Ch 24: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Jiang Lin turned his head to look at Zong Yu, noticing the forlorn expression on his baby-fat face, which didn’t quite match his appearance. Though not intentional, Jiang Lin couldn’t help but feel a bit amused.

However, Zong Yu seemed genuinely upset at the moment, and if Jiang Lin laughed, it would surely make him angry.

“Why are you in such a hurry to grow up?” Jiang Lin asked. “Human children yearn to grow up because they believe adults can do many things they can’t, but you don’t have that problem.”

Despite Zong Yu’s cute appearance, the aura of a great demon was undeniable, and no one would underestimate him because of it.

But who would have guessed that after hearing this, Zong Yu glared at him. “I don’t know about others, but you definitely treat me like a child!”

And a particularly unruly child at that!

Jiang Lin: “…”

He wanted to ask if Zong Yu was even aware of his behavior. If he were as mature and steady as Yunmu, would Jiang Lin still see him as a child?

Jiang Lin treated him like a child precisely because he acted like one, both in appearance and temperament!

But Zong Yu was clearly in a bad mood, and Jiang Lin didn’t want to make things worse. So, he took a different approach and said, “What’s so bad about being a child? I like children.”

Zong Yu turned to look at him.

Jiang Lin gave him an incredibly sincere look. “Really, think about it. If you weren’t so adorable, would I have brought you to White Tiger Ridge so easily and cooked for you?”

Zong Yu had always known he was good-looking, but hearing Jiang Lin say it made him a bit happy.

He proudly lifted his head. “Don’t worry, even when I grow up, I won’t be ugly. I’ll be even more handsome.”

Jiang Lin soothed him, “Yes, yes, I can tell. You’ll definitely be an exceptionally handsome man.”

With that, the last trace of Zong Yu’s sulkiness disappeared.

He shifted his attention to something else, “There’s going to be a banquet tonight to celebrate your emergence from seclusion, right? You’re going to cook, aren’t you? I’ve been hungry for years.”

Jiang Lin nodded while secretly thinking, So easy to appease, and he still says he’s not a child.

And so, the days passed peacefully and calmly.

Jiang Lin devoted himself to cultivating the Nine Spirits Art, the wood-element spiritual energy, which aligned with the Dao of Life. His aura became increasingly gentle and tranquil, gradually dissolving the original malevolent energy of his form.

The young demons grew even fonder of being around him.

One day, the long-absent system suddenly reactivated:

“Host, the pilgrimage team is coming.”

Jiang Lin’s spirits lifted. Are they finally coming?

Who hadn’t seen Journey to the West in their previous life? With countless TV shows and movies made, there were versions he liked and some he didn’t. But now, he was finally going to see the real thing.

“How long do I have?” he asked.

“About a month,” the system calculated.

In recent years, the usually reclusive leader of White Tiger Ridge suddenly emerged from seclusion. Not only that, but he also summoned the current stewards of White Tiger Ridge and instructed them:

“I foresee that honored guests will soon arrive. You must prepare and treat them well.”

Honored guests?

The demons were all full of curiosity: over the years, most of those who came to White Tiger Ridge were either troublemakers or attracted by the food or reputation of the place. They had never had any esteemed guests before! And the king was treating this with such seriousness!

Li Mao the cat demon asked, “King, what kind of esteemed guests are they? Could they be gods from the heavens?”

Jiang Lin thought to himself, The gods above certainly don’t have time to pay attention to our little White Tiger Ridge. He replied, “It’s a holy monk from the Great Tang of the East and his disciples. The holy monk is highly skilled in Buddhism, and his disciples each have their own remarkable abilities.”

Over the years, Li Mao had visited the human world a few times. However, after living in White Tiger Ridge for so long and fully participating in its transformation, she had become a knowledgeable demon. She even thought that the praised bustling cities of the human world couldn’t compare to White Tiger Ridge.

A holy monk? Isn’t that just a monk?

Li Mao scratched her head; she had seen temples in the mortal world, and those monks were always nagging. Could it be that the king liked them?

But as Jiang Lin’s number one fan, Li Mao always responded enthusiastically to the king’s orders. She said, “Don’t worry, my lord. I will personally take charge of the cooking, and I’ll make sure those esteemed guests are impressed by our White Tiger Ridge cuisine!”

Jiang Lin thought for a moment and then said, “Remember, Buddhists don’t eat meat. Keep that in mind.”

Li Mao nodded. Making vegetarian dishes? That won’t be a problem for Chef Li Mao!

White Tiger Ridge was bustling with preparations. The old ape heard that one of the esteemed guests was also a monkey in origin and felt an immediate kinship. He eagerly promised to pick the sweetest peaches from Immortal Peach Mountain to entertain the guests.

One day, an unusual guest appeared in Jiang Lin’s small courtyard. It was the perennial homebody of White Tiger Ridge—the snake demon Qinghuan.

Jiang Lin considered himself quite a homebody, spending most of his time at home cultivating, often going into seclusion for several years at a time. But compared to Qinghuan, he was like a social butterfly.

This demon’s only hobby in the past was to transform into his original form and sleep in his cave. After being won over by a barbecue meal, he came under Jiang Lin’s command and, under the guidance of Pheasant, built a house that was much more comfortable than his cave in every way.

—And thus, he became even more of a recluse.

However, since there was now so much good food at White Tiger Ridge, he made sure to wake up periodically—to instruct a little demon to deliver food to his house regularly. After eating, he would go back to sleep.

In these few hundred years, this was the first time Jiang Lin had seen him. Surprised, he asked, “What wind blew you over here?”

Qinghuan, a pale, handsome man with a somewhat dark and brooding demeanor—someone who would be a perfect villain in Jiang Lin’s previous life—asked, “I heard that White Tiger Ridge is expecting some esteemed guests?”

By now, this news should be known throughout White Tiger Ridge.

Jiang Lin nodded.

Qinghuan then asked, “Is it true that it’s the reincarnated Golden Cicada monk from the Great Tang?”

This wasn’t something that the other demons would know.

Jiang Lin looked at Qinghuan, understanding that even a reclusive great demon like him had a way of knowing things that other demons didn’t.

There was no point in hiding it, so he nodded again. “That’s right.”

Qinghuan’s eyes lit up. “I’ve heard that just one bite of Tang Monk’s flesh can grant immortality…”

Jiang Lin’s expression darkened. “Who told you that?”

He rarely spoke so sternly, and Qinghuan was startled. He stammered, “All the demons outside know about it.”

Jiang Lin gave him a sharp look. “Do the demons of White Tiger Ridge know this as well?”

Qinghuan shook his head. He had come to ask Jiang Lin as soon as he learned about it and hadn’t planned to tell any other demons. After all, a human is so small, and there wouldn’t be enough to share.

Hearing this, Jiang Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

xxx

Thandar: Ayee I love this novel so much but not many people seem to appreciate it. So I’ll reduce the frequency of updates, from everyday to every other day, to focus on other novels. Just fyi ☺️