My Demon Friends-Chapter 529 - 508 I am best at telling animal stories
Today was the latter part of the winter month on the lunar calendar.
Zheng Zhilan opened the main house door and stepped out, leaving it ajar. Only a sliver of light from the incandescent bulb shone through the crack, casting a thin line on the ground outside. She gathered the leftover bones from the dinner table into a basin and walked over to the dog kennel to feed her beloved dogs, her steps as steady as if it were daytime.
The air outside was growing cold, visibly so. Everything else about living in the mountains was fine, except for the high humidity, which made the winters particularly chilly.
Only a sliver of the waning moon hung in the sky.
You could only spot one or two stars.
That was actually quite good, considering that winter nights in Yan City were generally foggy, with neither stars nor moon visible. Thanks to the mountain’s height, the clouds that might otherwise obscure the stars and moon only reached halfway up, piling up in the valley on the opposite side.
The dog kennel was a small shed in the corner of the yard, about three or four square meters, roofed with thatch and lined with old cloth coats. It served as a shelter from wind and rain, specifically for her dogs during the winter. At this moment, a group of dogs of different breeds huddled in the corner of the kennel, snuggling together for warmth. Only the Rottweiler lay at the doorway, seemingly on night watch duty.
The dogs usually ate well and occasionally hunted wild game in the woods for a feast. In recent years, the mountain wilderness had improved ecologically. With their abilities, the dogs managed to find plenty to eat, so they weren’t overly interested in the bone scraps Zheng Zhilan brought over.
But out of respect for their owner making a special trip to feed them, they all crowded around and pretended to take a few bites.
Only Big Yellow wasn’t picky and truly enjoyed the meal.
"You’ve worked hard keeping watch tonight. Have a chew on this to pass the time," Zheng Zhilan whispered to the Rottweiler. "It’s like snacking on sunflower seeds, just something to gnaw on."
A LOW RUMBLE.
The Rottweiler was a bit slow-witted and didn’t understand.
So, Zheng Zhilan turned and went back inside.
The night deepened, growing quieter, yet occasionally pierced by the sounds of small animals or the roaring of an Evil God echoing through the valley, making the quietude even more profound. Peaceful as it was, if an ordinary person lived here, they would likely be terrified.
Her uncle and aunt had already gone upstairs.
A few of the youngsters chatted downstairs for a while before heading up. Zheng Zihao was still pestering Brother Nan, asking her to tell stories of her past battles with monsters.
Brother Nan was an exceptionally good storyteller; her tales were so vivid it was as if she had actually fought monsters herself.
"I’m off to sleep! Go to bed, little kid!" Brother Nan was starting to get a headache. She glanced at Zhou Li and Miss Zheng beside her. Zhou Li seemed to be watching a play, while Miss Zheng chuckled with her head lowered, as if amused by the consequences of Brother Nan’s tall tales. Brother Nan pursed her lips. "Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy and helps you become a mighty Ultraman."
"I’m gonna be Saga Ultraman in the future!"
"Becoming Saga Ultraman isn’t easy. Can you score a hundred in your class? Are you the fastest runner? The tallest?" Brother Nan remarked casually. "If not, why should you become Saga Ultraman instead of those kids who have better grades, run faster, and are taller than you?"
"Then how can I become Saga Ultraman?" Zheng Zihao asked eagerly.
"You have to be really impressive."
"Have you become one?"
"Haven’t I told you before? I became Tiga, Ultraman’s big brother!" Brother Nan might have been bluffing, but she maintained her narrative consistency, careful not to contradict herself lest anyone catch any discrepancies.
"Then have you seen anyone become Saga Ultraman?"
"Of course, I have..." Without a second thought, Brother Nan answered and then slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Miss Zheng, Zhou Li, and Huai Xu.
Seeing this, Zheng Zihao quickly raised his voice and shouted, "They definitely aren’t! Don’t lie to me!"
"Why are you so sure?" Brother Nan laughed.
"Sister Lanlan is very weak."
"That’s certainly true." Brother Nan nodded. "In fact, she hasn’t become Ultraman. She’s more like a Magical DoReMi fairy."
"Huai Xu only knows how to eat. He must have turned into a monster."
Brother Nan burst out, "HAHAHA! You’re killing me..."
"Zhou Li looks like a pretty boy, effeminate. At most, he could become the Original Ultraman, the not-so-impressive one!" Zheng Zihao confidently declared.
"..." Veins throbbed on Zhou Li’s forehead.
"What did you say he looks like?" Brother Nan’s smile faltered. She bent down slightly. "I didn’t catch that."
"A pretty boy," Zheng Zihao said, very honestly.
"And?"
"Effeminate."
"You’re done for. Your Ultraman career is over." Brother Nan straightened up and nodded. "I have a connection with the King of Ultraman. I’ll send him a dream message tonight and tell him not to let you become Ultraman. Don’t you know that only I can call him a pretty boy and effeminate? No one else can."
"Ah?" Zheng Zihao was stunned. "I didn’t know that."
"So, what now?"
"Brother Li, I’m sorry, I was wrong!" Zheng Zihao immediately turned around and bowed deeply to Zhou Li. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand. What was a little humiliation if it meant he could become Ultraman?
"Erm..."
"Please forgive me, Brother Li~~" Zheng Zihao started shaking Zhou Li’s leg.
"Okay, okay, I forgive..."
"It’s useless!" Brother Nan cut Zhou Li off. She then said seriously to Zheng Zihao, "You can’t become Saga Ultraman. You will never be able to in this lifetime. It requires the fusion of three Ultramen to become Saga Ultraman."
"!!?"
Zheng Zihao froze on the stairs, staring at Brother Nan with wide eyes. Unable to cope with such a heavy blow, the light that had been shining in his eyes all night gradually dimmed. Shortly afterward, it relit—it was the gleam of tears.
With a wail, Zheng Zihao burst into tears. He no longer insisted on hearing a story from Brother Nan and stumbled toward his parents’ room.
Zhou Li immediately turned to Brother Nan with a speechless gaze. "You’re too much. You made him cry. Is that fun for you?"
"So much fun."
After saying that, Brother Nan shrugged and spread her hands. "Besides, everything I said is true. You can check it online; I just looked it up tonight. I even found the episode where Zero, Gauss, and Dyna – the three Ultramen – fused to become Saga Ultraman. I’ve even downloaded it. Do you want to see?"
"...Your internet is really good!" Zhou Li looked upward.
"?"
"I’m sorry."
"I’ll hit you!"
"..."
Zhou Li glanced at Zheng Zhilan beside him. He saw her pursing her lips and smiling faintly, listening to their bickering. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
「Back in the room.」
The old monster lay on the bed without covering himself with the blanket. Instead, he pressed it down underneath him, lying flat and staring at the ceiling without speaking or moving.
Zhou Li was somewhat curious. "Why aren’t you playing with your phone?"
Huai Xu replied in a desolate tone, "No signal."
"Why not cover yourself with the blanket?"
WHOOSH!
Huai Xu flipped the blanket over and crawled underneath, still lying flat and staring at the ceiling.
Zhou Li didn’t bother with him and snuggled into the duvet with Tuanzi.
The mattress and blanket felt ice-cold to the touch, but there was no other choice. He reluctantly crawled in, warming it with his body, and held Tuanzi tightly to his chest, both to protect her from the chill with his body heat and to use Lord Dumpling as a little warm treasure.
"So cold, Zhou Ni~~"
"Lord Dumpling, I thought you said you weren’t cold?"
"Lord Dumpling... Lord Dumpling wants to hear a story."
"Why do you suddenly want to hear a story?"
"That kid heard lots of stories, and Lord Dumpling wants to hear one, too!" Tuanzi wriggled to poke her head out against Zhou Li’s chest, her bright eyes staring at him. "You tell Lord Dumpling a story~~"
"Okay," Zhou Li said.
"Okay!" Tuanzi mimicked.
"Well, I’ll tell Lord Dumpling a story about a sheep, a fable. Once upon a time, there was a sheep that got lost..."
"Lord Dumpling doesn’t want to hear this one. Change it."
"Lord Dumpling, don’t move about. You’ll create a draft and catch a cold... Speaking of catching colds, I’ll tell Lord Dumpling a story about a sheep catching a cold. Once there was a sheep..."
"Lord Dumpling doesn’t want to hear about sheep!"
"Alright." Zhou Li was ever accommodating. "Then I’ll tell Lord Dumpling a story about a rooster to teach Lord Dumpling not to be arrogant. Once upon a time, there was a proud rooster..."
"Lord Dumpling wants to hear a story about a tiger!"
"Okay, okay..." Zhou Li agreed and fell into thought for a moment. This story might take a while to make up.
