Fantasy Farm

translator: baumkuchen

By this time, the sky had already started to brighten. Jiang Buhuan awoke, dazed, from his dreams. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Lu Qingjiu sitting in the courtyard feeding noodles to Bai Yuehu. In the beginning, he thought he’d seen wrongly, but after rubbing his eyes, he found that he wasn’t actually hallucinating. 

The things that had happened over the past few days had been far too absurd, absurd to the point that he felt like the border between reality and dreams had begun to blur for him.

Jiang Buhuan got up off the ground. His body hurt all over. He slowly walked over to Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu, and said in a small voice, “Good, good morning.”

Lu Qingjiu didn’t even turn his head. “Good morning, there’s breakfast in the kitchen, you can serve yourself.”

“Was yesterday night a dream?” Jiang Buhuan asked, confused. He remembered that it had rained blood, and the courtyard had been thrown into a mess, but when he opened his eyes the next morning, everything looked perfectly normal. 

“It wasn’t a dream, it was real,” Lu Qingjiu said.

Jiang Buhuan looked at Bai Yuehu. Over the span of a single night, Bai Yuehu had grown a head of long, beautiful black hair. However, his complexion looked a lot worse than it had yesterday. “Is Mister Bai hurt?”

Lu Qingjiu said, “You should go eat.” He didn’t answer Jiang Buhuan’s question.

Jiang Buhuan nodded understandingly, then turned and left.

After he left, however, Lu Qingjiu was a little puzzled. “Did the thing that hurt you come along with Jiang Buhuan?”

Bai Yuehu, “Yes, and no.”

Lu Qingjiu, “What do you mean?”

Bai Yuehu said, “Jiang Buhuan has a special identity, he wants Jiang Buhuan to die in Shuifu village.” 

“Special identity?” Lu QIngjiu was a little surprised. “He’s…… not human like you?”

Bai Yuehu said, “He’s human.”

Lu Qingjiu frowned, not understanding what Bai Yuehu meant, but Bai Yuehu didn’t plan on explaining any further, tiredly closing his eyes. Seeing the exhaustion on his face, Lu Qingjiu didn’t feel right continuing to disturb him. Seeing that he’d also just about finished his noodles, he quietly left Bai Yuehu’s side, letting him rest.

Zhu Miaomiao had a good night’s sleep, but when she woke up, she saw both Lu Qingjiu and Jiang Buhuan looked like they hadn’t gotten enough sleep. In surprise, she asked, “Why do you two both look like you haven’t slept? Did you go out behind my back last night to catch ghosts?” 

Lu Qingjiu, “Heh, we really did go out to catch ghosts.”

Zhu Miaomiao, “……Nevermind, I won’t ask further, so don’t say any more.” She originally hadn’t believed in this stuff, but ever since the well in the inner courtyard had cured her baldness, she couldn’t not believe any longer.

Lu Qingjiu yawned and told Zhu Miaomiao not to disturb Bai Yuehu, and to let him rest in the courtyard. Even though Zhu Miaomiao found it strange, she still listened to Lu Qingjiu, obediently staying in the house.

Soon after that, Yin Xun arrived. Like Lu Qingjiu and Jiang Buhuan, he looked like he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Clearly, he’d also seen what had happened last night, and hadn’t been able to sleep at all. 

“Is Bai Yuehu alright?” Yin Xun asked Lu Qingjiu in a small voice.

“He got a bit hurt,” Lu Qingjiu said, “He said he’s fine.”

“Yt,” Tlc Wec rjlv, “Tfrafgvjs cluta gfjiis rmjgfv wf ab vfjat, P fnfc atbeuta atlcur kfgf ublcu ab ufa gfjiis yjv.”

“Gb sbe xcbk ktja atja atlcu lr?” Oe Hlcuple atbeuta obg j wbwfca, atfc qeiifv bea atja yijmx rmjif ogbw tlr qbmxfa. “P qlmxfv atlr eq ijra cluta.” 

Qtfc Tlc Wec rjk la, tlr fzqgfrrlbc aklrafv obg j wbwfca. “Tbe qlmxfv la eq?”

Lu Qingjiu, “Yeah.”

Yin Xun, “Does Bai Yuehu know?”

Lu Qingjiu, “……He knows, he agreed to let me keep it.” 

Yin Xun, “……”

Lu Qingjiu, “What, why is your expression so strange?”

Yin Xun held what he wanted to say in for a long time, before forcing out just one line, “Nothing.”

Lu Qingjiu asked suspiciously, “Is it really nothing? If it’s nothing then what’s with that look on your face?” 

“Oh, I just think that it’s very suitable to hold onto this scale,” Yin Xun muttered in a small voice, “Who knows what side-effects it might have.”

Lu Qingjiu dismissed this. “If it has side-effects, Bai Yuehu would tell me. It should be fine.”

How is it fine? Do you know what this scale means? Only their partners can hold onto their scales, but you just picked it up and kept it as some collector’s piece, don’t end up being collected yourself—— Yin Xun roared wildly in his heart, but out of fear for his own little life, he didn’t dare to say this out loud. He was scared that he’d misunderstood what Bai Yuehu mean’t. Bai Yuehu didn’t treat him like he did Lu Qingjiu, in Bai Yuehu’s eyes, he was at most a talking food ration, he didn’t have any rights as a person to speak of.

Because Bai Yuehu was resting in the courtyard, Lu Qingjiu had everyone stay inside the house, and not go out and disturb Bai Yuehu’s rest. 

Zhu Miaomiao, seeing how everyone looked like they hadn’t slept, was extremely curious as to what had happened last night, but no matter how she asked, no one was willing to say anything. In the end, she could only give up out of helplessness, also voicing her strong suspicion that this group of people had gone out behind her back and done some unspeakable thing.

“What could us, this group of big men, do?” Yin Xun, who had been frightened for an entire night, felt wronged, he wanted to be like Zhu Miaomiao and get a full night’s sleep, utterly ignorant of everything.

“Who says that men can’t do anything.” Zhu Miaomiao slapped a hand onto the table. “Nowadays, men aren’t safe, especially people like Jiang Buhuan, cute boys. When you go out, you definitely have to learn how to protect yourself.”

Jiang Buhuan, “…..” He often felt like staying further away from Zhu Miaomiao would be protecting himself. 

Lu Qingjiu said, “You guys can play together, I’ll go make lunch.”

“What can three people play together,” Yin Xun said, “How about I also go and help you.”

Zhu Miaomiao rolled up her sleeves. “What do you mean three people can’t play together, come come come, let’s play Fight the Landlord!”

Yin Xun, utterly befuddled, was pulled over by Zhu Miaomiao. 

Lu Qingjiu went off to the kitchen to cook lunch. Even though he’d fed Bai Yuehu in the morning, going by Bai Yuehu’s shocking appetite, he would definitely start feeling hungry at noon. What’s more, Bai Yuehu was injured.

Upon thinking of that wound on Bai Yuehu’s chest, Lu Qingjiu was a little worried. He didn’t know how long it would be until Bai Yuehu was healed, if it would leave a scar, and if when he returned to his original form there would be a bald patch because of this. However, speaking of which, since Bai Yuehu wasn’t a fox, what, then, was he…… Why was his family’s fox spirit so adamant on insisting that he was a fox spirit? What kind of strange hangover was this.

In order to replenish the nutrients Bai Yuehu had lost, Lu Qingjiu practically emptied out everything he’d stored in the refrigerator. He made a table full of meat, with all kinds of stir-fried and stewed and steamed and deep-fried foods. Upon seeing it, the other three were gobsmacked.

Yin Xun was, “Are we celebrating the New Year today?” 

Lu Qingjiu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He ignored him, saying, “I’ll go call Bai Yuehu over for lunch.” In this household, only he dared to wake the sleeping Bai Yuehu.

Sure enough, Bai Yuehu was still deep asleep, not even sensing anything when someone walked up to him. Lu Qingjiu reached out a hand and patted him on the shoulder, calling out, “Yuehu.”

Bai Yuehu opened his eyes and saw Lu Qingjiu standing next to him.

“It’s time for lunch,” Lu Qingjiu said, “I made a lot of food that you like.” 

Bai Yuehu “en”-ed, then slowly got up, his long black hair falling loosely around him. A little annoyed, he carelessly swept his hair over his shoulders, saying, “First get me a pair of scissors.”

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Why are you in such a rush to cut it?”

Bai Yuehu said, “It gets in the way when I’m eating.”

Lu Qingjiu was momentarily struck silent. Bai Yuehu’s reason for not liking long hair was sure enough very simple. It was true, long hair was indeed rather inconvenient when eating, and adding on the fact that Bai Yuehu didn’t know to comb it, it would easily fall in front of him when he ate, impacting his eating speed. 

Lu Qingjiu said, “It’s fine, I’ll just borrow a hair tie from Zhu Miaomiao, cut it after you eat.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuehu nodded, not insisting any longer on this matter.

Then, everyone sat down at the table. When Zhu Miaomiao saw Bai Yuehu’s head of long hair, she couldn’t look away, and she couldn’t stop praising how beautiful his hair was. Lu Qingjiu found a hair tie and slowly tied Bai Yuehu’s hair behind his head. His hair was dark and smooth, and felt like first-class silk in his hands. Before, it had always been chopped off by Bai Yuehu with a knife. No matter how he looked at it, he found that to be a bit of a pity.

All of Bai Yuehu’s attention was focused on the food. He didn’t care in the slightest about how Lu Qingjiu was tormenting his hair. 

Sitting next to Lu Qingjiu, Yin Xun watched the two’s actions, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. He dared to touch Bai Yuehu’s hair like that? He was truly afraid that Bai Yuehu would turn his head and take a bite of Lu Qingjiu…… But thinking about it, Bai Yuehu had even allowed Lu Qingjiu to touch his scales already, given that, combing his hair seemed like it was nothing.

Thinking about it like that, Yin Xun calmed down.

Only after Lu Qingjiu helped Bai Yuehu tie back his hair did he start eating. However, things like meat were always very filling, and adding on how in order to take care of Bai Yuehu, there weren’t any vegetarian dishes on this table, the four of them were soon full. In the end, they just watched with wide eyes as Bai Yuehu continued to stuff food into his mouth.

The food entered Bai Yuehu’s stomach, but it seemed as if it was going into a never ending abyss. Before he’d eaten his fill, everyone had gotten tired from watching. 

After eating for about more than an hour, Bai Yuehu finished all the food that had been on the table. Only after he was done eating did he let out a satisfied expression, like a big cat at the end of its hunt, his face filled with a lazy satisfaction.

“How are you feeling?” Lu Qingjiu didn’t dare to ask if he was full.

“Much better,” Bai Yuehu said, “I’m going to sleep.” He let out a lazy yawn, then headed back to the rocking chair in the middle of the courtyard.

The spring sun was just right, and the grapevines had sprouted, tender, green leaves sprouting out of the vines. From time to time, birds would land on the vines, letting out clear birdsong. Bai Yuehu slept on his rocking chair, his eyes closed, as pretty as a picture. 

None of them dared to disturb him, carefully moving around next to him. Yin Xun suggested that they take advantage of the good weather to walk around on the mountain and pick some wild fruits. Lu Qingjiu let them go off without him, saying that he’d guard Bai Yuehu in the courtyard.

Hence, the three people, carrying bamboo baskets and bringing with them the little fox, went out together, leaving behind Lu Qingjiu to sit in the courtyard and accompany Bai Yuehu.

Lu Qingjiu went into the house to grab a book, then sat down next to Bai Yuehu and quietly read. As he read, sleepiness slowly crept up on him. Leaning against the back of his chair, he actually fell asleep as well.

When he woke up, the sun was already setting. Dazed, he opened his eyes, but found that at some unknown time, Bai Yuehu had already woken up, and was staring at him with an unreadable look in his eyes. His gaze actually held greed and desire, stunning Lu Qingjiu. When he looked again, Bai Yuehu’s dark eyes had already returned to their usual indifference and calm of the past. 

“You’re awake?” Lu Qingjiu greeted him a little awkwardly.

Bai Yuehu nodded.

“Is the wound on your chest a little better?” Lu Qingjiu was still worried about that.

Bai Yuehu was silent for a moment, before he reached out and unbuttoned his top, exposing his chest. Lu Qingjiu saw that his chest had already become smooth once more, with only eight distinct abs to be seen, that terrible wound from that morning already having disappeared without a trace. 

“It really is healed already.” Lu Qingjiu was a little shocked.

“It’s healed already.” Bai Yuehu said calmly, “If you don’t believe me, you can touch it to feel for yourself.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “No need no need."

Bai Yuehu frowned, “Then why do you like touching my tail so much?” 

Lu Qingjiu, “Is that…… the same?”

Bai Yuehu, “They’re both a part of my body, how is it not the same?”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” He actually had no way to refute this. Helpless, he could only reach out and carefully feel his chest over. After feeling it, he even had to praise his family’s fox spirit, “You’ve healed very well.”

Only then did Bai Yuehu look satisfied. 

The author has something to say:

Bai Yuehu, holding his tail and threatening: Do you like my tail or me?

Lu Qingjiu: Of course it’s you! 

Bai Yuehu: Then what are you staring at my tail for?

Lu Qingjiu: This…… Isn’t this me being scared that it’ll fall off again?

Bai Yuehu: ……