My Demon Friends-Chapter 527 - 506: Ultraman in the Mountain Village
"These are Brother Nan, Huai Xu, and Zhou Li, along with Brother Nan’s cat, Lord Dumpling," Zheng Zhilan introduced. "Brother Nan, this is my uncle and aunt, and my cousin, Zheng Zihao. They came to visit me."
"Uncle, Auntie," Brother Nan casually greeted.
"Good evening," Huai Xu grinned.
"MEOW~~" Lord Dumpling raised his head high.
"Okay, okay, hello everyone... Zihao, quickly say hello to your big brother and big sister," the aunt quickly lowered her head to urge the little boy.
"Sister! Brother! You’re both so good-looking!" the little boy looked up at Brother Nan and Huai Xu, then looked down at Tuanzi. "Is this your cat?"
"What an honest child!" Brother Nan said.
"We found her," Huai Xu said.
"MEOW!!" Tuanzi declared.
"Coming all this way to see Lanlan, especially when the road isn’t easy to travel, shows you really went out of your way. Having a few friends like you is really great for Lanlan," the aunt said, holding Zheng Zihao tightly as he continuously tried to pet Tuanzi. After speaking, she curiously looked towards Miss Zheng. "By the way, how did you all meet?"
"How we met..."
Unwilling to lie, Miss Zheng turned her head to look at Zhou Li.
Brother Nan, who disdained lying, also glanced at Zhou Li.
Huai Xu, with a blank expression, stared at the sky outside where the Evil God was intermittently visible between the clouds.
Tuanzi and Zheng Zihao looked at each other. Gradually, Tuanzi tilted her little head, her big eyes shining brightly, and she even wagged her tail, full of enticing allure.
Zhou Li looked left and right, compelled to speak. "It’s a long story. We three were classmates. Just after our exams, we decided to take a trip. There’s not much to do in Yan City, so we came to Mingjiu Mountain. We ended up losing track of where we were while playing on the mountain and only realized we were out of the scenic area when we checked the navigation. But we were young and fearless. The scenery kept getting prettier, so we just followed a trail upward until we reached this mountain."
"That’s quite an affinity!" the aunt exclaimed in surprise.
"Exactly!" Brother Nan nodded vigorously.
"MHM, MHM, MHM!" Miss Zheng’s face turned slightly red.
"It was summer, so it was very hot, and none of us had brought enough water. We were very thirsty. Seeing there was a village here, we decided to stop and ask for some water. That’s how we ended up here," Zhou Li continued. "Eventually, we slowly became good friends, and I also feel that it was fate."
HEHE... Brother Nan grinned foolishly.
"Auntie, you should have let us know you were coming so I could have prepared the rooms," Miss Zheng quickly changed the subject, afraid she might give them away.
"Preparing the rooms doesn’t take long. We can tidy up ourselves when we go upstairs tonight," the aunt said. She turned to look outside at the darkening sky, then asked, "What time is it? Has dinner been cooked yet? Xiao Zhou and the others have come a long way; what are you preparing for them?"
"Tomorrow we’re having mutton," Miss Zheng said.
"What about tonight?" the aunt asked again.
"I’ll stir-fry some dishes; I’ve slaughtered a chicken," Miss Zheng replied honestly. She was clearly an honest girl; if her family hadn’t undergone some misfortune, she’d definitely be the one washing dishes every day.
"Your uncle and I will handle it," the aunt said. "You entertain your friends."
"I’ll go do it," Miss Zheng said.
"Let us do it. You all must be tired from climbing the mountain, so rest more. Last time we were here, we cooked together," Zhou Li added, showing a sunny smile. "It’s fun for us young people to gather around the stove; we can chat and tell stories."
"Okay then," the aunt agreed, then told Zheng Zhilan, "I’ll go upstairs and tidy up the rooms then."
"Okay."
「In the kitchen」
Zhou Li revived the fire.
Brother Nan also squeezed up to the stove, pushing him until he only had half a small stool. She herself took the other half. Both of them were perched on just part of their seats, sitting very squeezed, and she teased Zhou Li, "Fearless Zhou Li, so this was how you found this place, hahaha..."
"You’re annoying."
"You just lie so effortlessly. We’ll have to keep a close eye on you in the future," Brother Nan continued, then looked towards Zheng Zhilan. "Especially you. You need to be very careful with him. Huai Xu and I have some resistance, but if he sold you one day, you’d probably help him count the money meticulously. If it were short, you’d even pay the difference out of your own pocket."
"You all forced me to do it," Zhou Li retorted.
"This is just what you’re good at," Brother Nan said.
"Are you warm now?" Zhou Li asked with concern.
"I’m warm," Brother Nan stopped laughing, "but you boiled too much water; I only used half."
"That’s a lot of wasted firewood."
"My fault?"
"My fault."
This is a good method, Zhou Li thought, secretly noting it in his heart. When Brother Nan teases me, I’ll just show some concern for her. Playing the sympathy card like that effectively stops her pestering. It works wonders!
Zheng Zhilan’s little cousin, Zheng Zihao, ran in from outside, holding an Ultraman. The little boy wasn’t shy at all. He stood by the stove, craning his neck to look inside, but he was too short to see anything. So he ran to Zheng Zhilan’s side, gripped her trousers, and asked, "Sister Lanlan, what’s boiling in the pot?"
"Water."
"What’s it for?"
"To heat it up and wash the cured meat."
"What’s the cured meat for?"
"To stir-fry."
"Stir-fry with what?"
"With garlic sprouts."
"OH..."
The child finally stopped.
Zhou Li lowered his head to look at Tuanzi sitting on his lap and whispered, "Lord Dumpling asks questions just like him."
Tuanzi was staring at Zheng Zihao, her eyes reflecting the firelight from the stove, shining brilliantly. Without turning her head, she answered, "Because Lord Dumpling is also a little kid. Little kids have many questions because little kids don’t know anything, so they have to ask a lot."
Quite a serious explanation, Zhou Li thought.
"MROW?"
"Doesn’t Lord Dumpling know everything?"
"HMM..." This question stumped Lord Dumpling. She thought for a long time before saying crisply, "Sometimes Lord Dumpling knows everything, and sometimes Lord Dumpling knows nothing."
"Is that so?"
"That’s right! Exactly!"
"I see..."
Just then, Brother Nan beckoned the little boy over to her side and asked, "How old are you?"
"Five years old."
"Are you in school?"
"Yes."
"Kindergarten?"
"MHM."
"Older class or younger class?"
"Younger class."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"..."
"Tell me quietly." Brother Nan’s face was serious, illuminated by the firelight. "I promise I won’t tell your mom."
"No."
"Really no, or are you just saying that?"
"Really."
"Then does anyone in your class have a boyfriend or girlfriend?"
"Don’t know."
"Really don’t know, or are you just pretending not to know? You can’t lie to me; it’s no use. I can tell at a glance if you’re lying!" Brother Nan said sternly, acting like a bad uncle.
"Little kids can’t date..."
"Then you all are useless. When I was in the younger class, I already had several girlfriends."
"N-NONSENSE..."
"Don’t corrupt the kid." Seeing that the formerly cheerful and outgoing child was becoming uneasy from Brother Nan’s words, Zhou Li quickly tugged her sleeve silently.
"What’s that you’re holding in your hand?" Brother Nan changed the subject.
"Ultraman."
"I know that, but which Ultraman is it?"
"Saga Ultraman!" The little boy proudly lifted the Ultraman. "The most powerful Ultraman!"
"Oh! I know Saga Ultraman!"
"You know him?"
"I know, I know, isn’t he just..."
Zhou Li caught Brother Nan silently pulling out her phone to search on Baidu, but he didn’t expose her, just silently adding more firewood to the stove. Zheng Zhilan, standing in front of the stove, tested the water temperature, then took out the cured meat, quietly busying herself with preparing dinner for everyone. Qinghe leaned against the doorway watching, while Huai Xu was imitating him, trying to annoy him.
Only Brother Nan and the little boy’s voices echoed.
As an adult who was essentially a king of kids, Brother Nan handled such a little boy with ease. Before long, the little boy revealed his long-kept secret and his grand ambition—
"When I grow up, I want to become an Ultraman!"
"You can!"
"I can?"
"Of course, you can!"
"Really?"
"It’s definitely true," Brother Nan stated matter-of-factly. "I used to transform into Ultraman too."
"I don’t believe you!"
"You don’t believe people can transform into Ultraman?"
"I believe!"
"Then there you go."
"Then..." The little boy looked up at Brother Nan, dumbfounded. He had seemingly never heard such words from an adult before. Whenever he used to tell his mom, she would just laugh at him. "Then... could you tell me how you became an Ultraman? Come on, tell me!"
"Everyone can become an Ultraman, but you have to wait until..." Brother Nan paused. "How old are you again?"
"Five years old."
"Oh, you have to wait until you’re ten."
"I can become an Ultraman at ten?"
"We all did."
Brother Nan said, turning to look at Zhou Li, "If you don’t believe me, ask this person beside me. Zhou Li, right?"
Zhou Li silently tended to the fire.
However, at that moment, the little boy looked at him with hopeful eyes.
So he nodded.
The child, both excited and skeptical, said, "Then you guys transform into one and let me see! Prove that you’re not lying!"
Brother Nan grinned, unperturbed, and continued to tell the child, "Every child can become an Ultraman when they turn ten, but the kind of Ultraman is different for everyone. You can only do it for five years. When you reach fifteen, you can’t become an Ultraman anymore. We’re already past fifteen, so we can’t transform anymore."
"What do you transform into after that?" the little boy asked, not taking his eyes off Brother Nan.
"Then you become a..." Brother Nan looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, "a Martial Arts Master. You start being a Martial Arts Master from fifteen until you’re twenty."
"What happens after twenty?"
"Then you grow up."
"And what do you become when you grow up?"
"You don’t become anything else; you just become an adult." Brother Nan leaned closer to the little boy, lowering her voice as if afraid someone would hear. "You know about adults, right? They’re not as smart as kids and don’t run as fast. They also aren’t as happy as kids. So you should cherish this time before you grow up, when you can still become an Ultraman and a Martial Arts Master. Understand?"
"I feel like you guys are tricking me..."
"How could that be? Unfortunately, I’m already over twenty now; otherwise, I would definitely show you," Brother Nan said helplessly, again looking up at the sky. "I’m reminded of those days when I was Tiga Ultraman and fought monsters. I miss it. I remember once I faced a very, very powerful monster. I was severely injured. Even when I called Ace Ultraman and Taro Ultraman to help, we couldn’t beat it..."
The little boy stared at her without blinking, his eyes shining.
Zhou Li continued to add wood to the stove. So, Brother Nan *is* good with kids, he mused, watching the little boy’s rapt expression. She just has a different way of doing it.
