My Demon Friends

"Is the Old Land corresponding to Chunming any good?"

"Yes, it's beautiful. I'll take you there when we have the time."

"Can I go in too?"

"Heavenly Masters can. It's an ability your world has granted you, but we have corresponding countermeasures."

"I see."

Zhou Li understood now—this was the ability their world had granted Heavenly Masters, the power to attack Demons.

Hong Ran didn't approve of this Demon's suggestion and wrote down a convincing list of reasons. As the paper wobbled through the air into the void, she muttered under her breath, "If you go to the Old Land, won't you lose signal?"

Zhou Li pretended not to hear.

There was still a stack of documents left on the table, but Hong Ran waved her hand. "No more! My head hurts!"

Then, taking Zhou Li's hand to make him stop, she stood up and pulled him outside. "The tangerines behind the mountain are ripe. I've been too busy to pick them these past few days. I'm afraid some little rascals are going to steal them all if we don't hurry. Come on, let's go pick them."

"Did you plant them?" Zhou Li let her pull him along.

"Yes, I've been growing them for many years now," Hong Ran nodded. "What about Huai Xu? Didn't you say you would bring Huai Xu along?"

"Your subordinate took him to play games."

"I know where he is."

Hong Ran led Zhou Li all the way to the back of the courtyard and into a room dedicated to gaming, where they found Huai Xu. The variety of gaming equipment dazzled Zhou Li, while Huai Xu sat in a hanging chair, racing a car.

"Joining us to pick tangerines?" asked Zhou Li.

"Wait for me!"

"Hurry up."

Huai Xu executed a drift, and the chair tilted to one side to simulate the real-life situation, resulting in the car flipping on the screen.

"Done!"

Huai Xu got up, approached Zhou Li, and asked, "What's that thing called? It's so fun. Why don't we have one at home?"

Hong Ran said softly, "If you like it, you can take it."

Huai Xu was too embarrassed to accept, giving Zhou Li a meaningful look, but Zhou Li seemed not to notice.

There was a small path through the bamboo forest behind the courtyard. Years of accumulated dry bamboo leaves made the path soft, and they rustled underfoot. Over the slope, one could see the tangerine trees that Hong Ran had planted.

Several little demons perched on the trees, snacking away. They fled in alarm upon seeing the newcomers and quickly disappeared.

Pointing at the fleeing figures, Hong Ran said to Zhou Li, "See? It was them!"

She smiled gently, a soft and tender expression.

She was still in her Hanfu, less glamorous than before. The breeze lifted the ribbon at her waist, making her look stunningly beautiful.

Zhou Li smiled back.

These little demons were truly young, not yet fully grown. Of course, Hong Ran couldn't bring herself to blame them. It wasn't that she had no way to deal with them; she simply chose to indulge these little ones.

As Zhou Li mused over this, Hong Ran had already plucked a tangerine and handed it to him. "Try it, it's delicious."

Zhou Li took it.

This kind of tangerine was large, with a soft, heavy rind that felt familiar. He peeled it and took a bite. It was juicy, and the taste was sweet with just the right touch of tartness—absolutely delicious.

Watching him, Hong Ran asked, "How's the taste?"

Zhou Li handed her half, suddenly grinning. "Isn't this the same as the ones grown on my grandfather's mountain?"

"You remembered!"

"Yes."

In Yi Province, these tangerines were called soft-rind tangerines; their more poetic scientific name was Chun Jian citrus. Zhou Li recalled that when he was little, the villages in his city had received a large distribution of these saplings, and many households grew them.

When he was young, Hong Ran had even taken Zhou Li up the mountain to steal them.

Huai Xu, listening to their conversation from the sidelines, couldn't get a word in. Not that he minded; he quickly climbed a tree, picked a tangerine, and began eating it while sitting on a branch.

Zhou Li advised him, "Eat less, there will be delicious food tonight."

Turning to Hong Ran, he said, "You've grown so many you can't finish them all. I'll pack some to take away later; I can help you get through some."

"Sure!"

Hong Ran paused, then added, "Take as much as you like. I'll have a car load them for you. Those little rascals can't eat much anyway. If no one eats them, they'll just rot on the ground."

"I'll come back next time."

"I might be away for a while," Hong Ran said, eating a tangerine. "I have to go to the North first. Someone of my rank awoke this morning, and I ought to show some respect by personally fetching him. Otherwise, if it were someone else, they might not be able to handle him."

"What rank is someone 'of your rank'?"

"Let's see... he counts as a Great General."

"Very fierce?"

"Much fiercer than me. But I'm the gentlest sister, right?" Hong Ran grabbed Zhou Li's hand, playfully forcing him to nod. Actually, no force was needed, but Zhou Li still made a reluctant face to humor her, which made her laugh happily.

"Then, will you be in danger?" Zhou Li asked again.

"I have the Scepter with me."

"Will it take long?"

"Not too long, but afterward, I still need to go to the other side of this planet." Hong Ran looked a bit troubled.

"To do what?" Zhou Li knew that the other side of this planet was already another Demon Kingdom. To call it a Demon Kingdom wasn't entirely precise; in any case, it was territory under another 'Your Highness's' jurisdiction.

"To attend a meeting," Hong Ran sighed. "The other Highnesses awoke long ago; only our Highness is still nowhere to be found. Under these circumstances, I must go and report to the other Highnesses."

"Will they make things difficult for you?"

"I don't know. I'll call a few capable fighters to come with me. Although I'm just a stand-in, I still need to put on a good show," Hong Ran said playfully.

"I see," Zhou Li nodded.

After Demons came to this world, they divided this planet into four 'administrative regions' of sorts. Zhou Li now guessed this division was probably related to those large, intact areas of the Old Land.

In ancient human terms, these were four Demon Kingdoms, though their relationships with each other were actually very close.

The kingdom they were standing in was very large. Since the Demon King was called Elm, and respectfully addressed as the Elm King, this kingdom was also called Yu Country. Due to the stupidity of an Old monster who had awoken not long ago, Zhou Li had long believed that the Demon King was a fish.

To think... How embarrassing!

For dinner, there were Finely Shredded Tofu Soup, Three Non-Stick Dessert, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Nine Turns Intestines, as well as two home-cooked dishes.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall required exquisite ingredients. The Nine Turns Intestines were said to be made by a Shandong Cuisine master chef. Zhou Li wasn't quite accustomed to the Three Non-Stick Dessert, but the knife skills displayed in preparing the Finely Shredded Tofu Soup left him in awe.

Just as they finished eating, Zhou Li's phone suddenly went DING DONG.

Baozi: What did you guys do yesterday? Brother Nan's cold is worse today.

Zhou Li: We were by Dian Lake; it was windy.

Zhou Li: I told her to leave, but she wouldn't.

Zhou Li: Has she taken any medicine?

Baozi: Seriously... I can't be bothered with you.

Baozi: She mixed a packet of cold granules herself. Says she'll be fine after drinking it because that's what her grandma told her.

Zhou Li: Her grandma has dementia.

Baozi: ??

Baozi: You're the Little Brother; aren't you supposed to take Brother Nan to the school infirmary?

Zhou Li: I'm at my sister's place right now.

Zhou Li: Could you please take her to the hospital?

Zhou Li: [Red Packet]

Zhou Li: [Emoji]

*Your friend Baozi has claimed your Red Packet.*

Baozi: No.

Zhou Li: ...

Baozi: She won't go with me. She's stubborn as a mule. She's a grown adult but acts like there's something wrong with her head.

Zhou Li: Sounds like you know her pretty well.

Baozi: ...

Baozi: You'd better come back quickly.

Zhou Li: Okay.

Only then did Zhou Li look up and say, "Sister, I need to get back early for something. I'll come find you after you get back."

"Is your little girlfriend checking on you?"

"No..."

"Go on then. I'll have someone send you. The tangerines are already packed." Hong Ran stretched out her hand to pinch Zhou Li's face and gave it a hard tug. "Also, I've packed some dishes for that silly cat at your house. I'll go get them for you."

"Okay."

Seeing that he was in a hurry, Hong Ran still had the Ladybug Monster send him back. It took only a few minutes to fly to the roof of his apartment building.

Zhou Li had Huai Xu take the things home while he hurried downstairs, rode his bike to school as fast as lightning, and simultaneously put on his Bluetooth headset to call Brother Nan.