My Demon Friends-Chapter 447 - 443 Did Not Become a Demon

"You’re really not doing that well, are you? I thought you were some big shot in the human government. Turns out, you need to scale walls just to get into a school." Huai Xu glanced sideways at Yin Le, then tilted her head. "I remember ancient Heavenly Masters all had some sort of token."

"There’s a lot involved here, and the state hasn’t considered publicizing these matters yet; it needs to be done gradually." Yin Le furrowed his brow. He was quite dissatisfied with the Great Demon’s mockery but, unable to defeat her in a fight, had to patiently explain, "And even the people from the ancient Heavenly Master’s Office used tokens affiliated with other special agencies."

"How pathetic..." Huai Xu muttered quietly.

"I’m not a high-ranking official to begin with," Yin Le added. "Besides, I find scaling the wall more convenient."

"It just looks a bit awkward."

"Not at all; I got over it in one leap." Yin Le eyed the footprints on the wall. "On the contrary, I think my movements were quite dashing."

Zhou Li was speechless for a moment.

"Enough talk," Zhou Li interrupted them. "Hurry up and get over. Don’t get caught."

"Wait," Huai Xu said. "There’s someone outside."

"Hmm," Yin Le nodded.

I see... Zhou Li pursed his lips; no wonder the two of them had been chattering away here.

"Your school’s security is pretty tight, with guards patrolling outside the walls. A new shift comes every few minutes," Yin Le continued his small talk. "And they’ve all even been issued new electric bikes."

"...Yeah." Zhou Li cast a sidelong glance at Brother Nan.

"Huh?"

Yin Le keenly sensed there was a story here, his gaze shifting back and forth between them.

So Zhou Li explained the events of the past few days to him.

Tuanzi, who was sitting on the ground licking her paws, also paused and looked up to add, "That day we ran so far, Lord Dumpling’s head got all dizzy from bumping around..."

"Did they find you afterward?"

"No." Zhou Li thought for a moment. "It seems the surveillance cameras just happened to break down."

"Surveillance systems around schools do tend to break down easily," Yin Le nodded in agreement. "From what I’ve seen in the news, not many of those schools have working cameras."

"True."

"They’re gone."

Yin Le turned his head to look at the wall. "Let’s make it quick."

After saying this, he bent his knees and with a light jump, soared high up, like a martial artist with lightness skills in Wuxia dramas. Then, with a slight push from his hand against the wall, his body rotated, and he vaulted over the wall with an extremely graceful posture.

Brother Nan also started her run-up.

Zhou Li then bent down to pick up Tuanzi. As Brother Nan was scaling the wall, he quickly lowered his head to whisper, "Lord Dumpling, are you doing okay staying with Brother Nan?"

"Very well!" Tuanzi answered. "This morning, Lord Dumpling and Brother Lan went out to catch bugs, and he even said he’ll take Lord Dumpling out tomorrow to fight with the stray cats."

Zhou Li was silent.

That sure sounded like something Brother Nan would do. Then again, maybe kids just like that sort of thing.

Zhou Li looked at Tuanzi’s earnest and happy little face and still felt a bit odd. Tuanzi had always been a quiet little girl in his mind; how could Brother Nan be so irresponsible as to take a little girl out to catch bugs and fight?

As long as Brother Nan isn’t bullying Lord Dumpling, I’m relieved, Zhou Li quickly came to terms. The most important thing is that Lord Dumpling is happy.

"Even if she bullied me, you couldn’t do anything about it," Tuanzi said, staring at him seriously.

That’s... This really is embarrassing.

Zhou Li, feeling awkward, quickly changed the subject. "It’s just us left now. Hold on tight to me, Lord Dumpling."

"Oh..."

Tuanzi immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.

Although her arms were too short to circle all the way around, she was clearly using her strength. Through her tightened paw pads, Zhou Li still felt the sensation of being hugged by a little kitty.

「Half an hour later.」

The setting sun had dyed the road a golden-red hue. The street was lined with many restaurants, their fragrant scents wafting through the air.

Inside a Chaoshan beef hotpot restaurant.

Zhou Li held Tuanzi, gently grooming her fur.

Brother Nan’s voice came from the side, "Little Trash Cat, come here, over to me!"

"MEOW..."

Tuanzi immediately struggled to stand up from Zhou Li’s embrace, wobbled on his legs, and then moved towards Brother Nan.

What??? You weren’t like this a few days ago! Zhou Li was stunned.

While he was still dazed, Tuanzi had already walked over to Brother Nan’s side, sat down obediently, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Zhou Li with confusion.

"Zhou Li~~why are you looking at Lord Dumpling like that?"

"No, no..." Zhou Li absentmindedly waved his hand.

Yin Le surreptitiously observed them and spoke straightforwardly, "The Celestial Master Department has been formally established now, and there are branches all over the country. I’m currently in charge of the Southwest Region."

"The Southwest Region."

"Can’t help it, we’re really short on people," Yin Le said. "I’ve only got three capable Heavenly Masters under me right now."

"Then aren’t you pretty impressive?" Huai Xu glanced at Yin Le again.

"I’m not the top leader; I’m just a Heavenly Master leader," Yin Le casually shook his head. "I only take care of the stuff that ordinary people can’t handle."

"That’s normal, you’re still so young," Zhou Li consoled.

"Right, I wouldn’t be good at handling those other things either." Yin Le picked up a piece of beef. Consulting the timer on the table, he counted eight seconds before lifting it out. "I now think your way of thinking is pretty good sometimes," he said. "Being a bit more Zen makes things a lot more relaxed."

"True," Zhou Li said.

"But this is still too few people," Huai Xu said, also starting to cook some meat. "It’s somewhat manageable if you don’t encounter tricky, vicious Demons. But if you do, just reporting them to the Local Government and letting the Demon Kingdom handle it themselves won’t be enough."

"Yes..."

Yin Le didn’t much like this way of eating; dipping the beef slices one by one seemed troublesome to him. If it were up to him, he’d just dump all the ingredients in at once, create a messy stew, and it would be delightful. Who cares if it got overcooked? Just chew and swallow it all the same.

But Brother Nan had chosen the restaurant, so he dared not say anything.

"The Celestial Master Department works in tandem with the police department. We are actively seeking out Gifted Ones and working overtime, so our efficiency isn’t low. Besides, the compilation of textbooks is also underway. Speaking of which, I really have to thank you for those books you provided," Yin Le glanced at Zhou Li again. "I believe it won’t be long before many Gifted Ones are found. As the first generation of Heavenly Masters, they will progress quickly with targeted training."

It feels like things are starting to get on the right track, Zhou Li mused with a sense of wonder, a smile involuntarily appearing on his face. The children... born like us in the future, they won’t be like us, will they?

"They absolutely won’t." Yin Le’s tone was fairly even, but his left hand was clenched into a fist under the table.

The childhoods of most Gifted Ones are usually lonely, alienated from their surroundings. Growing up in such a state makes it easy for psychological issues to arise. The adult lives of many people with psychological disorders, and even notorious psychopathic killers, are significantly shaped by their childhoods. You have to be exceptionally lucky to grow up and still be a gentle person.

But for Yin Le, all of this was nothing.

He had witnessed that Demon devour his parents with his own eyes. But afterward, the Demon didn’t eat him as well, nor did it even kill him; it simply left with a savage grin.

This was a form of mockery.

It was like those sadists who torture a defenseless small animal until it’s covered in wounds but don’t finish it off. Instead, they want to see how it will struggle, whether it can survive, and if it does, what it will become...