”

Tingchuan raised an eyebrow, catching the subtle meaning behind Nan Xu’s words. “So what if he’s older?” His arrogance was clear. “How can they compare to me? In thousands of years, how many fox demons have managed to cultivate nine tails?”

It was as if Nan Xu was comparing a stone to beautiful jade. But Nan Xu understood. This was a genetic anomaly; other demons could only dream of it.

Wait, a nine-tailed fox?

Nan Xu’s eyes lit up, and he inched closer to Tingchuan. Whispering, he asked, “Does it really have nine tails? Can I see it?”

Tingchuan remained silent for a few seconds, his knuckles twitching slightly. The candle in the room went out, and he turned over.

“I’m going to sleep,” Tingchuan said.

Nan Xu: ? ?

Nan Xu: “Just a quick look.”

Just kidding! He had lived for many years and the internet in the human world was highly advanced, yet he had never seen a real nine-tailed fox.

The room was completely silent. No matter what Nan Xu said, Tingchuan didn’t react at all. Nan Xu reluctantly put aside his thoughts of looking at the tails and curled up to sleep.

The next morning, when I woke up, it was light outside. The rain had stopped for the time being. Tingchuan was already up, watching the chicks in the yard. Two days beforehand, knowing it was going to rain, Nan Xu had built simple awnings with Tingchuan for the chicks in the yard and behind the house. The chicks were in the yard and the lambs were tied behind the house.

“How are the chicks?” Nanxu asked.

Tingchuan stood up and replied, “They’re all fine. The lame one isn’t lame anymore.”

Nanxu asked, “Who’s lame?” They all have two normal legs. How could he not have noticed?

Tingchuan took much better care of the chicks than Nanxu did. No wonder the chicks only showed interest when they saw him. It’s too bad they were young and ignorant, unaware that foxes love chicken.

Tingchuan went to the kitchen and brought out a bundle of dry hay to replace the damp hay in the chicken coop. Nanxu took a bamboo basket and went to the stream to gather grass for the lambs’ rations. Since the weather forecast called for more rain today, they wanted to ensure the lambs wouldn’t go hungry at home.

When they returned from cutting grass, yesterday’s guests were already up and stretching in the yard. They all looked energetic, having apparently slept well the night before.

As Nan Xu had anticipated, all six members of the Flying Bird Clan had noticed a difference in their bodies after waking up that morning, especially the younger ones. Their growth required tremendous spiritual energy, and in the current environment, their bodies felt like thin sheets of paper shielding them from the wind and rain. This proved difficult to sustain, leading to poor sleep quality. However, after spending a night at the inn, they felt as Ning Sui of the Golden Eagle Clan had described: a sense of restoration.

Even if the effect of this restoration was minimal, it proved that their spiritual energy was being replenished, not overdrawn, in this inn.

After experiencing the pleasure of a good night’s sleep, the six demons wanted to stay two more nights. However, their ancestor had come to investigate, so they didn’t rush back.

Just as Nan Xu entered the courtyard carrying a basket of green grass, before he could greet the demons, he heard a middle-aged male demon say that he wanted to rebook for two nights. Since Nan Xu had no other guests, it made sense to make the sale, so he immediately agreed.

With six hundred coins for the room and another six hundred for the demons’ meals for the next two days, Nan Xu’s account suddenly had twelve hundred coins, instantly filling his dwindling wallet. His smile brightened as he looked at the number in the upper left corner of the system.

Tingchuan brought the recliner into the main room. The moment Nan Xu entered, he saw a dead fox on the ground. He couldn’t understand how the fox could sleep so much day and night.

After scooping a bowl of rice, he washed it, poured it into the pot, added water, and simmered it. Nan Xu then went to the warehouse and fetched some sweet potatoes. He peeled and cut them into chunks and cooked them with the rice. The sweet potatoes were sweet and delicious, and the porridge was incredibly soft and sticky.

While Nan Xu was kneading the dough, Tingchuan walked in. He glanced at Guan’er, who was squatting at Nan Xu’s feet and wagging his tail. Tingchuan asked, “What can I do?”

Nan Xu glanced out the window. Oh, the sun wasn’t out today.

How strange! The fox, who enjoyed his recliner every day, was actually looking for work. The sun should rise in the west tomorrow.

Nan Xu fell silent for a moment, leaving Tingchuan puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Nan Xu looked Tingchuan up and down as if trying to figure out his agenda. “You want to work?”

Tingchuan noticed his wary expression and felt annoyed. “Well, I’m bored, so I’m looking for something to do.”

He was so serious that Nan Xu seemed unworldly. Pointing to a piece of meat on the chopping board, Nan Xu said, “Chop that meat. I’ll make steamed buns later.”

Tingchuan rolled up his sleeves, picked up a knife, and started chopping the filling for the buns.

A rhythmic sound echoed through the mountains, and wisps of white smoke dissipated from the kitchen chimney into the thin morning mist. After working for most of an hour, the meal was served.

Sweet potato porridge, steamed buns, scallion flower rolls, and pickled vegetables filled the bamboo table.

The bird-like fairies had never seen such a feast. The aromas mingled so much that it was impossible to tell them apart. Even before they had finished eating, the gluttonous worms in their stomachs were already clamoring.

Nan Xu and Ting Chuan didn’t join them at the table. Ting Chuan didn’t like wild boar, so Nan Xu gave him a bowl of noodles in yesterday’s chicken broth and had sweet potato porridge for herself.

It’s no wonder Ting Chuan doesn’t like wild boar. Initially consuming more fish and chicken, Nan Xu found wild boar quite palatable. However, over the past few days, his taste buds seemed to have sharpened, and he found the meat to have a fishy, pungent flavor. It wasn’t as good as the domesticated pigs he ate in the human world.

Nan Xu remembered hearing that castrated pigs would develop into meat pigs, with their meat having a less fishy flavor. Would he have to raise his own?

Based on this trend, Nanxu felt that, sooner or later, he’d end up turning this place into a zoo just to satisfy his hunger.

He mentioned this to Tingchuan, who replied without hesitation, “That’s easy. Just let those two wild boar monsters take care of them. We understand each other, and it saves a lot of trouble.”

Nan Xu thought, They really know how to use their monsters wisely.

He couldn’t bear it and whispered, “Is it really a good idea to put those two under pressure like this? Farming and raising pigs?”

Tingchuan glanced up at Nan Xu, thinking he was overthinking things. The two wild boar monsters would secretly be happy to stay in the Zhuyu Mountains. Even in their own territory, they’d just plant cabbages every day.

“It’s just a few pigs. It’s not that much work. Even if you chase them away now, they won’t want to leave,” Tingchuan said.

Nan Xu planned to go back and talk to Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu. If the brothers didn’t want to raise them, that was fine. After all, he already had too much poultry and livestock, and food was scarce.

Meanwhile, the Bird Tribe members at a table were competing for supper—a small bun—so much so that they forgot the need for unity and friendship among their tribes.

After breakfast, the demons were eager to have fun. Whether because of the flavor on their tongues or the spiritual energy flowing into their stomachs, the Bird Tribe demons were filled with admiration. Ning Sui’s words were true. He hadn’t lied to the birds. The humans truly possessed extraordinary abilities!

After clearing the dishes, Nan Xu chatted with the flying birds in the courtyard. He learned that they had decided to join him after eating the rice dumplings he had given them. After Ning Sui commented that the inn’s owner was a master chef, Nan Xu didn’t know what to say.

This time, his own exceptional culinary skills, not the billboard, had made this success possible.

Had he known this, Nan Xu would have sought out a master chef to learn the craft when he entered society at age 16.

Fortunately, the Flying Birds’ cuisine was relatively crude, allowing Nan Xu’s mediocre cooking skills to flourish. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with someone like Ting Chuan, who wouldn’t even pick up his chopsticks unless the ingredients were good enough, no matter how Nan Xu tried to cook them. He’d be a tough nut to crack.

After chatting for a while, Nan Xu figured the boar demons had finished breakfast, so he took Can and headed to the foot of the mountain behind the house to discuss raising pigs.

As they approached the back door of the cabin, Nan Xu heard strange noises coming from the cage under the stairs. As he approached, he saw that the rabbits had given birth. Five tiny, nearly hairless, flushed rabbits nestled in their mother’s arms with their eyes closed. He watched them nurse for a moment before running to share the good news with Tingchuan.

Moments later, a man and a fox crouched beside a large bamboo cage covered in dry straw, observing the newborn rabbits.

The mother rabbit had shed some of her fur a few days ago. Mixed with the hay, the nest felt much softer and warmer. Otherwise, Nan Xu worried the hay would be too rough for the hairless little rabbits.

The little rabbits instinctively drank their milk while their mother remained motionless. For some reason, Nan Xu sensed despair in her expression.

This couldn’t go on. The mother rabbit had to avoid postpartum depression. After telling Tingchuan, Nan Xu carried his bamboo basket to the vegetable patch. He harvested some vegetables and fed them to the mother rabbit one by one. He also peeled a sweet potato for her as a snack.

After eating a good meal, the mother rabbit regained some energy. She slumped onto the hay and watched her pups scurry around.