"He’s moving, and he’s fast."
"You can sense him from this far away?"
"I’m pretty awesome, and he’s really arrogant."
"Do you understand the map?"
The two sat side by side in the last row of the bus, Zhou Li wearing headphones and chatting with Huai Xu.
He thought the Blood Demon was truly terrifying. It wasn’t just its strength; the mere act of it preying on other demons—its own kind and fellow intelligent species—was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
It was like cannibalism.
Once they arrived in the county, and the distance was shorter, Huai Xu’s perception became much clearer.
Then he fell into contemplation.
"It seems he’s heading towards that guy’s territory. We should have taken the direct bus to the scenic area."
"Why would he go there?"
"I don’t know. Maybe he just woke up with a fuzzy memory and a groggy head, so he made the foolish decision to look for the nearest Great Demon. That guy has been very excited these days, and the Blood Demon’s sensing capabilities must be good too. To the Blood Demon, that guy must be like a lighthouse in the dark," Huai Xu said, sniffing. "It’s not possible that he sees that guy as food, is it?"
"Let’s go to the bus station."
Zhou Li didn’t go to Mingjiu Mountain. That would be too slow. He had heard Zheng Zhilan say she usually descended from the other side of the mountain. There was a village at the foot of that side which was much closer than the Mingjiu Mountain side.
So he made a call to Zheng Zhilan.
On one hand, he asked for clear directions to the village, and on the other hand, he warned her about a Great Demon approaching.
After hanging up the phone, he bought a ticket and boarded the bus.
There were far more buses to that village than to Mingjiu Mountain.
On the bus, Huai Xu said, "They’re fighting! We missed a great show!"
Then he looked at Zhou Li. "It’s all because you were too slow."
Zhou Li turned to gaze at the landscape whizzing by the window, expressionless. "I remembered last night, someone couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning, too scared to come..."
"Usually acting like one is very..."
Zhou Li closed his mouth and continued to look at the scenery.
Just after arriving at the village and getting off the bus, Huai Xu suddenly grabbed Zhou Li’s clothes. "He’s left, escaped, and he’s injured."
"I told you I’m awesome."
"The Evil God is truly strong."
"Yeah," Huai Xu also nodded with a sigh. "Thankfully, he always stays at Yin Yang Temple as the Guardian God, having formed some ties with humans. Otherwise, with his strength, even if he didn’t cause trouble outside, he’d probably still be targeted."
"What about the Blood Demon? We won’t be able to catch up with him , right?"
"...We’ll catch up eventually."
Huai Xu rarely relied on Zhou Li for anything beyond food and shelter. Not wanting to expose Huai Xu’s bravado this time, Zhou Li silently followed along as he ran.
Fortunately, Zhou Li could run too.
With the help of motorcycles and without sparing any expense, Teacher Xiao Zhou now had a bulging wallet, feeling confident.
The Blood Demon was fast but often stopped.
By evening, he had come to a complete stop. Huai Xu had pinpointed his location and quietly made his move.
"Want something to eat?" Zhou Li asked. "I’m really hungry. I have bread in my bag."
Huai Xu tiptoed along the small path, his shoes hard-won, wary of stepping in dog poop. "I’m pretending to be a Little Demon right now, releasing a bit of my aura. The Blood Demon is injured and must be desperately in need of food. Once he comes over, heh heh, he might have escaped from that other guy, but he definitely won’t escape from me!"
He turned back to receive the bread. "Once the big shots among the demons arrive, I’ll have already captured the Blood Demon. I’ll say that when I found him, he was about to commit some atrocity. That would make it much easier for me to ask questions, right?"
"Be careful to avoid him going berserk."
"Don’t worry, I could beat him on my own, and now he’s also injured. I could pin him down with one hand!"
"I hope the big shot who comes is strong, capable of restraining me if I truly become the Great Devil King."
Zhou Li really couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
At that moment, Huai Xu suddenly turned around. Seeing Zhou Li’s expression, he looked puzzled but didn’t ask, "You stay here. I’ll move a little further forward by myself. Once I’ve caught the Blood Demon, I’ll come back for you. There’s a larger path here. Just don’t run around, or you might encounter snakes."
"Give me a break!" Huai Xu waved his hand. "Your Spiritual Power is indeed very strong, but your tactics are both clumsy and stupid. You won’t be of any use if you go!"
"?? You didn’t say that last time!"
"Oh? What did I say last time?"
"You said this was good, really good! Simple to learn and powerful! You said to forget all those fancy moves and just push straight ahead. Blast them with righteousness, and if that doesn’t work, then increase the firepower!"
"Interesting, interesting..."
"You’re still not proficient with it!"
"Remember what I said. If something goes wrong, I’ll just run away and you pretend you don’t know me."
With that, he vanished with a POP in front of Zhou Li.
Zhou Li also stopped in his tracks and looked around.
The crescent moon was thin but still provided a bit of light. The only sounds were the chirping of insects and the croaking of frogs, with the occasional rustling from the cornfields.
Running around all day had been tiring, and Zhou Li thought it a good opportunity to rest.
Suddenly, a man appeared, walking towards him. He was barefoot with his pants rolled up, wearing a headlamp, carrying a battery on his back, and an electric fishing device in his hand. Zhou Li pretended to make a phone call.
The air smelled very fresh.
Aside from a few corn plants, this entire mountain was planted with lemons, and this county accounted for more than 80% of the country’s lemon market.
Suddenly, Zhou Li sensed a different fragrance mingling in the air—a sweet aroma.
His reaction was slow, and it took him a while to turn around—
Behind him stood a classical beauty in a gorgeous robe and skirt, watching him quietly. Zhou Li’s eyesight was good. Even in the dim light, he could make out the plain white gauze with subtle patterns she wore over her dress, as well as the delicate cane in her hand.
Upon closer inspection, Zhou Li was suddenly taken aback.
At that moment, the woman tilted her head and smiled gently. "I didn’t expect to meet you here. You’ve grown up."
Zhou Li didn’t speak for a long while.
The woman continued speaking in her gentle voice, "I knew you would be handsome when you grew up."
Zhou Li hesitated. "Why are you here?"
"I should be the one asking."
Zhou Li glanced around into the distance. The mountain shadows loomed.
Following his gaze, the woman eventually fixed her eyes in a certain direction, then pressed her lips together and stepped towards Zhou Li. "I’m also here to find him. Is the other one your friend?"
"You’ve been in contact with demons."
"I scared you back then." The woman paused. "Do you still remember my name?"
"That’s good, but I’ve changed my name because I needed to register it officially. I’m now called Li Hongran."
"Yes, remember that."
"Let’s go over there."
She walked up to Zhou Li and grabbed his hand.
Suddenly Zhou Li took flight, not towed by any flying device, nor suspended in midair. He felt weightless, drifting rapidly through the sky without feeling any air resistance or the wind.
Soon, they landed on a flat mountaintop.
Huai Xu stood facing off against a ferocious demon with dark red skin and a pair of wings on its back, resembling an Evil God.
Just by the aura alone, the demon seemed to be the stronger one.
This was mainly because Huai Xu looked too handsome to be scary; he had no sharp fangs or claws. Yet, Huai Xu was very confident. The Blood Demon, on the other hand, was extremely brutal. It emitted a deep growl continuously, giving off the impression that it wanted not only to kill its victim but also to tear them to shreds.
Yet, it did not possess Huai Xu’s composure.
When Zhou Li and Hong Ran arrived, both Huai Xu and the Blood Demon’s expressions changed slightly.
"Did you get kidnapped?" Huai Xu found time to turn his head.
"We know each other."
Seeing that the situation was not in its favor, the Blood Demon seized the moment Huai Xu and Zhou Li were talking to flee. It bent its legs and leaped towards the night sky, flapping its wings with difficulty. For a moment, the night was filled with the sound of beating wings.
Huai Xu was not worried about it escaping and continued to ask, "How do you know each other? Did you meet other demons before me?"
Zhou Li replied, "I knew her when I was little."
Meanwhile, Hong Ran watched the direction the Blood Demon was escaping to, lifted her cane gently, and tapped it on the ground.
The sound of flapping wings stopped abruptly.
THUD. The Blood Demon fell from the sky.
Zhou Li noticed that at the moment the cane hit the ground, Huai Xu also lowered his head, shut his eyes tight, and then shook his head vigorously, apparently feeling some discomfort.
Hong Ran continued to press the top of her cane with one hand, then turned her head slightly, directing her gaze to Huai Xu. "Ah, it’s you, Huai Xu."