My Demon Friends-Chapter 566 - 543 Sudden Incident

The early morning sunlight woke Zhou Li.

He rubbed his head, which felt slightly swollen, as if he'd slept at a high altitude for a night despite being at no such place.

He glanced at Tuanzi, curled up beside his pillow, breathing evenly with eyes gently closed—

He simply couldn't stay mad at her.

Zhou Li turned his head to see the bed beside him empty, but he didn't pay it much mind, instead leaning back and quietly reflecting.

It seemed he had a dream last night.

He dreamt of Huai Xu participating in the Bamboo Book competition, like a shooting game Brother Nan had once played, where in a shrinking circle, fierce Demons surrounded and attacked him. Some of these Demons looked more terrifying than Blood Demons, some were as large as mountains, and some were deceptively cunning. They all appeared to be Huai Xu's enemies and had thus formed an alliance.

Poor Huai Xu.

Fortunately, Zhou Li had called the Evil God a few days in advance, and at the critical moment, the Evil God appeared and wreaked havoc.

As for why the Evil God even had a phone, the dream didn't explain.

COUGH...

Huai Xu appeared in the room, a tall and well-proportioned youth today, coughing as he clutched his chest the moment he materialized.

Zhou Li immediately asked, "What's wrong? Where did you go off to again?"

"It's nothing."

Huai Xu waved his hand, looking pained. "I went to scout out the situation, then went to the mountains to fight the Evil God. It's been a while since I fought, and I'm a bit rusty; I need to practice."

"Oh," Zhou Li was reassured. "You got hit, didn't you?"

"He didn't have it easy either!"

"I see."

"You don't believe me??"

"..."

This was a conversation destined to be meaningless.

So, Zhou Li skipped it and started talking to the Old Monster about the dream he had last night. The Old Monster listened and laughed heartily.

「December 30th.」

「Master Che.」

The fruit wholesale market was very quiet during the cold winter months. Only a few shops were open, mainly selling dried fruits, with raisins being the most popular, dazzlingly so.

Zhou Li and Huai Xu strolled through it after finishing their rack-roasted mutton.

Grapes were abundant here, and so were raisins. Just in the shop they were visiting, there were at least seventy or eighty different types of raisins, distinguishable to the naked eye. Zhou Li tasted the differences among the raisins as he browsed. He was surprised to find that they really varied in flavor, contrary to his previous belief that all raisins tasted the same.

And they were cheap here. You could haggle over the already reasonable prices, which started at twenty or thirty yuan per kilogram.

The cheap ones and the expensive ones were all delicious.

A paradise of raisins.

Huai Xu also tasted them, unashamedly so.

The shop owner went from being indifferent to cautious, then relaxed after Zhou Li said, "Let him eat. I'll pay for it all afterward."

Eventually, Zhou Li chose the "Imperial Concubine Raisins" and "Wine Heart Raisins." He found the former refreshing, not as overly sweet as most raisins. The latter had a unique wine flavor that he thought Zhu Shuang and Baozi would probably like, and possibly Brother Nan as well. So, he bought several hundred yuan worth, had them packed separately, and filled out the addresses to send them back.

He also bought some dates; the local dates were excellent, good for stewing in soups during the New Year.

And some black goji berries.

Though not necessarily more nutritious than the common red goji berries, the black ones looked more appealing when steeped and were much pricier, giving off a luxurious vibe.

The Head of the Family should feel his respect through this gift.

After spending seven or eight hundred yuan, Zhou Li even prepared a portion for Sister Hong Ran. Normally, he wouldn't easily give gifts to Hong Ran since she seemed to have everything, and what he thought was great seemed quite common to her. Plus, he really didn't know how to fill in her address, and Huai Xu couldn't just go there.

This time, he planned to leave it in the car and bring it with him when he went to Chunming to mooch a meal.

Because he bought so much, the owner didn't mind the raisins Huai Xu ate and even gave Zhou Li free shipping. The owner also added him on WeChat, saying they could communicate there for future orders.

They stepped outside.

Huai Xu's mouth never stopped moving. He even went as far as reaching for another handful before leaving, but Zhou Li pulled him away.

The shop owner's eye twitched.

"You're so annoying."

"Young people are just too sensitive," Huai Xu said dismissively, pointing to a neighboring shop. "Buy me a bottle of that strawberry-flavored chewing gum from yesterday."

"You can't have xylitol."

"It wasn't windy today."

"Huh?"

"Aren't you not supposed to have xylitol if it's windy? It'll give you diarrhea. But it wasn't windy today, and besides, I'm not human, so it's okay for me to buy it."

"Who told you... How do you know?"

Zhou Li was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly understood and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Sure enough, the Old Monster said proudly, "Yesterday, I asked Li Daimao. Li Daimao told me that eating xylitol after being in the wind can cause diarrhea. But since it's not windy today, and I'm not human, I can buy it."

"What did she tell you?"

"Look."

The Old Monster took out his phone to show him.

In the chat content, it was first the Old Monster expressing his confusion: Why did Zhou Li say I can't eat xylitol chewing gum?

Brother Nan sent a question mark.

The Old Monster explained it once again.

Brother Nan then sent a string of funny emojis and asked about their situation that day. After getting the Old Monster's reply, she said it was because being out in the wind made it easy to catch a cold, and eating xylitol when you have a cold could lead to diarrhea. She also mentioned that Zhou Li had never cared about her like that and told the Old Monster to listen more to Zhou Li and not doubt him.

The Old Monster felt quite embarrassed.

In the end, she also told the Old Monster to eat less xylitol.

Zhou Li's smile became even brighter. He could already imagine Brother Nan lying in bed, rolling with laughter, or pounding the table in the noodle shop from laughing so hard. He felt sorry for the bed and table.

"Your doubts hurt my feelings, but luckily Brother Nan cleared them up for me," Zhou Li frowned, walked over to the side of the road, and opened the car door. "And you want me to buy you sugar-free gum? No way. Buy it yourself; you're not broke. I'm going back to get some sleep early. We've got a long journey tomorrow." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Stingy!"

Their inn was actually inside a vineyard. Supposedly, if you came in the summer, the vines would be laden with grapes that guests could freely pick and eat. Grapes really weren't worth much here.

Even after the grape season had passed, many of the raisins here weren't picked and dried but were left to dry out on the vines. So, it was still possible to pick raisins from the vines, wash them, and eat them. It's just that they had come too late in the season, and the vines were already empty.

「December 31st.」

It was a journey from dawn till dusk, spanning three thousand miles.

At night, the sky by the road was extremely beautiful. It seemed like theirs was the only vehicle on the road, as it had been a long time since they had seen any other lights. With mood lighting inside the car and music playing, Zhou Li wasn't the least bit sleepy, nor did he feel lonely. He turned his head to look at the night scenery outside the window and also kept Lord Dumpling awake, not allowing her to sleep. His face was reflected on the car window.

"There's no one on the road," Zhou Li spoke softly. "Is it because they don't want to get nucleic acid tests?"

"It's nice with no one around."

"Where exactly is that place?"

"Up ahead... this area is quite large."

"If we're near the border, don't we need a border pass?" Zhou Li was a bit worried.

"It's not that far," Huai Xu paused. "When we arrive, you should just stay in this city. There are more people in the city, it's livelier... and you're less likely to run into Evil Demons."

"Got it."

"Regardless of winning or losing, I'll be done quickly. I'll come back to find you afterward."

"You too, be careful. Don't be too arrogant. If you really meet someone you can't beat, just give up. They'll have to hand it over in the end anyway. I'll go talk to Sister Hong Ran," Zhou Li hesitated a bit as he said this. "I even brought a gift of raisins for her."

"It's not that simple. Even if it works out, it will be a long time before I can go," Huai Xu waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, I get it. Don't talk. We're almost there. The event doesn't start until the day after tomorrow. I'll drop you off in the city ahead first. You enjoy yourself for a day, and then I'll come over."

"Okay... Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both of them heard a rumbling coming from the ground, like that of an earthquake, thundering continuously.

Then came another loud BOOM—

The road ahead suddenly arched upward and broke apart from the middle.

At first, Zhou Li really thought it was an earthquake, something the People of Yi Province were no strangers to, so he immediately bent down and hugged Tuanzi tightly. But in the next moment, the arching road began to warp, and the whole world also started to twist, with the stars in the sky seeming to fall to Earth, dancing in the air.

A floating force appeared, coming from the Tuanzi he held tightly in his arms.

It was as if a force was trying to suck Tuanzi away. Zhou Li instinctively held Tuanzi even tighter, absolutely refusing to let this mysterious power take Lord Dumpling away.

The suction force quickly intensified, pulling him from his seat and gradually spreading from Tuanzi to himself.

Someone seemed to be speaking nearby, their voice blurry.

Turning his head, Zhou Li realized it was Huai Xu's voice, but it, too, was distorted and garbled, difficult to discern. It seemed Huai Xu was telling him to let go of Tuanzi.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The suction force had already targeted him as well.

All of this may sound slow, but it actually happened in the blink of an eye, faster than human reflexes could handle.

The next second—everything settled down.

Zhou Li landed hard on the ground—soft grass instead of a car seat or asphalt road. He had arrived in a new place, surrounded by Bright Bugs idly wandering around with lanterns. Fortunately, Tuanzi was still in his arms, and Huai Xu was still by his side.

"What happened?"

"So many Bright Bugs!"

"I don't know," Huai Xu shook his head. "Someone with Great Divine Power has pulled all the Demons in this region into the Old Land World. Because you held onto this stupid cat and wouldn't let go, you were also pulled in. It must be a group of Great Demons working together... Has the competition already begun?"

"Wasn't it supposed to start the day after tomorrow?"

"You're the stupid cat!"

"Who knows."

Suddenly, Huai Xu made a shushing gesture.

Then a gentle voice sounded from the sky, explaining, "According to reliable information, a group of Evil Demons, drawn by our gathering, is rushing this way. So that the competition will not be disrupted, and because almost all the Great Demons nearby have already assembled here, we have decided in haste that the Bamboo Book competition will begin ahead of schedule."