Inner Demons

Chapter 211: Cannibalism

"The old man is a person of this world," the old man said with a smile. At the same time, he picked up the piece of meat that Li Yunxin had previously placed on the stone slab and brought it back to him. "It's gone cold, the taste won't be good. If you haven't eaten this before, you really don't know what the ultimate delicacy is."

The meat was indeed cold. A layer of white fat had solidified on the surface of the dark brown muscle, trapping the original char-grilled aroma.

Li Yunxin looked at the meat, reached out, and took it. After a moment of hesitation, he sat back down by the campfire and placed the meat over the fire.

"Was what I just saw an illusion?"

"Some of it was, and some of it wasn't." Only now did Li Yunxin realize that the old man didn't actually look that old, and his movements weren't that slow. He should have been a spry old man. The old man looked at Li Yunxin. "But the news is not wrong. The three people are currently a hundred miles outside of Weicheng, staying in that temple. That girl, well, she won't die for a while."

Li Yunxin thought for a moment: "So, the facts are true. But the scenes and details I saw were all illusions—you just recreated them for me."

The old man smiled: "A clever young man."

"But how did you know what they would say or do? The illusion you created was so lifelike, I couldn't find a single flaw."

"The old man doesn't know now. And the old man doesn't have the divine ability to create an illusion." The old man said with a smile. He seemed to enjoy seeing Li Yunxin's puzzled expression, as it made him feel happy and amused, and it was also a novel experience. "This folding fan in your hand, there's a good painting on the fan's surface. You record the things you've seen and the things you've thought about on it—what you just saw was just what was in your own mind, not the old man's doing."

--- Just now, when he grabbed into the mist, he was grabbing his own folding fan."Then you were the one who protected the three of them," Li Yunxin said, looking at him. "What do you need me to do?"

The old man found a few pieces of dry firewood on the ground and added them to the fire, making it burn more brightly. The flames licked at the meat in Li Yunxin's hand, and the aroma rose again. He pointed at the piece of meat: "Eat it first."

Li Yunxin didn't say anything, tore off a piece, and put it into his mouth.

An expression of excitement immediately appeared on the old man's face: "Ah, you're not afraid that it's human meat?"

Li Yunxin smiled: "It doesn't look like it. Since I'm a demon, I must have some knowledge of human meat."

But after he said this, his expression froze slightly.

Because the flavor burst in his mouth.

He hadn't eaten many delicacies of the mountains and seas in this era, but he had eaten a lot in his original world. In such a highly developed world, he had tried all kinds of ingredients and cooking methods, and he originally thought that the world's delicacies were nothing more than that.

But he never expected that this thing in his mouth... something so simple, just roasted over a fire—would have this kind of taste!

When he spoke, his teeth crushed the meat. The aroma in the muscle fibers burst out at once. It was as if every single strand of meat was permeated with a rich fragrance and freshness, and now it had finally found an opportunity to be fully released. Such an aroma filled his mouth in an instant, but it didn't feel greasy—after the fragrance came a smooth texture and a smooth freshness, penetrating every corner of his mouth, lingering and refusing to leave every taste bud...

What is this... thing?!

Li Yunxin widened his eyes and looked at the old man—he had already brought him too many surprises.

Seeing his reaction, the old man just smiled calmly and said, "We're all passing through time. Many things didn't seem strange before, but afterward, you realize they are the most precious things in this world. Since you've tasted this delicacy, it means you're not a boring person. So the old man has one more thing for you to do."

Li Yunxin no longer spoke. The old man's strangeness had exceeded his expectations.

The old man continued on his own: "I, the old man, have one month left to live, exactly thirty days. You will accompany me and play for thirty days. If I am happy, I will do something for you, as a favor in return. If I am not happy or pleased, I won't give you anything."

"Master Su seems to be in good health," Li Yunxin said cautiously. "By all appearances, your lifespan is more than thirty days."

"That may not be the case," the old man stood up. Li Yunxin realized that his figure seemed to be slightly taller than when he first saw him—he didn't know if it was because he was now standing up straight.

The old man held a piece of firewood with a burning flame that he had pulled from the fire and asked Li Yunxin: "Do you know what kind of meat you just ate?"

Without waiting for an answer, he threw the piece of firewood into the dark corner of the rock crevice.

The corner was illuminated.

With the help of the firelight, Li Yunxin saw a... thing. At first glance, it looked like a person who had been disemboweled. It was plump, and its stomach had been cut open. One thigh was missing, and the other was missing half. The meat he had just eaten must have been cut from that thigh.

It was lying flat on a large stone in the corner, with one hand hanging down loosely and its head tilted slightly to the back and side—which reminded Li Yunxin of a famous painting from his world: David's The Death of Marat.

But because of this, he could see its face clearly.

It didn't seem to be human. The face had facial features, but like the God-Devil Dharma Body that Li Yunxin and the Lord of Dongting had displayed, it had some animal features while retaining a human outline. The facial features on this face were spread out, as if a good face had been inflated and propped up from the middle.

"You, this child, don't eat people," the old man said to him. "But what is a person? Does it have a five internal organs and six viscera, and meridian channels? This thing has them, too. It was originally my servant, and its original body was a large Baiji dolphin in the Lan River."

"I said he escorted me ashore, and he did indeed escort me ashore. But just like my children, he didn't have good intentions—he coveted the things on my body. But what good things could an old man who is about to die have? Alas, in the end, it became food in my mouth. Its body is now a demon's Dharma Body, and when you cut it open, it's no different from a human—so is it considered human?"

Seeing that Li Yunxin didn't speak, the old man said again: "Let's talk about something else. Not just the five internal organs and six viscera, but the things in the brain—they say that humans are the spirit of all things and have wisdom. But do demons have wisdom? After eating something with wisdom no different from a human's... is it considered eating a person or wild game? Do you still think the thing you just tasted is delicious?"

Li Yunxin was silent for a while and frowned slightly: "I first thought you were a person of the Daoist Orthodoxy, but then I felt that you were a person of the demon."

"You saved my people, so the Daoist Orthodoxy couldn't use them to threaten me. In that way, you seem to be on the side of the demons. Now you've made me eat this meat, and after I ate it, you showed me its human body. The purpose is to make me feel uncomfortable... it also seems to be to break the line in my heart—'If I can eat this thing with a body structure and wisdom no different from a human's, why can't I eat a human?'"

"Alas, but there are some things you don't know," Li Yunxin sighed. "I have received a higher education, so I know that even if the structure looks the same and it has thoughts and wisdom, its... DNA is different. It's only natural that you, an elder, don't understand this word."

"But there's another thing—let's not even mention that it just looks like a human, but is a spirit. What if it was a real human? You don't know my past. Or rather, this world, under the control of the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect, is indeed... a little more stable and happy than the medieval period of a certain possible world."

"The Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect have played a very positive role—without their permission, there would be no large-scale wars, and there would be no... alas. In certain places and times, for a long period, using humans as military rations was not an uncommon thing—at least in a period of several hundred years."

"So my tolerance for cannibalism is very high," Li Yunxin looked at the old man. "Whether to eat a person or not is not the essential problem, the essential problem is other things, right here."

He reached out and pointed at his own head.

An unexpected and novel smile appeared on the old man's face again. He laughed loudly: "Good, good, good. You are a truly interesting young man. The old man is even more determined—let's go now, shall we? This cave is boring, too."

Without waiting for Li Yunxin to agree, the old man took his hand and walked out of the cave. He was held by the hand and wanted to shake it off. But he found that... it wasn't the demonic strength he had imagined, nor was it the tough body of a cultivated human.

This was the hand of an ordinary old man. The palm was slightly rough, but it was by no means the hand of someone who had done a lot of farm work. It was very dry, but very hot. This seemed to indicate that the old man was in a good mood and in good health.

It was because of this slight surprise that he let him hold his hand and walk into the woods outside.

The old man didn't use any divine abilities and walked like an ordinary person. And Li Yunxin waited, waiting to see if he would use any magic when he crossed the water, and whether he was more like a demon or a cultivator. This old man was both righteous and evil, and his words could be interpreted at will. He was a truly unpredictable sly old fox.

But when they reached the water's edge, the old man stopped and didn't move. He just looked at Li Yunxin and said, "Carry me."

Li Yunxin smiled: "Master Su has great divine abilities, why would you need me to carry you?"

The old man frowned at this point: "You, this child. When did the old man ever use any divine abilities? Would I lie to you?"

Li Yunxin then thought about it carefully...

Then he realized that he really hadn't. From the moment he saw the old man until now, the other party had not shown any ability that an ordinary sixty-year-old man did not possess. He himself had entered the illusion and seen Old Daoist Liu and Dragon Girl San Hua, but... he hadn't seen how the old man performed magic.

Li Yunxin shook his head: "Alright. Since Master Su likes to hide his skills, I will help Master Su."

With that, he waved his big sleeve, and a gust of demonic wind rolled up the old man and himself and went straight up into the sky.

Flying, although more convenient than it was in his time, was not as comfortable as it was then. Flying at high altitude, the wind was powerful. The speed was also extremely fast—the strong wind poured into his mouth, making it difficult to breathe. It also blew through his clothes, making him cold all over. Therefore, cultivators could barely fly until they reached the Manifestation Realm, and they could travel all over the world until they reached the True Realm.

Li Yunxin took the old man into the sky, looked straight ahead, and deliberately flew extremely fast. After a quarter of an hour of this, he didn't hear the old man speak, so he turned his face slightly and took a look. He was surprised again—all the wrinkles on the old man's face were blown together by the strong wind, and his eyes were tightly closed. His face was pale, and his mouth was half-open...

He looked just like a dying person!

For a moment, Li Yunxin thought he was deliberately feigning. But then he realized that if this old man was really a big shot as he had speculated... it would be understandable to be mysterious and profound, but to make such a face would be too undignified.

So he quickly slowed down, pulled the old man behind him, and frowned, "Are you really..."

Only then did the old man slowly catch his breath and pretend to be angry: "You little boy, why don't you believe me?! You go by yourself!"

With that, he shook his hand abruptly.

An ordinary old man wouldn't be able to shake off Li Yunxin's hand. But seeing that he was about to get angry, Li Yunxin had already prepared himself mentally—since he was prepared, he was ready to knock his opponent away at any time, so he only used a little force in his hand. The old man really broke free at once, kicked his foot, and the whole person fell straight toward the lake's surface.

Li Yunxin was about to go and grab him. But he saw that there was still lingering anger on the old man's face, and he was staring at himself with wide eyes, without a hint of panic.

So he stopped and just watched.

He watched the old man's body fall all the way toward the lake's surface, and when he was still a few feet away from the water's surface, he shouted in his hoarse voice: "You beast! Why are you not showing yourself to greet your master!"

As soon as his voice fell, a foul wind and a huge wave immediately rose from the calm lake's surface. Then, a deep roar like a cow was heard from under the water, and a huge shadow appeared—

With another loud noise, a hornless Vicious Flood Dragon immediately rushed out of the water, leaped up, and caught the old man on its head!

Li Yunxin gasped in mid-air. He naturally recognized this Vicious Flood Dragon. It was the Jiao Dragon he had met seven days ago in the White Tree Forest! At that time, that Vicious Flood Dragon was not afraid of Li Yunxin, the Son of the Chiwen Dragon, but now, it was like a loyal dog, coming at the old man's beck and call!

It is said that beasts with low intelligence are the most knowledgeable about authority and fear. Li Yunxin now took a closer look at the head of the Vicious Flood Dragon—it originally had a pair of cow ears, but at this moment, those huge cow ears were pressed very low, close to the sides of its head, looking extremely scared!

And the old man was steadily caught by the Vicious Flood Dragon, and he reached out and grabbed its thick sideburn hair. A single strand of that sideburn hair was as thick as a child's arm. The old man stood in its sideburn hair, holding on tight with his hands, and then sat cross-legged among the hair. He immediately had the imposing manner of an Immortal riding a dragon through the nine heavens!

That Jiao Dragon could not fly, and could only swim underwater. But at this moment, with an old man on its head, it didn't dare to bury its head in the water. It struggled to hold its head up, slithering on the water's surface. When it saw Li Yunxin in mid-air, it no longer dared to show a fierce look in its eyes. Instead, it was whimpering from time to time—

It was as if it was begging him to quickly take the old man up to the sky!

Li Yunxin followed the Vicious Flood Dragon blankly, his eyes fixed on the old man's figure...

Just who is this divine being?!

At this time, the old man raised his head, and the angry expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a contented smile: "You, this child, have you ever experienced the taste of riding a dragon?"