Inner Demons

Chapter 58: Drunk

Upon hearing this, Li Yunxin lost interest in listening further.

He casually placed his hands on his stomach, not even feigning a hint of discomfort: "Oh, my stomach hurts. You two chat first."

Then he left the door.

Outside was a small street, with the tall walls of the Qiao family directly opposite. He had originally intended to climb over the wall, but after hearing the woman's words, he decided to use the main entrance. If it truly was "haunted," then he should first examine it from the main entrance.

He wasn't at all worried that the cat demon would have any problems. He was just... curious.

Because he hadn't actually seen a haunted house yet.

Regarding haunted houses, ghost houses, and feng shui land qi, Li Yunxin had heard his parents mention them briefly before, but he had never truly experienced them.

A piece of land, flat and empty, existing there, is just a piece of land. But if you place things on it, or build things up, these differences in height and arrangement form a "force" or "momentum."

And so, it might create or bind something.

Then, if you enclose this area, it becomes a system in itself, forming a unique… "ecosystem." This term, of course, was Li Yunxin's own coinage, because he felt these three words were much simpler than those convoluted and undefined terms.In other words, a house that has gained popularity or a house that has become haunted has, in some sense, acquired "life" and contains a certain "pattern."

Typically, one enters a house through the main gate.

So, to fully experience or observe a potentially "haunted house," it's best to enter through the main gate.

Li Yunxin thought that this matter was probably orchestrated by the Tri-Flower Goddess. But it was well-executed—it perfectly matched his curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

To go around to the front gate of the Qiao family mansion, one had to walk quite a distance, onto a main road.

It was probably seven or eight in the morning, and the streets were already bustling with people.

Li Yunxin, with his hands behind his back, quickly walked for ten minutes to the alley in front of the Qiao family's gate, not noticing that he was being watched by another person.

Qiao Jiaming.

In fact, after just one night, Qiao Jiaming felt he was almost at his breaking point.

Li Yunxin's cruel and sinister expression in the court was still vivid in his mind, and that phrase "none of you will escape" seemed to echo in his ears from the previous moment. Uttering threats was originally Qiao Jiaming's specialty, but it usually only went as far as "uttering threats."

But that Li Yunxin…

He truly dared to kill…

Recalling that incident, he felt cold sweat all over his body—especially after seeing Qiao Wangshi stabbed to death by a yamen runner right in front of him, and he himself escaping in the chaos. He didn't know how Li Yunxin had managed it. But he felt that if he had a chance to do it all over again, he would flee as far as possible, absolutely avoiding any contact with that terrifying guy.

Before, the yamen runners were still searching the city for him, but now they had stopped. Qiao Jiaming felt a sigh of relief, but he didn't realize that this meant…

Yin Pingzhi had accepted Li Yunxin's threat and would no longer protect him.

But this sensible thought vanished like smoke after he had not slept all night and had drunk half a liter of erdaotou to extinguish the irritation in his heart.

Qiao Jiaming planned to flee Weicheng. He needed some money.

Although the Qiao family was gone, there was still some family wealth. Not to mention gold and silver artifacts, just the jewelry and beads of the elder and younger Mrs. Qiao were enough for him to splurge for a while. Therefore, Qiao Jiaming went to wander around the Qiao family's residence early in the morning—he felt he should first probe the situation. He didn't want to blindly run into some yamen runners waiting for him and be arrested again.

Just like that, he saw Li Yunxin.

Alcohol boosts courage, it's a good thing.

When he saw Li Yunxin, Qiao Jiaming was squatting behind a century-old pagoda tree, clutching a small rough ceramic wine jar. His first reaction upon seeing Li Yunxin was a shiver, an instinctive urge to flee. But this feeling quickly vanished, and after he took another gulp of wine, it was replaced by surging hatred.

Because Li Yunxin hadn't noticed him.

Ha… he also had moments of carelessness.

He was still a person.

A person, not a demon, and he didn't know any immortal magic, just had good luck, hmm… killed that prefect…

As for how he killed him? Hmm… who cares. It was just good luck.

He was still just a mortal.

His alcohol-numbed brain skipped several key facts, focusing only on the clearest, most direct things.

Li Yunxin was walking towards the Qiao family.

He hadn't noticed him.

He could kill him.

Qiao Jiaming took another drink of wine, then backhanded the ceramic bottle to the ground, leaving only a broken stub. Then, clutching this, he staggered after Li Yunxin.

Many people noticed this person, already smelling strongly of alcohol early in the morning, but paid little attention. In such an era, the efficiency of information transmission was still extremely low. Even a major event like the death of Governor Li was still unknown to many people even now.

But another person, however, gave him an extra glance.

This person was a woman, who had been standing on the street earlier. Her attire was actually very ordinary. She wore the typical white silk robes common for women in this era and season, covered by a light green thin gauze outer garment. Such an outfit, if she carried a round fan, would make her look like a delicate and graceful young lady from a good family.

But this woman had cinched her waist with a silk ribbon, which instantly elevated her entire demeanor. She possessed both the delicate charm of a young girl and a hint of heroism.

Looking at her face, one would find that she simply had a Taoist bun, adorned with a wooden hairpin. But two smooth strands of black hair hung down by her cheeks, adding a touch of femininity to her solemnity.

As for her appearance…

You'd find it quite hard to describe her looks. Passersby could all see her face—they would never feel revulsion or disgust towards her appearance. But they would also never feel any sense of stunning beauty or lewd thoughts. It was as if, upon seeing her, a blurry cloud would form in their minds, blocking out any thoughts of "is this woman beautiful or ugly."

Now this woman stood empty-handed under a tree on one side, with no one within a few steps of her. Within this small area, it was as if she existed in her own world. She watched the passers-by come and go, then saw Qiao Jiaming's movements in the distance, and tilted her head slightly, letting out an "Oh?"

"Interesting," she said.

In fact, her "interesting" was said without much emotion, with almost no fluctuation in tone. As if the bustling world before her eyes was all but a fleeting cloud. But within this cloud, she saw a small vortex.

"Interesting"—just a little bit more "interesting" than complete disinterest.

But even that little bit was enough for her to lift a foot and follow.

Although Weicheng was a major city in that era, it couldn't be like Li Yunxin's time, where not a speck of dirt could be seen by the roadside. The place where the woman stood was under a tree, on yellow earth. Because there had been no rain for several days, the ground was covered with a layer of dust.

But after she walked away… there wasn't even a single footprint.

The soles of this woman's feet were always a barely perceptible distance from the ground.

She was… walking on air.