Inner Demons

Chapter 54: Little Guy

The old Taoist priest put the last slice of braised beef into his mouth, then drank all the wine in his cup. He wiped his mouth, removed a speck of meat from his grizzled beard, and sat up straight.

Li Yun looked at the dishes on the table and asked him, "Don't you want to eat more?"

The old man shook his head, staring intently at him: "No. I'm full."

"The food at Munanju is actually really good," Li Yunxin sighed. "If you're truly full, then I'll speak. I'm just afraid this might be the last good meal you'll ever have."

The old Taoist priest's face tightened as he carefully observed Li Yunxin's expression.

Li Yunxin spread his hands: "Don't look. I'm not joking. This matter... it's a long story. Some things I can tell you, some are my personal privacy. I'll tell you what you can understand; for what you don't, just logically fill in the blanks."

The old Taoist priest, as always, couldn't fully comprehend some of the words Brother Xin used, so he just nodded. He knew the other party had something very important to tell him. Before saying it, he let him have a good meal and some wine.

The old Taoist priest felt that the matter seemed somewhat serious.

"Well, it all started that night."

"That night, I was being chased by two idiots..."When Li Yunxin began speaking, it was afternoon. Sunlight streamed into the small pond in the courtyard, making the lotus leaves nearly transparent green, their shadows reflected on the pond bottom.

By the time he was almost finished speaking, the sky had already darkened. The last rays of slanted sunlight lingered in the northeast corner of the courtyard, and smoke from cooking fires could be seen in the distance. The aroma of food began to drift through the air, and occasionally, the laughter and scolding of women from the back street could be heard, directed at their disobedient children.

The sky was ablaze with fiery clouds, golden, like an entire mountain carved from yellow jade.

On such an ordinary spring evening, in such a human-filled environment, the old Taoist priest heard Li Yunxin finally say, "He wasn't dreaming this afternoon. He saw the Ninth Young Master and then fainted from fright. He's found his way here, and... it's hard to say when he'll show up. If you're afraid, you can move away first."

The old Taoist priest sat blankly by the stone table for a long while, unsure whether he was shocked by the matter or already terrified.

A flesh-eating great demon actually exists.

And… he's coming to their door.

And according to Brother Xin, although he looks human, his humanity is almost non-existent…

Seeing that he wouldn't wake up anytime soon, Li Yunxin stood up and broke off a bamboo leaf to play with.

The old Taoist priest's reaction was quite understandable. People in this world knew of cultivators and imagined them to be mysterious and unfathomable. Even someone like Master Congyunzi or Master Pananzi, who stayed in the city and could often be seen, commoners would wonder—perhaps at night, the immortal master would travel thousands of miles to slay demons and banish evil spirits?

In his previous world, when something inexplicable happened, people would talk about aliens or secret government experiments.

But in this world, when something unusual occurred, there was only one explanation: the occult.

People also believed in ghosts and demons.

The number of ghosts and demons was certainly greater than that of cultivators, but less than that of humans. As common people built cities, tilled fields, rested and multiplied, and established their dynasties, they prospered more and more. Thus, demons gradually retreated to more remote deep mountains and old forests. Occasionally, powerful ones would mingle in human society, either good or evil, leaving behind many legends.

But in the end, they were just legends—demons wouldn't run into the city and stand on the street saying, "I'm an anomaly, come look." Therefore, people believed such things existed… but the vast majority of people might never see one in their entire lives.

Or perhaps they did see them, and even lived alongside them, but simply didn't know.

So Li Yunxin could understand the old Taoist priest's feelings—the thing from legends had appeared in the most realistic way. This meant a tremendous impact and sense of unreality for every mortal.

After a while, the old Taoist priest spoke: "I won't go."

Li Yunxin turned around: "Oh?"

"I'm not going." The old Taoist priest reached for the wine, first grabbing the cup, then, after a thought, directly taking the wine pot. He lifted the lid, took a drink, wiped the drops of water from his beard, and said, "Heh, I, this old Taoist, have lived in this Dragon King Temple all my life. Now Brother Xin, you've come and taught me so many things. Although you don't say it, and I, this old Taoist, am too embarrassed to call you so, in truth, Brother Xin, you are my second master to me."

"If I were to leave now, I would first be letting down my esteemed master, and second, letting down you, Brother Xin. I won't go. At my age, how much longer do I have to live anyway? I'll die right here, I'm not leaving."

The sky darkened, and the bamboo grove grew even darker. Li Yunxin looked at him with bright eyes: "Really not going? You might die, you know."

The old Taoist priest took another sip of wine, waved his hand, his robes rustling in the wind, exuding a sense of heroism: "Brother Xin, don't provoke me. I know your past must not be simple… Hmm… Today, watching you kill, it truly made me, well, tremble with fear, and I just thought you were going to become a demon!"

He rested his other hand on his thigh, emptied the wine pot, and slammed it heavily on the table: "After that, I, this old Taoist, thought again, hmm? Aren't you still pretty good to me? Those Qiao Wangshi, Qiao Liushi, Qiao Jiaming, what kind of filthy, beastly things were they! Such things, hmm… if they're killed, then they're killed!"

His body swayed back and forth with his words: "I… ah, I've been a coward for most of my life. I, this old Taoist, this time, will certainly follow you, Brother Xin, hmm…"

With a thud, he fell to the ground.

The food boxes from Munanju came with four pots of Munan Spring, all of which he had drunk.

Li Yunxin sighed, walked to his side, and kicked his leg, which was still resting on the stone bench, to make him more comfortable. Then he squatted down and carefully observed the old Taoist priest.

Grizzled beard, a face full of deep lines. His skin was loose and lacked luster, and there were even faint age spots on his neck. This was the image of an old man, common in this era, who had been tormented by life for decades.

But such a… timid and fearful old man had actually been with him for so many days.

He hadn't detested him.

He even…

Li Yunxin stared intently at him for a long time, then reached out and pulled a chopstick from the stone table beside him.

He wiped the chopstick on the old Taoist priest's body, then, with a slight force of his fingers, snapped it. The sharp break, due to uncleaned grease, shimmered in the newly fallen night.

Li Yunxin placed the tip against the old Taoist priest's neck.

He held it there for a quarter of an hour…

He stood up and casually flicked the half-chopstick aside.

"Hmph."

"An old man."

His voice echoed in the courtyard, unusually clear.

Because the chirping of insects had disappeared at some unknown point.

Li Yunxin's body suddenly stiffened slightly. He stood in place, silent for a moment, then slowly took two steps forward, and looked back.

Behind him, a man in white, with a beauty far surpassing his own, grinned, revealing a captivating smile.

"You're still so interesting."

"Little guy."