"I can't even tell that it's New Year's Eve anymore, let's just treat it like any other day." - The main reason is that I want to eat dumplings.

Night Fall Town has become a thing of the past. Everyone knows that Night Fall Town has turned into ashes in a raging fire, buried now in distant memories under the vast white snow.

But as I said, despite the war, life goes on. I don't know why, but the werewolves' territory is different from our small cave. It's windy and there's a painful sensation when the wind blows on my face. Sasa hides herself under the covers every day, while I spend my days studying firearms with Park or cooking for my wife. According to Wolfrang, "You've almost turned your wife into a disabled person."

But I still enjoy the process of turning Sasa into a "disabled person". After all, she's considered a level two disabled now. The days go by with my wife lying in bed, shooting arrows at targets on the wall. Daily life in this otherworldly world is not as interesting as before, with no internet and even no electricity. Reading and chatting during the day can still keep us occupied, but at night, besides mating to consume excess energy, there's no other form of entertainment.

The succubi and humans have reached an agreement without my intervention. Unmarried males are allowed to freely love the succubi, but they cannot get married. The succubi also have a higher priority to participate in battles compared to humans. In other words, if we were to fight against the kingdom again, the succubi must charge in front of the humans. Financially speaking, the succubi are still making a profit, especially since they live in unplanned additional residences. To meet the succubi's various peculiar needs, their houses are all single rooms.

I once visited the succubi's "girls' dormitory" once, but within less than five days, it was filled with strange perfumes and the unique smell of the succubi, with toppled wine bottles and scattered fabrics everywhere. Leya's room was the largest and most out of place, neatly arranged with fabrics, spell books, and a delicate sewing machine. Before becoming a succubus, the White Queen must have been a well-mannered young lady.

We have also built a large wooden house for Nephila, but before the snow came, the house turned white. Of course, the white material covering it is spider silk. I have also been inside but found it hard to find a place to stand.

Simmon has recovered from his homesickness, and the bar has slowly returned to its former bustling state. Gray is deeply engaged in the construction of the "new Night Fall Town". He has a good business mind, and since witnessing me successfully exchange 500 gold coins through acting in the kingdom, it seems like he has awakened as well. The old Gray was excellent at supervising the flow of gold coins, but now he can make them flow with his own hands. Even though we no longer have farmland or ranches, under Gray's organization, we can still engage in commodity exchange using gold coins with werewolves and even succubi.

Park has become a busy man, having a large group of aspiring craftsmen working with him every day, from constructing beams to inventing new weapons. When he proudly handed me a semi-automatic rifle, I knew I hadn't misjudged this genius. Due to the lack of stamping technology, the bullets are square-shaped, but the tips are round, very steampunk. The method of firing is also very simple and rough. You merely place the bullets neatly into an iron frame, and with each shot, you push the bullets upward by hand. It's more like changing the barrel than reloading. You could say it's a weapon that deviates from the direction of firearm development. But it's effective enough, with a strong and continuous firepower.

Everyone was busy with their own things, and soon it was time for the annual Torch Festival.

This year's Torch Festival was no less lively than last year because Night Fall Town, the real Night Fall Town, had been destroyed. Everyone didn't say it out loud, but they all understood in their hearts. However, there was plenty of meat this time, and no one knew how many wild boars the werewolves and orcs had raised.

"Raul, do you know the festival is coming?" Wolfrang came back from outside and hung his coat on the wall.

"The Torch Festival? Yeah, I know. It should be quite lively this year, right?"

"Yeah, we werewolves will participate too."

"Is it the same as last year?"

"Yeah, after the Torch Festival, spring will be here~"

"Why think so much? Let's drink and get drunk today, eat until we're full today."

I know what Wolfrang wanted to say. When spring comes, the war will start again. But I don't care. I can say I've been waiting for this day all year. After working so hard for such a long time, it's rare to have a day of leisure like this. And it's not just me, I think everyone in Night Fall Town needs a change in mood.

I used to feel that there was no New Year atmosphere at home and I complained about the noise of firecrackers waking me up at midnight. But in a world without Chinese New Year, I started to miss this traditional Chinese festival.

So on the morning of the Torch Festival, I started to busy myself. I asked Leya to help me dye the large sheets of paper red, then cut them into characters for "good luck" and "happiness" to stick on Wolfrang's front door and on the doors of my and Sasa's rooms. Wolfrang's mansion ended up looking a bit like a newlywed's home, just missing the aunts to make trouble in the bridal chamber.

"Husband, what is the red paper for?"

"It looks nice."

"It doesn't look nice at all."

"You don't understand. In my previous world, red represents good things."

I didn't know how to say "festive," so I could only tell my wife that red represents good things.

"Good things? What good things will happen today?"

"The Torch Festival, of course~"

"I don't want to go out. It's too cold outside."

"Is it really that cold?"

"Yeah, it's very cold."

Sasa pouted, making a spoiled expression that I had long been used to seeing. Maybe I had really spoiled her these past few days. She didn't wear clothes all the time, lying on the bed and calling me whenever she needed something. If she couldn't reach me, she would ask Wolfrang's sister to find me. And my wife took a hot bath every day, from being carried into the bathtub in a princess carry to me drying her body.

"Dance with me tonight."

"Let's dance in the house."

"Be good, accompany me outside for a walk."

I used my index and middle fingers to pinch her waist. When she had more flesh on her body, I used to tease her like this often, but now I couldn't hold on anymore.

"Yeah."

"I'll make dumplings for you tonight, remember?"

"Yeah, you promised me before to make me dumplings."

"You just know how to eat."

I estimated that I was the first person to make dumplings in this world. With a bag of wheat flour that I shamelessly scrounged from Simmon, mixed with pickled vegetables and minced pork, it was still uncertain whether I could make dumplings.

Everyone in Night Fall Town was preparing torches, and I was happily kneading the dough in a large wooden basin. Soon, the sun had risen to ten centimeters above the horizon. The wheat flour in this world was coarse, ground by windmills or water mills. Even if I sifted it, it couldn't compare to the high gluten flour I had used in the hotel for 160 yuan per bag. But I stubbornly rolled out the dough, dusted it with flour, shaped it into noodles, and twisted it into knots all at once. Park even specially made a rolling pin for me to taste this novel food.

The people in the kitchen all looked at the flying noodles with surprise in their eyes. People are always curious about things they have never seen before. Rolling noodles, like my lighter, is eye-catching. Then everyone was mobilized to make dumplings together, and the finished products turned out to be quite imperfect.

Since my nose was as high as the stove, I have been learning the skill of cooking dumplings from my mother. It goes without saying that I am familiar with it. The dumplings that were finally served were not bad, as long as they were not leaking.

I was satisfied to see Sasa eating the yellowish dumplings one by one. Naturally, everyone praised this kind of food, and the enthusiasm of the festival began with the stimulation of taste buds.

That day, I experienced a lot of exotic customs. Leya held a delicate dagger and performed an extremely beautiful knife dance. Wolfrang couldn't help himself, he caught the dancing white butterfly in the air. The most classic dance in Night Fall Town is always presented by werewolves and succubus. Other werewolves and succubus were all fascinated, and we followed the beat of Simmon's metal flute, enjoying the annual festival.

After that, Sasa and I also danced a lively tune. She felt cold, and my hand on her bare back was like touching an ice sculpture, but she smiled at me, just like before.

This year, the New Year greetings were given by Wolfrang and Gray. After the words of blessings, applause rang out. The faces illuminated by the lively bonfire were more than last year, and this time it was not just the faces of humans.

The supply of food and drink was constant. The werewolves expressed their emotions through howling one after another, and the succubus became more and more unrestrained in their words, but we didn't mind. While enjoying the feast, the old friends in Night Fall Town gathered together and opened up.

"Raul, say a few words in your language."

"What's the point? You won't understand."

"Then teach us."

The one speaking was Park, who was intoxicated. Although I had also had a lot to drink, I was sure that I was not drunk that day.

"Oh, okay. What phrase do you want to learn?"

"Well... how do you say 'hello'?"

"Hello... 'hello' means 'I love you'."

"Wo ai li?"

"I, love, you."

"Oh, I love you, it's three words."

I couldn't help but hold back my laughter. Sasa had long known the meaning of "I love you" in Chinese, and she leaned against my shoulder, smiling as she watched Park seriously pondering.

"Raul, how do you express your feelings to your loved one in your language?"

"You mean 'I love you'?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Let me think... 'I love you' translated into our language means 'I want to sleep with you'."

"I want to sleep with you?"

"I want to sleep with you."

Although Sasa didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, she obviously knew that I was still deceiving Gray. So she hid her face behind me and quietly laughed.

"Raul, what about swearing in your language?"

"Swearing... it means something like 'stupid'?"

"More or less."

"Swearing... in our world, when humans curse, they usually say 'I'm an idiot'."

"The pronunciation is a bit strange..."

"Of course. And don't easily say this sentence. This is the most vicious curse. When ordinary people hear you say this, they will be stunned and unable to argue with you."

"So impressive?!"

"Yes, very impressive."

Yeah, just imagine, when you're arguing with someone and they suddenly shout, "I'm an idiot." Would you dare to argue back?

"Raul, and also, how do you say 'drink alcohol'?"

"I won't teach you anymore. You guys should practice on your own. If I teach you too much, you won't learn."

"Hahaha..."

I really couldn't continue teaching them because Sasa was laughing so hard that she was choking me. I watched Simmon and Park, two grown men, practicing saying "I love you" in Chinese to each other. I also watched Leya playfully hitting Wolfrang while saying "I'm an idiot" in Chinese. But the most terrifying of all was Gray, who practiced a few times and then went to his crush and said, "I want to sleep with you."

Amidst the laughter and joy, Sasa and I kept uttering "hello" in the language of the other world.