Inner Demons

Chapter 41: Faceless

As dusk fell, Li Yunxin left. He said he was going to the Qiao Family to sound them out. Old Daoist Liu was about to tell him that the Qiao Family wasn't receiving visitors when he saw Li Yunxin standing on the bluestone slab of the narrow street. After looking around and seeing no one, he pushed off with his toes and leapt over the ten-foot high wall.

Old Daoist Liu then realized that this accomplished man, besides his great skill, also possessed extraordinary martial arts. He thought to himself that he was getting old and wondered why he hadn't thought of eavesdropping.

Half an hour later, Li Yunxin returned.

It was difficult to deduce his emotions from his face. So Old Daoist Liu asked with an uneasy heart, "Brother Xin, what should we do about this?"

Li Yunxin picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip. He looked up and said, "From a legal perspective, your friend is not wronged. He did kill someone and then tried to kill the mistress."

Old Daoist Liu's eyes widened, his sparse white beard trembling slightly. "Ah? What do you mean? He's an old cripple..."

"His name is Meng'e, and he used to have a nickname, Killer Ghost. Did you know that?"

"...Ah?"

"Oh, you didn't. But that doesn't matter. However, from a moral perspective, he's rather wronged. It's because those two, the elder and younger Miss Qiao, committed adultery, murdered their husband, and plotted to seize the family property." Li Yunxin pouted. "Lunatics, they even set their sights on this place. They want this courtyard."

Old Daoist Liu 'ah-ed' again. He clearly couldn't accept such a thing all at once.A month ago, the Qiao Family was thriving, and Qiao Duanhong was still polite. Now, even he was being targeted.

"So that Old Meng... it was righteous indignation then..."

"Hmm." Li Yunxin put down his teacup and stood up. "I'm going to the Prefectural Governor's residence in a bit. Tell me how to get there."

"Brother Xin, are you going to... Oh, you can't reason with them. You said yourself that the Prefectural Governor is also greedy for money. This, this..."

"I'm not going to reason. I'm going to observe. If there's a way, I'll use my methods. If there's no way... well, I can still find a way. I'll be back in an hour. Tonight, I still want to eat Soy-braised Beef. I heard Madam Qiao Wang say that Wood South Residence has a few more cows, and some cows have died again. This is strange. How many have died in recent days?"

"Get some other dishes too, but no offal. And no ginger."

After more than ten days in Weicheng, Li Yunxin made his first "long trip."

Before, in the mountain village, he hadn't experienced much of the world. Now, in the city, he greedily observed every detail. Because he knew this world was not the ordinary world he perceived.

It wasn't just about "there being immortals and Daoist Arts." It was that, perhaps a long, long time ago, a person with great influence had tried to change this world. Perhaps they failed, but they would have left an indelible mark.

He wanted to find this "mark."

Along the way, he really saw scenes like those in movies and TV shows – men and women strolling about, and night markets. The aroma emanating from the food stalls in the night market even made him crave. It was hard to imagine such a scene truly existing in this society, instead of streets dominated by men and young ladies staying at home.

This world was more enlightened and open than he had imagined.

When he saw the Prefectural Office from afar, it was probably around 8 PM. At 8 PM in this world, there were fewer people on the streets. In front of the Prefectural Office was a river, the Green Willow River. It was quite wide, allowing three painted boats to pass side by side. The riverbank was paved with bluestone slabs and lined with green willows. At this season, the willows had new shoots, a misty green like smoke.

Leading to the street in front of the Prefectural Office was a white stone bridge, grand and imposing, wide enough for two carriages to pass abreast.

Li Yunxin saw from afar on his side of the bridge that on the other side, on the street in front of the Prefectural Office, there were still many people walking around. He found it a bit strange but didn't pay it much mind. After all, he hadn't fully understood the customs of this world yet – perhaps they were petitioners?

Many people was a good thing. The number of people on that street, roughly estimated, was seventy or eighty. He planned to walk into the crowd, first observe the terrain, and then decide where to infiltrate.

So he crossed the bridge.

Three steps down the bridge, just as his toes were about to touch the street, he stopped.

Because these people...

...didn't seem to be people.

As he walked those few steps down the bridge, a person turned out from a small street to the west. Light gown and small hat, looking like someone from a wealthy family out for evening errands – perhaps the master of the house had a whim and wanted to try some street food.

After this young servant turned out, he saw Li Yunxin, glanced in his direction, then turned his face away and hummed a light tune, walking briskly.

Then, the people on that street began to move. They swiftly and lightly gathered around him, encircling him, as if escorting him.

But they weren't escorting him; they were smelling him, watching him, examining him.

However, the young servant was completely unaware that he was surrounded by a group of "people." As he passed Li Yunxin, he even smiled at him. It wasn't until he had left that street and the vicinity of the Prefectural Office that the "people" who had surrounded him moved away from him.

By then, five or six "people" were standing before Li Yunxin.

"People" without facial features.

Their necks craned, "looking" at him intently.

They were... Faceless Ghosts.

Li Yunxin gasped. Those who died and whose bodies were possessed would become Faceless Ghosts. On this street in front of the Prefectural Office, seventy or eighty ghosts – perhaps even on all sides – how could there be so many?

Let alone the Prefectural Office, which was a vital area. Even ordinary wealthy families building a house would pay attention to Feng Shui. With so many ghosts gathered on this street, an ordinary person walking past would certainly feel something amiss – either eerie or cold. But now these things were just gathered here...

Li Yunxin realized that perhaps one or a few people in the Prefectural Office knew about this.

There were also Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect School outposts in this city; they should also know.

This must be some kind of formation. He frowned slightly, not stepping onto the street, but just walking along the willows by the river for a while, feeling the extremely subtle spiritual energy fluctuations.

Some kind of Grand Yin Spirit Formation. Things involving Yin spirits weren't necessarily evil spells. But a Prefectural Office, which was already heavily guarded in the secular world, why would it have something like this?

He had originally intended to sneak in and see what Prefect Li had to say. But at this point, he abandoned the idea. Using spiritual power within such a formation could lead to discovery. Whether discovered by Daoist Orthodoxy or the Sword Sect, it wouldn't be a good thing.

After pondering for so long, the young servant who had walked by earlier returned. Still walking down the same street.

But this time, the Yin spirits no longer followed him.