Chapter 99: Chapter 97: The 20th Century was a Reasonable Era
There was an old bridge ahead.
A few trees at the bridgehead provided shade, and Zhou Li sat on the bluestone railing beneath them. The shops across were sparsely populated, likely because most people couldn’t bear the ultraviolet rays at that time of day.
But an old man in worn clothes sat on the curb outside one of the shops, a carrying pole with green vegetables resting beside him, the sunlight shining just before his feet.
No one was buying his vegetables.
He just sat there, passing the long afternoon.
He had no mobile phone, no one to talk to.
The old man’s face was dark and deeply wrinkled. He squinted at something in front of him. As the sunlight gradually crept higher, he put on a straw hat, and his entire face was then enveloped in its shadow.
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to see ahead, just the road.
For a moment, Zhou Li really wanted to know what the old man was thinking. Had he looked like this when he was young? Did he often sit this way?
Until Huai Xu waved a hand in front of his eyes—
"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh?"
Zhou Li was startled, then couldn’t help but smile after a moment.
When he came back to his senses, he saw the old man take a water jug to the shop behind him to ask for water. Then, a young couple walked over. They squatted in front of the old man’s carrying pole, picked through the vegetables, and selected two bags.
The old man carefully weighed them and calculated the cost, receiving a few yuan.
Zhou Li looked away and said to Huai Xu, "There’s a place selling roasted tofu over there. Let’s go try it."
"Sure!"
With the prospect of food, Huai Xu quickened his pace. He walked ahead, turning his head to look at the surrounding buildings, and said, "This county town seems even smaller than Puzhou County. There are no tall buildings in sight, and very few people."
"It’s quiet."
"Right, it’s quiet, and pretty boring!" Huai Xu nodded. "Just like in ancient times, you’d wait ages for mealtime, and it felt like it would never come!"
"Oh..."
Time indeed was unusually generous to this small town.
Roasted tofu was something Brother Nan had often mentioned. She had said she would take Zhou Li to Jianshui some weekend to have the authentic version, and Zhou Li had agreed.
It seemed he would be letting Brother Nan down first this time.
The tofu was sold by the piece, with a minimum purchase of five yuan. Since Zhou Li had already eaten, he ordered a rice bowl for Huai Xu and initially just wanted to buy ten yuan’s worth of roasted tofu to try. Then, under Huai Xu’s gaze, he gradually increased the order to twenty yuan worth.
The rice bowl was only twelve yuan.
There were few people around in the afternoon. The human and the Demon waited for over ten minutes before the rice bowl and roasted tofu were served together.
Both servings were more substantial than Zhou Li had anticipated.
But seeing Huai Xu’s confident look, he didn’t say anything. He picked up a piece of roasted tofu with his chopsticks. It felt quite firm. The tofu itself was a small, somewhat round piece, unlike any tofu he had eaten growing up.
He dipped it into the dry condiment mix. The texture was rather dry, and the condiment mix was fragrant and spicy.
Felt good.
Zhou Li then switched sauces.
He wasn’t sure if the roasted tofu here was authentic, but it was delicious.
Across from him, Huai Xu had already started wolfing down his food.
"Slow down, we need to stay till the evening," Zhou Li poured him a glass of water.
"Mm!"
Huai Xu slowed his chewing pace.
After the meal, they strolled around the county town again. Huai Xu mentioned that the auras in this area were dense and chaotic, with no shortage of unpleasant ones. In his words, "Many monsters and demons have gathered around Chunming."
They sat at the entrance of a shopping mall.
They sat outside a park.
They sat in a milk tea shop.
When the time was about right, they had another bowl of noodles. After finishing, Zhou Li received a call from Hu Xing, inviting him to dinner.
Finally, evening arrived.
Zhou Li returned to Hu Weimin’s bedroom, greeted him, and sat down. There were more people in the room now than during the day. He took Huai Xu’s advice and politely asked them to leave, then waited quietly.
Hu Weimin appeared calm on the surface, but he was clearly very tense.
Seeing this, although Zhou Li was also quite nervous, he still pretended to be calm, which made him seem more competent. "Mr. Hu, there’s no need to be too nervous. Just try to act as you normally would."
Hu Weimin nodded.
Zhou Li waited from eight until nine o’clock. Unable to bear the wait any longer, he took out his phone and started playing.
First, he opened QQ and sent a photo to Brother Nan.
Li Daimao: Roasted tofu!
Li Daimao: [Dazed]
Zhou Li: Right.
Li Daimao: You actually went to eat roasted tofu behind my back!
Zhou Li: Tastes pretty good.
Li Daimao: Where did you go?
Li Daimao: You actually skipped classes today! [Dazed]
Li Daimao: I never realized you were so daring! It’s only the first week of school, and you skipped a whole day of classes! Even I, Brother Nan, for all my arrogance, have never skipped class!
Zhou Li: You’re just bored; you have no reason to skip class.
Li Daimao: Then what’s your reason for skipping?
Zhou Li: Compelled by life.
Li Daimao: They just had roll call—just now, in organic chemistry. I, Brother Nan, answered for you. How about that, dogs stick together, right?
Li Daimao: That’s loyal.
Zhou Li’s lips curled into a smile.
Hu Weimin, who was sitting nearby, had a somewhat complex expression. He opened his mouth several times as if to say something but ultimately held back. He just silently watched as this Master, on whom he had pinned such great hopes, finished chatting on QQ and then started sending text messages.
It wasn’t until after ten o’clock.
Huai Xu’s voice came from behind him: "It’s here!"
Zhou Li: Gotta get busy now.
He then put away his phone, his expression slightly focused.
"What’s wrong?" Hu Weimin asked.
"He’s here."
"Good!"
Hu Weimin instantly became nervous.
According to the plan Zhou Li and Huai Xu had rehearsed, Huai Xu would now conceal his aura. With his heaven-defying ability to disguise himself, even in the eyes of a Great Demon, he would appear as nothing more than an ordinary human, not arousing any suspicion.
Of course, Zhou Li was still responsible for communication, with Huai Xu at most playing the role of an ’enforcer’.
This was planned in case things escalated to a confrontation. The main conflict would then be between Zhou Li and the other party, akin to that between a police officer and a criminal. Relatively speaking, criminals are generally less likely to take out their anger on the ’officer’.
With a click, the window seemed to open a crack.
A breeze gently lifted the curtains.
Hu Weimin grew even more nervous.
In Zhou Li’s eyes, a mass of ’gray smoke’ squeezed in through the window. The smoke appeared almost solid, and Zhou Li could vaguely make out facial features within it. Its gaze flickered over him and Huai Xu, ignoring them, and drifted directly towards Hu Weimin.
A familiar sensation descended, making Hu Weimin shiver uncontrollably.
"Sir!"
At this moment, Zhou Li spoke. He stared directly at the spectral figure in mid-air, reciting the line he and Huai Xu had rehearsed several times, "Isn’t your conduct a bit out of line?"
The spectral figure was immediately startled. It turned its head to stare directly at Zhou Li, freezing for several seconds.
"Heavenly Master?"
Its voice was raspy and strange.
Zhou Li nodded.
The spectral figure was silent for a moment, its mind racing. How long had this new era dawned? Logically, there shouldn’t be many Heavenly Masters in the entire world yet. How could it have run into one so coincidentally?
It couldn’t afford to lose ground. "HEH HEH, truly rare! It’s been many years since I’ve seen a human Heavenly Master, and... so young!"
"Didn’t expect it, did you?"
"...You want to meddle in this?"
"Let’s be reasonable."
"What reason?"
"You’re not following the rules." Zhou Li saw the glance Huai Xu gave him, and so he immediately became more composed. "First, this kind of transaction between you two is inherently illegal. But given it was based on mutual consent, I won’t pursue that."
"Illegal by what law?" the Demon retorted, its face twisting into a fierce expression. This was a contest of presence.
"Human law, Demon law," Zhou Li remained unfazed.
"You sure know a lot."
"I have my lineage."
"Is that so?"
"But the problem is this: you agreed to a voluntary transaction, yet you ultimately broke the rules. That’s the first point. Secondly, when Mr. Hu requested your help to treat his wife, not only did you fail to do so, but you also demanded payment. That’s simply..."
"His wife’s heart was failing; no one could have saved her," the Demon’s tone softened. "I did put in effort; I just didn’t succeed, that’s all."
"That’s no excuse."
"What do you propose?"
"Leave, and never bother him again. That’s all." Zhou Li was being very lenient. "What’s past is past. I can’t pursue it, nor do I wish to pursue it with you. This is a sign of respect I’m showing you."
"You, a mere Young Heavenly Master, what power do you have? There are few human Heavenly Masters these days. Even if I killed you, who would know?"
"You can try me," Zhou Li’s tone was light.
"I’m in urgent need of human vital energy. Don’t push me!" the Demon threatened again.
"It’s you who are pushing me."
"You refuse?"
"I refuse."
The Demon hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly at Zhou Li. It gradually drew closer, its intimidating aura beginning to emanate.
Zhou Li remained steadfast.
Huai Xu glanced at this Demon disdainfully.
But just as it came within a meter of Zhou Li, the Demon abruptly changed direction and drifted towards the window. "We’ll leave this matter here! If you break your promise and spread word of this, I will come for you... Even if you are the first Heavenly Master of this era, I am not afraid of you!"
With a bang, the window was flung open and then slammed shut.
Huai Xu curled his lips. "Pathetic bluster."
Zhou Li turned to look at him, then turned to Hu Weimin, who was lying silently on the bed. "Mr. Hu, this matter is settled. After a while, once you’ve confirmed there are no further problems, you can send me the payment."
He paused, then added, "By the way, I provide a lifetime warranty for this matter. If he comes back again, call me, and we will provide free after-sales service."
Hu Weimin’s eyes widened.
Us?
He quickly nodded, struggling to maintain his composure. "Thank you, Master Zhou. I am deeply grateful. I’ll have Hu Xing prepare the money immediately..."
Afterward, he became somewhat incoherent.
Zhou Li only said, "I’m just taking payment to avert disaster for you, Mr. Hu. No need to be so polite. Besides, I earned this money quite easily."
He had indeed earned it easily, so much so that it felt a bit unreal. He was somewhat tempted to drag the Demon back and give it a beating.
Regarding payment, Zhou Li had dealt with three clients so far, if the one with the sore throat counted. Each client had, without exception, chosen to pay immediately. This was quite unlike other industries plagued by wage arrears. Sometimes, it made him think—
Isn’t this line of work quite good?
Pausing, Zhou Li said, "Then, please ask young Mr. Hu to drive me back."
"It’s quite late, perhaps..."
"I shouldn’t delay any longer."
"Okay."
So Hu Weimin raised his voice and called the two people outside to come in. After they entered, he coughed twice and said, "Hu Xing, Master Zhou has matters to attend to back in Chunming. Please drive him back. Hu Jin, prepare a red envelope for Master Zhou—double the amount!"
Zhou Li wanted to decline, but Hu Weimin insisted, so he didn’t press the issue.
After some more polite exchanges, Hu Weimin said that Zhou Li should feel free to contact him if he ever needed anything. Zhou Li merely asked him to help spread the word about his services and added that if Hu Weimin encountered any minor troubles in the future, he would be happy to help out free of charge.
Hu Xing switched to a higher-end Mercedes and drove Zhou Li back to Chunming, traveling through the night.