Inner Demons

Chapter 59: Haunted House

The street in front of the Qiao family's gate was a bit wider, enough for two carriages to pass abreast. On the other side of the street was an open canal. The canal bank was built with bluestone slabs, where some dwarf trees were planted.

Li Yunxin didn't know the name of those trees, but he saw small red fruits the size of a thumb hanging among the tender green leaves, making them exceptionally appealing. After walking for a few minutes, he could see the flying eaves of the Qiao family's gate. Originally, there were some children picking those red fruits along the way, but as he gradually neared the Qiao family, there were no people around.

Finally, Li Yunxin stopped in front of the Qiao family's gate, his hands behind his back, and looked inside.

The black lacquered gate was tightly shut. A pair of stone lions guarded the entrance, and a large flag stood on each side.

One side read "Weicheng Hongfu Escort Agency," and the other also read "Weicheng Hongfu Escort Agency."

Li Yunxin looked for a while, then walked to the door and pushed it.

With a push, it opened. Silently.

He glanced inside, then frowned. When he had just sent Qiao Duanhong back, he had walked through this door once. If he remembered correctly, entering through the main door should have led to a spirit screen wall. Now, the spirit screen was gone, replaced by a tree.

This tree had no leaves, was as thick as a man's embrace, and sprouted many branches. But its bark was surprisingly smooth, emanating a jade-like glow. On its branches…

It was covered with golden ingots.There was no wind, but the ingots, dazzling with golden light, shimmered and swayed on the tree, as if tempting people to pick them.

When things are abnormal, they are demonic. Li Yunxin understood this principle.

So he closed his eyes.

Ordinary cultivators, unless they use special means to open their Heavenly Eye or Yin-Yang Eye, cannot directly see spirits. But ever since Li Yunxin absorbed the power of wishes from the temple, he could see spirits. He realized this anomaly when he first saw Qiao Jiaxin's faceless ghost.

But he wasn't someone who made a fuss about minor things and didn't take it to heart. The power of incense and wishes was originally something reserved for spirits and monsters; it was reasonable for something unusual to happen when a living person like him absorbed it.

At this point, he realized that he must have seen an illusion created by a spirit. He could already directly see ghosts, and when he stepped into an illusion created by a spirit, he saw it even more clearly and realistically—this was also why cultivators were reluctant to open their Yin-Yang Eyes, as it made them more susceptible to delusion.

But since he was a cultivator, he naturally possessed methods to clarify his mind, perceive reality, and break through illusions—as long as his realm was high enough. Li Yunxin was in the Transcendent Realm, which, in this secular world and for ordinary ghosts, was certainly high enough.

So he closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

The tree covered with golden ingots was gone. A mummified corpse stood stiffly in front of the spirit screen, swaying slightly. Although it was a mummified corpse, it had eyes. Not only did it have them, they were a pair of glistening eyes, black and white. Because it had no eyelids, they looked like two black pupils set in white in their sockets, now staring motionlessly at Li Yunxin.

If this mummified corpse's muscles were a bit more plump, one would likely see its cheeks taut with effort—"Come, come, come and take the bait!"

Li Yunxin sighed, closed the door behind him. He walked a few steps, kicked it over, and asked, "Did the one inside tell you to guard the door?"

The mummified corpse was clearly very panicked, its glistening eyes darting around, its whole body trembling—it was trying to "cast a spell" to quickly mesmerize Li Yunxin again.

So he released his "aura"—it was indeed that kind of "tiger's body shaking, radiating the aura of a strong person." A cultivator's vitality is always restrained, held back. But that doesn't mean there's no way to release spiritual energy externally.

At this moment, the mummified corpse truly felt the power of a Transcendent Realm master, and immediately froze.

Li Yunxin saw it was muddled and thought it was an unintelligent minor demon. He ignored it and continued into the courtyard.

Further in, everything seemed normal, until he passed through the front courtyard and entered the back living quarters.

As soon as he passed through the moon gate, he heard someone speaking. The voice was familiar—Qiao Jiaxin's voice. The tone was also familiar—that of the "Tri-Flower Goddess."

He heard her say in an eerie tone: "…Hmm? Three views! This Goddess will tell you the three views! They are the outlook on life, the world view… hmm… the framework view? Oh… the value view? Hmm… these are the three views! But this Three Views Dharma Gate… Bah! Sit properly! This Goddess is lecturing on the Dharma, hmm?!"

Li Yunxin stood outside the door, listening with his hands behind his back for a while.

This cat demon… or rather, the Tri-Flower Goddess, actually had some genuine ability.

The first time he saw her, she knew of "Painting Taoists." Later, when Li Yunxin asked her how she knew, she just said she couldn't remember. The cat demon used Qiao Jiaxin's damaged skin, and her own mind seemed to have some issues, so even Li Yunxin couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or lying.

Now he was listening from outside the door and heard her "lecturing on the Dharma."

Wild spirits, having gained a bit of intelligence by chance, developed a desire for cultivation and the Way. But the orthodox heavenly methods passed down by celestial beings were rarely seen even by secular rogue Taoists, let alone these otherworldly beings.

Therefore, even the most basic methods of meditation and qi refinement were extraordinarily precious to spirits. Some older demons, encountering opportunities, could also comprehend their own cultivation methods. Such demons could then transmit their methods to other spirits—and once they did, they would have disciples and followers, gathering together and gradually growing powerful, potentially causing harm to an area.

What Li Yunxin heard her teaching… was probably the method she had comprehended herself. It was simple and crude, but indeed somewhat useful. It seemed, however, that this cat demon had firmly remembered Li Yunxin's earlier warning to her, and had given her own method the name of "Three Views Great Dharma" (to prevent), and was teaching it to who-knows-what.

It seemed that in the past few days he hadn't been around, this cat demon had, through some unknown means, gathered a group of demons and spirits, establishing herself as a legitimate "Tri-Flower Goddess," showing signs of opening an altar and taking her rightful place.

If an ordinary cultivator were to encounter such a thing, they would surely shout "Demon beasts dare!" and charge in to slaughter them. But to Li Yunxin, he merely found it interesting.

Firstly, he had been influenced by the beautiful legends of "fox spirits" and "flower spirits." Secondly, he clearly knew his own capabilities. It wouldn't be too late to deal with it if he truly felt there was a problem.

At this moment… he simply yearned to see the scene of "demons dancing wildly" inside.

So he stepped to the door of Qiao Jiaxin's former bedroom and pushed it open.

As the door opened, the "Tri-Flower Goddess'" voice abruptly ceased.

Li Yunxin saw "Qiao Jiaxin" sitting upright on a wooden table directly opposite the door, her neck stiff. One hand rested in front of her lower abdomen, the other forming a hand seal with her middle finger and thumb, suspended in mid-air—staring at him with wide eyes.

And in front of her, on the ground…

Lay a large red-crested rooster, a white rabbit with red eyes, a black cat, and a gray mouse.

These four animals seemed so engrossed in listening to the Tri-Flower Goddess's lecture that they hadn't reacted to the sound of the door opening, remaining motionless on the ground.

It was the cat demon who, after staring at Li Yunxin for a moment, turned and scurried under the bed, only her eyes showing: "Oh? Ah… Oh dear, Grandpa, Grandpa, oh, I was lecturing, oh? I remember the three views, hmm…"

It was only then that the four animals on the ground realized they were startled, and for a moment there was a flurry of chickens and dogs, a lively chaos. The rabbit just scurried under the bed, the rooster flapped its wings, wanting to fly out the door but afraid of Li Yunxin standing there. The black cat saw the mouse, endured for a while but finally couldn't resist its nature, let out a meow and pounced on it. The mouse, however, was a bold one; with a squeak, it darted onto Li Yunxin's instep, wrapped its two tiny front paws around his ankle, and looked up at him with two dark, gleaming little eyes.

Li Yunxin knew the cat demon was afraid he would blame her for "gathering demons and spirits to harm the human world."

But he wasn't in the mood to deal with that. Nor was he in the mood to talk to the cat demon.

Now he just tilted his head slightly, looking up.

A faceless face, less than ten centimeters from his own, seemed to be staring fixedly at him. The neck behind this face was very long, extending all the way to the ceiling—Qiao Jiaxin's ghost was clinging to the roof.

She was also listening to the dharma lecture.