“LiNa, you are really getting good at baking sweet potatoes!” Grandpa Jin said.
“Not good as Grandma Sha!” I smiled shyly and replied with modesty.
“Oh sweetie, he has the most picky appetite I have ever known. I have cooked for him for almost two hundred years. When he says something tastes good, that really means it’s good!”
“Grandma Sha, all we have everyday are sweet potatoes, do we ever eat meat?”
It was true that within the six months here, we basically ate sweet potatoes everyday. Once a while, we would have some kind of unknown greenery boiled in salt to make a salty soup, but that was it!
I couldn’t complain after that experience of starvation and being attacked by a flying horse. At least I got the idea that food was food, it would keep me alive despite it being the same thing over and over again. Still, could I secretly miss the deep fried chicken tenders, french fries, and an icy cup of coffee?
Of course I do!
Just thinking of all the food and restaurants could make my mouth water for decades, but I simply can’t complain! If everyone here could live like this for over two hundred years, what else can I say?
At least I had seventeen years of memories of all the junk food and satisfaction to mentally feed my hungry stomach. The demons did not have that, all they had were sweet potatoes.
Grandma Sha giggled. “Hmm…..Let me recall…..the last time we had meat was probably when this old man hunted a buffalo.”
Now I figured where those buffalo horns inside the hut came from. Although no complaints, I still would love to have some buffalo meat. Maybe I could even make a burger out of it, and let Grandma Sha and Grandpa Jin try one of the most popular junk foods on planet Earth!
“Can we find another!?” I was just too excited to speak coherently.
Oh just imagine taking a bite into the juiciness of a burger, and all the juices of meat burst into the mouth, and activate all the taste buds! For that lovely moment, you would have become one with the burger!
Although a buffalo was not the same as a cow, who cares! I wanted meat really badly, because I was never a vegan. Animals were super cute and I loved them, but I just couldn’t resist the urge to eat meat. I could eat meat once a week or something, it didn’t have to be often, but I just couldn’t imagine without it for a super long period of time!
Grandma Sha nodded, “That was really a long time ago, like 50 years ago.”
Grandpa Jin laughed, “Dear, it was 68 years ago!”
“Nah! I remember it hard, it was 50 years ago. That was after we fixed the rooftop, and then one day you brought home a huge buffalo!”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“I brought it home before we fixed the rooftop and it leaked again!”
“Awe, stubborn old fellow! You can’t trick my memories, for I still remember things very well!”
While Grandma Sha and Grandpa Jin were still arguing whether it was 50 years or 68 years ago, no one saw my dropped jaw and my disappointed face. It did not matter any more, the truth was that I probably couldn’t eat meat until I was at least 67 years old! I would look like a grandma by then, and who knows if I would still be alive or not.
All the vegan demons on the Aniesian Continent, I would be joining you guys from now on.
Ayhhhh…………..
After finishing the sweet potatoes, we enjoyed the quiet night together. The sky was so clear that every star seemed to be visible. I had not seen stars for a long time. The last time was three years ago when my family went for a vacation in a rural place to pick carrots, and it was only because that place had bad connections. Otherwise I would have lay comfortably in my bed, and swiped through the screen of my smartphone for random jokes, TikTok videos, or my friends’ newest posts on Facebook.
I knew social media was a waste of time, yet, it can be quite addicting.
Whenever I lost connections in my house, I would roll like a monkey and complain like a brat. I was sure that without my smartphone, I would die!
Here I was, watching the night sky with the old couple, enjoying the warmth from the bonfire, and hearing the chirping of unknown birds.
I was still alive.
Very much alive indeed.
I actually enjoyed every moment here, and even started to count some of the stars.
Yeah, what a wasteful life I had before!
“LiNa, we are so happy to have you here. For a long time, this house finally seems to be a family again.”
I was very touched. “Grandma Sha and Grandpa Jin, thank you for everything!”
The bonfire was dying out, and the night was getting colder.
We finally went back inside.
As I lay down on my bed and wrapped myself in the warm blanket, I thought of Grandpa Jin’s words. He was right. This world would not accept differences. I must learn to protect myself and not give out too much because not everyone will be as kind as Grandma Sha and Grandpa Jin, to accept me as who I am. I was lucky this time to come across such an amiable couple, but I won’t be so lucky every single time.
Yes, being the only human in a demon world can be dangerous. I was not sure how dangerous it could be, but at least they won’t eat humans right? I was not planning to test out the danger level either. The village seemed calm, but that did not mean they would accept everything about me.
I held the pocket watch in front of my eyes, and saw it ticking away. The wings around the watch looked so real. Why was it a pair of wings around the watch, but not other decorations?
The watch must have something to do with me being here. This continent was all about having a pair of wings, therefore everyone admired the beauty of it, and was that the reason the craftsman made this watch? If I can figure out where this watch came from, maybe I can return to my original world?
I thought of this, but then remembered Grandma Sha and Grandpa Jin. They had saved my life, if it was not for them, I wouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be thinking about returning home at this moment, at least wait for a bit longer. There was no way to know how to return home anyways.
I tugged the pocket watch inside the inner layer of my collar, that way no one could see it. If this mysterious object had the power to bring me to the new world, then it must be a pretty special object. For such an item, it could either bring luck or disaster. It was better not to attract any public attention.
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