Inner Demons

Chapter 141: Old and Calculating

The beggar said this with a laugh and immediately dashed off in the direction where the cloud of mist had landed.

But although Weicheng could not compare to the cities of later generations with populations in the millions, it was still a famous city praised by the people of this era. Though the beggar's legs were like the wind, it only took him half an hour to arrive. However, apart from a crowd of dumbfounded and terrified people, he found nothing.

People said that a person had indeed landed here earlier, an incredibly handsome person—how could a demon be so good-looking? It must be a deity who came to Weicheng to eliminate demons.

Others said that the person's attire and dress looked familiar... surprisingly similar to the Taoist priest who had been walking around Weicheng for a while. It was said that this Taoist priest later caused the miraculous event of "a river full of sour soup."

Once this was said, some people exclaimed things like, "I do remember that."

This news spread quickly and was heard by the beggar.

He had originally just wanted to find a stupid demon to kill and take its skin, but now, hearing these things, he calmed down and frowned.

Because he still remembered why he and Yue Yunzi had come to this Weicheng.

After pondering for a while, the beggar slowly walked away, heading back to the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect's residence along the road.

Naturally, an undiscerning servant boy didn't recognize him and blocked his path—with a wave of his hand, he killed him.Yue Yunzi was sitting upright on the couch, looking at the sky and clouds outside the window. Seeing the little beggar enter, he only gave a slight, bitter smile. "You've ruined another body."

The beggar snorted. "That Qiu'er was useless despite his looks. His voice broke after just a few words, which was quite a hassle for me. I originally saw a stupid demon and wanted to switch to his body, but then I found that things were a bit strange!"

Yue Yunzi much preferred his current state—rational and calm, rather than flying into a rage.

So he praised him sincerely, "Oh? I knew that when you said you were going out to play, it wouldn't be that simple. You've truly reaped a great harvest. What exactly happened?"

The beggar was even happier to be praised by him. He squinted and smiled. With a leap, he sat on the table in front of Yue Yunzi. With his left hand, he pushed aside the messy hair falling in front of his face, and with his right, he grabbed a dried fruit from the table and popped it into his mouth. He mumbled as he ate, recounting everything he had seen and heard.

Yue Yunzi listened attentively, then closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. He let out a soft breath. "He is indeed a difficult one to deal with."

"Who? That stupid demon?"

"Heh... that demon is indeed stupid." Yue Yunzi thought for another moment before saying, "That Bai Yunxin comes to the Daoist Orthodoxy to cause trouble every few decades—all for that Feather Robe of hers. So I know a little about her. She has a maidservant by her side, whose original form is still unknown, but she is quite capable."

"You said that demon scared people on the street today and claimed to be a member of the Divine Dragon Cult. Hmm, his style of doing things is indeed demonic. But this matter... doesn't seem like a demon's true intention."

The beggar frowned, "Tsk, what are you thinking about again? All those countless schemes? Conspiracies? Ai ya... you really think too much!"

Yue Yunzi smiled faintly. "Have I ever miscalculated?"

The beggar pouted but couldn't find words to refute, so he continued to eat his fruit.

"This is a scheme within a scheme." Yue Yunzi let out a long breath. "Those with simple minds will only see the first layer—that the demon belongs to the Divine Dragon Cult, so the Divine Dragon Cult is full of bad people and should be avoided."

"Those with slightly deeper minds will notice something unusual. For example, although the demon seems to act on a whim, he makes it a point for people to remember he's from the Divine Dragon Cult—this is too deliberate. It's clear he did it on purpose. He deliberately acted fierce and vicious to make people fear the Divine Dragon Cult. So... he is actually an opponent of the so-called Divine Dragon Cult, trying to harm it."

The beggar thought for a moment and slapped the table. "Hey? What you said makes sense!"

Yue Yunzi stroked his beard and smiled, then shook his head. "But... this is only the second layer. The flaw in the second layer is sold too obviously—that person intentionally wants us to think of the second layer. People, ah, once they feel 'Ah, there's a deeper meaning to this matter,' they become complacent and self-satisfied, and won't think any deeper."

"In reality... that person should truly be a member of the Divine Dragon Cult."

The beggar thought for a moment and frowned. "Then why go to all this trouble? Since he's really a member of the Divine Dragon Cult, why pretend to be a member of the Divine Dragon Cult?"

Yue Yunzi smiled. "That person wants us to think he is an enemy of the Divine Dragon Cult—he must have learned of your whereabouts. Then perhaps we will become interested in him, wanting to see who is standing on the same side as us. And then... he can use the opportunity to get in touch with you and me, and get some information from us."

"The reason he put on a show was to make it more convincing. When you tell him about the second layer, he will surely play dumb and say, 'Oh my, you saw right through me.' This way, he can gain our trust even more."

After saying this, Yue Yunzi fell silent for a moment. "You said that person revealed a mouth full of steel teeth on the street and repeatedly said he wanted to eat people. And he can fly... Then, it's probably Bai Yunxin's little maidservant."

"These past few days, I've had people inquire around the city. I learned that on that night, more than one person saw a demon in the ruins of the Dragon King Temple who looked strikingly similar to Li Yunxin—with one palm, he smashed Li Yunxin's corpse to pieces, leaving no trace."

"Looking at it now, that demon is this demon. I previously deduced that the Divine Dragon Cult is connected to the Lord of Dongting and Bai Yunxin. Now... the demon you saw is likely Bai Yunxin's little maidservant. A great demon capable of soaring on the clouds—how could there be an unknown one? Only that one."

Hearing all this, the beggar felt dizzy. He impatiently threw the dried fruit in his hand to the ground. "Speak more clearly, what's going on?"

"To put it simply, it's very likely that Bai Yunxin put on this show to mislead us. To make us think she is hostile to the Divine Dragon Cult—then use the opportunity to gain our trust... and provoke a conflict between us and the Lord of Dongting." At this point, Yue Yunzi shook his head slightly. "But according to you, you casually killed that Great Ghost from the sect, and half an hour later, that person arrived. As soon as he arrived, he put on such a good show... it was completely on the spur of the moment. Such quick wit, though not up to my level, can already be described as old and calculating."

"Heh, since that's the case, we'll play along with her for a bit. She wants to probe our strengths and weaknesses, so you pretend to be deceived and tell her what she wants to hear. A person like that will surely sell you some flaws deliberately—from which I can learn their inside story. In the end... hehehe, I'll make them regret it—to play such tricks with me! They truly don't know the meaning of death!"

The beggar's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Good, good, I'm happy to do this. But when it's done—"

"You can have that demon's body to wear."

The beggar laughed loudly and ran out like a gust of wind.

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