Night turned to dawn, and fresh light once again shone upon the silent snow country. When I woke, the sound of the wind had gradually died down.
Lu Xiu lay not far away, covered with a blanket and snoring. The warmth in the center of the room had been extinguished at some point. Caught in the chilly draft, I couldn’t help but shrink back into my warm bed.
‘It’s so cold… I’ll sleep for a little longer.’
Thinking this, I pulled the covers over my head and curled into a ball, continuing to dream of delicious food.
Occasionally, the pitter-patter of ice and snow drifted in from outside, along with the tinkling sound of icicles breaking as they fell from the eaves.
I really want to stay in bed like this forever.
So warm —
I just slept silently like that until Lu Xiu woke up.
“Yawn — “
He let out a wide yawn and stretched. “Mmm~”
“Sui! Wake up!”
As he spoke, he strode toward the bulging lump of blankets.
“Get up! Get up! We have to pick up the pace today.”
“Ugh…” The lump moved reluctantly and then went silent again.
“Today’s breakfast is Kuyanhuo village pizza.”
“Where is it?” I immediately poked my head out, but after feeling the chill, I wrapped myself in the quilt again.
“In your dreams.”
I lay back down.
“Did you hear me? Get up.”
“I don’t want to get up. It’s so cold outside. I’m going to hibernate.”
“Fine, I’ll go by myself then.”
“…Just let me sleep a little longer, please~”
“…Sigh, ten minutes.”
“Yay!”
After saying that, Lu Xiu walked over to the stove to light a fire for warmth. Then, he pulled a few cans out of his pocket and placed them on top to heat up.
Feeling the room grow warm again, I closed my eyes contentedly.
“Wake up. Ten minutes are up.”
I opened my eyes groatily and saw Lu Xiu’s big face.
“You’re lying… I just closed my eyes…”
“…Do you want to check the watch?”
“I don’t know how to read it.”
I rolled over, turning my back to Lu Xiu. I continued to sleep.
“Then I’ll just eat all the breakfast myself.”
After he finished speaking, I even heard the sound of a can being pulled open. Then, the thick aroma of meat broth immediately filled the small room.
*Grumble.*
My stomach instantly issued a command to surrender.
Fine… compared to sleeping, eating was more important.
I crawled out of bed, one shoulder strap hanging off to the side, my shoulder exposed at an angle. Without a second thought, I walked straight toward the stove.
Lu Xiu immediately stopped me. “Change your clothes. Eat after you’ve changed.”
“Eh… it’s so much trouble.”
“That’s not what you said last night.”
I puckered my lips. ‘How could that be the same? There was no food last night.’
After more rustling sounds, I changed into a thick down jacket with a padded coat underneath. Then, I immediately ran toward the stove.
“Where’s mine? Where’s mine? Where is my breakfast?”
“I saved it for you.”
Lu Xiu said as he pointed to the two cans on the other side.
Seeing me reach for it, he immediately stopped me. “Don’t grab it with your hands.”
“Why?”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting burned?”
“I’m more afraid of being hungry.”
“You’re unbelievable,” he sighed. He pulled a thick rag out of his miao miao pocket, moved the can off the stove, used the cloth to twist it open, and handed me a spoon. “Eat up.”
“Thank you, Lu Xiu.”
I thanked him sincerely, even though I thought it would be easier to just stuff the whole can into the mouth on my stomach.
Inside the can was beef brisket stewed with carrots. The smell alone made my mouth water uncontrollably. I scooped up a small piece of beef, opened my mouth, and stuffed it in.
“Haa — haa — “
It was a bit hot!
“Can’t you wait for it to cool down before eating it…”
“Mmph mmph (It won’t taste good if it’s cold!)”
I narrowed my eyes, chewed the beef thoroughly, and swallowed it.
“Delicious!”
I gave Lu Xiu a thumbs up — the ultimate recognition from Sui!
He smiled and shook his head, saying no more. He picked up his own portion and ate slowly.
It was freezing outside, a world of Cangwu Baizong, but the inside of the room was warm and cozy, echoing with the aroma of beef.
I felt that this kind of life was just wonderful.
After finishing breakfast, we prepared to hit the road.
Lu Xiu extinguished the fire and put on his black overcoat, waiting by the entrance for me to change my shoes.
“Okay, okay!”
I tied my shoelaces and ran toward him while carrying my small box.
*Click — *
The door opened.
The cold wind howled, and the snow seemed to have grown heavier.
“Lu Xiu… are we going to fight the death demon?”
Walking through the vast snowy plains, I shouted toward the blurry figure ahead while wearing my scarf.
“No. We can’t beat it. The opponent is a root demon, and they can’t be killed.”
“A root demon?”
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you before?”
“No…”
Every time he tried to teach me something, I just wanted to sleep.
“Fine… You can think of a root demon as the starting point for other demons. Almost all demons branched off from root demons.”
“For example, beneath the death demon are tombstone demons, zombie demons, and so on. These demons come from the same source and are differentiated manifestations of various powers over death.”
“A classic example is that a high-level demon has a natural suppression over a lower-level demon. You can understand it as the death demon being the highest-level part, and all other demons were ‘born’ from it.”
“That sounds weird.”
“Take flour, for instance. Flour can be made into a cake or a paste. The cake and the paste are lower-level demons, while the flour is the high-level demon. Without flour, there would be no cake or paste. Do you understand now?”
“I completely understand!”
“But… since we can’t beat it, what are we going to do there?”
Isn’t that just seeking death?
“Not being able to beat or kill it doesn’t mean we can’t restrict it. What we need to do is find a loophole. Just like I did before, I’ll make it so it can’t ‘see’ me, thereby buying us some safe time.”
“Do you want me to poke its eyes out?”
“Then you’ll only die a more miserable death… There’s an old saying in the Response Division: use a demon to defeat a demon.”
I didn’t get it.
“What we need to do is borrow the power of another demon to restrict the opponent.”
“Aren’t demons companions? Why would one help you?”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He held up a finger and wagged it.
“The relationship between different root demons isn’t harmonious. It’s like a cake. The cake is only so big, but as more and more people want to eat it, the portion you get becomes smaller, right? So… demons sometimes fight among themselves, turning others who want the cake into cake themselves.”
I nodded. That’s just protecting your food!
“Besides that, lower-level demons also think about killing or devouring high-level demons. This is because the first group to eat the cake is definitely the high-level demons.”
“Only after the high-level demons are finished are the lower-level demons allowed to eat. If one high-level demon is gone, it means a lower-level demon might be promoted to a high-level demon and join that first group.”
“So, those at your level want to kill you, and those below you want to kill you too. If it weren’t for the fact that root demons are incredibly powerful, they would have been divided up long ago.”
“That sounds so cruel.”
“It can’t be helped. To survive, that’s just how it is. Not to mention hell.”
After Lu Xiu finished speaking, he stopped walking.
I wasn’t paying attention and bumped into his back. I looked up and heard his voice.
“We’re here.”