translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

"Fierce G.o.d?" To tell the truth, upon hearing those two words, Lu Qingjiu felt an unusual pressure in the air. This feeling was hard to describe with words, it was as if speaking those two words was a taboo.

"Yes." As he held the photographs, a strong interest appeared in Bai Yuehu's eyes. This was Lu Qingjiu's first time seeing him make such an expression. At first glance, he actually looked somewhat eager.

"But, a fierce G.o.d… is it any different from the average spirit?" Lu Qingjiu continued to voice the questions in his heart.

"Naturally, it's different," Bai Yuehu said, "In order to live, a G.o.d needs faith. It's better to be a spirit." He spoke slowly, patiently explaining to Lu Qingjiu, "If a spirit gains believers, they can also turn into G.o.ds. Have you read that human-written Journey to the West?"

"I've read it," Lu Qingjiu nodded. When he brought up Journey to the West, he began to roughly understand the meaning hidden in Bai Yuehu's words, "You mean that before Sun Wukong became the Victorious Fighting Buddha, he was also a spirit? If spirits can become G.o.ds, then can G.o.ds… degenerate into spirits?"

"No," Bai Yuehu said, "Even if G.o.ds degenerate, they're still G.o.ds. It's just that their nature will become twisted, and may even become evil G.o.ds." He continued, "So if you see a shrine you don't recognise by the roadside, don't randomly pay your respects."

Lu Qingjiu laughed, "Naturally I won't." He wasn't that kind of person who was interested in the supernatural. Then, Lu Qingjiu turned his attention back to the photographs and said, "So this was done by a fallen G.o.d?"

"Fallen isn't necessarily true," Bai Yuehu smiled. His smile held some traces of satisfaction, like a predator that had found its prey. It even held a certain degree of desire, "But whether fallen or not fallen, this kind of G.o.d will definitely taste delicious."

Lu Qingjiu, "…It's edible?"

Bai Yuehu said, "Yes."

Lu Qingjiu's mood was complex, "Is it delicious?"

"Definitely delicious," Bai Yuehu's tone was firm.

The moment he heard this, Lu Qingjiu just knew he'd definitely eaten one before, and there was a high chance he'd eaten more than one. For a time, he didn't know what to say, simply blinking and asking tentatively, "Then this one…"

Bai Yuehu said, "Tonight I'll go out to take a look-see." See if I can just directly eat it.

These words of his was him agreeing to help out with his matter. Inwardly, Lu Qingjiu let out a sigh of relief. Since Bai Yuehu was that interested in that fierce G.o.d, that fierce G.o.d definitely wouldn't continue to commit crimes and take people's lives. A lot of pressure should be taken off of Hu Shu and the rest's shoulders.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Alright then, so what would you like to eat tonight?"

Bai Yuehu said, "Let's have meat…"

His obsession with meat still hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Hence, that night, Lu Qingjiu made red braised pork belly with potatoes. The pork was from a local ranch. After chopping it into small pieces, it was fried with a small amount of oil, then put into a pot and stewed together with the potatoes. The grease in the meat was fried out, turning it incredibly flexible, with alternating layers of fatty and lean meat. When eaten, it wasn't greasy at all. The potatoes absorbed the fragrant juices from the pork, becoming even more delicious than the meat, enticing people to stuff their mouths. Lu Qingjiu knew the appet.i.tes of the two people in his home were huge, so he made a lot. After finis.h.i.+ng the meat, Yin Xun even drizzled the remaining juices into a big bowl of rice, which was then completely swallowed down.

After the meal was over, Bai Yuehu went to wash the dishes, then left the courtyard. Lu Qingjiu knew he was going to go look for the fierce G.o.d, so he didn't ask, just urging him to take care and to go and return early.

But after he said this, Bai Yuehu gave him a strange look, which Lu Qingjiu couldn't understand, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something?"

Bai Yuehu said, "No one's ever told me to 'take care' before."

Lu Qingjiu, "…" He was silent for three seconds, then quietly corrected himself, "I meant that you should take care of food safety, don't… don't give yourself a stomach ache."

Bai Yuehu nodded, and left, satisfied.

As Lu Qingjiu watched him go, he thought that he himself being able to satisfy him was really inconceivable.

"Yi? Where's Bai Yuehu going?" At some unknown time, Yin Xun had also popped out of the house, and asked, "As long as it doesn't involve food, hasn't he always been the type to not move if he doesn't have to? How come he's in the mood to take a walk today?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "He went out to find food…"

Yin Xun scratched his chin, "…Find what?"

Lu Qingjiu shrugged and didn't reply.

Fortunately, Yin Xun also wasn't particularly interested in Bai Yuehu's whereabouts. He immediately changed the topic, eagerly rubbing his fists and wiping his palms as he asked, "Oh, speaking of, when will our watermelons be ripe?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "Probably soon. After Bai Yuehu comes back, we'll open a few up to check." Their fruits usually ripen faster than other people's, and the quality was also good. The watermelons in their fields had already grown fruit, each both big and round. The sound they made when knocked on was sharp and clear. Their taste definitely wouldn't be bad.

"That works, " Yin Xun said, "I'll head back first. Take care while you're alone at home. Yesterday, I heard from the auntie next door that three people had died in town. It hasn't been very peaceful lately."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Alright, I know. You too, okay?"

Yin Xun nodded, and left.

Lu Qingjiu played with Xiao Hua and Xiao Hei in the courtyard for a while, then watched the chickens return to their coop before was.h.i.+ng up and heading to bed.

Bai Yuehu had said he'd be back the night after tomorrow, so he shouldn't need to prepare that much food for the next two days. Even though Yin Xun ate a lot, it was still a normal amount of food. As Lu Qingjiu thought and thought, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Lu Qingjiu got up early and made a trip to the fields. Without Bai Yuehu to water the crops, it was up to him to do everything. It had to be said, Lu Qingjiu rarely ever did any farming before, it was only after personally going to the fields did he realise that farming really wasn't something easy or pleasant. Just carrying over the water was troublesome enough on its own, not to mention weeding or fertilizing the soil. Lu Qingjiu thought that after this, he definitely needed to treat Bai Yuehu even better. After all, he was the one who had taken on the task of doing the most difficult thing to do in the home.

After finis.h.i.+ng the farm work and getting home, Lu Qingjiu didn't have any energy to cook. At this time, Yin Xun stood up, and expressed that he wanted to use his own strength to protect Lu Qingjiu — he was going to help him make a bowl of egg noodles.

Lu Qingjiu, who still wanted to live a few more years, expressed that he was extremely moved, then rejected Yin Xun and opened up some instant noodles that had been gathering dust for quite some time.

Yin Xun indignantly asked him why he wouldn't give him another chance.

"Because you only live once." Lu Qingjiu patted his shoulder.

Yin Xun, "…"

Lu Qingjiu, "Or else you can eat your own cooking?"

Yin Xun thought it over and ended up digging another cup of instant noodles out of Lu Qingjiu's cabinet, eating together with Lu Qingjiu in silence. The person who most loved eating in their family was gone, and their standard of living could be said to have gone straight down…

However, after not having eaten instant noodles for a long time, eating them once in a while was still pretty good.

At about two in the afternoon, the still-asleep Lu Qingjiu was shocked awake by his phone. He picked up the phone. On the screen was Hu Shu's name.

"h.e.l.lo, Officer Hu, is there anything wrong?" Lu Qingjiu rubbed at his eyes, tiredness in his tone.

"Is this Mister Lu?" Hu Shu's voice was slightly anxious.

"It's me, what happened?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

"We need to you come to the police station immediately," Hu Shu said, "Something new has happened."

"What's wrong?" The moment Lu Qingjiu heard his tone, he felt that the situation seemed to be rather serious. Waking himself up immediately, he asked, "What happened?"

Hu Shu said, "There's been another victim!"

Lu Qingjiu exclaimed, "Another victim?" He sat upright in bed, and asked in confirmation, "When did this happen?"

"Roughly at 11 this morning," Hu Shu said, "The corpse was found near the police station."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Then… May I ask how I can help with anything?" He was just a normal person, this case was clearly supernatural. Even if he wanted to do something, he was afraid that he had the will but not the power.

"Please come to the police station, this victim may have something to do with you," Hu Shu said, "It's not convenient to say on the phone."

Lu Qingjiu responded, "Something to do with me?!" In an instant, many possibilities flashed through Lu Qingjiu's mind. His first thought was that the corpse was Bai Yuehu's, that Bai Yuehu had been killed in the course of hunting the fierce G.o.d. Then a more terrible possibility arose in his mind — According to what Hu Shu had told him before, after the victims died, their families didn't notice anything strange about them. That is to say, even if that person was his relative or friend, after killing the person, the fierce G.o.d would morph into that relative or friend and continue to hide his ident.i.ty. Shuifu village was so small, Lu Qingjiu's human friends only consisted of one person… Could it be that person who'd unexpectedly died and been replaced was Yin Xun?!

Thinking about how just at noon, he was eating instant noodles with Yin Xun, Lu Qingjiu's arms broke out in a layer of gooseb.u.mps. But the main emotion he was feeling was worry, if something had really happened to Yin Xun…

"Alright, I'll be there immediately." Lu Qingjiu didn't waste any more time. He got up, changed clothes and headed straight out the door.

He didn't dare to go find Yin Xun and confirm this matter with him first. If the person who met with a mishap was really Yin Xun, then going over like that would definitely be beating the gra.s.s and startling the snake, and there was even the chance of himself getting into trouble as well.

Actually, the person Lu Qingjiu most wanted to contact right now was Bai Yuehu, but there was nothing he could do. Bai Yuehu didn't have a cell phone, so he could only wait for him to come back.

Lu Qingjiu started up the pickup truck and rushed towards town.

"Be good, hurry up a little this time, we're in a hurry," Lu Qingjiu stroked the steering wheel and talked it over with his pickup truck, "Okay?"

The pickup truck honked twice, as if telling Lu Qingjiu it understood.

Lu Qingjiu stroked it a few more times happily. This time, the pickup truck indeed worked very hard, gritting its teeth and persistently pus.h.i.+ng forwards, forcibly shortening the original two hour trip to one hour. Speeding on the mountain roads was originally a very dangerous thing to do, but when this pickup truck really started up, it didn't need Lu Qingjiu to control the steering wheel at all, so there was no need to worry about traffic accidents.

During this, Lu Qingjiu took advantage of the time he had to call Yin Xun, and asked him what he was doing.

"Me? I took an afternoon nap and then got up, I'm in the fields now," Yin Xun said, "I was getting ready to plant a few cabbage seeds… What's wrong?"

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, then said, "Right, do you still remember how we used to go up the mountains to play when we were kids?"

"Going up the mountains to play when we were kids?" Yin Xun asked, "What about it?"

"Wasn't your favourite food to eat p.r.i.c.kly bubbles?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "How about when summer arrives, we go up the mountains again to pick some?" The actual name of p.r.i.c.kly bubbles was raspberries. They tasted tart and sweet, it was a type of wild fruit a lot of little kids loved to eat. After they ripened, they turned purple. When Lu Qingjiu and the rest were younger, they indeed often picked them to eat.

"No!" Yin Xun said, "You're trying to mess with me, right?!" Who knew that Yin Xun would immediately turn down Lu Qingjiu's invitation. "They may taste good, but those things have so many thorns, and I'm allergic to thorns. Did you forget how I almost had to go to the hospital that one time?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "Oh, I remember now."

Yin Xun asked, "What's wrong with you? You're acting strange."

"It's nothing," Lu Qingjiu said, "Just go and plant your cabbage first, I'll tell you tonight."

"Alright," Yin Xun also seemed busy, hanging up without a second thought.

That conversation just now indeed was Lu Qingjiu testing Yin Xun. Yin Xun had a special const.i.tution, and was easily allergic to many things. The thorns of those kinds of wild fruit were one of them. If Yin Xun had calmly agreed to Lu Qingjiu's invitation, Lu Qingjiu would've had a rough idea of the situation, but as of now, Lu Qingjiu hadn't found anything strange with Yin Xun.

Lu Qingjiu felt like this matter was becoming all the more confusing.

red braised pork belly with potatoes: