Inner Demons

Chapter 42: Stir-fried Pork Hibiscus

Seeing this, Li Yunxin's heart stirred. As the young servant passed him, he greeted, "Oh, that was quick."

The young servant had already noticed Li Yunxin's attire. To be more discreet today, he wore only a plain blue Daoist robe and a wooden hairpin in his hair. But his good looks saved everything—he still appeared noble and otherworldly, like a disguised young master.

Such a handsome person greeting him clearly made the young servant happy. So he stopped, looked down at the food box in his hand, figured a few words wouldn't hurt, and smiled, "Indeed. Young master, you look unfamiliar. Have you just arrived in Weicheng?"

"More or less. The weather here is a bit strange." Li Yunxin tightened his collar. "Before crossing the bridge, I didn't feel it. But after crossing the bridge and getting on this street, it felt colder."

As he said this... the young servant was standing in front of the several Faceless Ghosts who were staring at him motionlessly.

One of them was almost standing on top of him.

The young servant frowned, "Huh? You're right about that. I kept saying this street was weird today. When I came out of the mansion and stepped onto this street, I kept feeling chills. Even now, oh my gosh, isn't it like a late spring cold snap? Cold wind is blowing right into my neck!"

"Ah, you're from the mansion. The Prefectural Governor's mansion?" Li Yunxin's eyes lit up, and he asked with interest.

"Heh, just a third-class servant." The young servant smiled somewhat reservedly, then seemed to realize that this young master probably didn't understand what "third-class servant" meant. So he explained, "It's still comfortable. We get money during festivals, and if I save carefully for a year, I can accumulate twenty taels of silver. Save for a few years, buy a few acres of land back home, and then... hmm..."

At this point, he felt that this young master probably wasn't very interested in these matters, so he stopped talking.Who knew Li Yunxin straightened up instead, leaning forward slightly, seemingly showing great interest: "That truly is good. Young man, you've found a good master. Back in my hometown, it's not so good..."

He was already good-looking. And when he deliberately feigned kindness, he became even more charming. Plus his past professional experience—chatting and extracting information from people was simply second nature to him.

Finally, the young man slapped the back of his head—the snacks in the food box had gotten cold. So he quickly excused himself to Li Yunxin and scurried into the alley.

Li Yunxin glanced at the mansion in the night again, put his hands behind his back, and walked back.

With the Yin Spirit Formation, he didn't want to use spells to attract anyone's attention, so he had to obtain information through scattered words. After asking around and combining it with his own deductions and analysis, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

His initial guess was correct. The Qiao Family and Prefect Li wanted the Old Daoist's courtyard.

Neither the Qiao Family nor the Prefectural Governor held any prejudice against Old Daoist Liu or himself – they merely desired wealth.

Li Yunxin had long understood the intentions of those three from the Qiao Family – the Old Daoist's property was indeed a huge fortune to them. And the old man had no children, and he himself was a strange young man, even less worth their attention.

As for Prefect Li... he initially couldn't figure out why such an official, with so many ways to make money, would risk inciting public anger and tainting his reputation to seize a property under his jurisdiction. By now, he had roughly figured it out.

Prefect Li seemed to have offended someone.

Someone very formidable – someone who could threaten his life.

So formidable that Prefect Li had scattered his family wealth, begging the powerful figures of Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect in Weicheng to create such a Yin Spirit Formation to protect his residence.

The young servant named A'Ze also only felt the street "chilly" tonight – which showed that this grand formation was indeed newly completed.

Prefect Li was short on money and not an incorruptible official himself. The Qiao Family offered a good opportunity, and they were bullying a down-and-out Old Daoist... Li Yunxin felt that if he were in Prefect Li's position, he would probably do the same.

Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had originally been so concerned because he feared there was another hidden motive – for instance, that he was being targeted. Now it seemed he had simply been very unlucky to be caught up in it.

Hmm... but one shouldn't say that...

Perhaps the unlucky one was someone else.

He walked all the way back to the temple, his thoughts more or less organized.

Pushing open the door, closing it, entering the backyard, then the main house, he found food already laid out on the table.

Thinly sliced Soy-braised Beef was placed neatly in the center, the slices almost transparent, the sauce on the meat emitting a soft glow and aroma; surrounding it was a dish of Fried Crispy Peanuts, golden and plump; a dish of Stir-fried Pork Hibiscus, jade-colored pork slices paired with red and green pepper strips, bursting with fresh flavor with each bite; and a dish of Fragrant Bamboo Shoot Chicken, the chicken briefly stir-fried until tender, then served with bamboo shoots gathered at dawn in spring, both fragrant and sweet.

Beside the four dishes was a small silver wine pot, which made Li Yunxin smile at first glance. This wasn't Old Daoist Liu's most treasured one – usually, when he brought it out, he was afraid it would get scratched or dented.

This Old Daoist truly cared about his old friend.

Li Yunxin sat at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and first took a few peanuts, which became more fragrant the more he chewed. Then he picked a piece of fragrant bamboo shoot. After his mouth had a bit of fresh flavor, he ate the Soy-braised Beef. After a few bites, he poured a glass of wine and drank it.

The wine wasn't strong, but smooth and refreshing on the throat, and then warm and cozy in the stomach, truly dispelling the day's fatigue.

He drank another glass before seeing Old Daoist Liu shuffling in from outside the door, observing his expression, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Li Yunxin found it amusing that an old man like him acted like a child in front of him, a "child." He raised his chin and asked, "Have you eaten?"

The old Daoist sat down by the table, staring at him, and asked eagerly, "Brother Xin, how is it?"

Li Yunxin then told him the whole story in detail.

But the old Daoist was clearly more concerned about another aspect—"What about my... old friend?"

"If Prefect Li is determined to go through with this, no one can save him," Li Yunxin put down his chopsticks and looked seriously at the old Daoist. "No one can persuade him. Because he'll feel that this matter concerns his life and fortune. What could be more important than that?"

"So, to save your old friend, we need to strike at the root of the problem. Solve Prefect Li's issue."

The old Daoist pondered for a while, then blinked: "Brother Xin means... help him overcome this calamity? Protect him completely? Oh dear... how can that be done? Even a Prefectural Governor has no way, how can we..."

Li Yunxin looked at him strangely: "Your thinking is very strange. To strike at the root, why would you help him?"

He picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth, smiling, "He was going to mess with me, and I should go help him? How cheap do you think I am?"

"Then Prefect Li, if he's killed, won't it all be over?"