My Demon Friends

Chapter 738 698: The Era of Huai Xu_2

But I couldn't ask.

Poverty and chaos breed evil; perhaps asking about her personal or family situation would only frighten her more.

So Zhou Li paused. "Have you eaten?"

Still no response.

The little girl even lowered her head and buried her face in her arms, no longer looking at him.

Zhou Li was young and good-looking, but that didn't earn him any trust from the little girl. Perhaps she saw him as one of those scoundrels who teased beggars for fun—the kind Zhou Li had seen on his way here, with beggars cowering and youths laughing.

The more life tormented everyone to the point of despair, the more some people relished tormenting the already suffering masses.

Zhou Li reached into his pocket, pretended to fumble, closed his eyes briefly, and pulled out a handful of five zhu coins, extending them towards the little girl from a distance. "Hungry? Take this and go get yourself something to eat."

The sound of the money made the little girl lift her head, her clear, bright eyes staring straight at him.

"Like this—I'll put the money between us, then sit on the ground. You can come and take it. If I haven't lied to you, then we both... just trust each other a little bit, how about that?"

The little girl watched as Zhou Li placed the money between them, then retreated to his original position and sat down on the ground, unconcerned about the dirt.

She hesitated, then slowly stood up.

She was standing, ready to run at any moment, while he would have to get up first if he wanted to chase her.

So she took slow steps towards the money.

Zhou Li saw her movements were sluggish and uncoordinated, but he said nothing more, keeping his expression calm and remaining seated.

The little girl bent down to pick up the money, watching Zhou Li closely the entire time. If he changed his mind, she would immediately return the money and run away.

"Now you have the money."

"You can take it and leave, go buy something to eat. I see there's someone selling wheat porridge over there. Or you can wait a bit and tell me about your family, why you didn't go home."

The little girl fell silent for a moment, then quickly ran off with the money.

Zhou Li looked helpless.

Rising from the ground, he dusted himself off. Seeing the little girl looking back as she ran, he paused, then walked in the opposite direction.

He wandered around again, intending to emulate those characters in novels and taste the delicacies of this era. However, although this era had already seen Zhang Qian's expeditions, food was still generally scarce. He encountered only two food stalls along the road: one selling wheat porridge, the other alcohol. After finally finding a passable restaurant, he hesitated at the entrance for a long time before deciding to go in.

Huai Xu said people in this era liked to eat dog meat and raw fish slices—oh, and meat soup too, which had made it into the history books and was supposedly delicious.

Of course, Huai Xu's words weren't very credible, but Zhou Li still decided to try it.

He walked into the restaurant, sat down, and was about to order when he suddenly glanced across the street. He saw the little girl at an open-air stall buying a bowl of wheat porridge and sitting on the ground, gobbling it up.

Other ragged beggars gathered around her...

That's how people were. The rich feasted on meat and fish without anyone daring to say a word, but when someone of equally tragic fate got a bowl of wheat porridge, others rushed to snatch it away.

"AH..."

It was the first time Zhou Li heard the little girl's voice; it was clear and hadn't fully changed yet.

The wheat porridge spilled in the scuffle, covering the ground in a golden yellow.

The struggle continued, and they didn't hesitate to pick up the food that had fallen on the ground.

The stall owner scolded them, telling the group of beggars not to break his bowl as he went to snatch it back. The few porridge grains remaining inside spilled out. Both the beggars and the little girl then grabbed the rice from the ground, mixed with dirt, and stuffed it into their mouths.

At that moment, Zhou Li appeared before them.

He didn't stop their struggle; what stopped them was the money he held in his hand, enough for each person to get one coin.

The beggars left.

Zhou Li, however, pulled the little girl up; he had finally earned her trust.

At the entrance of the restaurant.

Zhou Li and the little girl sat on the ground. This time, no one chased them away. Instead, raw fish slices, dog meat soup, cured meat, and wheat porridge were served.

Wheat porridge is a coarse grain, rough in texture and not tasty. The raw fish slices are made with freshwater fish and lack seasoning. The meat soup also lacks seasoning and hasn't completely shed its gamey smell. To a modern palate, they wouldn't be considered tasty either, perhaps also due to this small restaurant chef's skills, though the cured meat is still edible.

The little girl, however, ate voraciously, repeatedly choking but managing to continue, eating until tears and snot streamed down her face.

Zhou Li watched calmly.

When she had eaten her fill, or possibly overeaten, her pace slowed. She glanced at him occasionally, as if to check if he was unhappy, before he finally spoke, "Where's your family?"

"Dead."

"How did they die?"

The little girl didn't answer that question.

Zhou Li smiled faintly, not pressing further. He changed the question, "When did they die?"

"A few days ago."

"Then where's your home?"

"Gone."

"How is it gone?"

"It was taken."

"I see..."

Zhou Li sighed.

Not until all the food had been thoroughly devoured did the little girl seem to suppress the desire to lick the plates—doing so would earn her a beating from the restaurant waiters.

Zhou Li asked again, "Do you want more to eat?"

The little girl nodded, then shook her head.

Zhou Li smiled. "That's good. Eating too much when you're starving can be deadly."

The little girl said nothing.

She's a very quiet little girl, not a chatterbox.

Zhou Li watched her calmly.

Although her face was dirty and she was thin, with sunken cheeks, a Heavenly Master's constitution was different from ordinary people, and her underlying skin quality was still good. You could tell she was a very pretty little girl, with rosy lips, white teeth, and a pair of clear, expressive eyes... If she had been born in the 21st century, she would have certainly been very likable. Had she been born into a wealthy family, perhaps she would have developed a liking for painting or music. Her parents would then probably have sent her to hobby classes, where she could have expressed her abundant imagination through art.

Meanwhile, Zhou Li felt the dream begin to ripple, signaling its end. How brief, he thought.

To this day, he still didn't know if she was Huai Xu.

Perhaps she was.

If so, not long after her father's death and her time on the streets, a Heavenly Master would discover her talent and take her in. She would begin specialized training with the Orthodox Taoist Masters as a Junior celestial master. But for her, that would just be the start of another hard life.

Perhaps not.

It didn't matter either way.

Zhou Li then stood up with composure and brushed off his clothes. "Well, I guess this is goodbye... Oh, right, you can see demons, can't you? Don't be scared. Maybe you should seek refuge with the government. You might suffer a bit for it, but at least you'll be able to survive. That's better than now, isn't it?"

The little girl's eyes widened.

The ripples quickly expanded, encompassing the whole world.

...

「Morning.」

Zhou Li returned to the hotel outside the botanical garden. Just as he raised his hand, before he even knocked, the door opened automatically.

Inside, a girl in a light lotus-colored silk nightgown sat cross-legged on the not-so-clean carpet. She was barefoot, propping her chin with both hands, elbows on her knees, and staring blankly.

Zhou Li's gaze shifted slightly downward.

The girl's thighs and calves were pristine and delicate, glowing with a creamy luster. Due to her cross-legged position, they were pressed together, forming delicate creases and revealing soft flesh. Her petite feet were equally attractive, with soft and tender soles.

Zhou Li couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"

The girl maintained her pose, replying vacantly, "Spacing out."

"I'm envious. You don't have to do anything all day, no need to study or work. You're either thinking about how to play or just spacing out."

"..."

The girl turned her head mechanically and sniffed. "You missed class yesterday afternoon and didn't go this morning. That's a whole day of classes you've skipped! If you keep this up, you won't graduate..."

"Is that so."

"University is important!"

"Oh." Zhou Li simply nodded, extending the hand holding the bag. "I brought you some food."

"You do have a conscience!"

Zhou Li smiled and sat down by the bed.

Huai Xu, still sitting cross-legged on the floor, took the bag and began to gobble down the food.

Eating, she paused, turned her head, and glanced at Zhou Li. "Why are you staring at me? Do you think I'm so good-looking you feel self-conscious?"

"Maybe."

"You're being weird..." Huai Xu frowned. "What did you see in the Mirror Zone, or what did you dream about?"

"Guess."

"Like hell I'll guess!"

"Then never mind."