Chapter 45: Wu Er Niang, the Kitchen Lady

Wang Wu's purchases in He Dong Xian were certainly not just for his own use; many of them were shared with Shu Niang and the others.

These three female monsters gave him a lot of help when he first arrived in this world, especially Shu Niang, who not only constantly shared things with him but also once saved his life.

Likewise, Wu Er Niang and Zhu San Niang often gave him some of the prey they caught, and Zhu San Niang even provided Wang Wu with two sets of clothing for future replacements.

Although Wang Wu has hardly ever worn them, he has kept them carefully at home, and after returning from human society, he still has no intention of discarding those two garments.

Because he feels they represent Zhu San Niang's goodwill, he must keep those two sets of clothing properly.

There's also Wu Er Niang, who has a relatively quiet temperament; although her humanoid stature is the tallest among the three female monsters. She is, uh, the only one among the three—no, four—monsters who can cook, and she can obtain salt.

Everyone there knows that after the discovery, Wu Er Niang immediately told Shu Niang and Zhu San Niang, before Wang Wu arrived; after he came, she naturally informed Wang Wu as well.

However, knowing is one thing, but only she can go. She is a centipede, a poisonous insect, unafraid of miasma, and she can burrow, making salt gathering extremely convenient.

Zhu San Niang also counts as a poisonous insect; she is a spider—here spiders and centipedes are both considered insects, and they themselves consider themselves as such. The exact species is unknown, but she cannot tolerate miasma.

Moreover, she seems to be a non‑venomous spider, but Wang Wu doesn't know for sure whether she is truly non‑venomous, because he can't test it.

Wu Er Niang, however, is poisonous and can secrete several kinds. One of her toxins is very useful; she uses it in cooking to replace the unattainable chilies here and enhance the dish's flavor.

Even though Wang Wu and the others have enormous appetites, the Wang Clan's provision of tens of thousands of jin of grain is already enough for them to last nearly a full year, because it includes not only mortal grain but also refined grain used by transcendants.

Although they didn't need that much, Wang Wu discovered in the ring given by the Wang Clan that the amount they provided far exceeded his own request.

Alcohol, food, various meats, and not only that, also cloth and silk.

The Wang Clan is indeed generous; to be fair, it's a mutual effort. Wang Wu wants to build connections in human society, while the Wang Clan aims to win favor with him as a True Realm Warrior.

Aside from the Wang Clan's gifts, Wang Wu also spent his own money on things he thought might be useful.

During his few days in He Dong Xian, he crammed some literacy, managing to understand a little, but only a little.

So he also bought some books, such as those teaching literacy, like "Understanding Characters and Distinguishing Words" and "Four-Word Pairings".

He also bought instructional books on cooking, tailoring, hunting, and various other subjects, as well as travelogues, supernatural novels, picture books, and erotic literature... ahem.

To be honest, this ancient world's level of development is indeed high; the character illustrations in various novels and the figure actions in picture books are so refined that at first glance Wang Wu thought he was looking at modern meticulous paintings from his hometown.

The figures' forms and perspective are nothing like the ancient portraits Wang Wu had seen online, especially those erotic... ahem.

In any case, Wang Wu bought a lot of books.

Moreover, books in this world aren't expensive. Except for instructional manuals, novels and story collections are quite cheap—about a hundred wen for a volume.

But those teaching techniques are relatively pricey; still, to be honest, Wang Wu thinks they're actually still cheap.

Literacy books cost four to five hundred wen each, i. e., forty to fifty cash, while more advanced ones, like dictionaries, run about one guan.

The technique manuals are indeed pricier, most starting at two guan, but for Wang Wu that's no issue; he has money—three thousand taels, enough to buy several houses in He Dong Xian.

To be honest, the Wang Clan is truly wealthy. Though it can't match top families like Xi Men and Lin, in terms of wealth the Wang Clan comfortably ranks within the top five in the county.

As for the first place, that's naturally the Xi Men family, the county's top household; in wealth, influence, or martial strength, Xi Men is unquestionably number one.

The Xi Men family isn't only the premier household of He Dong County; they also dominate He Xi in the same way, holding it tightly.

Because his family has two real humans, Xi Men Pei's attitude toward Wang Wu is less attentive. Of course, compared with other cultivators in the county, he is already quite courteous to Wang Wu.

Moreover, Xi Men Pei even invited him to a banquet at his own home, a private dinner for just the two of them, which is a sign of great regard.

Wang Wu still doesn't understand the value of his "True Realm Warrior" status, but that can't be blamed on him, because True Realm Warriors are indeed extremely rare here.

The last True Realm Warrior to appear in He Dong Xian was decades ago, a Demon-Subduing Colonel dispatched by the Demon-Subduing Office for inspection, who himself was a True Realm Warrior.

Cultivators need to break through to the True Realm, and the True Realm is not easy to breach; although it doesn't seem especially lofty, breaking through versus not makes a huge difference in status.

Cultivators must first reach the Mortal Realm, like the Daoist who was ahead of Wang Wu when he entered the city and Xi Men Pei. After the Mortal Realm comes Transcending Mortality, which is the level of the Lu family cultivator.

After Transcending Mortality comes Recognizing the True, which is Li Yuan's level. After Recognizing the True, one must Enter the True, which is where Wu Lian belongs; Wu Lian is a monster far down the Entering True stage, not far from the True Realm.

Unfortunately, as she herself said, reaching the True Realm is hopeless.

After Entering True, that's the True Realm. The master of the Lu cultivator, the two members of the Xi Men family, and the Lin family's patron are all in the True Realm.

But for a True Realm Warrior, those realms don't exist; I am the True Realm—once I entered, I am the True Realm. Mortal Realm, Transcending Mortality, Recognizing the True, Entering True are all nonsense.

Moreover, each realm has upper, middle, lower, and Perfect stages, all of which must be broken through.

But a True Realm Warrior doesn't need that; once a True Realm Warrior enters, they can take a direct express to the True Realm Great Perfection, with no bottlenecks along the way.

That's the value of a True Realm Warrior; even if they're weak upon entry, they may be comparable to cultivators at the Transcending Mortality stage. Yet a cultivator who trains for a hundred years might still be at Recognizing the True.

But after a hundred years, I might already be challenging the Delusion-breaking stage.

Of course, those realms have nothing to do with Wang Wu; he doesn't cultivate this world's power system. So it's just for him to observe and understand the world.

Buying books naturally means learning to read; otherwise the novels are unreadable. Since Wang Wu is illiterate, he buys books for the illustrations. He purchases any with attractive pictures; the subject doesn't matter, they're simply artistic.

Wang Wu can't read, but Zhu San Niang can, indeed, it's Zhu San Niang again.

As an outsider monster and a subordinate leader under the former Demon King, Zhu San Niang knows some characters, though few, and can't write many, but she is still literate.

Moreover, she can use a dictionary, which is the most important thing.

Consequently, in the following days, Wang Wu would spend a long time each day at Zhu San Niang's house.

Later Wu Er Niang and Shu Niang also joined, so after consideration, the monsters simply moved into Wang Wu's house to live together.

For a full month, Wang Wu spent his days learning characters and practicing cultivation, and at night helped with review; before dawn he could hardly think of sleeping.

But Wang Wu is diligent and hardworking, so this is nothing at all for him.

(End of Chapter)