"Make sure this bucket is sealed properly," Brother Nan muttered, carefully wrapping its opening with layer upon layer of cling film. "Otherwise, with all the jostling on the drive, the crayfish will be hopping about. If one accidentally leaps out, it'll find a corner to hide in—a crack you can't see—and starve to death after a few days. Then, when you come to drive the car, you'll smell a terrible stench. You'll search everywhere, searching and searching and searching…"

"Huai Xu has a very keen sense of smell."

"Don't interrupt!"

"Alright." Zhou Li paused for a moment. "Won't this suffocate all the crayfish?"

"What do I have these scissors for?"

"To cut the cling film."

"Can't they be used to poke a few holes in the cling film?"

"...I don't know."

"You, you... are such an idiot!" Brother Nan rolled her eyes at Zhou Li, thinking his low intelligence could potentially contaminate her gene pool in the future.

"..."

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..." Brother Nan continued to grumble as she placed the prepared bucket in Zhou Li's trunk, where the sound of crayfish tails flipping could be heard. She started working on the other buckets. "You just need to take yours and Huai Xu's bucket back with you. I'll deliver the other three."

"Oh."

"Eat them quickly once you get back, or they'll start dying."

"Got it."

"Brother Nan, if we take all the buckets, what will Grandpa and Grandma use?" Jiang Han asked.

"Buckets aren't worth much."

"Alright then..."

After Brother Nan finished up, Zhou Li and the others started to say their goodbyes and thank yous to Grandpa, Grandma, and Second Uncle, while also politely declining the homemade smoked meats they insisted on giving.

As they got into the car, Zhou Li could still hear Grandpa and Grandma shouting from nearby, "Come back and visit again next time!"

He, ever the obedient one, replied, "Okay."

Next time would probably be around harvest time, when they threshed the rice and harvested the corn, right?

With Grandpa and Grandma smiling broadly and watching them off, Zhou Li started the car and pulled onto the highway.

In the rearview mirror, he saw Brother Nan following.

Only then did he step on the gas a little harder.

Huai Xu adjusted the passenger seat to a very reclined position. With his legs crossed, almost as if he were lying down, and a toothpick in his mouth, he mumbled indistinctly, "Doesn't Brother Nan have a… which great-uncle was it again, the one who's an amazing cook? How come we didn't see him?"

"He's not well, in the hospital," Zhou Li replied.

"You know about that too?"

"I asked for you."

"Hehe, at least you've got some sense of loyalty..." Huai Xu paused. "But I still want to eat a mini watermelon, cut in half and scooped out with a spoon."

"..."

"Guess what's the first thing I'm going to do when I get back?"

"Buy a mini watermelon."

"Wrong."

"Buy a spoon."

"We've got spoons at home." Huai Xu thought for a moment. "Besides, I don't need to buy one. I can just 'borrow' one from any supermarket and return it when I'm done."

"..."

"Keep guessing."

"Please do not converse with the driver."

"I'm going to turn into a super, ultra, incredibly pretty big sister! These past few days stuck looking like this, I've been practically suffocating!"

"..."

How could one feel suffocated? Zhou Li couldn't understand. If he ever had Huai Xu's abilities, he might do the opposite—he'd find continuous transformations bothersome. Without any particular need, he'd probably stick to the same appearance. Huai Xu, on the other hand, seemed to find maintaining the same appearance for too long unbearable.

What a weirdo!

Zhou Li didn't speak to him anymore.

Suddenly, Huai Xu's phone chimed.

"Huh?"

"Isn't Brother Nan driving? Why is she sending me a message?"

Huai Xu tapped on his phone, and Brother Nan's voice emanated from it, mixed with the sound of the car and wind noise, "What's the matter with you two? Why are you driving so slow? The cars behind have been honking at me."

Huai Xu turned to look at Zhou Li. "What should we say?"

After saying this, he handed his phone to Zhou Li. "You explain to her; I'll record it for you."

"There's no need to reply to her."

"WHOOSH!"

The sound of a successfully sent message.

Huai Xu withdrew his phone, blinking twice.

「…」

The weather had been great these past few days.

The sunlight shone perfectly from the passenger side, making one drowsy.

The clouds outside hung low, partially blocking the sunlight. This created a vivid contrast in colors across the rolling green hills: sunlit areas glowed a bright, verdant green, while those under cloud cover were a shadow-cloaked ink green. The road remained the same, but the scenery constantly changed.

Jiang Han initially turned her head to look at the scenery outside, but soon she grew incredibly sleepy and her eyelids drooped—probably from eating too much at lunch.

The window was only half-open, the wind whipping her hair about, but it still couldn't dispel her drowsiness.

She leaned sideways, her head tilting, gradually slumping towards the window, bit by bit, until her head touched the glass. Instantly, the vibration of the glass against her head became a rapid TAP TAP sound that jolted her awake.

Feeling thirsty, she was about to grab some water when she heard a few strange sounds—

"PEW! PEW! PEW!"

In her confusion, Jiang Han turned her head, looking at Brother Nan.

Following Brother Nan's gaze, she glanced upward and saw a green mountain; the entire hill was a single hue, except for a white house about halfway up.

As if sensing her gaze, Brother Nan quickly glanced at her and explained, "I just destroyed that house with my Mind Laser Cannon!"

Jiang Han silently averted her gaze, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a small sip of water.

She put the bottle back in its place.

Adjusted to a comfortable position, closed her eyes.

And went back to sleep.

「…」

It was an hour-and-a-half drive to Huiyan City, but Zhou Li took two hours for Huai Xu's safety.

Apparently, only Tuanzi was home.

Aunt Jiang had gone shopping with her old friends.

Old Zhou was out earning a living.

Zhu Shuang had gone back to school for classes.

Zhu Bing had apparently returned to Jin Palace the day before yesterday; they probably wouldn't see her again for another two years.

As Zhou Li opened the door, carrying the bucket, he immediately heard a quick, light patter of footsteps. A little white cat appeared before him, screeching to a halt just half a meter away but still bumping into his foot. Tuanzi then tilted his head way back to look up at him—

"Lord Dumpling knew it was you the moment he heard your footsteps!"

"Same here."

"You can also recognize Lord Dumpling's footsteps?"

"Very easy to tell."

"Exactly, meow!" Tuanzi's points of excitement were always strange. "What are you carrying?"

"Crayfish."

"Lord Dumpling knows crayfish! Lord Dumpling has eaten them!"

"But these are no ordinary crayfish…"

While pouring the crayfish from the bucket into a large basin, Zhou Li began to tell Tuanzi the story he had already rehearsed in his mind. As he spoke, he sat down on the sofa, and Tuanzi lay back on his thighs, staring intently at him.

His description was captivating, and Tuanzi listened with rapt attention.

"Meow!!"

"Yes, even Huai Xu was injured. The situation was that dire, but we finally defeated that demon. Afterwards, to make us spare it, it offered us these super crayfish—said to be very precious, having absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon." Zhou Li glanced at Huai Xu with a hint of annoyance as he continued, "I didn't want to accept them at first. I wanted to uphold justice, but Huai Xu couldn't resist the temptation. He said these were the most delicious crayfish in the world, so we took them."

"Did the demon just run away?" Tuanzi's eyes sparkled.

"Correct." Zhou Li thought for a moment, then asked, "Lord Dumpling, have you discerned the mystery within these crayfish?"

"Mysterious... chicken?"

"Huai Xu says there's a profound mystery in them," Zhou Li didn't explain the meaning of 'mystery' to Tuanzi. "Only a powerful great demon can see it."

"Of course, Lord Dumpling noticed it, meow!"

"I see," Zhou Li said, nodding as he gently pinched Tuanzi's little paw pads.

"Lord Dumpling noticed it right away! Such a big mysterious chicken!"

"Lord Dumpling is truly formidable."

"Lord Dumpling is really awesome."

"..."

Huai Xu sat on the windowsill swinging his legs, occasionally glancing at the two childish fools. He rolled his eyes silently but didn't say a word, merely scooping melon from the half a watermelon Zhou Li had bought him on the way as hush money.