RIIDMDR chapter 110

 

That night, after returning to the room, Nan Xu’s curiosity reached its peak. He stood by the bed and looked at Tingchuan, who was lying leisurely on it. Nan Xu pounced straight at him.

Tingchuan reached out and pulled Nan Xu into his arms. He let Nan Xu lie on top of him and gently patted his back with his large hands.

Nan Xu kicked off his shoes, found a comfortable position, and asked bluntly, “You and that female demon—old acquaintances?”

Tingchuan lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms. “Not really. We just met once before.”

“Oh.” Nan Xu instinctively grasped the art of interrogation between lovers and didn’t press further. “Confess the truth.”

Tingchuan chuckled twice. “There’s nothing I can’t say. A few hundred years ago, the territory where the cat demons lived ran out of spiritual energy. For demons, living in that kind of place was terrible. They needed to find a new place to settle. But the cat demon clan was small and weak. They had no great demon in charge, nor any talented ones among them. Seizing territory in the north by force was basically impossible.”

Nan Xu put away his interrogating posture and became an obedient listener. “And then?”

“They wanted to migrate south. Aside from the north, every other direction in the demon realm is occupied by powerful great demons or high-status clans: the Bai family of West Mountain, the Jingyuan of the South Sea, the Bird Tribe in the central region, and my own Nine-Tailed Fox clan in the east. With nowhere else to go, they resorted to underhanded means, sending their youngest and most beautiful juniors, claiming they wished to form a marriage alliance with the Nine-Tailed Fox clan.”

Nan Xu was dumbfounded by the gossip. His mouth hung open for a while before he asked uncertainly, “A political marriage like in the legends?”

Tingchuan hummed in acknowledgment and continued, “Their condition was to be granted a mountain near the East Sea.”

“Did you ever show affection toward that female demon before that?” Nan Xu asked curiously.

Tingchuan calmly shook his head. “Before that, I didn’t even know there was a female demon in the cat clan.”

Nan Xu unconsciously scratched his head, feeling like he couldn’t keep up. Setting aside Tingchuan’s lack of affection, the cat clan chief sent a beautiful female demon to marry a Nine-Tailed Fox and immediately asked for a mountain in return.

What’s the difference between this method and robbery, other than sending a girl along?

Such behavior would surely provoke Tingchuan’s or You An’s displeasure, wouldn’t it?

Nan Xu couldn’t understand the cat clan chief’s thinking. Was his head stuffed with straw instead of brains?

As he grumbled inwardly, Nan Xu listened to Tingchuan’s story.

“They came suddenly. You An and I were away from the mountain, so we knew nothing about it. The fox clan received them and let them stay temporarily. When we returned, we had other urgent matters to attend to and didn’t pay much attention to them. One day, I happened to meet the female demon, who claimed to be my betrothed…” Tingchuan paused, as if he still couldn’t believe it even now.

He pressed his fingers to his temple while Nan Xu couldn’t hold back his laughter. Just imagining Tingchuan’s expression back then amused him.

Tingchuan helplessly pinched Nan Xu’s cheek. “That female demon was quite young at the time. She had never left her mountain and was very naive. She believed her clan chief completely. As for the ideas that clan chief filled her head with, I think you can guess.”

Nan Xu nodded, though he had a hard time associating the golden-haired female demon he’d seen with the word “naive.”

“I took the time to settle the matter. Neither You An nor I were interested in her, so we rejected the marriage proposal and sent them back north. I never saw them again after that. However, I heard that, after returning north, the cat clan chief negotiated with the tiger clan. The Tiger Demons agreed to the marriage and gave the Cat Clan a mountain to live on—that’s where they live now.”

Tingchuan spoke calmly, his tone and expression showing how little he cared about the matter. The only reason he even remembered it was probably because the cat clan chief’s antics were so peculiar.

Nan Xu thought of the black-haired male demon. “Is he from the tiger clan?”

“No, he’s a cat demon too.” Seeing Nan Xu’s widened eyes, Tingchuan explained, “After the marriage between the cat and fox clans fell through, that female demon ran away. The matter became widely known in the demon realm. The cat clan chief searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. So, he sent the most talented young cat demon to look for her. It’s said that the two grew up together.”

“That male demon is…” Nan Xu asked cautiously.

Tingchuan answered with certainty. “Yes.”

Nan Xu let out a sigh of amazement. What a tangled drama—a second political marriage, a runaway bride, a childhood sweetheart sent to capture her, and then they eloped together.

Nan Xu lay on Tingchuan’s chest for a while, processing it all, then lost interest in pursuing Tingchuan’s relationship with the female demon. “When you think about it, the cat clan got their land, the childhood sweethearts got their happy ending, and only the tiger clan was left suffering—losing both a wife and a mountain.”

Tingchuan couldn’t help but laugh at the teasing. “Now that you understand everything, can you sleep?”

After talking for so long, it was late at night. Nan Xu rolled off Tingchuan, curled up beside him, and said, “Let’s sleep.”

Tingchuan extinguished the candle, plunging the room into darkness. Nan Xu thought of the golden-haired female demon’s words from earlier that day. Beneath her constant glances at Tingchuan was a hidden desire to compare herself to him.

Maybe it wasn’t because she still had feelings for Tingchuan, Nan Xu thought. After all, there hadn’t been much between them. Perhaps it was because the once-naive, beautiful cat demon, untested by hardship, had been hurt by Tingchuan’s rejection and still couldn’t let it go.

—

After last night’s conversation, Nan Xu’s gaze toward the blonde female demon and the black-haired male demon was filled with gossip. Yesterday, the demon had constantly peeked at Nan Xu and Tingchuan’s interactions. Today, however, the situation was reversed, which made her quite uncomfortable.

By midmorning, Nan Xu was sitting on the sofa knitting a sweater—halfway done, and a gift for Zhixing. The female demon pulled a bamboo chair next to him and watched the yarn and needles dance in his hands with fascination.

After ten minutes of silence, she looked away from the sweater and asked, “Is there something wrong with how I’m dressed today? Why do you keep looking at me?”

Perhaps Nan Xu’s attitude yesterday made her more restrained; otherwise, she would have said something like, “Do you admire my beauty? Is that why you keep staring?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Nan Xu couldn’t very well admit that he was just curious after hearing her backstory. His gaze slid over her skirt—yet another new one—and an excuse came to him instantly. “I just think it’s interesting how your clothes are different every day.”

At that, the female demon perked up, proudly straightening her back. “Aren’t all my outfits beautiful in their own way? I made them myself. Demons in this realm wear the same clothes all year. It’s so boring.”

Nan Xu nodded in agreement. He still wasn’t used to seeing Zhixing and the others wearing the same clothes all the time.

The female demon became even more confident in response to his words. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I see you change clothes, too. You must be like me. But I’ve never seen this knitting method before. It doesn’t look hard. Where do you get this yarn?”

Nan Xu recalled how humans made wool yarn and gave a brief explanation. The female demon was amazed. “It doesn’t look special, but it’s such a hassle to make! I underestimated it. I’ll have to try making it someday.”

When she mentioned making her own clothes, Nan Xu thought of his odd autumn outfits and decided to ask her for advice. He still remembered some styles of women’s clothing and brought them up in conversation. Soon, the two were chatting like close friends.

Excited, the female demon stood up and decided to demonstrate her talent. She would make Nan Xu an outfit herself! Hearing this, Nan Xu immediately set aside his paper and pencil and dragged her to the storeroom to pick out fabrics.

When Tingchuan returned from clearing the snow, he saw the female demon holding a measuring tape and taking Nan Xu’s measurements. Nan Xu didn’t resist at all; instead, he held out his arms helpfully. He only glanced at Tingchuan before turning back to talk with the female demon.

Tingchuan’s eyelid twitched. How had these two gotten so close so quickly? In less than an hour, they were already this comfortable together.

He couldn’t help but worry that the cat demon would corrupt Nan Xu somehow. Just as he was about to step forward, Nan Xu and the female demon disappeared back into the storeroom.

Tingchuan: …

When had he ever been so blatantly ignored? He stood there for a long time before coming back to his senses. Zhixing, walking past with a cup to fetch hot water, tilted his head curiously at the dazed Tingchuan before continuing on his way.

The female demon was indeed skilled in tailoring. Despite Nan Xu’s crude sketches of men’s clothing, she took one look and swiftly began cutting to his measurements, improving the design on the spot.

She mentioned that her childhood sweetheart spent most of his money on food, fun, and fabrics to make her new clothes. She owned countless beautiful dresses, but lately, she had been lacking inspiration, making it harder to design something satisfying.

Nan Xu wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about fashion, but he had once worked part-time helping a blogger collect data on the traditional clothing of various ethnic groups in the human world. He found it interesting and remembered quite a bit. Now, sharing those styles with her reignited her creativity.

After a busy morning, Nan Xu finished his new outfit. In the two worlds he’d lived in for over twenty years, he’d never worn something so well-fitted. Too bad there was no mirror for him to admire himself properly.

The result was stunning enough to make the female demon’s eyes light up. The outfit was perfect, and the model wearing it was even better. He had long, straight legs, a faint outline of abs beneath the fabric, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an upright posture—youthful yet alluring.

From the moment Nan Xu stepped out, Tingchuan’s eyes hadn’t left him. The amazement on his face was clear. After seeing Nan Xu in plain, ill-fitting clothes for so long, Tingchuan had almost forgotten how perfect his figure was.

“I’ve changed my mind,” the female demon announced boldly, ignoring Tingchuan’s stare. She grabbed Nan Xu’s wrist and pulled him toward the storeroom again. “With a figure like yours, I have to make you a few more outfits!” Where are your sketches? Show me two more.”

 

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Author’s Note:

—Entertainment Section—

Tingchuan confessed to Xiao Nan: Don’t listen to that female demon’s nonsense. My feelings for you have nothing to do with your cooking skills%#&*…

Xiao Nan was completely unmoved.

Then, when Xiao Nan saw the new clothes, his eyes lit up: Tailored just for me!

Cat Demon: It’s a miracle for Nannan!

Tingchuan: Love is nothing but a lie, I won’t fall for it again..

The next second—

Tingchuan: Nan Nan looks so beautiful.

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