Inner Demons

When he woke up again, he could only see a square patch of sky.

The yellowing sky was framed by the eaves, which were lined with broken tiles and overgrown weeds. The weeds grew wildly, their aerial roots leaking down from the top like tiny waterfalls.

By the look of the sky, it was already dusk. Ying Jueran frowned, supported himself with his hands, and struggled to sit up.

He was lying in the courtyard. Two of the three rows of houses surrounding it were so dilapidated that their doors and windows were rotten, and only the one directly opposite looked habitable—and indeed, it was occupied.

He saw a fire lit inside the room. The room originally had a stove, but half of it had collapsed. Thus, the fire was not lit in the stove, but on the ground. A wooden frame stood over the fire, from which a small earthenware pot, blackened on the bottom and chipped at the rim, was suspended.

The pot seemed to hold water, and it was already boiling. It made a bubbling sound.

But it took Ying Jueran a moment longer to realize he was smelling a fragrant aroma coming from the pot. That smell was already mouth-watering, not to mention he was ravenously hungry right now. He spent a moment forcing his gaze away from the pot to look at the two people sitting behind the fire, in the shadows.

One was an old Taoist. His hair and beard hadn't been groomed for a long time, and they were tangled into clumps. He wore a blue Taoist robe, held a long spoon carved from a piece of wood, and was peering into the pot. He seemed worried that the bottom might burn.

The other one...

Ying Jueran watched for a moment and recognized the woman.

Wasn't it the "Lady Sanhua" he and Meng'e had seen in the alley that night!

Just then, he heard the old Taoist turn and say to Lady Sanhua, "Don't be angry. Though your Dao skills are high, you are a demon after all. When it comes to preparing things like this—"

He lightly tapped the rim of the earthenware pot with the long spoon in his hand. He accidentally knocked off another chip, which fell into the pot. He quickly leaned over to carefully scoop up the fragment with the long spoon, tasting the broth on the spoon in the process. Then he sat back down and continued to tell Lady Sanhua, "You demons are no good at this kind of thing. What did Brother Xin tell me before? 'Keep the fire low, use little water; when the heat is right, it is naturally delicious.' This thing, you have to stew it slowly to make it tender, soft, and savory..."

San Hua became impatient. She simply threw down the cloth in her hand and shrieked, "Aiya, old man is so noisy! Top-quality meat, huh? Aiya, trembling and glistening... Aiya... when chewed, it's a mouthful of bloody juice! Hmph, it's gone, all cooked away!"

The old Taoist snorted, "You'll know when the time comes."

Having said this, he no longer paid attention to San Hua, and San Hua ignored him as well.

Then he cast his gaze upon Ying Jueran, who was already standing in the courtyard: "Great Hero Ying, there's no need to look. Young Master Yu and the two girls have not yet had the spider venom removed and have been sent to the back to rest. Your people are back there too—their cultivation isn't high, unlike the four of you who have powerful internal energy protecting you; whether they can withstand the residual effects of this spider venom is hard to say."

"Ah... there's no need to rush to see them, just rest assured." Old Daoist Liu waved his hand at him, twirled his beard, and said with a smile, "This place lacks doctors and medicine; I was hoping the physician you brought could treat them, but it turns out your physician also fell ill—so just relax here and keep this old man company. Whether you look or not, your people probably won't make it through the night."

"Great Hero Ying should know me. I am Liu Gongzan—though this is our first meeting. My... old friend, Killer Ghost Meng'e, should be at Great Hero Ying's fortress."

His consolation was worse than saying nothing. Ying Jueran's anxiety grew after hearing this. After all, they were all people from his fortress. They had been together for a long time and were all trusted subordinates. It would be a huge loss if they all perished now. But Ying Jueran was also a person who was skilled at reading expressions. He found Old Daoist Liu's face and tone a bit odd.

There was a degree of guardedness and wariness.

He steadied his mind, glanced at the Black Saber lying on the ground beside him, cupped his hands and said, "Ghost Calculator Liu Gongzan. I have long heard of your great name. So, you must have something to ask of me."

Old Daoist Liu in front of Li Yunxin was like a kind elder or a loyal old servant. Now that Li Yunxin was not present and he was speaking to Ying Jueran alone, the aura of the martial world that had been hidden for so long returned to him. He sat behind the fire, the firelight reflected on his face—he truly seemed to have recovered the demeanor of the Ghost Calculator from yesteryear, appearing profound, enigmatic, and neither wholly good nor evil.

He chuckled, pulled a piece of firewood from the fire pit in front of him to make the flame smaller. Then he looked up and asked, "I know that my Dragon King asked Great Hero Ying to bring your people to Weicheng. Since Great Hero Ying has indeed come this time, it shows you are a man who honors your promises, and the Dragon King will certainly be delighted. However, there is one thing I don't quite understand."

"Please speak, Mr. Liu."

"You met the child Jiaxin outside the city and rescued her. My two friends outside have already recounted the events. Having heard it, I admire Great Hero Ying's heroic spirit and loyalty. But—Great Hero Ying snatched someone from under the noses of the Daoist Orthodoxy Taoist priests, yet you were completely unharmed. Not only were you unharmed, but none of your subordinates were harmed either. This point, this old Taoist does not quite understand." Liu Gongzan stared at him with piercing eyes, "What does Great Hero Ying say to that?"

Ying Jueran was silent for a moment, then sneered, "There's nothing much to say. There are many reasons for being unharmed—the Taoist priests have plenty of demons on hand and don't care about one less. The Taoist priests were afraid that chasing us would delay the time needed to set up their formation array, so they didn't catch up. Any of these explanations I offer would be reasonable, after all, they are Immortals, not mortals. But if Mr. Liu has doubts, even if a Taoist priest were standing here right now explaining the details, you would still have doubts."

Liu Gongzan twirled his beard and smiled, "Great Hero Ying speaks wisely. But the Dragon King once said that he never believes in coincidences and extraordinary events. Having worked with him for a long time, this old Taoist has come to think the same way. Therefore, I see this matter in this light."

As he spoke, he composed his expression and beckoned to Ying Jueran, "Great Hero Ying, come inside and sit down. It's getting late, and it looks like rain."

Ying Jueran hesitated slightly, picked up his Black Saber from the ground, and walked into the room.

Coincidentally, as soon as he entered the room, the wind began to pick up outside. The tiles on the roof rattled slightly, and the wild grass bowed low. Within a moment, large raindrops began to fall, and after another moment, the gale was howling, driving the curtain of rain inside and kicking up the dust on the ground.

But Liu Gongzan took a Talisman from his sleeve, muttered incantations, and deployed it; the wind in the hall immediately weakened, turning into a gentle breeze that soothed the body and mind.

Ying Jueran was momentarily stunned. He only knew of Liu Gongzan's past identity in the martial world, but he had never expected him to be so proficient in Daoist Arts—to this extent!

After that moment of astonishment, he felt he could not lose his composure. He picked up a log that hadn't been chopped for firewood, sat down, and said, "This is also a coincidence. What do you think, Mr. Liu?"

He looked at the curtain of rain outside—the gale had turned into a small tornado in the courtyard. The raindrops were swept up by the tornado, forming a bright white vortex, relentlessly pouring onto the ground and the roof. Tiles clattered down, as if the three rooms were about to collapse.

Liu Gongzan chuckled again, "This is not a coincidence. You should have known when you arrived that it is easy to enter but difficult to leave. In fact, we have been trapped here by a highly skilled master. I don't know what the master's intentions are, but I assume there is no malice. Therefore, the climate here is abnormal, and such heavy wind and rain are not uncommon. It would be normal to have hailstones the size of a fist, plums, fish, or meat fall from the sky."

"Let's put that aside for now and focus on Great Hero Ying's matter." Liu Gongzan paid no mind to how astonished Ying Jueran looked. "What this old Taoist is thinking is that Great Hero Ying and your group just happened to meet Young Master Yu. You just happened to meet Jiaxin outside the city. It just so happened that the Taoist priests had something else to do and didn't chase after you... these 'just happeneds' are a bit too many."

"If you ask me, I'd be wary of the Taoist priests using you as bait. My Dragon King—outsiders say he is brutal, but in fact, his heart is warm. What he says out loud may not be what he truly thinks; I know this. If you, Young Master Yu, and Jiaxin had gone to him for refuge, it would be difficult for him to turn you away. I received news a few days ago that the Dragon King is caught within some kind of restriction, and the people of the Daoist Orthodoxy want to break in but can do nothing to the Dragon King. Considering this, I think... those Taoist priests are playing exactly that card."

Old Daoist Liu sighed softly, stirred the earthenware pot with the long spoon in his hand, and a wave of fragrance wafted out.

San Hua, not far away, immediately widened her eyes when she smelled the aroma. But she seemed to remember her previous quarrel with the old Taoist, so she gave it a reluctant glance and turned her head away.

"That's why we also brought you in." Old Daoist Liu looked at Ying Jueran. "This place is also a restriction. It is only a small, isolated world. There is this courtyard, which is located on a cliff. Walking outside leads only to mist. If you walk in, you will eventually walk back out to the same spot. If you were outside, you would either go to my Dragon King and put him in a difficult position, or you wouldn't find him and might be killed by the Taoist priests. Although you don't know when you can get out once you're inside, outsiders will certainly not dare to enter easily. This is something we can do for the Dragon King—not to cause him trouble at this critical juncture."

Ying Jueran took a deep breath and looked at Old Daoist Liu: "Earlier, when I asked what might have happened to Li Yunxin, those two outside only told me that he had a grand scheme and there was no need to worry. Now, hearing you say this, I feel that Mr. Liu is not very optimistic about your Dragon King's situation. If his situation truly becomes grim in the future... won't we be trapped and left to die here?"

"Where in this world is there a perfect plan?" Old Daoist Liu smiled. "Explaining everything to you now is to tell you to set your mind at ease. You are a martial artist who knows no Daoist Arts, and you absolutely cannot leave. Do not do anything pointless. Also, just wait—to see if anyone comes. If someone does come, it proves that my suspicion is true: you are indeed bait. If the Daoist Orthodoxy is resorting to using you mortals as bait, then we have even less reason to worry about the Dragon King's situation—it means the Daoist Orthodoxy has absolutely no solution for the restriction protecting him, and has to resort to this desperate measure."

"Come. We've been talking for so long, have something to eat. My wife is ill, and only this can help her recover."

After saying this, Old Daoist Liu stood up and took three large wooden bowls from behind him.

Outside, the gale was raging, and the sky had grown dark. Inside the room, only a bonfire was glowing, but its light only reached five paces, leaving the rest in pitch darkness. When Old Daoist Liu stood up, he casually threw a Talisman into the fire, and the bonfire immediately blazed brighter, illuminating the entire room.

Only then did Ying Jueran catch a glimpse of the entire house—he merely glanced at the eastern corner and immediately jumped up in shock, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

In the eastern corner lay half a human body. He couldn't see clearly, only an outline of a human form lying on the ground in the dim light. But half of the body had been eaten away, and the skin was shockingly pale, as if the person were unclothed.

His first thought was that a demon was eating a human. His second thought was the safety of his subordinates. But before his third thought could emerge, Old Daoist Liu had already laughed. He laughed loudly, pulled a piece of firewood from the bonfire, and tossed it toward the corner so Ying Jueran could see more clearly: "It is not human."

Old Daoist Liu said casually, "It only looks like a human. It tastes wonderful, especially tender and fresh."

Only then did Ying Jueran see clearly; it seemed to be an aquatic creature. The flesh beneath the skin was tender pink, like lamb. It must have had hands and feet before, but since half of it had been eaten, the feeling of it being "human-like" was greatly reduced upon closer inspection now.

But he still looked at Old Daoist Liu and then at Lady Sanhua in disbelief: "You are eating—"

"A demon." Old Daoist Liu smiled. "Great Hero Ying, what difference do you think there is between eating a demon and eating a human?"

Ying Jueran couldn't answer the question. Instead, he looked into the pot.

He didn't know what seasonings Old Daoist Liu had added to the cooking. The broth in the pot was reducing to a thick sauce at the bottom, bubbling. The yellow broth was viscous, surrounding four or five square pieces of pork belly. The golden fat and tender lean meat layered one upon the other, quivering in the soup due to the surging bubbles, and each movement released a rich aroma. There were also some yam-like ingredients in the pot, which had now fully absorbed the broth and oil—in the eyes of the ravenously hungry Ying Jueran...

This was indeed a delicacy.

Looking at this, and thinking about Old Daoist Liu's question, he didn't know what to say. He could only turn his head to look elsewhere.

The result of this look was another huge shock!

Half of a demon's carcass lay in the eastern corner of the room. And in the western corner of the room, there was actually another one!

Only this thing was much more frightening to look at than the demon's carcass—it was a skeleton. But it wasn't a bleached white skeleton. Red and white muscle tissue was still attached to the framework, as if a person had been flayed and much of their flesh had been torn away. Moreover, there were still blood vessels clinging to it... and there was even blood flowing!

Ying Jueran didn't know who had suffered such torture. But just as he was about to ask, Old Daoist Liu smiled again.

"This one, however, is not a demon, but a human. You may not recognize her, but she is quite famous."

"She is Lingkongzi, the most exceptionally talented female cultivator of the Daoist Orthodoxy's Langya Grotto-Heaven." He glanced at the terrifying human shape as he spoke. "She is still growing. In a few days, she won't be so frightening, I suppose!"

I made a pot of stewed meat today. (To be continued.)

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