Dusk had fallen.
The sunlight turned to a pale gold, the wind rustled the leaves, and clouds amassed in the valley began to churn.
Dogs herded sheep back up the hillside.
Free-range chickens marched in groups along the pathway ho.
Ti passed quietly in this little mountain village.
Brother Nan positioned a lounge chair, took a palm-leaf fan, and lay comfortably under the shade of a tree, fanning herself and playing with her smartphone, occasionally letting out a foolish chuckle.
"OW!!"
"So many chickens!"
Tuanzi, who had been dozing off, instantly sprang up from the ground. She nearly turned into a little white blur and, in two or three strides, jumped onto Brother Nan’s thigh. Turning her head, she stared unblinkingly at the returning flock of chickens, exclaiming, "Chickens can peck people! Protect Lord Dumpling!"
Brother Nan yawned and with a sweep of her hand brushed Tuanzi off.
Tuanzi was taken aback, blinked, turned her head, and scampered off, only stopping when she reached Zhou Li’s feet. She then began pawing at the hem of his trousers.
"Zhou Li, there are chickens! Pick Lord Dumpling up."
"Does Lord Dumpling want to eat chicken now?"
"Lord Dumpling is afraid of chickens."
"What’s there to be afraid of with chickens?"
"Chickens can peck people!"
"That’s true."
Zhou Li bent down and picked Tuanzi up, sharing her sentint. He rembered the aggressive rooster from last year whose flesh had also been very firm as a result.
The sun set behind West Mountain, and the cicadas’ songs began to fade.
Brother Nan still lay there; she had rely changed her posture, now lying on her side, swinging her slipper-clad feet back and forth.
Golden light reflected from the clouds in the valley.
Zhou Li stood in front of the house, pretending he wanted to take pictures of the scenery, when in fact he secretly snapped a photo of Brother Nan in her current state.
She looks exactly like a deadbeat hobody, he thought.
He peeked at his phone. The private album now contained 154 pictures.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps ca from behind. Zhou Li, without haste, began editing the photo he had just taken. Sure enough, he heard Zheng Zhilan’s voice, "Brother Nan seems quite adapted to life here, even more so than I am."
"She’s always like that, able to find joy wherever she goes," Zhou Li said, still confidently fiddling with his phone.
"She’s always very happy."
"I quite envy that about her."
"So do I."
At that mont, Brother Nan’s gaze shifted away from her phone. With a puzzled look, she eyed them both, "What are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing," Zhou Li said.
"Mhm," Zheng Zhilan also smiled softly.
"No, I heard you. You were talking about ," Brother Nan said, frowning at them.
"We were praising you," Zhou Li replied.
"Mhm," Zheng Zhilan still agreed softly.
"What about were you saying you envied..." Brother Nan’s expression stiffened. She, the renowned Brother Nan, could not stand others secretly praising her behind her back—couldn’t they just say it to her face?
"What do you envy about ?" Brother Nan was itching to know.
"You heard wrong," Zhou Li replied.
"Speak up quickly!"
"No!"
"Speak! Is it because you envy my generosity and liveliness, my intelligence and cuteness?" Brother Nan tilted her head smugly at him.
Zhou Li fell silent for a few seconds. "I envy you for having a good partner, while I don’t."
"Very good!"
Brother Nan turned off her phone, stood up with a smile, and waved to Zheng Zhilan. "The next scene is too violent. You should step aside for now."
...
Sumr nights were bustling with life, as insect chirping and frog croaking created a symphony unique to the countryside.
The three humans and three demons were all in the courtyard enjoying the cool air.
Zhou Li looked up at the sky—it was a starry expanse just like the ones from his childhood, so dazzling that one could hardly look away. It was as if soone had grabbed a handful of glowing sand, sprinkled it over the pitch-black canvas of night, then poured an even finer trail—the Milky Way—across its center.
There’s nothing in this world more beautiful than the starry sky, he thought.
He rembered how the sumrs at the foot of the mountain were hotter than those on the mountain, and a single small fan was not enough.
When it beca unbearably hot, the adults would sprinkle water on the rooftop after sunset to cool it down. When night fell, they would take mats and mosquito coils to sleep on the rooftop.
Upon opening his eyes, he would see a sky full of stars.
Zhou Li would usually wait until he was extrely sleepy before closing his eyes.
But today, he quickly withdrew his gaze and, with a calm expression, said to Zheng Zhilan, "It’s a beautiful, clear night tonight..."
"Mhm."
Zheng Zhilan nodded lightly; she could feel it.
But she couldn’t see the dazzling stars. She could only sit quietly, listening to the insect chirping and the frog croaking.
Suddenly—
A roar of rage erupted from the mountain behind, shaking the heavens and earth!
Zhou Li imdiately looked up to see a massive figure taking off from the mountain. It flapped its fleshy wings, the sound of them beating the air dull yet deafening, as the Evil God flew past against the star-filled backdrop, heading down the mountain.
"Another strange demon has invaded his territory," Zheng Zhilan said. "It might even be a Great Demon."
"The people you were expecting have arrived, Zhou Li," Huai Xu said, looking down at his ga. "We have to stop this big guy, otherwise those two won’t withstand a beating from him."
"...You go then."
"Wait for to finish this team battle."
"..."
Huai Xu didn’t even lift his head.
anwhile, Qinghe had already taken the lead and rushed down the mountain.
After a mont’s thought, Zhou Li also ran down the mountain, saying to Zheng Zhilan, "You stay here."
Zheng Zhilan sat quietly, nodding her head.
Finally, Huai Xu put down his phone, turned his head to Brother Nan and instructed, "Don’t worry about anything else, just push. I’ll go talk so sense into that idiot."
With that, there was a sudden burst.
This old monster was thoroughly obnoxious; he first appeared by Zhou Li’s side just to mock his speed, then casually sauntered off to his next destination.
「Half an hour later.」
Zhou Li t Qinghe and Xing Hui on a small path, and there was another demon with them.
This demon looked quite proper, almost human-like in stature, but had a sowhat strange head. It was dressed in ancient, plain robes and exuded an elegant air.
"Lord Xing Hui."
"Mr. Zhou Li."
"Thank you for your hard work. I should have been the one to et you. I truly apologize," Zhou Li said with a nod. His gaze shifted to the demon beside Xing Hui. "This must be Lord Ji Bai, right?"
"That’s ," Ji Bai bowed slightly. "I heard it was you who rescued Xing Hui. I want to thank you."
"You’re welco." Zhou Li looked left and right. Not seeing Huai Xu, He must have gone back to his ga, Zhou Li thought, sowhat speechless. He once again expressed his apologies to Xing Hui and Ji Bai, "I’m really sorry, Huai Xu is not very reliable."
"Haha!" Xing Hui laughed heartily, floating behind him, and then turned to look at the mountain in the distance. "That was the Evil God just now, wasn’t it?"
"Yes."
"He used to be infamous. I thought he was already dead."
"He was saved by humans."
"Hmm? Didn’t the Blood Demons co to exterminate him afterward? Has he submitted to humans?" Xing Hui asked in surprise. "From what I heard at the ti, including Lord Zhisha, the Blood Demons were all wounded. I thought with their power, they should have been able to kill the Evil God or capture him."
"Sort of. He reached so agreent with the humans, and afterward, the demons didn’t bother him."
"Your Highness is truly benevolent," Xing Hui sighed.
"Your Highness is kind-hearted," Ji Bai added.
"Did the Evil God harm any of you?" Zhou Li asked.
"It did scare us quite a bit."
"It’s good that you’re not injured."
"Thanks to Lord Huai Xu arriving just in ti..."
As they walked and talked, they soon reached the small mountain village and stepped into the courtyard.
Xing Hui turned to look around and said to Ji Bai with a smile, "The environnt here is rather nice, and with the Evil God’s protection, I’m starting to consider settling down here."
Ji Bai smiled. "We could. We’re getting on in years, after all."
They exchanged smiles.
Zheng Zhilan stood by the door fra, nodding gently in greeting to the two demons. She seed sowhat uneasy, unsure what to say. She turned her head, her gaze shifting to Zhou Li, her hands quietly twisting together in front of her.
"Shall we begin now?" asked Ji Bai.
"Perhaps we should wait until... No, please, go ahead. We’ll be in your care," Zhou Li said.
"It’s just a small effort."
"Do you need any preparations?"
"No need."
"All right."
Zhou Li then looked at Zheng Zhilan and asked, "Are you ready?"
Zheng Zhilan nodded slightly.
Ji Bai then had them sit down to avoid falling over if they felt unwell later, and after double-checking Zhou Li’s request, he began the spellcasting.
The process was simpler and quicker than I imagined, Zhou Li thought.
In less than a minute, both of them opened their eyes.
Zhou Li’s vision had beco blurred.
He could see the glowing lamp, the door fra, the dog sitting under the light, but these were all blurry; only their contours were discernible. Only Brother Nan and the demons present remained clear.
He looked up again. The night sky is pitch black.
After a mont of silence, he said quietly to Zheng Zhilan, "Tonight’s starry sky is beautiful, a beauty rarely seen by ordinary people."
Zheng Zhilan looked up and humd an affirmative response.
The starlight filled her vision. Tears welled up, as if for no reason, the hot liquid quickly blurring her sight. Through this new blur, the countless stars stretched into shimring threads of light.
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