Ch 10: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

The entire house, from start to finish, was completed in just one morning.

Jiang Lin stood in the courtyard, surveying the space. It was spacious, bright, and even somewhat attractive. By his standards, the courtyard was definitely not bad.

But the demons were far more excited than he was.

The cat demon clapped her hands and exclaimed, “Is this the house we built? It’s so big and beautiful!”

A rabbit demon’s shiny black eyes were fixed on the large bed in the bedroom.

The bed was covered with thick, clean animal skins, fluffy and soft, and he had an overwhelming urge to revert to his original form and roll around on it.

Of course, reason held him back—the rabbit demon still remembered that this was the lord’s house, and he couldn’t just do as he pleased.

However, the lord had said that all the demons who were here today would be able to build their own houses soon.

So, it wouldn’t be long before he had his own house.

Jiang Lin noticed the longing in the demons’ eyes and said, “Unfortunately, due to some technical limitations, there are many comfortable and convenient things I couldn’t create.”

The demons were amazed. “There are even more comfortable things?”

“Of course,” Jiang Lin sighed. “These are just the basics.”

The demons couldn’t even imagine it.

But they didn’t need to think that far ahead; the house before them had already far exceeded their expectations.

Jiang Lin checked the time and remembered his promise to provide lunch for the demons. It was about time to start preparing.

He looked at the supplies in his jade space.

There were mostly various types of fruits and vegetables, but none in large quantities—just a few of each.

Jiang Lin roughly counted, finding dozens of different fruits and even more types of vegetables, totaling over a hundred.

This was a habit he had developed in his previous life during the apocalypse—knowing how useful his wood-element spiritual power was, he had learned that as long as vegetables had roots, he could stimulate their growth, and the same went for fruits. Whenever he encountered fresh produce, he would instinctively pick some as a backup.

But when it came to seasonings for cooking, the situation was different.

He could only occasionally find and stockpile items from warehouse stores or supermarkets.

The jade space could keep food from spoiling, but in the end, resources were limited in the apocalypse. The most abundant seasonings he had were essentials like oil and salt.

As for things like pepper powder, chili flakes, and mixed spices, they were in short supply, and he didn’t have the raw materials to make more, nor did he know how to blend them.

In short, each use depleted his stock.

Jiang Lin thought to himself: It looks like after some time, I’ll need to leave White Tiger Ridge and explore the outside world.

After all, this was a mythological world, and he wasn’t sure how far human civilization had developed beyond the ridge.

Before him were forty or fifty demons, each with a large appetite.

Cooking a pot of chicken soup like last time was out of the question—even though he had cooking utensils, they were all lightweight and portable, only suitable for small meals of ten people or fewer.

Given the circumstances, Jiang Lin decided: Barbecue it is!

The demons cheered when they heard that food was being prepared.

Jiang Lin instructed them to prepare their game according to their appetite and to clean it thoroughly.

As for himself, he had a small goat before him.

He skewered it with a large, sturdy branch and placed it over the fire.

Jiang Lin handed out seasonings to the demons, encouraging them to try cooking for themselves. The demons embraced this with great enthusiasm, finding the idea of personally making delicious food to be quite magical. They squatted down in their spots, carefully mimicking Jiang Lin’s actions.

When Jiang Lin brushed the seasoning onto the meat, they followed suit. When Jiang Lin turned the meat to ensure even cooking, they also flipped their meat in unison.

The fat slowly began to render, collecting into golden droplets that hung on the roasted, golden-brown surface of the meat before finally succumbing to gravity and falling off.

Pop!

The fire crackled as the fat dripped into the flames, releasing an enticing aroma.

Most of the demons had keen senses of smell, and by this point, many of them were already sniffing the air repeatedly, eyes fixed on the food in front of them with eager anticipation.

Jiang Lin took out a small knife, but since he didn’t have enough knives for everyone, he instructed the demons to use their magic to shape stones into thin blades to serve as knives.

Besides the game, Jiang Lin also prepared many leafy greens, placing them on clean, simple wooden trays to balance out the richness of the meat.

However, it was clear that apart from a few herbivorous demons, the others just grabbed a handful, chewed it, found it tasteless, and quickly set it aside, uninterested.

Jiang Lin sliced into a piece of meat, checked it, and said, “The surface should be cooked by now. Since the game is large, let’s eat while we continue to roast it.”

The demons, who had been barely holding back, cheered as soon as Jiang Lin gave the go-ahead and eagerly used their stone knives to slice the meat.

Their learning ability was impressive. Even though they had never eaten this way or used knives before, they imitated Jiang Lin’s movements quite well—except for the dog-headed demon, whose underdeveloped brain struggled with the task.

“Wow, this tastes amazing!”

“The meat I’ve eaten before never had much flavor, but this is so flavorful!”

“I didn’t know that cooked meat could taste so much better than raw meat!”

“…”

Jiang Lin watched these easily satisfied demons and smiled, quietly forming a seal with his fingers.

A breeze carried the aroma further into the distance.

Qinghuan, a green serpent, was once at the top of the food chain in this forest before becoming a demon. Blessed with high natural talent, he quickly grew in strength and became one of the dominant figures of White Tiger Ridge.

Apart from him, there was a mad bull and a beautifully patterned female leopard.

None of them were willing to submit to the others, and their powers were evenly matched. Each claimed their own territory, with occasional conflicts, but they mostly coexisted peacefully.

That was until the White Bone Spirit awakened.

The day the White Bone Spirit became a demon, the entire White Tiger Ridge was shrouded in overwhelming demonic energy, causing all creatures to tremble under the oppressive aura.

The birds and beasts aside, the demons who had gained enlightenment knew that White Tiger Ridge had welcomed a powerful new demon.

Qinghuan observed the White Bone Spirit for a while, noticing that although it had a violent temperament, its intelligence was rather average, and it didn’t seem interested in claiming the title of king for now.

But he knew this was only temporary. Powerful demons usually had domineering personalities, and once the White Bone Spirit decided to claim the throne of White Tiger Ridge, what would become of the smaller dominions like his?

Qinghuan visited the mad bull and the female leopard, and the three of them uncharacteristically sat down peacefully to discuss the situation.

However, before they could come to any conclusions, they heard Jiang Lin’s proclamation:

“From this day forth, I, the White Bone Spirit, am the lord of White Tiger Ridge.”

The three demons exchanged glances and decided to wait and see what would happen.

During the day, Qinghuan, with his keen senses, lazily coiled in his cave, overheard two small demons passing by excitedly, vaguely discussing things like “food” and “houses.”

Qinghuan paid it no mind—after all, he, the great Green Serpent King, had never lacked food or shelter.

That was until a faint, tantalizing aroma wafted in with the breeze.

Qinghuan: !

What…what was that smell?