CH 52.2

translator: baumkuchen

This snake had already breathed its last. Its head had even been neatly twisted off by Bai Yuehu. It was cold over here, so the snake’s blood had frozen. Since they would be eating snake stew that night, Lu Qingjiu had Bai Yuehu quickly skin the snake first, then kill another chicken, and place them into a pot to stew. 

This kind of stew didn’t need any seasoning, as the flavours of snake and chicken were already delicious. On top of that, this snake didn’t have any bones, and the quality of its meat was particularly good.

Yin Xun watched, dazed, as Bai Yuehu killed a chicken off to the side. He mumbled, “I even thought that Bai Yuehu would go through a hair-raising battle, and with the last of his strength, rescue you from the clutches of that terrifying nine-headed beast. But by the time you’re saved, he would have already suffered heavy injuries…”

Lu Qingjiu, “Then after that?”

Yin Xun said, “After that you would bury him, and return to Shuifu village under an alias, resolving to take your revenge for him.” 

Lu Qingjiu asked, “Do you think taking revenge would be possible?”

Yin Xun thought back to that giant monster bird. He truthfully shook his head. “I don’t think it’s too possible.”

“Then isn’t that the end of it?” Lu Qingjiu said, “Hey, Yuehu, remember to drain the blood, or else the meat will taste bloody.”

Bai Yuehu “en”-ed, and continued. 

Yin Xun heaved a long sigh, saying that it seemed like his life wouldn’t be able to become an wuxia drama after all, is a part of Chuuka Ichiban… 

Lu Qingjiu said, “If you’re so free, go feed the pigs.”

Yin Xun, “…Fine.”

Yin Xun returned to village life, and went off to the pigsty to feed the pigs. Lu Qingjiu, dressed in a down jacket, squatted down to peel garlic in the snow, the tip of his nose red from the cold. On his end, Bai Yuehu was done with slaughtering the chicken, was was currently furrowing his eyebrows and plucking its feathers. Lu Qingjiu had him first heat it in boiling water, so that it would be easier for him to pluck it. Originally, Lu Qingjiu would be doing all these things, but the weather was too cold, Lu Qingjiu didn’t dare to touch cold water, scared of falling ill, so all the work would have to be done by Bai Yuehu. 

The prepared chicken and snake meat were easily chopped into pieces, and were placed right into a pot to stew after blanching. The smell of food soon filled the house, filling the house with warmth.

Lu Qingjiu made some steamed shrimp with minced garlic. Even though the shrimp were frozen, and weren’t that fresh, to Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun, who both really liked seafood, it was also a much-anticipated dish.

Seeing that dinner preparations were about done, Lu Qingjiu heated up the Kang, planning on sitting on the Kang for a while to warm up. Who knew that just after he stuffed in some charcoal, he would hear Yin Xun, who had been watching the fire in the kitchen, let out a screechl like a pig being slaughtered, “What the fuck!! What is that!!”

Upon hearing that, Lu Qingjiu hurried over, “What’s wrong?” 

A pale-faced Yin Xun pointed at the window.

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“There’s a woman!” Yin Xun said, “Long hair, very beautiful…”

The moment Lu Qingjiu heard Yin Xun’s description, he had an idea about who exactly this visitor was. He helplessly walked to the door, and called out twice, “Jiufeng, Jiufeng?” 

The sky had already gone dark. Because there was no moonlight, outside was a patch of darkness, nothing could be seen. Lu Qingjiu called out a few times, before seeing a furtive figure at the entrance to the courtyard. “Aiya, what a coincidence.” Sure enough it was Jiufeng.

Just that compared to that that afternoon, she had already completely changed her appearance. She was wearing a simple long dress, and her figure was unexpectedly very shapely. Her head of long, fire-red hair fell down her back. She was the very image of an onee-san archetype. Just that compared to her temperament, her actions were completely like an onee-san. She leaned against the all of the courtyard, furtively poking her head inside. “Are you having a good evening? Have you eaten?”

Lu Qingjiu said, “We haven’t eaten… Do you want to come in?”

Jiufeng said, “Can I canI?” 

Lu Qingjiu said, “Wait a moment, I’ll go ask Bai Yuehu.”

Bai Yuehu clearly knew what had happened. When Lu Qingjiu went back in, his expression turned dark, scolding Jiufeng as shameless. Lu Qingjiu couldn’t help but laugh. To tell the truth, he felt like these supernatural beings were all very cute. They didn’t have any malicious intentions, their only wish was to eat food. Lu Qingjiu felt like leaving a lady outside the house and just ignoring her wouldn’t be very polite. In the end, he managed to talk Bai Yuehu down, getting him to agree to letting Jiufeng into the house.

However, before letting her go into the house, Bai Yuehu set a basic rule with Jiufeng, that is, she could only eat what was served to her, she couldn’t serve herself food.

Jiufeng knew this was Bai Yuehu already making his biggest compromise, and as such, didn’t show any discontent, happily coming into the house. 

Upon seeing Jiufeng, Yin Xun’s eyes went wide. He’d never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. In private, he quietly asked Lu Qingjiu, “You know this lady? She’s so pretty.”

Lu Qingjiu’s expression was a little strange. “Haven’t you seen her before?”

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Yin Xun, “…” Going over his recent memories, he understood the meaning hidden in Lu Qingjiu’s words. His expression instantly twisted, “Ah?? She’s that giant bird?!”

“Yep,” Lu Qingjiu said, “What, are you interested in her?” 

Yin Xun cried sorrowful tears, saying he had no fortune to enjoy in this life, the two most attractive people he’d ever seen in his lifetime would be able to eat him like a snack, popping down one after another without having to worry about getting full.

When the happy dinnertime came, Jiufeng sat down at the table like she wished, just that her portion had been portioned out ahead of time. In Bai Yuehu’s words, she didn’t have the right to serve herself food.

Sure enough, there was a world of difference in the taste of the stewed snake head and the crudely roasted snake meat. The snake head before them was fresh and delicate, without any fat, but wasn’t at all stringy. Especially this stew, it was simply the best comfort for people in the winter. Lu Qingjiu sprinkled some thin scallions on top, and drank three bowls in one go, causing a thin layer of sweat to appear on the top of his nose.

Jiufeng quickly finished the food in front of her. After finishing, she stared balefully at the big bowl of stew in front of her. After a few minutes of staring, Bai Yuehu suddenly spoke, saying, “Have you had your fill?” 

Jiufeng said, “No, I’m not full.”

Bai Yuehu said, “Oh, so you’re full.”

Jiufeng’s eyes widened. “I said I’m not full…”

Bai Yuehu said, “If you’re full then go wash the dishes.” 

The two talking without communicating made Lu Qingjiu unable to help but burst into quiet laughter. Seeing how the situation was, Jiufeng started to howl. Around her neck, the necklace Lu Qingjiu had originally thought was just decorative started to cry as well. Looking closer, Lu Qingjiu found that it wasn’t a necklace at all, it was Jiufeng’s other eight heads. The sound of nine people crying at the same time was quite spectacular, making Yin Xun, who had just been sighing over Jiufeng’s beauty, utterly stunned.

“Click.” Bai Yuehu put down his chopsticks and stared at him with an ice-cold gaze. Jiufeng immediately shut her mouth, stood up and politely asked where the kitchen was, she was already very full, she couldn’t wait to wash the dishes.

Watching on the side, Lu Qingjiu almost spat out his stew.

“You’re bullying me just because I’m young,” Jiufeng, who was forced out into the kitchen, muttered, “Hmpt, Bai Yuehu, just wait for me to grow up!” 

Behind her, Yin Xun asked in a small voice, “What are you going to do after you grow up?”

“When I grow up, I’ll find myself a Lu Qingjiu!” Jiufeng said angrily.

Yin Xun, “…” Your efforts seem to be focused in the wrong direction?

Jiufeng turned to look at Yin Xun. she said, “Hey, little mountain god, how are you living together with Bai Yuehu? Aren’t you scared that Bai Yuehu’s going to eat you someday?” Bowls still in her hand, she leaned over and sniffed Yin Xun all over. Finally, she swallowed her saliva. “You look… very delicious.” 

Yin Xun instantly jumped back to the kitchen door and took three steps back. “You go ahead and wash the dishes first, I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”

Jiufeng,  “Eh? Don’t go, I was just casually saying that, I won’t really eat you.”

Yin Xun looked at her suspiciously.

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Jiufeng said, “After all, you’re living with Bai Yuehu, it wouldn’t be good for me to make a move…” 

Yin Xun, “Goodbye!”

Gloomily slinking out of the kitchen, he was immediately met with the sight of Lu Qingjiu curled up in Bai Yuehu’s big tails as he digested his meal. He was completely wrapped up in those tails, looking incredibly warm.

Lu Qingjiu asked, “What’s up? Is your romance over?”

Yin Xun, “It ended before it even began.” 

Lu Qingjiu let out a long sigh, and patted his shoulder. “Don’t be sad, you’re still young, you still have a lot of opportunities.”

Yin Xun fake-cried, “Why do they all only like me for my body.”

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On the sidelines, Bai Yuehu splashed him with cold water. “Maybe it’s because your soul isn’t very tasty.”

Yin Xun, “…” 

Lu Qingjiu burst into loud laughter. He rubbed his face against Bai Yuehu’s big tails, a strong sense of sleepiness rushing over him. These tails were much more comfortable than a pillow, soft and warm, one of the best things for getting through cold winters.

Just like that, Lu Qingjiu fell asleep, the house falling silent along with him.

Jiufeng, done washing the dishes, came out of the kitchen and saw Lu Qingjiu and the big tails on the bed. After a moment of shock, just as she was about to ask something, she saw Bai Yuehu make a “shh” gesture, then point at the door, signalling for her to leave. Then he looked at the sleeping Lu Qingjiu.

Seeing this, Jiufeng’s face filled with shock. This was her first time seeing Bai Yuehu let out such a warm expression. Thinking of how she’d seen Bai Yuehu share his food with Lu Qingjiu that morning, she felt like she seemed to… understand something.