Inner Demons

Ying Jueran raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It was unclear if he agreed with the statement or was indifferent. However, having even met a prodigy like Li Yunxin, why would he be overly surprised by Yu Meng?

"Then, when I met him," Ying Jueran mused for a moment and said, "I was going to do something big that night, but he ran into me. He helped me out and taught a few people a lesson. Then he told me that I should move the people in my fort to Weicheng. Does Dragon Head Yu know about Chuyun Mountain?"

Yu Meng thought for a moment: "There's a secured escort route in Liang Province that passes by there. I heard there are bandits on the mountain, but they're not exactly bandits. They're tolerable and haven't done anything wicked."

"Chuyun Mountain is three hundred li outside Weicheng. The 'bandits' on the mountain that Dragon Head Yu heard about are the Heizhai Fort. I am the Fort Master. However, few people know this."

Yu Meng looked at Ying Jueran again: "Ah, yes. That's what I asked—who you are."

"I am not a mountain bandit. The people in the fort are just a group of people who couldn't find food. I gathered them together," Ying Jueran said solemnly. "Liang Province is very poor. But while the secured escort route of Liang Province is not the safest, it is not the most dangerous either. This is because the people in my fort don't feed on common folks; they feed on those true bandit strongholds."

"That Li Yunxin is very ambitious. He told me that if my fort wanted to survive, I needed to tell the people in the fort something different. I was dizzy-headed and thought it made a lot of sense... so I brought people to Weicheng." Ying Jueran said this, narrowed his eyes, and looked around.

Yu Meng followed his gaze.

The two had not fought, so it was hard to say whose martial arts were stronger. But they were both experts, either second-rate or even above, in the martial world, so keen senses were to be expected. Thus, they also saw human figures—hidden in the wild grass scattered throughout the ruined garden. A rough estimate put the number at over a dozen.

It seemed that if he had truly wanted to kill the Eight Tigers of the Wei River just now, it would have been effortless.

"I brought this first batch of a few dozen people to Weicheng. Every one of them is an expert, far superior to the likes of the Eight Tigers," Ying Jueran said. "Listening to Li Yunxin before, it was as if this Weicheng was already in his grasp—he wanted the people from our fort to come over and help him take over this city. But when I brought people here this time, what I saw was the current situation. Not only can't I find him, but the city is also searching everywhere for people who had connections with him."

"Now the city is sealed, and it's not good for us to act rashly. We can only see if we can figure things out." Ying Jueran looked at Yu Meng. "If he's finished and dead, we'll go back to Chuyun Mountain. If Dragon Head Yu knows where he is, what he's doing, and what his plans are, we can wait and see."

Yu Meng frowned: "In this situation, you still want to wait for him? The people of the Daoist Orthodoxy... have taken over Weicheng. He probably doesn't have much chance left. Why do you trust him?"

This question should have been difficult to answer. But Ying Jueran did not hesitate. He shook his head: "It's not exactly trust. It's just that—on the way back to the fort, I thought about what he said that night. No one has ever spoken like that. I mean, not only has no one said it to me, but I've never heard anyone say it to others. At first, I thought it was nonsense. But when I thought about it carefully afterward, there was another layer of profound logic to it."

"Then, back at the fort, I compared those words to the current and past situations and pondered them for a while longer..." Ying Jueran sighed. "I realized that either I don't care about this fort and let it slowly collapse on its own. Or, if I want to lead these people to do something worthwhile—I need to listen and learn more from him. No, Dragon Head Yu, I know what that expression means. I am not simply a martial artist. My ancestors served as scholars in the Ye Dynasty, and I came from a wealthy family in my youth and studied. I still read now."

"I believe my learning, while not on par with grand masters, is not completely ignorant—but the scholars in the world today cannot speak those words he spoke."

"So it's not exactly trust. I just want to find him and see what his situation is. I'll help if I can. If I can't, I'll listen to him talk about some principles. If I can't even hear principles, I'll go back to Chuyun Mountain. So... does Dragon Head Yu know how to find him?"

Yu Meng smiled faintly—this was the first time he had smiled since Ying Jueran saw him. The meaning of the smile was unclear; it was unknown what he was smiling about.

"Help him? The people of the Daoist Orthodoxy want to capture him. You are just a person of the secular martial world; how can you help? Do you know who my family used to work for? The Zhao Family. That Celestial Official of the Ministry of Personnel, the Zhao Family who supposedly held great power in the Qing Kingdom... But my father was killed last night."

Yu Meng was silent for a moment: "But if you truly want to find him, I can give it a try. You take me out of the city first."

"You really know?"

"Just a try." Yu Meng lightly stroked the shark-skin-wrapped, gem-inlaid sword hilt. "When the Divine Dragon Cult wanted to enter the city, I was curious and went to South Mountain to take a look. It is said they first started their uprising there. Then I heard some rumors about Li Yunxin... it seems he has been in Egret Town for a long time. There should be some clues nearby. But Great Hero Ying—"

Yu Meng looked at him seriously: "He is not human. The Daoist Orthodoxy says he is a demon. I don't know if he truly is. Because some also say he is the Wei River Dragon King, a dragon, or something else... But whatever he is, he is an anomaly. He is fighting the Daoist Orthodoxy; it is not something you or I can truly do much about. Great Hero Ying, it is good that you want to find a way out for your fort. But if you're not careful and let your fort be crushed by the Daoist Orthodoxy, that wouldn't be good."

"So I'll just take a look," Ying Jueran said. "Dragon Head Yu, when do you plan to leave the city? I need to prepare."

"Let's wait until they wake up."

They left the city at night.

They had met in the morning. By night, Yu Meng had also slept for a while. He had returned to the previous Yu Meng, with no trace of "sadness" visible on him—except for the sword he held.

Wusu and Lili were worried about this.

But now, the night in Weicheng was no longer dark; it was almost indistinguishable from the daytime.

The only difference was that people still had to sleep. Although many people couldn't sleep because of the light and the events of the day, there were fewer people on the streets. Weicheng was prosperous, and houses were built right up to the city wall. The government had strictly forbidden any construction within five zhang of the wall base, but the order had long been resolved with bribes.

Anyway, Weicheng was in the hinterland. If an army really came to the city, there would be no need to defend it. No one wanted to go through another massacre like the one hundreds of years ago.

So, the houses could conceal their movements.

They also had to deal with certain people who sought revenge against the Yu Family, not well-trained soldiers. Ying Jueran had taught the Eight Tigers of the Wei River a lesson in the morning, declaring that Yu Meng was now under his protection. By the time they walked onto the street at night, ready to leave the city, the words had taken effect.

Black Saber rode brazenly on a black horse, followed by dozens of experts he had brought from the Heizhai Fort. Yu Meng, Wusu, and Lili were protected in the middle.

It was difficult for such a group of people to go unnoticed on the street, but it was also a form of testing.

If the Taoist priests of the Daoist Orthodoxy wanted Yu Meng, they would not be able to leave now. If the Taoist priests were genuinely uninterested in Yu Meng, they could safely reach the walls of Weicheng.

As it turned out, no one came to stop them after walking for half an hour. They encountered several groups of people on the road. Some stared at them expressionlessly at the alley entrance, neither speaking nor making any moves. Others looked at Ying Jueran and nodded to him—they were acquaintances, telling him, "Brother, I won't interfere with your current task."

Other people seemed eager to move but retreated after seeing the dozens of people following Black Saber in a large procession—Ying Jueran instructed his men to remember them.

It seemed his reputation was still effective, and the lesson he taught the Eight Tigers was severe enough. Once they approached the city wall, the group turned into an alley, guarded the entrance in shifts, and finally went around a few corners. Using the rope ladder they had left on the city wall's crenellations when they entered, they safely left the city.

The Taoist priests had easily taken this city, but they did not seem to be able to fully control it. They didn't care about the ants, but the ants had their own uses.

However...

Leaving the city was surprisingly easy, but what happened outside the city was a great shock.

Ying Jueran and his people had entered the city a day earlier—the night before the Taoist priests killed Yu Qi. It had been less than two days until now.

Before entering the city, there were farmlands outside Weicheng.

But now, after climbing over the wall and leaving Weicheng...

They found that the farmlands were gone. In just one day, without any sound, the farmlands had turned into large, flat stone grounds. The stone ground was terribly smooth—the courtyard of the Yu Family was also stone, inlaid with large pieces of marble that were so polished they reflected light. It had once been praised. But it could not compare to this kind of stone ground.

The area of dozens of mu was a single piece, clearly reflecting the talismans and clouds in the sky like a mirror.

There were hundreds of such "mirrors," which seemed to surround the entire Weicheng. And large numbers of Taoist priests who had arrived from who knows where were writing things on the "stone mirrors"... Ying Jueran and Yu Meng didn't know what. But if Li Yunxin were here, he would understand that they were setting up a formation.

He could set up a Painting Formation, and the Taoist priests could set up a Calligraphy Array. Although their aura and scale could not compare to his formation, they had the advantage of sheer numbers. The thirty-six Taoist priests in Weicheng were high-level Taoist priests; a large number of Intent Realm and Illusory Realm Taoist priests were engaged in this "manual labor" outside Weicheng.

But no one seemed to notice them—in fact, their exit point was right next to a stone mirror. When the first person landed, a young Taoist priest who was writing characters on the mirror surface turned his head and faced the person—only a dozen steps away.

But the Taoist priest looked as if he had seen a wild rabbit emerge from the grass or a bird land from the sky. He glanced lightly, then turned back and lowered his head, continuing his work.

A few other people in the distance noticed them, but their reactions were identical.

Ying Jueran did not know whether he should feel lucky about this or angry at being so completely ignored.

A quarter of an hour later, they cautiously walked through the stone mirrors, feeling their clothes completely soaked with sweat.

Ying Jueran spotted a familiar face. (To be continued.)

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!