Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
At 10:30 A.M., Old Lady Xu came back home with a hoe on her shoulder. She went out at 6 A.M. and worked in the field for a whole morning. At this point, the sun became more and more intense. She went home to cook.
There was a cage of chickens in the yard. After she washed and cooked the rice, she grabbed some corn and fed it to the chicken who kept digging at the ground all day long. Two eggs had just been laid in the chicken coop. Just nice, she could prepare some leek egg for lunch.
Usually, at this time, she was done cooking. She would then sit under the eaves, waiting for her husband to come back. But, now she was the only one. Since the death of her grandson, her son had deserted her. Her husband was gone as well.
When her son left, he wanted to take her with him, but she didn’t want to. Leaving her hometown at such an old age was very unbecoming of her. She still thought about Old Man Xu. With someone in the village, she would have a companion to care for her.
She just couldn’t forgive Old Man Xu. He couldn’t even take care of someone well. Her little grandson was gone, just like that. He even said that a monster had eaten him up. She felt angry just thinking about that. No wonder her son wanted to sever ties with him.
“Knock, knock, knock!” Someone knocked on the rusty iron door.
At the door came the village head’s voice. “Old woman, are you there?”
The old lady opened the door in a daze, saw the scene in front of her, and was stunned. There were many villagers surrounding the entrance of her house. It was the village head who knocked on her door. Behind the village head were two policemen and Old Man Xu.
“What are you doing back here?” Old Lady Xu scolded her husband and looked at the village head again.
“Old Man Xu caught the monster in the reservoir. There was really a monster. Your family has wrongly blamed him.” The village head looked excited. He never mentioned the discussions in the village, many of which targeted Old Man Xu.
“What monster? It was a crocodile, a big crocodile, we don’t know who released it.” A middle-aged policeman said, “Luckily, it was caught. Or else, someone will suffer if they go to the reservoir.”
The village head hurriedly nodded. “Yes, it is a crocodile, a big one.”
Another policeman continued, “We are here to deliver a banner. There’s also $500 here. Take it.”
The banner was unfolded, and the above two lines of gold characters read: “Old but still vigorous in mind and body. Defended the citizens by getting rid of a monster.”
There was the signature of the local police station as well.
The villagers around applauded and cheered loudly.
“How did the crocodile even appear at our reservoir? It’s strange.”
“The police said it might have been a crocodile raised by the city people. They didn’t want to raise it anymore, so they released it into the mountains.”
“Fortunately, Old Man Xu cast a net in the reservoir and caught it. Otherwise, it would kill people again one day. Hey, that crocodile is so big.”
“You didn’t even see it.”
“Nonsense, I saw the tail. It’s thick and long. If not for the police who didn’t let me take pictures, I would be showing you a picture now.”
Old Lady Xu looked at the crowd blankly and listened to their voices. She repeatedly asked, “Was there really a crocodile?”
The middle-aged policeman said, “It’s true. It’s going to be on the news in a few days. The golden banner is here. How can this be false?”
After getting a positive reply, Old Lady Xu sat on the ground and cried.
When Old Man Xu woke up in the morning, the police had taken over the monster’s body and covered it with a white cloth. He couldn’t find the two young people around him. He was questioned by the police, who told him it was a rare crocodile… And that he could go home.
Old Man Xu didn’t care about the truth. He cried bitterly and hard.
The police carried the monster’s body down the mountain. They didn’t rush to leave, intentionally or unintentionally attracting the villagers in the process, and announcing that Old Man Xu had caught the crocodile in the reservoir.
The monster’s body was covered with white cloth and never showed to the world. Now, it had been transported away, leaving two policemen to take Old Man Xu home and deliver the banner.
Revenge had been sought, but Old Man Xu’s heart was empty. The two young police officers didn’t show up. He couldn’t even thank them.
Outside the crowd, Great-Grandma and Li Xianyu chewed on spicy cracker strips and watched the show as they ate. Li Xianyu requested for the banner, which was a strong piece of evidence for Old Man Xu to prove his innocence. Those police officers were actually the employees of Luzhou Branch. After finishing off the horned salamander, he contacted Luzhou Branch and asked the company to send someone to clean up.
Headquarters’ demon descendants’ chat.
Walking Piledriver: “@Lightning King, the mission at Anshan Village’s reservoir has been classified as a foreign species case, but the situation is somewhat inconsistent. I’m applying for increasing the mission’s reward.”
“How do you put this?” Lightning King replied quickly.
Anshan Village’s reservoir incident was a case suspected to involve demon descendants. If the investigation result was that a real crocodile ate people, Li Xianyu’s efforts would have been in vain.
So far, only one child had died. The harm caused was not as severe as a traffic accident. Hence, the maximum reward for this task was 10 points.
Walking Piledriver: “A few days ago, a strange, horned salamander came to the reservoir, with a baby in its stomach. So, it went to the reservoir to deliver its baby. Coincidentally, it ate a child…”
Li Xianyu depicted the situation again.
Lightning King: “Wait a moment, did you type wrongly? Are you sure it’s a horned salamander, not a dragon salamander?”
Walking Piledriver: “A dragon salamander with a long horn on its head is called a horned salamander, right? After 100 years, it becomes a mountain dragon, and then it becomes a real dragon after 200 years. Great-Grandma told me.”
Lightning King: “It’s really a horned salamander? My god, this thing disappeared after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It’s not extinct yet. OK, OK. I’ll inform the Luzhou Branch to catch it alive.”
Just after the information was sent out, Li Xianyu sent two photos at the same time, one was a bony skeleton, the other was a horn half a human tall.
Walking Piledriver: “There is a picture that speaks a truth… Well, Lightning King, did you want to catch it alive?”
Lightning King: “[vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood]”
God of Fire: “[vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood]”
Walking Piledriver: “What’s the problem?”
Lightning King: “That’s an endangered species. You really killed it just like that?”
Lightning King spit out a mouthful of blood. Dragon salamanders had been rare since ancient times. A horned salamander was even rarer. He had a feeling as if he had seen the legendary dinosaurs, the last one in the world, but the next second, it was shot by people.
Fire God: “@Walking Piledriver, you killed a horned salamander? My God, I’m in a state of shock. ”
Walking Piledriver: “It ate people. What’s wrong with me killing it? Isn’t the purpose of our company to eliminate these harmful species. ”
Lightning King: “…That’s right, but the horned salamander is too precious. It has great research value. You should have contacted the company earlier, and the company will send someone to catch it alive.”
Fire God: “Since you knew that the horned salamander can turn into a dragon, have you ever thought of the fact that there are so many demon descendants in the world, but no matter how powerful they are, they can’t change the species they belong to? Only the dragon salamander can. Have you thought about the reason? Losing even one of this species is a great loss.”
Walking Piledriver: “It’s too late, the body of the horned salamander has been dismembered by Great-Grandma and I, and dumped in the reservoir. The cub of the dragon salamander has been handed over to colleagues in Luzhou Branch.”
Lightning King: “There’s a cub. Thank god.”
Fire God: “Let Luzhou Branch properly nurture the cub. I will make a trip back in a few days.”
Walking Piledriver: “Make a trip back to see its body?”
Lightning King: (ｷ’ﾟДﾟ)!!
Fire God: (╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻
Lady Killer: “It’s no surprise to meet a horned salamander. I’m not surprised even when Li Xianyu goes out and sees an alien.”
King Kong: “And then, the aliens went crazy. They want to take him away.”
Mo Fei: “When he was taken away, his great-grandma flew into a rage.”
Li Bai: “Bang, the world is annihilated.”
Li Shizhen’s skin: “The horror of a trouble magnet.”
Walking Piledriver: “…”
At this time, the God of Food, who hadn’t talked for a long time, jumped out. “@Walking Piledriver, where is the horned salamander? I’m willing to pay a lot of money for its body.”
Walking Piledriver: “What do you want its body for? I threw it in the reservoir.”
God of Food: “Idiot, you threw this gourmet food into the reservoir? Pick it up, asshole. I’m willing to spend 100 points to buy the horned salamander’s corpse.”
It was recorded in the books that the meat of horned salamanders were delicious, and it was one of the best foods around. It was said that Cixi once ate a mountain dragon. She couldn’t forget about the taste for many years afterwards. This legendary food was much more delicious than the bear paw that he had chopped off.
Walking Piledriver: “No wonder, it’s a pity.”
God of Food: “What do you mean?”
Walking Piledriver: “The essence of the horned salamander was drained by me, leaving only a skeleton and skin. There’s no meat left, it’s a dried corpse.”
God of Food: “…”
After a long while, the God of Food painfully typed in another message. “I’m in a state of shock as well. Well, you can just give me the bones.”
Walking Piledriver: “For bone soup?”
God of Food: “Yep.”
Walking Piledriver: “50 points?”
God of Food: “This is worth 20 points at most, but if you add the horn, 50 points.”
Fifty points, a year’s base salary for senior employees.
Walking Piledriver: “I can’t do this. I won’t sell the horn. My great-grandma is deliberating whether to use the horn to make wine or to keep it as an heirloom.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady: “Heirloom? Why should this be an heirloom? ”
Walking Piledriver: “Battle Lady, my family was also famous for honing.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady sent a “side-eye” emoji: “Your ability is not about strengthening too.”
Walking Piledriver: “That’s why it can be an heirloom. I can keep it for my son.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady: “…”
As Great-Grandma finished the spicy cracker strips, she wiped her greasy fingers on her great-grandson’s clothes and asked, “What did Lightning King say? Did he agree to increase the reward?”
Li Xianyu nodded. “Yes, we have already agreed to increase the reward of this task to 25 points. If we could catch it alive, it would be 50 points. Lightning King and Fire God can’t wait to kill me now.”
“Haha, let’s go. Go shopping in Luzhou Branch.” Great-Grandma smiled. She had a pact with her great-grandson that the extra points would be converted into money and given to her as a form of filial piety.
“Wait a minute, let’s go back to the reservoir first and retrieve the horned salamander.”
“Why?”
“God of Food is willing to spend 20 points to buy its bones. Let’s split this equally.”
“OK.”
“Well, let’s stay one day in Luzhou, before doing the next task.”
Great-Grandma twisted her back. “No, let’s stay for three days, I’ll sweep the food shops in Luzhou.”
Li Xianyu thought and replied, “Okay, let’s go to the Luzhou branch again, and give the chef there the meat we cut off from the baby horned salamander.”
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
At 10:30 A.M., Old Lady Xu came back home with a hoe on her shoulder. She went out at 6 A.M. and worked in the field for a whole morning. At this point, the sun became more and more intense. She went home to cook.
There was a cage of chickens in the yard. After she washed and cooked the rice, she grabbed some corn and fed it to the chicken who kept digging at the ground all day long. Two eggs had just been laid in the chicken coop. Just nice, she could prepare some leek egg for lunch.
Usually, at this time, she was done cooking. She would then sit under the eaves, waiting for her husband to come back. But, now she was the only one. Since the death of her grandson, her son had deserted her. Her husband was gone as well.
When her son left, he wanted to take her with him, but she didn’t want to. Leaving her hometown at such an old age was very unbecoming of her. She still thought about Old Man Xu. With someone in the village, she would have a companion to care for her.
She just couldn’t forgive Old Man Xu. He couldn’t even take care of someone well. Her little grandson was gone, just like that. He even said that a monster had eaten him up. She felt angry just thinking about that. No wonder her son wanted to sever ties with him.
“Knock, knock, knock!” Someone knocked on the rusty iron door.
At the door came the village head’s voice. “Old woman, are you there?”
The old lady opened the door in a daze, saw the scene in front of her, and was stunned. There were many villagers surrounding the entrance of her house. It was the village head who knocked on her door. Behind the village head were two policemen and Old Man Xu.
“What are you doing back here?” Old Lady Xu scolded her husband and looked at the village head again.
“Old Man Xu caught the monster in the reservoir. There was really a monster. Your family has wrongly blamed him.” The village head looked excited. He never mentioned the discussions in the village, many of which targeted Old Man Xu.
“What monster? It was a crocodile, a big crocodile, we don’t know who released it.” A middle-aged policeman said, “Luckily, it was caught. Or else, someone will suffer if they go to the reservoir.”
The village head hurriedly nodded. “Yes, it is a crocodile, a big one.”
Another policeman continued, “We are here to deliver a banner. There’s also $500 here. Take it.”
The banner was unfolded, and the above two lines of gold characters read: “Old but still vigorous in mind and body. Defended the citizens by getting rid of a monster.”
There was the signature of the local police station as well.
The villagers around applauded and cheered loudly.
“How did the crocodile even appear at our reservoir? It’s strange.”
“The police said it might have been a crocodile raised by the city people. They didn’t want to raise it anymore, so they released it into the mountains.”
“Fortunately, Old Man Xu cast a net in the reservoir and caught it. Otherwise, it would kill people again one day. Hey, that crocodile is so big.”
“You didn’t even see it.”
“Nonsense, I saw the tail. It’s thick and long. If not for the police who didn’t let me take pictures, I would be showing you a picture now.”
Old Lady Xu looked at the crowd blankly and listened to their voices. She repeatedly asked, “Was there really a crocodile?”
The middle-aged policeman said, “It’s true. It’s going to be on the news in a few days. The golden banner is here. How can this be false?”
After getting a positive reply, Old Lady Xu sat on the ground and cried.
When Old Man Xu woke up in the morning, the police had taken over the monster’s body and covered it with a white cloth. He couldn’t find the two young people around him. He was questioned by the police, who told him it was a rare crocodile… And that he could go home.
Old Man Xu didn’t care about the truth. He cried bitterly and hard.
The police carried the monster’s body down the mountain. They didn’t rush to leave, intentionally or unintentionally attracting the villagers in the process, and announcing that Old Man Xu had caught the crocodile in the reservoir.
The monster’s body was covered with white cloth and never showed to the world. Now, it had been transported away, leaving two policemen to take Old Man Xu home and deliver the banner.
Revenge had been sought, but Old Man Xu’s heart was empty. The two young police officers didn’t show up. He couldn’t even thank them.
Outside the crowd, Great-Grandma and Li Xianyu chewed on spicy cracker strips and watched the show as they ate. Li Xianyu requested for the banner, which was a strong piece of evidence for Old Man Xu to prove his innocence. Those police officers were actually the employees of Luzhou Branch. After finishing off the horned salamander, he contacted Luzhou Branch and asked the company to send someone to clean up.
Headquarters’ demon descendants’ chat.
Walking Piledriver: “@Lightning King, the mission at Anshan Village’s reservoir has been classified as a foreign species case, but the situation is somewhat inconsistent. I’m applying for increasing the mission’s reward.”
“How do you put this?” Lightning King replied quickly.
Anshan Village’s reservoir incident was a case suspected to involve demon descendants. If the investigation result was that a real crocodile ate people, Li Xianyu’s efforts would have been in vain.
So far, only one child had died. The harm caused was not as severe as a traffic accident. Hence, the maximum reward for this task was 10 points.
Walking Piledriver: “A few days ago, a strange, horned salamander came to the reservoir, with a baby in its stomach. So, it went to the reservoir to deliver its baby. Coincidentally, it ate a child…”
Li Xianyu depicted the situation again.
Lightning King: “Wait a moment, did you type wrongly? Are you sure it’s a horned salamander, not a dragon salamander?”
Walking Piledriver: “A dragon salamander with a long horn on its head is called a horned salamander, right? After 100 years, it becomes a mountain dragon, and then it becomes a real dragon after 200 years. Great-Grandma told me.”
Lightning King: “It’s really a horned salamander? My god, this thing disappeared after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It’s not extinct yet. OK, OK. I’ll inform the Luzhou Branch to catch it alive.”
Just after the information was sent out, Li Xianyu sent two photos at the same time, one was a bony skeleton, the other was a horn half a human tall.
Walking Piledriver: “There is a picture that speaks a truth… Well, Lightning King, did you want to catch it alive?”
Lightning King: “[vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood]”
God of Fire: “[vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood], [vomit blood]”
Walking Piledriver: “What’s the problem?”
Lightning King: “That’s an endangered species. You really killed it just like that?”
Lightning King spit out a mouthful of blood. Dragon salamanders had been rare since ancient times. A horned salamander was even rarer. He had a feeling as if he had seen the legendary dinosaurs, the last one in the world, but the next second, it was shot by people.
Fire God: “@Walking Piledriver, you killed a horned salamander? My God, I’m in a state of shock. ”
Walking Piledriver: “It ate people. What’s wrong with me killing it? Isn’t the purpose of our company to eliminate these harmful species. ”
Lightning King: “…That’s right, but the horned salamander is too precious. It has great research value. You should have contacted the company earlier, and the company will send someone to catch it alive.”
Fire God: “Since you knew that the horned salamander can turn into a dragon, have you ever thought of the fact that there are so many demon descendants in the world, but no matter how powerful they are, they can’t change the species they belong to? Only the dragon salamander can. Have you thought about the reason? Losing even one of this species is a great loss.”
Walking Piledriver: “It’s too late, the body of the horned salamander has been dismembered by Great-Grandma and I, and dumped in the reservoir. The cub of the dragon salamander has been handed over to colleagues in Luzhou Branch.”
Lightning King: “There’s a cub. Thank god.”
Fire God: “Let Luzhou Branch properly nurture the cub. I will make a trip back in a few days.”
Walking Piledriver: “Make a trip back to see its body?”
Lightning King: (ｷ’ﾟДﾟ)!!
Fire God: (╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻
Lady Killer: “It’s no surprise to meet a horned salamander. I’m not surprised even when Li Xianyu goes out and sees an alien.”
King Kong: “And then, the aliens went crazy. They want to take him away.”
Mo Fei: “When he was taken away, his great-grandma flew into a rage.”
Li Bai: “Bang, the world is annihilated.”
Li Shizhen’s skin: “The horror of a trouble magnet.”
Walking Piledriver: “…”
At this time, the God of Food, who hadn’t talked for a long time, jumped out. “@Walking Piledriver, where is the horned salamander? I’m willing to pay a lot of money for its body.”
Walking Piledriver: “What do you want its body for? I threw it in the reservoir.”
God of Food: “Idiot, you threw this gourmet food into the reservoir? Pick it up, asshole. I’m willing to spend 100 points to buy the horned salamander’s corpse.”
It was recorded in the books that the meat of horned salamanders were delicious, and it was one of the best foods around. It was said that Cixi once ate a mountain dragon. She couldn’t forget about the taste for many years afterwards. This legendary food was much more delicious than the bear paw that he had chopped off.
Walking Piledriver: “No wonder, it’s a pity.”
God of Food: “What do you mean?”
Walking Piledriver: “The essence of the horned salamander was drained by me, leaving only a skeleton and skin. There’s no meat left, it’s a dried corpse.”
God of Food: “…”
After a long while, the God of Food painfully typed in another message. “I’m in a state of shock as well. Well, you can just give me the bones.”
Walking Piledriver: “For bone soup?”
God of Food: “Yep.”
Walking Piledriver: “50 points?”
God of Food: “This is worth 20 points at most, but if you add the horn, 50 points.”
Fifty points, a year’s base salary for senior employees.
Walking Piledriver: “I can’t do this. I won’t sell the horn. My great-grandma is deliberating whether to use the horn to make wine or to keep it as an heirloom.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady: “Heirloom? Why should this be an heirloom? ”
Walking Piledriver: “Battle Lady, my family was also famous for honing.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady sent a “side-eye” emoji: “Your ability is not about strengthening too.”
Walking Piledriver: “That’s why it can be an heirloom. I can keep it for my son.”
Thunderbolt Battle Lady: “…”
As Great-Grandma finished the spicy cracker strips, she wiped her greasy fingers on her great-grandson’s clothes and asked, “What did Lightning King say? Did he agree to increase the reward?”
Li Xianyu nodded. “Yes, we have already agreed to increase the reward of this task to 25 points. If we could catch it alive, it would be 50 points. Lightning King and Fire God can’t wait to kill me now.”
“Haha, let’s go. Go shopping in Luzhou Branch.” Great-Grandma smiled. She had a pact with her great-grandson that the extra points would be converted into money and given to her as a form of filial piety.
“Wait a minute, let’s go back to the reservoir first and retrieve the horned salamander.”
“Why?”
“God of Food is willing to spend 20 points to buy its bones. Let’s split this equally.”
“OK.”
“Well, let’s stay one day in Luzhou, before doing the next task.”
Great-Grandma twisted her back. “No, let’s stay for three days, I’ll sweep the food shops in Luzhou.”
Li Xianyu thought and replied, “Okay, let’s go to the Luzhou branch again, and give the chef there the meat we cut off from the baby horned salamander.”
