RIIDMDR chapter 8

 

After bidding farewell to the people and watching them fly away, Nan Xu’s pounding heart finally calmed down. He had noticed the Bird Tribe’s covetousness after they tasted his cooking. Although the Demon Tribe was in dire straits, he could still create dishes imbued with spiritual energy. It was like a six-year-old child running through the streets with an armful of gold, not fearing that anyone would rob him.

Thankfully, he had saved Ning Ju. Perhaps grateful for his life-saving grace, the Bird Tribe members had calmed down.

The inn had to continue operating according to the system’s requirements. Guests would eventually arrive, and Nan Xu couldn’t stop cooking forever. His personal safety became a major concern. Uncertain how to handle the situation, he could only take things one step at a time and try to improve his abilities.

After exploring the mountain for a while longer, he found a wild loquat tree, but the fruit wasn’t ripe yet. He memorized its location and planned to return later.

That evening, Nan Xu received the reward for Side Quest 1: a bolt of cloth.

He wasn’t particularly disappointed, though. After all, it was a simple quest, and the reward couldn’t be that generous.

A few days later, Nan Xu went to the back mountain and gathered a large quantity of bamboo leaf cores. He steamed them on a small, woven bamboo mat and stir-fried them over medium heat until they were curled and dry. Only then was the task considered complete. Nan Xu prepared three bamboo baskets of bamboo tea for the Bird Tribe and kept some for himself. He even took the time to weave extra baskets.

When the system assigned Nan Xu the task of recruiting employees, he considered the Bird Tribe. However, Ning Jian said that most of them loved freedom and that the timid ones who didn’t like to wander would stay in their territory. Therefore, he probably wouldn’t find any suitable little demons to work in Zhuyu Mountain. Nan Xu was somewhat disappointed, but that was to be expected.

Since this path was blocked, Nan Xu went to the open area he had visited before, staring at the one-meter-wide path on the opposite mountain, hoping to encounter a demon passing by who would be willing to stay.

Since Ning Jian’s family left, Nan Xu had been trying to process the fact that he was in a world of demons. He had lived there for nearly a month without receiving any hints from the system. Even after witnessing the family transform and fly away, Nan Xu still found it hard to believe. He even began to wonder if the mushrooms, river fish, and shrimp he had been eating were demons.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. His intuition told him that if he had truly found a demon, the system wouldn’t have allowed him to eat it without saying anything, just as it had when he met Ning Ju and issued a mission to rescue him.

Ten days passed like this. Instead of a passing demon, Nan Xu waited for Ning Sui, who brought him down food.

Ning Sui is over three hundred years old, which is considered young for a demon, but even after flying so far, he looked dusty and exhausted.

“The red-throated quails just planted their upland rice and wheat this year. These grains are coarse and taste bad, so we didn’t grow much. This is all the surplus we have. I hope you won’t mind.” Accompanied by a simple-looking middle-aged man, Ning Sui placed two baskets of wheat and one of rice in the yard and said to Nan Xu,

Nan Xu was eager to cook a meal, so he didn’t mind. He didn’t understand why the bird tribe disliked rice and wheat. Was the food in the goblin world just different?

He walked closer to take a look. The rice in the basket was husked, but the wheat grains were large and plump.

“We bird people prefer this,” said Ning Sui, pointing at the wheat.

Nan Xu seemed to understand something. “How do you eat it?”

Ning Sui was puzzled. “We boil it in a clay pot with water until it’s dry. I heard that’s how humans used to eat it.”

The rice is husked and the wheat is cooked like rice. No wonder they say it tastes bad.

It’s a pity that Nan Xu didn’t have the tools to husk the rice; otherwise, he would have treated Ning Sui and his people to a feast of white rice.

Ning Sui also brought in the bird. Nan Xu took a look and saw that it was more than enough to fill two or three quilts. Seeing the sympathetic look on the Bird Clan uncle’s face beside Ning Sui, Nan Xu wondered what the birds of the Taifeng Mountains had gone through to gather so much down.

After leaving them for lunch, Ning Sui hurried back with bamboo leaf tea. He said the sky predicted rain for the next two days, so he wanted to return to the Taifeng Mountains before then.

Nan Xu looked up at the sun. He wondered how Ning Sui had guessed it was going to rain. Since Ning Sui had said so, however, Nan Xu knew he had to make some preparations.

After carrying three baskets of rice and wheat back to the warehouse, he received the system’s reward for completing the task.

[Side Quest ② Rewards Issued: Sewing Box.]

Nan Xu thought of the cloth he had acquired two days earlier. If he worked quickly, he might be able to sew two quilt covers and stuff them with the down that Ning Sui had sent by evening.

By evening, Nan Xu had surpassed his goal. He made two pillows from the extra down and cut the fabric scraps into towels.

He tossed the straw from the bed into the yard, cleaned the bed, and carefully put the bedding back on. He didn’t dare lie down on it, worried that his clothes would get dirty. But he could still imagine how soft the down quilt was, devoid of any artificial cotton.

That night, Nan Xu slept better than he ever had in this mountain.

—

Remembering Ning Sui’s warning about rain, Nan Xu worried that he would be trapped indoors by the incessant spring downpour, which would delay his work. So, he went to the back mountain and dragged back a few bamboo poles to make some chairs in the main room. The last time Ning Ju’s family came, they all sat on shabby low benches.

Two nights later, the rain began to fall heavily. Nan Xu was awakened by the sound and got up to close the window.

The rain continued into the next morning. Fortunately, Nan Xu had been vigilant and gathered the dried goods in the yard before going to bed. Now that he had food and provisions stored at home, he no longer worried about starving.

The rain didn’t last long. Just as Nan Xu finished making two bamboo chairs, the sky cleared and the temperature rose slightly higher than it had been for the previous two days, signaling the impending arrival of summer.

Nan Xu was eager to complete Main Mission 1. Planting the rewarded sweet potatoes after the season would be a waste.

Now, however, he was stuck at Mission 1-4.

After the rain, mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms began to sprout again in the mountain forests. Nan Xu carried a bamboo basket on his back every day to gather them and waited for passing demons along the mountain roads. Due to the rain, the stream at the spot with the wide view he usually visited had risen considerably, so Nan Xu walked an extra hour to the roadside on the opposite mountain.

There were a few wild grape seedlings in the roadside bushes, and it took Nan Xu a long time to identify them. Since he hadn’t brought a hoe, he squatted there and carefully scraped the ground with a sickle to avoid damaging the roots.

Suddenly, he heard a distant sound—something treading on a dead tree. His heart raced, and he quickly checked the map. When he didn’t see the red exclamation mark, he breathed a sigh of relief and stared in the direction of the sound.

After living in the mountains for so long, Nan Xu’s hearing and vision had improved considerably, so he wondered if it was an illusion. Less than half a minute had passed since he heard the noise, and still no one had appeared.

Nan Xu waited patiently, and then a figure appeared.

It was a tall young man wearing a light blue robe. His dark hair flowed down and the breeze blew it around, giving him an ethereal air.

As Nan Xu looked around, he almost forgot why he was there.

He himself had a perfectly proportioned figure and had been spotted and harassed by scouts many times before. However, compared to this man, he felt a little self-conscious because of the man’s unrefined demeanor.

Only when the man got closer did Nan Xu get a clear look at his face. He had peach blossom eyes and black ink eyebrows. Nan Xu never imagined he would find himself squatting on the side of the road, mesmerized by a man’s beauty.

The handsome young man seemed to have known of Nan Xu’s presence. He stopped in front of Nan Xu and looked down at him. His peach blossom eyes were emotionless, and his whole demeanor exuded coldness.

“Who are you?” The young man’s voice was low and pleasant.

Nan Xu blinked and returned to his own thoughts. He smiled at the young man sincerely and brightly. “My name is Nan Xu. I opened an inn up here in the mountains. I’m hiring. Room and board are provided, and the monthly salary is unlimited with a 10% commission. Are you interested, handsome?”

A flicker of doubt crossed the young man’s brow. “Inn?”

Nan Xu nodded affirmatively. He didn’t think the other man looked like an employee, and he wasn’t interested in the cakes he painted. He immediately changed his tone. “Yes, you can eat or stay at the inn. It’s a new inn, and we’re offering a 5% discount. You’ve been walking up the mountain for so long. You’re sweaty, and you haven’t had a hot meal. Why not go to the inn and rest? It’s cheap.”

Tingchuan looked fresh, with not even a speck of dust on his clothes or sweat on his forehead. Nanxu was actively promoting the inn, boasting without a trace of guilt.

Tingchuan paid little attention to Nanxu’s deceptive words. He looked up at Zhuyu Mountain, towering in the sea of clouds. He had come here every few years, but this was the first time he had heard that demons lived there.

Then, Tingchuan sensed that something was wrong again. He carefully examined Nanxu but didn’t sense any cultivation.

A human?

A flash of curiosity crossed Tingchuan’s eyes, and he became intrigued. “Where is your inn?”

Nan Xu sensed an opportunity and immediately stood up, afraid the potential customer might run away. He coaxed, “Not far. Just up ahead.”

Seeing the man across from him nod slightly, Nan Xu raised his legs, ready to set off. Then he remembered something and said to the young man, “Wait a moment!”

He still couldn’t bear to part with the grape seedlings. He quickly dug them up, leaving the soil on their roots, and placed them in the backpack behind him. He smiled at the young man and said, “Okay, let’s go. I’ll lead the way.”

The two of them walked along the mountain path, one in front of the other. This section of the road was difficult to walk on, but Nan Xu had walked it so many times that he had cleared away the thorny weeds and vines, creating a small path.

Nan Xu told Tingchuan that the distance was very short, yet he walked from dawn to dusk.

Tingchuan followed him the entire way without complaining about being tired or asking why they hadn’t arrived yet. Along the way, they chatted about things unrelated to their pain. Nan Xu did most of the talking and asked questions. Unlike his outward appearance, Tingchuan responded to every question.

After they got to know each other better, Nan Xu became less reserved. He would occasionally stop to catch a fish in the river or pick wild fruit from a tree. He said he wanted to give Tingchuan, his guest, the freshest treats. He never mentioned the inn’s current poverty.

As dusk fell, the two finally returned to the cabin. Nan Xu put his backpack in the yard, gathered firewood under the eaves, and lit a fire in the pit. The flames illuminated the small courtyard. Nan Xu opened the kitchen window to let in more light.

He skillfully prepared the ingredients. The sound of the knife clacking against the chopping board echoed amidst the chirping of insects and birds in the forest. White smoke curled from the chimney, obscuring the moonlight on this dark night.

Tingchuan sat in the yard, surveying the numerous inns nestled deep in the mountains. Suddenly, he heard the sizzling sound of food being poured into a wok. He tilted his head and saw Nan Xu working hard through the window.

It seemed that one could only smell the legendary smell of fireworks where humans were present.