I Came From the Human World

Zucchini Continent, where spirits sprang up everywhere and demon lairs emerged one after another.

Those who sought immortality and searched for the Dao were like ants in a dead tree—everywhere, forever foraging.

Fang Shu was one such seeker of immortality and the Dao.

Only now, his cheeks were sunken, his body was little more than skin and bones, and finger-length black hair had grown over his face, neck, and hands.

He limped when he walked, without the slightest trace of a human left in him, the very picture of a great ape.

Though he had temporarily lost his human appearance, he still needed the proper gear.

He had acquired a set of Daoist robes for himself, carried a yellow-skinned gourd over one shoulder, and held a bronze bell in his hand, jingling it as he walked. He looked exactly like he had just escaped from a monkey-performance troupe.

That day, he waded across a river and arrived before a mountain tavern.

Before he had even entered, he caught waves of meat and blood fragrance, along with a pungent reek of fishiness and stench.

There were no attendants outside the tavern's doors, only two greasy, filthy cloth curtains. Sounds drifted endlessly from behind them:

"Your noodles are ready!"

"Sir, sir, come play!"

Fang Shu swayed straight into the tavern.

One roe-deer head after another and one ox head after another popped out; sheep faces and donkey faces appeared one after the next. Bird demons flew about pouring water, while rat demons scurried to and fro.

The beasts that had acquired a bit of demonic qi were holding a bustling feast in the establishment, busy as a market day. What a lively scene.

The fragrant and fishy smells filling Fang Shu's nose and mouth only grew richer, making saliva flood his mouth and his throat twitch.

As he walked, he craned his neck and peered around everywhere.

Behind the curtain to the left was a soup pot, churning with hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys.

A pig demon selling noodles sliced open its own belly, fished out strips of pale tapeworms, laid them dry in soup bowls, and had attendants carry them out steaming.

Behind the curtain to the right were prostitutes.

An old sheep woman and an old fox woman, one large and one small, were striking seductive poses and competing to pull in customers.

They even cursed each other: "You little slut! Watch out for a donkey-sized thing stabbing you to death!"

Elsewhere, a lizard monster raised and dropped its knife, chopping off its own tail and hanging the meat up for sale; an old hen woman squatted on the ground laying eggs, boiling and selling them on the spot...

Yet the liveliest place in the tavern was the very center of the main hall.

A dog, a pig, and a sheep were tightly bound to three long benches.

Nearby, demons stared in fearful greed, drool hanging three feet long.

"Human cock. I want human cock. That thing goes into heat every day—it strengthens the yang!"

"Human flesh is like mutton. The stinkier, the better."

Hearing this, the pig and dog on the benches trembled violently, each letting a stream of urine flow out.

Yet the urine stink drew lavish praise from the demons.

"Yes! That's the smell."

Fang Shu strolled over unhurriedly and chose a nearby seat, making it convenient to join in the fun.

Jingle, jingle! Once seated firmly, he shook the bronze bell in his hand and called out, "Shopkeeper, bring wine!"

An old fox in the hall heard him. Before even turning its head, it cheerfully answered in a loud voice:

"Coming!"

It wore clothes and a hat and looked almost human, clearly the tavern's manager. It immediately set aside the other demons and darted toward Fang Shu as if swimming.

But when it saw that Fang Shu did not even have a shoulder bag on him, only a light, empty gourd hanging at his side, its pointed face immediately fell, and its steps slowed.

The old fox steward said dully, "What do you want to eat? We have every kind of meat here. We've even got monkey brains—fresh enough."

Fang Shu touched his furry face. Far from getting angry, he smiled. "Wine first. Then bring a serving of every kind of meat. Hearts and livers are best."

The old fox steward scrutinized Fang Shu again and again, its brows nearly twisting into knots. It turned around and brought over two large platters of hearts, livers, intestines, and lungs.

But as for wine—not a drop.

The moment the various meats were delivered, Fang Shu sniffed them and promptly bent over the table to wolf them down with loud slurps.

He did not even need to swallow. The chunks of meat wriggled and bounced, vanishing piece by piece into his mouth.

This ravenous, starving-ghost-reborn appearance made the old fox steward's whiskers tremble. Just as it was about to leave, Fang Shu stopped it and asked indistinctly:

"Those three tied up there—are they livestock, or humans?"

The old fox steward cast him a sidelong glance.

"Humans, of course. Why else would they need to be tied so tightly?"

There was no surprise on Fang Shu's face. Instead, delight appeared as he looked up and asked:

"I heard that humans are born able to cultivate immortality. They are quite extraordinary, beyond the compare of ordinary demons and monsters.

But the ones you have here merely look like three beasts. They are not even ordinary demons."

Mockery appeared on the old fox steward's face as it asked Fang Shu, "A demon from elsewhere?

This is the Livestock-Making Method. It can turn humans into livestock, making them convenient to transport and slaughter. Every mountain uses it. It has been commonplace for ages."

It even showed off as it said:

"After all, humans have neither scales nor feathers, no claws, and bald fur. They are far too ugly. If they were not transformed first, they could scare us demons half to death. What demon would dare eat humans then?"

Fang Shu suddenly understood.

The surrounding demons found the conversation interesting and craned their necks to look over.

Even the three beasts did their utmost to look his way, tears filling their eyes.

Especially the old sheep among them. Its round pupils were fixed tightly on Fang Shu, utterly motionless.

"So it is an illusion." Fang Shu grinned.

"I have heard it said that illusions break at the touch of water. Thus, during transport, they cannot be given water, cannot be rained on, and must not be splashed with bloody water or shit water. Is that so?"

Though he was asking the old fox steward, his eyes were glancing at the three beasts.

Suspicion appeared in the old fox steward's eyes. It suspected that this robed monkey was deliberately asking questions to toy with it.

Before the old fox steward could answer, a demon beside them suddenly pointed at the three beasts and cried urgently:

"Quick, Fox Steward, look!"

Everyone turned toward the three beasts and saw the old sheep stretching out its neck, struggling to lick the warm urine the dog and pig had released beside it.

"Stop him, stop him!" The old fox steward panicked and sprang over as though scalded. "If he drinks the urine, he'll change back!"

It hurriedly pinned down the old sheep and called for the demons to help.

But the demon patrons around them were so frightened that they all leaped backward. Only the tavern attendants dared step forward to assist.

The pig demon pinned down its legs, the bird demon grabbed its face, and the slutty old sheep woman plopped her butt straight onto the old sheep's face, stopping its mouth.

Watching the chaotic scene in the hall, Fang Shu grinned broadly with delight.

The old fox steward barely managed to pin down the old sheep, then ordered the attendants to bind it upright to a pillar.

As it dragged the old sheep, it deliberately passed close to Fang Shu and cursed loudly:

"You pestilent thing! Watch out—when he reveals his true form later, he'll scare every last one of you to death."

Who knew whom the old fox was cursing? Fang Shu merely shrugged.

Once the demons saw the old sheep securely tied up, their courage returned. They all laughed and jeered. "Oh! It's just a human. No matter how fierce it looks, how fierce could it possibly be?"

"Fox Steward, do not be such a coward. Why not let everyone take a good look at what humans really look like?"

Hearing this, the old fox continued binding the old sheep with its back to the crowd, still cursing away.

"Pah! Humans eat everything. They are more savage and vicious than us demons. Especially those called 'Daoists' among them—they dig out our hearts and lungs, skin us and pull out our bones to eat us. I do not even dare look... You pestilent thing! Stop moving!"

Fang Shu had meat but no wine, and upon hearing its muttering, he shouted a question:

"Then may I ask, shopkeeper, what part of a human is best for steeping in wine?"

At this, the old fox steward snorted.

"You outsider. Human hearts are the most poisonous, worse than scorpions and centipedes. Naturally, human hearts make the best wine infusion!"

"Fine. I'll take all three human hearts. Bring the wine!"

The old fox stopped moving, furrowed its brow, and turned to look at Fang Shu.

It examined him from top to bottom for quite a while before asking, "Esteemed guest, do you have enough money?"

"Money?" Fang Shu felt around himself.

Seeing that he possessed nothing and looked awkward, the demons all around immediately burst into laughter.

"Heehee." Several demons laughed aloud at him. "No money, and you want to drink wine? You stinking outsider."

Fang Shu remained seated, his face still unangered. He merely smiled at those few demons.

With three crisp pops, the hall suddenly rang out!

Fang Shu's lips parted slightly, and a long tongue shot out with a slither, piercing the chests of three demons. It gouged out their peach-like hearts and curled them, branches and blood alike, back before him.

The hall gradually fell quiet, and the demons said nothing.

The old fox steward in particular stared fixedly at Fang Shu without moving.

Fang Shu held up three strings of demon hearts, his long tongue hanging down as he spoke indistinctly. "Who says you cannot drink wine without money?"

Yet after waiting a long while, the hall remained quiet. No demon came forward to take the demon hearts.

Fang Shu found this strange.

He had merely killed three demons. Could this lot, who dared eat human flesh, truly be frightened by that?

Sensing something amiss, Fang Shu subconsciously touched his face, then looked into the glossy black empty bowl on the table and immediately spotted the clue.

Blood had stained his body, causing the black hair on his hands, neck, and face to rapidly fade away into paper ash.

His cheeks had filled out as well, revealing a bald, bare face with neither fur nor scales. Only two curved tufts of hair remained above his eyes.

The illusion had broken.

Seeing this, the demons in the hall were terrified beyond measure!

Since matters had come to this.

Fang Shu smiled knowingly, then simply raised his empty wine bowl and asked the gathered demons with a smile:

"My demon brothers, are you satisfied with my human appearance?"

Gah!

Not a single demon dared answer.

In their eyes, Fang Shu's lips were red as fresh blood, impossible to wipe clean; his face was white as newly exposed bone; his teeth were neat as blades—fierce and ugly.

"A human! A living human!!"

In an instant, tables, chairs, and benches toppled in every direction, while pots, bowls, ladles, and basins clattered loudly.

The demons leaped and scrambled in terror, scattering like wolves and charging like pigs as a great uproar broke out.

Only Fang Shu remained steadily seated at his table.

He gave a speechless laugh.

Seeing the chaos all around him, Fang Shu had no choice but to slap the three strings of bloody demon hearts onto the table, pound it hard, and roar:

"Shopkeeper, bring wine!"