In the world of demons, the weight of the word ’death’ far exceeds that of human society.
Zhou Li had long known about a thing called a ’mark’ that demons bear. This mark would follow the perpetrator after a demon was killed. Huai Xu had also told him that in the demon world, there was a place with the projection of all marks. So, even though the social structure of demons was quite loose, the Great Demons would know immediately if a demon died.
The death of a demon was a big deal—
This was a relatively peaceful era.
CLICK. The door opened.
The living room was dimly lit, the light flickering unpredictably. Accompanied by lively background music, a gentle female voice narrated—
"The sardines have been torn into fragile clusters, and the dolphins’ feast has begun..."
"However, they cannot enjoy this sumptuous meal alone..."
"The South African gannets have been eyeing them for a while; they have to pick the right moment to attack."
"Hey! This silly cat is still watching cartoons!" Huai Xu turned on the living room light and immediately heard Lord Dumpling’s voice, incessantly asking her to turn off the light. So, she turned it off sullenly.
"Watching TV without lights is bad for your eyes," Huai Xu said, thinking of an excuse to ease the awkwardness.
Only a light huffing sound was heard in the living room.
One human and one demon walked over. They saw Tuanzi sprawled in the middle of the sofa, the blanket tangled into a mess beneath her. She was staring straight at the TV, her eyes glittering with the changing light.
Huai Xu sat down next to her and picked up the remote control. "This isn’t interesting. I’ll change it to a war program for you."
Huai Xu put the remote control down sullenly, muttering about what was so interesting, sighing as she looked at the TV.
"The largest animal in the dolphin family has also appeared—it’s the killer whale."
"They gather in family groups and are highly dependent on collective cooperation. They don’t feed on sardines but rather... they prefer dolphins."
"The killer whale dives into the sea, ready to surprise the dolphins..."
"The dolphin manages to escape by luck..."
Tuanzi’s eyes were wide open, and Huai Xu was also deeply engrossed. The fates of the dolphins tightly gripped the hearts of the large and small demon.
A can of Sprite was placed in front of Huai Xu.
Huai Xu turned her head to look, and only then did she remember that she and Zhou Li hadn’t finished their conversation. She blinked her eyes thoughtfully, glanced at the TV again, and asked, "If you encounter a human and a demon fighting, who would you help?"
"Hm?" The living room was very dark. Huai Xu’s eyes shone brightly as she looked at his expression. Zhou Li suddenly felt that she wasn’t really asking him.
"Do I have to take sides?" Zhou Li asked.
"If you don’t intervene, one side is likely to die."
"Who is right and who is wrong then?"
"Enmmm..." Huai Xu turned her head back to the TV. "The world isn’t just black and white."
"Does that trouble you?" Zhou Li countered.
Huai Xu stared at the TV without blinking, unconsciously reaching for Tuanzi’s tail, but it kept slipping away. The living room felt very dark to her; perhaps Zhou Li couldn’t see her. "I was human once, for a short period," she said. "Then I’ve been a demon for I don’t know how many hundreds of years, although most demons also don’t like me and can’t get along with me..."
"Hmm," Zhou Li nodded, signaling her to continue.
’Hundreds of years’ was a habitual phrase Huai Xu used. It indicated that she felt a long, long time had passed. This might mean a few thousand years, or it might mean the last few days without eating ice cream.
"Humans and demons have fought wars before. You haven’t experienced it; you’ve been in a prosperous age since you were born. You don’t know how chaotic that time was," Huai Xu continued. "Not only did humans and demons slaughter each other, there were many more cruel things than you can imagine. Now we’re in a new era. Humans have changed dynasties many times over many years and have probably already forgotten those brutal wars and the peace treaties forged from them. The Demon King is nowhere to be found. There’s a Great Demon who always wants to destroy humans. He is coveting Hong Ran’s position and wants to seize power. Now, there’s also a moronic Heavenly Master giving him an excuse. If in the future... Of course, I’m not afraid. I just, I just don’t know what to do." The source of thɪs content is novèlfire.net
"I think it’s unlikely," Zhou Li said.
"Ancient emperors and courts were too foolish, and for us now, war is too extravagant," Zhou Li said, trying to comfort her. "Don’t think too much. Things will work out when we get there. Aren’t you meant to be a carefree and at ease Old monster?"
"Little Demon," Huai Xu corrected.
"I’ve already changed it."
"Really? What did you change it to?"
"I’m not telling you!"
"I’ll have a look myself!"
Huai Xu saw Zhou Li pull out his phone. The light illuminated his face as he quirked the corner of his mouth and praised, "This is pretty good too, ’Things have come to this, let’s eat first.’ Nice mindset, not bad..."
On the surface, it was a compliment. Huai Xu felt Zhou Li was actually mocking her. This person is actually so cruel!
She came back to her senses slightly and realized she had unknowingly gripped Tuanzi’s tail, and Tuanzi hadn’t pulled it back.
HUFF. Huai Xu exhaled. "I’m going to play games now!"
Then she monopolized Zhou Li’s computer.
This time it wasn’t LOL, but a beautifully rendered shooting game. Zhou Li sat beside her and watched for a while. She liked to play a female character with a sniper rifle and a male character with a bow. Relying on her superhuman reflexes, she played so well that her opponents didn’t dare to leave their base.
Of course, there were times when she died, like—
Huai Xu wanted to smash the keyboard, but she dared not. Ultimately, she could only grind her teeth and keep sucking in cool air. Meanwhile, Tuanzi complained beside her that she was disturbing Lord Dumpling from watching "Animal World."
Zhou Li chuckled and went to take a shower.
The nights in Chunming were very cool, perfect for standing on the balcony to catch the breeze or go out for a stroll. After his shower, Zhou Li was only dressed in loose shorts and a T-shirt, wearing flip-flops he had brought from home. Maybe it was a good time to read a book. He had impulsively bought a few online a few days ago but had only flipped through a few pages before losing interest.
Zhou Li thought he should buy a lounge chair or a tea table set for decoration on his bedroom balcony. He remembered that the bedroom of Old Zhou and Aunt Jiang in their other, larger house was decorated like that.
Imagining himself reading on the balcony, he thought it would be wonderful, and this convinced him to make the decision.
In the living room, the sounds of "Animal World" and the game still echoed.
Zhou Li noticed how open the area around him was.
Not only were there few high-rise buildings, but roads were also scarce, with just a few highways shining in the night. Most of the ground seemed to be empty or occupied by factories, all hidden in the darkness.
It was almost eleven o’clock now, with little traffic or pedestrians.
Suddenly, his vision blurred.
A gust of wind moved along the street below, stirring up leaves and dust as it went, drawing sidelong glances from passersby.
And in mid-air, in the darkness where the streetlights didn’t reach, he saw a white shadow flit by. Looking closely, it was a paper bird chasing the wind.
Zhou Li was taken aback, then immediately turned and walked to the living room.
Brother Nan’s voice came from the laptop, "This moron Genji has had enough, jumping around in front of me, constantly ’I need healing,’ ’I need healing,’ and then he asks why I don’t heal him when he’s right in front of me. I’m playing Anna, not Mercy! If I could aim accurately while he’s hopping around like that, why wouldn’t I just go snipe?"
Huai Xu had long since taken her hands off the keyboard. She was playing with a short blade, patiently listening to him finish before saying, "Brother Nan, Zhou Li’s Tuanzi has fainted. I need to go offline for a moment."
Brother Nan quickly agreed, stressing that Tuanzi’s health was the priority.
Tuanzi then turned her head and stared straight at Huai Xu.
With her back to Zhou Li, Huai Xu’s voice suddenly became grave. "It’s the one who caused trouble a few days ago. There’s no mistake... So bold! I’m going down first!"
After saying that, she vanished with a BANG.
Zhou Li immediately left the apartment and took the elevator downstairs.