My Demon Friends-Chapter 618 - 590: Missing One

"I was careless for a moment, and you think you ran far!" Huai Xu glanced at him sidelong.

"Don't imitate Brother Nan, always going on about 'I this, I that'," Zhou Li said helplessly. "It's not good."

"Why don't you say that to her face?"

"I have, but she doesn't listen."

"Then I won't listen either!"

Zhou Li was speechless.

Zhou Li sat down beside him, bent down to take off his shoes, and asked, "Why did you follow me here too?"

"I was worried you'd sneak out to have fun without me, so I came to take a look."

"Well, you've taken your look now."

"The demons have been searching for that thing for nearly two months and still haven't found it. They're still searching. This means it's a special period right now, you get it?" Huai Xu shook his head. "Normally, such natural phenomena wouldn't attract much attention. They'd just be seen as celestial events or some tricks by human Heavenly Masters—common occurrences. The higher-ups in Yu Country aren't usually interested. But at a time like this, unless the demons fail to connect the anomaly here with what they're looking for, then even if there's only the slightest possibility, someone will come to investigate."

Zhou Li simply replied, "Oh."

"You might be able to persuade scattered little demons to leave, and perhaps even persuade Great Demons. But if the higher-ups of Yu Country turn their attention here, how will you persuade them?"

"What choice do I have..." Zhou Li mumbled.

Yin Le had asked for his help; how could he refuse? He could only do his best.

Once Zhou Li finished taking off his shoes, he lay down on the bed beside Huai Xu. The chill of the mountain night made him burrow under the covers. This led to a situation where he was under the blanket while Huai Xu lay on top of it, making him feel as if the person beside him was tugging at it. It wasn't comfortable at all.

"You're on my blanket."

"Pull it yourself. I'm very light."

Zhou Li tugged at the blanket, wrapping it around himself. "Anyway, just don't interfere. Otherwise, other demons will say that even though you've become a demon, your heart still sides with humans."

"As if I care what they say."

"Sometimes, you still have to."

"Tch..."

Huai Xu looked disdainful. He was the great Great Devil King; throughout his life, when had he ever needed to care about what others thought?

"Just don't interfere, alright? Your interference would only make things worse," Zhou Li didn't argue with him further. "According to the agreement between humans and demons, this matter should be handled by humans anyway. That point alone is enough to persuade many demons to leave." He then patted his stomach. "I'm a little hungry."

"You helped him run errands, and he didn't even feed you?"

"We were in a hurry on the road, so I just ate at a service stop. I only had a grilled sausage and a bottle of mixed-grain milk." Zhou Li paused for a moment before adding, "It wasn't good at all."

"Wait..." Huai Xu said, and then the Old monster vanished with a POOF.

Zhou Li quickly pulled all the blankets over himself. After waiting a short while, the Old monster returned with barbecue.

Eating barbecue in the mountains like this was truly comforting, and it was all his favorite food too.

While eating, Zhou Li said to the Old monster, "Alright, you can go back now. I'll wash up and go to sleep after I finish eating."

"I'm staying here tonight."

"There aren't many rooms in the Taoist temple. Yin Le might come to my room to rest later."

The Old monster turned his head, looking at him with surprise and disbelief. "?" He asked incredulously, "Do you even remember how unwilling you used to be to sleep next to me?"

"'It's because you always turned into a wo—'"

Before he could finish his explanation, the Old monster had already left in a huff.

Zhou Li felt quite helpless too.

「 」

Yin Le didn't come to rest the entire night. He kept vigil, hoping that more descendants of the Six Imperial Families would arrive, but the bell remained silent throughout the night.

Fortunately, young Lou Qingqing, who was also on watch with him, was there, so he at least had someone to talk to.

The others probably didn't sleep well either. Thinking about it, who could possibly sleep?

But Zhou Li could.

Thanks to the tranquility of the Taoist temple, Zhou Li slept very soundly. Although some thoughts had troubled him before bed, what were they compared to the antics of the parkour-loving Little Trash Cat?

As dawn broke, the red glow still lingered.

Unlike the quiet solitude of the night, people began to visit Changping Lookout during the day. The experts' explanations clearly hadn't convinced everyone, or even many people for that matter. Visitors still flocked here, searching for the epicenter of the strange phenomenon. Coincidentally, it being a Taoist temple added an extra layer of mystique to it.

However, there were far fewer visitors today compared to yesterday, thanks to a rumor that had started circulating that morning: an expert had supposedly said they weren't sure if the magnetic field causing the red light was harmful to human health. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This rumor only circulated in the surrounding villages and towns, but it was enough to deter many of the motorcycle taxi drivers and those who offered car rentals.

"'The Master is gravely ill and possibly contagious.'"

"'We apologize, but we are not receiving visitors. Please return another time.'"

The frail sound of Master Xuanqing's voice caused many to leave in disappointment.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the bell tolled once more.

"GONG!"

It was a sound that even the pilgrims who had stayed at the Taoist temple before, and indeed its regular patrons, had never heard.

"They're here!"

Everyone quickly ran to the door, peeking out through the crack in the door.

A 125cc motorcycle came down the narrow road to the foot of the hill. Someone dismounted, paid the fare, then glanced around. After exchanging a few words with a villager who was returning with a disappointed look, the person started walking towards the Taoist temple on the small hill.

It was a young man.

Yin Le quickly opened the door and ushered him inside, afraid he might be seen by others.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the person.

He wasn't very old, sporting a buzz cut and a silver earring. There were tattoos and burn scars on the back of his hands. He wore canvas shoes, a black studded jacket, and sunglasses. His expression was somewhat rebellious. He looked like a cross between an alternative youth and a street punk, inexplicably reminding Zhou Li of the character Yellow Hair from "Dying to Survive," only with a shaved head.

Thus, five of the Six Imperial Families had arrived.

They were:

Yin Le, descendant of the Yin Family;

Jiang Zhuo, descendant of the Jiang Family;

General Shi Wei, who was slightly chubby and a bit greasy-looking;

Lou Qingqing, who was younger than Yin Le;

And Shen Zhengfu, even younger than Lou Qingqing. It was said everyone called him "Provincial Government," though judging by his appearance, you really couldn't tell he was younger than Zhou Li and Yin Le.

Among them, three out of the five were Heavenly Masters.

Both Yin Le and Lou Qingqing had studied Taoist magic since childhood, though it was still difficult to determine who was stronger. Shen Zhengfu also possessed the talent for becoming a Heavenly Master, as he could see demons, but because he hadn't found any legacy of Taoist magic within his family, he currently knew no spells.

Mr. Jiang and Mr. Shi were ordinary people.

「Day 4.」

It was already the second day of the Qingming Festival, and also the fourth day since the strange celestial phenomenon first appeared.

Since noon yesterday, the red light was no longer constant, though it still appeared intermittently. Up until this morning, it had manifested about three or four times, each occurrence lasting anywhere from a few minutes to over ten minutes.

After word spread that Changping Lookout was closed to visitors, the number of people coming to the Taoist temple decreased significantly. Instead, some out-of-town tourists gradually began to drive to the vicinity of the Taoist temple. They stayed in the local town, waiting for the red light to appear, their mindset likely similar to those who chase the aurora borealis in the far north. This didn't greatly affect the Taoist temple itself.

However, the Taoist temple itself still hadn't received any new guests.

Zhou Li had helped persuade quite a few demons to leave, both Great Demons and little demons. Because he relied on reasoning, it had all gone smoothly. He finally encountered a Familiar Demon.

"Lord Yue Yin, I didn't expect to see you here as well," Zhou Li bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect; after all, this individual's combat prowess clearly surpassed Huai Xu's. "It must be quite a long journey from Qingjiang, isn't it?"

"You're here as well?" Yue Yin's gaze burned into him.

"Yes. The celestial phenomenon here involves the treasures and legacy of ancient Heavenly Masters. It's quite sensitive, so a friend of mine asked for my help to maintain order and persuade demons to leave." Zhou Li recited the lines he and Yin Le had prepared beforehand, then asked in return, "With Lord Yue Yin's status and strength, why would you be interested in such things?"

"I'm just here to join in the excitement, that's all," Yue Yin said with a deadpan expression, then turned his head to look around. "Isn't Huai Xu by your side?"

"It's not appropriate for him to show himself."

"Hmph! There are already more than enough demons who loathe him!" Yue Yin, surprisingly, agreed with Zhou Li's reasoning.

"So, Lord Yue Yin is thinking..." Zhou Li tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"I'll just take a look and then I'll leave."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Zhou Li said, looking troubled. "According to the treaty signed between His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu of Yu Country, and our country's government, and the agreement reached last year with the Yu Country delegation, matters occurring in the human world, unless they clearly involve demons, fall under our full jurisdiction. Yu Country is not to interfere. Furthermore, this involves ancient Heavenly Masters and is a matter of great significance. For you to be here like this is against the rules and will cause disputes."

"Disputes?"

"Of course, Lord Yue Yin himself has nothing to fear. However, this treaty was personally signed by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu. I've heard that all demons in Yu Country are obliged to abide by it..." Zhou Li guided the conversation back to the crucial point. Then, adopting a tone that suggested he was considering Lord Yue Yin's position as well as the grand scheme of friendly relations between humans and demons, he said, "If this leads to the misunderstanding that Yu Country intends to obstruct the continuation of human Heavenly Master traditions, then that would be a major misunderstanding indeed."

"Heh!" Yue Yin chuckled. "Is this how you've been driving away the other demons?"

"Persuading them to leave," Zhou Li corrected.

"Humans..."

Yue Yin's lips curled into a somewhat frightening smile; it was hard to tell if he was amused or threatening. "Do you think Lord Hong Ran and Lord Lin Zhong aren't also watching this place?"

"I don't understand. Is there something about this place that's truly worthy of your attention?" Zhou Li was genuinely puzzled. "I heard that Yu Country has been searching for something recently. Is it something very important? So important that even the reappearance of an ancient Heavenly Master's legacy would warrant such an excessive amount of your attention?"

"Don't make wild guesses!"

"Even you've come personally. Could it be related to the secrets recorded in Shui Zhenzhu's book?" Zhou Li ignored him, continuing to frown and speculate aloud, "What could it possibly be?"

"You can take your time guessing." Yue Yin's figure began to grow faint.

"Lord Yue Yin, take care on your way out."

Zhou Li withdrew his gaze and started walking back.

There really were a lot of demons loitering around here. Some came out of curiosity to see the excitement; after all, demons are generally very curious, which might also be related to them not being very bright. Others were here to investigate, perhaps on their own initiative, or maybe they were acting on a hint from the higher-ups in Yu Country, pretending to be unaffiliated wandering demons. But the appearance of a major figure like Yue Yin made Zhou Li even more certain of his guess.

Back at Changping Lookout, the five descendants were finding the wait unbearable.

The fact that descendants from five of the families were already gathered here had exceeded their wildest expectations. No one had dared to be certain that descendants of all Six Families could still gather after so many years. Therefore, the continued absence of the sixth family's descendant made everyone particularly anxious. The prospect of a full reunion had always been slim, so what they were truly waiting for was a very small glimmer of hope.

"Well, I'm just an unemployed wanderer," Shen Zhengfu said casually.

"And I'm just a girl working part-time at Wallace," Lou Qingqing said, spreading her hands. Her main occupation was actually being a Divine Demon-Hunting Master. "Even if I lose this job, it doesn't matter."

"I'm alright," Mr. Jiang remarked. He explained that the whole point of being his own boss was so he wouldn't have to go to work.

"I..."

Only Mr. Shi looked troubled; he actually had a job to get back to.

Fortunately, his girlfriend, who usually seemed rather feisty, had been very considerate and well-mannered these past two days. She hadn't pressured him to leave, only asking him what he planned to do about work.

Yin Le thought for a moment and said, "I think just waiting around like this is indeed a waste of time. How about this: those of you who have urgent matters to attend to can go back and take care of them. After all, transportation is very convenient these days. I'll stay here and wait. If someone arrives, I'll call you. You can then take the quickest flight to Tengchong. I'll reimburse your airfare. Don't feel awkward about it; I have an organization backing me, so it's not coming out of my own pocket. Then I'll arrange for someone to pick you up from the airport. What do you think?"

"That works!" Mr. Shi, who had been agonizing over whether to quit his job, was overjoyed to hear this.

"I'll stay and wait too!" Shen Zhengfu said to Yin Le with a grin. "Brother Yin, I'll stick with you from now on!"

"Alright!" Yin Le agreed.

"I'll stay as well," Lou Qingqing said. "They provide food and lodging here. It's great, much better than the food I get working at Wallace."

"Excellent!"

The fewer people who left, the less he'd have to spend on plane tickets later, so Yin Le naturally wouldn't refuse. Actually, what he'd just said was a lie; it would indeed be coming out of his own pocket. Ever since becoming a public servant, his income had dropped drastically, and he needed to be a bit more frugal.