The difference in height and build was stark. But their demeanors were the exact opposite.
Huai Xu stood with his hands on his hips, head tilted far back.
Facing him was a monster over three meters tall. Its waist was thicker than a water jar, its body covered in coarse hair, and its beastly face featured fierce fangs. A pair of horns, each as thick as Huai Xu's waist, sprouted from its head.
The monster lowered its head, staring at Huai Xu without a sound.
"I'm talking to you!" Huai Xu said. "Hey! Can you hear me?" He casually scratched an itch with the hand resting on his hip.
The monster took a long moment to respond, finally uttering a long, meaningless monosyllable.
Just then, Zhou Li ran up to Huai Xu's side.
"What are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.
"Returning the favor for breakfast. You're just in time; stand right here." Huai Xu pointed to Zhou Li, then tilted his head back up at the monster. "It's him. Do you recognize him?"
"Recognize..." The monster looked at Zhou Li. Its reaction was slow, and its voice was even slower.
"Did you bully him?" Huai Xu asked, then turned to Zhou Li. "Did he bully you?"
"Play..." the monster mumbled.
"Stop giving him a hard time," Zhou Li interjected.
"Looks like its brain really isn't working too well," Huai Xu observed, appraising the monster. "What's your name?"
"San. Zheng."
"San Zheng, huh? I'll remember that. You don't like me, and I don't want to get tangled up with you. So, don't come looking for Zhou... don't cause him trouble, and I won't look for trouble with you either. I won't take your territory. We'll leave each other in peace, understand?" After speaking, Huai Xu leaned in and whispered to Zhou Li, "I just forgot your name."
"Play... together," San Zheng said.
"Let's go," Zhou Li said, quietly surveying the empty woodland path. He was glad they had arrived early, while there were fewer people.
"Wait, let me deliver one more threat!" Huai Xu glared at the horns on San Zheng's head. "Otherwise..."
"We're leaving," Zhou Li repeated.
"Oh, alright then." Huai Xu turned around. "Consider this my payment for staying the night!"
"Thank you."
Zhou Li turned and walked toward the classroom.
It was still early, so the classroom was sparsely populated. Zhou Li took out his Chinese textbook to read. Huai Xu stood behind him, leaning against the wall, looking at the motivational quotes, the college entrance exam pledges on the blackboard, and the bulletin board that hadn't been updated in months.
As the murmur of students reading aloud began to fill the air, Zhou Li also started reciting passages from "Go Back Home Rhyme," "Memorial to Emperor," and "Xiao Ya - Picking Ferns" to warm up his voice.
He was half-reading, half-reciting to consolidate his memory when he suddenly noticed a head pop up beside his shoulder, very close.
Zhou Li fought to maintain his composure.
Huai Xu squinted at the book in Zhou Li's hands. "I think I've heard this poem before."
Zhou Li glanced around and whispered, "This is a poem from the *Book of Songs*, from *Xiao Ya*, called 'Picking Ferns.' It was likely very well-known throughout the dynasties and studied by scholars, so it's normal for you to have heard it."
"Makes sense." Huai Xu nodded thoughtfully. "Read it again. I'll listen."
"Okay."
Zhou Li began to recite:
"Picking ferns, picking ferns, the ferns also come to an end.
We say go home, go home, the years never end...
What's that land over there? It's adorned with continuous blooms...
How dare we settle down? With victories thrice a month..."
Huai Xu stared at the blackboard, listening intently. Some memories gradually stirred within him, beginning to surface.
An aged voice echoed in his ears, reciting the poem over and over. It was very slow, the tone steady, with minimal inflection, though the pauses were distinct. The accent was far removed from modern speech. Zhou Li also seemed to be deliberately slowing his cadence, and gradually, the rhythm of the two voices drew closer, threatening to overlap.
Huai Xu's lips quivered slightly as he followed along with a few lines:
"In the past, I went away, the willow trees were long and swaying.
Now I come to think, the rain and snow are swirling, falling."
At some point, without him realizing, the aged voice faded away, replaced by his own, which carried different tones and emotions.
When Huai Xu snapped back to reality, Zhou Li had also stopped reciting.
Huai Xu asked, "What's this poem about?"
Zhou Li replied softly, "It's mainly about the hardships soldiers face and their longing to return home."
"Oh."
"Did you remember anything?" Zhou Li asked.
"A little," Huai Xu admitted.
"Hmm."
I might have jinxed it, Zhou Li thought. The bell was about to ring, and his deskmate still hadn't arrived.
A rather good-looking male classmate walked by and placed a small cake beside Zhou Li's desk, where Li Nan usually sat. This was the class's entertainment committee member, a multi-talented boy. Among the many boys impressed by classmate Li Nan's intelligence, he was the boldest and most open with his affections. For nearly two months, the class teacher had stopped intervening in such romantic pursuits, so he would occasionally give Li Nan small gifts.
Zhou Li glanced at the entertainment committee member.
Too bad Brother Nan doesn't like him, he mused.
The bell rang, signaling the start of class.
Li Nan still hadn't arrived.
Zhou Li took his water cup and went to the front of the room to get some water. By the time he returned to his seat, the class teacher, Mother Zhao, had entered the classroom. Huai Xu, however, had vanished.
Mother Zhao scanned the classroom, her gaze immediately landing on the empty seat beside Zhou Li. But she didn't seem concerned.
Classmate Li Nan suffered from a severe case of "Lesson Urgency Syndrome." This was a common ailment among students, typically manifesting as an urge to use the restroom during class—an early symptom. Li Nan's case, however, involved needing the restroom the moment class began.
Ten minutes later, Mother Zhao realized something might actually be wrong. She walked over to Zhou Li's desk and asked if Li Nan had arrived.
Zhou Li shook his head.
So, Mother Zhao went straight to another female student to inquire. This student, Jiang Han, was Li Nan's neighbor. Apparently, they had been classmates since elementary school and were very close.
Jiang Han stood up and whispered a few words in Mother Zhao's ear. Mother Zhao nodded, indicating she understood.
At the start of first period, Mother Zhao announced from the podium that classmate Li Nan had been hospitalized the previous night from overeating and wouldn't be attending class today. She hoped everyone would take it as a lesson.
The classroom erupted in laughter.
Jiang Han's face flushed red with embarrassment.
The entertainment committee member, genuinely concerned for Li Nan, looked up and said, "But she was fine during last night's self-study session!"
Mother Zhao nodded at the entertainment committee member, appreciating his unwitting cooperation. "Yes," she confirmed. "After the self-study session last night, she went home and had another entire meal!"
Laughter filled the air both inside and outside the classroom.
Zhou Li laughed too.
Life in their third year of high school was oppressive, rarely allowing for much liveliness. Only when classmate Li Nan stirred up some new trouble could they afford to laugh.
Then he turned to look out the window.
Huai Xu was sitting on the edge of the sports field's podium. From Zhou Li's vantage point, all he could see was Huai Xu's hunched back. He seemed deep in thought, oblivious to San Zheng approaching him.
Zhou Li kept watching.
Then, just as he'd expected, San Zheng crept up and pushed Huai Xu from behind, then immediately turned and fled.
Huai Xu, now standing on the ground below the podium, looked briefly dumbfounded. Then, he vanished into thin air and reappeared directly in front of San Zheng.
Zhou Li's eyes widened.
Immediately, Huai Xu began to teach San Zheng a lesson.
Zhou Li's eyes grew even wider. San Zheng's massive frame seemed like paper before Huai Xu, who effortlessly knocked the monster to the ground and began to beat him mercilessly. The sight was shocking to Zhou Li.
After the beating, San Zheng fell into deep thought.
This is a whole new way to play! he realized. And my opponent is an expert at it. I have to give it my all!
He charged forward again, only to receive another thrashing.
Truly formidable! San Zheng thought.
After pondering his strategy for a moment, he cautiously advanced towards Huai Xu. But before he could even get close, he was beaten down once more.
I've encountered a true master!
San Zheng fell into contemplation yet again.
By the last period of the morning, San Zheng was disheveled and dirty from the beatings, but it was Huai Xu who now looked as if he were questioning his own existence. To avoid San Zheng, Huai Xu had retreated to the classroom, sitting next to Zhou Li and pretending to absorb knowledge and "gain culture."
It was math class, a subject apparently beyond Huai Xu's comprehension. Soon, he began to doze off.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the students managed to provoke the math teacher into bragging.
"Nonsense! Li Jiancheng wasn't as incompetent as TV dramas portray him..."
"Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, his thinking at the time was..."
"And within Chang'an City, the power Li Jiancheng actually wielded was..."
"..."
Some people are math teachers on the surface.
In reality, they're history teachers in disguise.
Zhou Li glanced sideways and saw Huai Xu listening intently. The classroom was relatively quiet, not ideal for speaking, so he picked up his pen, gestured to Huai Xu, and wrote on a piece of paper:
"Have you heard of these people?"
Huai Xu whispered thoughtfully, "They sound somewhat familiar, but I don't have a clear impression."
Zhou Li put his pen down.
The afternoon's physics and chemistry classes were even more arcane to Huai Xu. He sat beside Zhou Li, a baffled expression fixed on his face for the entire duration. Occasionally, he would turn his head to glance at the other students, but all he saw were faces rapt with concentration on the lecture.
Before long, he opted to go outside and face San Zheng again.
Huai Xu claimed he had scared San Zheng off. So, after dinner, Zhou Li tentatively headed to the sports field for a walk.
After half a lap, Zhou Li spotted San Zheng resting by a small pond, an expression of utter contentment on his face. Zhou Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. He put on his Bluetooth earphones and started listening to music on his sports watch.
The weather had turned hot after the previous night's rain, and the afternoon sun had been scorching. Now, it was finally cooling down a bit as the sky gradually took on a reddish hue. A gentle breeze rustled the willow branches by the pond. The rhythmic thud of basketballs echoed nearby. Ahead of Zhou Li, two girls walked hand-in-hand, laughing, while someone else jogged past him, stirring a gust of warm air.
It had been a long time since Zhou Li had last taken a walk on the sports field.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind. Zhou Li felt a tap on his shoulder. A handsome young man holding a badminton racket stood before him. He was good-looking, though his features were somewhat delicate, reminiscent of the pretty-boy celebrities on television.
"Bro, out for a walk?!"
"Yeah, a little post-dinner stroll."
"Want to play some badminton then?"
"No, thanks. I'm just going to walk a bit more and then head back to the classroom."
"Alright, catch you later then!" Zhu Shuang waved at Zhou Li and jogged back the way he had come.
"Is that your younger brother?" Huai Xu asked, casually holding a willow switch.
"Yeah." Zhou Li nodded. "I have another question for you."
"What is it?"
"You know, it seems like most of you are quite afraid of humans. I've seen many demons consciously avoid people and rarely go to crowded places," Zhou Li said thoughtfully. "But you don't seem to be afraid of humans at all. Why is that?"
"Ah, that... I've noticed that too, actually."
"So you don't know why either?"
"I'll go ask a little demon for advice and then tell you," Huai Xu said, his own curiosity now piqued.