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墨書 Inktalez
In ancient times, the demon race and the human race were in opposition. However, humans had a much stronger comprehension than demons, and the long cultivation time required by demons led to their gradual decline, while humans took over the control of the world from the demons.
Since the new regulations were enacted, it was prohibited to indiscriminately kill demons that had not caused harm to humanity. However, only registered demons could integrate into human society, and they needed to pass a review periodically. Of course, the Landlady of Red Bean Affection did not need to undergo this review because she was already recognized under the regulations. Even characters like Qu had to obtain approval before entering human society.
It seems that now registration can be done directly at the Heavenly Bureau of Human Affairs, but it is unclear who is in charge of this matter.
Actually, there was still some time before lunch. The Landlady of Red Bean Affection sat behind the counter, cracking sunflower seeds with a bored expression.
As soon as the door pushed open, Red Boy, Lin Miaomiao, and Huan walked in.
"Wow." The Landlady raised her eyebrows upon seeing me and tossed the sunflower seeds onto the counter. "Yin Zheng'an, this is too much. More and more people are coming; do you really think of this place as your long-term meal ticket?"
"How could that be?" I awkwardly waved my hand. "How about this? Today I'll show off my skills and borrow Sister Wan's kitchen for a bit. By the way, is there a vegetable market around here?"
"After you exit Eat Street, turn left and walk straight; you'll see it," Qu replied softly.
"Okay, I'll go buy some vegetables. You guys explain Huan's presence to the Landlady," I said to Red Boy.
Once outside, I used the Wind Walking Technique to hurry along. The vegetable market wasn't far and wasn't large either; besides a few stalls selling vegetables, there was a butcher shop, two seafood vendors, one tofu seller, and one selling marinated goods.
I bought some vegetables and a block of tofu. Considering that Lin Miaomiao and Huan might not prefer such light dishes, I initially thought about buying half a pound of beef but dismissed the idea upon remembering Red Boy's presence. If I really bought it, Red Boy would probably kill me.
Carrying the vegetables back to the noodle shop, Red Boy should have already explained Huan's situation to the Landlady. As soon as I entered, she looked at me with an ambiguous gaze that seemed to accuse me unjustly; I was innocent!
As soon as I opened the door, Huan—who had been quietly sitting next to Lin Miaomiao—suddenly dashed to the entrance like lightning and promptly hugged my arm tightly without letting go.
The atmosphere was quite strange at that moment.
I pushed it away and silently recited the "Mind Cleansing Mantra" a dozen times, then fled to the kitchen, drawing a series of light, bell-like laughs from the Landlady behind me.
Cultivation emphasizes a calm mind; otherwise, one can easily go astray. I admit this excuse lacks strength, and I also acknowledge that if Lin Miaomiao, Red Boy, and the Landlady weren't around, I might have just given in.
Calming myself down, I picked up a frying pan and placed it on the stove. After heating the pan, I poured in some oil. The Landlady used her homemade vegetable oil, which smelled better than what you could buy outside, but the downside was that it produced a lot of smoke.
I briefly stir-fried the vegetables and added a spoonful of the broth made by the Landlady, along with a pinch of salt for flavor; a bowl of soup was ready.
At the same time, I placed the tofu in clear broth and boiled it for a while to remove its alkaline taste. Then I cooked it again in the Landlady's broth to let the tofu absorb the flavors. After taking it out, I mashed it with a spoon, added some shredded bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables, and continued to stir-fry. A dash of soy sauce later, a bowl of Vegetarian Chicken Shredded Tofu was complete.
I also stir-fried Chicken Leg Mushroom and Lotus Slices. That should be good; I was quite confident in my cooking skills.
I called Red Boy over to help me serve the dishes. Once everything was on the table, I invited the Landlady and Qu to eat together. After all, I had eaten several meals at their place already; sharing a meal would feel particularly meaningful.
However, there was still one problem: Huan seemed to have no idea how to use chopsticks. She could hold a spoon but couldn't stabilize it at all.
"By the way, Yin Zheng'an, how do you plan to settle Huan?" Lin Miaomiao asked.
"Sister Wan, do you need more help here? It's not convenient for me and Hong. Plus, we aren't very good at taking care of kids," I said with hopeful eyes looking at the Landlady.
"Leaving her here isn't an issue, but I don't pay wages," the Landlady said after taking a bite of tofu and nodding in satisfaction. Her eyes squinted into crescent shapes as she continued, "You guys are always short on cash; you never pay me wages. If I open my own place, I'll still have to deal with a few freeloaders. Plus, I have two girls to support; it's not enough to cover expenses—I’m almost eating dirt."
"Isn't that a bit exaggerated?" I actually knew that the Landlady was just joking, but I couldn't stand her mournful tone: "Then Sister Wan, I'll leave it to you. Even if there's no salary, just providing food and shelter is fine."
What I thought was that even if I were paid, I'd probably spend all of it on food and drinks.
"Alright," the Landlady replied. "But I have a question. Why do you call a panda 'Huan'?"
"Panda?" I asked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
The Landlady smiled and pulled Huan into the shop. A pink aura of demonic energy flowed into Huan's body, and Huan began to slowly transform, eventually returning to the form I first encountered.
Lin Miaomiao's eyes widened in astonishment; she hadn't been told about the Landlady's true identity yet.
"The Landlady is actually the fox spirit of Qingqiu, responsible for matters of fate," Red Boy explained to Lin Miaomiao at my gesture.
Lin Miaomiao nodded in a somewhat confused manner as we both watched the 'Crispy Noodle.' The Crispy Noodle shyly hid for a moment before running up to me and hugging my leg, starting to act cute.
"See? I'm innocent, right? Who knew this little guy could turn into a person?" I said with frustration.
"Why is she so close to you?" the Landlady asked with interest.
I wanted to know too—why? Was it because of that bun?
"Is this a panda?" Red Boy pointed at 'Crispy Noodle' and asked. "What is a panda?"
"How about this? If it's a Raccoon, the mouth should be more pronounced, and the fur color should lean towards gray. But this one has reddish fur and white fur on its cheeks, clearly it's a panda."
Wow, so this is actually a protected animal? You know, pandas are much rarer than raccoons; they are already an endangered species. I didn't expect this greedy 'Crispy Noodle' to be so valuable. But it makes sense, after all, pandas and raccoons do have a certain familial relationship, so mistaking one for the other is understandable. However, if I had known this was a panda, I probably wouldn't have dared to bring it home.
"Never mind, since we've already decided to call it 'Huan', let's not change it." I said, "We're all bad at naming things; it's too difficult for us."
I didn't really expect the Landlady to come up with a good name either; just look at the previous ones to see that. But at least they all share the same character.
"But is she really okay in her current state?" Lin Miaomiao expressed her concern, "Her displayed intelligence isn't even as high as that of a kindergarten child."
"It's fine. We demons have something specifically for enlightenment called the Inheritance of Memory. I just need to show it to her."
"Inheritance of Memory? What is that?" I asked.
"It's the memories left behind by our demon ancestors regarding cultivation and the human world. We demons don't want as many as you humans do, so not every demon that gains intelligence can find a master. Therefore, Inheritance of Memory is very important for us. Generally, after gaining intelligence, an elder will take you to receive it," Qu explained carefully after a long silence.
Human inheritance emphasizes mentorship passed down through generations. However, demons are somewhat special, especially after the decline of the Ancient Court, which often leads to gaps in knowledge. Thus, some demon ancestors leave behind memories about cultivation before they die, and these memories also carry their impressions of the world.
Typically, family-oriented demons undergo the refinement of Inheritance of Memory before they fully take human form after gaining intelligence. However, Huan doesn't have such good treatment. But her luck is quite remarkable; she somehow transformed (into human form) and just happened to meet me when I happened to know the Landlady.
Did she plan this all along and intentionally come to steal my steamed bun?
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