My Demon Friends-Chapter 646 - 612: The Stingy Old Monster

After finishing their rice noodles, they felt very full and sat in the shop chatting for a while. Likely because it was a weekday, there were not many customers coming in.

Yin Le said to Zhou Li, "Actually, during this period, besides encountering some radical demons, we also found two cases of people who might have been misled by 'Confusing God.'"

"I've heard that name again," Zhou Li said.

"Maybe, just maybe," Yin Le stressed twice. "Because we can't find any specific features. The only basis is that their situations are similar to Rong Mingxia's. Additionally, they claimed they mysteriously heard someone talking to them after the fact. But it could well be due to mental disturbances caused by the crimes they committed, or perhaps just excuses to evade punishment."

"Confusing God is too elusive."

"Yes, absolutely traceless, as if he doesn't exist," Yin Le nodded. "But if he really does exist, I think his reach wouldn't just be limited to China."

"..."

Zhou Li didn't know what to say, so he asked, "How is Rong Mingxia doing now?"

"She has been discharged from the psychiatric hospital, and it seems the treatment was very effective. Her talent in practicing spells is extremely high, she has improved quickly, and she likes to fight," Yin Le said. "I heard she was sent to the northwest recently. She's there to continue her spell training and assist. The demons there are fierce, which suits her well, though it's a bit remote and harsh."

"It feels like being exiled to the frontier to redeem her crimes."

"A bit like that..."

Yin Le smiled and then told them, "I plan not to return to Chunming today and stay here instead, to prevent that demon from reappearing and causing trouble in the area. If there's still no activity by tomorrow night, we'll head back to Chunming."

"Understood," Ma Ke said.

"You guys go back tomorrow; I'm not returning. I'll stay here," Zhou Li said.

"Stay here for what?" Yin Le frowned and asked.

"It's Labor Day. Brother Nan and I just made plans to come here for fun, so I'll wait for him here," Zhou Li said. "Too lazy to travel again."

"..."

So, they booked a mid-range hotel, each getting their own room.

Upon entering his room, Zhou Li sat for a while, then decided to take a shower— he had sweated a bit from today's fight, a sweat brought on by nervousness and fear.

Just as he was lifting his shirt to take it off, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him into quickly putting it back down.

Old monster smirked, "I'm not even interested in watching!"

"How did you get here?" Zhou Li asked.

"I'm bored." Old monster walked to the bed and flopped down, lying face down on it, and asked in a muffled voice, "How were the chrysanthemum rice noodles tonight?"

"Delicious."

"I ate at that place this afternoon too, just found it a bit pricey."

"..." Zhou Li said helplessly, "When will you change these habits?"

"What habits? I paid for it!" Old monster reacted strongly, lifting his head to argue.

"Your stalking and spying habits."

"I always secretly followed you guys because I was worried about you, weakling. I was afraid the Great Devil King might lose sight of you and you'd get killed by some Great Demon unleashed by someone else." Huai Xu automatically replaced what Zhou Li called his 'stalking and spying habits' with the idea that he was 'always following us.' "Would you have managed to keep that demon today without me?"

"You caught it?"

"HMPH."

"And then?" Zhou Li immediately asked.

"Then I handed it over to the Local Government, of course. Such a Great Demon must be handed over to the state," Huai Xu said earnestly. "Otherwise what? Did you think I killed it?"

"I see."

"SIGH..." Huai Xu didn't argue further. "I've heard about it before."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about it."

"HMPH..."

It was rare for Zhou Li to actively ask him to tell a story. Old monster felt smug for a moment before saying, "The last time I heard about it, a Heavenly Master set a trap to catch it but failed. Angered, the demon hovered and attacked the military town from above, like a bombardment, turning the entire town into ruins. Even though it caused such a commotion, it wasn't caught afterward. Clearly, some big shots in Yu Country are protecting it. They probably have uses for it."

"It really is strong!"

"HMPH! It used to be even more formidable than the one you encountered today; it probably just awakened," Huai Xu paused. "Or maybe it's had a tough time these years and has degenerated."

Had a tough time...

Zhou Li felt his words were very meaningful.

Huai Xu, however, didn't care much about this, just sighed and said, "I heard from an old demon that before it lost its sanity, it used to be quite a proud fellow. Now, it has turned into a beast that only knows how to hunt and kill by instinct. Life is so unpredictable..."

"Life is so unpredictable..."

"SWOOSH!"

Old monster turned his head again to stare at him.

Zhou Li's attitude was positive, "I just repeated it subconsciously. I didn't mean to mock you; you used it correctly."

"You don't need to tell me that!"

"Okay, okay, okay..."

"Don't use that tone!"

"Fine, fine, fine..."

"You..."

The Great Devil King was almost angered to death. He snorted, turned his head, and buried his face back into the blanket, refusing to look at him anymore.

Zhou Li sat beside, pondering and then asked, "Do you think it will be sentenced to death under the laws of Yu Country since it's been caught?"

"Don't know."

Huai Xu's vague voice came through, "But if its conscious self still resides within its chaotic mind, it would definitely prefer returning to its origin over being imprisoned for life or continuing to exist in such a state. However, Yu Country currently has no king, so no one can sentence a demon to death."

He sighed, then abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, how much money do you think you'll get after this battle is over?"

"Don't know," Zhou Li answered honestly.

"And how much will I get?"

"Don't know either."

"If you humans were fighting a war like this, just the ammunition would cost millions, right?"

"Possibly."

"TSK! TSK! They should give us more then..."

Old monster turned over, lying on his back, fantasizing about getting rich.

Shortly after, a popcorn bucket appeared again beside his hand, still filled with mulberries, and he started fantasizing while eating.

"...How many mulberries do you actually have?"

"Little Zheng sent a basket."

"A basket?" Zhou Li exclaimed. "And you gave me just this little bit?"

"Hey, don't panic," Old monster reassured him. "When has the Great Devil King ever shortchanged you? It's just because others were around during the day, I gave you a taste first. If I had given too much, wouldn't it have all ended up in someone else's mouth? Here, eat this, eat this..."

As he spoke, he passed the mulberries to him.

Zhou Li was speechless.

He used his phone to inform Yin Le that the demon had already been apprehended and told him not to wait anymore; tomorrow, he would go and handle the transfer procedures with the Local Government. Of course, under Old monster's continuous reminders, he tactfully made a request to Yin Le on Huai Xu's behalf. Yin Le agreed, and only then did Zhou Li begin eating the mulberries.

As for the conspiracy behind the Great Demon, it could only be handled by the Celestial Master Department, which would negotiate with Yu Country. Then, the Local Government or other agencies within Yu Country would investigate. They couldn't get involved.

All Zhou Li, this lazy fish, could do was to seize the time to make more Thunder Pills to serve as secret weapons for the Heavenly Masters.

The price didn't matter anymore...

Before he knew it, a bucket of mulberries was gone.

Zhou Li was waiting for Old monster to go back and fill another bucket when he saw Old monster sucking his fingers and casually tossing the paper bucket into the trash can.

"All gone?"

"All gone."

"You finished them?"

"Finished them, yeah."

"Wasn't there a whole basket?"

"Finished it."

"..."

Old monster paced back and forth in the living room, looking around. Feeling the carpet was soft, he said to Zhou Li, "I'll sleep here tonight. You sleep on the bed; I'll sleep on the floor."

"..." Zhou Li said, "The carpet is very dirty."

"I'm not afraid of dirt."

"Sleep on the bed."

"Hmm?" Old monster was startled. "You're not afraid of dirt?"

"...I'm also sleeping on the bed."

"OH! OH!"

Old monster patted his own head, as if he had just realized.