RIIDMDR chapter 92

 

The fish that Yao Lin brought were piled up like a mountain—a true exaggeration. Nan Xu busied himself for most of the afternoon before finishing them. Together with Zhi Xing, Nan Xu set up a wooden rack for drying the fish on the flat ground behind the house. After hanging everything up, they marinated them.

Tingchuan frowned at the sight, and Nan Xu started to feel disdain for himself as well. Zhi Xing was about to use a purification spell when Nan Xu stopped him. “Using a spell to cleanse yourself every day is soulless. I’ve heated up a pot of water. Let’s take a hot bath together.”

Zhixing hesitated. “I haven’t taken a bath yet.”

Nanxu pushed him toward the shabby cabin behind the house. “Everything has a first time. Come on in. I’ll get you some water.”

Zhixing was pushed into the bathroom by Nanxu. He was hesitant and wanted to say something.

Nanxu was humming a tune as he pushed open the door to the shabby cabin. He had a fresh towel draped over his shoulders and a bucket of hot water in his hand. When he went in, someone grabbed him by the collar.

He turned around and saw a tall figure standing behind him. The figure had a probing expression on his face and asked ambiguously, “Do you want to go in and bathe with him?”

Nan Xu answered without hesitation, “They’re all men.”

Tingchuan remained silent, looking at him dimly.

Nan Xu: …

Nan Xu realized belatedly. He’d never been in love before and had seen nothing wrong with walking past a group of naked men in the bathhouse. But now…

Thinking of that night’s events, Nan Xu let out a long, mournful sigh. “Love has truly made me lose so much.”

Tingchuan stood tall and slender, looking at Nan Xu with a mixture of anger and amusement. “What have you lost?”

Nan Xu thought: I’ve lost the ability to look at a man’s body normally.

But he couldn’t say that. He doubted this fox in front of him would take it well.

Nan Xu said solemnly, “Though I’ve gained love, I’ve lost all my worries. What a pity.”

Then, he called Zhixing’s name through the door: “Have you undressed? The hot water is here.”

Zhixing, holding his clothes behind the door, sighed with relief. Even though he had a good relationship with the owner, he couldn’t accept bathing together. Fortunately, Senior Tingchuan intervened. He immediately opened the door and took the tub. Under Senior Tingchuan’s intimidating gaze, Zhixing thanked him repeatedly without looking away.

After handing him the towel and soap, Nanxu patted Zhixing on the shoulder. Just as he was about to encourage the little hedgehog for its first hot bath, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “You hedgehogs aren’t afraid of water, are you?”

Zhixing: …

Zhixing mumbled a reply and went back into the cabin. Puzzled, Nanxu looked at Tingchuan. “He’s so shy. It’s just a bath.”

Tingchuan glanced at Nanxu but said nothing.

The two of them walked back to the main house side by side. Nanxu thought about how empty the cabin was and said, “This little bathroom is really shabby. It’s going to be cold in the winter. It needs some renovations.”

Judging by the results of recent home improvements, it seems the system has no intention of upgrading this little bathroom. Attempting to use the system’s building functions won’t work; the renovations will have to be done independently.

“I can work with you, or you can tell me what you want, and I’ll do it,” Tingchuan said.

Nanxu asked, “Can you do these things?”

Thinking of Tingchuan’s unique skill with his hands and his ability to make zongzi, Nanxu felt a little skeptical.

Tingchuan pondered for a few seconds, then said uncertainly, “Maybe…okay!”

Upon hearing this, Nanxu made up his mind: He would be the primary person responsible for the bathroom renovation.

The two of them entered the house. From the kitchen, they heard the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board. Confused, Nan Xu walked in and saw Yao Lin with his sleeves rolled up, struggling with the ribbonfish. Upon hearing Nan Xu’s arrival, Yao Lin tilted his head and smiled. “Owner, I’ve memorized all the steps. Can I try them out tonight?”

Nan Xu didn’t see a problem and nodded. He scooped out hot water from the pot, covered the bucket, and prepared to take a bath after Zhi Xing came out.

After waiting about twenty minutes, Nan Xu still hadn’t heard Zhi Xing come out. Sensing that something was amiss, he hesitated, then walked to the door, knocked, and called, “Zhi Xing?”

No one answered from inside; silence reigned.

Nan Xu turned around and called out, “Tingchuan, this is terrible! Did Zhi Xing drown?”

Tingchuan, who was watering the vegetable patch with a bucket, was speechless for a moment. “How could that little bucket of water drown him?”

Nan Xu thought about it, but Zhixing didn’t respond, and he panicked. He could only bang on the door. Finally, there was movement inside: something falling to the ground, followed by the sound of a wooden bucket hitting the wall. It was a chaotic mess.

Nan Xu called Zhixing’s name twice more, but there was still no response. Just as he was about to burst in, the door opened to reveal the small room completely empty.

Nan Xu:?

Nan Xu!

Nan Xu was horrified. He shouted to Tingchuan, who was still leisurely working in the vegetable patch: “Tingchuan! This is bad! Zhixing is missing.”

Tingchuan finally put down his bucket and walked toward Nan Xu. Nan Xu glanced around the room, wondering how a large demon could suddenly vanish. Could there be a small formation that swallowed him up?

His mind was swirling with thoughts when he felt something touch his ankle. He looked down and nearly jumped out of fear.

A wet, spiky ball no bigger than a basketball lay at his feet. It lifted its head, revealing its fair, pink cheeks and belly. The sight choked Nan Xu’s scream.

Nan Xu looked closely. It looked like… a hedgehog? One of its little hands tugged at its trouser leg as it tried to tilt its head back. Its round black eyes and the tip of its nose twitched slightly, perhaps out of timidity. Its ears twitched constantly. It was truly adorable, enough to melt anyone’s heart.

Nan Xu’s eyes lit up a little. He squatted down. The little hedgehog saw this and tucked its hands back against its belly. Its eyes met Nan Xu’s. Nan Xu reached out a finger and touched its ear. Startled, the little hedgehog suddenly tucked its head back into its belly and curled up into a ball.

It was then that Nan Xu noticed a bar of soap stuck to its back.

Unsure, Nan Xu asked, “Are you Zhixing?”

The little hedgehog moved in response but didn’t lift its head.

Nan Xu laughed heartily. Even though he was pricked badly, he couldn’t help but touch Zhixing with his fingertips.

He removed the soap from Zhixing’s back. Seemingly overwhelmed, the little hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief and popped out of his shell. The next second, he shrank back down. Nan Xu was just wondering about this when Tingchuan squatted down beside him. Playfully, he poked Zhi Xing’s head with a small wooden stick and said, “Hey, you’ve reverted to your original form.”

Nanxu snatched the stick from Tingchuan’s hand, frowning. “He’s so cute—don’t poke him.”

Tingchuan brushed the dust off his hands, feeling displeased. “When he’s in his original form, he’s just a hedgehog. All that gray and fluff isn’t pretty. Why do you like him so much?”

Nanxu replied, “You won’t show me your tail, and you won’t let me like other demonic forms.”

Tingchuan: …

It’s his fault, after all.

The two bickered endlessly. Zhixing shut himself off, wishing he could dig a hole in the ground and escape. Fortunately, Nanxu quickly regained his focus, as his thoughts weren’t distracted too far by Tingchuan. He stared at Zhixing, who had transformed into his original form, and said, “What’s wrong with Zhixing? It seems he can’t turn back into a human.”

Tingchuan glanced at the situation inside the cabin and quickly guessed, “He…must be afraid of water.”

Nanxu: “Huh?”

Tingchuan poked the curled ball with his fingertips again and said, “You were so scared of taking a bath that your spiritual core went empty—impressive achievement.”

The curled-up little hedgehog sighed.

Unable to bear it, Nan Xu interrupted Tingchuan, asking, “So, what should we do about him? Can’t he transform back?”

Tingchuan withdrew his hand and said, “It’s okay. His spiritual energy isn’t completely depleted. He’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

Nan Xu sighed with relief. He figured that, even if monsters weren’t all bad, at least people wouldn’t turn into kittens, puppies, or hedgehogs just because they were scared.

Nan Xu wrapped Zhixing in a towel and carried him back to his room. After shaking the hedgehog dry, he laid him on the bed. In the blink of an eye, Zhixing burrowed into the covers, looking withdrawn.

After leaving the room, Nan Xu was struck by a strange odor seemingly coming from the kitchen. He paused, somewhat reluctant to face it, but ultimately, out of love for his kitchen, he followed the scent. As soon as he pushed the door open, the odor became ten times stronger and was accompanied by a pungent smell of smoke. Frowning, Nan Xu went in and found Yao Lin grimacing and waving a spatula as he scooped something charred out of the pan.

Nan Xu peeked in. “What is this?”

Yao Lin coughed twice. “Ribbonfish in tomato sauce.”

Nan Xu tried to identify it, but after half a minute, he gave up. “Weren’t you making braised ribbonfish?”

Yao Lin was embarrassed. “Yes, I made the braised hairtail fish first.”

Nan Xu asked, “Where is it?”

Yao Lin replied, “It was overcooked and turned black, so I added two tomatoes to brighten it up.”

What a great way to add color! Nan Xu said, “Since you’ve already ruined the fish, why are you dragging my tomatoes into it?”

Yao Lin: “I was being reckless.”

Yao Lin was shooed out of the kitchen. Nan Xu opened the window to air out the kitchen before starting to prepare dinner.

At the foot of the bamboo forest behind the house, Zhuang Wu sat by the doorway munching on a cucumber. He sniffed and turned to his eldest brother. “Brother, this smell is so strange.”

Zhuang Si was adding firewood to the stove when he heard the noise. He ran out without putting down the wood. He thought it was the aroma of a meal that would give them more rice, but who knew?

Zhuang Si’s brows slowly furrowed as he strained to discern the source of the smell. After enduring it no longer, he… He confirmed, “The owner must be refining elixirs.”

Zhuang Wu opened his mouth, stunned for a few seconds, then managed to squeeze out a sentence: “The owner is a master of all trades. He truly has the demeanor of a great demon.”

The great demon Nan Xu, wielding his spatula, quickly set out a table full of dinner. Zhi Xing was absent from the stone table tonight, and Nan Xu had planned to call him. Even though he couldn’t transform into human form yet, eating as a little hedgehog wouldn’t be a problem.

In truth, calling him to eat was just an excuse. Nan Xu hadn’t had enough of looking at him yet. Back in the human world, people kept cats and dogs as pets, but hardly anyone raised hedgehogs. Especially when this hedgehog was someone he knew—and wouldn’t bite him—he couldn’t help wanting to pet him again. That soft pink belly…

Tingchuan seemed to see through his thoughts and stopped the eager Nanxu, “Get him out to eat today. He probably won’t leave his room for the next month.”

Nanxu thought about it and realized what Tingchuan said made sense. He picked up his chopsticks again, feeling a pity.

Tomorrow, Zhixing will wake up and be that red-lipped, white-toothed boy again. Sigh!