Inner Demons

Chapter 130: Judge of the Mortal World

It was just after nightfall.

There was a gentle breeze and moisture in the air, and the smell in the woods was pleasant—naturally, only for Li Yunxin.

Many of the tastes and smells he had liked before had not changed, but now there were more. For example, he found the sweet, metallic smell of the blood flowing from the Taoist priest's body to be very nice. Mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees, it created a comforting and comfortable feeling.

Looking into the distance, he could vaguely see the scattered lights of Bailuzhou—he didn't know if those three had swum back yet. But soon, a night fog began to rise. The lights of Bailuzhou disappeared into the fog, and Junshan became faintly visible in the mist, with a weak light at its peak—that must be the rear hall of the "Purple Micro Palace."

The moonlight was bright, and the scene before him was beautiful and tranquil.

It was hard to imagine that within such a beautiful scene, several great demons who delighted in eating human flesh were lurking.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Li Yunxin withdrew his gaze.

The person he was looking for had arrived.

He glanced at the "person" two steps away from him and let out a surprised "yi." "Why is it you who came? Is this guy a good person?"

White Yama King walked a few steps in front of him without making a sound. He looked at Li Yunxin for a while, clapped his hands, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Good, wonderful! This method, it really works!"Li Yunxin thought for a moment. "If I'm not mistaken, you mean—"

"You've finally succeeded." White Yama King changed the subject without a care, showing not a hint of apology. "You've captured this Taoist priest's soul, are you waiting for me?"

Li Yunxin stared at him expressionlessly for a while, not speaking.

He was probably the first person in this world to ignore a question from White Yama King—after a few awkward moments of stalemate, White Yama King waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. I happen to have business with you, so I won't hold it against you. Tell me, what do you need from me?"

Li Yunxin still didn't speak, just stared at him.

White Yama King got a little angry. "You really don't know what's good for you! What more do you want? If you don't speak, I'm leaving—you can have this Taoist priest's soul to play with!"

Li Yunxin laughed. "Look at you. A dignified Yama King, acting like a child. I was just admiring your tongue, I wasn't not speaking. Well then, don't be angry, don't be angry, do me a favor, will you? I want to know something from this Taoist priest, but I'm too lazy to torture him—if you would be so kind as to lend a hand."

White Yama King looked at Li Yunxin, pretending to point at his forehead from a distance. After pointing three or four times, he said, "You little brat, now that you've possessed the Dragon's Son's body, you dare to make fun of me!"

Li Yunxin spread his hands. "We're already sworn friends. No need for formalities among family."

White Yama King shook his head. "Hmph, only women and petty men are hard to deal with. You two!"

After this remark, he hesitated for a moment, then walked over to Cong Yunzi's soul. When the soul saw the Yama King, it seemed to know its time was up and stopped making noise.

This White Yama King reached out and tapped him on the forehead. "What do you want to ask?"

Li Yunxin thought for a moment. "To be honest, I want to know everything in his head."

White Yama King gave him a disdainful look. "You certainly have grand ideas!"

"Then... what happened after I died."

White Yama King seemed surprised again at how much he had suddenly lowered his standards, but he didn't say anything. Just like when Li Yunxin first saw him in a dream, he reached his hand into the Taoist priest's soul's chest and took out a ball of green light.

Then he threw the green light at Li Yunxin, and it merged into his body.

After waiting a breath, he asked, "Are you satisfied?"

Li Yunxin's expression changed. After a while, he let out a long breath. "Thanks."

"Then let's talk about my business," White Yama King said, pulling out an iron chain from his sleeve and locking up the Taoist priest's soul as he spoke. "Do you know how I take the souls of many people in this world?"

But Li Yunxin seemed to have other things on his mind. He just replied casually, "Oh, I don't know. Tell me?"

White Yama King didn't mind and just said, "There are some important figures who can influence the general trend of the world—for example, the emperor of the Li Kingdom. I have to go and take him personally."

"The Li Kingdom is vast and populous. If the emperor of the Li Kingdom dies, and the news spreads too quickly and I'm late in taking him, his soul will be empowered by the faith of hundreds of millions of people and can instantly become a Ghost King of unrivaled power—this is what it means to influence the great trend of the world."

"By the same token, I have to personally attend to the emperors and nobles of all nations. Although I can create thousands of incarnations, there is a limit. And my incarnations are of two types—one is like the one today, which can talk with you and react to situations, just like my true self. The other... can only reap souls, it's just a puppet—for those common people who are of no importance, it's those incarnations that go and take them."

Hearing this, Li Yunxin's interest was indeed piqued.

"Then that night in Weicheng, the first time I met you outside the city... why did you come personally?"

"Just listen quietly to what I have to say, why do you have so many questions?" White Yama King rolled his eyes at him again—Li Yunxin knew that his question had once again touched upon a critical point that he was unwilling to answer...

Or it had embarrassed this White Yama King again.

"There are also some people who have some influence, but are not so important—it's not worth my main incarnation's energy to take them, but using a puppet incarnation can easily lead to problems... so someone is needed to do it for me. This person is the Judge of the Mortal World."

White Yama King pointed at Li Yunxin. "For example, you. You are a great demon of this Wei River area, you have gained intelligence, you understand some things, and you have demonic arts to hide your tracks, so you can be this Judge of the Mortal World."

After saying this, he paused for a moment, as if waiting for Li Yunxin's reaction.

And indeed, he saw that this Li Yunxin was neither excited nor happy. On the contrary, he seemed to be afraid of causing trouble for him, frowning slightly in thought for a moment before saying, "Why not find a human to do it? For example, a Taoist priest? You could also teach them some spells. A demon, after all, is a demon."

"A human? For this kind of work, humans are no match for demons." White Yama King sneered. "Do you think I haven't tried humans? But humans are the most prone to favoritism and abuse of power for personal gain, and in the end, they make a mess of the world."

"You talk about demons. Although demons are cruel and cold, once they gain intelligence and are properly trained, they are ultimately better to use than humans. To them, humans are no different from pigs and dogs—they wouldn't get involved in the kind of filthy business that humans do. And they don't have a bunch of relatives—"

Li Yunxin frowned. "I don't like what you're saying. How are humans pigs and dogs? Don't demons also want to take human form? Besides, this Dragon King used to be human too, how can you be at ease with me?"

"Demons take human form because the meridians of the human form are the easiest for casting spells. But apart from those cultivators, ordinary people die with a touch, and a small hole in their body can kill them. How do you think demons view them? You say demons like to eat people, let me ask you, in your Qing Kingdom, which beast is the easiest to find and hunt? Isn't it humans? They can't dig holes, nor do they like to dive. As for you—"

White Yama King suddenly burst into a high-pitched laugh, pointing at Li Yunxin as if he found it extremely funny. "A sinister, cunning, heartless, and disloyal person like you, how could I not be at ease?"

Hearing his words, Li Yunxin stared for a moment, seeming to want to say something but was truly at a loss for words. He watched White Yama King laugh for a short while, then suddenly laughed himself.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Fine, fine. Please continue."

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