The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

Charlie's tone was full of sarcasm.

Li Shanze didn't know where Xia Li's resentment came from, and why she suddenly spoke in a sarcastic tone - maybe my problem was related to the common sense of this world, and I was not clear about such common sense, so I angered Xia Li - Li Shanze thought so.

"But if you continue to use the abandoned classical calendar, then I think it's only a matter of time before the police catch you."

Rather than Miss Witch’s warning, Li Shanze was more concerned about the words “History has ended” that came out of her mouth.

So Li Shanze asked, "What's going on with this so-called end of history?"

"Ahhhhhhh, how should I know what's going on!" Faced with Li Shanze's inquiries, Xia Li finally went crazy. She scratched her brown hair in dissatisfaction, "Ever since I can remember, my teacher has taught me this way. Anyway, just remember what I say!"

Li Shanze confirmed at least one thing: this strange trademark calendar seems to have been going on for many years.

As for the inconvenience brought about by this strange way of dating, seeing that the witch lady was already going crazy and knew the facts but not the reasons, Li Shanze tactfully did not continue asking.

Fortunately, as the car drove into the town center, Charlie's mood finally improved. She wiped the fog off the car window and looked out the window with interest.

She pointed to the five-story white spire and said, "Look over there, Lee! That's Sacred Heart Catholic Church!"

Then he pointed to another four-story red bell tower next to the Catholic church and said, "That's the Grace Methodist Church! My teacher once took me to visit it!"

Perhaps because she was reunited with her childhood memories after a long absence, Charlie was in high spirits.

She looked like she had left home when she was young and returned when she was old, even though she was shouting and yelling like a little girl who had not grown up.

Li Shanze listened silently without saying anything, and just continued driving according to the witch's instructions.

In stark contrast to the silent driver, the Raptor was singing along with Miss Witch's cheers through the radio, and Mariah Carey's cheerful singing came out of the radio speakers.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree”

Charlie's head couldn't help but move up and down with the beat of the music. A smile played on the corner of her mouth, her eyes sparkled with joy, and she stared at the town intently.

Looking at Miss Witch, who looked relaxed and comfortable as if she was on a picnic, Li Shanze didn't understand when Xia Li lost her psychological defense against him.

However, this did not prevent his emotions from being infected by the witch lady. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he quietly slowed down the speed of the car.

During the escape journey that made him extremely exhausted, Li Shanze got a rare chance to breathe. His tense mood relaxed, and then a feeling of sleepiness came over him.

Li Shanze has been hunted as an ogre since he crossed over.

But thanks to the deal he made with the devil, his portraits and photos have never been circulated - of course, Li Shanze will not be grateful to the devil for this.

It is also difficult for Americans in this world to associate Li Shanze's appearance with an ogre, which is why Li Shanze escaped all kinds of pursuit and blockades all the way from San Francisco to Pennsylvania.

Li Shanze, who was about to cross the entire United States, almost did not sleep non-stop. He had hardly slept for more than half a month, and his fatigue had almost accumulated to the limit.

Li Shanze lowered his head and his chest pressed against the horn. The Ford Raptor let out a sharp roar, which suddenly woke him up and also scared the witch lady who had been in high spirits.

"Hey! Li, are you okay?" Xia Li asked worriedly, "Did you not sleep last night?"

Oh, it’s not just that I didn’t sleep last night.

Li Shanze smiled inwardly, then waved his hand: "I'm fine, just a can of coffee to refresh myself."

As he spoke, Li Shanze reached out to touch the cardboard box where he stored his canned coffee, but found nothing. It turned out that he had drunk up all the canned coffee he had stored along the way, and only a few packets of instant coffee powder that were sold together with the canned coffee were left.

"No, how can you drive while tired? Stop the car and have a good sleep first!" Miss Witch said worriedly.

"So, what? Shall I let you drive, Xia Li?" Li Shanze took advantage of the situation and simply addressed the witch by her name. He asked, "Why don't you continue to guide the way so we can find the deity named Buchaska sooner? Then, I'll have plenty of time to rest."

Charlie gritted her teeth and said, "Hmm. Turn left at the tall spruce tree ahead and drive to the end of the street until you find Robert's house. Mr. and Mrs. Robert will take us to see Him."

As they were talking, the car had already left the town center.

We drove past a dilapidated factory that had closed down. The walls had been eroded by wind and rain and had become shaky. It looked like it had been in decline for some time.

The huge letters "good fellow" above the locked factory gate have long been rusted.

The dark blue Ford Raptor did not stop, and drove towards a more remote and desolate direction under the guidance of the witch lady.

Author's words: Thanks to Gude for the recommendation

011 Rejection

In the car, Li Shanze didn't take the dilapidated factory too seriously. After all, he had seen too many bankrupt and dilapidated factories like this while traveling across the United States.

He listened carefully to what Miss Witch said and responded, "Mr. and Mrs. Robert?"

"Yes, Robert and his wife are devout believers of Bucharest. My teacher once took me to visit them. They are very nice and welcoming. As far as I know, they have a son, but I haven't seen him."

Miss Witch said, patting her chest.

"Oh, that's great." Li Shanze felt relieved when he heard that Xia Li had an old relationship with Robert and his wife.

"Oh, by the way, Li, please remember, never call the god's name in front of them." Xia Li reminded.

Li Shanze nodded. "As it should be. This is basic courtesy."

"No, that's not entirely true." Charlie shook her head. "Actually, Buchaska is what we wizards call that god. It's said that a wizard learned his name while communicating with him. However, to Robert and his wife and other believers in the town, he is their Lord."

"Lord? Could it be that—"

"Yes, the Protestants of the Grace Methodist Fern Church are mainly distributed around the town of Fern, Pennsylvania. They believe that Bucharest is the...um...God." Charlie said softly.

Li Shanze knew that the so-called Protestantism, because of its advocacy of "justification by faith", had led to a mess of heresy - in the eyes of an unbeliever like Li Shanze, it was simply a cult - and it was growing wildly, turning America into a land of vitality and prosperity.

However, this heretical sect that misidentified a wild god was still too shocking, leaving Li Shanze speechless for a long time.

He was about to comment on this when something suddenly occurred to him. He then asked cautiously, "So, does the God worshipped by Catholics really exist?"

After all, this is a different world. Although various familiar technological products are similar to those in his previous life, he has encountered demons and witches. Li Shanze feels that it is never too careful.

"I don't know. No one has ever seen Him," Charlie said nonchalantly. "My teachers all think He doesn't exist."

"Oh? It doesn't exist?"

Li Shanze frowned.

There is the devil but no God, there is evil but no good, this world does not seem to be a good place...

"Hmph, at least this omniscient and omnipotent Lord doesn't punish us heretics. He doesn't mind that we don't believe in His existence at all," Charlie said. "And those scientists and atheists who slander Him haven't received any punishment from Him either."

Judging from Charlie's tone, it seemed that the witch was quite regretful that God was unwilling to punish the scientist.

Considering the compatibility between wizards and modern science and scientific products, Li Shanze felt that it was not difficult to understand the witch lady's thoughts.

"So, that Buchaska would be?"

"Impossible, that Buchaska is far from omniscient and omnipotent! He is not even as good as the gods in Aztec mythology. Instead, he is more like a god in animism." The witch lady obviously understood Li Shanze's subtext and denied it categorically.

Li Shanze nodded and chose to believe the expert's judgment - at least the witch lady must be more authoritative and professional in supernatural matters than him, a time traveler, right?

"Ah, it's just ahead. That's Mr. Robert's house."

The car drove for a while and Charlie pointed ahead and said.

"This place is really remote." Li Shanze stopped the car and sighed as he looked at the sparse buildings.

"After all, Robert and his wife are farmers and live next to their own farm."

Charlie unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed open the car door, and immediately huddled down in the fiery red furs.

Without the help of a wand, she closed the car door with one hand and cast a spell with the other.

There was a flash of light, and the black dog, which was about to roar with its mouth open, lay back in its den obediently. Its originally ferocious eyes became calm, and the corners of its mouth drooped.

The dog whimpered and then fell asleep snoring.

After comforting the dog casually, Xia Li curled up because of the cold wind, and kept exhaling white air from her mouth to warm her hands.

The moment he witnessed the witch casting a spell, Li Shanze finally felt that Xia Li was a witch.

Before this, he always subconsciously regarded Charlie as an ordinary girl full of youth.

"Well, Parker's not the watchdog anymore," Charlie muttered softly, then she walked forward and knocked on the heavy wooden door.

…………

"You shameless outsiders, you greedy young people, don't you think you haven't harassed us enough? Get out!" An impatient, old roar came from behind the heavy wooden door.

The door wasn't even open.

This seems to be completely inconsistent with what Charlie said about being "very enthusiastic".

Li Shanze looked at Miss Witch and found that Xia Li also looked puzzled.

Charlie shouted in surprise, "It's me, Uncle Robert! I'm Charlie! My teacher once brought me to visit you!"

However, the man behind the door was obviously very angry. He didn't care about the name Charlie gave and continued to roar.

"I don't care if you're Charlie Shirley or anyone else! You greedy young people are making this place a mess. Get out! The farther away the better!"

The roar was so powerful that it even shook the snowflakes off the roof.

In addition to the angry shouts, there was also the clear sound of a gun bolt being pulled from behind the door.

Li Shanze thought that the believers of the mountain gods would use more mysterious methods, but he didn't expect that they would still use bolt-action rifles to have lively exchanges with people.

"I don't know what you did to Parker! It prevented him from giving a warning in time! But if you dare to hurt him, I will make you pay!"

The old man's anger resounded through the sky.

It seems like this person is nostalgic. He even named his new black dog Parker...

And through the keyword "blinded by greed", Li Shanze judged that it was most likely that Mr. Robert, a loyal believer in the god, regarded the two of them as young people who came to participate in the program "Hunting Gods".

They were probably not the first group of young people to come to his door. Mr. Robert had probably used his watchdog Parker to drive away many young people.

With the help of the cold, Li Shanze drove away his sleepiness. He cheered up and tried to extract useful information from Mr. Robert's words.

"Your Parker is fine, he just fell asleep!" Charlie explained.

Charlie wanted to say something else, but Mr. Robert behind the door had already issued his ultimatum: "Get out of my house before I completely lose my patience!"

Li Shanze sighed and pulled Xia Li, who was about to say something else, and said, "Okay, old man, we'll leave right away. But before that, could you please provide us with some hot water for drinking?"

"Water?" The voice behind the door was full of suspicion.

Li Shanze glanced at the snow-covered fields, the towering barn, and the well next to the barn that looked lonely in the cold winter.

Then he replied, "Well water, river water, any water will do, as long as it is boiled, I want to make coffee with it. Thank you, old man."

Since I'm here now, I can at least ask this family for some hot water to make coffee to refresh myself. It won't be a wasted trip.

Li Shanze activated one of his ultimate skills of self-consolation, "Since I'm here."

Anyway, the so-called "Grace Methodist Church" Protestants in this town all have their own church. This sect should have quite a few members. If that doesn't work out, you can try your luck at someone else's.

However, just as Li Shanze was thinking about what to do next, there was suddenly no sound from behind the door.

Li Shanze looked at Xia Li in confusion, completely unable to understand why Mr. Robert suddenly became quiet.

To their surprise, the door opened a moment later.

012 Robert and his wife

The person who opened the door was not Mr. Robert, but an old lady who looked very kind.

The years had carved deep wrinkles on the old woman's face. Her eyes were brown, slightly cloudy from the wear and tear of time, but they always held a hint of a smile.

Her hair, already gray, was casually tied into a loose bun, with a few strands of silver fluttering gently in the wind.

She wore a plain cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her strong, calloused hands.

"It's cold outside, please come in and sit down." The old woman greeted with a smile, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Aunt Robert." Charlie was surprised and happy. She jumped forward and jumped in front of Mrs. Robert, smiling broadly.

Although Charlie looked like a childish girl, as she jumped, the pair of plump fruits on her chest trembled.

Mrs. Robert's eyes were filled with thought: "You are, you are——"

"I'm Charlie! Aunt Robert, my teacher brought me here to visit you!"

Charlie spoke first.

"Ah! It's Charlie! She has grown into a beautiful young lady!" Mrs. Robert smiled happily.