Chapter 73

Hao Ren was delayed for half a day at Raven 12345’s place. By the time he returned, it was almost evening. As he turned the corner of the street, he saw Lily standing at the door, tiptoeing and straining to look down the road—she looked just like a little dog left at home to guard the door, a scene he had almost gotten used to.

Seeing Hao Ren appear, Lily immediately rushed over excitedly, "Landlord, landlord, you’re back! What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"Can you at least think about your dignity as a werewolf sometimes?" Hao Ren sighed as he handed her the net bag, "It’s the big pork ribs you like. We’ll stew them tonight and have pork rib noodles for lunch tomorrow."

After more than half a month of interaction, Hao Ren had completely understood Lily’s personality. This werewolf girl’s preferences were simple and easy to understand; as long as she had something delicious to eat, everything was fine. Her two favorite things were the pork ribs stewed by Vivian and the noodles cooked by Hao Ren. You could understand her liking pork ribs, at least it was meat, but why did she get so excited over noodles? Do werewolves eat that?

Anyway, no one could figure out how Lily, a werewolf, had become an omnivore, but it was a good thing: omnivores were easier to take care of. If Lily were like a normal werewolf and needed twenty pounds of fresh meat every day, even if Hao Ren could afford it financially, the butcher might not be able to handle it mentally...

Lily happily ran into the house with the pork ribs to find Vivian. Only at such times would she say a few nice words to the latter. For a few bites of delicious food, she could even lower her head to her archenemy. What happened to the dignity of a werewolf?

Hao Ren watched Lily disappear into the kitchen in silence, then he went inside, locked the door, and looked up to see a huge, muscular man sitting in the center of the living room: Izaak’s presence was simply overwhelming. At 2.15 meters tall, he was a landmark wherever he went. Add to that his antisocial, fierce appearance, and taking him out was a problem. A few days ago, when Hao Ren took Izaak to the market to buy groceries, an old lady called the police as soon as they reached East Third Street... What a mess!

Izaak seemed not to notice Hao Ren’s return. He was hunched on the sofa, intently studying a Chinese dictionary, which looked like a small booklet in his hands, held by just a few fingers. Seeing that fierce face with such a serious expression, Hao Ren really wanted to laugh: How could such a good-tempered giant have such a face?

"Still studying Chinese pronunciation?" Hao Ren curiously leaned over and found that Izaak had even drawn many curved symbols in the dictionary, which looked like demonic writing. He was deeply moved by the demon’s diligence and a bit embarrassed: This dictionary had been at home for more than four years, and he, as an Earthling, probably hadn’t put in as much effort as Izaak had in the past two days...

"Oh, you’re back," Izaak looked up and spoke in a deep, resonant voice. Demon language sounded like a tape played backward, with strange and indistinct pronunciation, making it almost as hard to understand as Japanese English. Vivian and Lily hadn’t learned a single word in the past two days, so Hao Ren was the only one in the house who could communicate normally with Izaak. The great demon was well aware of this, so he looked very happy to see Hao Ren come home, "Finally, someone to talk to. How did it go?"

"Pretty smooth. Raven 12345 gave me a direction, which cleared up my confusion. By the way, how’s your Chinese study going?"

"This thing is really hard to learn," Izaak threw the dictionary aside in frustration, looking a bit overwhelmed, "I think it’s even harder than Elvish. In the past two days, I haven’t figured out four words: pit, hole, cavity, and eye—how did you guys ever get this language straightened out?"

Hao Ren broke out in a sweat, "Those four words are enough to discourage eighty percent of international students—don’t bother with them. I came to tell you that Raven 12345 has applied for something new from the higher-ups that can help you with the language problem. In a couple of days, I’ll take you to her place, and we’ll bring Vivian and Lily along. You’ll have a ‘small operation’ and then you’ll have your own translator."

As Hao Ren spoke, he observed Izaak’s expression, wondering how the great demon would react to a "small operation." After all, in his experience, few big bosses would willingly let others operate on them. But to his disappointment, Izaak’s face showed no reaction. He just nodded in understanding, "Okay, that’s fine. I should also greet the goddess here."

"You’d better be prepared," Hao Ren kindly warned, "If she asks you to lie in some strange device, don’t get angry..."

"I know what you mean," Izaak grinned, showing a scary smile, "Those coffin-like things, right? Most coffins in different worlds look the same, and most of the equipment made by the Xilin gods looks like coffins. I’ve experienced it before..."

Hao Ren: "..."

"It’s time to eat!"

Just as Hao Ren and Izaak were discussing the inspiration behind the Xilin Empire’s coffin-like equipment, Vivian’s voice suddenly came from the kitchen, pulling the two men out of their idle chat.

Vivian carried the rice cooker into the living room, followed by Lily, whose tail wagged wildly, and then by the proud "Gun." The three of them walked in with a grand air. Hao Ren and Izaak had just gathered around the table when Vivian pointed to the kitchen and shouted, "Go wash your hands first!"

Izaak didn’t understand what Vivian was saying, but he understood from her gestures and the direction she pointed. So the great demon stood up and obediently went to the bathroom to wash his hands, leaving Hao Ren marveling at the sight.

Vivian, who had just finished her housework, had a commanding presence, even daring to shout at a great demon. Hao Ren thought this vampire was probably awakening her housewife attributes, which was a good thing.

The dinner was light, with rice porridge, steamed buns, and two vegetable dishes, but the portions were huge, enough to satisfy the stomachs of Lily and Izaak, who ate like bottomless pits. Vivian’s cooking skills were unquestionable. As an ancient being who had wandered for tens of thousands of years, she was familiar with every cooking method on this planet, even how to roast a saber-toothed tiger—had the ingredients not gone extinct, Hao Ren believed his daily meals would be incredibly sumptuous.

Lily was quickly gnawing on two steamed buns, skewered on her chopsticks like candied haws, while sniffing toward the kitchen, "I want to eat pork ribs..."

"They’re still raw," Vivian, still in her housewife mode, spoke gently to Lily, "At least three hours of stewing are needed. I have principles when it comes to stewing pork ribs."

Hao Ren rolled his eyes: Could you apply your principles to something more normal?

As everyone was busy eating and Hao Ren was about to find the remote to turn on the TV, a sharp crack suddenly broke the peace in the living room.

It turned out that Lily had been trying to reach some food on the opposite side of the table with a small plate, but now the plate was crushed in her hand, and ceramic shards were scattered all over the table.

Hao Ren was still in shock when Vivian shouted, "Can’t you be a little patient, big dog? It’s just a matter of waiting until tomorrow to eat meat. This bowl belongs to the landlord!"

"It’s not... I didn’t mean to!" Lily seemed startled as well. She hurriedly picked up the broken plate and glanced nervously at Hao Ren, "Landlord, I didn’t mean to. I just suddenly lost control of my strength..."

"Crack!"

Before Lily could finish speaking, there was another sharp sound: she had crushed another bowl.

Just as Vivian was about to scold her, Hao Ren noticed something strange about Lily and quickly waved his hand, "Something’s not right. Look at Lily’s eyes."

Lily was in her werewolf form, and although she usually maintained a human appearance at home, tonight she had remained in her werewolf form for some reason. Now her golden eyes were brighter than ever, even glowing slightly!

"Lily... your hands are shaking," Hao Ren’s gaze finally fell on Lily’s hands, and he realized the situation was serious.