RIIDMDR chapter 51

 

As the sun set, Nanxu walked toward the courtyard carrying a bamboo basket filled with small fish and a bag of soapberries.

Guan’er had led them to the soapberry tree, and after much searching, they finally found it. The soap they hadn’t yet made was finally in sight.

It was dusk when Nanxu arrived home. Tingchuan was chopping wood in the yard with expert precision. With a single blow of the axe, the log snapped in two. Zhixing quietly gathered the chopped firewood and carried it in piles to the simple woodshed built beside the house.

The neatly piled firewood indicated that the two demons had been busy at home all afternoon.

“Innkeeper,” Zhixing greeted, looking at Nanxu first.

Nan Xu dropped a bag of soap fruits in the courtyard and replied, “Zhi Xing, you’ve just gotten better. Don’t overwork yourself.”

Zhixing smiled shyly and said, “I didn’t do anything. Senior Tingchuan was the one who was busy.”

Nan Xu then remembered that Tingchuan was also a patient who had been ill for thousands of years. However, his lazy and casual demeanor often caused people to forget this fact.

He glanced at Tingchuan, who happened to be looking back at him. With another casual glance, the nine-tailed fox demon’s beauty once again struck Nan Xu, a beauty-obsessed man.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Nan Xu said. “I caught a lot of small fish. I’ll fry them up for you tonight.”

Tingchuan dropped his axe and smiled. “I’m a fox demon, not a cat demon. Aren’t you being a little perfunctory?”

There was no displeasure in his tone. He stood up and walked toward Nan Xu. He took the fish basket from him and, seeing that the fish had already been prepared, took it directly to the kitchen.

“You’ll know if I was being perfunctory when I fry them,” Nan Xu said.

Fried fish was a dish that was only available during the Lunar New Year. Villagers were frugal and rarely cooked elaborate fried foods. However, at the end of the year, people believed that if they didn’t eat well, they would face hardship in the coming year. Therefore, every household would indulge in fried foods such as meatballs and dried fish. The fish were crispy and charred, filling your mouth with flavor.

Removing the fish heads and cleaning the insides were meticulous tasks. Little Nan Xu busied himself with washing the radishes and fish, his hands turning red from the cold. He always got a few bites of the fried fish and never complained about the small portions. He ate with such relish that his brows lifted.

Looking back, although life was hard, he had enjoyed delicious food year-round by freeloading from house to house as a child.

After spending a long time cleaning small fish at the stream, he returned to the yard to scoop up flour, mix the batter, and stir in the seasoning. Once the oil in the pot was heated to about 80%, he used chopsticks to pick up a fish, coat it in batter, and roll it around. Then, he added it to the pot. With a crackling sound, the batter on the surface turned golden.

When Nan Xu finished frying the fish, the two sisters who were staying there came downstairs. The woman in brocade stretched and walked out of the main room into the kitchen.

“Owner, how many meals did you serve today?” Luo Yi asked as she entered.

Nan Xu looked up, surprised to see her, and replied, “Three meals a day in the mountains.”

“This mealtime is somewhat similar to the hunger situation in the formation below. I heard that this is how the human race lives.” Luo Yi conjured a flower out of thin air, leaned against a wooden pillar, and began picking its petals.

Nan Xu noticed her good nature and talkative demeanor. He asked, “Have you ever been in a formation?”

Luo Yi chuckled and glanced back. Seeing that no one was approaching, she whispered, “Don’t tell my senior sister, okay?”

Nan Xu glanced at Luo Yi. He had always heard the woman in brocade call the woman in black “sister” and had assumed they were sisters. He had never imagined that they were from the same sect.

He didn’t answer. Luo Yi, knowing he wouldn’t reveal her secret, continued. “Actually, I came once a hundred years ago. The demons on land always said this mountain was full of danger. I always loved breaking into such perilous places. Like in the South Sea—there’s no place I wouldn’t dare go—so I sneaked into the mountain.”

Nan Xu grew interested. Just now, Luo Yi had mentioned the array below the mountain. It seemed she had entered it. Sure enough, Luo Yi said with a face full of suffering, “Who would have thought that the first array I entered would be the one that wanted to starve me? Every two hours, my stomach would be empty, and I couldn’t find anything to eat. It was too bitter.”

Nan Xu couldn’t help but smile. It must be terrifying for a demon accustomed to eating once every two weeks to go hungry multiple times a day.

“Then how did you get out?” Nan Xu asked.

Luo Yi replied, “That formation isn’t meant to trap demons to death. Just walk around a hundred times, and you’ll be out.”

Nan Xu nodded in agreement. Otherwise, Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu wouldn’t have been able to escape either.

“Did you go to the second formation?” Nan Xu asked.

Luo Yi hurriedly shook her head. “I came out of that formation starving. I was so hungry that I flew straight back to the South Sea and feasted for three years. How could I possibly go back into the mountains?”

Feasted for three years?

The aftereffects of that are a bit too severe.

Perhaps sensing the indescribable expression on Nan Xu’s face, Luo Yi felt embarrassed. “If you went in, you’d probably understand. During those three years in the South Sea, I wanted to try every kind of food I saw. I ate so much and so many different kinds that ordinary food doesn’t interest me anymore.”

Nan Xu only smiled faintly.

He returned the fried fish to the pan and fried it again. The fishy aroma was even more pronounced. Luo Yi, standing nearby, smelled it and swallowed unconsciously. She remembered saying that ordinary food didn’t interest her, and now she was slapped in the face. It was a bit embarrassing.

“Why does the inn serve food like this three times a day?” Luo Yi tried not to look at the pile of golden, alluring fish. “Is it imitating the human race of thousands of years ago, or is this way of cultivation more beneficial?”

Nan Xu picked up a piece of fish and popped it into his mouth. Its crispy, fragrant taste instantly made him squint. It tasted best hot like this.

“Because I’m human,” Nan Xu replied casually after chewing and swallowing.

Luo Yi’s eyes nearly popped out. The crunching sound and Nan Xu’s expression of enjoyment made her mouth open slightly as if she could taste it. It must be delicious.

“Oh, the owner is human,” Luo Yi agreed subconsciously. Her mind was still racing as she watched Nan Xu scoop up the fish.

He filled a small bowl with fried fish and handed it to Luo Yi. “Try it with your senior sister while it’s hot.”

Luo Yi had been salivating for a while. Now that the bowl was in her hands, how could she refuse? Hearing “while it’s hot,” she immediately pinched a piece of fish and stuffed it into her mouth. Then, she ran across the courtyard in search of her senior sister.

Nan Xu smiled as he watched her hurry away. He filled two more bowls and carried them out. Tingchuan was gathering leftover firewood in the yard when he stood up and saw Nan Xu emerge.

“Tingchuan, wash your hands and try some fish,” Nan Xu said as they walked. “They’re so fragrant and crispy.”

He then called out to Zhixing, but he didn’t respond after several calls.

After washing his hands, Tingchuan sat down next to Nan Xu. He took a bite of the fish without even using chopsticks and nodded. “Not bad. Full of flavor, and you don’t need to spit out the bones.”

Nan Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How could there be a fox demon as lazy as Tingchuan in this world?

He ate mouthful after mouthful, and Nanxu glanced around. “Where’s that kid Zhixing?”

Tingchuan answered between bites, “He went out with his axe.”

Nan Xu was confused about what Zhixing was up to. It was getting dark, and although there weren’t many ferocious beasts nearby, the mountain roads were difficult to navigate.

He was anxious, but Tingchuan was calm. “He’s a demon who’s several hundred years old. How could he be dangerous around here? Don’t treat him like a child.”

Nanxu thought about it and his worries eased. After waiting about ten minutes, he saw Zhixing.

Zhixing returned, carrying a thick log and walking with great difficulty. As soon as Zhixing entered the house, Nanxu noticed his eyelids twitching and stood up to help him. “You’re finally back! Why are you carrying such a heavy log?”

A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, and an axe was slung around his waist. His face was still pale from a recent illness, even after such an exhausting task.

Zhi Xing saw Nan Xu take the log, wipe the sweat from his forehead, and smile. “Guan’er was always circling the chicken coop. I saw him curled up, sleeping in the courtyard at night. Surely, he wants a kennel. So, I got a log to try to build one for him.”

Nanxu had no idea when Zhixing and Guan’er had grown so close. He looked down at Guan’er, who was circling around him. He didn’t seem particularly affectionate with Zhixing, and he seemed to understand something.

“Go wash your hands. I just fried some small fish.” Nan Xu turned around and saw that Ting Chuan had already finished his bowl, elegantly wiping the oil from his hands with a handkerchief. Looking at the two empty bowls, Nan Xu choked on his words and corrected himself, “I fried a lot. They’re still in the kitchen. I’ll get you a hot bowl.”

Zhi Xing smiled and responded before heading to the well.

When Nan Xu returned with the two bowls, Zhi Xing was already seated at the stone table. Nan Xu placed the bowl of fish in front of him and held the other bowl while he ate.

Tingchuan looked at Nan Xu with wide eyes. “Where’s mine?”

Nan Xu stacked the two empty bowls on the table and pushed them toward Tingchuan. “Aren’t you done with yours?”

Tingchuan was speechless. Zhixing nodded as he ate, unable to find the words to praise him. Nanxu chewed his food loudly. A hand slowly reached out, but Nanxu leaned aside, preventing the other person from succeeding.

“Stingy,” Tingchuan muttered, feeling insulted. “The owner is so partial. He won’t share his food with me.”

Nanxu chuckled as he watched Tingchuan stand up and leave, not trying to stop him.

Zhixing was a little flustered. “Take my bowl…”

He spoke softly, but Tingchuan didn’t even turn around as he casually walked into the room.

Zhixing looked at Nanxu, fidgeting uncomfortably. How could he sit there so contentedly while his senior didn’t have any?

Nan Xu soothed him. “It’s okay. There’s plenty more in the kitchen. He must have gone there.”

Zhi Xing finally relaxed at Nan Xu’s assurance.

In the kitchen, a fox leaned against the wall, leisurely eating dried fish. He paused at the words and chuckled. How could he understand him so well?

In the courtyard, Nan Xu waited until Zhixing had almost finished eating before saying, “Zhixing, the Bai couple paid rent to keep you here and help you recuperate. You don’t have to feel like you’re owed anything.”

Zhixing put down his bowl, sat up straighter, and lowered his head slightly. “But that rent won’t cover my stay for long. The inn also provides me with three meals a day. I really can’t take it for granted.”

Nan Xu sighed. “You’ve already helped me a lot with daily tasks. Don’t burden yourself. Besides, your body just recovered. You should take care not to tire yourself out. When I took you to the peak to enter the array, first, your parents entrusted me with you. Second, you saved the Azure Dragon Jingyuan. Ting Chuan wanted to repay this favor. The third, and most important, reason is that I thought you were good and gentle. I couldn’t ignore you in such a dangerous situation.”

Zhi Xing remained silent, seemingly absorbed in what Nan Xu was saying.

“The life-saving favor you’ve been talking about is actually the inevitable result of many factors. It’s something I did willingly. You don’t have to feel obligated to please Tingchuan, Guan’er, or me just to stay here and recuperate. We all want you to be happy living here in the mountains,” Nan Xu said earnestly.

Zhi Xing nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

Nan Xu had finally made it clear, and Zhi Xing felt a significant sense of relief. Zhi Xing had been under a lot of pressure lately. The life-saving favor he mentioned and the lack of room and board had made the already shy boy feel inferior.