My Demon Friends-Chapter 457 - 453: Demon and Old Land

"I’ve seen you before."

"Once or twice?"

"Twice, I guess," Zhou Li responded, slightly puzzled, "but how did you know it was twice?"

"I heard from the demons here that the last time I visited the Mirror Zone, it had a breakdown on the day you came to visit," Master Ming smiled, looking up at the top of the house. "The Mirror Zone is a magnificent creation, very powerful. But it still has its limitations; there’s room for improvement."

"Is that so..."

Zhou Li felt that the Mirror Zone was already incredibly impressive, almost dreamlike, far beyond his imagination.

"What will it be like if it further improves?"

"Perhaps its end point will be a new world, or it might replicate an entire world, countless complete worlds," Master Ming spoke gently. "Ultimately, what it becomes will depend on the efforts of generations of Great Demons. I won’t be there to see that day, and maybe... neither will you."

"That’s so distant."

"Anyhow, we are acquaintances now," Master Ming continued with a gentle, kind smile.

"Indeed..."

Having started the conversation, Zhou Li felt less nervous than before.

Oftentimes it is like this: before you start something, you always think it might be difficult, imagining many bad scenarios, but once you begin, you find it much simpler than expected.

Master Ming gave him the feeling of those old grandfathers in his village from childhood, who could barely walk, nearing the end of their days. They often sat in a lounge chair, basking in the sun by the door in winter or cooling in the shade under a tree in summer, always smiling toothlessly at him when they saw him.

It was a gentleness settled over the years, not found in those even slightly younger.

"May I also ask you some questions?"

Zhou Li was imitating Tuanzi from before, but it wasn’t just about imitating Tuanzi; it was also because of what Hong Ran had said.

He had spent the day wandering around the Old Land World, not merely to enjoy the scenery or appreciate this beautiful alternate world. He had also accumulated a heap of questions, each insight quietly noted in his heart to have something to discuss with Master Ming.

"Of course," Master Ming said.

"How long can the Old Land World sustain itself?" Zhou Li asked.

"If humans allow it, it could sustain for a very long, very long time, maybe even perish alongside Earth," Master Ming answered calmly. "Or they could find another habitable planet to move the Old Land World to, just like they came here, and it can last very long."

"What if humans..." Zhou Li didn’t finish.

"That will depend on you," Master Ming said with a smile.

"..." Zhou Li felt a bit heavy. "Will humans and demons still go to war?"

"Who knows." Master Ming saw his dejected state, which reminded him of his own past. So, he winked and said, "I guess not."

"Oh..."

Zhou Li fell into contemplation.

Consequently, the main room quieted down. Then, Huai Xu whispered something to Master Ming, who responded softly, but Zhou Li wasn’t paying attention.

Then Master Ming looked at him again, all smiles. "Is that all your questions, little reporter?"

"There’s more."

Zhou Li was serious, truly like a little reporter. "Why did you choose to side with the demons initially?"

"Do you expect an answer from me?"

Master Ming smiled and shook his head after speaking. "That won’t do. You should have your own answer."

After a brief pause, he looked at Zhou Li again, a look of affirmation in his eyes. "And you’re a smart young man. You have your own answers. So, you don’t need to refer to other people’s answers anymore; you should have confidence in your own answers... I believe in you."

"Is that so..."

"Keep going down that path, be brave," Master Ming paused slightly, then winked again. "Even if you are wrong, it doesn’t matter; no one can defeat you."

"Okay!"

Zhou Li’s heart truly felt a bit more resolute.

At this point, Master Ming stood up, still holding his insulated cup. "Let’s go for a walk, talk while we walk, and see this Mirror Zone."

"Okay."

The wind outside had grown stronger than before.

Zhou Li felt an increasing oppression. The increase was so slow it was almost imperceptible, and for that reason, it was even more terrifying—by the time you realized it, it might have already approached your breaking point.

What would happen next, he didn’t know.

The Mirror Zone resembled early summer. It was still daytime, and the world was brightly lit. The grass was a vibrant green, looking as though it had just recently sprouted, and a thin mist covered the ground.

Huai Xu bounced ahead, not behaving as a normal elementary student might in front of a teacher, or rather, not as restrained.

It was evident that Master Ming was not strict.

Master Ming just watched her with a smile, humorously saying, "You still haven’t grown up."

"Huh?"

Huai Xu suddenly stopped bouncing and returned to Master Ming’s side, seeming somewhat unconvinced and ready to start showing her mature side.

But Master Ming laughed again and said, "Be yourself, do what you like."

Zhou Li quietly observed him and Huai Xu.

Tuanzi in his arms did the same, eyes rolling around.

Master Ming dressed quite simply, in what the human world’s elderly commonly wore. Even his thermos had a dated design, vaguely feeling retro with a line of arching red paint across it, which Zhou Li casually glanced at several times to make out.

It seemed to read something like "Excellent Teacher of Some Middle School..."

The first few words were obscured by his hand.

Up ahead, the sound of flowing water approached. It was a small river ditch, very narrow, crossed by a stone slab bridge about one meter wide and two to three meters long.

Master Ming stopped on the stone bridge, looking down at the water where ducklings were frolicking.

Zhou Li walked behind him and Huai Xu. "I heard that the resources in the Old Land World are almost depleted."

"Soon," Master Ming replied.

"If Demons didn’t bring energy from Earth, would it be destroyed?"

"Demons would be destroyed along with it."

"Are they symbiotic?"

"Yes."

Master Ming tightened his grip on the thermos. "You might not know, but Demons actually don’t need to eat. They never needed food before, nor did they need to absorb energy in any form. Even now, they won’t starve if they don’t eat, but they will feel uncomfortable and weak. But you surely noticed, Demons don’t excrete."

"..." Zhou Li thought for a moment. That was true. "Why is that?" he asked.

"You’re not aware of the essence of Demons," Master Ming said. "This goes back to the origin of Demons and the Old Land. It is a very ancient universe. Their world took a much, much longer time to breed life than Earth did. It’s more accurate to say the Old Land World itself gave birth to life, rather than life simply emerging on it. All Demons are extensions of the Old Land World’s consciousness and life—branches of it, or you could say, little Spirits birthed by it, though their consciousness is independent."

"I see..."

Zhou Li’s eyes widened in realization.

So Demons and the Old Land were inseparable. Demons relied on the Old Land, and vice versa.

In the past, Demons relied on the world to supply them with energy. Now they extract energy from other worlds to nourish the Old Land, which in turn returns it to them.

So essentially, the Demon World was surviving by absorbing energy from the human world. No wonder the human world disliked it.

No wonder Demons return to their origins when they die.

No wonder Demons don’t use the toilet.

No wonder Demons won’t starve to death without eating yet still need to eat.

No wonder there is such great individual variation among Demons, yet they still consider each other to be of the same root.

No wonder...

Just this one sentence naturally couldn’t explain all the issues, but at least many things were clearer now.

This world was truly miraculous.