I will never give in to Miss Death

As for the book "The Old Man and the Sea"... To be honest, I still don't fully understand it until now.

The plot is very simple - an old man has lived by the sea for most of his life. When he was young, he learned fishing skills from the elders there. Every time he went out to sea, he could catch a boat full of fish. Then, when the old man got old, he could only catch small fish in the shallow sea to make a living.

I finished reading this book in the university library. The beginning of the book briefly introduced the old man's experience, and then the old man met a boy who was about the same age as him. The old man chatted with the boy for a while. Maybe he saw his former self, or maybe he wanted to prove his ability, so the old man decided to go fishing in the open sea, and then he really caught a big fish.

The main plot of the whole book is that the old man came back after catching a big fish and encountered sharks. The sharks themselves had no interest in the old man. They wanted to eat the big marlin that the old man hung behind the boat, but because it was caught by the old man with great effort, the old man did not intend to give it to the sharks, and a fight began on both sides.

The book ends with sharks biting the huge marlin that the old man had caught with great difficulty until only bones were left. The old man was also injured and carried the skeleton of the big fish back to the harbor where he had lived for most of his life, and returned to the familiar bars, restaurants, and cottages on the coast.

"It's eighteen feet long from nose to tail," cried the fisherman who was measuring the fish.

[“They beat me, Manolin,” the old man said. “They really beat me.”]

"It didn't beat you. The fish didn't."

I seemed to see my past self in this book, but at the same time, I seemed to see nothing.

It’s like I seem to understand the book, but not completely.

The book ends like this: [In the old man's shack at the other end of the road, he fell asleep again, still lying face down, with the child sitting beside him, watching over him - the old man was dreaming of a lion.]

"Momo."

After staring at the big marlin in the open space for a while, I said, "After you came to this world and read the stories here, these world classics, did you feel... a sense of strangeness?"

"strangeness?"

The girl, who had already lit a fire and was setting up racks on both sides of the fire and putting the skewered fish on them, turned around and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by strangeness, Nuoer?"

"That is... there should be novels or classics there, right? The cultures of the two worlds are different, so maybe the descriptions and narratives are also different?"

I organized my words a little: "Look, in the story of The Old Man and the Sea you mentioned just now, the ordinary people in this world are so weak that when they go out to sea to fish, they can only watch sharks snatch their food or... Glory. If Xiaomo reads such a plot, would she feel that it is different from the world over there? After all, there is magic over there, so defeating sharks shouldn't be a difficult thing, right?"

“Well… for ordinary people, sharks can be really dangerous creatures, especially on the sea surface.”

Yin Xiamo smiled: "If Nuoer wants to ask me about the comparison between the two worlds' literature, then I can say responsibly that the literary levels and styles of the two sides are different, but in terms of artistic value, there is no difference between high and low, good and bad..."

“That’s not what I’m asking…”

I interrupted Yin Xiamo and said, "I mean... Momo, after you came to this world, learned the language here, and read those famous books, do you feel that it is very different from your hometown?"

"home?"

The girl in front of me was stunned for a moment, then looked at me as if I were a child: "If I were to talk about my hometown, my hometown is the Demon King's Castle, and my biological father is the Demon King."

"Eh?"

"Technically speaking, I am the Demon King's third daughter. I have two older brothers."

Yin Xiamo seemed to be talking about something that had nothing to do with her: "The difference between me and those two pure-blooded demon brothers is... I am a bastard. My mother is an elf. The Demon King forcibly sent people to capture her from the Elf Forest. Maybe because of this bloodline, I can't learn the magic of the demons."

and many more.

Why have I never seen this thing in my dreams...

"Of course you don't know, because even the hero doesn't know. He thinks I'm just a child abandoned by the more powerful demons in the Demon King's Castle."

As if seeing through my thoughts, Yin Xiamo stood up and walked towards me, then squatted down and touched my head: "Some demons and elves have pointed ears. My mother had lived with the Demon King for thousands of years. People outside often mistook her for a demon. Logically, someone like my mother was not qualified to give birth to the Demon King's child, but at that time, my mother did such a wrong thing and brought the wrong me to that wrong world."

Wait, Xiaomo’s father is the devil?

Then you raise the banner of rebellion against the devil and avenge the hero, right?

"If your heart has no place to rest, you will be wandering wherever you go."

Finally, she touched my head and returned to the fire: "It's all over."

"sorry."

I walked over and said, "Xiao Mo, I don't dare to ask these questions."

"what?"

The girl in front of me turned around and said, "Am I such a fragile person in your eyes?"

I tilted my head and thought about it: "Should I... say yes or no?"

"Of course not!"

Yin Xiamo said with a smile: "My father was already crazy at that time. He was bloodthirsty and completely fell into darkness. Even if I didn't do anything, he would be swallowed by darkness one day. I had made this realization thousands of years ago. Don't underestimate your husband, little kitty Nuoer."

I felt something stand up on my head again: "I'm not a kitten!"

"Okay, okay, it's not a kitten, it's a kitten."

Yin Xiamo pointed at the milk bottle in my hand and said, "Drink it while it's hot. Aren't you on your period? Dragon milk has a miraculous effect on menstruation. It not only replenishes energy and magic power, but also regulates the body's vitality. Moreover, this is the only Dragon King milk in the world. In that world, several tons of gold may not be able to buy it."

"Is the currency over there also gold?"

"Gold is a general equivalent. According to scientific theories here, gold and silver are only created at the moment of a supernova explosion. Even the alchemy of that world cannot create gold out of nothing, so this thing is often used as a general equivalent."

Yin Xiamo stretched out her hands and grabbed my face. "Don't ask so many strange questions, kid. I've already told you that everything is over. Why are you still asking? Drink your milk quickly. You deserve to have a stomachache for the whole day."

“This… um… ah…”

I was pinched on the face and said incoherently: "Can this really cure dysmenorrhea?"

"You'll know once you drink it. You drank it on time every day before. Today, Philo forgot to milk, and you didn't even remember to ask."

Yin Xiamo let go of her hand and went back to deal with the big fish: "Stupid Nuoer."

I'm not stupid...

I unscrewed the lid of the milk jug and looked up as usual.

"Gulu."

I have to say, dragon milk is really the most delicious drink I have ever had.

It tastes sweet and will not make you feel sick at all. It quenches your thirst and satisfies your hunger. It is like a strong energy drink. You will feel energetic instantly after drinking it without any side effects.

Although the way it is "made" is a bit embarrassing.

Until now, I have never seen with my own eyes how Filo "produces" dragon milk, nor have I seen how she puts the dragon milk into the bottle, because I don't have a special body structure like Xiaomo and Filo. I need to sleep at least seven hours at night, and Xiaomo makes me very tired before going to bed every day. Often, I close my eyes and open them when it is almost time to go to work.

When I woke up, Xiaomo and Feiluo had already arrived in the living room and finished washing up at least half an hour earlier.

Especially Filo. If Xiaomo is the incarnation of "Devil Momo" and his power is not that strong, then Filo came to the Earth as the "Dark Dragon King" and "Black Dragon Princess" and his strength is stronger than Xiaomo.

According to Philo, if she wanted, she could even go without sleep for ten years and sleep for ten years at a stretch.

Or you may not eat for ten years, and then eat in one go the amount of food that the human body needs for ten years of activity.

So in the first few years after coming to Earth, Filo's sleeping time can be said to be absolutely free, so basically she has arranged "Noer's exclusive Dragon King Milk" for me when I wake up.

I don’t know if it’s because my period is approaching or because I drink dragon milk every day, but these days I always feel my breasts are swollen, and the swimsuit and underwear that were originally suitable for AA now feel a lot more crowded.

"It seems that the pain is really gone..."

The dragon milk Xiaomo brought was not much, only one-third of a bottle. Even with my current body size, I finished it in a short while. But the effect was really immediate - I was feeling a little uncomfortable in my stomach, but after drinking the milk, I instantly felt full of energy, my stomach was no longer upset, and the pain in my chest disappeared, leaving only a feeling of fullness. Even the slightly upset feeling due to my period disappeared as my stomach recovered.

This thing... is a magic recovery potion, right?

"Of course, Filo's dragon milk can relieve menstrual cramps and even fatal injuries to a certain extent."

Yin Xiamo, who was standing next to her, turned the grilled fish on the fire. "Master Wang Jie only has cumin powder and five-spice powder. Nuo'er is on her period, so I won't bring chili powder. What do you like?"

"Cumin, please."

I moved closer out of curiosity, looking at the fish that I felt I could only eat half of: "Is this kind of fish not suitable for large-scale capture? Why do I feel like those fast food restaurants don't seem to sell this."

"Well...Based on the situation on the human side, I guess it's because the heavy metal content of this fish exceeds the standard."

"Eh?"

"It's just that the mercury content is too high, so it's not suitable for daily consumption. Moreover, this fish is very aggressive and hard to catch. Compared to... uh, saury, saury is easy to catch, but if you are accidentally stung by a larger swordfish, your life may be in danger."

Yin Xiamo explained: "But don't worry, I have already taken care of it for Nuoer."

How do you deal with excessive mercury... using magic?

"Let me do it."

I squatted down beside Yin Xiamo and took the metal rod that was stringing the fish from her hand: "Xiaomo, you've been busy all day, take a break."

"puff."

Maybe she thought it was cute that I said “Take a rest” to a “God of Death”, Yin Xiamo laughed out loud, but she didn’t refute. She sat down next to my rabbit backpack in the back and picked up my phone from the blanket.

"Noer, what's your phone password?"

"what?"

I didn't even turn my head: "Want to spy on my browsing history again?"

"Even if I don't peek, I can guess what Noer is watching every day."

Yin Xiamo's teasing voice came from behind: "It's probably about... how to become a top, how to avoid being pinned down by your girlfriend, etc."

"how could it be possible!"

I turned my face away: "The password is your birthday."

"My birthday?"

One could sense that Yin Xiamo's voice paused for a moment: "May 5st? No year? Four digits?"

"Yes, four digits."

I said, carefully sprinkling cumin and salt on the big fish in front of me, “Is four figures not okay?”

"Aren't you afraid that someone could come and enter your password and look at the files on your phone?"

Without thinking, I said, "I don't believe that with Xiaomo here, anyone with bad intentions can get close to that phone."

"Kitty, do you trust me so much?"

“Trust is the foundation of a couple’s love.”

I complained, "And I'm not a kitten."

"Then shall I change the adjective?"

"what?"

"Little Jixiang young elf?"

"Not even as good as a kitten!"

"So I'll just call you Kitty."

"Xiaomo, you really have corrupted Lu Xun's theory of window opening..."

"No way, I'm just that bad."

"..."

Amid the sizzling sound of the flames, the color of the big fish in my hand gradually changed from transparent white to a golden yellow color. With the addition of some oyster sauce and cumin, the rich aroma of meat filled the air.

"Noel."

"what."

"What do you think of Philo?"

Yin Xiamo behind him said in a very leisurely tone: "You have been together for a few days, what kind of person do you think she is?"

"She..."

I thought for a moment and said, "A girl who is more... optimistic?"

Strictly speaking, although Filo has been in this world for several days, has lived in Elodi's house for several days, and gives me dragon milk every morning, I don't seem to have much communication with her.

Because this guy is simply that kind of...optimist, and a free-spirited optimist at that.

She seemed to not care about rent, wages, social etiquette or anything like that. These days, she got up early in the morning, packed the dragon milk for me, and then went out for a stroll alone. According to Yin Xiamo, there were a few nights when she didn't even sleep and went to the big city to play alone.

Then, there were a few more "urban legends" in Kamihama City - a magical girl who bravely stood up for justice under the moonlight, a girl passing by a construction site carrying a road roller in one hand, a black dragon punishing evil in the dark night...

In Philo's words, it means "learning human language", "understanding human customs" and "knowing the human world".

I have to say, even though he goes out and messes around every night, Philo still knows his limits.

Because no matter what strange things she did, she was not caught by the camera, leaving no evidence or handle.

And just as Philo said, after these few days of "inspection and study", her Mandarin has become better and better, and she is not so lacking in common sense. At least she no longer makes joking moves like she did on the first day she came to the coffee shop, when she kept shouting at the "intelligent robot", "Quick, quick, scan me, scan me, and change my danger level to 10".

He jumps around outside at night, occasionally comes back to sleep, squeezes the dragon milk before I wake up in the morning, and then runs around the city in the name of "having breakfast", arrives at the coffee shop on time at 8 o'clock to make milk tea, and continues to go out and play alone after get off work in the evening. This is the rhythm of Philo's life these days.