My Demon Friends-Chapter 552 - 531 They Don’t Know Shit

A hint of white appeared on the horizon. The stars still lingered. Zhou Li switched on a small lamp inside the car, dimming it to its lowest setting. He placed it on the front armrest, and a faint, candlelight-like glow filled the narrow space, adding warmth and softness. Best of all, the dim light didn't hinder their view of the stars.

Tuanzi, beside him, rubbed her eyes. "Hmm, Lord Dumpling is sleepy. I want to sleep..."

"Sleep then," Zhou Li said.

"What about you?" Tuanzi asked, puzzled.

"We'll wait for the stars to go home, then we'll drive to the city for breakfast," Zhou Li said in a very childlike tone.

"When do they go home?" Tuanzi continued to ask.

"Maybe when they get sleepy too."

"And when do they get sleepy?"

"I don't know."

"Then what will you eat?"

"Some royal delicacies."

"Remember to call Lord Dumpling!"

"Certainly."

"MEOW..."

Tuanzi walked over to Zhou Li and, believe it or not, used a paw to lift the blanket before crawling under, just like a person.

Zhou Li continued to watch the stars, his face numb with cold.

Huai Xu's voice came from the front. "I once heard someone say that when people die, they become stars, hanging in the sky and watching over the human world."

"You, of all people, shouldn't believe that," Zhou Li replied.

"Why not?"

"The person who made that up probably wasn't as old as you."

"When Demons die, they become stars too. They don't hang in the sky, though; they hang behind me. They've followed me for two thousand years." Huai Xu glanced at the sky. "Could it be the same for humans? Maybe half the stars up there are what you call planets, and the other half are people who've transformed, watching over us."

"Perhaps," Zhou Li said.

"Do you think there's another possibility? That everyone looks up and sees a different number of stars? For example, say you see ten thousand stars, but I see twelve thousand. The extra two thousand I see are all the dead people connected to me. Since I've lived longer than you, I've known more people who've died, and I've also killed many. They're all connected to me."

"You have quite an imagination."

"My teacher said the two most remarkable human traits are curiosity and imagination," Huai Xu said seriously. "My curiosity and imagination are both very strong. I'm pretty remarkable."

"Possibly."

"Hmph, you don't agree with me!"

"No, that's not it."

"I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Huai Xu sounded a bit annoyed. Usually, when Tuanzi said such childish things to Zhou Li—no matter how much more childish, and there were far more childish things—Zhou Li would always play along with her. But it was different with him.

Just then, Zhou Li, beside him, suddenly said, "Well then, let's count them and see exactly how many there are."

"Alright!"

"Let's start from the left."

"From this spot I'm pointing to!"

"Okay."

Quiet settled inside the car again, the only sound being Huai Xu's unconscious murmuring as he counted. Zhou Li continued to watch the sky in silence. He wasn't counting... Of course, they were uncountable. The sky was brightening, beautiful gradient colors appearing on the horizon. Many of the fine, sand-like stars visible just moments before had already disappeared. Soon, fewer and fewer stars would remain, until only Venus was left.

"How many have you counted?" Huai Xu asked without turning his head.

"Over 300," Zhou Li replied casually.

"I'm already over two thousand."

"That only means you count faster than me, not that you see more stars," Zhou Li said calmly. "And even if you do see more, and I'm willing to believe that, it would only mean your eyes are better than mine, able to see farther and dimmer stars."

"GRUMBLE..."

"Dawn's breaking. We should get going."

"Fine."

Huai Xu clearly knew this was rather childish too, so he gave up readily, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

「Nine o'clock in the morning.」

Sunrise was just beginning here.

A black SUV stood on the road, having kicked up some yellow dust. Its engine was still running, but it was parked motionless. On a nearby earthen mound, two figures sat side by side. In the Great Desert, sunrises were just as breathtakingly beautiful as the majestic sunsets. When the first rays of the morning sun shot from the distant horizon and struck the ground, you could see damp sand and frost-covered dry grass. Perhaps some insects were even gathering moisture. Everything was bathed in the red glow of the sunrise, welcoming the new day.

"This is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen."

"What's so great about it? Looks like a salted duck egg yolk." Huai Xu then asked, "Which was better, this sunrise or last night's sunset?"

"Yesterday was very significant for us, but today is more important. And tomorrow is even more important than today." Zhou Li hunched his shoulders, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest to conserve body heat. His breath plumed white with every word, and his teeth chattered. "So, I prefer the sunrise we just saw."

"..." Huai Xu thought for a moment, then turned to look at him. "You look like you're freezing."

"I am."

It was now the coldest time of day. The weather forecast for Dunhuang showed temperatures between -12 and -1 degrees Celsius, and it was even colder in the Great Desert. He was dressed thinly; an ordinary person would have frozen stiff out here.

After watching the sunrise, Zhou Li hurried back to the car.

PHEW...

The warmth felt wonderful.

Huai Xu said to him, "You head off first. I'll go back and find a Little Demon to ask her to clean up our tire tracks."

"Be gentle."

"Got it!"

"Go on then."

The vehicle headed towards the city.

「Eleven o'clock.」

Zhou Li and Huai Xu were sitting in a highly-rated restaurant. Tuanzi was perched on Zhou Li's lap, standing on her hind legs and craning her neck to survey the restaurant, her little paws tickling him.

It was still early, with only two other tables occupied.

Zhou Li perused the menu. Across from him, Huai Xu held a small notebook and pen, looking up at him.

"Donkey meat yellow noodles. I hear it's a famous local specialty. Not sure if it's good, but it's a bit pricey. It'd be worth it if there's a lot of donkey meat." Zhou Li mused for a moment, then looked at Huai Xu. "How about we order two servings to try? For 'donkey,' make sure you get the character right; it's the one with the 'horse' radical on the left and the..."

"I know how to write it!" Huai Xu snapped, irritated.

"Let's also get a braised mutton with flatbread; that's a specialty too."

"Braised... mutton... with... flatbread." Huai Xu sounded out each character as he wrote, a habit from primary school. "Anything else?"

"Scrambled eggs with Yu Qian'er," Zhou Li added. "I read an essay in a textbook once, I think by Liu Shaotang, that was all about Yu Qian'er. Ever since then, I've wondered what it tastes like... Do you think Yu Qian'er is even in season?"

"That's what poor people used to eat as survival food when they couldn't afford anything else," Huai Xu said as he wrote. "But it's definitely much tastier than tree bark or grass roots."

"Let's also get desert onion and mutton baked baozi. I saw a food show that said desert onions are especially good."

"Desert... onion... mutton... baked... baozi."

"Have you ever eaten desert onions?"

"Of course! I used to eat so much of it I felt sick. That stuff is everywhere, grows abundantly, and sprouts right back up after you pick it." Huai Xu shook his head. "Do you know of Cong Ling?"

"I do."

"Then do you know why it's called Cong Ling?"

"Is it because lots of desert onions grow there?"

"They're all over the place."

"I've heard that explanation," Zhou Li paused, then added, "but some people disagree. They say it might be because the mountain cliffs are lush and green, or it's a homophone for Mount Chong mentioned in some book."

"Who disagrees?"

"Some historians."

"They don't know shit!"

"That's also true."