The Cai University Sports Meeting is held twice a year: the college sports meet in the first half of the academic year, and the university-wide sports meet in the second. It was currently the first half of the academic year. Consequently, since the end of the National Day holidays, the school had entered a peak period for sports meets. Last week, it seemed to be the College of Economics' turn.
Zhou Li and Brother Nan would pass by the sports field when they went to the commercial street for food, and they always saw many people. Sometimes, from their dorm, they could hear the loudspeaker, along with screams and cheers—it was quite noisy.
It was said that Chang Xiaoxiang had even dragged Liu Zhengming to the sports field to unilaterally 'visit' the girls from the College of Economics. His description upon returning was reportedly quite vivid.
Meanwhile, according to Huai Xu, the University Town area had been quiet lately, indicating Yin Le hadn't been found. The reasons for this seemed complicated.
「October 15th, afternoon.」
Zhou Li was doing his homework in the dorm.
Huai Xu sat on his bed, leaning out, tilting his head to look down at Zhou Li's notebook as if he could understand it.
The sun outside was scorching, making the dormitory seem somewhat chilly by comparison. Zhou Li hadn't taken his college classes very seriously. He was often led astray by Brother Nan, skipping many classes, so he had to consult his textbooks for many of the problems.
Who said there's no homework in college?
Forget it, I can't afford to mess with this.
Zhou Li sighed deeply.
Above him came Huai Xu's rebuke, "I told you to pay attention in class! I kept telling you to study properly, but you wouldn't listen!"
Zhou Li glanced up at him.
Huai Xu immediately denied it. "I didn't disturb you! Not only did I not disturb you, I often dragged Li Daimao away to play video games, clearing obstacles from your path to studying!"
After speaking, he sighed again, "But it's still no use."
Zhou Li ignored him.
But the Old Monster kept muttering to himself, "You've fallen..."
Just then, Zhou Li's phone rang.
The screen displayed the name 'Hu Weimin.'
Zhou Li paused, looked up at Huai Xu, then picked up the phone and walked to the balcony to answer the call.
"Hello?"
"Master Zhou?" It was Hu Xing's voice.
"Yes, it's me."
"Sorry to bother you. It's like this: something terrible happened at my uncle's house this morning. Do you have time to come and take a look? We'll give you a red envelope with the same amount of money as last time." Hu Xing's voice was a bit nervous; it was unclear if he was frightened or if there was another reason.
"What happened?" Zhou Li was puzzled.
"There's been another strange incident at home, different from the one before, and my uncle has been seriously injured," explained Hu Xing.
"I understand. Come pick me up," said Zhou Li.
"Alright, I'm already on my way. I'll explain in more detail when I pick you up."
"Okay."
Zhou Li hung up the phone, not wanting to disturb Hu Xing while he was driving.
Walking back into the dormitory, Huai Xu was still sitting on his bed and asked, "Did the Hu family call to have you sort out some trouble?"
"Yes," Zhou Li pretended to continue the phone call.
"How much are they paying?"
"The same as last time."
"I think it's not going to be that simple this time," Huai Xu had obviously heard every word of the conversation. "It's an obvious trap, targeting that idiotic Heavenly Master, the one called Le! That Heavenly Master must have found that demon through the Hu family before, so Lin Zhong's men are also using the Hu family to find him. This is all very murky..."
Zhou Li walked out without saying anything. Stepping out of the dormitory building, he stopped, and Huai Xu appeared beside him with a WHOOSH.
"It's definitely Lin Zhong's doing," Huai Xu continued. "Not only have they found that kid, but they also want him to leave Chunming. They're probably planning to kill him outright."
Lin Zhong, huh... Zhou Li had heard the name several times.
"Obviously, since he killed one of their own," Huai Xu said, eyeing Zhou Li slantwise. "Hong Ran hasn't come looking for him, but Lin Zhong and his people will definitely not let things go."
"Will he go?"
"I think he will," said Huai Xu. "You young people are always so hot-blooded..."
"Are you going?" Huai Xu then asked.
"Hu Xing is already on his way to pick me up," Zhou Li answered.
"You're usually so lazy... Forget it, just go then. I'll make sure to protect you," said Huai Xu. "It'll be good to watch the excitement."
"Thank you."
"What for? I want to see the excitement too!"
"Tell me, in the old days, how did Heavenly Masters and demons communicate?" Zhou Li turned to ask. "Was there a dedicated group of demons forming some kind of mechanism?"
"Eh?" Huai Xu looked at Zhou Li.
"What's up?"
"Really smart!"
"..."
「An hour later.」
A human and a demon arrived at Tianruikang Garden, where Hu Xing was waiting for them by his car.
Faced with Zhou Li's questions, Hu Xing looked conflicted. With a sigh, he began his account. "During the National Day holiday, someone called my cousin, saying he could help us deal with our trouble. At the time, my cousin, thinking you had already solved the problem, politely declined. But the man insisted the demon would return, that it had already killed several people, and that he could kill it for good... You know my uncle; he hates that demon."
"So stupid!" Huai Xu muttered.
"And then?" Zhou Li asked indifferently.
"That young master looked about your age. He came over by himself the next day. At first, he asked my uncle to help lure the demon out, but it didn't work. However, he went looking for it himself."
"How did he find it?"
"He folded a piece of paper into a bird. He told my uncle to call out to the demon, and the paper bird flew out the window. Then he chased after it on his motorcycle," Hu Xing described. "He came back that night and said he had killed the demon, but look, it hasn't even been a few days, and weird stuff is happening again!"
"I see," Zhou Li nodded.
"Do you know why?" Hu Xing asked nervously.
"Maybe you've angered its companion... but if it really did kill several people, you can't say you were in the wrong," Zhou Li consoled him. "Don't worry, I will handle it."
"Okay, okay..."
"Did you contact him today as well?"
"My cousin did."
"Understood."
That demon has definitely killed people, Zhou Li thought, sitting in the car. Lin Zhong's faction of demons doesn't take human lives seriously. It's very likely Hong Ran's subordinates figured this out; otherwise, they would have found Yin Le by now.
This is Lin Zhong's faction's private retaliation.
Zhou Li wasn't clear on the specific intricacies involved and felt a headache just thinking about it. He much preferred staying at home, drinking yogurt, enjoying the air conditioning, and chatting with Tuanzi.
That level of intellectual back-and-forth was just right to make him feel comfortable.
Upon reaching Hu Weimin's villa, Zhou Li saw a motorcycle that seemed to be clad in bright red armor parked at the gate. He pursed his lips as he followed Hu Xing inside, and soon laid eyes on Yin Le.
"How did he get here?" Yin Le didn't wait for Zhou Li to approach before asking.
"We invited Master Zhou here," Hu Jin said, somewhat panicked, fearful that their action might anger Yin Le. "Do you know each other?"
"Is he the one who solved your problem before?"
"Yes, that's right."
By then Zhou Li had walked up to them. Yin Le stopped talking to Hu Jin and said to Zhou Li, "You shouldn't have come here. This matter has nothing to do with you. There's still time to go back."
"You knew there was trouble, yet you came," Zhou Li said.
"I'll solve it myself."
"It's not that simple."
"I've encountered this kind of thing before. I'm no pushover!"
"But this is Chunming."
"That doesn't involve you either," Yin Le said, not wanting to drag Zhou Li into this.
"I don't want you to make things worse."
"Are you here to convince me?"
"To help you."
"I would advise you to go back."
"Do you remember I once told you about someone I met before..." Zhou Li thought of Zheng Zhilan, his expression softening considerably. "She helped me a lot, without reason and without seeking anything in return. In this era, we are all very lonely."
"You're wrong. We're not the same kind of people."
"Is that so..."
Zhou Li understood his meaning: Yin Le harbored a hatred for demons, so his methods would inevitably be more extreme. They had different ideals, and getting too close would be detrimental to both of them.
Zhou Li turned to look to the side.
Hu Xing and his brother Hu Jin had been listening to their conversation, feeling baffled and struggling to understand what they were talking about, yet not daring to ask.
"Where did the incident happen?" Zhou Li asked.
"Inside the courtyard..."
"Understood. You two should leave for now. We'll wait here for a while before we go in," Zhou Li said.
"Okay, okay, we're counting on you..."
"Mhm."
Hu Xing and Hu Jin hurriedly left.
Yin Le then asked, "What are you waiting for?"
"Waiting for the police."
"??"
"Just listen to me."
"And who is this..." Yin Le looked at Huai Xu.
"His name is Huai Xu. The one you encountered a few nights ago was him. He's not a human Heavenly Master; he's a demon skilled at transforming," Zhou Li explained.
"A demon?"
Yin Le's eyes widened. Before Zhou Li could respond, he sensed a demon approaching.
He turned abruptly.
He saw a bizarre-looking demon enter. It was mostly upright in form, but its body resembled that of a bodybuilder from a cartoon, with contours and lines far more exaggerated than a real person's. It was holding something akin to a short stick. It entered the room, looked over the two men and one demon, and then asked—
"Who is Mr. Zhou Li?"