Chapter 6
"We still don't know what that female demon's purpose is, and now another illusion demon has appeared. Do demons not cost money these days?" Lin Jichen kept muttering to himself on the way back.
Actually, she didn't want to say so much, but her injuries were very painful, and this was the only way to distract herself.
Zhou Xuanzhi silently wished that Shi Yunzhou had already taken that young master Li back to the Li family first. If he had stayed here and listened to Lin Jichen's many words, the two of them might have started fighting.
"Let's go back and talk to Senior Sister Ming first." Zhou Xuanzhi didn't expect to encounter such a thing as soon as he came down the mountain, but since he had encountered the Illusion Demon, there were some things he needed to investigate.
"Um... what about that mortal girl you brought along?" Their journey is fraught with danger; bringing a little girl along might...
Gu Qingci carries her master's aura, so she can't be allowed to leave. Zhou Xuanzhi was unusually serious: "She can't leave; she's still useful." But how to protect her is also a problem.
“I’ll do it! I’ll protect her.” Lin Jichen volunteered. “I also want to know why she has the aura of Junior Uncle on her.”
The girl inexplicably went to Guancheng, was chased by demons, and then there was what happened today. It all seems complicated.
Back in the courtyard, after hearing about this strange incident, only Mingmo remained calm.
"It seems that only the Illusion Demon can flexibly use the Illusion Dream and Illusion Realm, but..." But the Ten Directions Barrier has been sealed for six hundred years, so how could there still be demons?
This is also everyone's question. There's been no news of the Ten Directions Barrier breaking; could it not be an illusionary demon?
If it really was a phantom demon, there was nothing that the disciples of the immortal sect, who had not yet completed their training, could do. Mingmo then relayed the whole story back to his sect.
“We’d better act together now. The Illusion Demon’s whereabouts are unpredictable, and we can’t find him on our own. The female demon is our only clue,” Zhou Xuanzhi explained.
"Moreover, that female demon is very difficult to deal with. It's unlikely that we can eliminate her with just a few of us." As the only person who had fought the female demon, Lin Jichen was quite certain that she had held back against him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be standing here now; he would have been dead long ago.
After thinking for a moment, Mingmo agreed, "Okay, let's go to the Li family together." As she said this, her gaze swept over Gu Qingci in the distance.
Following Mingmo's gaze, Lin Jichen saw Gu Qingci standing there at a loss. This girl was a mortal, and Zhou Xuanzhi would never let her leave. "I will protect that girl. I'll leave the matter of the female demon to Senior Sister."
After learning that their young master was in such danger, the Li family ordered increased security. This young master Li was also afraid of death, and since he learned that he was possessed by a demon, he had been staying at home obediently.
Master Li was naturally delighted. His son was finally no longer out gallivanting, and with disciples from Tianyu Mountain keeping watch at home, although dangerous, it wasn't a major problem. Yunzhou City was plagued by demons; as long as they invited disciples from the immortal sects into their homes, would anything happen? No!
Some were happy, while others were unhappy, such as Mr. Li, one of the parties involved in this matter. His mood worsened especially when he saw Lin Jichen.
She was clearly a beautiful young maid, but now she's become an honored guest in his home. He's afraid to even act now, let alone be displeased by this female cultivator; she might kill him if she's unhappy. He feels a mixture of fear and hatred towards her.
During the two days Lin Jichen had been at the Li family's residence, he stayed by Gu Qingci's side and occasionally caught sight of Young Master Li. Whenever he saw this young master, he would see that he had a dark expression on his face.
"What's wrong with him?" Gu Qingci finally couldn't help but ask when she encountered Young Master Li's sullen face again. At first, she thought there was something wrong with her.
"Who knows? I've seen many men possessed by female monsters, and they're usually in a bad mood."
Lin Jichen naturally knew the reason. This young master Li felt deceived, especially by a woman. Originally, he was the one manipulating women, but now the roles were reversed; how could he possibly be happy?
"So... have you found out who that female demon is yet?" This was the first time in Gu Qingci's life that she had been so close to this group of people.
Lin Jichen nodded and said, "We should have news soon."
Gu Qingci didn't understand. Logically, if the truth was found out, they should go out and investigate, but recently it seemed that very few people had stepped out of the Li family's gate.
Sensing the puzzled looks, Lin Jichen explained, "Shi Yunzhou, he is the young master of that group of demonic cultivators."
After speaking, Gu Qingci was startled and took a slight step back, her face showing fear, but she still had to pretend to be calm in front of Lin Jichen.
Seeing this, Lin Jichen had no choice but to explain, "Demon cultivators are different from demons, so don't be afraid. Demon cultivators just cultivate in a different way than us. Thousands of years ago, people had a lot of prejudice and believed in the saying 'Those who are not of our kind must have different hearts,' which is why they were called demon cultivators. But we are all about eliminating demons and exorcising evil spirits, so we are essentially the same."
"The gathering place of demonic cultivators is called Illusion Sea, which is separated from the Boundless Realm where the demon race is located by a barrier. This barrier is the Ten Directions Barrier that separates the human realm from the demon realm."
"The Illusionary Sea is the first line of defense between the human world and the demon realm. These demonic cultivators endured strange looks for thousands of years and angrily chose to go to the Illusionary Sea to protect the human world. Now, there is no ambiguity in calling them demonic cultivators; it's just a name." Lin Jichen couldn't help but sigh at this point, these people were really good at enduring.
Hearing this, Gu Qingci's expression softened a bit: "So you mean there will be news soon?"
"Yes. It's quite easy for the demonic cultivators of Huanhai to investigate the demons of Wuji Realm." More importantly, Shi Yunzhou is the young master of Huanhai, and they will definitely do their best to help him.
After hearing the explanation, Gu Qingci was completely relieved. "I wonder what kind of grudge they have against Young Master Li."
Upon seeing Gu Qingci's words, Lin Jichen had his own opinion: "Not necessarily. This demon is already at the Nascent Soul stage, at least eight or nine hundred years old. It's unlikely that he has a grudge against Young Master Li. If he really came for revenge, it's most likely a grudge from a previous life."
"Past life?"
Seeing Gu Qingci's puzzled look, Lin Jichen said, "Yes, it's from a past life, perhaps it's a grudge from a past life. But no matter what, this Young Master Li is not entirely innocent."
Is there a connection between past lives and this life?
Lin Jichen didn't know how to explain it either, but after so many years of training at the foot of the mountain, she had seen too many unpleasant things. She shook her head and said, "I don't know how to explain it either. Logically speaking, after drinking the Meng Po soup and being reincarnated, one has no connection with the previous life. But in fact, we have seen too many people who had grudges in their previous lives and chose to take revenge in this life for various reasons. Many people are not satisfied with the rule that the previous life is the previous life and this life is the current life."
Gu Qingci asked, "People are dead, but the grudges haven't dissipated. Does this kind of thing happen often?"
“Quite a few.” Lin Jichen nodded. “I’ve seen quite a few during the years I’ve been training down the mountain.”
Humans have their own laws, and so do they in the cultivation world. Gu Qingci asked, puzzled, "Won't things get chaotic if this continues?" Without the constraints of law, if people act based solely on their own sense of justice, whose sense of justice will they follow?
"Yes, that's why we need cultivators."
Gu Qingci had often heard stories in the mortal world. Taking advantage of this opportunity to interact with cultivators, she asked the question that had troubled her for a long time: "People often talk about a predestined marriage spanning three lifetimes. Is it really true that it happens at least three lifetimes?"
What kind of question is this? But Lin Jichen, though puzzled, still answered: "It's just... well... let me give you an example. Imagine you and your lover are celestial beings, but for various reasons you couldn't be together. And because you have done good deeds for humanity, Heaven will compensate you by allowing you to come to the mortal world to experience love. But there's a time limit, maybe three lifetimes!"
"If something unexpected happens in the first life and the two people don't end up together, then they just didn't end up together. In other words, this life was wasted."
After Lin Jichen finished speaking, she thought about the situation she was facing and felt she still needed to explain to Gu Qingci: "We are disciples of Tianyu Mountain. Even if this Young Master Li is wrong, we must protect him. The purpose of the immortal sect is not to uphold justice, but to prevent demons from harming the human world. Human justice is upheld by human laws."
Looking at Lin Jichen's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, Gu Qingci seemed to have thought of something and lowered her eyes.
At night, everyone gathered together to discuss the clues they had gathered over the past few days.
"This female demon was originally an ordinary mortal, but later became a demon because of some events. The specifics of what happened are still under investigation. After all, so many years have passed, and it will take time." These Celestial Masters from Yunzhou have been investigating the female demon's affairs because his identity as a demon cultivator makes things easier for him.
"The elders have sent word that they've confirmed the person behind the female demon is indeed the Illusion Demon. How they got out is still under investigation," Mingmo also reported, adding new developments.
Zhou Xuanzhi also brought some investigation results: "This young master Li has a notorious reputation. He has committed many crimes over the years, and many people want him dead. If it really is this female demon's indiscriminate revenge..."
That makes things simple; the only problem is that it might not be true!
After everyone finished discussing the clues they had found, Lin Jichen said, "Gu Qingci is really just an ordinary mortal. She can't even distinguish between a demon and a demonic cultivator."
“As for her aura, it has been getting weaker and weaker in recent days, and it completely disappeared just now.” Lin Jichen looked at everyone with a firm expression. “Therefore, I support Senior Brother Zhou’s approach and continue to observe her. There are many suspicious points about her.”
However, Lin Jichen suddenly became interested in what this young master Li had done, and she asked Zhou Xuanzhi, "I'm really curious, what kinds of things has he done?"
"Forcibly abducting women."
"That's his style."
"He also assaulted several teenage girls."
"Beast."
"A street performer was beaten to death in the street."
"Huh, how did he survive until now?"
Looking at the enormous mansion and the Li family's prestige in the city, Zhou Xuanzhi, though reluctant to admit it, acknowledged the truth: "He has a good father."
Despite not saying anything out of respect for the behavior of this young master Li and his father, everyone wore their expressions on their faces, and none of them looked pleased.
“His mistakes are for the government to handle; we have no right to interfere,” Ming Mo said.
Yes, everyone knows in their hearts that they are not law enforcers of the human world. Dealing with one such person is met with applause, but after dealing with a thousand, in the eyes of the world, everyone becomes an anomaly.
There are such lessons in the history of monks.
"However, this young master Li is truly..." He only has himself to blame. Although Ming Mo was trying to suppress it, everyone's true thought was—let's leave!
Everyone knows how Young Master Li got Lin Jichen into the carriage. Lin Jichen is a cultivator; if it were an ordinary woman, someone with strict upbringing and a fiery temper, it would probably have been a murder case. Young Master Li really has to thank his uncle, who is a high-ranking official in the capital, and his wealthy father.
"He should also thank Yunzhou for having so many cultivators here." Shi Yunzhou's words reminded people that among the many murder cases he handled, some could have turned into vengeful ghosts, and even ordinary ghosts would be difficult for ordinary people to deal with.
The fact that the Li family has remained safe and sound for so many years must be because they have sought help from many cultivators.
"Could his grudge against this female demon be from a past life?" Otherwise, why would a female demon hold such a grudge against him?
“That’s what I suspected too.” Lin Jichen frowned slightly, as if recalling something. “In the illusion, that female demon went easy on me at every turn. It wasn’t because of me, and it couldn’t be because she had taken a fancy to this Young Master Li. Her taste is really terrible.”
"Because she wanted to personally kill her enemy to vent her hatred," Shi Yunzhou said.
The late Ming dynasty accepted this view: "Some people live only to take revenge. They can endure anything for revenge. You could also say that if they didn't have the thought of revenge to sustain them, they would die."
After hearing everyone's analysis, Zhou Xuanzhi didn't say anything, but simply sat down next to Shi Yunzhou.
"So what should we do next?" Lin Jichen asked, looking at everyone.
Actually, what to do is not her concern; her main task now is to protect Gu Qingci.
“Investigate the other victims; there must be clues we’ve overlooked on them.” Mingmo had found his next move.
"Then I'll continue investigating that female demon's identity, and you, Senior Brother, will investigate the people Young Master Li harmed?"
"Maybe we can find out something."
The rest of the people stayed at the Li family's residence to protect the people there.
Lin Jichen nodded. Everyone had something to do, and some even had company. How wonderful!
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