My Demon Friends

January 14th.

The response from the Local Government arrived.

It was undoubtedly Xing Hui.

He also brought some materials concerning Xing Hui. There wasn't much of interest. I suppose they wouldn't readily share valuable or important information with a human Heavenly Master.

"I'm heading out."

"Be careful and protect yourself."

"Got it."

Zhou Li left the house and put on his headphones.

He and Huai Xu arrived at the old neighborhood, just in time to see Lao Hui snatching cat food from a stray. Meanwhile, Xiao Yuan sat on a branch above Lao Hui's head, his prim demeanor and endearingly round physique.

Xiao Yuan was the first to spot them and greeted them sweetly, "Happy New Year, Zhou Li and Lord Huai Xu."

"Happy New Year, Xiao Yuan, and Lao Hui too."

"Hmm?"

Lao Hui turned to look at them, a piece of cat food still clutched in his paw, held awkwardly between his pads. Snatching food from small animals really wasn't something to be proud of.

Perched on the branch, Xiao Yuan dangled his stubby little legs. "I haven't seen you two around recently."

"Yes, we went to another place for the New Year."

"Did you go back to the countryside?"

"No, not that far. It's mainly because my younger sister came to visit, and the house here wasn't big enough for everyone," Zhou Li explained.

"I see."

"Right." Zhou Li glanced around, pretending to be on a phone call. "Huai Xu and I came this time to ask for your help. We need to secretly open an ancient tomb. Huai Xu mentioned that you, Xiao Yuan, have this particular skill..."

"Xiao Yuan is happy to help!"

"I will thank you. I was thinking..."

"Oh, please don't say that! The things you sent before the New Year already made us feel quite awkward, especially Lao Hui. We often talk about how we can repay you, but we..." Xiao Yuan looked around. "...we don't have anything."

"Speak for yourself, don't mention me!" Lao Hui said sternly.

"Anyway, it's wonderful that we can help you," Xiao Yuan said. "We can finally relax a bit too."

"Those were just neighborly gifts, nothing expensive. You really don't need to worry so much about them." Zhou Li felt a little troubled; he hadn't realized his good intentions would become a burden to them.

"That's true, but we feel like we always receive things from you without having anything to give back... Anyway, whatever you need in the future, we're happy to help."

"He's right," Lao Hui added.

"Alright."

The matter of helpers was thus settled.

Previously, when Huai Xu had spoken of the two little demons, Zhou Li had assumed the mid-rank demon was Lao Hui. Only yesterday did he learn it was actually Xiao Yuan.

Strictly speaking, demons like Xiao Yuan and Tuanzi belong to the same broad category, as both can freely switch between two forms. However, if one were to subclassify them further, they would be quite distinct.

When Xiao Yuan transforms into his other form, his size increases to a terrifying degree, his body becomes as hard as steel, and he possesses immense strength. According to Huai Xu, their personalities are often affected too, making them brave and fearless. When young, their self-control is poor, and they can even lose control entirely. During the era of cold weapons, without Heavenly Masters to contend with them, demons like him would have been a nightmare on the battlefield.

「On the road to Heroes Province.」

Zhou Li was driving, with Huai Xu in the passenger seat.

A majestic-looking gray cat and a large, round rodent sat primly in the back seat.

Music played from the stereo.

Lao Hui sat upright, looking straight ahead.

Xiao Yuan was much livelier. He kept turning his head to look around, wanting to reach out and touch everything, but he always retracted his hand just before making contact.

"Humans nowadays are really amazing... right, Lao Hui?"

"Yes."

"How do you think this thing runs?"

"I don't know."

"You look so serious..."

"..."

In the front, Huai Xu secretly grinned, a sense of superiority from having seen more of the world welling up inside him.

「They reached Mr. Jiang's house by dusk.」

Lao Hui and Xiao Yuan, who rarely set foot in human dwellings, were dazzled by the villa's interior decorations.

Zhou Li sat down on the sofa.

"Master Zhou, have some tea."

"Thank you."

"It's still half an hour until six," Mr. Jiang said. His family's ancestral tomb was in the countryside, not far from their ancestral hall, where some distant relatives still lived. They had decided to go after dark. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Then I'll prepare something for the road."

"Okay."

"Alright."

Mr. Jiang ordered some takeout. He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Actually, I think I might have had some understanding about people like you for a long time."

"Oh?"

"You're the first... Heavenly Master, is that the term? ...that I've met. Though you're young, you seem trustworthy. I have some questions that perhaps only you can answer, to help me sort things out."

"Oh, did your ancestors leave any words behind?"

"You know?"

"I guessed."

"Indeed." Mr. Jiang nodded, his expression turning solemn. He carried the air of a successful man, which suddenly made Zhou Li feel as if they were in a business meeting. "When we were children, we always pestered our elders for bedtime stories. I loved listening to them when I was young. Every night, I wouldn't go to sleep until my father or grandfather had told me stories—they were all about demons. In those stories, my ancestors were people with special abilities, called Heavenly Masters."

"After every story, they would tell me to remember it well, so I could retell it to my own children someday, without changing a single word. They said that's what their elders had instructed them to do."

"Did you believe it at the time?" Zhou Li asked.

"As a child, I believed them. But as I grew up, I stopped believing... until recently, that is," Mr. Jiang said.

"If this hadn't happened, would you still have retold these stories to your descendants?" Zhou Li was curious. He sensed that Heavenly Master families whose traditions were passed down through generations might not be uncommon.

"Probably."

"Why?"

"Why?" Mr. Jiang repeated. "My grandfather probably believed those stories. My father, most likely not so much, but he still told them to me. I've thought about this. Maybe it's because these stories have been passed down for so many years, through so many generations. The chain has never been broken. Perhaps they prove my descent from my ancestors more strongly than the diluted blood in my veins. How could I allow them to end with me?"

"I see..."

Zhou Li was surprisingly moved by this.

Perhaps this is what true inheritance means.

After a while, Mr. Jiang continued, "It wasn't just the stories. As I grew older, there were other things they told me—things I was instructed not to tell anyone else. They were probably very important."

"Secrets should indeed be kept," Zhou Li remarked.

"Thank you. So, are all those things true?" Mr. Jiang asked.

"Most likely." Zhou Li pondered before saying, "Very few Heavenly Master lineages are passed down from generation to generation. Yours is a very special family. In ancient times, your family's status among Heavenly Masters must have been both unique and prominent."

"So in the future..."

"The fact that someone approached you suggests that, among all your family's various descendant branches, you might be the one who inherited the Heavenly Master bloodline. It's just that when you were born, the new era hadn't yet arrived. And your daughter... she most likely possesses Heavenly Master talent," Zhou Li said. "When the time comes, the era itself will naturally show you the path you are meant to take."

"I understand..."

Mr. Jiang continued to ponder, then said, "There might be some books in the ancestral tomb. I used to think those were just rumors. There might also be some items passed down from my ancestors... these things..."

"Of course, they're yours."

Zhou Li gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm not a greedy person, nor am I a thief or a robber, please rest assured. However, if it's possible, I'd like to borrow some of the books that don't involve secrets, after you've had a chance to look through them."

"No problem."

"The doorbell rang."

"I'll get it."

Mr. Jiang had ordered some fruits and refreshments. As it was almost six o'clock, the two men and three demons drove towards the outskirts of the city.