Inner Demons

Chapter 160: Divine Dao Share Comments

Lady Hong stared into the distance for a good while with the eyes of an ordinary girl from the mortal world looking at an ordinary, gentle, beautiful scene. Then she turned her head and smiled sweetly. “But my dear Li was once a human, so you probably don't like it.”

Li Yunxin smiled. “I don't.”

“But I brought my dear Li here to see another person.” After Lady Hong said this, she pushed off the white jade boat's edge with both arms. Her whole body floated up lightly, straight into Li Yunxin's arms.

At this time, Li Yunxin's hands were gripping the side of the boat, as if he were about to embrace her. Lady Hong came straight into his arms but did nothing more. She just gently extended her jade-like arms, one around Li Yunxin's back and the other on his chest. Then she gently pressed her beautiful head against his heart and said softly, “I brought my dear Li to see… that Liu Ling.”

Lady Hong was like a cat, curled up obediently in his arms. Li Yunxin was only slightly stunned for a moment, silent for a moment.

He knew that two days ago, this Lady Hong had claimed to be married and rejected him because of her obsession. What she was doing now was also because of her obsession.

Clinging to this one thought… how many troubles could arise from it?

And she—was taking him to see Liu Ling.

Li Yunxin finally let out a long sigh in his heart.

The first time he saw Cong Yunzi on Jun Mountain, he saw his panicked expression and knew something major had happened—Liu Ling's remains were at the Shangqing Elixir Cauldron Sect's residence in Weicheng. Instead of guarding them properly and waiting for people from Langya Grotto-Heaven to arrive, he had run to this Jun Mountain where something major had happened…What other major thing could it be?

Later, when he first met Lady Hong and heard that the concubine her Lord Father had taken was a trouble, and “now the Daoist priests in Weicheng won't be willing to leave”—he already had a vague deduction.

And at this moment, that deduction was finally confirmed.

Lady Hong, in his arms, gently rubbed her cheek against his body, closed her eyes, and greedily inhaled Li Yunxin's scent.

Then she raised her hand and pointed into the distance. “Look in that crowd, the one standing.”

Li Yunxin immediately looked over.

He couldn't see clearly before, firstly because his mind was shaken by the scene, and secondly, because the clouds and mist rising from the seven orifices of those human sacrifices had obscured that figure.

A figure in white.

That was…

Langya Grotto-Heaven's Head Disciple of the Sect Master… Lingkongzi.

Li Yunxin let out a low sigh.

Lady Hong hugged him tightly and patted the side of the boat. The white jade boat then slid forward smoothly and silently, in the blink of an eye, arriving a few steps away from that Lingkongzi.

Li Yunxin could see her clearly.

Lingkongzi… her face was unchanged, still stunningly beautiful. Even now, without makeup, with only the moonlight as a base, she still possessed a heart-stopping beauty.

She wore a simple white robe. On her left wrist hung a bell. In her right hand, she held a thin whip.

Their eyes met. Li Yunxin’s gaze was clear and calm, while that Lingkongzi, after a slight pause, slowly showed an expression of astonishment on her face.

Then she blinked and slowly turned around.

First, she raised her left hand with the Sound Bell and pointed at Li Yunxin. After a two-second pause, she finally uttered a muffled whisper from her mouth, “You… you’re not dead?”

—It was like, slow motion.

It was as if her actions were half a beat behind her thoughts, or like a malfunctioning mechanical puppet.

And Lady Hong, like a lazy woman just waking from a morning nap, slightly closed her eyes and rubbed her head against Li Yunxin's arms again before whispering, “This Liu Ling right now is between life and death. Her Snow Mountain Qi Sea has shattered, and her cultivation is gone. Normally, she should be dead, her soul separated from her body.”

“But she happens to have a treasure on her wrist, a Soul-Suppressing Sound Bell, which captured her soul. Right now, her soul is controlling that body from within the Sound Bell.”

“If my father hadn't discovered this treasure and attached it to her body… this Liu Ling would have become a Ghost Cultivator. But now… she's not even as nimble as a mortal from the secular world.”

Li Yunxin listened quietly to Lady Hong's words and said calmly, “So she was made to herd the clouds?”

“She was proud at first. But… she is a clever person after all. My father taking her as a concubine was also a whim, just to humiliate her. In fact, she can't withstand any torment now—she would really die.” Lady Hong lazily opened one eye and glanced at Liu Ling. “But I know what she is plotting. She is thinking that perhaps people from the Daoist Orthodoxy will come and rescue her.”

Li Yunxin grunted in acknowledgment. At this moment, Liu Ling had just managed to slowly open her mouth, as if to say a second sentence.

Li Yunxin looked at her and said, “Of course I’m not dead, and we still have a good score to settle. What did I say to you that day at Qionghua Tower—if you still remember, you should know that I’m a person who always repays his debts.”

“I will return it in double.”

Liu Ling blinked slowly and slowly lowered her hand.

If her memory was not damaged, she should remember that night at Qionghua Tower, Li Yunxin had deliberately shaken her mind, wanting to capture her heart. But she was arrogant and did not fully submit.

And now that Li Yunxin said it with such a grit-toothed tone, any clever person would know he was implicitly saying—“I will find a way to save you from this sea of suffering.”

Liu Ling was a clever person, and right now, she was a weak, slow, but still strong-willed clever person.

She naturally had many things she hadn't figured out, but that didn't stop her from recognizing a fact—at least for her at this moment, Li Yunxin was more reliable than anyone else in this Dongting.

Therefore, she slowly lowered her hand and glared at Li Yunxin. “The way of heaven… is manifest. When my Grotto-heaven… sends all its masters… you lot, you lot, you lot…”

It seemed that speaking so slowly was too awkward. This Liu Ling simply stopped talking and moving.

She just closed her eyes and stood there stiffly, her head slightly raised.

Li Yunxin breathed a sigh of relief. At least for now, he had not been exposed.

But whether to save this Liu Ling or not… would depend on how the situation changed.

Now that the situation in Weicheng and the Wei River was so turbulent and treacherous, her fate was no longer in anyone's hands.

However, at this moment, that Lady Hong suddenly slapped the side of the boat again, and the boat sped away, once again distancing itself from this “flock of sheep.”

Li Yunxin frowned slightly. “…Lady Hong, you’ve already shown her to me. What are you planning to do next—”

“Now you should know that this Lingkongzi is not dead.” Lady Hong interrupted him. “Then you should also know that if the Daoist Orthodoxy really comes looking, firstly, my Lord Father is not afraid of them, and secondly, he still has this Lingkongzi in his hands. Returning Lingkongzi to the Daoist Orthodoxy would be a merit for preserving a high disciple of the Grotto-heaven.”

Lady Hong paused, then caressed Li Yunxin’s chest. “You and that person… are truly different.”

“…This is the second time you've mentioned ‘that person.’ Are you referring to Du Sheng, or?”

“Young Master Nine, of course.” Lady Hong finally sat up, reluctantly leaving Li Yunxin, and looked up at him with her head slightly tilted. “You are so close to him, yet you are completely different.”

She reached out and traced Li Yunxin’s cheek with her ice-cold fingertips. “You speak gently, you smile gently, and you recite poetry beautifully. And you are so handsome; I have never seen anyone as handsome as you on White Heron Island. You are even more handsome than Young Master Nine.”

She smiled again. “Even knowing you are deceiving me, I still can’t help but admire you.”

Li Yunxin narrowed his eyes slightly. “Deceiving you?”

Lady Hong stood up, looked at Li Yunxin, and slowly retreated to the bow of the white jade boat.

The tenderness on her face gradually faded, and she just looked at him—as if she knew him, yet didn't.

“I used to hear from Du Sheng that there are many good women in the world, yet they prefer heartless men. At that time, I also wondered, why is that?”

“But later, I understood. That heartless man, though his heart is fickle and his promises are light, is gentle, considerate, and meticulous with every woman. So good… that even if one knows it’s only a moment’s happiness, one can't help but cherish it.”

“What do the women of this world love in a man? What they love is just this tenderness and sweetness. With this tenderness and sweetness… what does it matter if you become a moth drawn to a flame?”

Lady Hong sighed softly again.

“My Lord Father always wants to avenge Young Master Nine.”

“But he has been imprisoned for two thousand years and is no longer in a hurry. In his view, the Daoist Orthodoxy is a great mountain that cannot be easily moved. What’s the point of killing Lingkongzi or that Daoist priest in the city? The Daoist Orthodoxy will sooner or later exterminate all Yin Spirits in the world. There will be a chance for revenge sooner or later. If he wants to kill… he will kill Bai Yunxin first.”

“So my dear Li, your request for him to avenge Dragon Nine now… is wishful thinking. And if you want to be the Lord of the Wei River, or the Lord of Dongting… that is also wishful thinking.”

“My Lord Father is imprisoned in this Dongting, but in fact, he is also stationed in this Dongting. There is a great secret under this thousand-mile Dongting that none of you know. No matter what you do, my father will never leave this place.”

Her words made Li Yunxin’s brow furrow tighter and tighter.

Until he heard Lady Hong—

“So you thought Dongting and the Wei River, which used to be the waters under your ninth brother's jurisdiction, was a safe place—that's where you were wrong.”

“Now this place… has become the most dangerous place in the world.”

A string was plucked in Li Yunxin’s heart, emitting a clang. He realized where the problem was. This Lady Hong now seemed to think he was—

Yazi, who had been defeated in a struggle, was extremely weak, and had fled to this place!

He finally understood what that sentence “You and he are truly different” meant!

He also understood what she meant before when she asked if he wanted to be the “Lord of the Wei River”!

Although her deduction was wrong, but…

What a clever Lady Hong!

Li Yunxin’s expression changed drastically. He immediately sat up straight on the boat and looked at her solemnly. “You—you know?! How did you know?!”

Lady Hong looked up at him with her head slightly tilted and suddenly smiled. “I also love your majestic appearance now.”

“How I know this… hmm, it’s because you triggered the Nine Heavens Thunderflame. You killed that Daoist priest. But you didn’t know that I have eyes and ears in the city who saw you. My Lord Father and I also know about the events in the Li Kingdom, plus I brought you here to Dongting Lake… Under this lake water, there is a certain method to distinguish the dragon aura on you—it's the aura of a Dragon's Son, an aura that only a Dragon's Son possesses.”

“But this is also a secret of Dongting. It's not a reflection of your ignorance that you don't know.”

“But I didn't expect you to be so seriously injured.” Lady Hong slowly took a step forward, extending her hand towards Li Yunxin, and smiled. “Then my dear Li—”

Before she could finish, Li Yunxin instantly leaped up and shot off in the direction they had come from!!

His only miscalculation… was not expecting the so-called “method in Dongting Lake” that Lady Hong mentioned.

He had many ways to maneuver cleverly when the other party was ambiguous, and even to obtain information. However, once it was a great demon like the Lord of Dongting, who had “confirmed” his identity with some method he firmly believed in, then words would be of no use!

Damn it… he had ultimately underestimated this great demon who had occupied Dongting for three thousand years!

Just as he used his divine powers to flee, and Lady Hong pursued him closely on the white jade boat, the water of Dongting Lake suddenly turned black!

—In the night, it was already black, but at least with the moonlight, it was black like ink jade.

However, at this moment, the water surface became like a pool of thick ink—

There was a behemoth under the water!!

Li Yunxin didn't know if it was the Lord of Dongting, but he knew that fighting that great demon in Dongting Lake would give him little chance of winning. He immediately pushed his entire body's spiritual power, and in a single breath, he had escaped several miles, and the wooden pavilion by the edge of Dongting was visible!

However, just as he was about to land—the white jade boat that Lady Hong was riding was some kind of magic treasure, even faster than his flight—it caught up to him!

Lady Hong shouted at him in the howling wind, “You—”

How could Li Yunxin give her a chance to finish? He struck out with a single palm, hitting the Ghost Cultivator squarely in the chest.

He could, of course, try to fight and kill her, but that would slow him down. He also thought of seriously injuring her and sending her flying—her Lord Father doted on her and would surely halt his pursuit to help her, allowing him to get ashore and escape one zhang beyond Dongting!

With a dull thud, this Lady Hong was immediately sent flying back like a kite with a broken string.

And with the force of that blow, Li Yunxin, carried by wind and clouds, finally got one zhang beyond Dongting. He turned to look back.

But he saw a giant palm made of water suddenly form on the lake's surface, striking Lady Hong and sending her flying back again, and he heard a thunderous roar—

“You rebellious child!!”

Li Yunxin’s eyes widened, and then he froze on the spot.

That Lady Hong’s body slammed onto the ground at his feet with a thud—her clothes were torn, her hair disheveled. Dark golden blood seeped from her mouth and nose. When it dripped onto the ground, it was like a drop of water on a red-hot iron, sizzling and evaporating.

Li Yunxin’s… eyelashes trembled slightly.

After that blow, the giant palm made of water disintegrated, crashing back into the lake with a splash.

And the huge shadow under the water also disappeared.

He looked at that Dongting Lake, then at Lady Hong on the ground…

He subconsciously took a step back.

“You…” After a long time, he finally said, “You…”

He did not go to help her up, so that Lady Hong just lay quietly on the ground.

The night was as dark as ink, and the pine wind whispered softly.

A quarter of an hour passed like this. That Lady Hong finally stirred slightly. She first coughed a few times, then slowly pushed herself up from the ground. She raised her hand to wipe her mouth, then looked at Li Yunxin again.

Seeing his dazed, astonished, and hesitant expression now, she smiled. “My dear Li has such a cruel heart.”

“I was just trying to tell you, you should leave quickly… and never come back.”

“…And why is that?” Li Yunxin took another step back, clasping his hands behind his back tightly.

“And why did you bring me to the lake tonight?”

Lady Hong slowly stood up. She did not speak at first, but looked towards Dongting Lake behind her, squinting her eyes.

Then she slowly walked to the wooden pavilion a few steps away and sat down again on that railing. Looking at Li Yunxin, she said softly, “…Because I admire you.”

After saying this, it seemed she found it extremely amusing, and she laughed out loud, splattering a few drops of pale golden blood.

“My father wants to capture you. Although I don’t know what he plans to do after capturing you, I know it won’t be anything good.”

“So I… came to ask you—my dear Li, are you willing to return to Dongting with me?”

“You said yes.”

She looked at Li Yunxin, smiling as she spoke, like a young girl reminiscing about a sweet memory. “I also said my father might not immediately avenge you, but even so—my dear Li, are you willing to return to Dongting for me?”

“You said yes.”

She paused and was silent for a while.

“Although I knew you were just coaxing me, my heart was still happy.”

“And being with you on the boat for that little while… made me even happier.”

“Actually, it was also to… tell you those things, to make you be on your guard. It’s just that my Lord Father came too early. And my dear Li, you were too hasty.”

Li Yunxin pressed his lips tightly together, looking at her.

Lady Hong also looked at him. After a moment, she shook her head slightly. “I know you… don’t love me. But since you don’t love me, why did you flirt with me that day? A girl’s… heart is fragile, my dear Li. Not like your heart of stone.”

After saying this, she fell silent again.

Li Yunxin was also silent.

Finally, a fish leaped out of the water and fell back in.

Only then did Lady Hong stand up and slowly walk to the edge of Dongting.

“If you want to go elsewhere, then go. If you don’t go… since my father didn’t catch you this time, he probably won’t try again.”

“He once said… if you can accomplish something in Weicheng, for example, if you can really kill that Daoist priest, it would also be a way of venting his anger. At that time, it wouldn’t be too late to talk about other things properly.”

Lady Hong slowly stepped into the water, turned her head in the moonlight, and smiled at Li Yunxin. “I truly hope I can see that day too.”

Li Yunxin suddenly looked up, took a step forward, and asked, “‘Truly hope’—what does that mean? And why did you help me?”

Lady Hong smiled sadly. “My dear Li…”

“Some things… don’t involve that much scheming and cunning. In this world… there really is such a thing as simple affection—even if it’s just a momentary whim.”

“Ah.”

“You heartless man—”

“The west wind ages the waves of Dongting… in one night, Lord Xiang's hair grows white. Drunk, I don't know the sky is in the water, a boat full of clear dreams… presses upon the Milky Way.”

“You must have composed this poem for me.”

“Remember me.”

After she said this, she leaned back and fell straight into the water.

Dongting Lake immediately churned with murky waves and, in an instant, swallowed her.

Li Yunxin frowned as he watched all this, then he waited.

But this time… he waited for nothing.

He waited until dawn, when the morning light first appeared. He waited until it was dark again, and the bright moon rose in the west.

Then he looked around blankly and muttered to himself—

“What is this…”

“What kind of scheme?”