RIIDMDR chapter 106

 

For ten days straight, Nan Xu would use a spoon every morning to press down the grape skins and pulp inside the clay jar. The fireplace in the room was often lit to keep the temperature pleasant. The fermentation of the grape juice went faster than expected. Once no more bubbles rose from the jar, Nan Xu filtered the juice to remove the residue. He sealed the bottle completely and stored it in the corner.

The secondary fermentation would take about a month or two. Nan Xu calculated that it should be ready to drink by New Year’s Eve.

During this time, he made two long knitting needles for sweaters and knitted a few rows here and there. There wasn’t much to do in the winter, so he made good progress. In just over ten days, he finished his gray sweater, which kept him much warmer when worn.

There were several baskets of yarn in different colors. Seeing Zhixing looking pale and wearing thin clothes every day, Nan Xu picked out a green thread. Using Zhixing’s measurements, he began knitting again day and night.

When the gray sweater was finished, Tingchuan even took it to examine it closely. Probably because Nan Xu’s previous attempt at tailoring his own autumn clothes had been awful, Tingchuan unexpectedly praised the plain, patternless sweater twice.

However, when he saw the half-finished green sweater in Nan Xu’s hands, Tingchuan frowned. He seemed disdainful of such a bright color.

Perhaps understanding how quickly firewood burned in the fireplace, the other demons in the inn often went up the nearby mountain on sunny days to gather more branches and logs. They never seemed to think it was too much.

Yao Lin was supposed to leave in about ten days, so he had no reason to bother with such things. Yet, every day, he cheerfully joined in gathering firewood. He complained that the wood shed in the yard was too small and dragged Zhixing behind the house to build a simple one near the sheep pen. He constantly stacked wood inside it.

With all that movement, Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu, who lived nearby, couldn’t help but notice. Using the excuse of borrowing farming tools, Zhuang Wu came to the inn to take a look around. Seeing the group of demons huddled around the fireplace, he quietly slipped into the main hall.

The hall was obviously much warmer than outside. As soon as he stepped in, he felt it. His gaze lingered on the fireplace for a while as he tried to clearly memorize its structure.

The main peak of Zhuyu Mountain was taller and broader than the other mountains in the demon realm. Since winter arrived earlier here than in the outside world, the cold was clearly harsher too. Though Zhuang Wu was thick-skinned and sturdy as Yao Lin said, who would willingly endure the freezing cold waiting for spring if there’s a warm place?

Before the two boar demons came to Zhuyu Mountain, they’d sell their cabbages before the first snowfall each year, pocket the money, and then return to the mountain. They’d roughly dig up their half-empty cave, spread dry grass, and hole up there for the whole winter.

Except for big demon clans like the Bai family of West Mountain, the fox demons of the Eastern Sea, and the Azure Dragon of the Southern Sea, who had proper traditions and built palaces or houses, most other demons in the realm lived rough lives like them. The mouse and rabbit clans dug holes in the ground and lived in them. Looking across the entire demon realm, there was probably no household more meticulous than this inn, which even had a fireplace indoors for warmth.

But really, it was wonderfully warm!

When Zhuang Wu returned to tell his older brother about the new fireplace, Zhuang Si was dazzled by the envy in his younger brother’s eyes, even though he hadn’t seen it himself. The two wild boar demons discussed it and decided to imitate it. It wasn’t their first time making replicas, and they didn’t think it’d be difficult.

However, they ran into problems from the very first step. Their bamboo house was elevated off the ground to avoid the effort of finding stone slabs, and they usually cooked in an outdoor shed. Where could they put a fireplace?

Luckily, winter hadn’t fully arrived yet, and there were still enough stones and bricks from the nearby earthen kiln. Since the owner didn’t need them for farm work, they could build a small stone house before the snow came.

Down the mountain, the boar brothers busied themselves building a new home. Meanwhile, Nan Xu noticed something odd about the little sheep. Recently, when he milked her, her yield had dropped sharply. Thinking she might be sick, he called Zhixing to examine her. However, Zhixing said there was nothing wrong. Staring into the sheep’s wet, dark eyes, Nan Xu couldn’t shake the feeling that he had forgotten something.

That night, while talking with Tingchuan, Nan Xu shared his concerns. Tingchuan had never raised sheep before, but he had lived a long time and seen many creatures in the demon realm. After thinking it over, he offered a guess.

“I’ve been feeding her more green grass lately and have even added some corn, so hunger isn’t the issue,” Tingchuan said. “I’ve heard that in winter, many animals grow more fur to keep warm. She must be the same.”

Hearing this, Nan Xu suddenly realized that he had been misled by the sheep’s soft coat. He had forgotten that this was a milk sheep, not a wool one, and that she was constantly expending energy to stay warm. This left her with no energy to produce milk.

Nan Xu slapped his forehead in guilt. He had built a fireplace for himself and added straw to the chicken coop. Yet, he had never considered that the little sheep might be cold, too. How could living in that drafty shed be okay?

His remorse was obvious. Tingchuan caught Nan Xu’s hand, pulled it into the warmth of the quilt, and rubbed his chin against the back of Nan Xu’s head. He murmured, “Sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll help you fix it.”

That night, Nan Xu slept uneasily, repeatedly dreaming of the sheep’s wet black eyes. The system’s sheep had not a single stray hair; it was delicate and good-looking. And when it showed that expression, it looked especially pitiful.

The next morning, Nan Xu didn’t stay in bed. As soon as Tingchuan got up, Nan Xu leapt out of bed, dark circles under his eyes, and began carrying stones and bricks. The little sheep seemed to sense something and bleated excitedly. During breaks, Nan Xu ran into the pen to hug and pet the sheep, only to be caught by Tingchuan, who had just returned from feeding the chickens, and dragged out.

“You smell like sheep. Don’t expect me to warm your bed tonight,” the nine-tailed fox demon said coldly as he lifted his chin.

Nan Xu sniffed himself. The little sheep didn’t smell bad, so surely he hadn’t picked up any smell either. Besides, he bathed every night before bed—there was no way he’d bring a sheep smell to bed.

However, since he was always the one cuddling up to Tingchuan for warmth, he couldn’t argue and reluctantly agreed.

The sheep’s new shelter was built beside the pen. It only needed to be windproof and warm, not elaborate. With everyone helping, the work went quickly. The little sheep cheered them on from the sidelines, bleating every now and then. Nan Xu’s heart itched to stop and pet it again.

The door faced the pen. They worked almost nonstop throughout the day, and by the afternoon, the new shed was almost finished. Yao Lin, a bird demon with wings, had a particular fondness for things built high up. He volunteered to lay the roof tiles, and Nan Xu let him. However, remembering how Yao Lin had injured his wings doing something similar before, Nan Xu told Zhixing to watch Yao Lin carefully in case he fell. Even if Zhixing couldn’t catch Yao Lin, he could at least react faster to administer first aid.

Nan Xu then went up the mountain with a sickle, cut two bamboo stalks, split them into thin strips, and wove a mat-like curtain to hang at the door and block the cold wind. He removed part of the fence and filled the house with dry grass. After a day’s work, the sheep finally had its own warm little room with a covered yard.

Once the roof was finished, Yao Lin jumped straight down without using a ladder. He rolled up his sleeves, tilted his head, and admired his handiwork proudly. He had once studied how the roof tiles on the wooden house were arranged, and he had now done a decent imitation.

“I didn’t just learn to cook here—I even picked up house-building skills! When I return to the South Sea, I’ll build new homes for every family in the clan!” Yao Lin declared passionately, not blinking once.

Zhixing looked like he wanted to say something, but he held it in and went back inside.

Nan Xu, on the other hand, wondered where Yao Lin got his confidence. Forget everything else — if two out of ten of his dishes weren’t poisonous, Nan Xu would have to check if the sun was rising in the west. Now, with his building skills, did he plan to kill the survivors by collapsing the roofs on them?

What a deadly plan!

Still, Nan Xu didn’t have the heart to crush Yao Lin’s ego. He gently said, “But don’t your bird clans live in nests? It’s been that way since ancient times—there must be a reason for it.”

Yao Lin didn’t get the hint. He waved his hand. “Bird nests can’t withstand wind and rain. We have to repair them all the time. The younger generation should solve the problem at its root. I came out to learn, and now I’ve learned how to build houses. When I return, I’ll put my skills to use and become the most outstanding member of my clan!”

Nan Xu: …

With that level of confidence, Nan Xu had nothing to say. Climbing up to inspect the roof, he found nothing sloppy. It should withstand strong winds and snow.

The little sheep happily explored its new home, sniffing around, and then bleated several times in Nan Xu’s direction, as if thanking him.

Looking around, Nan Xu saw no sign of Tingchuan, so he slipped inside and snuggled with the sheep again. Thinking about how the sheep had been outside in the cold for ten days, Nan Xu couldn’t help but want to shower it with affection.

When he came out covered in sheep hair, instead of heading straight back to the courtyard, he stood by the pen, taking off his coat and beating the dust off of it. As he did so, he couldn’t shake the strange feeling that he was hiding evidence of an affair.

Just as he put his coat back on, the small door behind the house opened. Tingchuan appeared. Nan Xu felt inexplicably guilty and gave him an awkward but polite smile.

Tingchuan’s gaze swept over him; his expression carried some hidden meaning. “The sun’s already set. Don’t you feel cold out here?”

Nan Xu took a step forward, then hesitated. He wondered if he still smelled like sheep. After all, Tingchuan had a sharp sense of smell.

“Cold,” Nan Xu said quickly. “I’m coming back now.”

He lingered, but Tingchuan didn’t move aside or go in. Leaning lazily against the doorframe, Tingchuan looked like he was waiting for someone to walk right into his trap.

 

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Acargoreng: Hello everyone, I’m here to bring a little sad news. My other translation, “But He’s Beautiful,” had to be taken down because of a DMCA problem. I’m planning to move it to my Ko-fi page instead. Once everything is decided, I’ll make another announcement.
Thank you all for always supporting my works 💕