A colossal figure shuttled through the rain clouds, its form blurred by the rising mist.

The Evil God seemed particularly excited.

He was roaring.

The rain poured down, its sound immense, yet it couldn't mask his roar at all—a sound so high-pitched and resonant, like a howl or a chant.

As they passed through an uninhabited mountain village, a figure stood under the eaves, waiting for them.

Zheng Zhilan was dressed in plain blue clothes; she was so thin that she was nearly swallowed up by the pouring rain and mist.

Big Yellow quickened his pace and ran toward her.

Zhou Li took the horse to a distant stable under his umbrella. By the time he returned, Brother Nan was already chatting with Zheng Zhilan. Huai Xu stood under the eaves, looking up at the Evil God in the sky, while Tuanzi also gazed dumbly upward.

Big Yellow stood beside them, shaking the water from his fur.

The chickens in the coop huddled motionless in a corner.

"The horses got wet. Are they alright?" Zhou Li asked as he drew closer, then he looked Zheng Zhilan over. The girl's eyes followed him.

"They're fine," Zheng Zhilan tilted her head to look at him. "What's wrong? You keep staring at me."

"You don't seem as pale as you were during the New Year," Zhou Li said candidly.

"It must be from being in the sun on the mountain these past few days," Zheng Zhilan's face reddened slightly. "Did I get darker?"

"You're still very fair."

"Don't mind him; he doesn't know how to talk properly," Brother Nan glanced at Zheng Zhilan—though Brother Nan couldn't see that she'd gotten any darker. "So many people wish they had skin as good as yours."

"It's more of a refined fairness now," Zhou Li decided to clarify. "Before, you looked a little sickly."

"I don't understand," Zheng Zhilan blinked.

"I can't explain it clearly either."

Zhou Li stomped his feet under the eaves, then stepped down into the waterlogged courtyard, rinsing his shoes. He shook the rainwater off his umbrella, set it under the eaves to dry, and then, fearing the wind might blow it away, took it inside.

"Do we have PE today?" Brother Nan asked.

"Yes."

"They probably won't hold it in the rain, right?" Brother Nan asked again.

"Is it raining in Chunming too?" Zheng Zhilan asked.

"Exactly! These online classes are so annoying!" Brother Nan frowned. "It's raining here, but not in Chunming. And if it does rain in Chunming, that idiotic teacher will probably think, 'Just because it's raining in Chunming doesn't mean it's raining everywhere else, so class is still on.' We'd be better off back at school."

"Yeah," Zhou Li agreed.

Zhou Li found a stool and sat down.

Zheng Zhilan quietly listened to their conversation. Only when they stopped talking did she softly ask, "Is it cold in the rain? Should I find you two a light jacket? Though... I might not have one that fits Zhou Li."

"I'm not cold," Brother Nan said.

"I'm not cold either," Zhou Li paused. "If I get cold later, I'll just go light a fire. It'll be warm by the stove."

"Okay."

The three of them continued to sit by the doorway, watching the rain and chatting.

At some point, Qinghe brought over a pot of hot tea and then quietly departed.

The steam from the tea complemented the misty rain perfectly.

It was mostly Brother Nan and Zheng Zhilan talking, with Brother Nan doing most of the speaking while Zheng Zhilan listened quietly. Zhou Li, meanwhile, cradled his hot tea and covertly listened to the two demons chatting beside him.

Tuanzi said blankly, "What a huge demon."

Huai Xu replied disdainfully, "That's nothing! It's just an animal with a big body and brute strength!"

However, Tuanzi seemed not to hear him and continued muttering, her small eyes filled with longing, "When Lord Dumpling grows up, I'll also be a demon this big and this formidable!"

"You're just a big cat..."

"Shut up! Stupid Huai Xu!"

"Stupid cat!"

"Stupid Huai Xu!"

"Stupid cat!"

"Stupid Xu!"

"You can't even pronounce my full name!! Really stupid!"

"Do you think Lord Dumpling is as dumb as you? You get to use two words for your insult, but Lord Dumpling has to use three! That's so unfair to me!" Lord Dumpling looked pityingly at this old monster. "You can't even figure that out..."

A smile unknowingly touched Zhou Li's lips, and the sorrow he felt over the old demon's death lessened considerably.

Soon, it was time for PE class.

They still had to submit video assignments: each person performing thirty burpees, plus forty squats for girls and thirty push-ups for boys. The intensity had increased a lot since the start of the semester. Zhou Li felt that the effects were very good, perhaps even better than in previous PE classes.

Thirty burpees, with slight variations for boys and girls; only Zhou Li and Brother Nan in the entire class could complete them all in one go.

Most classmates struggled to do ten at a time, gasping for breath afterward and needing to rest for at least a few minutes. By the time they completed thirty, it usually took fifteen or twenty minutes. And then there were squats and push-ups...

Brother Nan quickly finished her burpees and started doing push-ups, insisting on doing them one-handed—such a show-off.

"12, 13, 14..."

Tuanzi was no longer bickering with stupid Huai Xu. She quietly squatted on Brother Nan's back, looking up at Zhou Li. "Zhou Li, are you guys playing a game? Lord Dumpling wants to play too!"

"We're in class," Zhou Li replied.

"Keep counting," Brother Nan shouted.

"20, 21... Brother Nan, Lord Dumpling is probably going to steal all your spotlight." On the screen, Brother Nan was doing one-handed push-ups, but Zhou Li's gaze was captivated by Tuanzi's big, bright, shimmering blue eyes. "Even if you do a hundred, it won't help."

"Count!!"

"25... 30. Alright, done."

Brother Nan got up from the ground, snatched the phone from Zhou Li's hand, and said to Zheng Zhilan beside her, "This guy is so annoying!"

Zheng Zhilan smiled slightly and pursed her lips, saying nothing.

Brother Nan looked at the screen again.

When the video was finally, with some difficulty, sent, the classmates' reactions below were just as Zhou Li had expected. The main reason was that everyone had gradually grown accustomed to Brother Nan's formidable strength over the past few weeks, so now they were all enchanted by Tuanzi's charm.

But as the chat went on, the comments started to go off-topic.

Zhong Xin: Brother Nan is even carrying a weight.

Zhong En: Brother Nan, where did you buy your weighted cat? How many kilograms? I want to buy the same one.

Chen Yang: That looks like Tuanzi, the one Zhou Li keeps.

Zhong Xin: Oh!!!

Classmate A: Oh!!!

Classmate B: Oh!!!

Zhong En was reluctant deep down; after all, he had tried to pursue Brother Nan not long after starting university. But since the bandwagon had already started rolling, and he'd been active in the chat just moments before, it wouldn't look good if he suddenly went silent. So, bracing himself, he also typed: Oh!!!

Baozi: Hold on.

Baozi: Why can't I do even one?

Brother Nan silently turned off her phone.

It was her turn to record, and Zhou Li's turn to do the exercises.

Tuanzi still crawled onto Zhou Li's back, seeming to find it quite amusing.

The same cat.

The same video background: a mat with a small hole in it, old stool legs, and uneven ground—clearly a rural setting.

The gossip in the group chat grew more intense; even the teacher joined in.

Her expression unchanging, Brother Nan sent the video, then disconnected the hotspot and handed Zhou Li's phone back to him. "It's probably time to get the fire going, right?"

"Oh."

Zhou Li casually put his phone away, looked at Zheng Zhilan, and asked nonchalantly, "Is it time to start cooking?"

Zheng Zhilan smiled naturally.

Zhou Li felt a bit embarrassed. He checked the time. "It seems a bit early; it's not even five o'clock yet."

"It's okay."

Zheng Zhilan was very considerate. "The soup needs to stew for a long time."

「Kitchen.」

The rain outside hadn't stopped. Inside, the fire in the stove blazed fiercely, its crackling sounds mingling with the patter of the rain.

Both noisy and quiet.

It was indeed cold on the mountain on a rainy day. The old house's kitchen was built of stones with gaps that let the wind through. The cold drafts blowing in made the small space around the blazing stove feel like a haven, filled with a sense of security.

As Zhou Li fed more firewood into the stove, feeling the heat of the flames on his face, he asked softly, "Do you know the old demon of Zhihong Guan?"

"I know."

"He..."

"What about him?" Zheng Zhilan stood before the stove, from where she could naturally look down at Zhou Li. Her voice was also soft, as if unwilling to disturb the room's peaceful atmosphere. "Did he die?"

"Yes."

"He told me the last time I visited," Zheng Zhilan's voice grew even softer. "He was a very nice old man."

"He was."

"I still remember the first time I went to visit the elder of the observatory..." A reminiscent look appeared in Zheng Zhilan's usually somewhat hazy eyes. "I was scared and didn't know what to do back then. Only Qinghe was with me, and he helped me."

"It was the same when I came to find you last year."

Zhou Li added another handful of firewood to the stove, the flames illuminating his face, making it glow red. He remembered the old demon he had seen last year. The old demon would always be sitting on the roof of the small temple or at its entrance, speaking to him in a soft voice, his face kind.

The elder of the observatory is a very good person...

These cakes are so delicious...

The spring water is good to drink; boiling it spoils it...

Hearing that the kettle on the stove had quieted down, he tossed a few pine cones into the firebox to keep a low flame going. He glanced up—Zheng Zhilan's expression was as composed as ever, showing no sign of grief.

She seemed to rarely experience large emotional fluctuations.

Whether happy or sad.

At most, Zhou Li had only ever seen her smile gently.