Inner Demons

Chapter 27: Yu Meng

Old Daoist Liu only cared about the "Undergoing Tribulation" part from beginning to end, feeling both surprised and delighted. He felt that he might have met a Celestial or a high-ranking master from a major school – otherwise, how could he have scared away that demon?

His indifferent attitude towards life and death, not caring much about human lives, further affirmed his belief. Only those in Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect would practice such... supreme detachment!

Abandoning all seven emotions and six desires, achieving the realm of supreme detachment, then Transcending Tribulation and ascending, becoming a Supreme Celestial!

The old Daoist glanced at "Qiao Jiaxin," and then felt that this girl was very wrong. After all, it was still dark and his old eyes were blurry, so he couldn't see clearly. Otherwise, he might have seen that Qiao Jiaxin's belly was dripping blood. In fact, not much was oozing – her intestines were pierced and rotten, and after being tormented for so long, most of the blood in her body must have already drained away.

If nothing unexpected happened, in the next few days, this body would slowly decompose and rot like a normal corpse, until it could no longer maintain its complete form and collapsed.

This was also a problem Li Yunxin intended to solve.

Old Daoist Liu pondered for a while, agreed with mumbles, and then tried to subtly probe Li Yunxin. But Li Yunxin was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't pay much attention to him.

It wasn't until a sliver of dawn was about to appear on the horizon, and Old Daoist Liu started yawning continuously, that Li Yunxin saw two figures walking from afar on the other side of the road.

One in white, one in black. They seemed to be carrying brass bells and chains, making a clanging sound as they walked.

As they got closer, Li Yunxin could see clearly. The white-robed person held a brass bell, the size of a fist. The black-robed person held an iron chain that hung down to their feet.Both wore tall, black and white hats, and their faces were bloodless. However, their eyes were long and narrow, surprisingly alluring, making it impossible to distinguish their gender.

He saw characters on their hats, so he squinted slightly to read them.

He found that the white hat read: "Whence came the heart-eating demon?"

The black hat read: "Where goes the soul reborn in a second life?"

When Li Yunxin saw these two lines, his heart jolted, as if a thunderclap had exploded in his ear.

These two sentences seemed to be imprinted in his heart, speaking his innermost thoughts. He looked left and right, and found that Old Daoist Liu, Qiao Duanhong, and Qiao Jiaxin were all gone; only he himself sat alone by the roadside.

He stood up, frowning tightly: "Who are you two?"

The two black and white figures stopped beside him, glancing sideways at him. The white-robed person then said: "Hmm? This person is quite strange. Is he on the Book of Life and Death?"

The black-robed person pulled out a thin booklet from their sleeve, flipped through it, and said: "No, he's not. This person seems to have slipped through. You ask him his birth characters and who he was in his past life, and I'll add him."

The white-robed person then turned and shook the bell, asking: "Who were you in your past life? What are your birth characters? Tell me everything."

Li Yunxin frowned, shaking his head: "Who are you? How do you know about me?"

The white-robed person grinned: "This fool. Among mortals, besides Masters who have escaped reincarnation, is there anyone that we, the Black and White Yama Kings, do not know? Since you won't say, don't blame me, the White Yama King, for making you suffer."

With that, he raised a hand, and his hand plunged directly into Li Yunxin's chest.

Li Yunxin was greatly alarmed and quickly retreated a few steps, covering his chest, only to find not a single mark.

He then saw that the white-robed person's hand was empty, holding only a ball of light, and he widened his eyes slightly in surprise, saying: "Hmm? In his past life, he was actually without a heart?"

He stared at the light ball again, his expression subtly changing: "Hmm? And a human-eating Human Demon at that."

Each time he spoke, the ball of light faded slightly. When only a tiny, bean-sized glimmer remained on his fingertips, the White Yama King's hand trembled, and he abruptly flicked the glimmer away, screaming: "Oh no! This person!"

The Black Yama King glared at him in dissatisfaction: "Why are you so flustered?"

The White Yama King shouted: "Do you remember that demon two thousand years ago?! The one who fought his way to Senluo Hall?! This person is of the same kind as him! Not within the Six Paths of Reincarnation!"

The Black Yama King was startled, the iron chain in his hand clanging as he trembled, pulling the White Yama King back a step to scrutinize Li Yunxin, and also said: "Then... then... did that woman go and take it?"

The White Yama King tugged at his sleeve and walked away: "Take what?! Don't let him unleash his ferocity! Let's go, let's go! From now on, don't take the souls of anyone involved with him! To avoid causing trouble again!"

Li Yunxin felt annoyed listening to their conversation, so he reached out to stop them: "Who exactly are you?!"

With that shout, he woke up.

In front of him, a young man with a round face was staring at him with interest, holding his hand.

Li Yunxin also stared back at him for a while, then quickly pulled his hand back, frowning: "What are you doing?!"

The sky was already bright, with the sun shining brightly. On the road, there was one person, one horse, and one cart.

The round-faced man who held his hand now straightened up and gently reassured him: "Don't panic, don't panic. It's alright now. I am Yu Meng, little brother, don't be afraid."

Yu Meng had a pair of large, watery eyes.

He smiled slightly, stepped back, and said: "Little brother probably had a nightmare just now, asking 'who exactly are you?' and reaching out in your dream. I naturally took your hand. Don't misunderstand."

Only then did Li Yunxin realize he was half-lying on the grass. Old Daoist Liu and Qiao Jiaxin were already on the large cart. Old Daoist Liu was probably too sleepy to bear it, turned his back to him and was sleeping. "Qiao Jiaxin" was facing him, but she just stared at him with wide eyes, not saying a word.

This was unusual. Li Yunxin had previously instructed the Cat Demon to speak less, not to let others touch her body, and just to act as Qiao Jiaxin, but he never thought she would actually be so docile now.

And he himself had actually fallen asleep. This was even more unbelievable.

"Who are you, sir?" Li Yunxin stood up, sizing up Yu Meng. Aside from his eyes, this person seemed to have no other distinguishing features. He wore common coarse cloth travel clothes, with a jacket over them. On his head was a bamboo-woven straw hat, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the hat, dappling his forehead.

He was unusually fair-skinned. But his overall demeanor was quite gentle; if he appeared in a market street, wearing a silk robe and waving a folding fan, he would fit in perfectly.

But appearing here, it felt a little strange.

Because his temperament was more like that of a rich young master or a scholar, not someone who roamed the martial world. Li Yunxin was quite confident in his ability to judge people, but this one... he felt he couldn't see through him. This person's temperament was too peculiar.

Yu Meng cupped his hands, gently saying: "Oh. I am Yu Meng."

Li Yunxin frowned: "I know your name is Yu Meng. I mean, what is your... background?"

He felt that his rare sleep in the dangerous wilderness was probably due to someone manipulating him. This person, currently, was highly suspicious.

Yu Meng was startled, blinking. Then he slowly raised his hand, pointing to himself: "Me? I'm Yu Meng? You actually don't know me?"

"You're simply a lunatic with severe second-hand embarrassment syndrome," Li Yunxin thought, narrowing his eyes: "Why should I know you?"

Yu Meng blinked again: "Hmm? You really don't know me?!"

Li Yunxin carefully watched his expression. But he couldn't find any flaws – this person's surprise was perfectly controlled; truly, his acting skill was refined.

A strange smile appeared on Yu Meng's face. This smile almost made Li Yunxin stab his sword into his chest. But before taking action, Li Yunxin suddenly realized something – perhaps it wasn't because the other party was too complex or too well-concealed for him to see through. Perhaps it was because this person... he was simply extremely naive.

To an abnormal degree.

Indeed. Yu Meng rubbed his hands: "I am Yu Meng, the current Dragon Head of the Great Qing Dynasty Escort Agency Guild."