Inner Demons

Chapter 28: Great Hero Nanke

Li Yunxin thought for a moment, then said: "Oh."

Seeing his reaction, Yu Meng felt even happier.

Because! This person! Actually! Didn't! Immediately cling to him, fawn over him, or try to become sworn brothers and flatter him!

And he had already said that he was the current Dragon Head of the Great Qing Dynasty Escort Agency Guild!

Father was right after all, Yu Meng thought to himself. Traveling the martial world indeed brings you into contact with more interesting people, unlike those young masters and ladies in Weicheng – they were simply exasperating!

Thinking of this, he looked at Li Yunxin again, his heart filled with overflowing joy. Since the other treated him like a casual martial arts hero, he felt he should also show some martial spirit. He needed to... hmm... be more seasoned and mature.

So he rubbed his face, cleared his throat, and said with a solemn expression: "Hmm. So... I am Yu Meng, the current Dragon Head of the Great Qing Dynasty Escort Agency Guild, tasked by my father to travel the martial world and befriend heroes. While returning to Weicheng and passing through here, I smelled the Path-Guiding Incense."

"Vomit?"

"Oh? Ah, no no, returning to Wei – returning to Weicheng."

"Ah... please continue.""Hmm. Speaking of me smelling the Path-Guiding Incense. This Path-Guiding Incense was my very first concept after taking office. In the past, the escort agencies of the Great Qing Dynasty operated independently, with weak ties to each other. I thought that all escort agencies were essentially one family, and naturally had the obligation to help each other, so I had this Path-Guiding Incense created. When on an escort mission, you carry it with you, and if you encounter danger, you secretly sprinkle it – only those who have smelled another special scent can perceive this unique aroma, thus they can follow the scent –"

"Just now, when I passed by here, I smelled this scent. And seeing the three of you unconscious, I first went to investigate. Alas... it was a horrific sight!"

Li Yunxin frowned slightly. He hadn't had time to deal with the corpses strewn about, only waiting for a few days when no one was looking, for spring to arrive, for the bodies to decompose and rot, and then be devoured by forest birds and beasts, so no one could deduce what had happened that day.

But this Yu Meng actually followed the scent deep into the forest?

He must have seen all sorts of strange anomalies.

He was pondering whether he should do something when he saw Yu Meng pacing back and forth twice, clapping his hands, and sighing deeply: "Alas, I had thought of this long ago, but due to limited financial resources, I couldn't implement it! You see, although our Great Qing is prosperous, there are still many desolate places like this. Along the way, there might be fierce beasts like tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves. When they band together, their courage grows, and they will attack travelers."

He looked at Li Yunxin with pained indignation: "I have carefully examined those corpses. Alas, four or five heads were bitten off, and blood was everywhere! Some people seemed to have died from infighting, surely because they were too panicked and turned on each other! How pitiful, the four of you, an old man, a young one, a crippled one, and a woman, were actually left by them on the roadside, alas alas alas, this is simply..."

...This was simply an idiot.

Li Yunxin listened to him speak, dumbfounded, and after repeatedly confirming that this person wasn't trying to forcibly clean up his own mess, he asked: "Then... what do you think is the situation with that pile of burnt carts and goods by the roadside?"

"What wouldn't people do to save their lives?!" Yu Meng sighed again with profound indignation. "When they first encountered the attacks from those fierce beasts, they must have linked the escort carts end-to-end to form a circle to defend against their attacks. Then, when a stalemate occurred, they lit fires, hoping to scare them away with the flames! Later, the standoff lasted too long, so they had no choice but to painfully throw in the goods to make the fire burn longer. After that... the wild beasts finally broke through, people ran for their lives, the fire got out of control, and also ignited the large carts!"

"May I ask, from what inspiration did your entirely logical deduction derive?"

"Hehe. That's not difficult. I read a book called 'Record of Fierce Beasts,' and in it, the Great Hero Nanke traveled the martial world, solved cases and apprehended criminals, and had precisely such experiences!"

Li Yunxin took a deep breath, cupped his hands solemnly, and said earnestly: "Brother Yu, your insight is sharp, and your knowledge is extraordinary; I am impressed. The facts are indeed as you say. To tell you the truth, this escort agency is Qiao Family's Hongfu Escort Agency. That old man and I are merely travelers hitching a ride. A few days ago, we encountered a sudden attack by fierce beasts. Now, only the escort agency owner, Qiao Duanhong, whose fate is unknown, and his terrified young daughter, Qiao Jiaxin, remain. If we could get assistance from Brother Yu to help them return to Weicheng..."

"It's originally our Escort Agency Guild's business, leave it to me!" Yu Meng waved his hand, full of heroic spirit, and at the same time, was very satisfied with Li Yunxin as a friend –

He really doesn't know what being the "Escort Agency Guild Dragon Head" means, does he?

Nor does he know what kind of existence the Weicheng Yu Family is, does he?

This person... is interesting...

So, before reaching Weicheng, Li Yunxin repeatedly probed and finally realized that he had met one of those legendary people.

Those people who think, "Oh my god, this girl actually yells at me and is impolite to me, she's just so unique and attractive."

Yes, this Yu Meng has something wrong with his brain. Although not severely disabled, he is abnormal. Li Yunxin vaguely deduced that the "Yu Family" Yu Meng spoke of must be a super-wealthy household.

The Yu Family originally had nothing to do with escort agencies. But one day, the Old Master Yu went crazy, distributed silver to every escort agency in the Great Qing Dynasty, and finally integrated them all into an Escort Agency Guild. His son became the Guild Dragon Head, coming up with new and novel ways to play. But no one really took it seriously.

Anyway, the only thing the Escort Agency Guild did was – distribute money – every New Year and festival. Who wouldn't want to receive money from the Yu Family?

People said that Old Master Yu, having had a son late in life, had a mentally challenged son, and wanted to help him save face. Ultimately, it was just too much money, no heartache in spending it.

Old Daoist Liu, who had recovered, whispered this into his ear.

The three of them inexplicably falling unconscious was indeed not Yu Meng's fault. Li Yunxin only thought of his previous dream, vaguely feeling it might be related to the events in the dream, but he didn't have time to ponder it deeply.

Because the little Cat Demon... was not quite right.

This little Cat Demon was conscious but terrifyingly docile. She didn't speak, just leaned by Li Yunxin's side, wide-eyed, watching Yu Meng as if he were a monster. Li Yunxin, fearing her body would rot and stink, secretly checked her wound.

He found that the wound was an eerie white – soft and elastic, but like... rubber. It wasn't rotting, nor was it healing.

This should be a good thing, right?

But he also felt it was related to that dream.

In his dream, the two self-proclaimed Black and White Yama Kings... actually spoke of his past life. If it were merely a dream, it wouldn't be strange.

But now, thinking about their words before they hurriedly left, "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!" and then seeing the rotting body of Qiao Jiaxin...

Li Yunxin realized that perhaps he had truly encountered a "Yama King's Dream Vision."

He was, after all, a cultivator, and knew that in this world...

The Underworld, Senluo Hall, and the Black and White Yama Kings indeed existed.