Chapter 35: Chapter 35 TransactionsEditor: Atlas Studios
Li Ang asked softly, "What’s the story behind that tiger with the hanging eyes and a white forehead?"
Hiding within his body, Chai Cuiqiao answered, "Originally, he was a man-eating beast from Jingyang Ridge. After falling off a cliff, he luckily dropped into a hermit’s cave from the Tang Dynasty and acquired so legacy. Since then, he stopped eating humans and renad himself ’Tai Gezi’."
So bloody Tai Ge. Dude, are you sure you didn’t wander onto the set of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf by mistake...?
"What about the One-eyed Giant?"
"He’s a half-breed. His mother was a descendant of the ancient Fengshi clan of giants, and his father was a frail scholar."
"?" Li Ang was taken aback. He gestured vaguely at the size of the One-eyed Giant. "This could be a mixed breed?"
"It’s not what you’re thinking... His father, when young, went to the capital for the imperial exams and sought shelter from a downpour in a cave."
After a mont of silence, Chai Cuiqiao awkwardly continued, "As it turned out, his father was quite skilled with his hands. During his idle ti sheltering from the rain, he pulled out a sketchbook. After the rain stopped, he left the cave and continued on to the exams."
"..." Li Ang’s eye twitched. "You an..."
"Exactly," Chai Cuiqiao said uncomfortably. "You better not ntion this to the Giant in person. At the last banquet, he killed a bunch of Monsters with a wooden club."
All right, the world is full of wonders. Such a bizarre birth isn’t much different from the mythical tale of Hua Xu’s conception of Fuxi.
Li Ang’s eye continued to twitch uncontrollably as he kept asking about the origins, personalities, and strengths of the other Monsters—Chai Cuiqiao, who loved reading storybooks in life, had a strong ability to collect information and deduce conclusions. After peeking and eavesdropping on a couple of banquets, she had figured out most of the intelligence on the Monsters.
Just as Chai Cuiqiao had said earlier, the Monsters who ca to the banquet showed no suspicion towards Li Ang and the others for being alive. They rely glanced at them curiously, then turned their heads to continue chatting with other Monsters.
After all, being able to face so many Monsters without being overwheld by their potent demonic aura served as proof that the mission team mbers were all "heteromorphs," belonging to the sa kind.
"We’re all here, so why hasn’t the Mountain Demon arrived?" the plague ghost, covered with poisonous sores, called out hoarsely.
"What’s the hurry," the Tiger Taoist waved his horsetail whisk, a wide-mouthed grin spreading across his face. "Isn’t he always the last to arrive every year? He’ll probably show up after the sun has completely set."
"Since that’s the case, let’s tidy up the Daxiong Bao Hall first." The old Rat Monster, with thief-like eyes and a thin fra, snickered, waved his robe, and countless plump, brown rats tumbled out of his empty, bulging sleeves like a waterfall.
With a wave of his claw-like hand, the mass of dark rats at his feet surged into Daxiong Bao Hall as if they had been given an order.
The countless plump rats wriggled under the Shakyamuni Buddha Statue, joined forces to lift it, and brought over so wooden planks from nowhere, stacking them under the statue’s base. They then slid the statue out of Daxiong Bao Hall, placing it in the open courtyard.
The rats replicated this process efficiently, removing all the Buddha statues from Daxiong Bao Hall. They even brought brooms and dustpans to sweep away the dust. In just a few minutes, they had cleaned the hall until it was spotless, shining like new.
This efficiency outdid even modern housekeeping companies.
The group of Monsters bustled their way up the steps, entering Daxiong Bao Hall. They grabbed cushions and hopped onto the pedestals on both sides, sitting properly on the cushions like refined scholars and guests at a human banquet.
Xing Hechou and the others glanced at each other, found a secluded spot to sit down, and watched as the group of rats skillfully brought out candles from the temple’s storehouse, lighting them until Daxiong Bao Hall was as bright as day.
Then the rats carried out box after box of bone china cups from the storehouse, washed them clean with water from the stream behind the mountain, and placed the cups in front of each guest’s cushion.
The banquet had not yet begun, yet the demons were already causing a ruckus, either gambling with dice or aiming Arrows at narrow-necked bottles, playing the "tossing ga."
There was no helping it. In that era, human entertainnt was quite lackluster, with hardly any novel pastis. Banquets mostly involved urging others to drink, engaging in mutual flattery, composing poems, and watching beautiful won dance; that was pretty much it.
As for demon banquets, there were only three forms of entertainnt: drinking, gambling, and playing gas. They even omitted the segnt with dancing beauties—after all, species were different, and so were aesthetic standards.
A knockout beauty in the eyes of a Rat Monster was nothing but a big rat with shifty eyes to other Monsters.
A peerless beauty in the eyes of a skeleton spirit was nothing more than a rack of bones to other Monsters, at best having slightly whiter bones.
The dearth of entertainnt options made these fearso-looking, noisy demons seem to the mission team like a group of country bumpkins who’d never seen the world.
We really should take these Monsters to a modern nightclub, let them know what ’entertainnt’ and ’partying’ an.
Wanli Fengdao muttered to himself, but then heard Li Ang say softly, "Ladies and gentlen, wouldn’t you like to make a fortune with so extraordinary items?"
"What?" Xing Hechou was startled, hurriedly whispering, "Xiao Li, we’re nearing a critical mont now. Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble."
According to confidential information within the Special Affairs Bureau, all sorts of organs from Monsters and wild-grown treasures possessed supernatural Traits, which, in the hands of Necromancers from the Chinese Heterodox Academy (another official supernatural institution), could be refined into artifacts of various grades.
Even if not turned into artifacts, the diverse organs of Monsters could be sold to the System store in exchange for so Ga Currency.
"Don’t worry, I’m confident." Li Ang chuckled, stood up from his cushion, and clapped his hands vigorously.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
The noise gradually subsided, and many demons turned their attention to Li Ang.
Li Ang remained composed, smiled openly, and said casually, "Good evening to all the esteed seniors and guests here. We are Disciples of Taoist Head Tan Teng from the Ayitobie Archipelago overseas, visiting this glorious place for the first ti, unfamiliar with this land and its customs. If we speak out of turn, we ask for your understanding."
Hey, what are you doing? Seeing the demons on either side turning their heads, Xing Hechou felt both anxious and angry. While unseen by others, he gently tugged at Li Ang’s pant leg, his face still as calm as water.
"We’ve co to the Central Plains not only for training but also for bartering, to exchange so local specialties for our return journey."
Local specialties? So of the Monsters showed disdain. Just as humans prided themselves on the abundance of produce and wealth of the Central Plains, Monsters from these lands also looked down on the "barbarian" territories overseas.
What good could possibly co from such a godforsaken place that’s worth trading?
The Monsters fell silent, but Li Ang took it in stride and pulled out a bulging Snake Skin Bag from his backpack.
He took out an ancient-looking wooden box from the Snake Skin Bag. Upon opening it, he revealed a green spherical object inside.
The ball was round and rough, as if made from glued-together fragnts of grass and wood, emitting a strangely compelling scent.
An 80-yuan, Taobao-priced, super-concentrated catnip sphere, rich in nepetalactone pheromones. It could drive any feline wild with desire. Even the coldest, proudest, most chaste big cat, upon catching its scent, would obediently ’undress’ and surrender to being petted by anyone.
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