This place was much quieter than the city. At first, it was fine, but as night deepened, it became dead silent. Only occasionally could one hear the sound of a car driving by.
Zhou Li slept in the middle bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
By the window was Huai Xu. Through the light from the streetlights and illuminated signs filtering through the curtains, Zhou Li could see him lying upside down on his bed, with both feet propped against the wall. Zhou Li had no idea what he was doing, but it certainly didn't look like sleeping.
Brother Nan was by the bathroom. She was on her smartphone, the light illuminating her face, and she would occasionally cast sidelong glances at Zhou Li.
No one spoke.
Zhou Li even felt too embarrassed to move.
When he really thought about it, there was no need to be so uneasy. Good friends traveling together and staying in the same room wasn't a big deal; it wasn't like they were sharing a bed. In this day and age, it wasn't anything major. If one truly had no ulterior motives, it wouldn't be much different from sharing a room with someone of the same sex, right?
But that was exactly the problem.
Zhou Li realized he had impure thoughts. The random musings floating through his mind made him quite uncomfortable.
He was tainted.
He was no longer pure.
He couldn't accept this side of himself.
Finally, Huai Xu couldn't bear it anymore. "Why isn't anyone talking? I'm so bored! Even Tuanzi is quiet. Shouldn't you be nagging Zhou Li to tell a story at this hour?"
"You lost, meow!" Tuanzi declared.
"Huh? How did I lose?" Huai Xu asked.
"You spoke first, meow! You lost!"
"...Childish!"
The Old Monster didn't bother stooping to this little one's level. He continued to prop his feet against the wall and called out, "Zhou Li, I want to hear a story!"
"I'm almost asleep," Zhou Li said, staring at the ceiling.
"Who are you kidding?"
"Really."
"Don't try to lie in front of the Great Devil King; it's too easy to see through. Your breathing, your heartbeat, the flow of your blood, the functioning speed of your internal organs... and the fingers under your blanket secretly tapping your thigh—they all betray you!" Huai Xu, too, was staring up at the ceiling. To him, the plaster on the ceiling looked unevenly applied, revealing patterns invisible to ordinary eyes, and he was using his imagination to turn them into various things he found interesting.
"You're such a pervert..." Zhou Li's head throbbed.
"PFFT!" Brother Nan burst out laughing, but then she immediately sensed a strong wave of crisis.
"Quick, tell me a story."
"You're thousands of years old and you still listen to stories?"
"..." Huai Xu felt his face grow hot. After thinking for a moment, he began to argue, "It's all your fault for always telling stories to Tuanzi. Now I can't fall asleep without hearing your voice. It's actually a habit, just like how old people need to listen to operas or traditional music, and young people need music or a lecture to fall asleep. It's the same principle. It has nothing to do with age, and it doesn't mean I'm childish."
"The Demon King doesn't need to sleep."
"..."
"Once upon a time, there was a silly bird who, while fighting wars in the Western Regions, kept stealing Hami Melons from the local fruit farmers..."
"How did you know?" Huai Xu put his feet down.
"Don't interrupt."
"Oh."
"One day, he got caught..."
"Nonsense! How could I possibly get caught?"
"Don't! Interrupt!"
"Oh, oh, you continue, you continue."
"They hung him from a tree, beat him with sticks, whipped him, and even had people take turns telling him stories to keep him from sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes, someone would shout stories at the top of their lungs right in his ear."
The story was incredibly boring, just right for Tuanzi. Zhou Li told it effortlessly.
However, both Brother Nan and Huai Xu listened with great interest. Towards the end, they even joined in, adding to the tale.
As he continued speaking, Zhou Li fell asleep.
From this perspective, perhaps he should thank Huai Xu.
「...」
The Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden was vast. It housed a complete variety of tropical plants—rare and common, highly ornamental flowers, and inconspicuous grasses alike. For instance, a wall of vibrant flowers immediately caught one's eye upon entering. Touring the garden was a real test of stamina and endurance. Fortunately, Brother Nan had anticipated this and chosen to enter early in the morning, allowing them to avoid some of the scorching sun.
Zhou Li was quite interested in plants. He felt he was truly feasting his eyes and broadening his horizons. He would stop at each plant's nameplate, carefully read the introduction, and try his best to remember it.
Brother Nan and Huai Xu, however, focused mainly on the various flowers—
Running over to touch them;
Sniffing them;
Picking up fallen petals to press into small notebooks;
Taking pictures;
Striking poses in front of large floral displays;
And so on...
Lord Dumpling had also entered the garden. Her attention was fixed on the little creatures fluttering among the flowers—butterflies, dragonflies, bees, and the like. Sometimes, she would jump down to chase these insects, trying to catch them.
But most of the time, she was cradled in Zhou Li's arms.
This spoiled cat was both lazy and delicate.
"Frangipani..."
"The national flower of the old one..."
Huai Xu stood beside Zhou Li, bending over with him to look at the nameplates and reading softly. Then he turned his head to Zhou Li and said, "The old one, isn't that a country next to yours? This flower is pretty, huh? No wonder it's their national flower. How about we dig one up and take it home?"
"Um, Laos," Zhou Li corrected.
"Old lair."
"Let's go."
"We're not digging one up? True, there's no rush, eh? Wow, there are so many flowers here! In the future, if you want to plant any flowers, we can just come here and dig them up! I think those Little Lotus flowers we saw in the pond earlier were quite pretty—all colorful and unique. Oh, right, there were also lots and lots of big black carp in there. Too bad you don't know how to cook fish..."
"Mm-hmm..."
Actually, Zhou Li didn't want to respond, but ignoring Huai Xu wouldn't be good either. If he ignored him, Huai Xu would go to Brother Nan. Given Brother Nan's personality, if those two conspired, the botanical garden might genuinely suffer a theft on some dark and windy night.
「Half an hour later—」
Zhou Li and Brother Nan stood with their heads tilted far back, looking up.
A giant tree bore a fruit that looked a bit like durian but was somewhat larger. This was called jackfruit. Zhou Li and Brother Nan, these two country bumpkins, had only learned of this fruit after arriving in Banna; they had never tasted it before.
"So this thing grows on trees!" Brother Nan exclaimed blankly.
"Most likely," Brother Nan nodded, then pondered before adding, "I wonder if it's become a spirit? Would the fruit taste even better? If you ate it, would you gain strength and longevity, or perhaps cleanse your meridians and improve your aptitude..."
"You should read fewer web novels."
Suddenly, Zhou Li's vision blurred. It was as if an azure flash streaked past overhead, and a jackfruit instantly fell.
"Watch out!"
THUD!
The jackfruit landed in front of Huai Xu, smashing into several pieces.
The azure flash transformed into a short, translucent blade, its material resembling jade but not quite, and vanished after flying before Huai Xu. Huai Xu immediately widened his eyes in feigned surprise, maintaining the shocked expression for a good few seconds before turning to look at the nearby tourists, who were genuinely startled.
"That was terrifying, wasn't it?!"
"How did it just fall like that?"
"It fell on its own, right?" Huai Xu asked, then quickly added, "Nothing to do with me, okay?"
"It almost hit me! Scared me to death. It wouldn't be too much to pick it up and eat it, would it?"
With each sentence he spoke, his expression and tone shifted, transforming from panic-stricken to shameless rogue in just over ten seconds.
Zhou Li watched, his head aching.
Aching badly.
Moments later, Huai Xu walked alongside him, broke off a piece of the jackfruit, and handed it to him. "These pieces are clean. Try it and see if it's different from the one we bought the day before yesterday. I feel like it tastes better than the bought one, probably because it was free."
"It really does taste better than the one we bought!" Brother Nan agreed.
"I'm not eating it!" Zhou Li turned his head away.
"Why not? It fell by itself, and no one's going to fine us," Huai Xu said, bewildered.
"It's really delicious!" Brother Nan insisted, smacking her lips.
"Let Lord Dumpling have a taste!"
"...Not eating!" Tuanzi piped up from Zhou Li's arms.
"Go on," Brother Nan coaxed Zhou Li.
"Still not eating."
"..."
Brother Nan held a piece of the fruit to his mouth.
Well... he really couldn't be blamed for this.
He took a bite.
Hmm, it wasn't actually that tasty. He figured their taste buds might be a bit off. With a critical mindset, he tasted a little more. Indeed, the flavor didn't suit his palate at all.
Fortunately, Lord Dumpling shared his opinion.