My Demon Friends-Chapter 530 - 509 The Armless Hero

「Early morning.」

The room was so cold that he didn’t want to get out of bed.

The small mountain village was so quiet it was eerie. The occasional chicken crow or dog bark sounded exceptionally loud; once the noise died down, the silence seemed even more profound by comparison.

Zhou Li had already opened his eyes but didn’t move. He just stared blankly at the ceiling, unwilling to get up. He guessed his current posture was probably quite similar to Huai Xu’s.

A small cat was curled up on his chest. A cat’s body temperature is slightly higher than a human’s, so it felt warm.

It was fluffy and soft.

A CREAK came from the bed nearby. Zhou Li turned his head and saw Huai Xu flip over to lie on his side, meeting his gaze.

Huai Xu asked, "If you’re awake, why aren’t you getting up?"

"It’s cold."

"Are you going to lie in bed until afternoon then?"

"Aren’t you cold?"

"How could I be cold? I’m a bona fide Great Demon," Huai Xu said, nestled in his blankets. "If you’re cold, I can change my temperature to... hey, what’s normal for you humans again?"

"Around thirty-six or seven degrees, I guess."

"Oh, then I’ll change to over seventy degrees to keep you warm."

"No, thanks. I’m afraid I’ll get burned."

"Then why aren’t you getting up? It’s time to make breakfast."

"Breakfast..."

Zhou Li immediately threw back the covers. Seeing Tuanzi sleeping soundly on his chest, he carefully picked her up, placed her aside, and then prepared to get dressed.

"MEOW~~"

Tuanzi sleepily opened her eyes, glanced at him, then closed them again, covering her eyes with her little paws and continuing to sleep.

Seeing this, Zhou Li covered her with the blanket again.

Last night, Little Trash Cat had unusually refrained from causing trouble, granting him a luxurious deep sleep. He decided to be nicer to her.

But as soon as he was neatly dressed and standing on the floor, he turned his head to see that Tuanzi had already crawled out from under the covers. She was now perched on the edge of the bed, shaking her body. She quickly perked up, like a little tiger.

"Lord Dumpling, not sleeping anymore?"

"Not sleeping anymore, MROW!"

"Getting up now?"

"Carry Lord Dumpling."

"Alright."

Zhou Li picked up Tuanzi and headed out, with the Old Monster following behind him.

Almost simultaneously, the door to the next room opened, and Zheng Zhilan stepped out.

"Morning."

"Morning," Zhou Li replied. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Quite well," Zheng Zhilan said.

"Why does it seem like you’re the host, Zhou Li, and Miss Zheng is the guest?" Huai Xu asked, staring curiously at the two of them.

Ignoring the Old Monster, Zhou Li continued speaking to Zheng Zhilan as they walked downstairs side by side, "I heard you two chatting last night. You talked very late."

"Brother Nan sure can talk a lot."

"She talks so much, it’s annoying."

"It wasn’t annoying."

"Is she still not awake?"

"She’s awake, just not out of bed."

"I see."

Zheng Zhilan’s younger uncle’s family of three were up as well; they were probably used to getting up early, though they hadn’t been up for more than a few minutes. They were currently standing in the courtyard, having just brushed their teeth. The CLINKING of toothbrushes against cups traveled far in the morning air.

Carrying a cup of water, Zhou Li walked out the door, greeted them, and also went to the edge of the courtyard to start brushing his teeth.

Tuanzi trotted over, tilted her head up, and asked him, "How does Lord Dumpling brush her teeth?"

"Hmm..."

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Li took a sip of water and spat out the foam. He then heard a faint "EEP!" from Tuanzi, who quickly backpedaled several steps, retracting her tiny paws. Zhou Li hastily apologized and then said, "Brother Nan isn’t up yet. Lord Dumpling should go up and wake her. Later, when there’s no one outside, Lord Dumpling can secretly brush her teeth."

"Okay, MROW!"

Tuanzi turned and scampered off, disappearing in a flash.

Zhou Li continued to brush his teeth.

Zheng Zhilan’s voice came from beside him, "Do demons need to brush their teeth too?"

Zhou Li shook his head but didn’t answer.

Only after he finished brushing his teeth and was stirring his toothbrush in the cup, making CLINKING sounds, did he say, "She just thinks it’s fun."

"Lord Dumpling is really cute."

"She’s alright."

"Little Aunt said we’re having noodles for breakfast."

"Sounds good."

"I’ll go pick some scallions and pea shoots in a bit."

"I’ll go with you."

"Okay..."

There wasn’t much hot water left in the thermos. His younger uncle’s family had used some earlier, and after they added cold water, it had become lukewarm. It seemed the thermos wasn’t very good at retaining heat anymore; it had been used for too many years. The thermos, originally bright red, had faded to pink and looked very old.

Zhou Li shared a basin of water with Miss Zheng. He only wiped his face hastily, not daring to wash thoroughly. He was even afraid to wring the towel too hard, worried the water would turn murky and make things awkward.

Oh, right, she can’t see clearly anyway.

After washing his face, the wind felt cool. His face dried in moments, feeling smooth to the touch.

Miss Zheng fetched a wicker basket and went out. To the left was a vegetable patch. Besides a Peach tree and a plum tree, there were also scallions and some seasonal vegetables that were frequently picked. This was the perfect time for pea shoots, which were excellent in soups or noodles. Brother Nan especially loved them.

Zhou Li walked behind her and took the wicker basket from her hands.

"Let me do the picking."

"Okay."

Miss Zheng wasn’t adept at such delicate tasks, so she thoughtfully stepped aside a couple of paces.

"Which parts should I pick?"

"The very tips, the most tender parts. After picking them, pull off the tendrils. Zheng Zihao is here, and they can easily get stuck in a child’s throat," Zheng Zhilan replied, standing nearby.

"Okay." While picking the pea shoots, Zhou Li chatted with her, "I noticed your sheep pen seems to have been repaired."

"It has been repaired," Zheng Zhilan said. "This winter was exceptionally cold, and the old pen was very drafty. Also, we have more sheep now than before, so the pen was getting a bit small. So, with the help of Lord Xiao Yuan and Lord Lao Hui, we renovated it."

"Lord Xiao Yuan," Zhou Li repeated.

"What is it?" Zheng Zhilan asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing." Zhou Li pursed his lips. It just sounded amusing. "Xiao Yuan is quite good at this sort of thing; he should get a job on a construction site."

"It’s all thanks to him."

"You’re growing more and more vegetables too."

"Because there are more mouths to feed," Zheng Zhilan explained softly. "We’ve also planted many more fruit trees and saplings. Lord Xiao Yuan and Lord Lao Hui planted most of them. Lord Xiao Yuan is amazing—when he gets bigger, he can dig a large hole in the ground in just a few swipes. As long as the trees aren’t too big, he can lift them and plant them."

"They love to eat fruit."

"That’s right. We also planted strawberries and a large patch of watermelons. Next year, we can invite Huai Xu to come pick them."

"And the flowers and plants were planted by Lord Xing Hui and Lord Ji Bai, right?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Yes, using the seeds you bought."

"Is that so."

Zhou Li unexpectedly felt a sense of involvement.

After picking a full wicker basket of pea shoots and a small handful of scallions, the two walked back to the courtyard.

Brother Nan had already come downstairs. She was still wearing the white down jacket from yesterday. Being tall and slender, she didn’t look bulky despite the puffy coat.

Because it was cold, she had tucked her hands inside her sleeves, leaving them empty and dangling. As she walked, she swung her body left and right, flinging the empty sleeves about, and turned her head to look for Zhou Li. Upon finding him, she sauntered over and stood beside him, continuing to swing her sleeves and playfully hit him with them.

Zhou Li was in a bad mood and ignored her.

Glancing over, Zhou Li saw his younger uncle already sitting before the stove. The fire was lit, and the water was already hot. He couldn’t help but feel quite dejected.

Brother Nan amused herself for a while, but finding it no fun, she gave up on Zhou Li and went over to Miss Zheng, starting to pester her in the same way.

The sleeves swung left and right, hitting lightly, without any force.

Miss Zheng felt rather helpless and only asked, "Have you washed your face?"

"Yes."

"Brushed your teeth?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Miss Zheng didn’t know what else to say, so she went about her own business, letting Brother Nan continue her playful antics nearby.

Just then, Zhou Li walked over, his expression calm. He grabbed one of Brother Nan’s sleeves and, under her puzzled gaze, unhurriedly tied the two sleeves into a tight knot. Taking advantage of her inability to retaliate, he then patted her head and pinched her cheek before calmly turning and walking away.

Brother Nan looked down at her sleeves, then wriggled her body.

Now she couldn’t swing her sleeves anymore.