CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 37: VILLAGE LIFE

The rain had fallen all night.

When Zhou Li woke up, a soft, thin blanket was draped over him. The wooden bed was somewhat hard, making him realize right away this wasn’t home, but strangely, he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

Turning his head, he saw Huai Xu sitting by the window, lost in thought as he gazed outside.

Perhaps hearing Zhou Li stir, Huai Xu turned his head. "You woke up quite late today."

"Did I?" Zhou Li murmured.

He checked his phone. It was actually eight o’clock. It really was late.

His daily routine was still similar to his high school days; for the past few days at home, he had been waking up at six.

I must’ve slept too well last night.

Thinking back now, he had indeed slept deeply, waking up feeling fully rejuvenated—a sensation one could probably appreciate only after truly experiencing it.

It seemed the pattering rain and the urban noise belonged to two different worlds, both conducive to sleep.

Huai Xu looked outside again. "The rain stopped. The host family has started to cook mutton soup and set up the grill for roasting lamb."

"Really!" Zhou Li exclaimed, hurriedly getting up.

He felt a bit bad about sleeping in while the host family was busy with preparations.

At the very least, I should go and... check on things.

Seeing him get out of bed, Huai Xu also quickly hopped down from the window. "They’ve already had breakfast. I didn’t feel right going to eat since you weren’t awake."

Zhou Li was momentarily speechless.

A simple wash-up took ten minutes.

Zhou Li went downstairs and, seeing Zheng Zhilan, said rather sheepishly, "I slept so well last night. I don’t know why, but I woke up late."

Zheng Zhilan smiled faintly. "I was just afraid you wouldn’t be used to sleeping here. Come, have breakfast."

"Okay," Zhou Li replied.

Breakfast was already laid out on the table.

There were two plates of steamed buns—small ones, very colorful with reds and greens, as exquisite as those sold in supermarkets. It made Zhou Li wonder if he wasn’t in a remote mountain village but rather in a holiday hotel in a tourist area.

Besides that, there were two bowls of clear porridge, a plate of fermented bean curd, and a plate of pickles made from Chinese cabbage.

Everything was neatly placed in small dishes on the table. The table itself was spotless, without any clutter.

It was unexpectedly refined, beyond Zhou Li’s imagination.

Huai Xu, who had been holding back for quite a while, now began to eat voraciously.

"This pickle is delicious!"

"Spicy and crunchy, with a hint of sourness!"

"This porridge is so strange; it has a special flavor that’s also delicious!"

"Zhou Li, I now think there’s nothing wrong with you being with her," Huai Xu said between bites. After some thought, he added a word of caution, "But you still can’t neglect your studies."

"...Just eat," Zhou Li muttered.

This Demon is truly annoying.

After breakfast, Zhou Li carried his bowl to the kitchen, where broth was simmering in the pot. After asking Zheng Zhilan for instructions, he took a basin and a gourd ladle to scoop water onto the dishwashing counter to clean up.

With a slight turn, he could see Zheng Zhilan tending the stove and Qinghe feeding the fire, working in harmony. The stove burned twigs about the thickness of a wrist, and the crackling sound from it took Zhou Li back to his childhood. He vaguely remembered that burning such kindling was quite efficient, requiring only an occasional new piece to be added to the fire.

Zheng Zhilan stirred the pot and said softly, "This morning, Qinghe went out for a walk and found the stream had flooded, washing away the fish trap. It took them a while to find it. There were lots of fish inside, as well as loaches. The crucian carp are perfect for making soup, and we can grill the rest for lunch."

"There’s a stream nearby?"

"Yes, it flows down from the mountain all the way to the foot of it, right over there. There are a lot of fish in it; we often catch them to eat. The small ones can be fried or grilled, and the big ones we cook as dishes. It’s just that we need to go down the mountain to buy fish seasoning, as making it ourselves is a bit troublesome."

"That sounds nice," Zhou Li commented.

"Last night, Chopstick caught two wild hares; I think they were a pair. So for lunch today, we’ll have roasted lamb ribs, roasted fish, and roasted hare."

"That slender hound?"

"Yes, only it can catch them. The others just follow behind, acting as transporters."

"That’s impressive," Zhou Li remarked.

He finished washing the dishes and placed them in the cabinet. He didn’t leave but stood beside Zheng Zhilan, chatting with her.

Zheng Zhilan mentioned that she originally had ten dogs. One of them, which she had raised from a very young age, had grown old and died, leaving nine who were still relatively young. They were very clever. Big Yellow was usually the leader because he was the oldest and a local dog, but different situations called for different leaders.

When herding sheep, everyone would follow Mantou’s commands.

Sometimes, a slightly ferocious wild animal or even a wild boar would come down the mountain, and the guard dogs would take the lead in barking them away.

When catching rabbits, everyone would assist Chopstick.

Then Zheng Zhilan began to explain how to make mutton soup. The local style emphasized a milky-white, thick consistency, achieved by using crucian carp. Some people used milk powder instead. Using crucian carp was the traditional method; the Chinese character for ’fresh’ is even composed of the characters for fish and lamb. She added that she had once tried a version with milk powder in the city and found its faint milky scent quite nice as well.

Zhou Li felt particularly calm talking with her. It might have been because she always spoke gently and softly, or perhaps because their topics were very down-to-earth.

After the crucian carp, lamb bones, and meat had simmered for a long time, Zheng Zhilan ladled a bowl for Zhou Li.

Zhou Li picked up the bowl and blew on it to cool it down.

One sip, and the flavor was rich and delicious.

"Delicious!" he exclaimed.

"Alright then," Zheng Zhilan said with a smile.

"Okay," Zhou Li affirmed.

The morning passed unnoticed. Qinghe started a fire in the courtyard. Next to it were the seasoned rabbit and lamb ribs, neatly arranged. Huai Xu sat on a small stool, diligently skewering small fish. Zhou Li had previously thought that aside from eating, Huai Xu only cared about fighting and fleeing. He had never seen him do such detailed work and found it novel, so he watched him a bit longer.

They placed the meat on the grill and slowly roasted it until it sizzled and the aroma began to waft out.

The two people and two Demons chatted as they grilled the meat, but it was mostly Zhou Li and Zheng Zhilan talking. Qinghe didn’t speak much, and Huai Xu only kept asking when the food would be ready, having already asked several times.

At some point, the dogs also came running back.

「After the meal—」

Huai Xu lay on his side, picking his teeth with a sharp blade of grass, and said lazily to Zhou Li, "I thought life in these mountains would be boring and dull, but it’s nothing like that at all!"

Zhou Li glanced at him. "Have you been swayed?"

Huai Xu chuckled. "The sun’s out this afternoon. You should learn properly from that girl. When it warms up, Qinghe and I are going to chop firewood on the mountain."

"Where will you chop?"

Huai Xu nudged his chin forward. "There—on the opposite side."

Zhou Li looked up. The mountains, damp from the rain, steamed as the sunlight hit them. Clouds swirled deeply, obscuring what lay beyond.

The Evil God roiled within the mist.

Huai Xu casually threw the blade of grass to the ground and said bitterly, "Once my strength is fully restored, I’m definitely going to pick a fight with him!"

"Can you win?"

"Heh, don’t underestimate me!" Huai Xu said. "Even though I don’t have wings, I can run faster than him!"

By then, Zheng Zhilan had already brought out a chest of books. Zhou Li hurried over, and he and Qinghe divided the books into three stacks.

The three stacks of books were arranged from tallest to shortest, forming a sort of staircase.

Then Zheng Zhilan pointed to the tallest stack and said, "These are the fundamental texts. They seem voluminous, but they contain a lot of filler, numerous repetitive introductions, and some historical records. If you set those aside, the actual content isn’t that much.

"The other two stacks represent two different methods of application.

"Since Demons are from a Foreign Clan, Invaders, and humans and Demons even had a full-scale war long ago, both of these methods are for attack purposes.

"I don’t know any other methods of application."

"Are these two very different?" Zhou Li asked, looking at the two stacks of books. One was about half a meter tall with over a dozen books, and the other consisted of just two thin volumes.

"Yes." Zheng Zhilan pointed to the taller stack. "This pile primarily describes an attack method called ’Golden Thread.’ Those two thin volumes are about the most basic and primitive method: compressing Spiritual Power and then releasing it in a surge to achieve an attacking effect. The thickness you see essentially represents their difficulty. Golden Thread requires a lot of skill. Correspondingly, if you delve deep into it, its flexibility, functionality, and power are all quite substantial. However, if your training time is too short, you might not be able to use it at all. Or, you’ll only produce one or two threads, which won’t be any stronger than directly releasing Spiritual Power."

"How difficult is Golden Thread?"

"I spent eight years to reach a modest level of skill, and it’s quite expensive since it requires high-purity gold as a catalyst," Zheng Zhilan said.

"Zhilan is extremely talented," Qinghe added from the doorway.

"So where do you get the money?" Huai Xu asked.

"Sometimes I go to the county or to Yan City to help people with Demon-related matters. Usually, it’s just mediating, and I also take the opportunity to make purchases down the mountain," Zheng Zhilan said. "Of course, most of these cases aren’t actually related to Demons, and I charge less for those."

"I see..." Zhou Li nodded. "Psychological counseling should be charged for as well."

"Learn the simple one!" Huai Xu urged from the side. "That difficult one sounds like a headache! I’m telling you, Zhou Li, you have to believe in yourself. Once your Spiritual Power bursts out, no matter what kind of fancy schmancy or complicated tricks they pull, just bulldoze through it all!"

"Alright!" Zhou Li agreed.