My Demon Friends

"Lord Lin Zhong, are you asleep?"

The demon's body and limbs resembled bamboo, sectioned joint by joint, like some kind of insect adept at camouflage.

He stood outside an ancient-looking room. The window was latticed and papered over. The night was black as ink. With his vision, he could clearly see a flickering light inside the room.

Soon, a voice came from inside—

"What is it?"

"Yes, there's something I need to report to you," the Bamboo Joint Demon said, standing motionless at the door. "It's about the human with extremely strong spiritual power. We arranged for his assassination today. Lord Zhang Gou's subordinates were deployed, but they failed."

"Was there something unusual?"

"Lord Zhang Gou has just confirmed that the human's relationship with Lord Hong Ran may be closer than we previously assessed. We initially thought he was merely acquainted with Lord Hong Ran. We acted rashly."

"How close?"

"Possibly very close."

"That could be troublesome!"

"I apologize; it was our oversight."

"You're not to blame."

The light in Lin Zhong's room ceased flickering. Then the door opened, and he walked out.

In recent days, the number of awakening demons had surged, and Lin Zhong's faction had its framework much improved. Logically, a failure was just a failure; another higher-level force could be deployed and a new opportunity sought. There were specialized people for such tasks, so there was no need for such matters to be reported directly to him.

But being very close to Hong Ran was a different matter.

His subordinates couldn't be blamed for this either. After all, Hong Ran acted as the regent of the Demon King; Lin Zhong couldn't be monitoring her all the time. Not only did he need to show her sufficient respect publicly, but as a member of the opposing, weaker faction, he also had to be more scrupulous in his actions.

Only by playing by the rules could he oppose Hong Ran.

That's why he didn't say much.

The Bamboo Joint Demon continued his report, "Last time, he might have concealed his strength. Lord Zhang Gou's subordinates specialize in assassination. They fell into a disadvantage when he discovered them and began to confront them head-on. That's the news from our spy."

"Since we've already made a move, let's finish it cleanly."

"In that case," the Bamboo Joint Demon paused, "I suggest we send the Grim Reaper from Lord Mengying's subordinates again, just to be safe."

"Hmmm..." Lin Zhong drawled, contemplating for a moment before saying, "We don't have the luxury of failing again. Time is of the essence. Have Mengying go directly. Make sure no traces are left, and see if we can pin the blame on those irrational fools. Otherwise, we'll really be in trouble."

This effectively meant skipping several levels and raising the response level concerning Zhou Li to the highest.

...

Huai Xu carried the unconscious, slender demon towards the inn, talking as he walked, "You have boundless potential—it just needs to be unearthed."

He didn't wait for Zhou Li to respond. "That spy who fled will definitely report back. More will likely come. I pretended to fight with him for two minutes earlier; I wonder what level the next one will be, hehehe..."

Huai Xu glanced sideways as Zhou Li played with Tuanzi in his arms, feeling somewhat sour. "But don't worry. I'm very strong. As long as Lin Zhong doesn't come personally, the rest can't beat me."

"Is Lin Zhong that powerful?" Zhou Li asked casually.

"He's not bad. I remember he isn't very strong in combat himself. However, his high status and long life have granted him many formidable tricks. Surely, his many subordinates must have also scavenged or created some powerful magic artifacts for him."

"What if he does come?"

"Even if he comes, he can't kill me. At most, he could kill you," Huai Xu said, then paused before adding, "But as long as he can't kill me, he wouldn't dare to kill you."

"I see."

"That's right."

After that, Huai Xu fell silent. Only the voices of Zhou Li and Tuanzi could be heard in the quiet corridor—

"Lord Dumpling escaped through the window!"

"Wow, amazing~~"

"Hmph!"

...

As dawn approached, Zhou Li, in his drowsy state, felt a sense of unease, sensing the spiritual power around him becoming chaotic.

He got up and lifted a corner of the curtain.

The sky was tinged with the pale light of pre-dawn, and the world was shrouded in a misty, deep blue. Through the dim light, Zhou Li saw two figures tangled in a struggle on the empty, cleanly harvested farmland in the distance.

They were moving too fast.

Most of the time, Zhou Li couldn't see where they were, only catching a glimpse of their silhouettes at the moment of collision.

Yet they seldom clashed directly.

They fought sporadically, sometimes on the ground, sometimes in the air. At moments they were too far to see, at others, dangerously close.

Zhou Li recognized one of them as Huai Xu. Unfortunately, he couldn't help; he could only watch secretly from his hiding spot.

The other figure was like a black phantom. It was visible in the dim light only because it was blacker than night itself. It could disappear into one shadow and reappear in another, or change its shape at will.

At this point, Zhou Li couldn't tell who had the upper hand.

It was completely unclear.

Both sides seemed to be walking a tightrope, yet they also possessed the ability to evade each other's attacks. So, despite both being very strong, they had fought for a long time without inflicting any significant damage on each other.

Zhou Li watched quietly, not the least bit panicked.

Because although Huai Xu was fast, Zhou Li knew he could be even faster—so fast that it defied description by time.

But he hadn't used that ability yet.

Until a third figure appeared on the battlefield—

He was a figure much taller than an average person, dressed in a light gray, voluminous robe. He had messy, long hair and a pair of curved horns on his head. He was too far away for Zhou Li to clearly see his face.

He hovered in mid-air, having appeared as if from nowhere.

A name flashed through Zhou Li's mind, accompanied by an ominous premonition.

The super boss had actually come himself!

Lin Zhong raised his hand. No effects were visible, yet Huai Xu suddenly appeared in another spot. It seemed the old demon's simple gesture was a lethal attack that even Huai Xu had to dodge.

Though the move was silent.

"Hmm?"

Lin Zhong looked in Zhou Li's direction and chuckled. "I was wondering how such a powerful human Heavenly Master appeared so quickly. It turns out it was you in disguise, Huai Xu. It's a good thing I followed."

"You recognize me as well?"

"Yes, I do. The first time I saw you, you had just turned into a demon, following Master Ming. Have you forgotten?"

"I don't remember."

"It seems our intelligence missed a crucial piece. But if it's you, it's normal that they didn't discover you."

"How did you recognize me?"

"Your abilities gave you away."

"Hmmm..." Huai Xu's eyes darted about before he suddenly asked, "So, how was our relationship back then?"

But Lin Zhong just laughed. "You're much more mischievous than before."

He didn't answer. Instead, he held his breath and scanned the surroundings. After a moment, he looked straight toward the small inn. Zhou Li had already moved his eyes from the gap in the curtain, but he still hadn't escaped Lin Zhong's detection.

Lin Zhong waved his hand.

BANG!

The window shattered, and Zhou Li was swept up by a gust of wind, carried out into the fields. His hair quickly became damp with dew.