My Demon Friends

Chapter 737 698: The Era of Huai Xu

Zhou Li slept in the Mirror Zone tonight.

It seemed he had just closed his eyes, yet it also felt as if he had been asleep for a while. A light appeared before Zhou Li, and he opened his eyes in another "world."

An uneven, yellow dirt road stretched before him, lined with dilapidated houses and worn streets. Heaps of horse and cow dung lay by the roadside, and the air was thick with a mixture of smells. Zhou Li turned his head to look around. Occasionally, pedestrians dressed in ragged clothes passed by; they were sallow, thin, and not very tall. This is clearly ancient times, he thought, but it's nothing like the beautiful scenes in costume dramas.

Judging by the style of clothing, perhaps this is the era of Huai Xu or Master Ming? The commoners' clothes aren't just hemp-colored; they also have shades of blue-green. That indicates it's the late Western Han Dynasty, more likely Huai Xu's era. But Master Ming also existed at this time.

Zhou Li continued to observe.

Is it... market day? The road was neither crowded nor empty. It was nearing noon, and the sun blazed down. Perhaps the market is about to disperse.

His appearance frightened many people. They weren't shocked by his sudden arrival, as the Mirror Zone made it seem natural. However, his clothing was modern—not what Zhou Li wore during the day, nor what he wore most often recently, but rather the clothes he pictured himself wearing in his mind, closely resembling his high school attire. Strange clothes and short hair, appearing in this era. Everyone stared at him, exchanging glances, yet no one dared to make a sound.

I can't know what they're feeling right now, Zhou Li thought, but I'm not very concerned. This is just a dream, and I'll wake up soon. Even if I get caught, it doesn't matter. What's important is who I'll meet in this dream and what kind of story will unfold.

So, he observed his surroundings even more carefully.

So backward... he mused. This is clearly not a prosperous city.

Zhou Li waved his hand to shoo away a fly buzzing in front of his face. He saw many beggars by the roadside. Some were still begging, while others seemed too weak even for that. They were just curled up, lying motionless in spots where they wouldn't be driven away—perhaps a street corner or under a tree. They appeared to be asleep, and he wondered if they would ever wake up again.

Born in a peaceful and prosperous age, raised under the red flag... even in a dream, such a scene is startling.

Because I know these are real. These are real scenes from history.

The Mirror Zone, as the pinnacle of ancient Demon civilization, is more advanced than the current Demon civilization; its power is unimaginable. Since its arrival in this world, it has been silently recording everything that happens on this planet, leaving no corner untouched. It then simulates these events in a way that almost perfectly mimics real-world operations. Therefore, not only are all the scenes I see in this dream events that actually occurred, but any interaction with any being will also elicit their genuine potential response.

Zhou Li walked slowly, listening to the gradually increasing murmurs of discussion behind him. The language sounded somewhat familiar. Then, he turned into a deserted alleyway.

Closing his eyes and concentrating hard, his clothes quickly changed. They now resembled those of a commoner he had just seen: an unflattering, blue-green robe. This is a skill I've picked up through several experiences in the Mirror Zone.

Stepping out of the alley again, Zhou Li sniffed the air and returned to the spot where he had first appeared. He continued to explore his surroundings. After walking around for a while, he had gained nothing aside from a better understanding of the place's poverty.

Until a disturbance arose—a Demon appeared in broad daylight, soaring above the city streets.

This Demon did no harm; it was merely passing by, apparently fleeing, because Zhou Li sensed the Spiritual Power of a Heavenly Master nearby. But as the Demon flew past, Zhou Li's peripheral vision keenly caught a small, huddled figure in the distance. The figure instinctively shrank further into itself and lowered its head, not daring to look.

He almost missed this detail, as he had been focused on the Heavenly Master chasing the Demon. Could that be Huai Xu? Hmm, Master Ming should be very powerful by this time too.

So, he walked over to the figure.

It was a child. Because of the different era, it was impossible to determine her age from her height and physique; she was simply not tall. In the generation of Brother Nan's younger brother, a child might reach this height at five or six, maybe six or seven years old, but it's hard to say for this era.

As Zhou Li approached, she glanced up at him, then quickly averted her gaze. Although her face was very dirty, Zhou Li could still tell that she was a girl.

A girl, in this era... She hasn't been nurtured at home. Instead, she's wearing clothes full of holes that haven't been washed for who knows how long. She has no shoes, only bare, dirty feet. She's run into the streets with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Now she's huddled against a stone platform in front of someone's courtyard, not daring to get too close to their gate, nor daring to go near the shopfronts where she would be driven away.

As he moved closer, Zhou Li heard her stomach growling. Her body tensed; she sat up straighter and began to shift her feet, apparently ready to flee at any moment.

So he stopped and bent down, offering a kind smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in the local dialect—a slightly flawed version he had learned from Huai Xu.

The little girl looked up at him but remained silent.

This is a bit frustrating, Zhou Li thought.

I don't know if this girl is Huai Xu. To be precise, I don't even know if Huai Xu was originally a boy or a girl. Huai Xu wasn't called Huai Xu back then; perhaps she didn't even have a name. The only information I have is that Huai Xu's father was a thief who was later caught and beaten to death.