Baixi Town, life in this small town is quite leisurely. Mohe hired some people to build her estate, while she sat with a fishing rod by the stone at the village entrance, pretending to fish.
Of course, fishing was just a pretense; she didn't care if she caught anything. In reality, she was refining her Demon King's Blood. After reclaiming her left hand, she didn't plan to waste time. Although her goal was to catch the Hero, being able to recover some strength was sufficient. She was always on her path forward.
It wasn't long before a middle-aged man and a silver-haired old woman, holding fishing rods as well, sat nearby and started fishing.
Mohe didn't communicate with them. Their choice to follow again was theirs. As for how they negotiated among themselves, or what complex changes Doro experienced internally, these were not important to Mohe. She only confirmed that these two were ready to trade with her.
Now she was the "needed" one. Naturally, she could dictate her stance.
Doro and Lisidorwei also remained silent, fishing on their own.
After a while…
"Do you think you're really good at fishing?"
Mohe finally couldn't help but ask, seeing Doro's nearly full bucket with fish jumping occasionally: "Did you use some special means to catch these fish?"
"Fishing is a skill, Miss Mohe," Doro calmly said, "I've observed since I arrived in this town that the fish here are a species called temporal bone fish. They prefer corn over worms as bait and are active in deeper broken water layers, so the hook needs weight. Your hook isn't deep enough. Also, you should slightly ripple the line to make the fish think it's a living creature... When you're scheming against us, you consider our situation. Why, when fishing, don't you consider the fish's situation?"
Mohe gave him an annoyed look and put away her rod: "I'm done fishing."
Doro and Lisidorwei exchanged a glance and also put away their rods, promptly following Mohe with their bucket of fish.
"Miss Mohe, we caught a lot of fish, and if you don't mind, we'd like to enjoy them together. I heard you've acquired an estate..."
Mohe stopped, looking at them meaningfully.
Doro smiled.
After a moment, Mohe smiled: "Alright, come to my estate to process these things. I have enough space there. Allow me to host you a meal as compensation."
The estate Mohe acquired was actually the town's old lumberyard. With the nearby trees felled, the lumberyard was relocated. This plot was up for sale for years until Mohe bought it. Now, she's planning to plant grapes here.
Just like she told Doro, to create a vineyard.
The estate is halfway built, and Mohe also extended an invitation to the builders, but they said they already had a place to eat, so they declined.
Nearing noon, she took out items from the estate and began preparing dishes with the fish Doro caught on the cleaned open ground.
Mohe has lived alone for quite some years, so her cooking skills are commendable—no, to say they are not is inaccurate. This Demon King's culinary skills are exceptionally superb. Even during her time as the Demon King, her lifestyle wasn't akin to the Demon Race's sophistication, which was a noble characteristic. Even as a solitary girl, she wouldn't lower her living standards; just like her home, it's neatly kept. Her cooking is not lacking.
The previous "Demon King's Meal" wasn't able to showcase her culinary skills much. After all, that was fundamentally a hotchpotch, unlikely to taste bad.
And Doro, on the other hand, is specializing in "barbecuing." During their adventures, they often grilled various meats, so Mohe left the grilling of fish to Doro while she prepared fish soup and steamed fish.
As for the Bloody Queen? Lisidorwei is genuinely one who has led a noble lifestyle, whether under the Demon King or after joining the human side—she has never prepared food herself. Generally speaking, vampires don't need to eat; they feed on blood.
Both were busy with their tasks, leaving Lisidorwei awkwardly standing there. Whether it's Doro or the Demon King, both their statuses were much higher than hers, yet while they were preparing the meal, she just waited… Thinking about it was enough to make Lisidorwei feel uneasy. She wanted to help but truly didn't know how.
As for her and Doro's matters—they had seen the newspaper and knew the current situation. Whether they would be discovered and captured was uncertain—if resolving the livelihood issue, hiding with Doro in a remote forest… Or as the Demon King suggested, marrying Doro, perhaps…
"Doro, why not trim your beard sometime?" Mohe said while preparing, "That scruffy beard doesn't look good."
Doro turned over the fish on a skewer and touched his chin with the other hand: "No need... This way it actually serves to cover my appearance, and no one will associate me with my past self."