My Demon Friends-Chapter 598 - 572: Big Brother Will Take Care of You
"TSK, TSK, TSK..."
The Old monster smacked his lips. "Once this thing starts selling and more and more people worship it, who knows? Maybe people will really start to believe there is a deity named Qinghe God."
After saying that, he paused and then added, "But who could have thought it's just a little earth demon that picks mushrooms in the mountains?"
Brother Nan suddenly sniffed. "I smell sourness."
Then he turned to ask Zhou Li, "Do you smell it?"
Zhou Li didn't respond.
To save the Old monster's face.
As expected, the Old monster immediately frowned, showing signs of annoyance and almost lashing out in embarrassment. Thinking that it might strengthen Brother Nan's belief that he was being sour, he quickly suppressed his annoyance and said sternly, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I, the mighty Great Devil King, be jealous of a petty earth demon? I've had statues before—one that could top these few hundred!"
"Really?" Brother Nan became curious and turned to look at Zhou Li.
"Yes," Zhou Li said honestly. After thinking, he added, "In terms of size, yes. One of mine would top these few hundred."
"Oh my, impressive, very impressive!"
"PFFT..."
The Old monster slightly raised his chin, affecting a magnanimous adult's demeanor, as if he didn't want to argue with them.
Zhou Li then pondered and said, "I'm planning to redesign the runes and arrays on the woodcarving to make its functions a bit... fancier. Otherwise, it won't stand out. What do you think?"
"Asking who?"
"Of course, I'm asking you."
"You're asking me?"
"..."
"Fine."
Out of their deep friendship, the Great Devil King reluctantly answered with a single word, as he wasn't very keen on talking to them at the moment.
But he couldn't hold back. He turned his head and said, "That will be quite difficult, you know. It will take a lot of time."
"Just a minor adjustment."
"That's more like it."
The Old monster didn't need to be told to know what Zhou Li meant.
This statue was simply a basic guardian statue. It could detect demons entering its alert range, automatically lock onto their direction, send out a warning, and attempt to drive them away. It acted as a small security guard, capable of dealing with only weak little demons. But because of Zhou Li, the functionality of the Qinghe Statue might be much more powerful.
The problem was that the current magic artifact market was not yet mature, and buyers were unsure whether the statue truly possessed supernatural abilities. Encounters between demons and humans were, in reality, quite rare. Therefore, it was very possible that a buyer could purchase this statue and never use its abilities in their lifetime, never witnessing its moment of glory, making it no different from owning an ordinary wood carving.
This would not be conducive to future promotion.
Zhou Li and Huai Xu had discussed this. With the establishment of the Celestial Master Department, making money from resolving human-demon disputes would become an untenable source of income. Zhou Li, who was naturally lazy, wanted to earn more money. Selling supplementary products developed from his Carving Technique would be an excellent choice. Since he was going to carve many things anyway, it was better to sell them than let them sit around the house. If he could build a good reputation and the shop owners spread the word, anything he carved in the future would sell without issue, until his Carving Technique improved to the point that the shop owners couldn't afford his work anymore.
By then, he likely wouldn't be short of money.
Reputation was important.
He needed to show the shop owners the quality of his products, wow them, make them feel their purchase was sophisticated, and preferably invoke a sense of competition...
Take Huai Xu's Little Ding, for instance. Zhou Li had specifically added a glowing feature to it. Just because it could glow, the Little Ding sold at a high price—much more than the introductory products designed to calm and focus the mind, such as cartoon statues.
Zhou Li thought for a while. Limited by his abilities, he decided to add an 'active scan' feature to the statue. It would automatically activate at midnight and noon every day, its eyes glowing as they swept around, accompanied by a noticeable increase in heat at close range. Surely this would impress the shop owners to no end.
Once he decided, Zhou Li immediately found a book, vowing to implement the changes that very night.
Time is such a thief. It always slips away undetected while one is engrossed in other matters, making the night grow deeper and deeper unnoticed.
The Old monster sat beside him, yawning.
The Old monster sat on the floor with Brother Nan, playing video games as a team.
The Old monster went to the door to get the takeout. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
The Old monster and Brother Nan began to discuss his sporadic bursts of diligence.
The Old monster and Tuanzi squabbled loudly.
"MM..."
Zhou Li rubbed his eyes. My apologies for being so impulsive; I won't be able to finish it tonight after all.
Turning his head, he uttered another, "MM..."
The Old monster lay on the floor near the balcony, hands resting on his belly, eyes staring at the ceiling. Beside him lay a KFC box and a plastic cola cup, the box filled with chicken bones. Good heavens, the Old monster even spits out bones when eating fried chicken now?
Tuanzi sat atop the air conditioner, tilting its little head, gazing down at the world below.
Brother Nan was sprawled on the sofa playing with his phone in a very peculiar position: he was lying on the sofa, but his head was hanging off the edge, one hand extended to place the phone on the floor.
I'm the only normal person in the room...
Zhou Li thought, stretching with a yawn.
Huai Xu glanced at him listlessly.
Tuanzi tilted its head for a peek.
Brother Nan also lifted his head to look at him, then checked the time on his phone. "It's two o'clock, Master Zhou. Are you finally done?"
"Not yet..."
"I thought you were going to crawl into that book."
"I'll continue tomorrow."
"Exactly, exactly," Brother Nan agreed, nodding his small head with a smile, his expression endearing. "As they say, 'There's beauty to be found in books.'"
"..."
Zhou Li glanced out of the window. Outside, the suburbs were pitch black and so quiet he couldn't hear any traffic. Only then did he realize it was indeed very late. And it seems Brother Nan has been waiting for me this whole time... Brother Nan isn't known for his patience.
So he stealthily gauged Brother Nan's expression, trying to make amends. "It's not like I'm not working hard to make money to support Brother Nan, so I can take you to eat all those expensive delicacies in the future."
"Can't I support myself?"
"That's not what I mean..."
"This Big Bro can support the both of us!"
"Big Bro is right..."
"Speaking of which, the investment funds we bought earlier made a lot of money, and they surged again this week after the New Year. I sold them today—no, yesterday," said Brother Nan. "When the money is in the account, let's go have a nice meal, following the standard your mom set when she treated us. Since I've made you so much money, it's time you bled a little."
"Right, of course..."
"It's two o'clock."
"I'm off to sleep now!"
「Half an hour later.」
The two were leaning against the headboard side by side.
Brother Nan's tank top strap had slipped down to her arm. Zhou Li carefully lifted it, readjusting it onto her shoulder. When Brother Nan turned to look at him, he quickly put on a smile and took out a piece of gum from beside the pillow, offering it to her, "Want some gum, Brother Nan?"
"No!"
"Right. After brushing your teeth, there really is no need."
"No! I can't let you get a taste of sweetness!"
"..."
He never expected that in the end, he would still get that taste of sweetness.
The fresh sweetness from the girl's lips was intoxicating, making him want to linger. It felt as if a whole night of kissing wouldn't be enough. He only stopped when Brother Nan grew sleepy and started to hit him. But even after Brother Nan fell asleep, he still stole several more kisses.
