Chapter 60

Fearing that the piglet might cause trouble in front of the camera, Ye Chen endured the pain and humbly coaxed the pig, using the same effort he usually used to appease Shen Mofeng.

“Look at all this fat on you,” Ye Chen flattered the pig, brushing its hair with a small brush and praising it, “Even without cutting, I know you’ve got beautiful layers of fat and lean meat. And your nose, it’s perfectly round and so majestic…”

The piglet was quite pleased, gently nudging Ye Chen’s hand with its nose when the camera turned their way, obediently playing along. After Ye Chen finished brushing its back, it rolled over, exposing its belly with its four legs in the air, looking like a completely different pig from before.

Shen Mofeng, who had been listening for a while, suddenly spoke, “Ye Chen.”

“Yes?” Ye Chen responded.

Shen Mofeng stared at him coolly and said slowly, “The way you coax that pig, it sounds very familiar to me.”

Ye Chen, feeling guilty, replied, “You’re overthinking it.”

Shen Mofeng smiled nonchalantly, “little flattering spirit, do you talk to me the same way? Not a single word of truth, just feeding me nonsense.”

“No,” Ye Chen, the little flattering spirit, lowered his eyes, not daring to look at him, “It’s sincere.”

When he had flattered Shen Mofeng before, it was to maintain his fake fan image, but what he said was all true. His Shen Ge was indeed handsome and talented, so his praise was honest!

Shen Mofeng clicked his tongue, “A man’s mouth, a deceitful ghost.”

Ye Chen blushed, “It’s not…”

Shen Mofeng’s voice deepened, “Just you wait.”

Ye Chen glanced up, seeing that the camera wasn’t on them, and quietly protested, “You’re just finding an excuse to bully me.”

“Are you going to let me bully you or not?” Shen Mofeng subtly elbowed him.

Ye Chen licked his lips and honestly replied, “…Yes.”

Hearing the two of them being all lovey-dovey, the piglet joyfully squealed, “Keng chi!”

Ye Chen was so embarrassed he couldn’t look at it.

Thus, Ye Chen somehow managed to muddle through the day’s filming. That evening, when returning the piglet to its pen, he made a mental note of the route from the pig breeding room to the guests’ quarters.

So, in the dead of night, a covert team composed of divine beast Cubs stealthily made their way to the pig breeding room, unseen and unheard.

Inside the pen, the old sow snored thunderously, with a shimmer of light flowing around her.

This light came from the piglet sleeping next to her. Its round little body was surrounded by a faint, web-like aura that only the divine beasts could see.

“It seems to be a divine beast,” murmured Pulu Cub.

“It looks like a pig. Dang Kang ^[1]Dangkang is a mythical beast that “has the shape of a pig, a body length of six feet, a height of four feet, a completely green body, two large ears, and four long tusks extending from its … Continue reading and Li Li ^[2]Beaver Power – A mythical creature first mentioned in the Classics of Mountain and Sea. It has the appearance of a pig, chicken feet and barks like a dog. It is said to be good at digging. … Continue readingdon’t look like this…” Hou Cub whispered as it crept closer and stared at the sleeping piglet for a while before confidently saying, “It’s a pig, maybe a spirit pig.”

A creature with spiritual energy around it wasn’t necessarily a divine beast; it could also be a spirit beast or an ordinary animal that had gained spiritual awareness through some fortuitous encounter.

Qiongqi Cub went over and tugged at the pig’s ear.

“Keng?!” The piglet woke up abruptly and scrambled to its feet.

“Come with us,” Qiongqi said coolly. “Chen Ge wants to see you.”

The piglet stared at Qiongqi Cub, its beady eyes filled with confusion. “Keng?”

Qiongqi’s mouth twisted into a grin, revealing sharp baby teeth. “I suggest you cooperate.”

Ten minutes later, in the courtyard.

The stealthy pig-stealing squad walked ahead with drooping heads, while the piglet marched behind them with an air of authority. If any divine beast cub lagged, the piglet would let out a stern oink, prompting the laggard to quickly speed up.

As Hou Cub crossed the threshold of the chaotic mark, it whimpered in frustration, “Wu…I’m going to tell Grandpa Ying Long to hit you…”

The piglet snorted disdainfully through its snout, “Chi.”

Hearing the commotion, Ye Chen, who had secretly returned to the courtyard to wait for the pig while Shen Mofeng slept, hurriedly asked, “Did you bring it back? Uh…”

The three divine beast cubs stood dejectedly against the wall, not daring to make a sound, while the piglet behind them trotted a few steps closer to Ye Chen.

“What happened to you?” Ye Chen looked at the three divine beast cubs, then at the piglet, and asked in frustration, “What exactly are you?”

The piglet snorted coldly, opened its mouth, and to Ye Chen’s surprise, it spoke human words!

Piglet: “Who are you talking to?”

Surprisingly, it is the voice and accent of the Northern Han people.

It was still a f*cking subwoofer ^[3]Deep and resonant.

Ye Chen was so shocked he jumped, quickly blurting out a lifesaving quotable quote: “I didn’t see anything.”

“…I didn’t ask if you saw anything.” The piglet advanced, “Do you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t.” Ye Chen steadied himself and explained, “Actually, I asked them to bring you here to ask you that. I mean no harm.”

“Let me show you.” The piglet said as light flowed around it. In the blink of an eye, a robust, muscular boar appeared before Ye Chen. Compared to the domesticated pigs on the farm, this boar resembled a wild boar more closely. It had a large head, a burly and strong front half, a slender and agile rear half, and two curly, upturned tusks protruding menacingly from its mouth. Instead of hooves, its four pig legs ended in sharp bird-like claws, with five powerful, razor-sharp nails that left shallow marks on the stone floor with a light scratch.

“You are…” Ye Chen, having recently crammed the *Classic of Mountain and Sea*, recognized it at a glance, “Li Li?”

“Snort snort.” Li Li snorted twice, the pig’s face showing a hint of sarcasm, and grumbled, “You even called three little brats to catch me and thought you could suppress me with that bit of Fuxi bloodline, huh? Look at you, all smug.”

It turned out to be a northeastern Li Li.

Hearing this, Ye Chen indeed felt a bit guilty. Without dwelling on Li Li’s words, he clasped his hands together and bowed twice, apologizing, “I didn’t recognize Mount Tai, my apologies. But…” Ye Chen put on a distressed face and switched to respectful language for the ancient divine beast, “Why are you pretending to be a pig?”

Finally getting a chance to shine in front of the camera, and it turned out to be a divine beast Li Li! And a mature one at that!

There was simply no reasoning with this.

Li Li didn’t answer at first; instead, he looked around for a moment before saying, “Are you the new master of the Mountain and Sea Realm? Otherwise, why would these little cubs all be under your command?”

“I am. I only inherited it a few months ago.” Ye Chen began to explain the situation, “Zhou Buchu… Pixiu said that all of you divine beasts have more or less been injured and are recuperating in various places. You are…?” Ye Chen scrutinized Li Li carefully, unable to see any signs of injury or aging. “Fully recovered?”

Li Li’s pig nose twitched as he absentmindedly said, “I wasn’t seriously injured to begin with. I’ve been sleeping underground for over twenty years and came out a few months ago.”

“Then what were you doing at the pig farm?” Ye Chen asked, though he already had a hunch.

Li Li responded succinctly, “Pretending to be a pig.”

—Divine beasts at their peak can change their form within a certain range. In addition to the default human shape, Li Li, whose form closely resembles a pig, can freely switch between the appearances of a piglet, a sow, a boar, and a porcupine.

Ye Chen sympathized, “Were you freeloading for food?”

Li Li’s nostrils flared, perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, and he replied gruffly, “Ah, that pig farm had great conditions, with good food and drink every day. I didn’t have to do anything, just lie in the yard and bask in the sun. If you were me, wouldn’t you go too?”

“…” Ye Chen said politely,” Haha, if it were me, I would go too.”

Bullsh*t.

Hou cub, punished by Uncle Li Li to stand, whispered softly to the other cubs, “…Tao Tao will wake up in a few days. If she makes Gege poor again, I’ll go to a rabbit farm and pretend to be a little bunny. What about you guys?”

Big Brother Qiongqi clicked his tongue, “You should let her go to a sheep farm and pretend to be a sheep; the feed is plentiful.”

Hou cub blushed, “Uncle Zhou said Tao Tao is a little sister. Uncle Zhou said the seven of us boys should pamper her to death. We can’t let her pretend to be a sheep.”

Qiongqi scoffed, “She’s one of the Four Perils and needs pampering? If Chen Gege really can’t afford to feed her, just throw her into the sea and let her catch fish herself.”

However, the other divine beast cubs were already eager to pamper Tao Tao to death…

Qiongqi Cub found himself isolated!

…

“How is the Mountain and Sea Realm now?” Li Li looked at the few strands of spiritual chili peppers hanging under Ye Chen’s eaves. “I remember it was completely destroyed before, not even a blade of grass was left.”

“Only a tiny bit has been restored so far,” Ye Chen said straightforwardly, “I’ll take you in to have a look.”

Having spent these days with Pixiu and Ying Long, Ye Chen understood that Mountain and Sea Realm was a vital homeland for the divine beasts. Since they had come, it was only natural to quickly send them home for a visit.

Next, Li Li followed Ye Chen into Mountain and Sea Realm.

After many years returning to his homeland, Li Li’s reaction was similar to Zhou Buchu’s at the time. He lowered his head and lightly touched the ground with his fangs, emitting two soft pig grunts, “Heng, hmm.”

As if saying: “I’m back.”

Watching from the side, Ye Chen didn’t know whether to be moved or amused first.

Li Li straightened up suddenly and immediately focused on Ye Chen’s crops, straightforwardly asking, “You have so many spiritual plants, will you give them to us divine beasts to eat?”

“I can.” Ye Chen recalled Li Li’s introduction in the spiritual plant popular science article and gestured, “You see that rope? The output of those spiritual plants marked by the rope belongs to Pixiu and Ying Long. With my Divine Farmer lineage, these worldly crops grow ten times faster.”

Hearing “ten times faster,” Li Li’s eyes widened.

Ye Chen openly laid out his conditions, “But they all help me work. Uncle Zhou helps me with farming and planting trees, Grandpa Ying Long helps me make it snow. These spiritual plants are my reward to them… If you want spiritual plants, you’ll have to help me work.”

“No problem.” Li Li swallowed, his mouth watering, “I haven’t eaten spiritual plants in how many years. In that case, I’ll advance a few heads of Chinese cabbage first. I’ll definitely help you work in the future, rest assured.”

With that, before Ye Chen could reply, Li Li ran like crazy to the vegetable patch, using his pig nose to knock over a plump Chinese cabbage. He chomped down enthusiastically, splattering the spiritual Chinese cabbage with juice. Even several meters away, Ye Chen could smell its sweet fragrance.

“Heng, heng…” Li Li made pig sounds while eating, afraid that Ye Chen would worry. As he gobbled up the cabbage, he asked eagerly, “So, Xiao Laodi ^[4]Laodi – affectionate address for a younger male who’s noy much younger than oneself, what do you want me to do? Will you put me up ^[5]Provide accommodation for someone.? If you don’t, I’ll stay at the pig farm and ask Hundun to open the door for me.”

“I can put you up. It’s just…” Ye Chen hesitated for a moment, “There are only two beds in the main house. One I usually sleep on, and the other is for the little divine beasts to sleep on. Since I’m away filming these days, you can sleep on their bed, and I’ll let them sleep on mine.”

Originally, he wanted to suggest Li Li sleep on his own bed, but his mindset had become muddled since being seduced by Shen Mofeng. Considering Li Li also had a human form, it wouldn’t be appropriate for someone with a confirmed boyfriend to let him sleep in his own bed, so he timely redirected to let him sleep on the divine beast babies’ bed.

Li Li swallowed a mouthful of cabbage and bluntly remarked, “Only two beds in such a big courtyard? Are you poor?” He paused and added, “Just now you looked scared when I ate a few Chinese cabbage…”

Ye Chen clutched his heart, about to say he wasn’t that poor lately, but Hou cub who followed to watch the excitement quickly defended him, “Chen Chen Gege is poor, Uncle Li Li, don’t make Gege buy a bed, okay?”

Ye Chen’s dignity, which had just been glued a little bit, shattered again: “…”

“Don’t buy, don’t buy, don’t worry.” Li Li was still not satisfied and nudged out a large radish, crunching away, “You have so many trees here, I’ll make a bed myself. And those… seven little cubs, right? I’ll make seven children’s beds for you all, so you don’t have to squeeze on one bed… Do you have any other carpentry jobs? Building houses, drilling wells, I can do that too.”

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up, realizing he had struck gold.

In the “Classic of Mountain and Sea,” it was said of Li Li that “where he appeared, there was often great construction.” According to the more detailed description in the spiritual realm, Li Li excelled in construction, excavation, and carpentry. In ancient times, he had even served as Minister of Works in a few dynasties.

Excited about something he had long wanted, Ye Chen’s voice rose a few degrees, “Can you help me build a row of chicken coops?” Ye Chen asked.

The chicken farming capacity of the west wing’s chicken coops was already saturated, but with enough chicken coops, Ye Chen could raise another two hundred!

The author has something to say:

Shen Mofeng (ripples): Chen Chen’s mouth, a lying ghost~╭(╯^╰)╮

Di Ting ^[6]A divine mythical creature and the steed of bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha in Chinese Buddhism. One interpretation of its single horn was that it could receive information across the universe. It could … Continue reading: Actually, he really… never mind, if you jump off a building, who will I use to cultivate pills…

It’s not Dang Kang, it’s Li Li~