RIIDMDR chapter 81

 

He jumped to the topic so quickly that Tingchuan was taken aback for a moment. After about ten seconds, he tentatively asked, “Are you short on money?”

Nanxu was feeling sad about the system’s demanding tasks. He didn’t know when he could complete them. Otherwise, the system would keep him hooked with rewards, and even if he had made up his mind to stop doing missions and live a peaceful life, he would still feel like he had lost millions for nothing, which would make his heart ache with regret.

“It’s not really about the money,” Nanxu said, sighing because he didn’t know how to explain it.

Tingchuan had previously seen the stones Nanxu had brought back disappear with the changes in the courtyard. He could probably guess that Nanxu had been guided by something other than spiritual power. Thousands of years ago, humans had never heard of such an ability. But that didn’t mean that humans thousands of years later wouldn’t have it. After all, despite their short lifespan, humans have always been capable of creating astonishing and extraordinary things.

Tingchuan had examined Nanxu’s body at night and found no trace of spiritual power. As he said, Nanxu now had an ordinary human body. Therefore, Tingchuan didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. He didn’t want to discuss it and didn’t ask any further questions.

Tingchuan didn’t know if that ability was sometimes good and sometimes bad. But if it was guiding Nanxu to plunder other demon tribes and Nanxu, who was so gentle, was willing to do it, then the power’s motives were intriguing indeed.

Tingchuan wasn’t overthinking it. The catastrophe that struck the demon world thousands of years ago was caused by a change in the character of some great demons during their cultivation. Their desires were magnified, causing them to become greedy and quarrelsome. This resulted in a disaster that devastated the demon world for a thousand years. Having experienced that catastrophe and lost many important friends and relatives during that time, Tingchuan, a demon, couldn’t help but be sensitive.

Tingchuan’s smile faded as he silently observed Nanxu. He naturally didn’t believe the Xiaoyao character could change. However, he was worried that, without the memory of his past life, he would be deceived in the isolated demon world.

Nan Xu turned grief into motivation. He sawed wood with his head down, calculating how many demons of different races he knew and wondering if he could start with the familiar ones. At worst, he’d give them a 10% discount to show friendship.

Not noticing Tingchuan’s change in expression, Nan Xu sawed off a piece of wood and said, “Forget it. Let’s not tie them up. Otherwise, their parents will come up the mountain to fight us. We old, weak, and sick people won’t be able to defeat them, and we’ll have to pay for the house.”

Tingchuan’s thoughts froze, and he touched his earlobe in disbelief. Wait, what did he hear? Old, weak, and sick? Who was old?

–

Xu Le left the mountain alone in the afternoon, and Nan Xu was worried. Seeing that Xu Ji had forgotten the child amidst his busy schedule, Nan Xu simply let him sleep in the inn. After all, the upgraded house had plenty of beds, and there were no guests staying. Danyin slept through the night. Nan Xu’s meal was served, and he followed the scent downstairs. He heard noises coming from the kitchen but saw no one in the courtyard. He squinted and was about to sit down at the table.

Before he could sit down, a hand grabbed the back of his collar. Danyin was displeased. After all, he was a wild ginseng demon over two thousand years old who was respected wherever he went. How could any demon treat him so rudely?

He unleashed his spiritual power, and the next second, an even greater force surged like a dark cloud overtaking a city. Danyin’s spiritual power lasted only half a second before it was crushed, leaving his hair and beard standing on end in fear.

“There’s no place for you here. Go over there,” Tingchuan said, pointing to the rickety wooden table in the courtyard.

Though frightened, Danyin maintained his dignity. Since Nanxu was in charge of Zhuyu Mountain, he took the opportunity to assert his authority. “Why would you interfere with my behavior? I have a close relationship with the owner, and he hasn’t said anything to me.”

Tingchuan raised an eyebrow slightly. “You have a close relationship with the owner?”

Danyin: “We were drinking, chatting, admiring the moon, and sharing our innermost thoughts. You had nothing to do with it!”

When Nanxu brought out the next dish, he saw Tingchuan sitting leisurely at the table. His black hair stood straight up, giving him a non-mainstream human hairstyle, which Nan Xu oddly found familiar and endearing.

“You…” Nanxu hesitated for two seconds, then glanced at Zhixing, who was following behind him. He wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Zhixing, understanding Nanxu’s thoughts, momentarily dropped his shy act and quickly clarified, “Our hedgehog demon clan has never had such a trendy hairstyle.”

Nan Xu was a little disappointed. “Oh, I even know how to make red hair dye. It’s pure, plant-based, and non-irritating.”

Zhixing had never seen hair dye before, but he felt that the hedgehog demons had somehow escaped disaster.

However, Xu Le was younger. He tugged at Nan Xu’s clothes and said childishly, “He looks like the waterweed by the duck pond.”

A few days ago, Xu Le had seen the upright waterweed when he went with his tribe to collect duck eggs at a pond in the river valley.

Having just experienced the complete suppression of his spiritual power, and now being mocked by a child, Danyin erupted in emotion: “What? Waterweed? I’m a thousand-year-old mountain ginseng demon! How can something as mundane as waterweed compare to me?!”

Xu Le was puzzled. “But there are duck eggs in the water grass. Duck eggs are delicious. Do you have any?”

Danyin: …

Why would he have duck eggs?

Zhixing covered Xu Le’s mouth as he tried to speak again and whispered, “It’s a very valuable tonic herb. Very valuable.”

Although it was a compliment, Danyin felt as if someone were coveting his body, and he wasn’t happy about it.

You’an walked in from outside, clutching a vibrantly feathered pheasant. He exclaimed, “This pheasant was incredibly hard to catch! I chased it halfway up the mountain.”

Nan Xu smiled and replied, “Any wild game around here would have already been eaten by us.”

You’an thought, No wonder. He’d never had such a hard time hunting elsewhere. As he thought about this, he caught sight of Danyin. Intrigued by this unfamiliar face, he stared at him for a few seconds before sighing, “After hundreds of years, the northern plant demons have become so untamed.”

Danyin: …

The more Danyin realized that the people in the courtyard were speaking carelessly, the more he felt like he was about to get hurt.

Nan Xu noticed that Tingchuan remained silent, yet his joy was barely concealed. He knew Danyin’s hair was connected to Tingchuan.

He had hoped Danyin would stay two more nights. He didn’t want him to get angry, so he quickly changed the subject. “Let’s eat, you’ve been sleeping without ordering anything, so I took it upon myself to cook a few dishes for you.”

Danyin had always lived off the land in Changbai Mountain, but after visiting Zhuyu Mountain, he realized how much the southern monsters appreciated fine food. The food was not only delicious, but it also infused their bodies with a subtle spiritual energy—a truly wonderful experience. Therefore, even if he wasn’t hungry, he insisted on eating two meals a day. As he came downstairs, he smelled the food and his appetite was drawn to it. Naturally, he didn’t mind Nanxu’s initiative.

“Okay, okay.” Danyin sat down at the table, waiting for Nanxu to serve the food. Glancing provocatively at Tingchuan, he said, “The owner is so considerate and caring to me.”

This table was one of Nanxu’s early failures as a carpenter. Back then, he thought he had a natural talent for craftsmanship. Now, with the yard paved in stone and the table wobbling at the slightest touch, he realized how naive he had been.

Nanxu felt that Danyin was acting strangely today. He wasn’t as handsome or wise as he’d pretended to be a few days ago, but Nanxu assumed he was being provoked. He was about to ask Tingchuan to bring out a nice table, but when he saw how naturally Danyin sat down, he changed his mind. Danyin didn’t seem to like eating on the balcony today and had chosen to dine at the lame table instead.

The meal arrived. Nanxu’s group was bustling with activity while Danyin sat alone at another table enjoying the delicious food. Nanxu glanced at him a few times and, seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, reassuringly withdrew his gaze.

There was a chicken drumstick in the bowl. Nanxu tilted his head and looked at Tingchuan, who had an expressionless and calm face. Sitting across from him, Xu Le smacked his lips as if he had missed out on the chicken drumstick. Nanxu knew Tingchuan had snatched the drumstick from Xu Le’s chopsticks. He felt embarrassed for taking something from a child.

After sighing slightly in regret, Xu Le turned his attention back to the dishes on the table, searching for the next piece of meat that would be both delicious and easy to prepare. Nan Xu nudged Tingchuan and whispered, “What did you do to Danyin? Let his hair down! Stop joking with the guests.”

Tingchuan glanced at Danyin. The only thing about him that stood out was his dark, oily hair. After all, it was a tonic herb, so it wasn’t surprising. Normally, his flowing hair made him look handsome, but now that it was hanging down, he looked ordinary. Not even his fair skin could save his appearance. He had the nerve to talk about his nighttime secrets with Nan Xu in front of Tingchuan.

“Maybe he likes his new hairstyle. Does it have anything to do with me?” Tingchuan said.

Nan Xu: “I don’t believe it.”

Tingchuan choked up and spoke to Nan Xu more seriously. “His hair is just like that. The flowing, elegant style is the result of his spiritual energy, which he has deliberately cultivated. It’s like the radishes you planted in the garden. The green leaves on top are tilted vertically, right?”

He made a lot of sense, and Nan Xu nodded unconsciously. Tingchuan raised his lip. “He’s using up a lot of spiritual energy now, so his hair will naturally return to its original shape. Once the remaining energy circulates through his body and is redistributed where needed, his hair will fall back down.”

Nan Xu was surprised to hear this. He had never heard of anything like this happening before. He didn’t consider why Dan Yin consumed so much spiritual energy while sleeping. He only sighed and said, “The demon world’s spiritual energy is depleted. Aren’t you demons supposed to be frugal with yours? He’s so extravagant.”

Tingchuan snorted, “How else would he be able to pretend to be handsome?”

Nan Xu thought about it and understood. In the human world, he had seen people from humble backgrounds who insisted on buying designer bags and watches. Their ulterior motive was to save face.

After understanding this, Nan Xu no longer envied Danyin’s hair. He had previously wished that he had such priceless hair. Now, he realized that, no matter how valuable it was, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy it with it standing straight up.

Tingchuan deliberately blocked their conversation. Besides the two of them, none of the others at their table, including Zhixing, could hear their conversation clearly, let alone Danyin at the neighboring table. After dinner, Danyin strolled around the courtyard, observing the surroundings. When Nanxu was no longer surrounded by demons, Danyin approached him, slightly shyly saying, “Do you still have the wine the owner drank last night? I’ll trade my hair for yours, so we can have a few more drinks.”

Nanxu hadn’t expected Danyin to be a drunkard, but the wine was certainly gone. Hearing him talk about hair, Nanxu couldn’t help but think of the green leaves on the white radish’s head that Tingchuan had mentioned, and he was almost unable to look at it.

 

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Author’s Note:

Danyin: I never dreamed that a thousand-year-old ginseng like me would one day become brothers with a radish.