My Demon Friends-Chapter 562 - 540: The Atmosphere Terminator Still Has Style

At the foot of Heaven Mountain, a grassland stretched out.

Zhou Li, with Tuanzi on his back, rode alongside Huai Xu on the narrow path between two pastures, heading towards Heaven Mountain. Huai Xu had procured Zhou Li's and Brother Nan's bicycles, making it very convenient.

The path was a dirt road, somewhat bumpy.

Heaven Mountain, which appeared to be right before their eyes, was actually very far to ride to. Zhou Li had initially thought it was only a few kilometers away because it seemed so close, but they ended up riding for more than ten kilometers to reach the foot of the mountain. The road ahead was no longer suitable for cycling. Coincidentally, with no one around, Huai Xu made the bikes disappear again.

It was indeed convenient.

Then they started to walk.

Ahead was a village with newly built Western-style houses. Behind it, the majestic Heaven Mountain towered, its snow-white peaks visible from afar but disappearing as they drew closer. A small stream, partially frozen but still flowing, wound through the village. They could hear the GURGLE GURGLE of its water.

Noticing Zhou Li looking around, Huai Xu explained, "This stream is meltwater from Heaven Mountain. The strong afternoon sun probably melted the snow."

"Oh," Zhou Li said. He took out his phone, stopped, and snapped a picture.

Even in winter, the scenery was still beautiful.

Pointing ahead, Huai Xu mused, "This is Heaven Mountain as I remember it, though it's a pity it's winter and everything looks bleak and barren. The image I remember most vividly is of springtime. The mountain soared high into the clouds. The demons all loved to live up there. The foot of the mountain was a stretch of verdant grassland, looking like a blanket from afar, with one or two small wooden houses on it, and herds of cattle and horses grazing."

"I can imagine it."

"Back then, I had a horse I really loved. Sometimes I'd ride it out, just roaming everywhere. It was all grass, so the horse never went hungry, and I didn't mind skipping a meal or two myself. Riding it made me feel like I could go anywhere, even though it walked quite slowly."

"Freedom," Zhou Li remarked.

"Exactly! That's the feeling!" Huai Xu nodded vigorously, glancing at Zhou Li as if she had found a kindred spirit.

"That sounds pretty good," Zhou Li said.

"It *was* great!" Huai Xu affirmed.

"What kind of horse was it?" Zhou Li asked further.

"I don't know what kind it was, just that it was a good horse with great stamina; it could really run when needed," Huai Xu said. "I never fed it good fodder; I couldn't afford it. At most, I often took it to a wild pond to bathe and scrub it down. But it always loyally stayed with me, never got sick, right up until it died of old age."

"A Sweat Blood Precious Horse," Zhou Li suggested.

"Impossible!" Huai Xu felt Zhou Li was being deliberately provocative; he knew perfectly well she could never have owned a Sweat Blood Precious Horse, yet he still said it.

"Was it a local breed then?" Zhou Li inquired.

"Not really," Huai Xu pouted. "The local horses back then weren't good—short and ugly. They had stamina but weren't fast."

"Where did your horse come from then?"

"Stolen." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I knew it," Zhou Li muttered.

It seemed the old monster's habits died hard.

The old monster snorted, saying with conviction, "I stole it from bandits! That's not stealing!"

"What do you call it then?"

"It's, it's like..." Huai Xu stumbled, turning her head towards Zhou Li, her eyes urging him to supply the word.

"Eliminating evil and upholding justice."

"Exactly! Eliminating evil and upholding justice!" Huai Xu finished, then added, "I just couldn't recall the phrase for a moment!"

"I'm speechless," Zhou Li said.

"Judging by its appearance, it must have been a Wusun's Horse. We called them Tianma back then. They were the best horses apart from the Sweat Blood Precious Horse," Huai Xu boasted. "I stole it from the bandit chief. If it were around today, it probably wouldn't be any cheaper than that four-ring car you drive."

"Why were you so idle?" Zhou Li asked, curious.

"What? Oh, sometimes I was very busy, and other times really idle," Huai Xu bragged again. "Because I'm so powerful, weaker demons didn't require my intervention, so I had a lot of free time. But whenever there was a demon that others couldn't deal with, I had to rush over, no matter how far. So I'd get very busy, having to travel long distances, and some demons were very difficult to handle. Sometimes I even had to rush back to the Central Plains. When I was idle, I'd usually just ride my horse and wander around wherever I pleased. After all, the Emperor is far away."

"Right, you have ADHD," Zhou Li remarked knowingly.

"You're the one with ADHD!" Huai Xu frowned deeply.

"Did you receive a salary back then?" Zhou Li asked, still curious.

"Of course! And it wasn't a small amount either," Huai Xu said proudly. "Plus, I was very frugal, so I saved up a lot of money."

"Frugal..." Zhou Li echoed.

"I also had a side business!" Huai Xu added.

"Side business..." Zhou Li repeated.

"Hm? What are you implying?" Huai Xu turned to look at him.

"You've suddenly become fierce," Zhou Li muttered under his breath, looking away. "Please, continue."

"I remember there used to be many people here, all sorts of people. I'm talking about different ethnic groups, speaking different languages, wearing different clothes..." Huai Xu was in mid-description when she suddenly paused. A chilling wind, carrying an intense cold, made the hair at her temples flutter slightly. Then, she sniffed the air. "So many demon scents. Some even have the smell of blood."

"Let's not stir up trouble," Zhou Li said. "We're just here for a walk."

"As long as they don't provoke me."

"Hmm," Zhou Li acknowledged.

Zhou Li also looked up at Heaven Mountain, which was now truly within arm's reach. Strictly speaking, they were already standing on the mountain itself.

He frowned slightly.

Originally, they were just passing by. The reason they had entered this place, which didn't even have a clear name on the map, was mainly because Huai Xu had said, 'Those two pointy bits on this mountaintop look so familiar.' Huai Xu rarely found a place familiar at first sight, so they decided to come in and take a look. Considering Huai Xu's former line of work, if there really were a lot of demons in the area, it was definitely a cause for concern.