Actually, I'm a Grass-Eating Demon from the Royal Court! / Banshees Have Absolutely No Resistance to Massages

But these minor problems could easily flare up alongside the Originium, causing a far more severe infection when that happened.

This illness affected the entire body from a single point. If you wanted to survive, treatment alone was far from enough.

Moreover, individual differences were enormous. For some people, getting Originium Infection was no different from not having it at all; others contracted it in the morning and died suddenly that very night.

Come to think of it, this era probably did not yet have any medicine capable of suppressing the symptoms of Originium Infection.

Originium was a product of Myriad Manifestation. Internalizing the universe could be used to construct more than just plants. Once one became proficient enough, even a flesh-and-blood body could...

Suddenly, Huang Cao seemed to have been struck by an inspiration, and his mind cleared in an instant.

That was right. There was no truly obvious boundary between plants and living creatures. Their core compositions were both made up of cells, and they shared a common ancestor.

Why should I abandon my already powerful plant body?

Reconstructing a body from the soul level would consume far more time and energy than it was worth.

It would be better to combine plant and animal bodies, then use the mechanism of Myriad Manifestation to create an entirely new individual.

"I really am a genius!"

Having suddenly found a direction for his research, Huang Cao peeled the other edible plants on the shelves and threw them all into the hot pot at once.

The fragrance of grains gradually replaced the fishy smell of weeds.

Huang Cao did not know how to cook, but a mixture of rice, corn, and similar ingredients, with a little sugar and salt added, was enough to fill one's stomach. Besides, under these circumstances, what more could anyone ask for?

The appearance of this pot of mishmash was simply not very attractive. Most medicinal herbs were green, and after being heated at high temperatures, all their juices had seeped into the water.

So it looked somewhat like a specialty thick soup from some extradimensional evil god.

Tell me that wasn't Terra!

Fortunately, it still tasted pretty good. The intense sweetness directly covered up its sinister appearance.

At least everyone drank their fill. Naturally, no one expected this medicinal cuisine to have any special effects.

Thanks to the generosity and mercy of Huang the Great Benefactor, after the children had eaten their fill, the price of the remaining food naturally rose with the tide.

Even if he was giving out benefits, there was no way it could shake this profiteer's resolve.

This greatly disappointed the Sarkaz people from the other towns, who could only grit their teeth and buy the food at full price.

It wasn't that no one had thought of simply robbing him, but the other residents immediately dragged the would-be robber away.

There was a tremendous difference between having somewhere to buy things and having nowhere to buy them. If you scared this fellow away, who would provide us with a channel for purchasing goods?

The mercenaries did not have much money, but if they clenched their teeth, they could still scrape together a few silver coins.

The town was remote and situated on the border, where wars raged without end.

And so, the day passed just like that. It was another peaceful day.

That night, while Huang Cao continued refining his biological research, he also found time to write a book reviewing Sarkaz busts.

He named it Sarkaz Appraisal Guide: Armor Edition.

Before crossing over, he had been something of a literature enthusiast. Every day, he wanted to go crazy, but he did not dare. Now that he had arrived in this beautiful world where animal-eared girls ran around everywhere...

I'm going crazy. So what?

He could pursue his goals without neglecting his life. He had to enjoy the benefits and conduct his research; only by grasping both with both hands could one be considered sound.

"I don't know when I'll be able to capture one... I'll work hard and try to produce a humanoid form within a year. I need to put it into practice..."

"Right, I should send some supplies to the Banshees."

The girls were still starving and freezing in the River Valley.

They would also be part of his identity in the future. Well, actually, Huang Cao was just lusting after their bodies.

Sarkaz Appraisal Guide: Armor Edition even contained a dedicated section describing the Banshees' excellent figures.

Although Huang Cao was an improper person, he still had a little decency in a certain sense. The book merely offered objective evaluations without identifying anyone. Besides, it used scientific methods throughout.

It consisted entirely of text, and its descriptions were expressed only through numbers, making it difficult to stir up any human fantasies.

Even if the book were handed to Lamian, she might not be able to find anything related to herself in it. She would only sigh and say that it was very detailed.

After all, the subjects being described were an entire race. Compared with a race, an individual amounted to nothing.

"You're saying someone is selling food in this town? Could it be the food we lost..." Theresia looked at her elder brother, her tone filled with disbelief.

"I've already investigated that possibility. According to the figures, the amount of food sold by this uninvited guest far exceeds the total amount that was stolen."

Teresis's voice was exceptionally flat, but inwardly he was already scheming about how to throw Huang Cao into prison and give him a thorough beating.

The entirety of Kazdel had been sealed off by now. Where had this man obtained a route for transporting food?

The blockade would likely remain in place for several decades at least. Only once the High-speed Battleships outside had run out of fuel and could no longer hold out would Kazdel truly regain its freedom.

Theresia knew what her brother was thinking, but she hoped even more that this guest would stay a little longer.

There was a huge difference between having food to eat and having none at all.

Huang Cao's prices were outrageous. They were certainly expensive, but not prohibitively so.

Chapter 8: Actually, I'm a Grass-Eating Demon from the Royal Court!

"I'll go there personally tomorrow."

Theresia took a robe from the cabinet and concealed her signature horns and pink hair beneath its spacious hood.

Then, under the dazzling yet false night sky, she quietly left the Demon King's Palace in the heavy snow.

At that moment, Huang Cao's performance had already begun. He had even used the silver coins he earned to purchase a doctor's outfit.

He carefully wrapped the white coat and belt around his spiritual body, using mental power to hold them in place so they would not fall off.

Strictly speaking, as an invisible soul, Huang Cao did not possess the ability to alter reality. However, this world contained a special existence known as Undead Spirits.

By finding their memories within the Originium and briefly studying them, one could use their Originium Arts. This also allowed one to temporarily become visible and possess something known as "mass."

In the end, however, it was only imitation. To truly obtain a body, he still had to construct one. Otherwise, he could only become an existence like Old Black Snake and obtain a body by possessing someone else.

Carefully closing the door of his shop, Huang Cao braved the wind and snow to reach the Banshee River Valley.

The Banshees had established an illusion at the entrance to the valley. Ordinary people who entered would only feel as though they had wandered into a maze, being sent in and then led back out.

But Huang Cheng's roots covered the entire valley, so he easily found the Banshees' settlement. He also pretended to be proper by drawing several scars across his face.

He coughed lightly a few times, making his voice sound slightly youthful.

The spiritual body Huang Cao had constructed now looked the way he had when he had just reached adulthood. He was handsome and had been quite popular with older girls back when he lived in the orphanage.

People had said he was born to live off a woman. Unfortunately, he had chosen to work hard later on.

Of course, even after being crushed to death by a tree, Huang Cao had not regretted it. He was destined not to be the sort of person who obediently lived off a woman.

Living off a woman was pleasant, but it ultimately was not his own. If the rice bowl disappeared, he could only wait to starve to death.

Ignoring the illusion, Huang Cao carried his medicine chest and knocked on the wooden door of a young Banshee's house.

Naturally, he could not knock on Lamian's door. Her house was in the center of the River Valley, and she was the leader of this tribe.

Could he seriously tell people that he had accidentally broken through the illusion, accidentally passed every house, and then accidentally knocked on Lamian's door?

No matter how outrageous things were, they could not be that outrageous.

Besides, the other Banshees were somewhat easier to fool than the Lord of the Royal Court.

Not long after he knocked, a Banshee wrapped in a straw quilt tremblingly opened the door to the room against the cold wind.

"A man? How could there be a man in the River Valley?"

The Banshee had thought that one of her good sisters had come to visit, only to discover that it was actually a man—and a handsome one at that.

He was just a little small, and he wore a white coat while carrying a medicine chest in his hand.

"Miss, I'm sorry to disturb your sleep on such a cold night. I accidentally took a wrong turn. It's already late. Could I stay here for one night? Otherwise, I may freeze to death."

With his acting at its peak and a face highly effective against older sisters, Huang Cao instantly threw this inexperienced young Banshee into complete disarray.

The young Banshee immediately welcomed the boy inside and prepared hot water and cheese at an astonishing speed.

"Please rest here tonight. I'll go out for a moment, so please don't move around."

Naturally, the Banshee did not dare leave the boy alone in the room. After locking the door, she immediately ran to Lamian's wooden house.

"Lord Lamian, something terrible has happened! An outsider has entered our territory!"

The young Banshee's reaction was perfectly normal, and her choice of words was extremely precise.

She had not said that a man had entered. Compared with gender, the fact that he was an outsider was far more important.

The Banshees were merely predominantly female. When they had once followed the larger armies into battle, it was impossible for them never to see a single man.

Thus, the sort of plot where a male protagonist accidentally entered a land of women and began a risqué romance could not possibly exist here.

The Banshees were not lacking in suitors, either. Huang Cao might even be treated as an outsider and targeted relentlessly.

However, the odds of that were quite low. Banshees disliked fighting, and many among them were kindhearted. If they had truly been hostile toward outsiders, Lamian could never have had Li Gousheng as a child in the original story.

Information was always an important means by which locals judged outsiders.

They did not fear your arrival; what they feared was being unable to find any information about you at all. Having an origin was better than having nothing.

That was also why he had chosen to make contact with the Banshees.

Huang Cao poured the hot water the young Banshee had given him over his legs and absorbed it with vines. This spiritual body could not eat normally.

Before long, a large group of Banshees crowded into the room with Lamian, curiously sizing up the handsome outsider before them.

"State your purpose, honored guest."

Like a host, Lamian asserted her authority, but her tone was filled with both warning and respect.

She knew how to advance and retreat properly. No wonder she was the Lord of the Royal Court.

"Greetings, respected lady. Please allow me to introduce myself."

"My name is Huang Cao, and I'm a doctor by profession. My ancestors had blood ties to Yan Country, and my race is the Sarkaz Grass-eating Demon. Something happened to my family, forcing me to flee here. If circumstances permit, please allow me to live here. I'm willing to contribute my medical skills."

"Grass-eating Demon? Do we have such a race among the Sarkaz?" One young Banshee somehow produced a book and began carefully searching through it.

Sure enough, she discovered that such a strange race had indeed existed in Sarkaz history.

However, it had existed only briefly before disappearing completely—vanishing even earlier than the Flame Demons and Children of Soil and Stone.

It was said that this race possessed the ability to control plants, so the Demon King of that era had taken an interest in them. As a result, the entire race had been imprisoned and forced to toil day and night in underground farmland, producing military rations in a place without sunlight.

After the Demon King fell, people went to rescue the race, only to discover that the Grass-eating Demons had already disappeared.

From then on, the race never showed itself anywhere on this land again. Thus, the Sarkaz could only regretfully declare that the Grass-eating Demons had gone extinct.

However, because the records were too scarce, the book contained no information about the race's physical features. Lamian therefore maintained a guarded attitude toward the young man before her.

A person's mouth was their own. Wasn't saying whatever they wanted just a matter of a few sentences?

Huang Cao also knew that his words were not convincing at all. Thus, he placed a Seed on the ground and casually snapped his fingers.

The Seed rapidly absorbed nutrients from the earth, growing into a sapling in just one minute.

Support my new book's launch, everyone. Thank you!

Chapter 9: Banshees Have Absolutely No Resistance to Massages

"Good day, dear elder sisters. Times are hard, and this person isn't very useful for much else. I can raise flowers and plants, though. Compared with my ancestors, my abilities are far too weak."

"So my legitimate profession is still being a doctor. After all, it's not as though I can marry into a wealthy family."

Lamian thought for a while, and involuntarily thought of the enormous plant standing in the center of the River Valley.

Perhaps if someone came to care for it, it might be willing to remain here.

The "it" in question naturally referred to Huang Cao's true body, which the Banshees now called Lord Grass Spirit.

However, she was curious what sort of medical skills such a young boy could possess.

Faced with Lamian's question, Huang Cao revealed an exceptionally bright and sunny smile. "To be honest, I studied gynecology."

"What is gynecology?" Lamian had no idea what the term meant.