My Demon Friends-Chapter 540 - 519: Is It Still Possible to Go Back Now?
Zhihong Guan was already snow-free, but it seemed like a drizzle had fallen last night, dampening the surface of the pathway.
Huai Xu, who was walking in front, turned to glance at the sky.
When Zhou Li saw this, he also turned back.
He saw nothing.
Perplexed, he asked, "Looking at what?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Explain it to me, and I will."
"We've just left that big guy's territory. It was watching us the whole time. You're too weak to feel it," Huai Xu smacked his lips. "How is that different from the wild beasts out there?"
Hmm…
Zhou Li found it inconvenient to comment.
But usually, this old monster walking ahead of him would target the combat strength of other humans or demons. Only if he encountered those whose strength he couldn't overcome would he resort to attacking their other aspects.
Zhou Li looked down at his shoes, which were now ringed with mud.
Luckily, a concrete road lay ahead.
At that moment, Tuanzi twisted in his arms, clawing onto his shoulder and looking back, crisply asking, "When will Brother Lan come back?"
"In a few days."
Zhou Li stomped his feet on the concrete path and asked, looking down, "Does Lord Dumpling miss Brother Nan that much?"
"Yes, oh!"
"It's only been a little while."
"MEOW…" Tuanzi cocked her head, pondering, "Lord Dumpling doesn't know either; it's just something she feels."
"I see. Then why didn't Lord Dumpling stay on the mountain and keep Brother Nan company?" Zhou Li observed Tuanzi's expression from the corner of his eye, secretly eager for her response.
"Because Brother Nan is very capable and can be happy without Lord Dumpling," Tuanzi said, blinking.
"Isn't Zhou Li capable?" Zhou Li asked again.
"Zhou Li can't manage on his own; he's weak. He needs Lord Dumpling to make him happy," Tuanzi candidly said, though she spoke very softly, quietly, so that Zhou Li could hear her without feeling too bad.
"I see…"
That answer really was…
Zhou Li held back for a while, only managing to say, "Lord Dumpling really is a kind child."
"That's right!"
"Indeed…"
"Hmm! Zhou Ni, do you also like mimicking others?"
"Right…"
Zhou Li stroked Tuanzi's head, hesitated for a moment, then explained, "But we need to go to Qingjiang, so even when Brother Nan gets back, Lord Dumpling won't see him for a while. However, if Lord Dumpling doesn't want to go to Qingjiang, you can stay at home. Zhu Shuang, Zhu Bing, Aunt Jiang, and Old Zhou will all take good care of Lord Dumpling. You can also visit Brother Nan."
After hesitating again, he added, "The trip to Qingjiang is a very, very long ride, and I hope Lord Dumpling knows that."
Upon hearing this, Tuanzi let out an "oh" and fell into deep thought.
"I want to go! Lord Dumpling wants to go!"
"Thank you, Lord Dumpling."
"You're welcome, oh!"
"You're welcome…"
"See, you've mimicked again, MEOW!"
"Is that so."
At that moment, Zhou Li's emotions were quite complex, hard to express, especially since the old monster ahead had heard their whole conversation and was struggling not to laugh.
「Around eleven thirty.」
When Zhou Li got back home, dinner hadn't started yet. Aunt Jiang, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen to greet them, curious about the multiple packages they were holding. He took these items out from the bags one by one and explained to Aunt Jiang and the two siblings drawn by curiosity, "This is Autumn Pear Paste made by my friend's family. It's very tasty when brewed in water and also clears the lungs and stops coughs. This is grapefruit from my friend's farm, grown on mountain highlands and said to be especially delicious. You've all had this pickle before. These ribs I had tried two days ago. They were so delicious that she insisted on giving me some."
"And this tea and these nuts, also…"
Laughing after listening, Aunt Jiang couldn't help but say, "What did you take there? You've come back with so many packages."
Zhou Li scratched his head, "Actually, I feel quite embarrassed..."
"If you brought it back, then it's fine. Just let me know in advance next time we go, and we can bring something too," Aunt Jiang said, wiping her hands on her apron as she helped put things away. But each item she picked up had to be closely inspected as she murmured, "How is this Autumn Pear Paste made, eh? Last time I asked you to inquire about the pickle recipe, did you forget?"
Zhou Li didn't say much.
At that moment, Zhu Shuang asked, "Bro, which friend's house did you go to? Was it Huai Xu's House? I thought you were fooling us and actually went to Brother Nan's home. But when I went to Brother Nan's home for noodles, I asked. Brother Nan's mom said you guys hadn't gone back to Brother Nan's old home, but Brother Nan went with you. I thought you guys had run off somewhere else to play."
As he spoke, it seemed like he too felt something was off, his voice growing quieter while he sneakily glanced at Zhou Li.
Zhou Li's face had already turned a bit red.
Especially since Aunt Jiang was right there.
He quickly coughed to cover his embarrassment, then with a brotherly love visible in his eyes, he wholeheartedly praised, "You even specifically asked Brother Nan's mom! I couldn't do that; I'm too shy to speak in front of her."
"It's okay, really," Zhu Shuang understood his brother was complimenting his sociable and outgoing nature. "Brother Nan's mom is really easy to talk to."
"Don't be modest. You have that ability; there aren't many females of any age who don't like you," Zhou Li said, pausing before turning to Aunt Jiang and Zhu Bing, "You haven't seen his QQ Space message board, have you? Every day, a dozen girls leave messages like love letters. It seems there's even jealousy across floors!"
"?" Zhu Shuang was startled.
"Really?" Zhu Bing immediately pulled out her phone.
"A dozen?" Aunt Jiang was focused on something else, "Isn't that too many?"
"Uh?"
Zhou Li also realized he had misspoken and inadvertently betrayed his closest younger brother. He tried to keep a steady expression but was obviously a bit panicked and flustered as he explained, "There's nothing much to see... and there aren't that many... Let's look after dinner... I mean, even if there are that many, having girls like him is a good thing. At least he won't have to worry about finding a girlfriend..."
Aunt Jiang watched Zhu Shuang with a complex expression.
Zhu Bing stared intensely at her phone, her eyes widening.
Zhou Li coughed again and continued, "Should we have dinner now? I'm starving."
Aunt Jiang understood Zhou Li wanted to steer the topic away to help his brother. Seeing as she had a chicken cooking in the pot, she decided to temporarily drop the topic, saying, "It's almost ready. Sit down for a while. There's dried beef and pork jerky on the table to tide you over."
Zhou Li nodded repeatedly, heading towards the living room while casting an apologetic glance towards Zhu Shuang.
Zhu Shuang also looked at him.
Their gazes met, somewhat helpless, but with no blame.
「Afternoon.」
The room was warm with the air conditioning on.
Zhou Li sat on the lower bunk, chewing on beef jerky, when he received a message from Brother Nan—
Li Daimao: [Picture]
Zhou Li opened it to see a shed with sausages and cured meat hanging above and a fire burning below, covered by a layer of Cypress branches, emitting thick smoke that cured the meat above it.
Li Daimao: We are 'autumn-ing' sausages and cured meat.
Zhou Li: Autumn.
Li Daimao: ?
Zhou Li: I get it.
Zhou Li: Not trying to nitpick.
Li Daimao: Guess how long they need to be 'autumn-ed'?
Zhou Li: How long?
Li Daimao: Seven sevens, forty-nine days.
Zhou Li: …
Li Daimao: Okay, not that long, but they still need to be 'autumn-ed' for a long time, much longer than making Autumn Pear Paste.
Zhou Li: …
From next door, Zhu Shuang's room faintly carried the sound of a conversation. It wasn't very loud; it was Aunt Jiang educating Zhu Shuang on how to properly handle male-female relationships. Zhu Shuang replied intermittently, trying to defend himself from time to time, his voice revealing his current embarrassment.
Zhou Li's ears twitched.
Then, Brother Nan sent another voice message, which he casually opened and listened to quietly by his ear.
Brother Nan was explaining the different durations for curing meat in various households and regions, ranging from a few hours to half a day, and some even for several months or ongoing. As his mind wasn't really on it, he replayed the message a couple of times after listening to it once.
After he finished listening, he looked up to see a head hanging from the upper bunk, staring intently at him and commenting, "You've changed. You used to dislike listening to voice messages; now you listen several times."
Zhou Li didn't respond verbally, kept typing his reply, and continued listening to the voices from next door.
