RIIDMDR chapter 99

 

Earlier, Nan Xu didn’t understand why the little deer demon was acting so frantically. But after returning to the courtyard, how could he not understand? With their years of quarreling experience and the sharp voices of the cloud demon and Yao Lin, even a hundred and eighty sparrows together wouldn’t be able to rival their fighting power.

The little deer demon in the room was suffering such torment that he would go mad if he didn’t go insane. Didn’t you see how Guan’er now looked as though his essence and spirit had been sucked away?

Blushing, Nan Xu walked to the back of the house and saw the elder deer demon sitting in the sheep pen. He was leaning against a small lamb and holding a slice of watermelon. After taking a few bites in the middle, he handed the rest to the lamb. The lamb bleated softly, as if to say thank you. It took small, polite bites from the slice held by the deer demon—very refined indeed.

Nan Xu looked at the two of them, then looked again at the little deer demon running wildly in the sunlight. Music began playing in his head: on one side, the thrilling soundtrack of Speed and Passion, and on the other, gentle opera music, perfect for sipping tea.

When the elder deer demon saw Nan Xu, he shifted slightly to the side. “Owner, would you like to sit as well?”

The lamb pen was cleaned daily and kept spotless. The little lamb was intelligent, too, and fond of keeping its home tidy, so there was no odor at all. Nan Xu walked over and sat beside the deer demon, leaning his back against the lamb.

He had to admit that the lamb’s body was firm yet soft and that its wool was fluffy. Leaning against it was quite comfortable. It was not worse than those expensive sofas in the human world. The deer demon really knew how to enjoy life. How had he never realized that before?

Nan Xu didn’t touch the watermelon because it had been bought with the deer demon’s own money. Instead, he took a few dates out of his pocket and gave two to the deer demon. Only then did his gaze shift toward the little deer demon, who was still running freely. He asked with concern, “Will that little deer demon be all right?”

The elder deer demon smiled. “It’s fine, it’s fine. When my little brother encountered something unpleasant before, he would brood over it repeatedly. He would lock himself in his room, refusing to see anyone. He would speak with thorns in his words, making others’ hearts ache. Now that he’s venting like this, it’s actually a good thing.”

Nan Xu breathed a sigh of relief and bit into a date with a crisp crunch. He asked casually, “How long has he been running?”

The deer demon glanced at the sky. “About an hour or so.”

Nan Xu: “Oh.”

Nan Xu: “Huh?!”

Nan Xu shot upright in shock. “Have you been going this fast the whole time?”

The deer demon shook his head. Just as Nan Xu relaxed his shoulders, he sighed and added, “He was faster before. He’s probably getting tired now.”

Nan Xu: …

Looking at the deer demon running like the wind, Nan Xu couldn’t fathom running that fast for more than two hours straight.

“He…he really won’t collapse?” Nan Xu asked tremulously. “Like… from exhaustion or something?”

He didn’t have much money left. If the little deer demon ran himself to death, wouldn’t the owner have to pay compensation?

Seeing Nan Xu’s expression, the deer demon was momentarily stunned before laughing. “What’s that compared to? We deer demons can run from sunrise to sunset without any problem. It’s just exercise.”

Being a human, Nan Xu found it hard to understand. His heart pounded just from watching, but since the little deer demon seemed completely at ease, Nan Xu didn’t dare stop him from venting. He could only get up and head back to prepare lunch.

The mess in the courtyard had already been cleaned by Tingchuan. Though the two demons had fought, they had at least retained some sense and hadn’t overturned the sweet potato vermicelli that Nan Xu had set out. Otherwise, Nan Xu wouldn’t be calmly cooking now; he would have transformed into a demon hunter immediately.

He took a large cabbage from the cellar and cut a piece of wild boar meat off the slab hanging from the beam. Finally, all the ingredients were ready for the pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli he’d been craving for so long. He rendered the fat pork into oil and stir-fried the lean meat until fragrant. First, he added the cabbage stems, and then he added the leaves after tossing them around a bit. Various seasonings were sprinkled in and water was poured in to simmer. When the broth began to bubble, Nan Xu added the soaked vermicelli and let it simmer again. Before long, the delicious aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

One cabbage yielded quite a large portion. Nan Xu filled two clay pots to the brim and set them to simmer on small stoves. The deer demons hadn’t ordered specific dishes for lunch; they only told Nan Xu to share a portion with them. The little deer demon was too busy running to check the menu on the blackboard. Nan Xu fried a few more vegetable dishes before finally pouring rice into a pot and covering it with a lid.

Yao Lin and the cloud demon were nowhere to be seen, the little deer demon hadn’t returned, Tingchuan had disappeared, and Zhixing was locked in his room working on a hair-growth elixir. Nan Xu stood alone in the courtyard, staring blankly at the jar.

It’s about time to buy a loudspeaker from the shop mall, Nan Xu thought.

“Dinner’s ready!” he shouted, though he wasn’t sure if it would work.

No sooner had he finished shouting than Yao Lin stumbled through the courtyard gate. His hair and clothes were still wet, and he shouted, “Hold on! Let’s rest. We’ll fight after dinner.”

Seeing the scene, Nan Xu had only one thought: Yao Lin is truly worthy of being called a foodie. Even in the middle of a battle, he was the first to rush back for food.

Soon after, the cloud demon appeared. Her hair was a mess and her dress was wrinkled — clearly, the fight had worn her out, too.

Though she didn’t know what it was, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva when she smelled the fragrance wafting through the courtyard.

Nan Xu went back to the kitchen to serve the dishes. Once the table was set, all the demons had returned to the courtyard. The little deer demon had turned back into human form, sweaty and slightly panting. Nan Xu glanced at him twice. Aside from the sweat and flushed face, he didn’t seem to have any problems. Deer demons are truly capable runners.

After being stewed, the wind-dried boar meat was even more flavorful and chewy than fresh meat. The cabbage, grown in Nan Xu’s garden, was crisp and tender. The vermicelli, having absorbed the rich soup, was springy and delicious—the best part of the dish.

The newly introduced vermicelli won unanimous praise from all the demons. Soon, the sound of slurping noodles echoed throughout the courtyard.

Yao Lin put down his bowl to give Nan Xu a big thumbs-up. He had truly been ignorant; just that morning, he had complained about how bad vermicelli must taste. He hadn’t realized that something the owner had spent so much effort making could ever be bad.

It was the first time the little cloud demon had eaten food from the inn. She kept making muffled “mm-mm” noises, too busy chewing to speak clearly.

When all the plates were empty, everyone leaned back and rubbed their full bellies with satisfaction. The little cloud demon blinked her big eyes, taking in the interior of the inn for the first time.

She was so full that she couldn’t even fly, let alone fight.

“What are you staring at me for? I don’t have the strength to fight,” Yao Lin said quickly when he noticed her gaze on him again.

The cloud demon pouted in disdain. “Who wants to fight with you? You were the one who spoke rudely to me first.”

Yao Lin protested. “Weren’t you the one who drenched me the other day? The owner can testify to that!”

Nan Xu remembered Yao Lin coming back soaked that morning and turned to look at the cloud demon.

“A few days ago, when I was flying around this area,” said the cloud demon, “I saw a few houses halfway up the main peak of Zhuyu Mountain. I’d never heard of any demons living there, so I wanted to take a closer look. But the main peak is so high, and it seemed to be shrouded by a barrier. I could only circle it from a distance.” Later, I saw Yao Lin and wanted to ask him about it. But just as I approached, that stupid bird took off! I got angry from chasing him and rained on him for a little while — barely a quarter of an hour. Why is he so mad?”

Yao Lin was fuming. “Every time you see me, you make it rain! Of course I run when I see you. How was I supposed to know that you actually had something to ask?”

Nan Xu, full and sleepy, listened to their back-and-forth. Their feud was obviously long-standing and impossible to sort out quickly. But one point caught his interest. “You said Zhuyu Mountain’s main peak has a barrier?”

The cloud demon nodded. “No demon in the demon realm can fly over Zhuyu Mountain’s main peak. Apart from its height and the large array at the summit, the closer you get, the faster your spiritual energy drains. I only circled the mountain twice before I lost all my strength and fell to the ground. I had to rest for two or three days before deciding to climb the mountain.”

Yao Lin nodded in agreement. “When I fly out of the mountain, I feel fine, but flying back always exhausts me. The closer I get to the main peak, the more tiring it is. I thought it was because I’d been overeating lately and my stamina was getting worse, so I scared myself into flying twice a day for training.”

Nan Xu couldn’t help but laugh, but the mention of the barrier intrigued him. He had heard rumors that no demon could fly over Zhuyu Mountain, but he’d always assumed it was because the mountain range was vast and full of formations with no resting spots. He hadn’t realized there was actually a barrier.

Tingchuan, who had been reclining with his eyes closed, opened them and looked at Nan Xu, lost in thought. “If Zhuyu Mountain doesn’t permit it, how could any demon possibly fly over its summit?”

Yao Lin nodded. “When I used to pass by this area, I couldn’t fly either. Entering the mountain had to be done on foot. Only the past two times have I been able to use spiritual energy to fly.”

Nan Xu frowned. “Then when did Zhuyu Mountain give its permission?”

Tingchuan watched Nan Xu for a long moment, then smiled faintly. “Why not ask the mountain itself?”

Nan Xu thought he was teasing him and pulled a face. Tingchuan’s smile lingered for a few seconds before he closed his eyes to rest again.

Since the cloud demon and Yao Lin were too full to fight, Nan Xu took the opportunity to bring her upstairs to choose a room. She had only come out of curiosity and hadn’t planned to stay, but after lunch, she changed her mind and decided to stay three days instead of one.

Nan Xu happily pocketed the new room fee and saw the system task progress bar increase by another notch—his mood soared.

As he came down the stairs, he bumped into the little deer demon heading up. The sweat on his forehead had evaporated during lunch, and the flush from exercise had faded. However, his hair was still clumped together, and his eyes looked tired.

“Going upstairs to rest?” Nan Xu hesitated briefly, then greeted him habitually.

Clearly, trying to make small talk with a demon like this was a mistake. The little deer demon remained silent, his dark eyes fixed on Nan Xu, revealing a hint of inner conflict. Nan Xu waited a couple of seconds, then gave up. He smiled lightly and stepped aside to leave.

He had only taken two steps when the deer demon spoke.

“Owner, could you use spiritual power to block out the noise from the rooms? It’s a bit too noisy.”

Nan Xu froze. The morning battle between the cloud demon and Yao Lin had clearly been fierce — fierce enough to prompt the little deer demon to speak up.

Unfortunately, he was just a human. At best, he could use the system’s scanning function to detect demons’ spiritual energy — he didn’t have any of his own.

Then, Nan Xu suddenly remembered the special items section of the system shop. There was indeed a soundproofing feature for sale. When he’d first seen the price, ten thousand coins, it had nearly scared him senseless.

“I’ll… try to think of something,” Nan Xu said aloud.

But in his heart, he was screaming: Ten thousand?! There’s no way I’m buying that!

 

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Author’s note:

Nan Xu: The guests only lose their hearing from the noise, but I’d lose ten thousand silver coins!