My Demon Friends

The dishes were served.

They indeed had a strong local flavor.

Crispy skin pork belly, lemon-pounded dried beef, pine-pollen pork skin, lemongrass grilled fish, and pounded chicken feet—five dishes in total.

There was also a smooth meat soup.

Some of these dishes couldn't be found in restaurants in Yi Province.

Actually, Zhou Li's favorite was the Dai Clan's pineapple rice, which he often ate with Brother Nan. However, after some thought, he decided not to order it, planning to enjoy it with Zheng Zhilan alone another day.

The three humans and one demon began to eat.

They chatted casually as they ate.

They tactfully avoided discussing their views on demons or their stances as human Heavenly Masters to keep the conversation pleasant. Besides, they couldn't ignore the demon at their table who was currently devouring food; in terms of sheer power, this demon was likely stronger than all three of them combined.

As fellow Heavenly Masters, they had many topics in common.

There was also a great deal of knowledge worth sharing:

About demons;

About Heavenly Masters;

About spells and history.

In these areas, Yin Le had the most to contribute. His understanding of demons and Heavenly Masters far surpassed that of Zheng Zhilan and Zhou Li, and he wasn't secretive. Whenever the conversation touched upon such matters, he generously shared any precious or confidential information with them.

"You really know a lot," Zhou Li remarked.

"I come from a Heavenly Master family, and I started in this line of work when I was very young," Yin Le replied.

"A Heavenly Master family?"

Huai Xu, who was wolfing down her rice, looked up.

Yin Le nodded. "Indeed. Although my parents and even several generations before them were ordinary people, if you trace our lineage further back, our family has consisted of Heavenly Masters for generations. I learned this from books passed down by my ancestors. My family has many such books. My parents considered them feudal superstitions or nonsense meant to fool ghosts, but my grandfather believed in them. He insisted on preserving these books, though some were unfortunately destroyed during that particular period in history. The ones I found were those my grandfather had hidden."

"I see."

Zhou Li and Zheng Zhilan were both somewhat puzzled.

As far as they knew, the emergence of a Heavenly Master was random, following no discernible pattern.

A Heavenly Master could be born into a family of royalty or nobility.

Or they could come from an ordinary commoner's household.

Seeing their expressions, Yin Le shook his head. "I don't know how it all works, but what the books say is definitely true."

At that moment, Huai Xu managed to swallow a large mouthful of food and said, "I've heard that in the mid to late last century, the human realm developed a special method. This method made it possible for the role of Heavenly Master to become an inherited position, with families serving the royalty generation after generation, but it came at a great cost."

"What cost?" Yin Le asked.

"I'm not clear on the specifics, but it definitely wasn't easy, and the failure rate was high. Failure meant death," Huai Xu said. "The success of your family might have been built upon the deaths of many Heavenly Masters."

"So that's how it is," Yin Le murmured.

"Amazing!" Zhou Li added.

"Hmm," Zheng Zhilan nodded gently in agreement.

"Mmm." Huai Xu continued to bury her head in her food and eat heartily.

Then, Zheng Zhilan asked, "Now that you've become a Heavenly Master, do your parents know?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she received a meaningful glance from Zhou Li.

While Zheng Zhilan was still bewildered, Yin Le smiled. "My parents were eaten by a demon when I was a child," he said. "Hearing Huai Xu mention our family might have served royalty for generations, perhaps it was an ancient grudge?"

"I'm sorry," Zheng Zhilan said softly, lowering her head.

"It's okay."

The three of them tactfully moved on from the topic.

The meal lasted almost two hours. Midway, feeling like they hadn't eaten much despite the dishes running low, they ordered a few more hearty local specialties. After finishing their meal, they even lingered for a while, drinking tea.

"I'm off. Thanks for the hospitality," Yin Le said, looking back as he mounted his motorcycle.

"Ride safely."

With a ROAR, the big red motorcycle sped away.

Huai Xu, standing beside Zhou Li, let out a small burp and asked, "Which do you think is more fun, riding a motorcycle or driving a car?"

Zhou Li straightened her lopsided hat and casually adjusted the two khaki-colored deer antlers on her head, not answering her.

Huai Xu didn't mind and pressed on, "How much does Yin Le's motorcycle cost? Do you need a license to ride a motorcycle too? Is it okay if you don't get one?"

"Probably several hundred thousand."

"You need one."

"No, it's not okay."

Zhou Li answered her questions one by one.

Huai Xu repeatedly apologized for bothering him.

Zheng Zhilan stood beside them, quietly watching. In her eyes, Huai Xu appeared as a vivid version of herself. Seeing Zhou Li's familiar gestures with 'herself,' she couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

But she didn't let it show.

Just then, Huai Xu's phone rang. She answered it and said, "Oh, what timing! I just popped downstairs to get a delivery. You can just leave it at the door."

"Thank you."

After hanging up, she turned to Zhou Li and Zheng Zhilan. "The takeout I ordered for Qinghe is here. I'm going to find a quiet spot to slip away and get it. If you two want to head back, go on ahead. If not, that's fine too. I'm taking Qinghe out to 'liberate' some beef jerky."

Without giving them a chance to respond, she dashed off.

Zheng Zhilan chuckled softly.

Zhou Li watched Huai Xu's retreating figure, then turned to Zheng Zhilan with a helpless expression. "Do you feel like your image is completely ruined?"

"Not at all."

"Hmm?"

"Really," Zheng Zhilan said, her gaze still following Huai Xu in the distance. "I've never run so freely, without a care in the world."

"Are you envious?"

"I am."

Zhou Li felt a pang of sympathy for Zheng Zhilan.

Especially when comparing her to Huai Xu.

At the dinner table, Huai Xu ate heartily. In contrast, Zheng Zhilan had to carefully observe every time she reached for food with her chopsticks, sometimes even picking up ginger by mistake. Of course, Zhou Li and Huai Xu sometimes made the same mistake. The difference was that Huai Xu wouldn't spit out ginger; she would only spit out star anise.

Zheng Zhilan's quiet demeanor seemed to hold a hint of resignation.

So Zhou Li changed the subject. "How's the food here? Are you getting used to it?"

"Hmm..." Zheng Zhilan thought for a moment. "The flavors seem quite strong—very sour, spicy, and aromatic. But it's still quite delicious."

"You usually prefer milder food."

"It's not too bad."

"Today we had Dai Clan cuisine. Some local Caiyun dishes are milder. Rice noodles, for example, are prized for their freshness. Tonight, I'll take you to try a chicken soup rice noodle place I used to frequent."

"Okay."

"There's also pickled cabbage with pig trotters, and clear goose soup. They're all delicious," Zhou Li said, racking his brain. "And Old Granny Potato."

"Okay."

"Is there anything else you'd like to eat?"

"Um..." Zheng Zhilan began to think seriously again. "I'd like to try hot pot and barbecue."

"Huh?"

Zhou Li was a bit dumbfounded. Didn't you just say you prefer milder food?

Zheng Zhilan pursed her lips into a small smile and said softly, "I rarely eat hot pot or barbecue outside... It's not very convenient."

Zhou Li understood.

Her eyesight was poor, and Qinghe was a demon. Eating out was indeed inconvenient for them, especially for things like hot pot and barbecue. However, the hot pot and barbecue she made at home were quite good; Zhou Li had tried them on his last visit.

"Alright! We'll have skewers tonight! And hot pot tomorrow!"

"Aren't we having rice noodles?"

"We'll have skewers after the rice noodles!" Zhou Li declared. "We can have barbecue as a late-night snack; rice noodles tend to make you hungry again quickly."

"Okay."

Zhou Li hailed a taxi and headed home.

Qinghe still hadn't finished her meal.

Zhou Li leaned in for a look.

Huai Xu, that old monster, was usually frugal, but she had been quite generous this time, ordering a lavish spread for Qinghe.

He grinned.

He didn't notice that when Zheng Zhilan sat down on the sofa, Huai Xu had casually placed the hat on Zheng Zhilan's head.

Zhou Li walked over and sat down next to 'Huai Xu,' nudging her with his elbow. "Move over a bit."

Zheng Zhilan silently shifted to the side.

Zhou Li yawned. "I'm a bit sleepy. I'm going to take a nap in your room later. You probably don't take naps, right?"

Zheng Zhilan continued to nod.

Zhou Li sensed that something was off.

Just then, the other 'Zheng Zhilan' stood up and said to Qinghe, "Still not done? Hurry up, hurry up, you're too slow! When you're finished, I'll take you to the factory to steal the best beef jerky!"

Qinghe silently looked at her.

Zhou Li also looked at her.

After a moment, Zhou Li turned to Zheng Zhilan again, speechless. To cover his awkwardness, he casually straightened the hat for her and said, "This old monster is always putting on these acts..."

Zheng Zhilan chuckled softly.