Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Amidst the pitter-patter of the rain, Qin Ying straightened her back.

Repairing a city wall with mahjong tiles sounded simple, but the actual execution was difficult.

She didn’t dare reach her hand into the box, fearing she might be pulled inside. She had money and leisure in her current life, while that world was plagued by constant disasters and peril. If she were accidentally dragged into that chaotic realm, she might as well slit her own throat and be done with it.

Consequently, she relied on a pair of stainless steel barbecue tongs to assist her operations. She cleared away the rubble and mud near the broken wall, trimming the edges until they were neat.

Then, using some eco-friendly glass adhesive left over from her home renovations, she glued the mahjong tiles into place and sealed the edges. After fumbling around for quite a while, she finally used a hand fan to blow air on the adhesive to speed up the drying process.

During the process, she had to distract herself to warn the tiny people in the box not to go huffing the glue. No matter how eco-friendly and non-toxic the glass adhesive was, it still had a pungent smell, and she didn’t want them to get sick from it.

Qin Ying stacked a total of eight mahjong tiles, using plenty of material. For the sake of good luck, she specifically placed the tiles so the vibrant Red Dragon faces were pointing inward, while the green backs of the tiles faced outward.

She hadn’t expected this small gesture to be interpreted with profound meaning by a certain over-dramatic tiny person in the box. Hearing the rhythmic slogans starting up again inside, Qin Ying let out a helpless sigh.

She set down the small fan and rubbed her aching neck. She closed the lid of the box, cutting off the orderly but embarrassingly ridiculous shouting from within.

She looked down at the object on the paper towel in front of her, which looked like a rubber band. This was the Bowstring Han Lie and his men had removed from the Powerful Crossbow on the city walls-the back tendon of the Monstrous Beast, the Ranyi.

From its appearance, the only difference between this precious Bowstring and a snapped rubber band was the color and the smell. Qin Ying leaned in close and could catch a fishy stench of rancid fat and decay.

Wrapping it in a tissue, she gave it a tug and a pinch. No matter how she looked at it… it just felt like a rubber band that had lost its elasticity.

Qin Ying wrapped the back tendon in the tissue and put it away. The unscrupulous Supreme Deity had already forgotten her test for the Fuzhu.

Only the four-horned little deer still remembered its mission, repeatedly attempting to pull at the massive storm clouds in the distance. It was just that every time, it fell a tiny bit short.

The white deer, Fuzhu, was extremely frustrated, unaware that the Meteorological Bureaus of several countries were so terrified by the bizarre movement of the storm that they wanted to call the police.

Qin Ying was debating whether to order takeout again or cook for herself when the phone in her hand suddenly rang. Thinking it was a delivery from the supermarket, she picked up and gave a quick “Hello?”

There was silence on the other end, only the sound of breathing. Just before she could hang up, a man’s voice came through the receiver: “Qin Ying, have you had enough of this troublemaking-”

*As expected,* Qin Ying thought to herself.

A sense of disgust washed over her. Expressionless, she said, “Screw off!”

With that single word, she cut off his meaningless drivel, then hung up and blocked the number in one smooth motion. There was a long list of numbers sitting in her phone’s blacklist. There were all sorts of telemarketing and promotional numbers, as well as people she never wanted to contact again.

At the very bottom of that list was a name-Feng Mu.

If anyone were interested in the financial sector, they would find that name in the latest issue of a wealth magazine. The name was like a thorn embedded in her flesh, causing both irritation and pain.

Qin Ying had always loved herself most of all; when she encountered something filthy, she was very quick to extricate herself. She took a deep breath, pushing aside the feeling of disgust, and decided to cook. Otherwise, she would be letting the vegetables her uncle had taken the time to deliver through the rain go to waste.

While cooking, she brought along the glass jar containing the Fuzhu. Qin Ying’s late grandmother had been an old lady who loved fine food-she loved to eat it and loved to make it. Therefore, when rebuilding the old house, the layout of the first floor had been specifically modified to make the kitchen spacious and bright.

One could see the backyard through the large windows. Outside, the fine rain rustled; inside the kitchen, only the rhythmic thudding of the kitchen knife against the cutting board could be heard. Wearing her apron, Qin Ying felt a momentary sense of daze.

In the jar beside her, the Fuzhu was huddled around a slice of cucumber she had tossed in, nibbling away. To it, the cucumber was something fresh-crisp, juicy, and plentiful enough to be a full meal. The Fuzhu ate most of the cucumber slice, its belly bulging out of shape.
“Don’t go and eat yourself to death!”

Qin Ying tried to fish out the remaining cucumber slices, but the Fuzhu let out a series of soft, deer-like cries and tilted its head back to exhale.

A cloud of incredibly fresh white mist billowed from its throat.

It smelled of grass with a hint of cucumber, quickly filling the entire kitchen.

As it exhaled this mist, the Fuzhu’s belly visibly deflated. The little creature looked up at Qin Ying, its eyes full of boastful pride.

Qin Ying gave a sniff and offered a compliment. “You’d actually make a pretty good aroma diffuser.”

The Fuzhu didn’t know what an aroma diffuser was, but it could tell Qin Ying was praising it. It began munching on the cucumbers even more vigorously, puffing out clouds of white mist.

Before long, the entire kitchen was filled with water vapor that smelled of fresh grass and cucumbers.

It wasn’t until Qin Ying started cooking the braised pork ribs that the Fuzhu stopped its mist-making. Drool dripped from its mouth as it pressed its deer face tightly against the glass jar, its features hilariously distorted by its greed.

Qin Ying had learned to cook from her grandmother. Both the smashed cucumber salad and the braised pork ribs were very common, home-style dishes.

Seeing the state the Fuzhu was in, Qin Ying thought for a moment before letting it out of the jar and shredding a bit of meat onto a small saucer for it.

The Fuzhu had terrible eating habits, its mouth making loud, smacking noises as if it were stir-frying the food inside.

With only the sound of its smacking lips filling the room, Qin Ying suddenly felt the house was a bit too quiet, so she opened her phone to listen to some videos.

She happened to scroll onto a video with an interesting title: “How could a city mess up this badly?”

Qin Ying started off laughing, but as she listened, her smile froze on her face.

With a mouthful of rice, she tapped into the comment section. The top comment read: “When the Meteorological Bureau makes a move, it’s world-shaking.”

A picture was attached below the comment. It showed a pair of purple lace panties flying through the gale.

Qin Ying’s hand slowed as she scrolled through the comments.

Finally, she stopped and looked at the Fuzhu.

The Fuzhu was savoring that shred of rib meat with great relish. To it, the flavor profile of a braised dish was nothing short of divine.

Qin Ying slowly looked back at her phone.

In the video, the director of the Meteorological Bureau had his hands clasped in front of his chest, looking like a simple, honest man. He defended himself, saying, “Cloud seeding has very little to do with severe convective weather!”

That torrential rain had nothing to do with them!

However, no one believed this scientific explanation. The comment section was filled with “Hahahaha.”

A tiny bit of guilt silently sprouted in Qin Ying’s heart.

Just then, a series of high-pitched bleats rang out in the room. Qin Ying turned to see that the Fuzhu, having tasted the delicious meat, was happily wagging its ears so fast they looked like propellers.

It ate while staring curiously at the phone, looking quite content. As its emotions fluctuated, Qin Ying heard the rain outside suddenly intensify.

She couldn’t help but hiss through her teeth. Setting down her chopsticks, she went to find the barbecue tongs.

She couldn’t keep this little deer by her side any longer.

The barbecue tongs mercilessly plucked the Fuzhu up. Before the creature could even react, she placed it back into the box.

“You’ve had your meal, now go!”

Qin Ying still felt a bit of responsibility, so she gave it a final instruction before sending it back.

“You aren’t allowed to attack cities anymore. If you have the time, go help the humans by bringing rain to relieve disasters. If you do a good job, I’ll give you more meat in the future.”

The Fuzhu still had a shred of braised pork rib hanging from its mouth when its vision blurred. Gripped by the barbecue tongs, it felt itself falling through the clouds.

By the time the Fuzhu regained its senses, it had already left that strange but wonderful Divine Realm. It stood once more upon the parched, barren earth.

The Fuzhu shuddered. With the meat still in its mouth, it bleated toward the clouds in the sky.

Supreme Deity, it could try to make the storm change direction again! Please don’t discard it!

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a heavy rain fell mercilessly, sliding off the Fuzhu’s water-repellent fur. After standing in the rain for a while, the Fuzhu vigorously chewed and swallowed the meat in its mouth.

Looking toward the distant walls of Yunwu County City, it began to walk forward with a stride full of conviction.

As a Monstrous Beast, the Fuzhu had always been at odds with humanity. But then again, if there was meat to be had, the Fuzhu was willing to negotiate. It could even learn to love humanity!