RIIDMDR chapter 96

 

The night after renovating his bathroom, Nan Xu was eager to try it out. However, he discovered a major problem: while the stove would provide warmth in the winter, it would make the bathroom too hot in the summer.

Thankfully, it was autumn now, and the temperature wasn’t that high. The heat from the stove made Nan Xu feel slightly warm while bathing, but it was bearable.

When he returned to his room, his whole body still steaming, Tingchuan was already lying on the bed. He glanced at Nan Xu, whose face was flushed red, and raised his eyebrows slightly. “Is there something wrong with the bathroom?”

The project had just been completed today and was designed under Nan Xu’s direction. Even if there were flaws, he wouldn’t admit it now. Nan Xu, with a red face, shook his head. “No, everything is perfect.”

He was stubborn. Tingchuan chuckled. Once he lay down on the bed, he reached out and pulled Nan Xu into his arms. “Okay, then I’m cold. Keep me warm.”

The weather in October was a paper tiger[mfn]“paper tiger” (紙老虎 / zhǐ lǎohǔ) means something (or someone) that appears strong or threatening but is actually weak or harmless.[/mfn]. How could anyone else be cold? The person saying this was a freak, insensitive to temperature fluctuations. It sounded like a joke. Nan Xu wanted to escape Tingchuan’s embrace, but there was a hint of coolness in it, as if he were deliberately cooling his body with his spiritual energy.

Tucked in his embrace, Nan Xu felt the heat dissipate considerably and felt incredibly comfortable. Unwilling to break free, he huddled quietly in his embrace, determined not to use the newly built stove until the weather turned cold.

–

After the diagnosis and treatment, the deer demon’s energy was drained, so he slept for a very long time. As he closed his eyes, he faintly heard voices downstairs. Only then did he realize it was probably the next morning. Zhixing had cleared the blockage in his meridians, and he felt relaxed after a restful night’s sleep. His spiritual energy flowed smoothly, as if his inner anxieties had been alleviated.

Downstairs, the bird demon said something that made the owner laugh, brightening the atmosphere.

The third brother had already risen and left the room. The little deer demon lay alone in bed, quietly listening to the sounds around him. Surprisingly, he found this environment quite pleasant, much more relaxing than the territory where his deer tribe had lived for generations. At least he didn’t have to face prying gazes the moment he stepped outside.

He threw back the covers, got up, and sat by the window. The sun had just risen, and he could see the hazy glow enveloping it as it crested the mountaintops from the window. The mountain scenery had a different charm than the vast grasslands. He was enjoying the moment when a sudden aroma reached his nose.

Remembering his breakfast yesterday and the owner’s promise of three meals a day, he lost his appreciation for the scenery and pushed the door open to leave the room.

Nan Xu put pancakes into the pan. When he woke up that morning, he saw dried plums in the marketplace’s limited-time sale. It suddenly reminded him of when he was sixteen.

At that time, he had just left the countryside. Relying on the limited knowledge he had gained from auditing at Hope Primary School, he found his first job. He rented a house in a rundown neighborhood in the old city. The houses had creaky walls and a dense tangle of electrical wires. The old-fashioned windows couldn’t block out the bustle from below, so he was always woken at dawn.

At the corner of the street, there was an old woman who sold dried plum pancakes. Her temples were gray. Every morning at dawn, she pushed her tricycle to the intersection and occupied a small space. Nan Xu watched from the window as she laboriously unloaded the coal stove and buckets of batter. After arranging everything, she would wait by the stall with her hands folded. As everyone else got up and headed out, the aroma of the pancakes carried on the morning breeze to Nan Xu’s nose.

Grandma was very kind. When she saw the skinny Nan Xu, she would casually scoop an extra half spoonful of batter, making Nan Xu’s pancakes always seem larger than the others’.

Smelling the pancakes now, Nan Xu was transported back to those early days when she began a new journey from a corner of the city, yearning for self-reliance.

He pondered those long-past events, his hands moving without stopping. Crispy pancakes piled onto the plate and the aroma of dried plum mixed with lean meat filled the courtyard. Yao Lin poked his head and upper body through the window as if discovering a new world. His gaze was fixed on the plate in Nan Xu’s hands, and he sniffed twice.

Nan Xu heard the commotion, turned around, and witnessed his antics. Unable to contain his laughter, he exclaimed, “How will the smoke get out of the room if you’re blocking the way?”

“When I leave, the smoke will disperse,” said Yao Lin, leaning his elbows on the windowsill. He asked curiously, “Owner, what did you make this morning? Why does it smell so good?”

Nan Xu took a pancake from the plate and handed it to Yao Lin, who was leaning out the window. “It’s just a pancake. Try it?”

Yao Lin accepted it without hesitation and turned it over to inspect it. Just as Nan Xu said, it was merely a pancake, with all the ingredients visible at a glance. But why did it smell so good?

He took a bite, and the aroma that had filled his nose turned into a real flavor on his tongue. Yao Lin hummed in satisfaction, his admiration for the owner’s cooking growing stronger.

“If I could learn forty or fifty percent of your skill, owner, I could walk sideways in the demon realm,” Yao Lin said proudly.

Nan Xu thought of all the ingredients he’d ruined in recent days—produce that had taken much effort to grow—and felt pained. “Cooking depends on talent. Maybe you should try another path?”

But his clan had gathered a large sum of money for his culinary studies—it was their hope and trust. How could Yao Lin give up so easily? Still, after several consecutive failures, he was unsure. “I’ll watch a few more times before practicing again.”

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Yao Lin, Nan Xu gave up.

The goat milk on the small stove boiled. Nan Xu poured it into cups, the floral scent masking the milky odor. The young deer demon sat at the table, sipping the milk and taking small bites of the pancakes. His third brother sat opposite him. No one spoke, but soon, the tall stack of pancakes disappeared from the plate.

The young deer demon wanted more, but he could feel the warmth and fullness in his belly. He remembered his foolish words from yesterday morning—”What do demons need breakfast for?”—and hoped that everyone who had heard them had already forgotten.

“Physician Zhixing prepared some medicinal juice. I’ll apply it to your head later,” said the elder deer demon.

The young deer demon had taken, drunk, and applied countless medicines before, cooperating each time but seeing no results. After so many disappointments, he had grown resistant. The elder deer demon worried he would refuse again.

But the young deer finished his last sip of milk, nodded, and showed no sign of rejection. This surprised the elder—he didn’t even get to use his prepared persuasion.

The young deer hadn’t forgotten all of his failed attempts. After a good night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast, however, he couldn’t find a reason to be in a bad mood.

—

Two days passed like that. The moisture in the sweet potato starch blocks had dried. Nan Xu felt they were ready, so he sat in the courtyard and used a small hammer to crush the blocks apart. Then he rolled them with a rolling pin until they were a fine powder.

He stored some of the starch in a clean clay jar and mixed the rest with water to make a paste. He strained the paste through fine gauze and poured it layer by layer into clay containers in the steamer to cook. Then he removed the solidified sheets, wrapped them, and laid them out in the sun to dry again.

The young deer demon never missed a meal and sat at the dining table every time. At first, he stayed silent. By the fourth day, after his third brother’s dishes were served, he paused in front of the small blackboard menu for a while before going to Nan Xu to order two dishes himself.

After Nan Xu wrote down all of his scattered and picky requests, he realized that the gloomy boy could be quite choosy when he brightened up.

Even after speaking, the young deer demon still didn’t trust Nan Xu’s memory. He stood right beside the stove, silently watching him cook. Yao Lin, usually talkative, stood next to him, affected by the young deer’s quiet aura. He didn’t utter a single teasing word all morning, leaving Nan Xu’s ears blessedly peaceful.

But cooking, which was usually enjoyable, now felt pressured under two pairs of staring eyes; it was as if he were forced to work a shift.

This feeling was familiar, as if he’d just gone through it not long ago.

Nan Xu’s thoughts drifted. He remembered those early days when Tingchuan had just come to the mountain. Tingchuan had pushed him to cook every meal, making him feel oppressed, like an employee working for his boss.

Back then, they weren’t close. Maybe it was time to settle that old score now.

The young deer demon ate and applied the medicine on time every day. However, after a few days, his horn began to itch and slowly developed a pointed tip.

He wanted to touch it daily, but he held back, recalling Zhixing’s warnings, and distracted himself instead.

This subtle change was noticeable not only to Nan Xu, but also to the older deer demon. He had assumed that he would have to exert considerable effort to help the young deer demon focus less on insignificant details and reduce the discomfort caused by his sensitivity. However, he never expected to accomplish this without saying a word.

Now, the young deer wandered around the inn. He looked at the goods in the main hall cabinets, ate every meal on time, fiddled with chessboards and books, and showed curiosity about the two ugly wild boars behind the inn. The scenic window he’d chosen for him was the only place where the young deer rarely stayed long.

He was content there. Every demon in the inn had their own interests—some studied herbs, some food, and some the owner. Everyone was busy; few paid attention to his horns. Only the strange owner occasionally glanced at his head. Now that two small horns, each about the length of a knuckle, had sprouted, he thought the owner would prefer large, sharp antlers and would look down on his tiny ones. Instead, however, the owner’s eyes widened and curved into a mysterious smile. There was no malice; he seemed delighted.

The young deer was baffled. Who would like such ugly horns? The owner must have odd taste.

Of course, Nan Xu didn’t know what the young deer was thinking. Seeing the small horns reminded him of anime characters with furry ears or big tails from the human world. Back then, he had only admired them, knowing they were fake, and hadn’t cared much.

But now, among the demons, interacting with them daily, the slight fear he’d initially felt faded, and he slowly grew accustomed to their presence. Seeing the deer’s real horns, he couldn’t help but imagine Tingchuan’s true form.

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