RIIDMDR chapter 123

 

“So, you mistook the bamboo leaf tea for medicine?” Nan Xu asked.

Zhi Xi nodded and spoke seriously. “Though our Rabbit Clan doesn’t have as many members as the Bird Demons, quite a few of us still travel outside. I asked many clansmen to search for good medicine. Some were useless; some only worked for a couple of days. But this tea is the first thing I’ve seen that can help my mother sleep peacefully for so long. If it’s not medicine, then what is it?”

While Zhi Xi spoke, Nan Xu propped his chin with one hand and stared unblinkingly—not for any particular reason, but because this little rabbit demon was simply too adorable. Zhi Xi looked well-behaved and delicate. When he spoke, his upper lip curled slightly. His confident expression made him seem even more naive and endearing.

“Owner?” Not hearing a response from Nan Xu, Zhi Xi called out again.

Nan Xu came back to himself, realizing his lapse in composure, and cleared his throat twice.

Zhixing glanced toward Nan Xu. A sly glint flashed through the reserved hedgehog demon’s eyes as if to say that he would definitely report this to Tingchuan later.

Nan Xu quickly averted his gaze, deciding to postpone bribing the little hedgehog demon for now. He said to Zhi Xi, “Bamboo leaf core tea does have some mild sleep-aiding effects, but it’s nowhere near as effective as you claim. Could it be that your mother took some medicine that happened to work for her?”

Zhi Xi shook his head. “Mother hasn’t taken any medicine in the past six months. Her daily habits are the same as before. The only change was that jar of tea leaves.”

Nan Xu looked at Zhixing with mild surprise. He didn’t mind selling bamboo leaf tea to Zhi Xi, he just worried Zhi Xi might have misunderstood its purpose. After all, he only sold bamboo leaf tea as an additional product and never claimed it was a miraculous elixir.

Yes, he loved money, but he despised unscrupulous human merchants who exaggerated the effects of health products and delayed real treatment for the sick.

Zhixing seemed to understand Nan Xu’s hesitation. After thinking for a moment, he asked Zhi Xi a series of detailed questions and finally concluded, “If all his answers are correct, then it really is the effect of the bamboo leaf tea.”

Before Nan Xu could ask anything, Zhixing explained, “The rabbit clan’s territory lies along the eastern riverside. For nearly a hundred years, floods have been frequent there. Once lush lands have become barren. In the demon realm, spiritual energy is closely tied to plants and all living things. When demons lack spiritual energy that matches their abilities, they suffer various discomforts—insomnia being one of them. If this continues without improvement, it hastens aging and shortens lifespan. If I’m not mistaken, Zhi Xi’s mother should be one of the most highly cultivated members of their clan.

Nan Xu looked at Zhi Xi, who nodded repeatedly.

“The main peak of Zhuyu Mountain is abundant in spiritual energy,” Zhixing continued. “For thousands of years, few demons have set foot here. The bamboo leaves themselves contain spiritual energy.” He paused, set up a barrier so that others couldn’t hear, and said to Nan Xu, “Besides, everything made by the owner carries pure spiritual energy. Even if he hadn’t bought the tea, the pickled vegetables you made would have had the same effect.”

Nan Xu understood then. The issue was replenishing what was lacking. Zhi Xi’s mother’s “illness” came from an environment deprived of spiritual energy. Drinking Nan Xu’s tea nourished her; it was indeed a fitting remedy.

After hearing Zhixing’s words, Zhi Xi suddenly realized the truth. Confirming the tea’s usefulness, he immediately said he wanted to buy eight or ten more jars.

Without any more concerns, Nan Xu was happy to sell. As a human, he couldn’t precisely sense demons’ need for spiritual energy, but he knew that the faint spiritual power in bamboo leaf tea could only temporarily slow the decline; it could not truly act as medicine.

“Do you have any better medicine?” Nan Xu asked Zhixing.

Zhixing shook his head. The problem lay in the environment’s lack of spiritual energy. Better medicinal ingredients were too scarce for long-term use, just like the medicine Zhi Xi’s mother had used before—effective only for two days.

“Try controlling the floods and planting more flowers and trees within your territory. It might help a little,” Zhixing said in response to Zhi Xi’s earnest gaze.

—

Zhi Xi remembered Zhixing’s advice. Knowing his family must be worried about him, he hurriedly descended the mountains with the tea he’d bought, not wanting to linger.

After sending him off, Nan Xu wasn’t in the best mood. He had always known the demon realm lacked spiritual energy, but he hadn’t realized the extent to which it caused problems.

Upon further thought, he realized that even great demons like Tingchuan slept during the day when they first arrived on the mountain. In truth, however, Tingchuan never seemed to sleep long at all. Tingchuan’s casual mention of an “old lingering illness” seemed to gloss over the limitations imposed on him by the environment.

The demon realm’s spiritual energy would only continue to diminish day by day. In the future, Zhixing, Yao Lin, and Xu Le all would be affected. They would have to live in worsening conditions. If they were strangers, Nan Xu wouldn’t care, but these were demons close to him. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.

In the end, though, it was something he couldn’t change. Nan Xu could only sigh quietly to himself.

“In just a few months, this inn has really changed,” said Ren Ci as he came out after touring the house. “I see even the storage cabinets for goods look much more refined.”

The cabinets were originally made by Xu Ji. Unlike other things he disliked, Yi Shui hadn’t replaced them, only added some carved details. His artistic talent was evident—just a few simple changes elevated the cabinets’ quality. No wonder Ren Ci noticed.

“Owner, do you still have any goods left in stock? I came to buy everything on the list again,” Ren Ci asked.

Nan Xu thought for a moment. The chestnuts they’d gathered in the fall had been eaten by New Year’s. He’d rarely gone out during winter, so supplies were low. Aside from brewing wine, he hadn’t made much else. But even the wine wasn’t much—barely enough for the occasional use at the inn—and he couldn’t bear to sell it.

“I haven’t made much lately,” Nan Xu admitted.

Ren Ci was stunned. Was his good business ending before it even began? He had seen plenty of demons who worked tirelessly for profit, but never one like Nan Xu, who could go months without producing anything.

Ren Ci’s expression of reproach made Nan Xu feel lazy and complacent for living comfortably on the mountain and losing his hardworking virtues. He couldn’t help feeling ashamed.

Seeing his troubled face, Yao Lin, who happened to pass by, said, “There are still plenty of vegetables in the cellar. The owner can just make something fresh. After all, Brother Ren Ci will need time to bring them down the mountain. Those dried sweet potato sticks taste great. Why not let the demons outside the mountain try them and broaden their horizons?”

Nan Xu, lost in self-reflection, had overlooked such a simple idea. Hearing Yao Lin’s words, he finally came back to his senses. He checked the stored sweet potatoes and began making pickled vegetables again.

After spring began, brothers Zhuang Si and Zhuang Wu discussed with Nan Xu the idea of reclaiming land to plant cabbages, returning to their old trade. They promised it wouldn’t delay their work for him. They wanted to live quietly and honestly. Nan Xu naturally supported them and gave them plenty of cabbage seeds. He had saved these seeds from his own crops and improved them from B-grade to A-grade—much better than what he had once confiscated from them.

To thank Nan Xu for his kindness, the brothers built a small hut beside the clay kiln to store fired pottery jars and bottles for his use before the weather fully warmed. Thus, there was no problem with containers.

The last batch of pickles they sold to Ren Ci was mostly cabbage and quite plain. But after last autumn’s harvest, the cellar held a rich variety of vegetables. Following his principle that “any vegetable can become a pickle,” Nan Xu made many flavors—sour cucumbers, pickled beans, and soy eggplants—which made Ren Ci’s eyes light up as though he could already see endless streams of silver coins rolling his way.

In just three days, with Zhixing and Yao Lin’s help, Nan Xu produced a courtyard full of jars and bottles—far exceeding Ren Ci’s expectations.

Nan Xu had originally planned to keep the extras to eat with porridge, but Ren Ci couldn’t bear to leave them behind. He negotiated with Nan Xu to take them all, promising to pay him in late summer or early autumn.

It wasn’t their first deal, and even if Ren Ci broke his promise, Nan Xu wouldn’t lose much. So he agreed.

Aside from the jars of pickles, Ren Ci bought almost everything Nan Xu had in stock. He even took the fur-care balm that Zhixing had developed. If Nan Xu hadn’t stopped him, Ren Ci might have tried to take the sheep behind the house, too. He was like a locust swarm sweeping through.

Three days later, Ren Ci left with his heavy backpack. Yao Lin went to the warehouse to check, and when he saw that a few jars of wine were still there, he sighed in relief.

Nan Xu knew exactly what had been sold and wasn’t as worried as Yao Lin. However, his mind was still on Ren Ci’s backpack. Tingchuan had told him that it was actually a shell, a natural gift of the turtle clan, with a room-sized interior. Nan Xu couldn’t help but envy that ability.

……

Just after Ren Ci left, the Bai couple arrived. Nan Xu was quite surprised to see them and greeted them warmly. As always, however, they were not very talkative and only exchanged a few polite words.

Sensing their unease, Nan Xu didn’t press further. Instead, he called out toward the house, “Zhixing, come out and see who’s here!”

Zhixing, who had just earned some money and was counting coins inside, heard Nan Xu’s call and was puzzled. Before reaching the door, he joked, “Owner, are you trying to trick me again? Who’s here to buy medicine this time?”

He stepped outside, saw the Bai couple, froze mid-smile, and then exclaimed with delight, “Father, Mother! What are you doing here?!

He ran up in just a few strides while Nan Xu stepped away tactfully to fetch a good cut of meat from the cellar for dinner to welcome them.

Last year, after realizing that the lodging fee they’d paid wouldn’t last long, the Bai couple hurried home to scrape together money, borrowing wherever they could. But before they finished, they received a letter from Zhixing himself, delivered by birds from the mountain. He said his health had greatly improved and that they didn’t need to send him money because the kind owner allowed him to work in exchange for lodging.

The couple felt grateful for Nan Xu’s kindness but worried that their son, who had always been bookish and socially anxious, might not adapt well to life in the mountains. After all, the social phobia of their hedgehog clan was practically hereditary.

They missed him day and night until they received several letters filled with cheerful news, which finally eased their worries. After that experience, they realized that they had depleted their savings and needed to start earning money again, so they resumed cultivating medicinal herbs in the mountains.

When spring came and the snow melted, they decided they wanted to see their son in person. They left their herbs in the care of trusted clansmen and traveled thousands of miles to Zhuyu Mountain once again.

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