Chapter 11: The Modern Mountain Spirit's Nemesis—The Pressure Cooker!

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Ansheng dragged a large sack of plump mountain rats down the hillside. Feeling something stir within, he glanced back and thought to himself:

"The stuff in that supply depot... back when the regiment commander was around, they could've shipped it all the way to America. Too bad it’s no longer suited for today."

"Times have changed. This place won’t hear the gunfire of outsiders anymore."

Having unexpectedly gained access to an arms depot, Ansheng was naturally pleased. Inside were heavy machine guns—antique water-cooled Maxim guns, no less.

Yet, the era had shifted.

A fire on the mountain, and suddenly the Security Bureau had its eyes on me.

The fire from gunpowder is still fire.

Though he couldn’t just fire away, Ansheng still got to keep a prized collector’s item he greatly enjoyed.

Guns were useless now. In the peaceful nation of Summer, what a fox needed was not firearms, but a fluffy tail and a little electric motor in its rump.

...

At 4:25 a.m., Ansheng returned to Changxi Town and arrived at Old Chen’s doorstep.

“Old Chen, are you there? I brought some local specialties for you and wanted to borrow your bathroom for a bit. Otherwise, I’m covered in a strong gamey smell—won’t be easy explaining that at home.”

He placed the mountain rats in Chen Fengshui’s courtyard, whispered softly as if sneaking in a greeting, and then expertly ran into the bathroom to turn on the light and wash up.

First, he had fought the king cobra in the garbage heap, then gone up the mountain to dig and battle the mountain rats twice.

Though he hadn’t sweat, his whole body reeked of fishy, earthy scents. It wouldn’t do to go to bed smelling like that.

Unfortunately, there was no soap in the public restroom, so Ansheng had no choice but to borrow Old Chen’s bath.

He could have used Lin Ying’s bathroom, but that woman was too wealthy.

After washing at her place, one’s whole body would be enveloped in the lasting fragrance of high-end shower gel.

Since being reborn as a fox, Ansheng had developed a sensitivity to strong scents; his nose would feel terribly uncomfortable.

“Splash—”

Ansheng threw a swift uppercut to turn on the shower head, then squatted and rubbed his cheeks with his paws, washing away the dirt, stench, and rotting food smells.

Dragging over the anti-slip mat at the door, he stomped his paws on it, scrubbing away the mud from his soles and hard-to-reach places between his toes.

“Bathing is way more comfortable with Ah Qing helping to scrub... doing it myself is so much trouble.”

While washing, Ansheng silently praised his human caretaker in his heart.

He hadn’t realized it before, but as a fox, the inconvenience of daily life became clear.

Everything in human society was designed for human bodies, making it very difficult for a fox to use.

After finishing, Ansheng stepped out of the bathroom, shook off the water, and cast a furtive glance at Old Chen’s door.

The midsummer night still held a temperature of thirty degrees Celsius; every household had their air conditioning on while sleeping. Old Chen naturally had his door tightly shut, asleep.

Ansheng’s arrival had not disturbed Chen Fengshui’s rest.

After glancing at the door, Ansheng nonchalantly slipped out through the windowsill, dragging the sack of mountain rats away.

Mountain rat is the scientific name for this species. In the market, they’re more commonly called “shiitake mice.”

These rodents are typically found at altitudes around 1,500 meters, feeding mainly on bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.

They were plumper and larger than ordinary rats, but because of their high-altitude habitat, their natural predators included snakes, carnivorous mammals, and raptors, making them timid and cautious.

Hence, mountain rats sold for eighty yuan per jin (about half a kilogram), with a single rat usually costing around two hundred yuan.

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Ansheng’s sack was worth over a thousand yuan altogether.

If Old Chen had woken up, Ansheng wouldn’t hesitate to treat the mountain rats as a fee for borrowing the bath.

But since Old Chen was still asleep, that meant fate was not on their side.

Fate could not be forced; forcing it would shorten one’s life. So Ansheng hurried home to give Ah Qing a treat.

However, what Ansheng didn’t know was...

Old Chen was actually awake.

At his age, with urinary problems, he had the habit of waking at five for a bathroom break.

Old Chen watched wide-eyed as Ansheng dumped the mountain rats into his chicken coop, then dragged the soaking wet fox away.

Chen Fengshui was at a loss for words.

...

Ansheng returned home and knocked out all the mountain rats.

He borrowed three rice sacks from Laifu’s house, originally meant for storing rice.

Out of the eight plump mountain rats, Ansheng gave two to Laifu’s family, another two to Lin Ying’s, and dragged the remaining four into the courtyard of the Yu Xueqing household.

Neither Yu Xueqing nor Lin Ying would stew the mountain rats, but Yu Xueqing could call in her parents to handle the sizable rodents.

As for Lin Ying’s place, it was simpler. From what Ansheng knew, she always had a housekeeper, though they didn’t stay overnight; otherwise, there wouldn’t be meals prepared on the first-floor island counter.

“Today is another day full of hope!”

After washing his little paws, Ansheng rolled twice on the bed, exhaled deeply, and channeled the two points of wish power he had gained today into his body.

In total, Ansheng earned three points of wish power today.

Watching the house, fixing locks, and blocking the dog’s hole earned him +1.

After the bath, transforming into double-door mode gave him +1.

And finally, clearing out the rodent problem gave him another +1.

All three points came from charming and entertaining Yu Xueqing.

Counting these three points, in five months, Ansheng had added 29 points of physical power and tentatively 1 point to his intellect.

He wasn’t sure what feats 29 points of physical power could accomplish, but breaking bricks with his fists and supporting Lin Ying in water were no problem.

To test his strength fully, he might have to visit a big city, try a punch strength tester or a horsepower machine.

“Yip—”

Ansheng closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, softly snoring.

But just as he fell asleep, a startled scream from next door jolted him awake.

“Ah—rats!”

Sharing the bedroom, Ansheng and Yu Xueqing sat up simultaneously, bewildered, glancing toward the window hidden behind the curtains.

Rats? What rats?

Yu Xueqing looked puzzled and glanced at the little fox sitting upright beside her, equally confused.

Ansheng was so half-asleep his soul was elsewhere; he barely woke, groggily lay back down, and burrowed under the covers to continue sleeping.

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“It’s not even dawn yet, no need for early classes during summer break.”

Yu Xueqing, still dazed, pulled the fox close and mumbled indistinctly, “I dreamed of a very strong fox spirit wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, charging through a horde of rats...”

“But... it was disappointing—the fox spirit had a human body with a fox’s head.”

“If it had been a full fox, I can’t even imagine how soft it would be... huff huff.”

Mumbling, Yu Xueqing soon fell back asleep.

However,

Four hours later, Yu Xueqing let out another startled scream from the courtyard, waking Ansheng again.

“...”

Struggling to free himself from the covers, Ansheng cursed under his breath and leaned close to the windowsill.

Outside, Yu Xueqing was squatting by the sack of mountain rats, talking with the auntie from Laifu’s family.

“No idea who brought these shiitake rats. I even have two in my house...”

“Damn Laifu, not a word all morning. I was scared stiff by those rats,” said the auntie, standing by the fish nursery pond near the wall.

Sleepy and wanting to brush her teeth, she had stepped on two mountain rats by accident.

Both the auntie and the two rats screamed wildly—one in pain, the other in fright.

“Scared to death...”

Hearing the auntie’s complaint, Yu Xueqing looked nervously at the sack of rats.

“I just woke up, wanted to collect the clothes left out to dry in the courtyard last night, and saw those big black rats huddled together, baring their teeth.”

Yu Xueqing had eaten mountain rats before, but only the ones skinned, stewed, or braised.

This raw, plump, wild rat was unlike anything she’d ever seen.

She took photos of the black rats and sent them to her father via WeChat, asking how to deal with the creatures in the yard.

But her father’s voice message left her horrified.

“Good stuff! But, Ah Qing, don’t touch them. Getting bitten or scratched will require tetanus and rabies vaccines.”

“By the way, I said I’d take you out for lunch and teach you how to sell goods. Now it’s easier...”

“After your mom and I buy groceries, we’ll head over to the old house for a meal.”

Knowing her father was coming to the old house, Yu Xueqing felt as if the sky was falling.

She looked at the little fox peeking around the windowsill with a suffocated expression.

“Yip?”

Ansheng looked at Yu Xueqing, tail wagging, utterly clueless.

[Oh no, oh no, Dad’s coming with the pressure cooker after buying groceries. If he finds little An here, won’t Ansheng be stuck taking a bath in the pressure cooker? — Yu Xueqing panicked, silently praying her secret of raising a fox at home wouldn’t be exposed. She feared her dad might chase after her little white fox with a knife.]

[Wish fulfilled: Family happiness (sometimes, a ghostly ending isn’t the worst option.)]

“Family happiness?” Ansheng tilted his head and softly whimpered twice.