Chapter 100: Chapter 98: Sorry, Can’t Save Money
There was a faint light on the horizon, and the sky was full of stars. Along the way, it was very quiet.
The car stopped at the entrance of the residential area. Under Hu Xing’s watchful eye, Zhou Li walked into the complex. He could vaguely sense the gaze from behind him—a mixture of respect and awe that made him quite uncomfortable.
It feels unusually relaxed.
"Yes, that demon was weak to begin with and had some issues, so of course it didn’t dare to mess with us," Huai Xu said nonchalantly. "But with me, the Great Devil King, here, being relaxed is normal. You’ll have to slowly get used to it."
Zhou Li was speechless. This old monster’s skills are pretty profound.
Zhou Li remained silent.
This time, they were lucky. The other party had chosen to back off, sparing them a lot of trouble.
However, if Zhou Li was to continue in this line of work in Chunming, he would definitely confront demons from that faction again. He even suspected that demons from that faction would be the primary group he’d have to deal with in the future.
He glanced at Huai Xu again.
The power of this old monster was still recovering. He hoped it would recover faster and more completely.
Zhou Li didn’t want to take any risks at all.
Once they got on the elevator, with no one else around, Huai Xu couldn’t help but ask, "We made quite a bit of money this time, right?"
"Enough for us to use for a long while."
"How long?"
"Normally speaking, I wouldn’t be able to spend it all even during my four years of college, including rent and tuition," Zhou Li couldn’t help but exclaim. Working in this field in this era is incredibly lucrative!
"WOW!"
"Are you happy?"
"Happy!" Huai Xu’s eyes sparkled. "Does that mean I can eat all the pork jerky tonight? And we can buy new ones tomorrow!"
"Yes."
"And can I have a can of Sprite with it?"
"Sure."
"Then what about having Crossing-the-Bridge Noodles tomorrow morning? The kind with more than thirty side dishes!"
The bowl won’t fit them all.
"Just get two bowls!"
"Okay."
"I also want to eat barbecue! The one you mentioned that day!"
"Fine."
"I want to order takeout too!"
"I’ll transfer the money to you later. I used to have an Alipay account; you can use that."
"I don’t know how to use it."
DING. The elevator door opened. Zhou Li said as he walked out, "I’ll teach you."
As he opened the door, Tuanzi jumped out with an "AWOO!", clutching Zhou Li’s leg and trying with all her might to topple him, but her strength was far too meager. This was a game she seemingly never tired of.
"HEY!"
Zhou Li stepped aside.
Tuanzi let him go, took two steps back, and tilted her head up to see Zhou Li’s and Huai Xu’s faces. "You were out for a whole day! Darn it! Only Lord Dumpling ever gets to treat others like this!"
"We made a lot of money!" Huai Xu said.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"MEOW?"
Tuanzi turned to Zhou Li.
After getting Zhou Li’s affirmative response, Tuanzi’s eyes lit up as if a star was hidden within them. She blurted out without thinking, "Can Lord Dumpling spend a little bit? Lord Dumpling will let you pet her."
"What do you want to buy?"
"A phone."
"Cats can’t use phones."
"Then Lord Dumpling wants to buy a cat bed." Tuanzi turned her head, looking pitiful. "Sleeping in a cardboard box is uncomfortable."
Zhou Li fell silent. He looked at the cat bed beside the cardboard box, then averted his gaze.
As if sensing his thoughts, Tuanzi explained, "Lord Dumpling doesn’t like that cat bed. Lord Dumpling wants to buy one she likes."
"But you chose that cat bed yourself. You said at the time that you liked it very much, but after we bought it, you only slept in it once."
"Lord Dumpling doesn’t like it now. Now Lord Dumpling wants to buy one like a house," Tuanzi added. "Lord Dumpling only knew she didn’t like it after sleeping in it that one time."
...Like a house.
"Yes, a big, big house!"
"...Are you talking about something like Liu Xuehan’s house?"
"Who is Liu Xuehan?"
Zhou Li was rendered speechless. He silently sat down on the sofa.
Huai Xu had already taken out the pork jerky and handed Zhou Li a small bag. "I think Hong Ran was right," he said. "Not a single word this silly little cat says is reliable. She even claims to have done me a favor... Let’s just ignore her."
"WHAT?! Lord Dumpling *did* do you a favor!"
"Hong Ran says it’s your imagination."
"...Then Lord Dumpling wants to eat Boiled Chinese Cabbage." After a brief silence, Tuanzi turned and stared at Zhou Li.
"Will you let me pet you?" Zhou Li asked.
"You can."
"Okay!"
Zhou Li agreed. Even if Boiled Chinese Cabbage is expensive, it wouldn’t be more than one or two thousand yuan, right? If we lower the standards, maybe just a few hundred? He had just earned a large sum of money; he could afford it.
"Zhou Li, let me play on your computer."
"Go ahead."
Zhou Li took out his phone, then suddenly furrowed his brows.
He had the money for Boiled Chinese Cabbage. The question was, where could he get it?
He opened Meituan, thought for a moment, then closed it.
He opened a web browser and searched "Where to eat Boiled Chinese Cabbage in Chunming." No relevant results appeared... but this wouldn’t stump Zhou Li.
He sighed and opened WeChat, sending a message: Sister, I miss you.
He’d even save money this way.
「A moment later.」
Zhou Li calmly turned his head and gently stroked Tuanzi’s forehead. "I’ve found a hotel. I’ll bring it back for you tomorrow afternoon. When you eat it, how about you transform into a Little Cat Girl?"
"Why transform into Little Cat Food?"
"Little Cat Girl," Zhou Li corrected.
"Little Cat Girl," Tuanzi repeated.
"Because Boiled Chinese Cabbage is a soup, it’s inconvenient for you to lap it up with your tongue. If you transform into a Little Cat Girl, you can use a spoon. Eating it spoonful by spoonful will be much more satisfying, right?"
"Oh! You’re right!"
"Right?"
"Lord Dumpling will transform into Little Cat Girl!"
Just then, Huai Xu, who was next to them, turned his head. He seemed not to have heard Zhou Li and Tuanzi’s conversation, completely engrossed in the game. "Zhou Li, why is his greatsword different from my greatsword? Look, when his greatsword spins, a dragon comes out!"
That’s called a skin, right? Zhou Li leaned over to look, though he wasn’t very sure himself. Yeah, that must be it.
"Skin?"
"With a skin, you can change appearances."
"Isn’t that the same as me?"
"Maybe," Zhou Li said, still unsure.
"Why don’t I have a skin?"
"They probably cost money, right?"
"Is that so?"
"I guess."
"How much?"
"I don’t know. Some are expensive, some are cheap, I suppose."
"Oh! Let me see..."
"Lord Dumpling also wants to see!"
So, the two demons, one large and one small, huddled in front of the computer, staring at the screen and clicking all over the place.
Meanwhile, Zhou Li took out the ancient book Zheng Zhilan had given him and began to read. He realized his ability to read classical Chinese had improved significantly; his reliance on internet searches when reading less specialized books had decreased considerably.
Huai Xu’s voice drifted over intermittently:
"So expensive!"
"This one’s cheaper!"
"This one looks really nice!"
"WOW!"
"So beautiful!"
"I want to transform into this one!"
"This person is also carrying two swords!"
And so on.
Zhou Li rarely heard him talk about buying any, likely because it had only been half an hour since his "hard days" ended, and his mindset hadn’t adjusted yet. It wasn’t until the very end that Zhou Li heard him use a long string of justifications to convince himself to "buy just one skin."
Then he taught Huai Xu how to use Alipay.
Watching him make the payment.
Huai Xu equipped the new skin and, thinking himself quite flashy, began to show off happily in Summoner’s Rift.
But he had no idea how to play this female champion and promptly lost several games in a row.
「The next day, Wednesday, the weather was quite cool.」
He had a full schedule of classes in the morning and none in the afternoon.
So, just past four in the afternoon, Zhou Li took Huai Xu and went to find Hong Ran. They wandered around for a bit and arrived at the hotel just as it was dinnertime.
Besides Boiled Chinese Cabbage, there were many other delicious dishes.
Huai Xu thoroughly enjoyed himself.
After a satisfying meal and tea, they sat chatting, and Zhou Li casually brought up the matter of the demon.
Hong Ran pondered for a moment, resting her hand on his shoulder and rhythmically tapping it with her index finger. "It’s impossible to say I’m completely unaware of such matters," she said. "But even though I know about them, they’re very difficult to manage."
"You can’t keep them all in check?"
"It’s... somewhat akin to extraterritorial crime. The victims usually can’t report it to us or provide evidence."
"How were these matters handled before?"
"It used to be somewhat easier to handle. The root of the problem now is that you humans don’t have a sufficient understanding of us, nor are there enough Heavenly Masters to establish a proper liaison mechanism. As a result, when people are harmed by these idiots, they don’t know who to turn to. And we can’t possibly monitor every single demon or human all the time. So, forget about cracking down on them; even discovering such incidents is very difficult."
"It will get better in the future, right?"
"Of course." Hong Ran’s hand continued its gentle, rhythmic tapping on Zhou Li’s shoulder. "But these individuals truly give me a headache. Sometimes I really wish I could be like His Highness—disregard everything else, summon them, and give them a good scolding. Unfortunately, I’m not His Highness..."
You’ve worked hard, Sister.
"Call me again."
"Sister."
"Ha! Anyway, if you encounter them in the future, don’t hold back. Just deal with them. As long as you don’t kill them, if any trouble arises, your sister will cover for you!"
"Okay!" Huai Xu chimed in eagerly.
Zhou Li had no response.
Hong Ran smiled, pinched Zhou Li’s cheek as she withdrew her hand, then stood up to settle the bill.
Driven by curiosity, Huai Xu followed closely behind. The moment he saw the amount on the bill, his day-long dream of being a wealthy man shattered.