Chapter 89: The Story of Dongxuan Country

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The Story of Dongxuan Country

Seeing Hua Buwan’s gentle, harmless smile, the Ling family gradually relaxed. They could all see that the Demon wasn’t as terrifying as they had imagined, nor would she eat them. As a result, they began to genuinely smile from the bottom of their hearts as they conversed with her, mostly offering strings of compliments.

Hua Buwan felt that she had heard more sweet talk tonight than she had in the past twenty-two years of her life combined. It was so sweet that she was afraid it might give her cavities.

"Alright, alright, please stop praising me. I’m getting embarrassed," Hua Buwan said shyly, waving her hand.

Ling Qianfan stood with a grilled fish in one hand and a grilled crab in the other. Flashing a broad grin that showed off his white teeth, he asked her, "Miss Wan, would you like some grilled fish and crab? I just finished cooking them, so they’re still hot."

SWISH SWISH SWISH.

The gazes of the rest of the Ling family immediately converged on Ling Qianfan, their eyes filled with icy sharpness. Ling Qianfan felt as though he was about to be murdered by his family’s glares. The Ling family thought he had truly put his foot in his mouth. Why would he bring up grilled crabs out of nowhere? What a total idiot!

Ling Qianfan, on the other hand, reasoned that since the crab was already grilled, they might as well let the Demon enjoy it. Surely, demons weren’t that particular about eating their own relatives. After all, he had heard that after a male and female mantis mated, the female would eat the male.

Hua Buwan had smelled the aroma of the grilled crab long ago. She had originally planned to roast the one she kept in her supermarket to eat anyway. Since Ling Qianfan was inviting her so sincerely, she naturally accepted with grace. "Mhm! Thank you, Qianfan. I won’t hold back then."

Reaching out to take the grilled crab, Hua Buwan urged the others, "You all should eat too. Seafood doesn’t taste good once it gets cold."

Ling Qianjun, who was sitting next to Hua Buwan, also picked up a grilled crab. "Let’s eat," he said. They had already cleared the air back at the supermarket. Knowing that Hua Buwan didn’t mind, he could eat freely without reservation. Hearing their words, the others exchanged glances before finally digging in together.

Since Ling Yunge and Xu Panqing were on their menstrual periods and crab was considered a "cold" food, the two of them shared just one. Ling Qianjun and Ling Qianfan tried to offer them their own crabs, but both women refused. Thus, Ling Qianjun and Ling Qianfan each got a whole crab to themselves.

Though the crabs were small, they were perfectly plump. The golden crab roe made their mouths water, and the fresh, savory scent of seafood permeated their noses and palates. Perhaps they hadn’t eaten such delicacies from the sea in far too long; it felt as if the intense, savory flavor shot straight through the roofs of their mouths and rushed directly to the crowns of their heads.

The tiny crabs were polished off in a flash. They even gnawed the claws completely clean, enjoying the crispy, crunchy texture from the roasting.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone’s attention shifted back to Hua Buwan. They were deeply curious about this Demon Shopkeeper of the grocery store, sensing that she must have many stories to tell.

It was getting late, and since there wasn’t much to do in this ancient era anyway, Hua Buwan suggested, "Why don’t I tell you all a story?"

She figured that after she finished, she would ask them to share some of their own. She was quite eager to hear tales from a thousand years ago. Furthermore, there were very few records of Dongxuan Country in her time, so she wanted to hear more descriptions of it directly from them.

Who knew, maybe in the future she could even write a book about Dongxuan Country and publish it online, allowing more people to understand the real Dongxuan Country. Of course, she didn’t possess the eloquent writing skills of famous authors or editors. She simply wanted to use her own plain language to record the most authentic stories.

She believed that truth had a greater power to move people. After all, everything she wrote would be real.