Inner Demons

Chapter 53: The Handsome Young Master

"It's easier to provoke the King of Hell than a petty ghost. Long Taoyi was a minor yamen runner, but he was on the payroll. It was effortless for him to trip up a small escort agency. Now that the Qiao family is ruined, wouldn't Long Taoyi be happy?"

"This man is also devoted; he hasn't married to this day. All for Wang Xiangcao. What do you think Wang Xiangcao's reaction was? Qiao Duanhong died, and the only man left in the Qiao family was Qiao Jiaming. But Qiao Jiaming had an affair with Qiao Liushi and didn't care for her, thinking she was old and faded. Wang Xiangcao was far more cunning than Qiao Jiaming and Qiao Liushi combined."

"So she wasn't in a hurry. She let Qiao Jiaming cause trouble and offend people. She wanted to wait until things were settled, then go with Long Taoyi—he had plenty of ways to get the family fortune from that useless Qiao Jiaming."

"But as for women, she also knew she was old and faded, and that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Long Taoyi loved her because of memories from over ten years ago, and a burning desire in his heart. If he were to easily get her now, and they slept together a few times, it's hard to guarantee Long Taoyi wouldn't think, 'Hmm, it's not the same feeling as back then,' and dump her."

"Once Wang Xiangcao thought this way, it became easy. She also went out recently and became acquainted with Yin Xueruo. I knew they might meet sometime—if not, I could create an opportunity for them to meet. So, those days, when I had nothing to do, I chatted with that little girl in the front yard… Heh, Old Liu, do you really think I like that little loli?"

"I was instilling some ideas in her. When she occasionally met Wang Xiangcao, she would greet her politely, and then, for some reason, they would start chatting. Wang Xiangcao had a man in her heart, and Yin Xueruo had me in her heart, so what would those two talk about? Men."

"This would continuously give Wang Xiangcao such an implicit suggestion—that it's best to be aloof with men. Let them look, but not be able to have, and they will be utterly devoted. Wang Xiangcao, who already had this thought in her mind, now made up her mind."

"This approach might work on other men. But on Long Taoyi… tsk tsk."

As Li Yunxin said this, the two crossed a bridge.

The old Taoist priest was engrossed, utterly baffled as to how Brother Xin could understand women's thoughts so thoroughly!Li Yunxin was a bit tired from walking, so he leaned against the stone railing and stopped, watching a black-clad man with a sword leading a black horse across the bridge, and continued, "You know. For a man, not marrying for a woman he liked in his youth, how big of a deal is that in your time? Very big, right? No descendants. Unfilial."

"But Long Taoyi did exactly that. Doing that wasn't the problem. You and Wang Xiangcao had no marriage contract back then, and Wang Xiangcao willingly married Qiao Duanhong. For this reason, you've been harassing them for years—that's wrong."

"This means that Long Taoyi is a very obvious and severe case of a paranoid personality. What kind of person is a paranoid personality? Jealous. Sensitive. Stubborn and rigid thinking. Likes to complain and blame... Ha, looking at me? That's right, I have a bit of a paranoid personality. I hold grudges very well."

The old Taoist priest quickly waved his hand: "No, no, Brother Xin, you're just..."

Li Yunxin smiled: "Old Liu, if you want to learn my technique, you first need to understand what kind of person you are. My technique is called Xin Xue (Mind Studies). So you don't need to say these things. I know I have problems, and quite serious psychological ones at that. But that doesn't matter, I can control them."

"Let's continue with Long Taoyi. Knowing he's like that makes it so easy. To me, every person with paranoid personality disorder is the best knife, sword, killer."

"He was already resentful of Wang Xiangcao marrying Qiao Duanhong back then. He hated not only Qiao Duanhong but also Wang Xiangcao in his heart. He just didn't know it himself. Now that Qiao Duanhong is gone, and Wang Xiangcao is looking for him, while he feels smug, he also feels even more wronged—'You gave your best years to that person.' So now he most wants Wang Xiangcao to fawn over him and quickly give him everything."

"At this point, Wang Xiangcao played hard to get. So... if I subtly guide and hint at him through other channels... the resentment in his heart will grow even stronger. He'll suspect Wang Xiangcao is going to betray him again this time. He'll feel that she's aloof just to use him. Always wanting, always not getting."

"Love turns to hate."

"When Qiao Wangshi went out today—I had Yin Xueruo been hinting at her for many days. Wear red today. It's bad luck to go to court; wear red to ward it off."

"Red. It's also the color of a wedding dress."

"What happens next? You've already seen it."

After Li Yunxin finished speaking, he stood up: "Let's go home. It's getting cold."

The old Taoist priest's mouth was slightly agape, and he walked behind him like a sleepwalker.

Just like that… another person was killed…

When they arrived at the alley in front of the Dragon King Temple, they found a waiter carrying two food boxes, waiting at the door. The two had been strolling around, and this waiter had waited for half an hour. Seeing them finally return, he quickly stood up from the wall: "You two Taoist masters are back. Shopkeeper Wang instructed the junior to deliver this to your residence, so I've been waiting at the door for a while..."

The old Taoist priest had never received such attention, so he quickly took the boxes. The waiter cupped his hands to them, intending to leave.

Li Yunxin stared at him, and suddenly said, "Young man. While you were waiting for us, did you see anything extraordinary?"

The young waiter was stunned, looked at Li Yunxin as if he'd seen a ghost, then breathed a sigh of relief and gave a thumbs-up: "Brilliant, truly brilliant. No wonder our shopkeeper said to be careful when coming to your Taoist masters' residence. Yes, I did see something!"

The waiter, also of a youthful temperament, had grown impatient waiting for half an hour. Knowing that these two were esteemed guests instructed by the shopkeeper, he became somewhat eager to please, so he stood still and vividly recounted: "Just now, I was waiting, feeling a bit tired, so I leaned against the wall and sat on the ground, wanting to rest for a while. In that short time, half-asleep and half-awake, I had a dream. What did I dream of?"

"Heh, I dreamed of a young master, exceedingly handsome, dressed in a white robe, passing by here. He stopped at this door, looked inside for a while, sniffed, and then saw me. In my dream, I felt he might have something to ask me, so I tried to wake up."

"And guess what?!"

"That young master in the dream wasn't human! He smiled at me, and opened his mouth! Oh my goodness! His mouth split to his ears! A mouthful of sharp teeth! It was a demon! I was so scared that I fainted on the spot and didn't wake up until I don't know how long... You say this dream, alas, it scared me so much that I hadn't fully recovered when I saw you two. Especially when I saw you—also so handsome, and also in a white robe!"

Li Yunxin… smiled. He said, "Hmm. Then it's nothing. I was just worried you might have been wronged here. Since you're fine, you can go back. Here, take this coin."

The young waiter saw him smile and thought he liked his story, so he smiled too. He took the silver coin, said he would come back tomorrow for the food boxes, and walked away with light steps.

Only after he had left did the smile vanish from Li Yunxin's face.

The old Taoist priest, carrying the food boxes, was so happy that the wrinkles on his face bloomed like chrysanthemums. He opened the door, then turned around and saw Li Yunxin's expression. He paused, then asked, "...Brother Xin, what's wrong?"

Li Yunxin was silent for a moment: "Old Liu."

"These past few days, you'll have to find a way to make yourself... more interesting."