This residential area was also within the college town boundaries. Although it was quite far from Cai University, several medical schools were nearby, so there were still plenty of students renting there.
Some shops were starting to close at this time.
The entrance of the residential complex was still bustling. Several tricycles with hanging lights were parked by the gate, and a few young ladies dressed in cool attire stood by the barbecue stall, their attention caught by Zhou Li, who had sprinted out from within.
Unfortunately, Zhou Li didn't stop.
The sound of his flip-flops faded into the distance. As soon as he ran out of this street, the lighting immediately dimmed. Sparse streetlights failed to illuminate the world, leaving large swathes in darkness.
Huai Xu had almost instantly intercepted the paper bird, so Zhou Li didn't have to run much further to find her.
There she was, twirling a short knife in one hand and pinching the paper bird in the other. A small, pitch-black demon, about half the height of a human, cowered behind her, shivering and pleading for protection, "I don't know why either. That human just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking me..."
"Madam Huai Xu, I've paid you the protection fee!"
"COUGH, COUGH! HUSH!"
"What's wrong, Madam Huai Xu? I can add more!"
"Be quiet!"
"OH..."
Zhou Li temporarily ignored her because, in his peripheral vision, he saw the beam of a motorcycle slicing through the darkness.
HISS!
The motorcycle slid several meters on the sandy ground.
The person on the bike, however, didn't get off but instead stared at them.
Huai Xu twirled her knife elaborately and said sternly, "Why stand so far away? I'm not going to eat you!"
"A human Heavenly Master?"
The person's voice trembled slightly in the wind.
Huai Xu muttered under her breath, "No wonder they didn't run at the sight of me..."
She didn't hurry to reply to that person but instead turned to Zhou Li and asked, "You've encountered another of your kind. That's the second one, right? How do you feel? Excited?"
Zhou Li ignored her and silently scrutinized the other party.
The other party was also scrutinizing them.
Soon after, the person got off the bike and removed their helmet. They walked towards them step by step until they reached them. Zhou Li could easily tell that the person was trying to appear calm, but internally, they were likely very perturbed.
"You two, are you human?" the person asked.
"Yes," Zhou Li replied.
"I..." The person looked young, with a rugged face and a tall build. For a moment, they seemed unsure of what to say until their eyes fell on the little demon behind Huai Xu. "If you're human, why are you protecting a demon?"
"Has it done anything wrong?" Zhou Li asked. "It said it didn't provoke you, but then you attacked it."
"It is a demon."
"..."
Zhou Li remained silent. He realized that if this conversation continued, the atmosphere could turn quite bad, especially with an irate old monster known for slaying demons standing behind him.
It seemed the other party also quickly realized the gap in their perspectives after just a few exchanges and fell silent as well.
A moment later—
Zhou Li said, "We should talk, shouldn't we?"
The other person nodded. "We should. You're the first of our kind I've met."
Zhou Li understood these feelings.
So, he turned around, letting Huai Xu take the little demon away, then walked under a nearby streetlight—he had wanted to find a milk tea shop to sit down in, hoping it might help ease the atmosphere, but none were open at this hour, and barbecue somehow didn't seem appropriate for a first meeting.
"My name is Zhou Li."
"Yin Le," he said. He turned off the bike and parked it by the roadside, hanging the helmet on the handlebar. "I don't harm humans; you don't have to be afraid."
"You seem to be about my age."
"I'm only eighteen."
"So am I."
"That's normal. Demons only started awakening eighteen years ago."
"Your accent sounds northern."
"I'm a Northeasterner," Yin Le didn't hide anything from him. "I came here for school. You too?"
"Yes, I'm at Cai University."
"Chunming Institute of Technology."
"That's quite close by."
"What a coincidence."
Because he had worn a helmet earlier, Yin Le's hair was a bit messy. He paused and looked at Zhou Li. "Have you ever encountered... people like us before?"
"We have, not long ago," Zhou Li replied.
"You're really lucky!" Yin Le took a deep breath. He tried to contain his emotions and even laughed self-deprecatingly. "When I was younger—well, not that young, probably around middle school and before—I always thought I was the only person in the whole world who could see demons. Back then, I thought I was a monster."
"I can understand that."
"But I'm a bit puzzled. As human Heavenly Masters, why would you protect a demon?"
"Do you know about the peace treaty?"
"You mean..."
"Humans and demons established a peace treaty a long time ago, promising not to attack each other. Even if there were violations by humans or demons, a series of clauses specifies how to handle them," Zhou Li explained. He and Yin Le were the same kind of person. Perhaps they had similar experiences and thoughts as children, so he felt that many things didn't need to be elaborated on and he could get right to the point.
"I have a rough understanding," Yin Le paused, "but that's from some unknown dynasty, ancient history. Throughout history, humans and demons have made peace many times and fought many times, back and forth... Yet this world fundamentally cannot tolerate the existence of demons."
"Why can't it?"
"If it could, then what would be our purpose? We are born to oppose them," Yin Le said. "At the very beginning, there were no Heavenly Masters in this world. It was only after their invasion that we were created to fight against them, to exterminate them—like viruses and white blood cells."
"You were hurt by them when you were a child," Zhou Li stated.
"..."
Yin Le didn't answer but instead asked, "What about you? Have you always had a good relationship with them?"
Zhou Li met his gaze.
After a long while, Zhou Li let out a sigh and asked softly, "Why did you come to Chunming?"
"I just picked a place at random."
"So you didn't know where this was before?"
"Where?"
"This place is the heart of the Demon Kingdom, a gathering point for countless Great Demons. So, you're not only murdering innocent demons but also committing suicide," Zhou Li said. "Plus, this area is Huai Xu's territory, and she's not someone to be trifled with."
"Sounds like you're warning me?"
"All beings are not alike; demons too have good and evil among them. It's the truly evil demons that harm people. Most demons are trying hard to restrain themselves and maintain peace. Maybe I can't understand you," Zhou Li reasoned aloud. "But I just think you're wasting your energy on these little demons. You're fueling more demons' hatred towards humans and hastening your own end. Meanwhile, you're allowing those truly harmful evil demons—the same kind that hurt you in the past—to roam free. That's really not smart."
"Quite the smooth-talker!" Yin Le laughed. "You don't know what our duty is."
"..."
"I guess the demons you've seen since childhood were all good ones. You haven't seen them slaughtering innocents or experienced your parents being devoured alive by them. Maybe I was wrong earlier; perhaps we aren't the same kind." Yin Le smiled at Zhou Li again, turned to his motorcycle, and put on his helmet.
"I'm very sorry," Zhou Li said.
"Goodbye."
"Around Chunming, there are quite a few evil demons."
"Got it."
"I live here. If you need help, you can come to me."
"Probably won't be necessary, right?"
The motorcycle gradually started up and left.
Zhou Li glanced to the side. The group of girls by the barbecue tricycle had changed, but they were still staring at him. Zhou Li looked down at himself and slowly walked back home.
The door wasn't closed; it was left ajar.
Zhou Li heard the sound of a game. When he entered and closed the door behind him, Huai Xu's voice rang out, "Who won?"
"We didn't fight."
"That's disappointing... but I think you would have had a tough time," Huai Xu said without looking up. "You're too refined for fighting; it's a waste of such strong Spiritual Power. If that fellow had your Spiritual Power, he might be able to take on the Evil God alone. If Little Zheng had it, I think even a reawakened Demon King might not be her match!"
"..."
Zhou Li saw the little black-furred demon sitting stiffly on the sofa, diligently peeling nuts for Tuanzi. He walked over and squatted beside the little demon, asking, "How much protection money did you give Huai Xu?"
!!
Huai Xu's hand on the game controller froze. A bullet whizzed over the enemy's head. By the time she reacted, her character had already been killed by an arrow.
She turned her head and quickly gave the little demon a meaningful look.
The little demon was both flustered and confused.