Inner Demons

Chapter 52: Childhood Sweethearts

But Li Yunxin didn't stop, just slowly walked out the door. Yin Pingzhi had to follow, watching his face intently.

Only when he stepped into the sunlight outside the Munanju, did Li Yunxin stop. He straightened his lapels and cuffs, squinting slightly at the flow of people on the street, and said, "As a civil servant, you should speak with evidence. It was clearly the yamen runner who killed her, what does that have to do with me?"

Seeing his reaction, Yin Pingzhi finally believed him.

But for some reason, he felt a sense of relief, and his words flowed much more smoothly: "Good. I won't speak carelessly. I..."

He looked at the old Taoist priest, then at Li Yunxin: "I, Yin Pingzhi, admire capability the most. What you did today, not only could I not figure it out, but even those two couldn't. For that, I'm convinced."

"You know when to bend and when to stand firm. Mr. Yin is a remarkable person."

"But I only ask one more thing of you. Please don't kill anymore." Yin Pingzhi looked at Li Yunxin, speaking sincerely, "Two lives lost in one day, and still within the prefecture. If Qiao Jiaming dies too, this case... cannot be closed. In Weicheng, from now on, anything I can speak for will be at your convenience. I only ask that you don't make it difficult for me this time, alright?"

The old Taoist priest stared at Yin Pingzhi, feeling his eyes about to pop out. He was a native of Weicheng, and of course, he knew this Chief Constable Yin—when had he ever spoken to anyone like this?!

He now wished he could quickly pull Li Yunxin aside, bow to Chief Constable Yin, and say, "Alright, alright, let's close this matter!"

However, he saw Li Yunxin finish straightening his clothes, turn around, and look seriously at Chief Constable Yin: "Mr. Yin. In the future, we may have frequent dealings. So it's better to make some things clear first—for example, if you know what kind of person I am, we'll get along much better.""I don't like to scare people, I don't like to joke, and I don't like idiots."

"So when I say all three of them will die, they will indeed all die. I'm not trying to scare you. When I say anyone who frustrates my thoughts will certainly suffer misfortune if I find a way, I'm not joking either."

"Knowing these two points, Mr. Yin, please don't say anything else. Because saying anything else will make me unhappy, and I'll find you very annoying, and then my thoughts will become obstructed again. You're not an idiot; you should understand what I'm saying."

Even knowing Li Yunxin's methods, even feeling shocked and surprised, and even having spoken those words bordering on pleading and submission, upon hearing Li Yunxin's speech, Yin Pingzhi still felt his face burn. His face, for the first time in a long time, flushed red—being so sternly rebuked by a young man.

He took a breath, squeezing a few words through his teeth: "Are you threatening me?"

Li Yunxin slightly turned his head and nodded: "Yes. I am threatening you, intimidating you. If you continue to displease me, I will kill you."

After saying that, he smiled and turned to leave.

The old Taoist priest called out "Hey, hey," looking at Yin Pingzhi, then at Li Yunxin, and finally chased after him.

"Brother Xin, Brother Xin, I know you're very capable. But this..." The old Taoist priest lowered his voice on the street, "This person... Brother Xin, aren't you afraid he'll really come looking for trouble? Will you really have to then..."

"He won't." Li Yunxin answered him straightforwardly, "If he were the kind of person who, because of my words, would decide to come looking for trouble, he wouldn't have lived until now, nor would he have gotten to this position."

The old Taoist priest had no choice but to believe him, but he couldn't help but worry in his heart. He felt that Brother Xin had been too flamboyant these past few days—hadn't he originally said he wanted to stay quietly in Weicheng for a while?

Of course, the old Taoist priest wasn't aware of Li Yunxin's calculations. This Yin Pingzhi… had investigated him.

He had investigated his background through unknown channels or methods. Having been a local bigwig in Weicheng for so many years, he investigated a person, not only found out, but was also incredibly certain.

This showed that he had indeed investigated through some trustworthy channels.

Li Yunxin had a clear understanding of himself. He knew that, at present, he might be able to crush his opponents with overwhelming advantages in Taoist magic, martial arts, and techniques. But when it came to human resources in this world… he couldn't compare to even one ten-thousandth of Yin Pingzhi's.

Yet, even such a person had firmly believed that false information.

So, who was it that had deceived him and covered for him…?

He wanted to know this person. He wanted to tame Yin Pingzhi into obedience, to make him his loyal dog. So now…

He was training a dog.

He and the old Taoist priest ambled along the street for a while, and bought a string of firecrackers along the way. It wasn't a festival, so these weren't easy to buy. But in these matters, the old Taoist priest seemed to be in his element. He greeted a few old acquaintances, said a few words about "a false alarm," and actually managed to get them.

Morning had passed, and after strolling around outside, they gradually felt tired. So they walked home.

On the way, the old Taoist priest still couldn't resist asking Li Yunxin… how did Qiao Wangshi die?

When he asked this, the old Taoist priest felt a slight tremor in his heart. Look at his current state—under the bright sun, on the street, asking… how someone died. He desperately wanted to know what magical method Brother Xin had used, but didn't really care about the life itself!

After asking, he muttered to himself… I'm going to become a demon, I'm going to become a demon…

Li Yunxin smiled as usual, and spoke in his usual calm tone: "I've told you so much before; this time, I'll just give you a few hints, and you can figure it out yourself."

"Didn't I go out often those days? I'd just stroll around the streets, looking for people to talk to. At night, I even went to the Qiao family's house to eavesdrop. That's how I heard these things. Qiao Wangshi was a bit tricky. This woman wasn't sick, didn't go out much, and had few enemies."

"So I planned to have Qiao Jiaming kill her. But later, when I was investigating Qiao Jiaming, I got involved with her. This Qiao Wangshi, in her thirties, was originally named Wang Xiangcao. Born into a farming family, she was quite pretty and had a childhood sweetheart named Long Taoyi."

"Later, Wang Xiangcao often went into the city to sell mountain goods and was seen by Qiao Duanhong. Qiao Duanhong liked her, so he sent someone to propose marriage. Qiao Duanhong, although a bit old, had his own business and his own company, right? The Wang family then married Wang Xiangcao to him."

"Then her childhood sweetheart, Long Taoyi, was heartbroken. He couldn't forget her and from then on, he worked hard to become a civil servant. He was that yamen runner. Think about it, the Qiao family, an escort agency for generations, even needing the whole family to escort a single shipment before, how did they fall so badly? Because Long Taoyi had been causing trouble all along!"