RIIDMDR chapter 141

Countless thoughts flashed through Nan Xu’s mind. In the end, however, he told Tingchuan, “I want to go take a look.”

Tingchuan said nothing, but silently turned over and pulled Nan Xu into his arms. His arms seemed to hold boundless strength, yet he didn’t use any of it on Nan Xu.

Neither of them spoke that night. Nan Xu didn’t know when he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was broad daylight. Guan’er’s barking outside woke him up.

He got up and went to the window, where he saw Zhuang Wu holding something high in his hand. Guan’er’s head was tilted back as he occasionally jumped up to try to bite it. When he realized he couldn’t reach it, he barked at Zhuang Wu.

Zhuang Wu caught a glimpse of Nan Xu by the window out of the corner of his eye and realized that Nan Xu hadn’t gotten up yet. This was unusual because Nan Xu usually wandered around the area at dawn, and Zhuang Wu could always see him when he came to the courtyard to get his tools. But now, the sun was high in the sky.

Afraid of disturbing the owner’s sweet dreams, Zhuang Wu was about to speak to him when Nan Xu called out in a slightly hoarse voice, as if just waking up: “Guan’er, don’t bite.”

Zhuang Wu snapped back to reality and quickly raised his hand, which had fallen due to his distraction. The dog’s mouth missed its target.

Guan’er wavered between Zhuang Wu’s hand and Nan Xu’s for a minute or two before finally approaching Nan Xu. Guan’er raised its front paws and gripped the windowsill. Nan Xu reached out and patted its head before asking Zhuang Wu, “What are you holding?”

Guan’er was always obedient and came whenever Nan Xu called him, so his hesitation made Nan Xu curious about what Zhuang Wu was holding.

Zhuang Wu looked at his hands and replied, “Owner, I dug up a tortoise shell this morning. It looks quite old and special. I brought it to you for divination.”

Nan Xu didn’t know anything about hexagrams or divination. After staring silently at the turtle shell for a long time, he decided not to reject Zhuang Wu’s kind intention.

The tortoise shell, now cleansed of dust, felt slightly rough. Nan Xu held it in his hands for a while, unable to identify the species of tortoise it had once been. As Zhuang Wu had said, however, the patterns on the shell were clear. In the sunlight, they seemed to shimmer and undulate as if controlling the surrounding spiritual energy.

–

After deciding to join the formation, Nan Xu began preparing the supplies he would need. Learning from his previous experience, he prepared some easily stored dry rations in advance. Although he possessed some demonic characteristics, he still couldn’t sustain himself like other demons with a single meal lasting years. His would last only two or three days at most. Furthermore, having become accustomed to three meals a day at the inn, it would be difficult to change his mindset in a short time.

He also packed several sets of clothes for different seasons in preparation for the formation’s unpredictable weather. He considered this sufficient preparation for the foreseeable future.

Each morning, he drew a fortune stick in the system. Three consecutive days of “inauspicious” luck. Although Nan Xu didn’t fully believe in it, he couldn’t help but sigh at his bad luck.

On the morning of the fourth day, Nan Xu finally drew a “lucky” number and felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After breakfast, he grabbed his backpack and left without saying anything.

Zhixing had somehow managed to stuff his bag full of wound medicine and stimulants. After saying goodbye to Zhixing, Nan Xu and Tingchuan walked down the mountain together.

Perhaps practice makes perfect; Nan Xu was much calmer this time, as if he were simply going on a short spring outing. His composure unconsciously affected the worried Zhixing.

This time, Nanxu planned to go to the peak of the northern mountain. Although not as high, this northern mountain was considered quite precipitous in the demon realm and was the closest to the main peak. It took nearly two hours to descend the main peak. By the time Nanxu climbed to the summit of the northern peak, the sun was setting. Having never been there before, Nanxu stood at the summit of the northern peak and looked at the main peak. A sense of bewilderment welled up in his heart.

He wondered what the scene would be like when he entered the formation this time. Tingchuan had been quiet the entire journey, but he responded to every question Nanxu asked him. Nanxu understood Tingchuan’s concerns, but he couldn’t bring himself to stay in the current situation just to reassure him.

He had to look forward. If his identity was beyond reproach, then these grand formations must have been set up by his former self. The fact that only he could escape safely seemed to hint that he would have to go through this again after returning to the demon realm. He could deceive himself now, preventing himself from seeing or thinking about it. But one day, he would inevitably want to confront his past self.

Nan Xu knew himself perfectly well. Though he seemed carefree, he was determined. Just as in the human world, he was loved more and received more food because he was clean and lovable. Even when the river froze over in the cold winter, he made sure to clean up. His frostbitten, cracked hands were excruciatingly painful when they touched the icy water. Yet, he knew he needed the food to survive.

He wouldn’t have retreated from the bitter cold then, and he wouldn’t hesitate before the great formation now.

Being alone was bad enough, but Tingchuan was also worrying about him. Nanxu couldn’t bring himself to say, “I’ll be all right,” knowing it wouldn’t offer any comfort. All he could do was hold Tingchuan tightly before entering the formation, hiding his deepest affection within his embrace.

Tingchuan finally smiled for the first time that day and gently patted Nanxu’s back twice with his large palm. “Take care of yourself. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

Nanxu nodded and turned to enter the formation.

As he stepped into the barrier, he felt as if he had suddenly entered another world. The bright, sunny sky was suddenly filled with yellow sand. Looking up, he saw that the swirling dust was blocking out the sunlight and making the surroundings dim. He reached into his bag for a gauze scarf to cover his mouth and nose but found that his backpack had vanished.

Nan Xu was astonished. Looking down, he realized that his clothes were different from what he had worn when he left. He had asked the cat demon to tailor clothes in a human style—long robes and trousers—but now he was wearing a blue robe covered in dust.

Nan Xu was certain he had never worn such clothes before. He scratched his head. When had he ever had this long hair? Did these scenes, so inconsistent with his limited memories, mean that, from the moment he stepped into the formation, he had ceased to exist in reality?

Before he could ponder this further, a cloud of dust rushed into his nose and throat, filling his mouth with the pungent taste of earth. It was awful. Looking around, he saw that he was on a dirt slope with no shelter.

He struggled to climb the slope in the swirling wind, trying to hold his breath. Once he reached the top, however, the dust obscured most of his vision, leaving him with only a small patch of ground beneath his feet.

Nan Xu felt like a prisoner exiled to the frontier in a TV drama. He was trapped in this world, enduring extreme weather. What kind of human suffering was this? Nan Xu wondered.

Suddenly, someone behind him asked, “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to wait where you were? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The voice was loud and sounded shrill in the howling wind. It startled Nan Xu so much that the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end.

He cautiously turned around and saw a person with bright red hair and a spirited appearance behind him—none other than the young and handsome Yun Yi.

He hadn’t expected to meet the person he wanted to see without needing to fall asleep this time. Delight lit up his face. Last time, he hadn’t known who the man was, and the dream had ended in confusion. But now, seeing him again as a “close friend,” everything felt different—closer, warmer.

Nan Xu couldn’t hide his surprise—he wasn’t even aware that he needed to. This caused Yun Yi, who was about to say something, to suddenly stop talking.

He stared at Nan Xu’s face and asked suspiciously, “Why are you looking at me like that? Like you haven’t seen me in ages. I only asked you to wait here for half an hour, and you ran off everywhere, almost losing sight of me. I thought you’d been blown away by the wind. Oh, right. This little breeze can’t blow you away.”

Yun Yi was certainly talkative, rattling off a string of words before Nan Xu could react. He shoved a bundle of saplings into Nan Xu’s hands.

“I didn’t find these ‘suosuo’ trees¹“Suosuo’ trees” is referring to 梭梭树, which in English is known as the saxaul tree.? you wanted, but my grandfather said these will do. They’re called ‘shaji’ (sea buckthorn). I had to beg him for half the morning to get them. If they die, you’ll have to apologize to my grandfather yourself!” Yun Yi said.

Nan Xu held the large bundle of saplings, somewhat bewildered. “What’s this for?”

Yun Yi looked at Nan Xu in surprise. “Didn’t you say you wanted to plant trees? I brought you the saplings. Why are you changing your mind now? Do you want me to plant them all by myself? I thought you couldn’t grow trees, yet you haven’t lifted a finger. Last time, I got scolded by Grandfather for helping you dig the ditch. This time, I’m not listening to you anymore.”

Planting trees in a sandstorm? Was he crazy, or was Yun Yi deaf?

The consequence of Yun Yi’s excessive talking was that he swallowed a lot of sand. He gagged and retched, but it was unclear whether he was genuinely uncomfortable or just pretending to avoid being blamed by Nan Xu. “What’s wrong with digging a ditch?” Nan Xu, unaware of the past, asked with feigned righteous indignation.

Yun Yi stared at him, and Nan Xu clearly saw his pupils turn from brown to red. Uncertain whether this was a sign of a dark transformation, Nan Xu immediately changed the subject, wanting to avoid this dangerous topic.

But Yun Yi wouldn’t let him off the hook. “How dare you ask me that? You told me to dig a canal from north to south—a water diversion project—so we wouldn’t lack water. But why can’t you admit that you can’t find your way around? We spent over two months on it! The Northeast Tiger brothers next door wore their claws down, and the canal we dug led to the sea! Seawater flooded in, washing away the hamster tribe’s burrows and my little treasure trove.”

Nan Xu hadn’t realized that he used to be a master at digging holes everywhere. Yun Yi really knew how to trick people. He felt incredibly ashamed. Looking down at the saplings in his hands, he realized they were indeed suitable for windbreaks and fixing the sand.

“Why don’t we go back first and plant them again after the sandstorm stops?” Nan Xu tentatively asked.

Yun Yi frowned. “You just told me that sandstorms are the best time to plant trees. You said that trees have spirits and that if they take root in such weather, they’ll survive better in good weather. I boasted to the clan that I would control the sandstorms in the north. How can I go back on my word now?”

Nan Xu thought Yun Yi was being hypocritical. He said he wouldn’t listen to him anymore, yet deep down, he believed his own nonsense and dared to spout it in front of others.

However, the human world had invested so much manpower and resources in windbreaks and sand fixation with minimal results. It was a pipe dream for Yun Yi to think he could stop the flying sandstorms with just a few sea buckthorn trees.

However, he refused to back down; the trees still needed to be planted, and he didn’t know how many saplings would survive the strong winds.

Ultimately, he had only two options: plant the trees or leave them to rot in the sand. Nan Xu picked up a hoe, dug a hole, planted the sapling, filled the hole with soil, and tamped it down. He squatted beside the sapling for a while, wondering if there were any differences between the demon realm and the human realm.

After about four or five minutes, the sapling wilted under the sandstorm’s assault, seemingly about to snap. Nan Xu hurriedly said, “Go get some water. Maybe watering it will help.”

Yun Yi, who had been standing to the side with his arms crossed, hesitated for a few seconds before picking up his feet and walking toward the clan’s territory.

“If only Jingyuan were here, he could make it rain and save me the trouble of watering the plants,” Yun Yi muttered to himself.

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  “Suosuo’ trees” is referring to 梭梭树, which in English is known as the saxaul tree.