Chapter 42: Absolutely Refusing to Eat!

Chen Ji had lazed around at home for three days, finally managing to restore his invisible health bar to over seventy percent. At least he no longer had to pause and catch his breath after just a few steps like before.

Grandpa White Tiger had recovered quite a bit too and could now get out of bed and walk around.

The cost of nursing two patients back to health was that Chen Ji’s food stockpiles had been completely depleted. Most of the food had ended up in Grandpa White Tiger’s stomach. Chen Ji had suffered a major loss of vitality, but he was human after all—his appetite was limited. He could just eat more delicately and pick at his meals.

Grandpa White Tiger, on the other hand, had been gravely injured. As a spirit creature, he recovered quickly from whatever he ate; if the quality wasn’t enough, he’d make up for it with quantity. He’d wolf down anything put in front of him. Chen Ji had even taken the chance to poke Grandpa White Tiger’s belly while he was asleep, firmly convinced it was a bottomless pit.

The System Cat had already restocked a batch of ingredients according to Chen Ji’s usual shopping habits. But Chen Ji’s place was so remote that, to meet Grandpa White Tiger’s massive food demands, the System Cat had gotten creative and sourced from nearby shops. As long as the quantities were large enough, the shops were willing to make a special delivery run all the way to Shangyang Village.

Chen Ji stood at the temple gate and called out for Second Grandpa Huang three times, but the old weasel didn’t appear. Instead, two little yellow weasels showed up. One was the one that served as Chen Ji’s translator, and the other had lighter fur—someone Chen Ji hadn’t seen before.

The two little yellow weasels started whining pitifully the moment they appeared, circling Chen Ji’s legs and squeaking in the most coquettish way. Chen Ji couldn’t help petting them both, then shared some snacks with them. Only after they’d finished eating did he explain what he needed.

The two little ones nodded eagerly when Chen Ji mentioned fetching packages. They raised their paws as if swearing an oath to the heavens that they’d get the job done. Then they suddenly expanded into one-meter-eighty dharma images—admittedly not as imposing as Second Grandpa Huang’s two-meter-eighty form, but still plenty intimidating.

The System Cat watched them with sour jealousy: 【To be fair, they’re really shameless. To grow that big, they must have cultivated for decades at least, and here they are acting cute with you!】

They could haul packages and even carry people—practically more useful than it was!

Chen Ji just chuckled and brushed it off. He went inside to grab a bamboo basket, calling out a greeting to Grandpa White Tiger along the way. The tiger was lounging in the courtyard, basking in the sun. It was a beautiful day, and he looked utterly relaxed, his fur tips gleaming silver in the light. His eyes were half-closed, on the verge of sleep. “Grandpa White Tiger,” Chen Ji said, “I’m heading down the mountain to pick up some food.”

Grandpa White Tiger started to rise at that, but Chen Ji placed a hand on his back and smiled. “No need, no need…”

He pointed to the two little yellow weasels waiting outside. “They’re taking me, and we’ll be back soon.”

Only then did Grandpa White Tiger settle back down.

Chen Ji picked up the bamboo basket and headed out. One of the weasels shrank back to its normal size and hopped into the basket to sit with the System Cat. The other carried Chen Ji down the mountain on its back. It wasn’t as fast as a sports car, but at ghost fire speed, it covered the two-hour descent in just half an hour. By the time they reached the village entrance, Little Ghost Fire—that was what Chen Ji had decided to call his ride—had hopped into the basket too. It perched on the edge, peering around curiously.

Yes, Chen Ji had named the talkative one Little Translator and this speedy one Little Ghost Fire.

Chen Ji entered the village, which was unusually quiet that day. He didn’t spot many people until he reached the parcel station, where he discovered all the villagers gathered. They greeted him warmly when they saw him coming. Uncle Liu heard his voice and hurried out to meet him. “Xiao Chen, you came! I was just about to call you. Xiao Wang and the others have been discharged from the hospital!”

Chen Ji smiled. “Congratulations.”

The young man’s skin was deathly pale, his eyes an unnaturally deep black. Even standing in the sunlight, he gave off an eerie vibe of yin qi. Uncle Liu had meant to grab Chen Ji’s arm and pull him inside, but for some reason, he suddenly didn’t want to get close. He rubbed his hands together awkwardly. “Well, you see…”

“I’m just here to pick up packages,” Chen Ji said. “No need to fuss over me, Uncle Liu. I’ll grab them and go—the soup on the stove at home is still simmering. Don’t forget to set up that table at the mountain gate later.”

Uncle Liu had nearly forgotten about it, but the reminder sent chills racing down his spine that he couldn’t shake off. He nodded vigorously. “Right, right! Of course not, I won’t forget.”

Chen Ji acknowledged him and went to collect his packages. There were so many… The room stuffed floor-to-ceiling with boxes had just one shelf on the lowest level that wasn’t his—everything else was.

The System Cat perched on his shoulder, acting as a package scanner. Beep-beep scanning sounds echoed in Chen Ji’s mind, but they didn’t annoy him at all.

【OK, chicken legs and whole chickens accounted for. Start with racks two and three—frozen goods, priority to get them up the mountain. Rack one for drinks, four for appliances, five for snacks. Those can go slower.】 The System Cat’s immense processing power had optimized the workload perfectly: 【Let the little ones handle the freezer. You just grab some snacks. Have them come back down for the rest later.】

Chen Ji ruffled the cat’s head, ready to go with that plan. He mentioned it to Little Translator, who whispered: 【Brother Chen, no need for two trips! I’ll call a couple more little brothers over!】

Chen Ji smiled faintly. “Won’t that be too much trouble for you?”

Little Translator shook its head frantically and asked him to wait. It dove off and vanished. About five minutes later, three one-meter-fifty yellow weasels appeared out of thin air. They clasped their paws together and bowed repeatedly to Chen Ji. Little Translator gestured at them emphatically, and the three little ones naturally pitched in to help pack.

They didn’t bother with ropes—just wrapped everything in black mist, cloaked themselves, and ran off.

Chen Ji silently gave Little Translator a thumbs-up and rubbed its head. “Don’t rush off when we get back. Wait at the temple gate—I’ll fix you all a proper feast.”

Little Translator: 【Yes, yes! Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!】

Chen Ji chuckled helplessly, picked up two feather-light packages, and headed out. The villagers had dispersed a bit. Remembering something, he turned back to Uncle Liu. “Uncle Liu, don’t worry about the work on the mountain anymore. You’ll still get paid—just focus on taking care of Xiao Wang’s family.”

“Huh?” Uncle Liu looked stunned. “No, no, how could we? You’ve done so much for our family already, Xiao Chen. How could I take your money too? Things have been chaotic these past few days; give me a bit more time, and I’ll make sure everything’s squared away properly.”

“It’s not about that,” Chen Ji said calmly. “This job was off from the start. I’ll be straight with you—Xiao Wang must have broken some taboo. From now on, he should stay off the mountain if he can help it. Better yet, go work in the city and don’t come back.”

Uncle Liu blinked in surprise. “What exactly happened to Xiao Wang?”

He’d found the whole thing odd too. A perfectly fine family suddenly plagued by evil spirits? Shangyang Village hugged Little Azure Mountain—who hadn’t grown up playing in those woods? How could they run afoul of taboos so easily?

Chen Ji shook his head. “You’ll have to ask Xiao Wang about that.”

Xiao Wang was still bedridden at the moment. Uncle Liu immediately offered to go ask him, but Chen Ji wasn’t in the mood to wait. He headed back first. Halfway up the mountain on Little Ghost Fire, he got a call from Uncle Liu. Apparently, Xiao Wang claimed nothing was amiss—just casual chit-chat, no incidents on the road, no harming animals or picking plants.

Chen Ji’s instincts told him Xiao Wang wasn’t telling the truth.

There was no reason for it. Even before, when he hadn’t offended Second Grandpa Huang, the old weasel had been ready to tear him apart. But he was certain this time: Xiao Wang was holding something back.

Half an hour later, Chen Ji arrived home. Little Ghost Fire ran steadily, without tiring him out at all. He invited them all to stay for dinner, slicing up the slightly thawed cake and preparing bubble milk tea for each one, plus a big slab of braised pork. The five little yellow weasels ate their fill, clutching their bellies contentedly as they left.

After the customary offering to Mountain Lord, Chen Ji joined Grandpa White Tiger in the courtyard to bask in the sun. He carried a large plate of cherry cheesecake. For some reason, he said to the tiger, “Grandpa White Tiger, this cake’s thawed now. It won’t keep until tomorrow, and I can’t eat it all myself. Want to try some?”

The patchy bald spots on Grandpa White Tiger’s body had sprouted short new fur. He lowered his head toward the plate Chen Ji held out… only for his whiskers to get smeared with cream cheese right away. He clearly wrinkled his brow, lifted his head—and refused to eat!

“I’ll wipe it off for you.” Chen Ji laughed in exasperation. He grabbed a couple of napkins and cleaned Grandpa White Tiger’s whiskers. The long, flexible strands slid across his palm. Chen Ji playfully tugged at them a couple times, but Grandpa White Tiger simply turned his head away, refusing to let him continue.

“My bad, my bad. I didn’t mean to.” Chen Ji cooed softly, chasing after to wipe them. Somehow, it ended with Grandpa White Tiger’s massive head resting on Chen Ji’s arm, an expression of utter world-weariness on his face.

Chen Ji was thrilled at the chance to get this close—who wouldn’t want to pet a big tiger? Even a photo op at the zoo cost two hundred bucks!

He scooped up a corner with the cake knife, pitting the cherry. The bright red fruit perched atop soft white cream, layered over a mango-infused cheesecake base. He stroked Grandpa White Tiger’s cheek. “Here, Grandpa White Tiger. Let me feed you.”

Grandpa White Tiger turned his face away again, shifting direction in the crook of Chen Ji’s arm. Chen Ji gently teased his whiskers once more, his touch incredibly tender. “Getting injured isn’t anything to be ashamed of, Grandpa White Tiger. Come on, open up. Eat plenty, heal faster.”

He held the large triangular slice to Grandpa White Tiger’s mouth. The tiger’s azure-blue eyes met Chen Ji’s, showing clear reluctance. He parted his jaws slightly. Chen Ji took the opening and tipped the whole piece in—his mouth was big enough that nothing spilled: “How is it? Good?”

Grandpa White Tiger squinted and licked.

Chen Ji watched eagerly. Over the past three days, he’d figured it out: if Grandpa White Tiger liked something, he’d squint contentedly; if not, he’d turn away next time. He wasn’t an ordinary animal, after all.

As for why he wouldn’t speak… Chen Ji figured Grandpa White Tiger was just too lazy to chat with him.

Grandpa White Tiger licked again.

Chen Ji frowned. “Not good?”

Grandpa White Tiger licked once more, this time sticking out a good length of his pink tongue, deep resentment in his eyes. Chen Ji finally saw it and burst out laughing—the cheesecake was too dense and had stuck fast to the roof of his mouth.

“Open your mouth—let me get that down for you…” Chen Ji chuckled as he gently pried open White Tiger’s jaws. Those eyes, usually so cool and detached, suddenly shot Chen Ji a fierce glare. Unable to hold back, Chen Ji burst into laughter. He watched as White Tiger obediently parted his jaws, allowing Chen Ji to scrape the stubborn cake from the roof of his mouth. For good measure, Chen Ji also used the cake knife to crumble a bit more of the treat.

This time, White Tiger truly tasted it. His eyes narrowed in evident delight.

Chen Ji scooped up another triangular slice. “Open wide, ah—”

White Tiger whipped his head away with fierce determination, making it abundantly clear through his actions that he was absolutely not eating this time!