My Demon Friends

PING!

Zhou Li picked up his phone. It was a message from Yin Le.

Yin Le: Just woke up.

Yin Le: I guess this should be...

Yin Le's explanation was much more detailed than Zheng Zhilan's, but the gist was similar. It described an ingenious method used by ancient Heavenly Masters: they transformed extraordinary objects into imprints etched onto their bodies for convenient carrying. High-level Heavenly Masters typically used this for Magic Artifacts; it wasn't applicable to mundane objects.

Zhou Li: Got it, thanks.

Yin Le: No need to thank me.

Yin Le: This era has just begun; there shouldn't be such powerful Heavenly Masters. Could it be you've encountered a Night Watchman from the previous era?

Zhou Li: No.

Yin Le: I wouldn't compete with you for your fortune anyway.

Zhou Li: It really wasn't. A Demon branded me.

Yin Le: A Demon??

Zhou Li briefly described his experience to him.

Yin Le: Then I have no idea why it would do that. Maybe this object will attract something?

Zhou Li: I think so too.

Yin Le: Need help?

Yin Le: It couldn't be a follow-up to what happened last time, could it?

Zhou Li: No need.

Zhou Li: It's not.

Yin Le: Where are you now, Lufeng?

Zhou Li: I'm not there.

Yin Le: I don't believe you! *He added an angry emoticon.*

Zhou Li: …I'm in Xinping.

Yin Le: Alright, it doesn't matter if it's related to last time or not. Just let me know if you need help. Consider it me repaying the debt for helping me last time.

Zhou Li: Alright.

Just as Zhou Li was about to put down his phone, he suddenly received a call from an unknown number. The caller ID showed it was from Caiyun Yuxi.

"Hello?"

"Is this Master Zhou?"

"Yes."

Zhou Li noticed Huai Xu huddling closer, his ears pricked up, brazenly eavesdropping on the phone conversation. Truly shameless.

"I'm from the Zhang Family; just call me Little Zhang," a rather young voice said. "We've already transferred the magical compensation to you. Do you need us to escort you back to Chunming?"

"Magical compensation... Hey, I like that term!" Huai Xu, assuming Little Zhang couldn't hear him, grinned foolishly.

"No need," Zhou Li said.

"Then, would it be convenient for you to join us for a simple meal? My father insists on thanking you in person and meeting you."

"Not convenient."

"Go, go!" Huai Xu urged. Then, receiving an intimidating glance from Zhou Li, he shrank back. "Okay, we won't go. But you could tell him we ran into trouble precisely because we helped them. Maybe you can ask for more money... uh, no, magical compensation!"

"...You're not in Chunming anymore?"

"No, I'm not."

"That's truly a pity..."

Zhou Li hung up the call and exchanged stares with Huai Xu.

A few seconds later, Huai Xu blinked, lowered his voice, and said, "Didn't you think the baozi this morning weren't very good?"

"Are you always like this on the battlefield?"

"Yeah! Did you expect me to be tense all the time? That would wear me out!" Huai Xu stated matter-of-factly. "Do you take me for some greenhorn trembling on the battlefield? I've mowed down countless enemies..."

"Okay, okay, got it."

Zhou Li promptly cut off his impending boast.

Just then, Huai Xu's expression turned serious. He whipped his head towards a specific direction. "A big one is coming!"

"What?"

"A Great Demon."

"Is he powerful?"

"Not sure. His aura isn't particularly strong, but that doesn't mean much," Huai Xu pondered for a moment. "He's most likely difficult to deal with. If he were easy, Lin Zhong wouldn't have sent him after you."

"We need to get out of here."

"Right. We can't afford to pay if we damage the house."

"..."

"Am I wrong?"

"Is he far?"

"What?"

"Is he far away?"

"Not far, but he's not moving very fast."

"Understood."

Zhou Li fished out all the cash from his wallet—about a thousand yuan or so—threw it on the bed, then packed his things and jumped directly out the window.

It was the third floor, not too high.

Anyway, it felt awkward to leave through the main door; I felt guilty.

Below lay a vast stretch of farmland, the crops already harvested. Faint traces of Zhou Li's earlier bombardments were visible. Beyond the fields, mist-shrouded hills stretched into the distance, and a road could be seen.

Zhou Li ran toward the general direction of Chunming but avoided the main roads and populated areas.

After running for some distance, Huai Xu suddenly stopped and looked back, puzzled. "Why is he moving so slowly?"

Zhou Li also turned around to look.

At the edge of the farmland stood an enormous humanoid figure. It was moving slowly but resolutely towards them. At a glance, the figure towered over a nearby two-story house by a considerable margin.

"That is..."

Zhou Li's eyes widened.

He turned to look for Huai Xu beside him, only to find Huai Xu had vanished at some point.

He looked back towards the giant. Even from a distance, the huge figure was conspicuous, while Huai Xu was nowhere to be seen. However, judging by the giant's movements, Huai Xu was clearly attacking him.

The attacks seemed ineffective. The giant kept swatting at the air, trying to drive Huai Xu away, all while continuing his approach toward Zhou Li.

His speed was indeed not fast, and he seemed clumsy—relative to his size. In reality, he was probably slightly faster than Zhou Li could run.

The figure drew closer, and Zhou Li could see him clearly. He was clad in a yellow robe, his chest bare. Towering over three stories high, he had large ears and a kindly face, his features seemingly fixed in a gentle smile, strangely resembling Maitreya. He was smiling broadly.

The Great Demon kept his eyes fixed on Zhou Li, his stride determined.

Zhou Li ran a few more steps, then suddenly heard a loud flapping of wings. Turning his head, he saw a dark shadow in the sky quickly approaching.

It was a dark red figure with dual wings on its back, resembling a demon.

It was the Blood Demon Zhou Li had encountered once.

He's called... Zhisha, I think?

The Blood Demon, having drawn near, swooped down rapidly, pouncing towards the tall figure as fast as lightning.

BOOM! A muffled sound echoed.

The huge figure was knocked to the ground.

Before Zhou Li could even catch his breath, the Great Demon clumsily scrambled to his feet. He tried to attack the Blood Demon flying above while once again turning towards Zhou Li and resuming his advance.

Several horrifying wounds had been slashed across his body by the Blood Demon, but they were healing at an extremely rapid pace.

The Blood Demon continued to launch ferocious attacks at him. Unfortunately, it was not very effective.

POOF!

Huai Xu appeared beside Zhou Li, gasping for air. "We should run! This guy is disgusting—hard to cut and incredibly strong. I told that Blood Demon to go back and get more reinforcements, see if they can restrain him."

Zhou Li looked at the Blood Demon again.

The Blood Demon continued to attack the Great Demon, showcasing its formidable power. However, the vast difference in their size and strength made it look like a skilled leopard attacking an elephant; at best, it could only slow the Great Demon down.

"That's Zhisha, right?"

"Yes."

"He's really strong after recovering."

"Hmm..." Huai Xu subtly changed the subject. "I have no idea where Lin Zhong found such a monstrosity!"

"Let's run."

And so, Zhou Li resumed his escape.

After Zhou Li had run some distance, the Blood Demon soared into the sky, heading towards Chunming. Huai Xu, meanwhile, occasionally hindered the Great Demon to prevent him from catching up to the slower Zhou Li.

Zhou Li also tried turning back to fire a shot, but it hardly hurt the Great Demon, so he gave up afterward.

Zhisha was said to be the strongest of the Blood Demons, considered the foremost hunter among their kind. Upon his initial awakening, Hong Ran had entrusted him with a vital task. Yet, even with all his power, he couldn't stop the Great Demon, a testament to its ferocity.

Perhaps only... Zhou Li thought of the figure at the Yin Yang Temple, the one that loved to weave through the clouds, its roars echoing powerfully.

「From morning till afternoon.」

Zhou Li kept running.

Once he figured out the Great Demon's weakness, Zhou Li was no longer panicked. He even took a motorcycle taxi to a nearby town for a bowl of noodles. When the Great Demon got close, he'd take a regular taxi to another town, effectively leading him in circles.

"This can't go on!" Huai Xu exclaimed. "Where are the reinforcements that Blood Demon was supposed to bring?"

"They can't fly," Zhou Li said.

"True, but they wouldn't run all the way here, would they? They'd at least charter a car!" Huai Xu licked a lollipop. "The scenery here is quite nice, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

"Want to invite Li Daimao to come visit?"

"Can you be serious at a time like this?"

"He's not targeting me!" Huai Xu continued to lick his lollipop, glancing back. "When will Miss Zheng arrive?"

"Don't know."

"Did she bring the Evil God?"

"I heard not."

Zhou Li sounded somewhat helpless. Around two o'clock, Zheng Zhilan had informed him that she had arrived in Chunming. He had told her not to come, but she silenced him with a single sentence:

"You are my only friend."

Zhou Li completely understood that sentiment.

Just then, Huai Xu looked into the distance again. "That guy's coming back! So annoying! I swear I'll gouge his eyes out this time!"

Zhou Li also saw that figure.

At that very moment, a streak of golden light flashed across the sky. It vanished in an instant, leaving a shimmering line in its wake.

Zhou Li's eyes immediately widened as he spotted Zheng Zhilan's figure on a small road not far from him.

She's too close!

Huai Xu put down his lollipop and vanished in an instant.

「Five minutes later—」

Zhou Li moved a bit closer to Zheng Zhilan. He saw her release dozens of Golden Threads. Some bound the Great Demon's hands and feet, while others connected to the void, restricting his movements.

For a brief moment, the Great Demon seemed truly trapped. But as he exerted his strength, the Golden Threads snapped one by one.

"Run!" Zhou Li shouted.

Zheng Zhilan turned to look at Zhou Li, silent, but she started running toward him cautiously.

At the same time, the Great Demon also looked his way. This was probably the closest he had ever been to Zhou Li. He suddenly burst forward with even greater speed than before. Ignoring Huai Xu, who had just stabbed him in the eye with a knife, he lunged at Zhou Li with that faint smile still on his face.

SWISH!

A Golden Thread shot out, only to be effortlessly snapped by the Great Demon.

Zhou Li continued to back away, warning Zheng Zhilan not to run towards him. But he only heard her say, "I'll help you get it out."

Several more Golden Threads pierced the sky.

The Great Demon finally seemed to lose patience with Zheng Zhilan's interference. He turned and charged towards her, his heavy steps thundering. Although Zheng Zhilan easily dodged with Qinghe's help, she was undoubtedly still in grave danger.

Zhou Li's heart was in his throat.

Suddenly, a roar echoed through the skies!

The Great Demon's movements instantly stiffened. He seemed to finally sense the threat and turned to look into the distance.

A massive shadow plummeted from the clouds.

It arrived in an instant!

BOOM!

A massive gust of wind tousled Zhou Li's hair. The Great Demon's entire body was slammed into the ground. The Evil God stood on top of him, its four claws dug deep into the Great Demon's flesh. Its head was lowered, eyes blood-red as it stared intently at its prey.

The Great Demon struggled vigorously.

But this time, he couldn't break free.

Zheng Zhilan jogged over to Zhou Li and immediately asked, "Where's the mark?"

"On my back."

"Quick, take off your clothes."

"Okay."

Zhou Li took off his shirt.

Zheng Zhilan placed her hands on his back.

She had taken off her down jacket after arriving in Chunming earlier but still wore a thin sweater underneath. Perhaps she was warm, because after she placed her hands on his back, a slight blush quickly spread across her fair face.

She probably hadn't used this method before; perhaps she had just learned it. It took her several tries to extract the Beaded Chain.

"Here you go."

"Okay."

Zhou Li cradled the Beaded Chain and turned around. He saw the Great Demon, pinned down by the Evil God, staring intently at the chain in his hand.

"Is this yours?"

"Do you want it?"

Zhou Li received no reply from the Great Demon, but he saw it struggle even more fiercely, causing the Evil God to growl repeatedly.

Zhou Li carefully placed the Beaded Chain in its hand.

Immediately, the Great Demon quieted down.