Ch 8: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

The demons shared their thoughts, one after another.

Jiang Lin understood their concerns and made a decision, clapping his hands: “Alright, tomorrow you all come over, and we’ll start building houses!”

“Building houses?”

The dog-headed demon asked foolishly, “What does building houses mean, woof?”

Because of his dog’s head, he still retained some canine habits when he spoke.

Jiang Lin explained, “It’s a place to live. Big, spacious, warm. Once you have a house, you won’t have to worry about the wind, sun, or rain anymore.”

“Is it really that good?”

“Is it like a cave?”

Jiang Lin thought for a moment, realizing that this group of demons might not be able to imagine what a house looked like.

So he said, “Watch this.”

He cast a spell, and the demons saw a flat, square building rise from the ground before them.

Green vines and branches formed a beautiful courtyard, with a simple, square wooden house inside.

Considering the current materials and skill level in White Tiger Ridge, Jiang Lin used illusion magic to create a very basic wooden house.

“Come in and take a look,” Jiang Lin said as he led the way inside.

The demons exchanged glances, and the cat demon was the first to follow him.

As she entered the courtyard, the cat demon noticed small yellow flowers on the fence. Curious, she reached out to pick one and brought it to her nose to smell.

But as soon as the flower left the vine, it turned into a wisp of white mist and vanished instantly.

Ahead, Jiang Lin’s amused voice came: “This house is created by magic, so everything in it is fake.”

Magic can create anything in the world, but in essence, it’s still just an illusion—intangible and without substance. So this illusionary house could give the demons a clear idea of what a real house looked like, but it couldn’t actually be used as a shelter—it was, after all, just an illusion and couldn’t truly protect against the elements.

The cat demon stuck out her tongue and quietly stopped touching things, her round eyes looking around with interest.

The courtyard was simply furnished, following Jiang Lin’s personal preferences. The ground was paved with smooth bluestone slabs, and in the southeast corner stood a giant tree whose shade covered almost half the courtyard. Beneath the tree was a stone table and several stone chairs.

Even though the courtyard was simple, it was enough to amaze the demons.

They usually lived in the wild mountains, and while White Tiger Ridge had its own natural beauty, it had never been shaped by human aesthetics, making it appear somewhat rough.

But here in Jiang Lin’s illusion, even the neatly trimmed, person-high vine-covered fence brought the demons great joy.

The pheasant demon, who had a particular love for beauty, was especially enchanted, her eyes shining brightly as if she couldn’t wait to build one herself.

Then there were the tables and chairs they had never seen before, and the smooth stone slabs on the ground, clean and polished like a surface of water. The cat demon, delighted, rolled happily on the ground.

Jiang Lin kept an eye on the demons’ reactions, and seeing their enthusiasm, he felt satisfied.

After a brief moment of thought, he said, “This courtyard is very simple, but if you like it, you can create many different styles.”

With that, he focused his thoughts.

The smooth stone floor in the courtyard disappeared, replaced by a lush, soft lawn. A small path made of pebbles extended from the courtyard gate to the front door of the house.

He then pointed at the giant tree, and a branch extended outward.

Two thick vines hung down from the branch, adorned with colorful flowers. Near the ground, the vines intertwined to form a seat.

“This is called a swing.”

The demons: “Wow!”

Jiang Lin smiled slightly and then led them inside the house…

After they had toured the entire place, Jiang Lin waved his hand, dispersing the illusion. As they stood on the empty ground, the longing in the demons’ eyes was almost palpable.

The cat demon eagerly asked, “My lord! When can we start building the houses?”

Jiang Lin replied, “We can start tomorrow. Come here tomorrow, and I’ll show you how to build them. The condition is, you work for me.”

“Work for you? What does that mean?”

Jiang Lin: “…It means you have to help me build my house first.”

The demons understood immediately and responded in unison, “Of course, of course, it’s only right to build the lord’s house first.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Of course we should build for the lord first.”

In the minds of these demons, the lord was their king, so naturally, the best things should be made for him first.

Jiang Lin: “…”

These demons were so simple-minded that Jiang Lin almost felt guilty for taking advantage of them.

So, after some thought, he added, “As payment, I’ll provide food while you work on my house.”

The demons who had tasted Jiang Lin’s roasted pheasant immediately lit up with excitement. “Food, you’ll provide food!”

“Is it the same delicious pheasant the lord made last time?”

Jiang Lin smiled, “Pheasant is fine, fish is fine, anything you like is fine—as long as you bring the game. I’ll teach you how to cook it.”

“Alright!”

The demons happily went back home.

The lord told them to get a good rest and think about how they wanted their courtyards to look.

But most of them were more focused on deciding what game to hunt for tomorrow.

After the demons left, Jiang Lin returned to the cave to cultivate.

The system, which had been silently observing his actions, finally couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Host, what exactly are you doing?”

Jiang Lin: “What do you mean?”

The system hastily explained, “According to the original plot, you’re supposed to be beaten to death by Sun Wukong with his Golden-Hooped Rod!”

Jiang Lin: “So?”

“So, according to the timeline, Sun Wukong has already been born, mastered the 72 transformations, and is now ruling as king in the Flower Fruit Mountain.”

The system suggested, “You should go to Flower Fruit Mountain now, build a good relationship with Sun Wukong, and stick close to him. That way, he won’t kill you later.”

Jiang Lin: “???”

He couldn’t quite understand the system’s logic.

“Am I not happy being a free demon here in White Tiger Ridge? Isn’t it comfortable to be the king here? Why would I want to go to someone else’s territory and become their lackey?”

Did he really look like someone who would be a lackey?

The system protested, “But Sun Wukong will kill you later!”

Jiang Lin scoffed, “System, are you underestimating the Great Sage, or are you underestimating me?”

The system was taken aback.

Jiang Lin continued, “Why did the Great Sage defeat the White Bone Spirit three times? Wasn’t it because the White Bone Spirit wanted to eat Tang Sanzang’s flesh and had committed numerous heinous crimes?”

He pointed to himself, “I don’t eat people or harm them. We’re both demons—why would he want to kill me?”

He stretched lazily, “I’ll stay here as the king of White Tiger Ridge, peacefully cultivating and growing stronger, while training these naive demons. I’ll develop our food culture, work on infrastructure, and turn White Tiger Ridge into the happiest place for demons. Isn’t that much better than being someone’s lackey?”