My Demon Friends

The other party had originally planned to have them go on their own, thinking that they must have consulted numerous "Masters" and had experienced disappointment in the past few days. But as soon as Zhou Li came up with his usual spiel, their attitude changed immediately.

—If we can't resolve the issue, you don't have to pay.

That was indeed quite persuasive.

Zhou Li somewhat regretted agreeing to them picking him up because the wait had been far too long. By the time the car arrived, it was already mid-afternoon.

It's nearly two hundred kilometers to Xinping.

Zhou Li, now appearing as Zhu Shuang, kept silent after getting in the car, just holding Tuanzi and sending messages to Brother Nan.

Zhou Li: Brother Nan

Zhou Li: I'm not going to practice driving tomorrow.

Li Daimao: Got your period?

Zhou Li: I've got something to take care of.

Li Daimao: What's up?

Li Daimao: Going on a date?

Li Daimao: Going to pick up chicks?

Zhou Li: With Huai Xu.

Li Daimao: ??? Huai Xu?!!

Li Daimao: [Shocked]

Zhou Li: [Angry]

Li Daimao: Out to make some money?

Zhou Li: Yeah, how else would I go in on a car with you?

Li Daimao: Approved.

Having finished reporting to Brother Nan, Zhou Li opened WeChat and told his driving instructor that he had an emergency and couldn't come for the lesson the next day.

The instructor agreed.

Not long after, the instructor sent a message in the group chat, telling everyone to rest for a few days after the second skill test, so there was no need to come for practice the next couple of days.

Zhou Li didn't know if the instructor had planned this earlier or just made the decision, but he was grateful either way—otherwise, even with Brother Nan's support, missing the first day of practicing the third skill section would inevitably result in missing some content.

At this time, Huai Xu was chatting with the person in the passenger seat. Besides the driver, a middle-aged man had also come to pick them up—a clear sign that the family was reciprocating the confidence Zhou Li and Huai Xu had shown. It was also a form of esteem.

However, after seeing them in person, the middle-aged man couldn't help feeling a little disappointed and worried.

Huai Xu was currently giving him some reassurance.

"We are professionals and have dealt with many similar incidents. For example, there was the incident in Lufeng County last time—I don't know if you've heard of it. It involved Hu Weimin from Lufeng County. If you know him, you could ask around. We were the ones who handled it, quickly and efficiently..."

"We adhere to a youth-oriented corporate culture. You just need to inspect the results and make the payment. Let us take care of everything else..."

"If we can't solve the problem, we won't take a single cent!"

"..."

The middle-aged man listened with skepticism but regained some confidence. At the very least, Huai Xu's confident assertions practically eliminated any way for them to swindle money from the Zhang Family.

Then Huai Xu inquired about the situation, and the middle-aged man's answers were pretty much in line with what he had overheard by the window.

「By the time they arrived at the Zhang Family, it was already night.」

According to Huai Xu, the Zhang Family's wealth was much greater than the Hu Family's—Zhou Li believed it. However, in terms of residence alone, the Zhang Family's house wasn't as sprawling as Hu Weimin's villa, nor did it have that nouveau riche vibe.

"We currently have a Master looking after the situation, and we were really anxious, so we've invited many Masters over. Please understand," said a butler who came over. The butler didn't look down on them at all and was very respectful. "The appointment we arranged for the two of you is in forty minutes. Because the doctor advised that our Mr. Zhang needs proper rest, you will only have half an hour."

"Okay," Huai Xu nodded.

They would likely have other 'Masters' come after them, but those were mostly for show. There was no need to expose that façade.

Zhou Li sat in a chair and waited.

Huai Xu had already taken out his phone and started playing games.

There were many diversely dressed people coming and going nearby. The butler and two middle-aged men always received them politely.

Some claimed they had already performed rituals, and if successful, Mr. Zhang would wake up in a few days, which seemed rather irresponsible. Others were more honest, admitting their limited knowledge and inability to help.

The Zhang Family were kind-hearted. They always thanked each person respectfully and presented them with a red envelope.

Huai Xu appeared to be focused on his game, yet was fully aware of the surroundings. Without looking up, he said to Zhou Li, "Making money in your era is ridiculously easy, isn't it? You can get paid without doing a thing..."

Zhou Li didn't respond.

He noticed that these people's visits to the room varied in length, but even the longest didn't exceed twenty minutes.

It seemed the butler giving them half an hour was already preferential treatment. Evidently, aside from them, no one else had dared to declare they wouldn't charge if unable to resolve the issue.

Until the butler came over to them respectfully and said, "Gentlemen, please come this way!"

"Hold on a moment!" Huai Xu was in a sniper duel.

"Certainly." The butler waited patiently.

Huai Xu, fed up with the camper, exposed himself and was promptly shot. He then put away his phone and followed the butler inside.

The room inside had been converted into an intensive care unit. There was no doctor, just a middle-aged man lying on the bed with a dark complexion. Huai Xu went straight over to inspect him and touched the middle-aged man's forehead.

"Was it really caused by a person?" Huai Xu wondered.

"That is what Mr. Zhang said when he woke up," the butler, standing by the door, replied. "However, Mr. Zhang was only awake for a few minutes before fainting again."

"He's very strong-willed then!"

"Do you two have a solution? We will cooperate fully."

"Give us a quiet room and ten minutes to prepare," said Huai Xu.

"Alright."

The butler turned, opened a door, and gestured for them to enter.

Next door was a study, very quiet. The butler stood outside, not entering, and closed the door for them.

Touching the books in the study out of an irresistible urge to fiddle with everything he saw, Huai Xu said, "There's a Demon nearby, but it seems to be one that's quite adept at staying hidden. I'll need some time to find it."

"Understood."

"That person has demon power within them; it's weak and also very strange. I've seen this kind of thing before. Dispersing it will do the trick."

"Can you do it?"

"I only know two ways," Huai Xu held up two fingers. "One is to beat the person to death, and the power will naturally disperse. The second is to find that Demon and beat it half to death, making it take back what it left behind."

"Understood."

As everyone knows, Huai Xu is only good at fighting, stealing food, and eating.

Huai Xu glanced at Zhou Li's expression and explained, "I'm already very powerful. You can't expect me to know everything... Besides, isn't dispelling a Demon's power what you human Heavenly Masters are best at?"

"I think I have a book that mentions this."

"Have you learned it?"

"Haven't gotten to that part yet."

"I'll go get it for you."

WHOOSH. Huai Xu disappeared. When he returned, he was holding several ancient books.

"Which one?"

"This one, I suppose."

Zhou Li found a book and, after flipping only a few pages, located the relevant section.

Dispelling power left behind by Demons was indeed what Heavenly Masters excelled at. Perhaps Heavenly Masters and Demons were naturally opposed. A Heavenly Master's Spiritual Power inherently possessed the ability to dispel demon power, though the reverse was also true.

This method was very simple and could only be considered a minor trick.

The simple version: One just needed to infuse Spiritual Power into the victim's body, and upon contact with the Demon's power, it would take effect.

The process wasn't difficult either.

However, this method was quite primitive. It consumed a lot of Spiritual Power with little benefit; the efficiency ratio was too low. The advanced version involved tailoring one's Spiritual Power to the characteristics of the demon power. This made it more targeted, imbuing the Spiritual Power with stronger dispelling properties and enhancing...

Zhou Li closed the book at that point.

So the two opened the door to their room and said to the butler outside, "We're ready. We'll take another look."

"Of course, please."

The butler saw the ancient books in their hands. He was sure such old books weren't from his employer's house, so he kept silent and stood outside the door as Huai Xu had requested.

Huai Xu snapped his fingers, and immediately, a camera and a hidden pinhole camera in the room became inoperative.

Zhou Li stood by the bed, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed his Spiritual Power, cautiously gathering it and transferring it into Mr. Zhang's body. Once it met the demon power, it was like a flood crashing against small branches—utterly overwhelming.

Efficiency ratio wasn't high?

Just increase the output!

NNGH...

The demon power inside Mr. Zhang was weak and useless. It seemed to only keep him unconscious. When the demon power was dispelled, he immediately woke up.

Huai Xu leaned close to Zhou Li's ear and said, "Notify the Local Government. Let's not bother with the rest. We'll take the money, stay one night, and see if Lin Zhong and his people will attack us. It'd be best if they come so you can gain some experience. We'll head back early the next day."

"Mhm."

Huai Xu went straight to open the door, with Zhou Li following behind, looking every bit like an unimportant little follower.

"Your boss is awake," Huai Xu said. "Pay up."

"He's awake?"

The butler immediately looked inside.

Huai Xu reminded him, "Actually, you better call a doctor first. You can pay us later. We have some errands to run, so we'll be going now."

The butler wanted to detain them, but they only left an Alipay account number.

Huai Xu and Zhou Li walked out of the Zhang Family residence and headed towards the city center, where the sky was bathed in a warm yellow glow from the city lights.

Streetlights illuminated their path. Huai Xu walked slowly, musing aloud as he went, "I'm reminded of a type of Demon. They can form a certain pact with humans, after which humans can borrow their power and become extraordinary. But that person is pretty much bound to them then."

"So that's how it is."

"Yeah. In ancient times, Heavenly Masters teamed up with Demons, and Demons used humans for their own purposes. It was quite normal." Huai Xu raised his head to look at the sky. "Ordinary humans are much weaker than Demons, but they're also very easy to exploit—they are filled with desires, never satisfied."

Without waiting for Zhou Li to answer, he turned his head and asked, "If Demons and humans go to war again, who do you think would win?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know either," Huai Xu's tone suddenly turned somewhat despondent. "But we're bound to lose eventually."

"Why?"

"This world can't accommodate us." Huai Xu pointed at the sky. "Demons divide the long time since their arrival here into four ages. In the first age, Demons had just descended, and humans worshipped them as deities, day and night. Then, the Will of the World put them into a deep sleep."

"When they awoke, Heavenly Masters had appeared among humans. That was the second age, when humans began to challenge their former 'deities'."

"War broke out."

"But humans were no match and were easily defeated by Demons. However, the Demons did not press their advantage."

"They were in the wrong. They were stubborn, inflexible, stupid!"

"In the third age, humans grew stronger. In some small-scale wars, they could even contend with Demons. Heavenly Masters with power comparable to Great Demons appeared all over the world. And then there was Master Ming." Huai Xu's breath hitched as he spoke of Master Ming. "His strength was unimaginable to others. Fortunately, Master Ming did not stand against the Demons."

"And in this age, you humans are even more powerful."

"Of course, Demons are also trying their best to develop countermeasures, each with their own ideas, I guess." Huai Xu paused. "Maybe we can still win in this age, but what about the next one?"

Zhou Li didn't know what to say.

This concerned two races, even touching on the ethereal 'Will of the World' that Demons spoke of. He didn't even know what that was. As one of the countless beings in existence, he really had no say.

Looking at Huai Xu, then down at Tuanzi sleeping soundly in his arms, Zhou Li could only say—

"I'll stand by your side."

"Good..."

Huai Xu nodded solemnly and continued walking forward, occasionally raising his head to glance at the sky.

The weather was good today, but still, there were no stars.

This age's humans are indeed unprecedentedly powerful. But in gaining so much, have they also lost something?

「...」

They found a small motel on the outskirts of the city.

The motel was average, with a stretch of farmland behind it, remote and sparsely populated—a precaution in case Lin Zhong decided to launch an attack targeting Zhou Li.