RIIDMDR chapter 60

 

After being apart for nearly ten days, Nan Xu didn’t expect to see this scene again. The two sisters had clearly suffered some setbacks, and he didn’t know if they were related to his Mount Zhuyu.

During a previous conversation, Zhi Xing had mentioned that the demon race doesn’t expend much spiritual power when using minor spells. While traveling, it was best to use minor spells, such as Body Cleansing, to tidy up their appearance so as not to embarrass their race.

This statement had made Nan Xu worry that his soap wouldn’t sell. Fortunately, Zhi Xing also told him that he and Tingchuan lived on the main peak of Mount Zhuyu and ate food cooked by Nan Xu every day. Their spiritual power was gradually recovering, so they used magic to cleanse their bodies and avoid trouble. For example, the two boar demon brothers who lived behind the house would occasionally go to the river to transform into their true forms and bathe. This was the normal life of most demons in the demon world at that time. Nan Xu really didn’t need to worry about the soap market.

After hearing this, Nan Xu sent Zhuang Wu two bars of soap the next time he went to get food and taught them how to use them. The two sisters thanked him for the soap, saying it was useful.

Nan Xu also noticed that most of the guests at the inn were clean. Those who looked a little shabby were used to it.

Therefore, Nan Xu was truly surprised by the two sisters’ appearance tonight. Based on their previous experiences at the inn, the two sisters were very meticulous about their appearance, especially the woman in black. She even collected the water for brewing tea herself from the mountains early in the morning.

“Innkeeper.” When Luo Yi saw Nan Xu, tears welled up in her eyes, which stunned him.

“Come in first. Don’t stand at the courtyard gate,” said Nan Xu.

If not for the light from the glass beads, he would have had difficulty seeing people approach from a distance.

Luo Yi heard this and remembered that she was still at the gate of the courtyard. When she saw Nan Xu earlier, the worry and sadness in her heart froze for a moment. He was clearly just a thin little demon with shallow cultivation, yet for some reason, he gave her such a reassuring sense of calm.

“Innkeeper, I’m a little hungry.” Luo Yi seemed to have a lot to say when she approached, but after wiping her face, she said such a simple sentence.

Nan Xu hesitated to ask what had happened to the two sisters but was afraid it would be inappropriate. When he heard Luo Yi say she was hungry, Nan Xu said, “Sit down first. I’ll make you a bowl of noodles.”

Since there were no ready-made noodles, Nan Xu spent dozens of silver coins to buy them at the shopping mall. Tingchuan lazily followed Nan Xu to the kitchen. While watching Nan Xu ladle water into the pot, Tingchuan added firewood to the stove.

Cooking was too time-consuming now, and there were no eggs, so Nan Xu simply cooked a bowl of vegetarian noodles for each of them. The noodles were topped with green vegetables, and the oily noodle soup was sprinkled with sliced green onions, making them look very delicious.

Nan Xu worked quickly and, in just ten minutes, served two bowls of noodles at the table. “There aren’t any vegetables left, so it’s rather simple. You can just fill your stomachs.”

Zhi Xing came out after hearing the noise and poured a cup of hot tea for each of them. Currently, they both held teacups in their hands.

“Very good, master’s craftsmanship.” Luo Yi hurriedly picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a handful of noodles, and put them in her mouth without bothering to be polite. Then, she hummed and said something.

In comparison, the woman dressed in black moved much more calmly, but it was clear that she was hungry, too.

The bowl of noodles wasn’t much, and Luo Yi nearly swallowed it whole. She lifted the bowl and drank the soup, not caring about her appearance. She touched her stomach and revealed a satisfied expression. Then she looked at Nan Xu and the other two.

Tingchuan wasn’t particularly curious about them. Meanwhile, Nan Xu and Zhi Xing sat nearby, tilting their heads to look at Luo Yi and her sister.

“You guys aren’t entering that small formation again, are you?” Nan Xu asked doubtfully after seeing them finish eating.

Nan Xu was talking about the small formation that Luo Yi and the boar demon brothers had entered, which Nan Xu called a “weight loss training camp.”

Luo Yi was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head. “No, but we entered another small formation.”

Seeing them eat so quickly, Nan Xu thought, could those small formations in the mountains all be weight-loss training camps? Should he take advantage of this geographical location and start a six-day weight loss program for the demon clan?

Luo Yi glanced at Nan Xu with some embarrassment before saying, “I have to start from the beginning. To tell the truth, my senior sister and I actually came ashore to seek an opportunity to gain spiritual power this time. As you know, the South Sea is on the edge of the demon realm. With the spiritual energy of the demon realm becoming increasingly scarce, our living conditions are dire. The elders are growing weaker day by day. The younger ones can’t even take human form, let alone transform into dragons, which is our clan’s greatest desire. Seeing Senior Jingyuan… the merfolk clan gradually heading toward extinction, it fills me with worry. I don’t believe the Heavenly Dao is like this. The elders told me that thousands of years ago, a great battle took place in the center of the land, and the changes in the demon realm began with that battle. So I thought, perhaps I should go there and explore.”

“A hundred years ago, I came here and accidentally entered that small formation. I suffered terribly. Even after returning to the South Sea, I couldn’t give up. I always felt unprepared, so I brought my older sister back here.” Luo Yi looked at the woman dressed in black in front of her, whose condition wasn’t much better than hers. Then she sighed and said, “I prepared well before coming here this time and brought plenty of food and water. But I didn’t expect Mount Zhuyu to be occupied.”

Nan Xu nodded. His appearance was indeed surprising.

My older sister and I saw the billboard outside the mountain and decided to stay for two days. The food here is full of spiritual energy. I could feel it flowing through my body while I slept at night. We became more and more convinced that we could find some clues here, so we explored the mountain without the owner’s permission.” Luo Yi felt even more ashamed. “My sister suggested that I tell the owner. I spoke to the owner that afternoon. I wanted to tell him, but I was worried he would stop me…”

Nan Xu knew the demon world cared about its territory, but he didn’t care much as a human being. As long as Mount Zhuyu remained unharmed, he didn’t mind if other demons entered.

“What formation did you enter?” Nan Xu asked.

Although he was somewhat serious, his expression wasn’t too bad. He didn’t say anything negative to Luo Yi or her sister, which made Luo Yi feel relieved. At least their relationship hadn’t deteriorated to that extent.

“The formation we entered wasn’t very large. It was on the mountain next to us. The climate inside the formation was different from that of the mountains. After we entered, we lost many of our demon abilities. Sometimes it was very cold, and other times the ground beneath our feet was hot. We couldn’t cast spells either. We stayed inside the formation for four or five days. All the food and water we had prepared was gone by the time we reached the exit,” said Luo Yi with lingering fear.

He had once thought that a formation that made people hungry was the most unbearable torture, but he hadn’t expected the intense cold and scorching heat.

Nan Xu didn’t find it frightening. Although it sounded like a harsh environment, extreme weather is a constant in the human world, and we’ve seen plenty of it on the news.

He tilted his head to look at Zhixing, who was sitting beside him. Zhixing frowned upon hearing it, as if he had never experienced anything like it before. It sounded incredibly terrifying. Feeling even more confused, he looked at Tingchuan again.

Tingchuan leaned against the door with his eyes closed. He felt Nanxu’s gaze and explained, “Demons aren’t as sensitive to extreme cold or heat as humans are, so they wear the same clothes year-round. It’s a bit uncomfortable in the summer and winter, but they get used to it after using a little spiritual power.”

Nanxu remembered that, even when he was hot in short sleeves, Tingchuan and Zhixing wore the same clothes. At most, they felt a little hot during naps. As for Tingchuan, he always held his fan at home, mostly just because he liked it.

After all, his fan was the only thing that was different, and he was very proud of that.

“You demons really have it easy,” Nanxu said with a hint of envy.

Tingchuan replied, “Things might be easy sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.”

It was as if they were overly reliant on spiritual power. After losing that boundless power, survival became problematic.

He said this calmly, but Zhixing suppressed the shock on his face and silently pondered something.

Luo Yi stared at Nanxu in shock for a moment. “Innkeeper, are you really human?”

Nanxu replied calmly, “Otherwise? Why would I lie to you?”

Luo Yi stared at Nanxu for a long time without blinking, as if her mind had been blown. She muttered, “This is real. This is the first time I’ve seen a living human.”

Nanxu: …

Why does this scene feel so familiar? He looked at Tingchuan again, vaguely remembering Tingchuan saying something similar.

Nanxu said nothing. The flute in the black-clothed woman’s hand hit Luo Yi’s head, bringing Luo Yi back to her senses.

“It’s great to be able to get out! There are many formations of varying sizes on this mountain. You’re fortunate to be able to enter a small one. If you can enter a large formation…” Nan Xu didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant.

For thousands of years, the legend of Mount Zhuyu has never faded. Demons who didn’t believe in evil ran to Mount Zhuyu to explore. Unfortunately, none of them were able to escape the large formation. Thus, Mount Zhuyu became a taboo word in the demon world.

Older demons cherished their lives, but young demons like Luo Yi and Ning Ju had never experienced the harshness of the real world and were fearless, so they had a strong sense of adventure.

Nan Xu also felt somewhat fortunate. Fortunately, Luo Yi had only entered a small formation and had a chance of survival. He hadn’t thought about what had happened to Mount Zhuyu in the past. Now, however, he owned this mountain range, and he didn’t want any more demons to die on this mountain for strange reasons.

Luo Yi also looked displeased. “Yes, the innkeeper is right. I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t know the situation on the mountain. Entering this formation was sudden. After my sister and I struggled to get out, if it weren’t for the guide who appeared, we might have fallen into the next formation and wouldn’t have survived.”

Guide? Nan Xu remembered the second advertising slogan. He had almost forgotten about the reward because he hadn’t heard anyone mention it.

“It’s just that my magical weapon is still inside the formation. My sister and I returned to the inn to rest and apologize to the innkeeper. I asked the innkeeper to let us back in to retrieve it. I want to retrieve my magic weapon,” Luo Yi said sincerely.

Magic weapons and monsters are a perfect match. Not all monsters have them, so it’s understandable why monsters who possess magic weapons cherish them so much. They wouldn’t lose them inside the formation. I guess they’ve been through hard times.

“The small formations on this mountain constantly change position. It won’t be easy for you to find the formation you entered before,” said Nan Xu.

Luo Yi couldn’t believe it. She thought she just needed to prepare to go back in, but she didn’t anticipate another change. “It’s getting late, and you’re all tired. Let’s take a break first. I’ll think of a way tomorrow,” Nan Xu said.