Inner Demons

Chapter 145: Warming a Pot of Wine Under the Moonlight

Inside the Weicheng residence of the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect, the candlelight flickered for half an hour. Only then did the beggar stop and fall silent. "And that is how it is."

Yue Yunzi looked at the beggar before him and sighed softly. "Old friend, you are still hiding things from me. We have known each other for so long, have done these things together, and at such a time, what is there that I cannot know?"

Normally, upon hearing such words, the beggar would get angry out of displeasure. Today, however, he smiled faintly and said to Yue Yunzi, "Since you and I are old friends, you should know that some things... sigh."

He thought seriously for a moment more, then said, "Alright, let me put it this way—after I leave here, I will return to that place and kill that demon. If he's lucky, he'll have a whole corpse, and maybe I can even wear it. If he's unlucky, there might not even be a speck of dust left. But no matter what, I must kill him. Do you know why?"

Yue Yunzi frowned. "According to what you just said, his demeanor, actions, and words indeed match that of the demon Bai Yunxin's maidservant. She is a rather important figure in our plan. Why do you insist on killing her?"

"Because he asked me the questions you want to know." The beggar looked at Yue Yunzi with a rare seriousness—this surprised the True Realm cultivator, who was used to him being as childish and capricious as a teenager. "You always like to ask me those questions, and you like to ask them in a roundabout way. But old friend, if I didn't truly like you and carefully skirt around those things, I would have had to kill you long ago, just like today."

"A name—even if you know a name, it is a taboo." The beggar stood up in the candlelight and closed his eyes to feel for a moment. "Mmm. She is still there. Trapped by me—she just asked me those questions, and I told her everything. Because I had already planned to kill her, she was like a dead person in my eyes at that time. Even if she knew, she would only know for half an hour."

"Heaven knows, the earth knows, you know, and I know—" Yue Yunzi frowned. "That... sect of yours, does it truly have such great power? Even the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect cannot protect you? You are a genius who has cultivated both Daoist Arts and swordsmanship, yet your sect forced you to abandon your physical form and become a ghost... such a great hatred, do you truly not hold it in your heart? We cultivate the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law for longevity, and now you..."

"Not so." The beggar interrupted him solemnly. "I do not hate. Old friend, I cultivate the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law, but not for longevity. We are only here to—save this world."

"Save it from what?" Yue Yunzi's brow never relaxed; he found the other's statement stubborn and ridiculous. "The world today is under the control of the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect. The world belongs to cultivators. What disaster could there be that requires your sect to save it in place of the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect?"The beggar was silent for a moment, then smiled meaningfully. "Old friend, do you think the world truly belongs to the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect? The Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect are composed of cultivators. And are these cultivators, really all cultivators of the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect?"

"Or let me ask this..."

"Thousands of years ago, even a Master could occasionally listen to the teachings of a Celestial Being and be passed down the true law. But now, besides the Two Saints who claim they can receive instruction, which other one, even a Profound Realm cultivator, can glimpse the secrets of heaven?"

"How can you believe such a saying—the five decays of Celestial Beings, the obstruction of ascension, the celestial realm no longer exists—this kind of talk is spread around every few thousand years." Yue Yunzi waved his hand in disdain. "Only ignorant, low-level cultivators would believe it. How could you believe it?"

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is..." The beggar sighed. "Forget it. If we talk any further, the relationship between us will be in danger. I should go take care of her."

The conversation between the two had ended like this more than once. Yue Yunzi felt regretful about it, but he was not in a hurry.

So he let him change the subject. "Since it's what you want to do, then go do it. I can think of some ways afterward to pin this on that old thing, the Lord of Dongting. It's just that you were already heavily injured in your battle with Li Chunfeng and his wife. And now you don't have a suitable body... Are you confident?"

Once the topic was no longer about the "Mutual Aid Society," the beggar immediately reverted to his true nature. He snorted contemptuously. "That demon? You cultivators with physical bodies can't see it clearly. But I, a wandering ghost, can see it just fine—that demon has the cultivation of the Manifestation Realm peak, but for some reason, she now only has the strength of the Illusory Realm—I suppose she was injured in the previous battle with the Dragon's Son and Liu Ling."

"She is a demon, a true demon." The beggar said disdainfully, "Demons don't cultivate Daoist Arts. Even if they have some innate abilities and spells, how can they be as profound as my Celestial Heart Orthodox Law?"

Yue Yunzi pondered for a moment. "But you don't know the demon's true form. There are always variables."

The beggar frowned. "Does that demon know my true form is a ghost? To deal with those things, once I discard this body, they think I've become a harmless ghost, not knowing that this ghost of mine is a Ghost Cultivator who also uses the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law! Besides, even though I'm heavily injured now, I still have the strength of the Manifestation Realm peak. Why would I fear her?"

In truth, Yue Yunzi wasn't really worried that the beggar would fail. Even if the beggar and the demon were both at the peak of the Manifestation Realm, the beggar, after all, knew the Celestial Heart Orthodox Law.

It was like two strong men fighting in a small box. One is completely naked, while the other is fully armed in a helmet and armor, holding a sturdy shield and an incomparably sharp sword—as long as he wasn't mentally deficient, victory was assured.

His repeated questioning was only to try and glimpse traces of the mysterious organization, the sect, behind the beggar from his answers.

But the other party had still not made a mistake.

So he sighed. "In that case, go ahead. Go and come back quickly... Don't make too much of a commotion, and don't play tricks on her just for fun—there are too many things to deal with, and it will be difficult for me to smooth things over afterward."

The beggar giggled and leaped out the door.

From the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect's Weicheng residence to the Wood South Residence branch where Li Yunxin was, it was about a half-hour walk.

The beggar really did walk. As he walked, he sized up the few pedestrians on the street, looking to see if there was a more suitable body.

The reason he wore this beggar's body was that the child was indeed a good seedling for cultivation—if someone had discovered him, led him to the path, and taught him Daoist Arts, he might have become a mid-stage Manifestation Realm cultivator before dying. Unfortunately, now that he was possessed by the beggar, his soul was gone, likely stolen away.

Although this body was good, it was only good in potential. When it came to fighting, it was still lacking. But the beggar looked all the way and couldn't find a more suitable one—at this time, most of the people out and about were petty thieves and criminals, their bodies long since hollowed out by wine and women.

So he walked all the way to the entrance of the street where the Wood South Residence was located.

There was actually a person on the street.

The beggar saw Li Yunxin, holding another jar of wine, dressed in white, drinking wildly under the moonlight.

Seeing the beggar arrive, he smiled with drunken eyes. "Wine under the moonlight—want some?"

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