Inner Demons

Chapter 55: "Old Friend" Reunited

"Old friend, long time no see." The equally handsome young man's voice changed in that instant.

Listening closely, it was still that gentle and pleasant voice. But if, during the day, this voice conveyed coldness and heartlessness, then at this moment, it carried a strange, cloying sweetness. Every trailing sound, every inflection, every rise and fall in intonation, seemed to possess an indescribable rhythm…

From this moment on, Li Yunxin summoned all his abilities and the subtle intuition bestowed upon him by two lifetimes of experience.

Because he clearly knew that, since his birth, his greatest moment of crisis had arrived.

His eyes didn't miss a single detail of the other party—the movement of facial muscles, the slight tremor of eyelids, the imperceptible upturn of the corners of the mouth, the slight arch of the shoulders—the Ninth Young Master was very pleased with his previous statement.

This great demon was currently in a state of temporary pleasure.

The Ninth Young Master took a few light steps in the courtyard, his robes fluttering in the moonlight, looking incredibly beautiful. Then he walked to the old Taoist priest and smiled, "This place is nice."

"Little fellow, I came by this afternoon." His eyes twinkled with pleasure and novelty. "But, you see, we are... friends. So I didn't barge into a friend's house. See, we are friends—hahaha!"

Li Yunxin maintained a moderate submissiveness, yet not so much that the other party would feel he was groveling. He realized that the Ninth Young Master was sincere when he said these words. At least he was sincere at this moment.

Especially when he mentioned the words "friend."This great demon probably didn't have many friends before. That's pretty normal, right?

There wouldn't be too many demons as powerful as him, and it's normal for them not to be very familiar with each other, or for none to be worthy of his status. That Bai Yunxin, also a great demon, seemed to know the Ninth Young Master. But the problem was... she didn't seem to consider the Ninth Young Master a friend.

Li Yunxin still remembered the incredibly greedy gleam in the eyes of that seemingly harmless "girl" when she heard about the Ninth Young Master's whereabouts.

Li Yunxin could understand the Ninth Young Master's fondness for this novel thing called "friendship."

But if it wasn't his misconception, or if there was a deviation in emotional expression between humans and demons, he realized that the Ninth Young Master's pleasure seemed to be more than just "having a friend."

He noticed that when the Ninth Young Master expressed "pleasure"... his eyes would narrow slightly. The corners of his eyebrows would droop slightly. Fleetingly—if Li Yunxin hadn't focused all his energy on observing his reactions, he wouldn't have noticed at all.

Slightly narrowed eyes meant he was a little sad. Drooping eyebrows meant he was still a little angry. Both were fleeting, subtle emotions mixed in with the earlier pleasure, and probably even the Ninth Young Master himself didn't notice them. But these subtle expressions, unless one had undergone extremely strict, long-term training, couldn't be hidden.

This wasn't an emotion directed at himself.

Li Yunxin realized there was something else going on with the Ninth Young Master.

Perhaps it was his opportunity.

He kept this in mind, smiling gently, "It's best if you consider me a friend. Just now when I saw you, I thought you were going to eat me."

He casually walked a couple of steps away, then added, "A few days ago, I heard you passed by here. And you ate two people. That prefect's concubine, right?"

As he said this, the Ninth Young Master had already walked a step away, his back to him. But upon hearing these words, his body remained still, but his head snapped back 180 degrees, staring at him from behind: "Oh?"

His eyes narrowed, and his pupils seemed to be contracting slightly: "You know about this too."

Li Yunxin's heart skipped a beat. This demon... truly had unpredictable moods. This was already the thing he had inferred would most please the other party and create a sense of identification.

Seeing that the Ninth Young Master's originally round pupils had become oval, and the color of his eyes was growing paler, turning light yellow, Li Yunxin still acted as if he hadn't noticed any of it, and laughed heartily, "Ha, guess what happened next?"

"That idiot Li Yaosi, unfortunately, provoked me."

"I killed him today. An idiot who brought trouble upon himself, if he doesn't know better than to provoke me, he's going to die."

The Ninth Young Master's head remained still, but his body slowly turned around. He stared at Li Yunxin for a moment, and his eyes gradually turned black again.

"Interesting." He clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "You are an interesting friend. If everyone were as interesting as you, I'd be reluctant to eat any of them."

He laughed as he walked to the stone bench and sat down, casually picking up the old Taoist priest—grabbing his left arm, he was about to put him in his mouth, saying, "You said I passed by, but that's not entirely accurate—"

Li Yunxin quickly whispered, "Ninth Young Master, wait!"

The Ninth Young Master's words were interrupted, and the expression on his face instantly turned cold: "Oh?"

"This person... is also my friend." Li Yunxin smiled. "You know, these people are all very boring. But I don't have the Ninth Young Master's divine powers to come and go like the wind, so I always need someone to take care of things. This old Taoist is rarely one who annoys me..."

"Oh. I see." The Ninth Young Master actually let go of the old Taoist priest, looking a bit relieved. "I knew it. How could such an interesting friend like you give me this foolish thing to eat? The meat is tough and lacks juice. Then I don't have to force myself to eat it—I originally thought it was your intention."

"You said I passed by Weicheng? Not really." The Ninth Young Master idly scratched at the stone table with his finger, each scratch leaving a mark. "I live near Weicheng."

He said this, then looked at Li Yunxin.

Li Yunxin understood his intention, and a perfectly balanced expression of surprise appeared on his face—neither foolish nor uninteresting, yet flattering to him: "Ninth Young Master… also resides nearby?"

"Ha. Guess again how I found you?"

"I truly don't know. Please tell me, I'm incredibly curious!"

"Hahahaha." The Ninth Young Master laughed heartily. "That night, did you see my true form?"

This sentence made Li Yunxin recall that night. The torrential rain, outside the door, the huge bluish-black scales, the sound like grinding steel, the human-height yellow eyes with slender pupils—a massive and terrifying demonic creature.

"Didn't you get a good look?" He laughed again, narrowing his eyes at Li Yunxin, as if recalling something amusing, "I watched you being chased into the door by two Taoist priests. It's just that those two were too noisy and bothered me."

"Before entering the door, did you see me? Haha, you did see me. It's just… hmm, that night I was also terribly bored, and still hiding from an annoying fellow." He seemed to grow more excited as he spoke, dangerous light gleaming in his eyes, "I remember them saying there's a treasure here, right?"