Inner Demons

Chapter 31: The Bad Guy

Li Yunxin sighed and took a few more steps forward, then saw "Qiao Jiaxin."

This room must have been the proper Qiao Jiaxin's bedroom. But now the door was wide open, and the interior scene was fully visible.

He had already seen the people in the room when he sent Qiao Duanhong and "Qiao Jiaxin" back. A middle-aged woman wearing a dark green sleeveless jacket and a lake-blue women's shirt was probably Qiao Duanhong's main wife, Madam Qiao Wang. Another woman, wearing a one-foot hairpin inlaid with pearls, was likely Qiao Duanhong's concubine, Madam Qiao Liu.

At this moment, the two women were supporting each other, leaning against the door, their faces a mixture of worry and fear, looking at Qiao Jiaxin.

The other young man, Li Yunxin, was seeing for the first time. He wore a brown shirt, with thin eyebrows and eyes, a small mustache on his lips, and two thin, dry lips. According to Old Daoist Liu, he was Qiao Duanhong's cousin, Qiao Jiaming, who came to help when he heard something had happened.

He was said to be a good-for-nothing from the city, idle all day. He knew a bit of medicine, but was never proficient. He would often come to his uncle's house to freeload and ask for money, and was not well-liked. But this time, almost all the male members of the Qiao Family had been lost... he had become the pillar of the family.

Qiao Jiaming saw Li Yunxin and Old Daoist Liu, pointed at them, and shouted, "They're here! They're here!"

Li Yunxin ignored him and looked at "Qiao Jiaxin."

At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on the table in the center of the room, still in her blood-stained clothes. Her left hand rested on her lap, and her right hand was raised in mid-air, making an odd gesture, her eyes closed, swaying her head and body, full of demonic aura.

Li Yunxin let out a low cry: "Qiao Jiaxin!"The Cat Demon, hearing this familiar voice, shivered all over and quickly opened her eyes. When she saw it was Li Yunxin, she scrambled off the table. She seemed to want to hide under the table or in a corner, but then remembered Li Yunxin's instructions to her, "Be a good person when you're at the Qiao Family, otherwise I won't care about you," and became flustered.

She truly looked like a cat that had jumped onto the table, knocked over a teacup, and was caught red-handed by its owner.

Li Yunxin didn't know why this Cat Demon was so well-behaved on the road but reverted to her old ways now. He guessed it might be because the spirit realized she was at the Qiao Family and Li Yunxin was gone, and her simple mind thought no one was watching her.

Seeing the Qiao Family people treating her carefully, with good food and drink, she had let loose.

Now, seeing Li Yunxin, she naturally looked like a child who had done something wrong.

Li Yunxin's low cry had such an effect, astonishing all three people.

When they saw him take another step forward, and Qiao Jiaxin obediently bowed her head and huddled next to him, they were even more surprised. Who didn't know that the Qiao Family's eldest daughter was a sharp-tongued and spirited person? Only in front of her father, Qiao Duanhong, would she be so submissive.

Each of the three had their own thoughts. The two women couldn't speak—after all, their family was familiar with Old Daoist Liu. Living nearby, they would ask Old Daoist Liu to draw auspicious paintings during festivals, knowing he was a "master." Old Daoist Liu also said that this young man named Li Yunxin was his new disciple, so the two women's thoughts were a beat behind.

But Qiao Jiaming had no connection with Old Daoist Liu. Plus, seeing Li Yunxin's appearance—truly a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth. His heart became displeased.

He had been eyeing his cousin for more than a day, long thinking of one day becoming even closer and marrying her—the Qiao Family's main branch had no male heirs, so he would get both a beauty and wealth, wouldn't that be wonderful?

But now, this crazy, possibly possessed cousin was so close to Li Yunxin, and he, being a reckless person, immediately felt a surge of anger.

He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed Li Yunxin's arm from behind: "Kid!"

Li Yunxin turned his head, and Qiao Jiaming threw a punch at his face.

But it missed.

With Li Yunxin's skills, even with his Qi Sea sealed, he couldn't rival the sect master's direct disciple of the Lingxu Sword Sect, but dealing with ordinary people was like playing with children. Qiao Jiaming's fierce punch was in slow motion in his eyes. He slightly tilted his head with a cold face, and the opponent's fist brushed past his nose.

He then shifted his body, slightly using leverage to push, and Qiao Jiaming staggered and fell onto the table where the little Cat Demon had been sitting—his forehead hitting the corner of the table.

Tears immediately welled up from the pain.

Qiao Jiaming was so sore that he stomped his feet, covering his forehead while pointing at Li Yunxin and cursing, "You little bastard! Hooking up with my sister to do immoral things and then hitting people? Huh? You won't leave this Qiao Family gate today!"

Li Yunxin calmly tilted his head to look at him, ignoring him.

He turned to face the two Madams, spreading his hands: "What? Are you here to accuse me?"

The two Madams were stunned for a moment, then heard Qiao Jiaming shout again: "Auntie, Second Auntie, don't let this kid go! Look at my sister now, she's covered in blood, but there's nothing wrong with her body! Her head's not right either! What do you think could have happened, huh? Just now you wanted to change her clothes, did you hold her tightly and not let her take them off? And then she went crazy?"

"Two aunts, I'm telling you this is hysteria! She was traumatized! My sister now dares not take off her clothes! What kind of trauma do you think she suffered, huh? This little bastard stayed in the wilderness with my sister all night, who knows what they did? Now the whole of Weicheng knows about it, how will my sister get married in the future?"

"As her cousin, I don't dislike her, hmm, I really don't dislike her..." Qiao Jiaming repeated, continuing to shout, "But others wouldn't want her, ah! Look at my sister now—has she ever been like this with anyone else? Huh? Holding his clothes! Something happened! This is a family disgrace, Auntie!"

Li Yunxin then spread his hands to Old Daoist Liu again: "Master, what do you say we do?"

Sweat trickled down Old Daoist Liu's forehead. He hadn't expected Qiao Jiaming, that scoundrel, to pull such a stunt. He only knew that Li Yunxin had killed many people last night, and that he had a powerful background—possibly greater than all the Qiao Family members combined.

With a bitter face, he cupped his hands towards the two Madams: "I say, two Madams, we've been neighbors for so many years. You know my, Hunyuanzi's, character; I, old Daoist, don't steal, don't rob, don't swindle, and I don't do bad things."

He cupped his hands high: "My late master was a descendant of the Dongxuan Sect, and I, Hunyuanzi—"

Qiao Jiaming sat on the floor by the table and shouted, "What Dongxuan Sect, huh? If a master from the Dongxuan Sect heard that, they'd break your leg, old swindler!"

Even with Old Daoist Liu's good temper, he couldn't stand it anymore.

Because this old man might be greedy and spineless, but he took the matter of "late master" very seriously. No matter where, how could a disloyal and unfilial person get by?

Today, this scoundrel insulted his "late master"—with several servants watching—and he, "Hunyuanzi," was also a reputable Artificer in Weicheng. If this got out, how could he ever hold his head high again?

So his old face hardened, and he flung his sleeves: "Two Madams, it's not that I, old Daoist, am being ungracious. Ever since returning to Weicheng, I've been busy, out of respect for my friendship with Escort Chief Qiao. Now, to encounter such a thing, hmph!"

He glared at Qiao Jiaming and stopped speaking.

The two women still mumbled incoherently, and Qiao Jiaming's voice became background noise again.

Li Yunxin smiled, stroked Qiao Jiaxin's head, and whispered, "Then stay here. I'll live in the back. Remember what I told you before, be a good person. If you mention Lady Sanhua again, I really won't help you in the future. But other than that... well, play as you like."

Then he looked up at the two women: "Jiaxin was scared. When we fled, we were chased into a ruined temple, and that temple was the Temple of Lady Sanhua. Actually, it wasn't a wild beast, but robbers and a demon. If your head of the household is alive and wakes up, he'll know. It was my master here who scared away the demon, and at least two people were saved."

"You damn well think I'm a three-year-old, huh? What demon? I'm telling you, you won't escape—"

Qiao Jiaming shouted again. Li Yunxin ignored him: "We won't meddle in your family affairs. Take care of yourselves. Master, let's go."

After he finished speaking, he walked to Old Daoist Liu's side. The old Daoist slightly turned his body, huffed, and then swept his sleeves and walked away.

Seeing them truly about to leave, Qiao Jiaming's eyes widened: "What are you standing there for? Stop them!"

But the servants were, after all, Qiao Family's servants, not his, so they only looked at the two Madams. The two Madams hesitated, exchanged glances, and said nothing.

Qiao Jiaming didn't dare to stop them himself—from that one punch, he knew Li Yunxin had martial arts skills. Although he was four or five years older than Li Yunxin, if he were truly a man of courage, he wouldn't have become an idle scoundrel.

Out the door, Old Daoist Liu quickly apologized.

Li Yunxin smiled: "First, prepare my living quarters."

He truly didn't take this matter to heart. He had seen countless people lacking in integrity and intelligence before; someone like Qiao Jiaming wasn't worth his true anger.

In fact, leaving Qiao Jiaxin there was merely a temporary solution. Her wounds couldn't heal, and if seen, they would be horrifying. Li Yunxin originally intended to use the pretext of exorcism or similar to bring her to his side. However, this matter still needed long-term consideration.

Let that little Cat Demon stir up trouble. As long as it's not excessive and doesn't alert the Daoist Orthodoxy or Sword Sect people, they will eventually have to come to him for help—after all, the Qiao Family people all knew that she now listened to him.