"You two can stay here while the house is being renovated," Zhou Li made the decision for Zheng Zhilan. He rarely did such things and still felt a bit nervous about it. "There are many rooms here, most of them empty."

After he finished, he paused, afraid they wouldn't agree, so he added, "Usually, only Little Zheng and Qinghe live here. They are quite lonely too."

The two demons looked at each other again.

Xing Hui said, "We'll see."

Ji Bai didn't make a sound either.

Huai Xu, propping his chin, glanced sideways at Zhou Li. He then suddenly turned his gaze to Xing Hui and Ji Bai and said, "You really chose the right place here! The future's direction is unclear, but if you retire here, you have an Evil God secretly protecting you, and Zhou Li and Little Zheng openly protecting you. It's safe to say no one will bother you."

"That's exactly what we thought!" A smile flickered in Xing Hui's eyes, Huai Xu's words hitting right on her mark.

"HEHE!"

The old monster laughed smugly twice and then said, "This place is probably even safer than you think!"

Xing Hui, upon hearing this, looked puzzled. "How so?"

Huai Xu then pointed at Zhou Li. "You may not know, but this unremarkable-looking guy..."

"What do you mean unremarkable-looking?"

"Don't interrupt!" Huai Xu scolded and continued, "This unremarkable-looking young man is actually the first Heavenly Master born in this era, just like Master Ming. That girl with poor eyesight is clearly among the first batch, and probably also near the top of it. Having lived for so many years, you two surely know what that implies."

"Master Ming!"

"Master Ming!"

Both demons were surprised by the same thing.

Clearly, as Great Demons who had lived for thousands of years, Zheng Zhilan being a first-batch Heavenly Master wasn't enough to shock them.

Huai Xu nodded and continued, "Not only that, but just a few days before we returned to Yi Province, we had a meal at Hong Ran's place... You know Hong Ran, right?"

"Of course, we do."

"HEHE, that's not all!"

Huai Xu suddenly vanished, and when he reappeared, he was holding a bewildered-looking kitten in his hand.

The kitten had a half-eaten Want Want rice cracker in its mouth and was looking around with round eyes, seemingly confused about the current situation.

"Do you know what this thing is?"

"Erm..."

The two old demons looked at each other and shook their heads.

Huai Xu was quite pleased. "Have you ever heard about a small kitten following the Elm King around, not very smart... I guess you haven't. You who wander around outside only know more about matters of the Jianghu. You don't even recognize me."

"I think I've heard something," Xing Hui recalled. "Seems it's called Lord Dumpling."

"That's right!"

Huai Xu threw Tuanzi onto the table.

Tuanzi didn't take it up with him; she couldn't win a fight anyway. She just curiously sized up Xing Hui and Ji Bai, her eyes wide, and asked, "Who are you?"

"You're the cat raised by Your Highness?"

"I am Lord Personal Officer Dumpling serving Your Highness!"

"It really is..."

Even these two old demons, accustomed as they were to the storms of life, couldn't help but be surprised by this string of news.

Only then did Huai Xu clap his hands. "Now you know, staying here means you are protected by both the underworld and the official side!"

The two old demons nodded repeatedly.

They looked at each other again.

「Before long, Zheng Zhilan came back.」

Zhou Li introduced her to Xing Hui and Ji Bai and then went out to pick vegetables, preparing to arrange a big feast to properly entertain them.

It was midsummer, a season rich with vegetables and a good time to pick mushrooms, so there was no worry about vegetarian dishes. Ji Bai and Qinghe had similar tastes, but Ji Bai's were more extreme—he not only ate only vegetables but also couldn't have any meat fat in his dishes, somewhat like a monk, though he had no restrictions on spices.

Zheng Zhilan said it would be easy to manage.

As for meat dishes.

She was already pondering killing a chicken and butchering a sheep when she got back. Hearing that Xing Hui liked to drink, she even planned to learn how to brew wine.

"TSK TSK..."

Huai Xu smacked his lips and said to Zheng Zhilan, "Living with you, these two old monsters really have good fortune. Speaking of which, you're nineteen already, right? Back in our days, you would have had your second child by now... I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry you."

Miss Zheng blushed slightly upon hearing this and didn't know how to respond, so she just pretended not to hear.

Focusing on picking vegetables.

Zhou Li, on the other hand, turned his head to her and said, "Just ignore him. That's just how this old monster is, the older he gets, the more bothersome his talk becomes."

"What matchmaker?" Huai Xu blinked his eyes at him. "Are you implying something?"

"..."

There were luffas nearby, growing at the top of a withered tree.

Zhou Li remembered that as a child, picking these luffas required a long bamboo stick. Zheng Zhilan usually had Qinghe climb the tree to pick them, which was hard work, but they had no choice. The luffas were rebellious; she had built a trellis right next to them for climbing, but they just wouldn't use it, insisting on climbing up the tree!

Having the old monster around made it much more convenient.

WHOOSH!

In less than a second.

The old monster tossed the luffa into the basket and licked his lips, saying, "These things are really tasty when cooked with tender meat slices. Aunt Jiang loves to cook it this way. Or, to be more frugal, an egg soup with some wild mushrooms added would definitely be delicious..."

"Aunt Jiang is my stepmom," Zhou Li explained to Zheng Zhilan. "Huai Xu really enjoys the food she makes."

"I can cook too," Zheng Zhilan said softly.

"Just ignore him."

"PFFT!"

The group returned, laden with their harvest.

They quickly started catching chickens and ducks, creating a lively scene, much like a rural New Year celebration.

But for Zhou Li, he felt more involved than during New Year.

During his childhood, his family would slaughter chickens during New Year, but no one would let him hold a bowl to catch the blood, help pluck feathers, or assist in singeing off the fine hairs.

Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant...

At lunchtime, Zhou Li had Huai Xu buy a bottle of baijiu and filled Xing Hui's glass.

Ji Bai drank plain water.

The others all drank juice.

Zhou Li steered the conversation towards house site selection, a topic Zheng Zhilan could contribute to, as she knew the village well.

The two friends, who had known each other for millennia, disagreed on this.

Xing Hui wanted to live at the front, near the valley, where just one step forward was a cliff. She thought it would be very pleasant to open the window to a view of leisurely drifting clouds. Ji Bai, however, preferred to live further back, closer to the mountain, ideally within the woods, as he favored a more secluded and dimmer environment.

Zheng Zhilan had no solution for this, so she could only let them discuss it slowly.

After finishing their meal, she took them for a walk around the village. But she wasn't very talkative, speaking even less than Zhou Li. Since Brother Nan couldn't see these two, Zhou Li had to accompany her to prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward.

It turned out his worries were unnecessary.

Xing Hui had a naturally outgoing personality and became even more approachable after a few drinks. She spent the entire walk discussing home renovation plans with them.

Zheng Zhilan could also participate in this discussion.

Xing Hui wanted to plant flowers, and Zheng Zhilan grew them. Ji Bai wanted to plant bamboo, and Zheng Zhilan grew that too. When Xing Hui mentioned wanting to start a vegetable patch, Zheng Zhilan had experience with that as well. As for their ideas about installing a chess platform or building a small fish pond, Zhou Li helped them plan these.

Without realizing it, the afternoon was more than half over.

Zhou Li took out his phone to check the date. It was already past the tenth of the month. Looking at Xing Hui and Ji Bai, he felt he might stay here for a long time.

He needed to give Aunt Jiang a heads-up.

Thinking about it gave him a bit of a headache. That family would surely let their imaginations run wild again.

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