Chapter 31: Unhealthy Books

Xiong Batian had caught a particularly fierce black boar in the wild today. Carrying the unconscious boar on her shoulder, she brought it beneath the Divine Tree, tied it up, and tossed it to the other Demon Humans for them to handle.

Qiqi brought Zhai Guangyi along and also arrived beside Xiong Batian. Xiong Batian looked at the tiny Zhai Guangyi and scratched her chin.

“This is the little Elf born from Lord Divine Tree—one of the two fruits that were hanging at the top of the tree.”

Qiqi first glanced at the black boar the Demon Humans were preparing, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, suppressed her desire, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth that she couldn’t hold back, and then turned her gaze to Xiong Batian.

Seeing Xiong Batian’s puzzled expression, Qiqi spoke up to explain on Zhai Guangyi’s behalf. With Qiqi’s explanation, Zhai Guangyi was spared the trouble of having to clarify things himself.

“Is that so? Lord Divine Tree hasn’t given me any instructions, so for now, you can stay at my place.”

Xiong Da’s Small Wooden Hut had been renovated into a much larger structure, with many additional rooms added. Xiong Batian no longer lived in the wild either; she had started learning from Xiong Er and the others, comfortably lying on the grass beds inside the Wooden Hut, which made it easier to fall asleep and rest at night.

Zhai Guangyi had no objections. Now that he had become human, the first things he needed to solve were food, drink, and shelter. He could no longer survive like a tree through Photosynthesis alone. Although he still had this Skill, its effect on his current body was minimal, and he couldn’t rely on it entirely for survival as he could when he was a tree.

The Wooden Hut was simple, mostly constructed from tree trunks split in half. Some of the wooden planks were uneven in length, and the room was somewhat dim, with windows made simply of layered leaves.

If it rained, water would probably seep into the house. Still, this Small Wooden Hut was already the largest and best house in the area. It could only be said that the architectural skills of Magical Beasts were somewhat lacking, making it difficult to build comfortable living spaces.

Xiong Er’s Small Wooden Hut, however, was quite nice. It was built by Xiong Da and Xiong Er together, using neatly selected and uniformly shaped wood. The floor of the hut was raised, with wood on top and stones underneath. The roof was also slanted, made from a mixture of wood, leaves, mud, and stones, which should be quite waterproof.

Apart from Xiong Er’s room, all the others were expansions built by Xiong Batian herself, which were relatively crude in comparison.

“Xiong Er, Lord Divine Tree has had a child. Help take care of it.”

Xiong Batian knocked on Xiong Er’s door. She was somewhat exasperated with Xiong Er these days. This child had good talent but preferred to stay cooped up at home. If she put in more effort, she might receive more blessings from Lord Divine Tree.

“Huh? I hate taking care of kids the most, especially relatives’ children.”

Xiong Er opened the door barefoot, her hair a complete mess as if she hadn’t bathed in days. She wore a simple gray short-sleeved shirt that covered most of her body, leaving only a pair of fair legs exposed. The shirt was likely one of the undershirts from the set of adventure Equipment Zhai Guangyi had gifted her.

“Wait, Mom, whose child are you talking about?”

“Lord Divine Tree’s child. It was a fruit hanging on the tree before, and there’s still one hanging there now.”

Xiong Batian summarized it very simply for Xiong Er.

Seeing Xiong Er, Zhai Guangyi waved at her. He finally had the chance to meet his old Classmate in person.

“Perfect timing. Since you’re not going hunting either, I’ll leave this child in your care. It’s not like you ever leave the house anyway.”

Though Qiqi glanced at Zhai Guangyi in her arms and would have loved to care for the newborn Elf herself, she had many Wind Demon Panthers to lead and needed to organize their defenses against Goblins, leaving little free time.

“You must listen to Sister Xiong Er and stay close to her. Don’t run off. I’ll come check on you later.”

Hearing the title “Sister Xiong Er,” Zhai Guangyi couldn’t help but laugh, letting out an involuntary puff of air.

Qiqi handed Zhai Guangyi over to Xiong Er. Just as Xiong Er was about to pick him up, Zhai Guangyi struggled free and stood on the floor.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll follow Sister Xiong Er.”

Zhai Guangyi deliberately emphasized the words “Xiong Er.”

Xiong Er watched all this in silence. She had heard it—this guy had snickered earlier, hadn’t he? And he’d deliberately stressed “Xiong Er.” Damn it, she had even asked the Divine Tree to change her name before, but the Divine Tree had ignored her. Now even a little brat was mocking her. The Divine Tree’s naming skills were truly awful.

Seeing Xiong Er remain silent, Zhai Guangyi walked over and asked with the innocent expression and tone of a child.

“What’s wrong, Sister Xiong Er?”

“Nothing.”

Xiong Er’s forehead nearly bulged from the pressure of those two words, her fists tightening unnaturally.

Seeing that Xiong Er and Zhai Guangyi were getting along fairly naturally, Xiong Batian left the Wooden Hut with Qiqi. They had much to do—leading the Magical Beasts in this area was no easy task, and fulfilling the Lord Divine Tree’s missions was their duty.

Once Xiong Batian and Qiqi had left, Xiong Er took Zhai Guangyi into her room.

As soon as he entered, Zhai Guangyi was stunned. The room was filled with books—modern books from Earth, especially comic books, piled up into small hills.

Zhai Guangyi immediately spotted many inappropriate reads among them, such as Asuna doujinshi, Rem doujinshi, and the like, with covers featuring particularly unsuitable images for children.

Zhai Guangyi was about to pick one up to examine it.

Only after closing the door did Xiong Er realize her room was full of such books. Oh no, she thought.

“Don’t move!”

Startled by Xiong Er’s sudden shout from behind, Zhai Guangyi froze. Xiong Er quickly snatched the Rem doujinshi from his hands and began frantically gathering similar comics from the floor.

Zhai Guangyi watched as Xiong Er flusteredly collected the doujinshi, moved them to a corner, and covered them with a piece of animal hide. She then let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Alright, you can move—”

Before Xiong Er could finish, she saw Zhai Guangyi lying quite naturally on her bed, casually reading a doujinshi—likely one she had missed in her haste.

“Children shouldn’t look at that kind of stuff!”

Xiong Er nervously tried to take it back but stopped when she heard Zhai Guangyi’s voice.

“Chen Dabai, so this is what you spend all your time at home reading?”

Zhai Guangyi stopped lying down, sitting cross-legged quite naturally and waving the inappropriate book in front of Xiong Er.

“Who are you!”

Xiong Er retreated somewhat awkwardly to the doorway, her eyes activating Appraisal, faint flickers of lightning glinting within.

But upon seeing Zhai Guangyi’s pitiful attributes:

Race: Primordial Spirit (Nameless)

Life Value: 42/100

Magic Power: 1300/42000

Attack Power: 2

Defense Power: 1

Speed: 3

‘Very weak. Although the amount of Magic Power is somewhat terrifying, at this distance, I can win. Moreover, we’re close to the foot of Lord Divine Tree—breaking down the door should be able to attract Xiong Batian’s attention. No need to act hastily for now. Whether friend or foe, let’s first see what it intends to do.’

Xiong Er had also raised her Appraisal Level to three, now capable of clearly seeing a target’s Basic Attributes.

Yet facing someone who knew her name from her Previous Life, she dared not let her guard down—after all, this was the Otherworld.