Inner Demons

Chapter 123: Meeting an Old Acquaintance

When they reached the ferry dock, a small boat was already waiting.

A man wearing a water-resistant suit (Note 1) and a bamboo hat stood at the bow. He held neither oar nor pole and did not speak. Seeing the four of them arrive, he looked up, glanced at them, and pointed at Li Yunxin, as if asking, "Why is there one more person?"

This man's complexion seemed very poor, his face was bluish as if he had a serious illness. His face was long and thin, with sharp angles, giving him a somewhat familiar look.

Manager Ding smiled and cupped his hands towards him, saying, "On the road, we happened to meet a fascinating person with some strange stories. We wanted to introduce him to your Taoist Priest."

The man asked no more questions and moved aside from the bow.

The three men boarded the boat with practiced ease, causing the small boat to sink slightly and create a ripple on the water's surface.

Li Yunxin looked at the small boat, then at the vast Dongting Lake, hesitated for a moment, and then boarded as well.

Then, with a splash, the man jumped into the water. He submerged himself completely, his body arching and his legs kicking rapidly—he was actually swimming in the water, pushing the boat forward.

Manager Ding laughed, "This young fellow has a strange temper and isn't very talkative... Uh, what should we call our esteemed guest?"

"Oh. I am Li Xunhuan."As the boat sailed on Dongting, the sun gradually tilted westward. The white-hot sunlight became soft and golden, and the sparkling waves on the lake's surface truly resembled fish scales. This was the first time Li Yunxin had seen such clear water. When they were not far from the shore, he could even see the aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake. But as the boat gradually moved into deeper water, it became a single piece of deep, profound jade.

In the distance, Junshan was visible.

Junshan was actually an island with a solitary peak. From here, the island was covered in lush green vegetation, and a beautiful, towering mountain peak rose from the island, shrouded in clouds and mist—a true marvel of nature.

It seemed it would still be quite some time before they reached Junshan. So, Li Yunxin started chatting with the three men.

He had already understood most of the situation from listening to their conversation in the teahouse earlier.

It was said that on this Junshan, there lived a reclusive Taoist Priest Li.

This Taoist Priest Li was a remarkable man. Perhaps he was the descendant of some wealthy merchant who had seen through the mortal world, bringing his wealth to Junshan to build a "Purple Micro Palace."

This Purple Micro Palace was built against the mountain and was divided into a front, middle, and rear hall.

The front hall was built at the foot of the mountain. The middle hall was on the mountainside, and the rear hall was amidst the clouds at the summit. The three halls were connected by wooden plank roads, which were suspended in mid-air. According to Manager Ding, he had once walked along that plank road to the middle hall. "Standing amidst the clouds on the mountainside, with nothing but air beneath my feet, surrounded by lush green grass and trees, with the vast misty waves in the distance, I felt as if I were in a celestial paradise."

As for this Taoist Priest Li, on the last day of every month, he would invite local scholars and elegant gentlemen to the Purple Micro Palace.

He had only one hobby—listening to stories. He would invite people to the front hall and serve them snacks and tea, asking them to tell stories. If he heard a novel and interesting story, he would ask that person to name three more friends to go to the middle hall together.

According to Manager Ding, in that middle hall, there were "delicacies that could make you swallow your tongue, and other wonderful things."

Knowing all this, and with his own schemes and purpose, Li Yunxin began to guide the three men in conversation.

He instinctively felt that this Taoist Priest Li might have some connection with the Lord of Dongting.

Such a strange person, putting on such a grand display on Junshan, how could he not be related to that Lord of Dongting?

Perhaps this was a breakthrough.

The four of them chatted idly. As they gradually became more familiar, the other two who had been quiet also became animated. The tall, thin man with a dark face was called Official Zhao, and the round, chubby white one was called Member Sun.

Li Yunxin held onto the boat's gunwale firmly to keep his seat and asked, "Is there any story behind the name of this Junshan?"

Member Sun casually replied, "Ah, because of the Lord of Dongting, of course!"

"I've been hearing people in town talk about the Lord of Dongting these past few days. So that's the origin?" Li Yunxin's heart skipped a beat, but he still asked with great interest, "Brother Sun, do you know the story behind it?"

Member Sun hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not afraid to look foolish in front of our esteemed guest. This is a family story that I usually don't tell. But today, I feel a connection with our guest..."

Manager Ding and Official Zhao also showed surprise, saying, "Old Sun, we've never heard you talk about this before. What story do you have?"

Member Sun gave a bitter smile. "Hah, it's nothing extraordinary. Just something I heard—when I was a child, my elders told me that originally, this Wei River and Dongting had no Dragon King. We are now in the Great Qing Dynasty. If you go back two or three thousand years, which dynasty was it? Heh, it was no dynasty! Back then, this place was called the Hundred Kingdoms of the Southern Marshes!"

"Then, a divine being appeared in Dongting Lake, called the Lord of Dongting. He helped the ruler of the Wei Kingdom at that time to pacify the Southern Marshes, and slowly, the territory of the Great Qing Dynasty as we know it today came to be. It is said that the Lord of Dongting lived on Junshan back then—the mountain was named after him. But now, after so many years, our Wei River has a Dragon King, so who remembers the Lord of Dongting! If you go home and ask your elders, they might know about this too."

Hearing his words, Manager Ding frowned in thought. Then he slapped his hand. "Of course, I do have an impression of it! I was wondering why the name sounded so familiar!"

"Didn't they say the Dragon King made a divine appearance in Weicheng a few days ago?" Official Zhao blinked. "Could it be that the Dragon King moved elsewhere... and that Lord of Dongting has emerged again? What did that kid surnamed Du say? The Lord of Dongting wants to repay a kindness?"

Member Sun quickly said, "Pah, pah, pah! Don't speak ill of the Dragon King on this Dongting Lake!"

Official Zhao slapped his own head. "Right. Oh dear, Dragon King, please don't be offended, I, Old Zhao, didn't mean it..."

Little did they know that the Wei River's Dragon King Li was sitting right beside them at this moment.

Hearing these words, Li Yunxin knew that this trip would surely be very fruitful. Junshan was named after the Lord of Dongting, and that Taoist Priest Li had built a Purple Micro Palace on Junshan; there must be a connection.

But he didn't think it was any "coincidence." In his view, apart from extremely rare and isolated incidents, all "coincidences" and "accidents" must have a reason. For example, "it just so happened that Member Sun on this boat knew the story of Junshan"—it was also because he had been lingering in Bailuzhou for many days and had specifically chosen these three who were most likely to know some secrets.

This wasn't a coincidence. If he were currently walking in the capital of the Li Kingdom and this Member Sun just happened to cling to him to tell him the story of Junshan, that would be a "coincidence."

After some more idle talk, the boat arrived at the Junshan dock.

From a distance, they saw a young servant waiting at the dock. When the boat docked, this fair and soft-looking servant didn't speak, but just smiled, bowed, and led the four of them forward.

The three men were not surprised, but Li Yunxin gave him a few extra glances and then smiled faintly.

Ahead of the dock was a small stone-paved path that followed a white sandy beach and led into the distant woods. In the woods, a stone memorial archway stood tall. On it were sculpted two leaping stone fish, with stone lions guarding both sides. On the archway were three large ancient seal script characters—Purple Micro Palace.

Li Yunxin looked at the gate from afar and let out a soft "yi," knowing that tonight... would probably be interesting.

The sun was about to set, and its light elongated the shadows of the few people already waiting in front of the gate, casting them onto the stone slabs.

Among them was a man with an anxious expression, whom Li Yunxin recognized.

Cong Yunzi, the Illusory Realm cultivator from the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect's Weicheng station.

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Note 1: Water-resistant suit (shuǐ kào), an ancient one-piece diving suit made from materials like sharkskin. It was smooth on the surface and provided warmth.

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