Inner Demons

After that subconscious “Huh?” Yu Meng remained in the same position, falling into a long period of blankness.

A quarter of an hour later, he asked in a tone that was difficult to discern: “Did you bring my sword?”

Lili retrieved his sword from under the pushcart’s straw mat. The luxurious jewels inlaid on the scabbard and hilt shone brightly in the light of the talisman-script, sparkling beautifully. She walked into the room, presented the long sword to Yu Meng, and knelt down again.

Yu Meng hugged his sword and remained silent for a while longer, then said, “I don’t blame you. Just let me be alone for a moment.”

Wusu and Lili exchanged glances and quietly retreated. But before closing the door, Wusu poked her head back in, lowered her eyes, and said, “Young Master, before the Taoist priest killed the master, he said that he helped that Li Yunxin and was an accomplice to the demon. We have suffered this disaster because of him.”

Yu Meng glanced at Wusu with dull eyes and said softly, “We shouldn’t blame him either.”

So Wusu withdrew.

They both sighed softly. Then, carrying the small swords that were still stained with blood, they walked through the deserted garden.

They could no longer remember whose garden this was. It was located in a remote part of Weicheng, adjacent to a section of the city wall. It had been abandoned for a long, long time, overgrown with lush weeds and trees. The two girls had been frightened and troubled for a long time tonight, but they didn’t feel sleepy now; their minds were just numb, and they could only think in a linear fashion.

Beside them was the rustling of vegetation swaying in the wind, and in the far distance, there seemed to be the shouts of people. Wusu and Lili walked around the garden and returned to the room where Yu Meng was, finding that the Young Master still hadn't come out. They felt like two fallen leaves.

The night passed like this amidst the sporadic sounds of crowing roosters.

By morning, no one had come after them.

Wusu changed her clothes and went out to the street from the concealed back door of the abandoned garden to check the situation—she found that the streets were not as chaotic anymore.

People were patrolling the streets. The people patrolling were not official constables, and she was even familiar with one of the faces.

So she realized that the other aristocratic families in the city had united to maintain order. Her master had speculated whether he would become the rightful controller of Weicheng; now it seemed the answer was negative. Those who controlled Weicheng were the hunting dogs and the sharks.

She walked for quite a while and found a noodle shop. She bought some breakfast, but frowned deeply. She wondered if her Young Master could stomach this kind of food.

But she wasn't in a hurry to return, instead inquiring about some news.

She learned that Yu Qi was not the only one who died last night, nor was the Yu Family the only one destroyed. Almost all those who had funded the Divine Dragon Cult and helped the Divine Dragon Cult in the past few days were killed. The Taoist priests did not care about the difficulties those people had faced—for example, Yu Qi believed that perhaps the Divine Dragon Cult’s backer was the Daoist Orthodoxy itself, or the patriarchs of other families might have been coerced by the Yu Family—the Taoist priests did not care.

They killed the people who had helped the Divine Dragon Cult, "only eliminating the chief culprits." But like the Yu Family's situation, the Taoist priests killed one person, while the hunting dogs and sharks killed many. Wusu did not know if the Taoist priests understood this point.

The Taoist priests were no longer interested in her Young Master. But many others would be. For the first time in over a decade, Wusu felt that this city had become terrifying and unfamiliar, like a ferocious giant beast. And she herself was like dust.

The morning sun rose, submerging the light emitted by the talisman-script hovering above Weicheng. This made Wusu feel a little more at ease. She left the street before it became too lively and returned to the abandoned garden.

She saw Lili sitting on a low stool outside the room, hugging her small sword and staring ahead—a dull and vacant look due to extreme exhaustion.

A small web, adorned with tiny dewdrops on the silk, had been spun by a spider between her ponytail and the wall.

Wusu walked over, brushed the cobweb from her head, slipped two warm sugar cakes into her hand, and asked, “Where is the Young Master?”

“Sitting without moving,” Lili said. She stared at the sugar cakes for a moment before realizing what they were, and then bit into one. But she clearly couldn't taste anything, just swallowing it as "food."

Wusu reached out and gently stroked her sister's cheek, then pushed the door open and walked in.

Yu Meng looked up at her, then lowered his gaze.

The Yu Family’s young master was hugging that luxurious long sword, as if he were holding a walking stick or a tree to lean on. His eyes were large, and now even wider. He looked as if he was angry at something invisible, or as if he was practicing some strange cultivation method. He stared at his hands, as if a great secret was hidden there.

Wusu called him, but he didn't answer. The girl gently placed the pastry wrapped in oil paper on the three-legged wooden table by his bed, walked to his side, and slowly sat down.

Yu Meng did not object or make any move.

They sat in silence like this for a while. Wusu slowly leaned her head on Yu Meng’s shoulder, narrowed her eyes, and said, “Young Master, we are both so tired.”

Yu Meng still didn't answer her.

Wusu leaned against nothing—as she leaned against Yu Meng, Yu Meng tilted his head back and fell down, his eyes still open.

The girl was so startled she nearly screamed, and immediately reached out to check his breathing—only to find his breathing was steady and even.

She was stunned for a long while… then remembered something.

Her Young Master, Yu Meng, was a disciple of the Water-Parting Sword Lord Lu Jiao. Wusu and Lili also practiced martial arts, but they knew they were not as skilled as their Young Master. But how skilled was their Young Master? They actually weren’t sure. They did know the legends about the Young Master’s master, Lord Lu Jiao.

It was said that his Water-Parting Sword skill, when cultivated to an extremely profound level, could achieve the unity of man and sword. There were extremely mysterious tales saying that when Lord Lu Jiao slept with his sword, his Spiritual Soul would reside in the sword. If relatives and friends came while he was asleep, the sword would not react. However, if malicious villains came, the Spiritual Soul residing in the sword would instantly sense it, fly up, and kill them.

Before, they had only taken these as rumors—who would dare truly test a great hero like Lord Lu Jiao?

But now Wusu saw her Young Master…

She froze there, subconsciously covering her mouth, silent for a long moment.

Until she heard the door open—Lili poked half her head in, her face pale from exhaustion and worry. She widened her eyes and gestured to Wusu. Wusu quickly grabbed her sword, walked out, and closed the door.

“Look,” Lili immediately pointed to a spot a dozen steps away from the door of the room.

Wusu looked and her expression changed.

The path leading to the door was originally paved with Bluestone slabs, but now wild grass grew in the cracks between the slabs. Still, it wasn't as dense as on the sides, so the ground was visible. They saw a small cloth bundle lying on the stone slabs. The blue-and-white patterned cloth had been untied.

“I accidentally dozed off while leaning here for a while,” Lili said. “In a flash, I opened my eyes, and it was there. I opened it and found fifteen taels of silver, two bottles of wound-healing medicine, eight plasters, and this—”

She spread her hand, and in her palm was a small piece of paper, half the size of a palm.

Some characters were scrawled on the paper—her Young Master’s handwriting when he first learned to read at five years old was better than this: “Dragon Head Yu met with great difficulty, unable to repay, sending some silver and medicine, to show my sincerity.”

Wusu frowned at the sight, thinking there was at least one mistake, possibly two or three. But the meaning was clear—someone said that Yu Meng, Dragon Head Yu, had suffered misfortune, and thus sent silver and medicine to express their sincerity.

But this also meant…

Wusu and Lili exchanged uneasy glances.

It meant someone had discovered their hiding place.

Yu Meng was formerly a hands-off Escort Agency Guild Dragon Head. If Yu Family patriarch Yu Qi had many enemies, Yu Family Young Master Yu Meng truly did not have many. Not only were they few, but his popularity was very good—who would dislike a wealthy young master who was always smiling and casually spending money?

Perhaps a family had received inadvertent help from Yu Meng during a time of crisis, and now wanted to express something. But it also seemed to be a minor figure, only daring to do this much, and not daring to bring trouble upon themselves.

But the problem was that the person knew they were here…

What about others?!

Perhaps the person threw the bundle here with the intention of advising them that this place was unsafe to stay!

Just then, two whistling sounds of objects cutting through the air came, heading straight for the two girls.

Wusu and Lili were already on guard and immediately leaped forward, avoiding the hidden weapon. But the sound did not stop, closely following them. The two girls dodged and weaved, and within a few breaths, they were forced more than two zhang away from the room by a series of over ten hidden weapons.

The other party seemed deliberately trying to drive the two of them away, and it was unclear how many people were lying in ambush.

Wusu took advantage of a momentary break, released her essence energy, and shouted, “Young Master! Someone is coming!”

But Yu Meng in the room didn't react, and the breath she used to leap and maneuver had dispersed. Unable to avoid the next incoming hidden weapon, she could only use the small sword in her hand to deflect it.

But when the hidden weapon hit the sword, it was not the sound of metal clashing.

With a muffled puff, a cloud of white mist exploded, covering Wusu’s head and face.

She knew immediately it was bad when she smelled it, and hurriedly shouted, “Close your eyes!”

She and Lili quickly closed their eyes, held their breath, leaped diagonally, and rolled into the tall weeds, finally escaping the range of the hidden weapons for the moment.

But they were also far away from the room where Yu Meng was.

“Lime powder,” Lili gnashed her teeth, thinking the opponent was utterly despicable.

The attackers revealed themselves.

A total of eight people stood up from the distant grass, looking like they had entered through the back door—Wusu wondered if she had exposed her tracks when she went out. Perhaps she would have been extremely careful on a normal day, but now… one reason was exhaustion, and the other was worry and anxiety. Not everything could be done well just by relying on a burst of passion and ruthlessness. She was tired, so her sight and hearing were not as good as before; this was something secular people could not change.

There were eight people facing them, and she and her sister were both tired and sleepy. But even on a normal day, they might be able to easily escape from these eight people, but they might not be able to protect their Young Master from them—they were not Taoist priests or Sword Cultivators. All they could rely on were the small swords in their hands, their martial arts, and their courage. But in front of eight people, these things could not allow them to fight ten opponents with one person. They couldn't even fight four.

Those eight people did not look like the hooligans and Wandering Heroes from last night who could be easily scared off.

Wusu and Lili did not know how their Young Master would react—if they themselves had gone through such an experience, they wouldn’t know how they would react either.

Just then, one of the burly men among the eight slowly walked toward the room, speaking as he went.

His tone was slow and clear, infused with malice and arrogance: “Everyone says Yu Family Dragon Head Yu is extraordinarily skilled. But in the end, he needs two young girls to protect him, hiding himself in the room. If he truly has skill, I would really like to see exactly how formidable he is.”

Lili knew the other party was trying to provoke them into speaking, in order to pinpoint their location. But she couldn’t swallow her anger. So she pinched her throat and raised her voice, making it float vaguely so its origin couldn't be distinguished: “See exactly? You fool, I’m afraid you’ll just dirty my Young Master’s hands. If you want to talk about real skill, humph. Those who have seen my Young Master’s real skill are now drinking tea with the Yama King. Are you not afraid of a short life!”

The burly man was slightly taken aback by her words. But he quickly composed himself and laughed heartily: “That Young Master of yours hasn’t shown his face or made a sound yet… even if he is truly skilled, what difference does it make? Is he seriously injured, or about to die? But someone paid money for his life, and if he dies, they won’t pay! I think you two are just bluffing—Brothers, ignore those two little girls, rush in and capture Yu Meng!”

The few people behind him had already slowly surrounded the room. Hearing him say this, they all responded in unison and made to rush into the room.

Wusu and Lili’s hearts leaped into their throats.

The two girls weren't worried that their Young Master couldn't defeat these eight people. However… they weren’t sure if their Young Master was willing to fight these eight people right now.

With his listless appearance, Wusu and Lili felt that he was already heartbroken and didn’t want to live anymore—they truly wondered if drugging him and carrying him out last night had been the right thing to do!

Just as they couldn't hold back and were about to rush out, they heard another voice coming from the rooftop behind them.

Wusu and Lili were greatly startled—what kind of skill did it take for them not to notice?!

They turned back to look. They saw a man standing on the rooftop. The man wore black clothes, a black bamboo hat, and held a black saber in his arms. He had a broad, strong chin with stubble on it. It seemed he hadn't had time to tend to his appearance due to continuous travel and sleeping rough.

“I will protect this person,” the man in black said in a deep, powerful voice.

After saying this, he used the hilt of his saber to nudge the brim of his hat, revealing a pair of sharp, sparkling eyes: “If you know what's good for you, get lost.”

Wusu and Lili were somewhat bewildered, wondering who this person was and why his tone was so arrogant.

The eight people were naturally even more confused—they didn’t know when the person had appeared, or what his identity was. But the stable aura of the man in black intimidated them. The burly man who had spoken earlier raised the short knife in his hand and pointed it at him from a distance: “Your tone is quite arrogant, Sir. Aren't you afraid of the wind flashing your tongue? The person our Eight Tigers of the Wei River want to capture—on what grounds can you protect him?”

=========

The big front-page recommendation will be tomorrow! (To be continued.)

Reflections on the Big Front-Page Recommendation

The experience of writing this book is that an idea had been in my heart for several years, and by the middle of last year, it came to a head.

I thought I should write it out; the idea had matured.

So I wrote the beginning, wrote some settings, and released it.

My editor is You Long, and the chief editor is An Yi. Just before the book was released as a premium, You Long told me that the results shouldn’t be bad and that I should have confidence.

Then it was released as a premium, and everyone supported it. I looked, and sure enough, the results were quite satisfactory.

It has been three months since the premium release. During these ninety-two days, my life has been quite routine, and my mood has been good. Therefore, the time without updates has probably not exceeded six days. This is a big improvement for me.

So a person's destiny, of course, relies on their own hard work.

But one must also consider the historical process.

I absolutely did not know how I, as a book of a few hundred thousand characters, got selected for the big front-page recommendation?

So when Comrade You Long spoke to me:

“The editorial department has decided that you will be on the big front-page recommendation.”

I said, “How is that possible.”

I am truly not being modest. How did a small-time author like me end up on the homepage?

But Comrade You Long said, “The editorial department has already discussed and decided.”

Later, I recited two lines of poetry, which mean, “I will devote my life to updating, never avoiding it out of laziness.”

So today I am on the big front-page recommendation.

Today, for the big front-page recommendation, there are probably three things:

One, establishing a system of no more than three days of leave per month from now on.

Two, adding a character-request thread to the comment section.

Three, adding one extra update today.

If my book has achieved any success, it is in being praised and told that it is well-written!

This is also very important to me.

But these are all secondary. Today, the main thing is to talk about these three matters, and to thank the editors and readers for their support over this long time. Without you, this book would have probably stopped long ago.

I am very ashamed to have done just a small piece of work. Thank you all! (To be continued.)

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