Inner Demons

Chapter 105: Person in the Painting

The old beggar stumbled into the alley entrance after being pushed by Li Yunxin, steadied himself against the wall, and hurriedly turned to look for the Immortal.

But night had completely fallen; he could only see a hazy light, unable to distinguish figures.

Thinking of the Immortal's words just now, he subconsciously looked left and right, carefully folded the painting paper, and put it into his bosom.

However... it could no longer be stopped.

This painting.

Was not an ordinary painting.

Even from a dozen steps, dozens of steps away, brilliant painters could still see...

The spiritual energy surging on it!

This is... a Precious Scroll.

Just as the old man entered the alley, those people fishing for sour soup noodles by the riverbank felt something wrong. At first, that sour soup noodles were quite delicious. But gradually as more people ate, the taste felt bland. After dozens of people ate, when the later ones ate...

The taste was no different from river water!

After a few more breaths, no lotus lanterns floated down from upstream, and the light of lotus lanterns downstream gradually dimmed. This Willow River became a dark patch again.

People overly excited because of the miraculous event just now remembered to look for that young handsome Immortal Master, but he was long gone. Then annoyed... eat what sour soup noodles? Why not ask the Immortal Master for a talisman!

But that peddler was beaming by the river—he ate four bowls, stopped only when he was about to vomit from fullness. Then went to collect those porcelain bowls. Collected a dozen, couldn't hold anymore—so trampled all those he couldn't take, didn't want to benefit others.

When the group of people walked back up the river embankment, he also walked back to his stall triumphantly holding the bowls.

But after a few breaths of effort, people still talking about this miraculous thing suddenly heard the peddler burst into a miserable howl.

Immediately saw him slump behind the stall, slapping his thigh and wailing—

“That god-damned Daoist, what you ate just now were all my sour soup noodles! Those bowls were mine too! I trampled a dozen for nothing!”

Wailed for a while, suddenly got up to pull people: "No leaving, no leaving, whoever ate mine, pay me back!"

But who would pay attention to him—people suddenly realizing the truth ran away avoiding him while mocking, sighing, and marveling!

It was at this time...

The old beggar was blocked by someone in the alley.

The aura of the comer... different from those waiting near Li Yunxin for him to paint before.

This was a calm and steady man, wearing black clothes. Face covered with a black cloth, holding a dagger in reverse grip.

Jumped down at the corner of the alley, kicked the old man over, then reached into his bosom.

The beggar... remembered Li Yunxin's words before, immediately covered his chest with his hands like crazy, only saying: "Immortal promised me, Immortal promised me—someone... ah."

The voice stopped abruptly.

Seeing him make noise, the masked man silently and powerfully pressed his hands on his chest, cutting his throat with just one stroke.

Clean, crisp, without a trace of hesitation, technique extremely beautiful.

Only then did he reach out, carefully taking that painting out from the old beggar's bosom. After repeatedly confirming it was the original painting, rolled it up and put it into a brocade bag, put it into his own bosom. Then casually threw the dagger beside the corpse, tore off the face cloth, tore off the black clothes on his body, and threw them all beside the old man's corpse.

Done all this, this masked man...

Strode out of the alley, face solemn, looked left and right with extremely vigilant eyes, grabbed a passerby, and said sternly: "Go to the Prefectural Yamen immediately, call people for me! There is a murder case!"

The passerby suddenly grabbed was about to flare up, but seeing this person's black uniform, stayed silent. Looked carefully at his face again, even more hurriedly said: "Ah... it's Head Constable Yin! You are..."

“Cut the crap. Murder case. Go quickly!” He pushed hard after speaking, that passerby dared not speak again, quickly trotted away.

And Yin Pingzhi waved away a few pedestrians preparing to turn into the alley mouth, guarding there with a gloomy face, raising his voice again: "Murder case. Idlers not allowed to enter. Stand three feet away!"

So a crime scene was protected by Head Constable Yin passing by accidentally like this. Before long, the officials from the prefecture arrived. This wasn't originally the jurisdiction of Liuhe Prefecture, but Yin Pingzhi discovered this matter, helping them a great deal. Therefore, after thanking him, they politely sent Yin Pingzhi away.

This murderer then carried such a Precious Scroll... grandly walked all the way along Changmen Street to the back street of the Prefectural Yamen.

The Yamun was a restricted area; the vicinity was always quiet. He looked at both ends of the back street, no one, only felt a trace of slight chill. So touched his own neck, reached out and knocked on the door three times gently.

The door opened. A servant boy peeked seeing it was him, opened the door a bit wider.

Yin Pingzhi slipped in, turned to close the door himself.

But actually... more than one "person" entered.

The old beggar's wandering soul, throat still bearing a trace of blood-red knife mark, also entered with him.

The moment he died...

This ghost stood up from the body. Just in that trance-like moment, this old man who had seen much of the world realized... he was dead.

He froze there, only remembering one thing after a while—

Immortal promised me Eternal Life!!

This strong obsession made his originally vague soul body instantly much clearer. Without thinking, pounced on Yin Pingzhi's body, clinging to him with hands and feet, riding on his back, digging into his bosom continuously—

Return my painting!! I wish for Eternal Life!!

But neither this ghost nor Yin Pingzhi nor any observant person would discover that in the small alley, there were actually two more.

“In my opinion, aiyah, that Li Yunxin, and that devil are actually of the same path. Both are Human Demons. Tsk tsk.” The White Yama King said with a sharp voice, gloating, "Wish for Eternal Life? Aiya, isn't this Eternal Life? Kekeke... He tied a Daoist bun for this old man, forming a karmic fruit... we can't take him anymore."

The Black Yama King thought coldly, repeated White Yama King's words in an agreeing tone: "Indeed a Human Demon. But this time... could it be he really casually generated some good intentions?"

Moved gaze to the old man's ghost again: "This person. Suffered a lifetime, counts as offsetting the killing sins of his ancestors butchering pigs. But now, also counts as extreme misfortune turning to bliss. Counts as compensation for saving five human lives back then. In the future... just depend on his fortune."

“Gone. That Celestial Emperor of the Li Kingdom dies in a quarter of an hour. Guide him.”

So this old beggar's ghost not hooked away... entangled on that Yin Pingzhi's body, followed him all the way into the Prefectural Yamen.

But once entering this Yamun, a majestic and solemn "Potence" pressed onto this ghost's body like Mount Tai!

In the eyes of cultivators, "Qi" and "Potence" were things that really existed.

For example, this Weicheng—inhabited by hundreds of thousands, Yang energy soaring to the sky. That Great Ghost wore a human skin bag, hiding in this Weicheng, even if the Ninth Prince had great magical power, it was hard to find it in this soaring Yang energy.

Since it was a human settlement, there were activities of birth, death, marriage, funeral, punishment, etc. There were also places like residences, merchant halls, mortuaries, Yamuns, etc.

Layouts differed, Qi mechanisms differed, thus achieving the "Qi" and "Potence" of a city. In the eyes of Feng Shui masters, a house was a life, and a big city is a giant beast with Qi flowing endlessly!

And inside this giant beast, inside this city's body, commanding and guiding the flow of various Qi mechanisms, was the core of a city's power, the place everyone feared—the government Yamun.

Once entering this Yamun, the soaring majestic solemn Qi pressed over like toppling mountains and overturning seas—how could the old beggar's ghost withstand this powerful power of Human Dao!

Immediately on Yin Pingzhi's back, his form became blurred and unstable by the impact, looking about to scatter.

But this ghost was not fated to die—an obsession remembered "Immortal gifting painting, promising Eternal Life" matter again... pounced toward that chest again. Already blurred form unstable, like a candle in the wind. Pouncing again at this time, actually rushed into that chest like a puff of smoke!

Then...

By the riverside in this "Lantern Festival Painting", appeared an old man's figure.