Inner Demons

However, his previous statements were all fabrications. It wasn't expected that Wang Sheng could actually produce anything extraordinary based on his few words. Gunpowder's power is ultimately limited, and it's related to many other technologies; knowing a formula doesn't automatically put you in the gunpowder age.

Moreover, it's debatable whether the raw materials in Wang Sheng's possession are even suitable.

However, Li Yunxin didn't need to see any results. He simply made a mark or buried something along the way. If the opportunity arose, or if things turned out as he imagined, the bait would work.

As he walked the streets of Weicheng, he couldn't help but look up at the night sky again.

The night sky is so familiar, only a few familiar stars are missing.

The history of this world, at least the recorded history...

It's been almost 30,000 years...

But something was quite wrong—at least in his experience.

It's getting more and more interesting.

He wandered the streets of Weicheng on this night, even revisiting the small, devastated street he had destroyed the previous night. Walking at night often leads to ghostly encounters, but for him, it was a ghost seeking him out. After walking for a while, he turned around on the street: "What is it?"

A woman dressed in black palace attire, with her hair styled in a butterfly-wing bun, emerged from the shadows and said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty has excellent hearing. The sheriff was just about to pay his respects to Your Majesty."

"Ah, it's you. I thought it was Pheasant—" Li Yunxin looked her up and down. After a while, she smiled, "I must say, you're really a beauty in human form—I didn't recognize you when you were a cat, but looking at your features now...you must have Persian cat blood in your family, right?"

The woman in black, the cat demon whom Li Yunxin had named "Warning for the Long Term," lowered her head slightly, smiled faintly, and said in a sweet voice, "Replying to Your Majesty, I, Cat Slave, am originally a spirit who knows nothing of human affairs, how could I know about my ancestral lineage? Fortunately, Your Majesty has shown me mercy and taught me the righteous methods to cultivate my spiritual power. Now that I have taken human form, it is a blessing from three lifetimes that Your Majesty finds pleasing and enjoyable. If Your Majesty—"

As he spoke, he moved closer to Li Yunxin.

Li Yun held up a finger: "Don't get all over me. I'm still a child at this age. But... don't pronounce your name like that anymore. Calling you 'Chief Sheriff' when you're a beautiful woman just makes me feel out of place."

The cat demon stopped in its tracks and said, "I leave it to Your Majesty to decide."

Li Yun thought for a moment and then said, "I know there is a Fairy Disenchantment in the Dream of the Red Chamber. From now on, you should pronounce her as 'Chief Sheriff' (警长) – that's what it means to warn people to stay vigilant for a long time."

The cat demon looked up and smiled shyly and happily: "Yes. From now on, my cat slave will be called Sheriff."

"So what brings you here?"

The black cat then said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, as Your Majesty instructed, the four of us brothers, along with Miss Qiao, possessed the enshrined clay sculpture to absorb the power of wishes and cultivate our Taoist arts. Except for Miss Qiao, who is still somewhat confused due to the long delay, the four of us have already achieved initial success a few days ago.”

“Recently, the four of us, following the King’s orders, have been displaying our supernatural powers and performing some miraculous deeds. The villagers near White Egret Island have all become followers of my Divine Dragon Cult. Also, following the King’s orders, we have not made things difficult for those who do not believe or who gossip.”

"The King once told Lady Sanhua that once the conditions are right near Bailuzhou, we should come to Weicheng. Therefore, Lady Sanhua sent me to ask the King what to do next?"

Li Yunxin was quite surprised when she heard her speak.

This little cat speaks clearly and thinks quickly; she's just like a real person—no wonder the calico cat didn't come herself, but instead asked her to.

Even the three beauties couldn't speak as clearly and concisely as she does.

I previously admired the Fifth Boyu for his composure and experience, but now I see... well, this little cat also has potential to be discovered.

But that's a story for later—Li Yunxin then asked, "How is Taoist Liu?"

"Your Majesty, Master Liu has also been cultivating diligently recently, and his cultivation level is the highest—he has already broken through to the realm of intent."

Li Yunxin exclaimed in surprise, "Eh?"

Although it is said that the lower the cultivation level, the easier it is to make progress, and that Old Liu had a foundation, in addition, Shi Kuizi also said that Old Liu was very talented.

But Li Yunxin never expected things to get this good.

From the time he passed on the Water Cloud Force to Master Liu until now... only two months have passed. And he has already broken through to a higher level.

He himself was a genius among geniuses, but it took him half a year to go from practicing Taoist arts to breaking through to a higher level of understanding.

It's truly unbelievable—luckily, he has already possessed the dragon prince's body and is cultivating both the divine path and the painting path. With ample willpower, his progress is unparalleled by human cultivators. Otherwise, he, the master, would have been surpassed by his older disciple…

—Where is the face then?

But the thought that Old Liu, who had spent almost his entire life frustrated and unsuccessful, would finally have his day in the sun made Li Yun feel somewhat relieved. That Taoist Liu was worldly-wise, and his early experiences were extraordinary. His previous timid and calculating behavior as a commoner was simply because the dust and sand of the world had buried his sharp edges and spirit.

Now that he has received the true teachings of Taoism, he will once again reveal his extraordinary talents—

He might very well be the second Fifth Boyu.

Li Yunxin tapped her palm with her folding fan and laughed, "Alright, alright. I've almost finished arranging things in Weicheng, and it's time to go into the city to do my work. But there's no rush until tomorrow; I still have some things to take care of. You all wait for my news. You go back first. These days... if any strange people sneak into Bailuzhou to gather information, don't touch them. I'll deal with them when I get back after I've finished my business."

The black cat nodded and said in a sweet voice, "I will obey Your Majesty's orders."

"Then let's go back." After saying this, Li Yunxin rose with the wind and instantly disappeared several miles away.

...

...

By dawn, he had already appeared at the Dragon King Temple at the Sanhekou of Bailuzhou.

Following his instructions, the people of the Divine Dragon Cult did not touch the Dragon King Temple. However, the temple's keeper, Kunyangzi, was killed by his master, and his soul was refined into a soul bell. For a time, no one could be found to replace him.

There were originally two young attendants in the temple, but the day after they learned of their master's death, they ran away with all the money left by Kunyangzi, as well as the gold and silver candlesticks enshrined in the temple.

So the Dragon King Temple became deserted—only occasionally would some people come from Weicheng or from all around to worship. However, seeing that the temple was almost empty, they lost the desire to return.

After a while, today, the first thing Li Yunxin saw when she entered the temple was a pile of salted fish drying on the ground.

The Dragon King Temple was built with great care, and the courtyard is paved with smooth, large bluestones. Even after all these years, and after being cleaned and maintained, it is still better than other places.

This is like cursing a bald man in front of a monk—the person drying fish certainly doesn't know that the current temple owner is actually a salted fish.

He walked straight through the courtyard to the main hall, where he found the incense table empty except for a glaring statue of the Dragon King. He sensed it briefly—the statue still possessed spiritual power.

So she called softly, "Red Lady, Red Lady, I have something to tell you."

She said this a couple of times but got no response. So Li Yunxin left the temple and sat down in the wooden pavilion where they had met before.

I waited all day.

As the sun slowly sets behind the mountains, the heat on the ground gradually dissipates, and flocks of birds return to their nests.

Then I saw the bright moon rising from the west, the stars shining brightly in the sky, and the Milky Way stretching across the heavens.

The matchmaker hasn't arrived yet.

Li Yunxin was not in a hurry and waited patiently for two hours, until the second watch of the night.

Finally, a glimmer of candlelight rose from beneath the water's surface.

He stood up and saw Hong Niangzi carrying a red lantern. She looked as pretty as when they last met, but her complexion wasn't very good—that was naturally Li Yunxin's feeling. In reality, Hong Niangzi was still forcing a smile, and as she was ushered into the pavilion by the water below, she said, "I just saw you the other day, why are you calling me again?"

Her tone was not one of joy, and it was barely even polite.

She seemed unwilling to see Li Yunxin—a stark contrast to her behavior just two days ago.

But Li Yunxin only bowed solemnly to Hong Niangzi: "Hong Niangzi, do you know any earth-shattering news? The emperor of the Li Kingdom—"

"Alas. I knew you came for this matter." Hong Niangzi sighed and sat back down on the railing where she had been sitting. After looking at Li Yunxin for a while, she said again, "What kind of person are you? Do you know—the affairs of Weicheng and the Wei River are not something you can get involved in."

Hong Niangzi's expression shifted in the candlelight: "You want to avenge your friend and travel around. But in reality, many things will happen whether you do them or not. I heard that you disguised yourself as a member of the Divine Dragon Cult on the streets of Weicheng the other day to ruin the reputation of the Divine Dragon Cult, and that very night there was a fight in Weicheng, which even triggered the Nine Heavens Thunderfire—aren't you afraid at all?"

Some things happened.

Li Yunxin's heart skipped a beat. Both the tone and demeanor of the matchmaker indicated that something had happened. These events, which had changed the demon's attitude within two days, were probably the reason for her late arrival.

But... this is a good thing. His contact with this Red Maiden was precisely to find out the situation on Dongting Lord's side.

The Lord of Dongting was a great demon who had lived for three thousand years, and was cunning and scheming. Although he appeared as simple as an ordinary human, it was because he didn't care—great demons are powerful and can solve many problems with a single word, "kill," so they don't pay much attention to other details.

For example, that night at Junshan.

Therefore, he tried to "save the country through a roundabout way," and now it seems... he took the right path.

The matchmaker seems to be in a rather unstable mood tonight, which is an excellent starting point.

Li Yunxin frowned slightly: "So you know this now. Hong Niangzi, although I am... although I am just a lowly Yin spirit, I still know a bit about the big picture."

"The Daoist sect and the Sword Sect have lost five cultivators with great supernatural powers, and these were injured by our Yin spirits; they will certainly not let this go. Furthermore, Liu Ling died by Dongting Lake; the Daoist sect will undoubtedly use this as an excuse to launch an attack. If we don't make plans and act soon—"

Hong Niangzi suddenly frowned and scolded him in a delicate voice, "Why are you meddling in so much?!"

Hearing her words, Li Yunxin was genuinely taken aback. Then she asked in confusion, "What is this, Lady Hong..."

After the carp spirit finished drinking, she sighed again. She closed her eyes slightly, ignoring him, as if she was thinking about something, before opening them again and whispering, "I... I'll take you to see someone."

She jumped down from the railing, carrying a lantern, and walked up to Li Yunxin. She then raised the lantern to illuminate his face and examined him closely for a while: "Since I can't persuade you, I'll take you to see that person. But if you promise me now to never concern yourself with Weicheng and the Wei River again, and to leave this place far away to become a carefree ghost cultivator... there's still a chance."

“Red Maiden…you…” Li Yunxin also looked at her. But he found that the female demon’s eyes were shifting, as if she really wanted to stare straight at him, but because of something else, she felt guilty and always wanted to look away.

He smiled inwardly, guessing at a possibility. He said, "I'll go with you."

Hong Niangzi sighed, turned around, took a few steps, and stepped into the lake. A wave rose on the surface of the water and supported her.

“Come here,” said the matchmaker.

Li Yunxin stared at the wave pool for a long time without taking a step. He frowned: "Isn't there... any other way? Are we going to go into the water? Or..."

Hong Niangzi turned around and gave a wry smile: "You're actually afraid of water?"

Li Yunxin awkwardly spread her hands: "Well... there are some. So, to say whether there are any—"

But before he could finish speaking, Hong Niangzi turned and pounced on him, clinging to his arms. For a fleeting moment, Li Yunxin's spiritual energy surged, his muscles tensed, and he nearly leaped backward, accidentally killing her!

However, the matchmaker simply hugged his arm—her full breasts pressed against his side, her cherry lips whispering in his ear, "Then I'll take you away."

She was a ghost cultivator and didn't need to breathe. Unless she deliberately used magic or supernatural powers, her body was always ice-cold. But at this moment, Li Yunxin was caught off guard by her embrace, and her heart still fluttered.

He pretended to pull his arm away, saying only, "Red... Red Lady, what are you doing... you've already..."

But Hong Niangzi ignored him. She simply pulled him up and leaped onto the wave platform. Then the sound of waves and wind rose in their ears, and the two were carried by the waves straight towards the center of the lake.

At this point, Li Yunxin truly stopped struggling. She simply pursed her lips, staring intently at the shattered jade-like waves beneath her feet, saying nothing.

The vast expanse of Dongting Lake stretches for thousands of miles. A quarter of an hour's journey has taken us past Sanhekou, and the mountains on both banks have disappeared from view. At this moment, Dongting Lake resembles an endless sea, with no end in sight. Only the brilliant Milky Way overhead casts its cool light, reflected on the lake's surface.

Hong Niangzi remained silent, only staring at Li Yunxin's profile. Her eyes flickered with tenderness, sadness and guilt, and anxiety.

She clung to Li Yunxin's arm, pressing close to him. Yet it didn't seem like she was seducing him, but merely fulfilling some desires…

What are your own thoughts?

Another quarter of an hour passed before the matchmaker sighed softly, "Li Lang, since you're afraid of water, I won't scare you anymore."

With that, he waved his hand, and the wave beneath his feet, which resembled shattered jade, transformed into a small white jade boat, carrying the two of them to the lake.

The woman released Li Yunxin's arm, walked to one end of the boat and sat down, hugging her knees as if she were cold, and resting her chin on them.

Then she smiled slightly, watched silently as Li Yunxin let out a long breath and settled down at the other end of the small boat, before softly asking, "Li Lang, you just said that I am... you mean I am already a wife, right?"

"You...are you very concerned about this?"

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