My Demon Friends

Chapter 743 743: 703

Against a backdrop of azure sky, white clouds hung serenely while an inexpensive car sped freely on the very empty highway.

Baozi sat in the back seat. She pulled down the cup holder between the seats, placed a cup of strawberry milk panna cotta on it, and held a packet of chips in her hand. She slouched down, admiring the clouds, occasionally reaching for a chip and sending it into her mouth with a satisfying CRUNCH. Then, she would turn her head to sip her milk tea, washing away the dryness of the chips. It felt utterly blissful.

The clouds outside hung close to the car window, draping over the rolling mountaintops, clearly visible with just a turn of the head.

"That cloud looks like a little dog!"

"Clearly, it looks like a horse."

"It looks like a little dog!"

"Doesn't it look like a horse?"

"It looks like a little dog!"

"Alright, it looks like a little dog... So, is there any cloud that looks like Lord Dumpling?"

"None of them do!"

"Why not?"

"Lord Dumpling is too good-looking; these clouds are too ugly."

As Baozi listened to them talking, although she only understood what her cousin said, she could roughly guess what Lord Dumpling was saying based on that. So, she turned her head, looking all around. Then, she leaned forward, pointing at a small cloud ahead. Her good mood made her tone lively as she said, "That cloud looks like Lord Dumpling..."

"MEOW!!"

Baozi nodded continually, uttering "uh-huh" twice, and turned to look at her cousin. "What did Lord Dumpling say?"

Her eyes held a tinge of anticipation.

Zhou Li silently turned his head to meet her gaze. "Your attempt to curry favor with Lord Dumpling completely backfired."

Baozi was speechless.

She silently slumped back, her body sinking further down, and turned her head to watch the white clouds recede outside the window, one hand still clutching her milk tea.

She took a gulp. The milk tea seemed to lodge painfully in her throat.

The clouds outside began to multiply, growing more and more numerous until they merged into a single mass, obscuring the entire blue sky. The sky itself seemed to lower, no longer as vast as before. As the temperature dropped quickly, Brother Nan turned on the heater, the car still speeding rapidly along.

「At dusk.」

Brother Nan sat on the sofa at Zhou Li's house, one leg crossed over the other with a hint of swagger, eating strawberries while glancing at the TV.

Huai Xu was doing much the same.

Baozi sat beside them, looking a little reserved.

Tuanzi was crawling all over, sniffing here and there.

CRACK!

Old Zhou returned carrying a small bucket, his expression one of utter delight. After greeting the young people, he immediately turned his attention to Tuanzi on the floor. "Lord Dumpling, did you smell the fishy odor? I caught some fish today. How would you like them cooked?"

"MEOW?"

Tuanzi immediately trotted to his feet, stood upright, and pawed at the small red bucket, craning her neck to peek inside.

"Indeed, you smelled the fish," Old Zhou said, beaming as he lifted the lid for her to see.

Tuanzi paused, looked in the bucket, then up at Old Zhou's cheerful face. It wasn't quite what she'd imagined.

"Such tiny fish!"

Old Zhou, imitating Zhou Li, interpreted Tuanzi's meows based on his own assumptions. He nodded and said, "Alright, tomorrow I'll have Aunt Jiang make fish soup for you…"

"They're too small, MEOW!"

"Patience, patience."

"MEOW?"

Tuanzi turned to Zhou Li, puzzled. "Zhou Ni, is there something wrong with your dad's hearing?"

Zhou Li pursed his lips and nodded without saying anything.

Nearby, Aunt Jiang was speaking to Baozi. "After Ji Ran finishes her rural volunteer program, she still plans to come back and visit Miss Zheng. She's such a good girl, truly cherishing her connections."

Baozi blushed and nodded, unsure of how to respond.

Zhou Li opened his mouth as if to speak but then hesitated, looking a bit conflicted. In the end, he said nothing about it, instead asking Aunt Jiang, "Isn't Xiao Shuang on break too? Why isn't he back yet?"

"He's still training at school."

"Training at school, huh," Zhou Li mused. He'd be better off coming back to train with me.

Aunt Jiang thought Zhou Li had become quite confident. Her gaze swept over him, then to Brother Nan, Little Cousin, and Huai Xu by his side. I wonder whose influence that is? Or is it thanks to all his friends?

After dinner, Zhou Li, Brother Nan, and Huai Xu took Baozi and Lord Dumpling for a stroll in Yan City.

It was the dead of winter, the twelfth lunar month, and they were all bundled in thick, slightly bulky down jackets. Baozi herself was very petite. In summer, dressed in light clothing, she always appeared delicate and frail, with narrow shoulders, a slender waist, a thin frame, and slim arms. Bundled up in thick winter clothes, she no longer gave off that impression of fragility, though she still looked very small.

Passing Brother Nan's family's shop, he grabbed a crispy flatbread for each of them, and they munched on them as they walked.

Only Lord Dumpling didn't get one.

Baozi's cousin was also very considerate of her. When they passed a shop selling duck necks, Little Cousin merely glanced inside a couple of times before her cousin took her in and bought a good amount of duck bones and spicy and sour lotus root.

Baozi felt the long-absent warmth of being cared for.

Gradually, they approached their high school.

Suddenly hearing an odd whoosh of air beside him, Zhou Li turned his head to look and immediately furrowed his brows. A demon, not large but very agile, was darting through the crowd. Despite his speed, his expression was utterly relaxed and carefree, as if he were merely strolling. He nimbly wove through the pedestrians, moving further and further away.

Zhou Li gazed in that direction...

Baozi's voice came softly from beside him, "Cousin, what are you looking at? Did you see a demon again?"

"Nothing," Zhou Li said with a smile. "Just reminiscing about high school."

"Want to go have a look?"

"Let's go take a look."

"They haven't gone on holiday yet, have they?"

"They moved to a new campus."

"Can we still get in?"

"Let's see."

Even as he spoke, Zhou Li had already started walking, his mind clearly made up.

Brother Nan and Huai Xu also headed in that direction.

Baozi had no choice but to follow.

They quickly reached the school gate. The iron gate was still there, still locked, but inside stood two excavators. The girls' dormitory from Zhou Li's time in that class had been demolished, but the other buildings remained. Paired with the pile of rubble and the dilapidated sports field, the sentiment of "things remain but people change" was palpable.

Perhaps because it had been so long since students were around, the grounds were eerily quiet and deserted. A massive, fluffy figure—San Zheng—sat alone atop a pile of rubble, his head bowed, perhaps asleep.

The agile demon they'd seen earlier slowed his pace, approaching San Zheng.

San Zheng started, twisting his head. A flicker of delight flashed in his eyes—

"Hey... come... play..."

The agile demon, now moving slower than a typical person, stopped before San Zheng. His voice was steady as he replied, "Soon. Soon, I'll play with you."

"Come... play..."

San Zheng had already stood up, arms outstretched as if to embrace this new friend.

SWOOSH!

A meter-long staff had appeared in the demon's hand at some point. He touched it to San Zheng's body. Instantly, a white light flashed. San Zheng's joyful expression and slow speech froze; only his eyeballs could still move as his rigid body toppled backward.

WHOOSH...

The demon appeared behind him, catching him and gently laying him on the ground. Then, he took a deep breath and began to chant softly.

The world seemed to ripple, growing illusory.

Outside the school gate, Zhou Li, watching this scene, couldn't help but raise his hand and wave in that direction.

San Zheng's head tilted, his gaze falling right on them. But he couldn't move.

The demon controlling San Zheng seemed to sense something. He whipped his head around, his gaze nearly meeting Zhou Li's. But he quickly realized Zhou Li wasn't looking at him. After a brief hesitation, he glanced down at the Great Demon he was supporting. The agile demon made no further move, simply nodding to Zhou Li's group before allowing the swirling ripples to engulf both himself and San Zheng, and they vanished from the mortal world.

Zhou Li felt an unexpected pang of melancholy. Truthfully, he wasn't very attached to San Zheng. This melancholy was rather inexplicable, perhaps just a wistful feeling that the world now had one less familiar demon.

CLANG.

Zhou Li looked to the side. Little Cousin snatched her hand back as if zapped by lightning. Pointing to the fallen iron lock, she said, "Cousin, this lock is a fake! It wasn't really locked, just latched. Want to go in and look around? Find some of your and Brother Nan's high school memories?"

Zhou Li shook his head. "No need."

"Oh."

Little Cousin quietly observed him. Saying no more, she hurriedly crouched down to pick up the iron lock. After a few fumbled attempts, she finally managed to hang it so it looked locked.

Little Cousin breathed a sigh of relief and followed her cousin away.