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Duan Mingyuan gazed absentmindedly at the steaming plate of spicy stir-fried chicken. The presentation of the dish on proper crockery made it feel entirely different from the disposable takeout containers. Though he had bought plenty of tableware for his home, he barely ever used them.
"What's the matter, Mr. Mingyuan, is it not to your taste?"
Jiuyue removed her apron and took a seat opposite him.
"No, it's not that."
Duan Mingyuan composed his somewhat unsettled emotions and picked up a piece of chicken, coated in thick sauce. The mild spiciness tenderly pricked his taste buds, soon to be overwhelmed by the aroma of the meat quickly filling his mouth.
It was much tastier than the takeaways he usually ordered.
He made this assessment quickly. As someone who often dined on food deliveries, he rarely experienced the anticipation that grew in his heart as the aroma of cooking filled the room, until the dishes were served one after another.
"Not bad."
"Right?"
Regrettably, Wenxin did not linger long in this room. As Jiuyue took a bite of chicken thigh, she held her face with both hands, a look of bliss spreading across it, "This little one has been working very hard for the arrival of this day."
"...Child?"
Duan Mingyuan's chopsticks froze.
Looking tenderly at the plate, Jiuyue said, "Yes, this little one has been diligently absorbing nutrients every day, maintaining sufficient exercise until the day it was taken away, so its flesh is firmer than other children's."
...
Ogre boxer.
For some reason, that nickname surfaced once again in Duan Mingyuan's mind.
No, he was certain that the dish was merely a chicken.
"How do you know this?"
Duan Mingyuan had heard that it was trendy for high-end restaurants to introduce the ingredients to diners when serving the dishes, but Jiuyue's descriptions seemed a bit too vivid and lifelike.
"This is our respect for the ingredients," Jiuyue explained. "With just one taste, I can sense the entire life of this little one."
It was too heavy.
Even after he had cleared the tableware, the life of the little chicken still haunted Duan Mingyuan's mind.
After forcing a still-sick Jiuyue to lie down and rest in bed, he decided to clear his mind.
Knowledge always helped calm him. Back in his own room, he searched his bookshelf for a while, eventually finding a notebook among a pile of dusty exercise books.
The notebook was standard-issue from his high school, intended for students to take notes during class.
The contents of this notebook did not relate to school-taught knowledge but were recorded in much more detail. To prevent forgetting, he had even added his own illustrations and detailed annotations.
He hadn't flipped through this notebook for a while. After graduating from high school, it had remained forever on the shelf, alongside his other textbooks and exercise books, as a record of his younger days.
Turning to a blank page, Duan Mingyuan started a new entry in the notebook labeled "Jiuyue, Ruihu."
Today, he had taken an interest in a fox.
He then opened his laptop and searched for folklore about Ruihu using a search engine.
Jiuyue had not lied.
To this day, many remote villages still regard the fox as a symbol of good fortune and build temples in its honor. Villagers believe such practices will ensure a bountiful harvest the following year, even though there has been no scientific research to prove that foxes can indeed bring good luck to the people.
During his search, he found an intriguing notion.
The relationship between monsters and humans is extremely delicate, as they strive to avoid human life yet desire to be remembered. That's why many folklore tales exist, seemingly reflecting the humans' positive imaginings of monsters. Or perhaps, these stories were spun by the monsters themselves, hoping to be revered as gods through such fabrications.
The one who posted this opinion was a renowned cultivator, verified by a website, whose credibility was far higher in Duan Mingyuan's eyes than that of users with garbled, numeric usernames or those who remained anonymous.
The cultivator was interested in studying monsters. He had visited many villages and listened to numerous local legends, yet he had never managed to see a real monster.
In fact, most people would never encounter a monster in their lifetime.
"I can prove that these tales really happened and were not concocted by us. At most... perhaps with a touch of exaggeration for artistic effect," Jiuyue's voice came from behind him.
Turning around, Duan Mingyuan saw Jiuyue, dressed in a cotton nightgown, hugging her tail like a pillow in her arms. He guessed that this might be a unique way for a fox to keep warm in cold weather.
```
"Why have you popped up again?"
"I can't sleep."
She brought over a chair and sat down next to Duan Mingyuan. "If you're interested in monsters, you should just ask me directly. Why bother listening to the guesswork of laypeople who haven't even seen a monster?"
"Can Ruihu really ensure a bountiful harvest for all kinds of grain next year?"
Duan Mingyuan cared a lot about this matter. If the folk legends were true, it would mean Jiuyue's ancestors could very likely summon the wind and call the rain, altering the climate to guarantee good weather for the crops next year. This undeniably would be a power beyond scientific understanding.
"Of course they can. Would I lie to you?"
Jiuyue said with pride on her face. If the glorious history of Ruihu came up, she could talk for hours on end.
"How do you do it? With magic spells?"
"Of course not. We don't need to rely on such illusory things as magic spells. We rely on our own hands and feet, organizing teams regularly to patrol the crops, helping with watering and fertilization, and driving away any animals or pests that try to eat the crops."
That sounds much more scientific.
No wonder some people adamantly claimed that their village was blessed by Ruihu. There was a time when, due to an emergency, he had to leave home for a month. When he came back, he was astonished to find the crops were still well tended, as if some deity had been watching over them.
"How do the villagers repay you?"
"They build temples for us. Sometimes they would leave chickens they raised as offerings in the temple, the kind that were free-range, running around outside every day. They tasted so much better, much better than the chickens in the city."
As soon as she mentioned offerings, a look of happiness overflowed on Jiuyue's face.
The happy smile was infectious, making Duan Mingyuan look at her with astonished eyes. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, "If I'm not misunderstanding, your ancestors have been working in the fields to help the villagers and, in return, the villagers occasionally leave a few chickens as offerings in the temple to send you on your way."
"... Huh?"
Jiuyue's smile froze.
Instinctively, she wanted to retort, but after thinking for a while, she felt that Duan Mingyuan wasn't deliberately distorting the truth. He was just using sharp words to shatter the harmonious and naturally friendly atmosphere.
"Sorry, I misunderstood you earlier."
Duan Mingyuan apologized sincerely. He had initially thought Jiuyue was especially... naïve and couldn't adapt to life in the big city, which led her to unwittingly be taken advantage of. But now he realized it was a family trait.
In fact, Jiuyue might well be the pioneer of their family venturing into the big city.
He looked at the notebook with entries on Jiuyue and dismissed previous thoughts about "summoning the wind and calling the rain" and "luck." Although the existence of monsters was filled with mythological color, their protection of the villagers ultimately came down to science.
It's like if you don't water and fertilize your own fields, you'd have to find a group of foxes to do the work for you.
"Level 3 Cooking, Level 3 Farming."
Duan Mingyuan found tags that suited Jiuyue better and genuinely worried about the current state of their kind, "Are there many monsters like you?"
If companies discovered the existence of monsters, it would have a substantial impact on current society.
Not only would the monsters become oppressed as free labor, but they would also contribute to the already grim employment situation.
From a macro perspective, this could be much more serious than the emergence of an ogre.
"There used to be many, but since the Extraterrestrials arrived, everyone has moved into the deep mountains."
Jiuyue felt somewhat disheartened. She witnessed the villagers running off to the big cities built by Extraterrestrials, leaving the fields neglected and the livestock untended. Their children no longer believed in the existence of Ruihu, criticizing the village elders for superstitious beliefs with no scientific basis.
Going to the big city was the only way to make big money, and the village youngsters were full of ambition.
"Extraterrestrials, huh."
Since Duan Mingyuan had memory, he had been living in the era of Extraterrestrials. He had little concept of the time before their arrival, only learning from history books in high school that a hundred years ago, huge flying objects suddenly appeared in this world, bringing Extraterrestrials and their knowledge and technology.
The arrival of Extraterrestrials led to the vigorous development of the times, gradually transforming the world to its current state.
History tests about Extraterrestrials accounted for half the content, and even after graduating, Duan Mingyuan had been dealing with them. Their company was a branch of an Extraterrestrial enterprise, with the headquarters somewhere in the universe. Every year, when the headquarters people came to Yunlong City for inspection, it was a nerve-wracking time for everyone.
One of the great benefits of resigning was that he wouldn't have to worry about the headquarters' inspection this year.
Duan Mingyuan calmed down and started to review his lessons.
"Eh? What's this?"
Jiuyue leaned in closer, moving her chair next to him, and pointed to the opened notebook.
The sense of loss was only temporary. She never allowed herself to be troubled by these things. Now she had found something new and deserving of her attention, "Are all these ogres? You've actually dealt with so many ogres!"