The Human Heart

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When Madam Zhang knocked on Li Qinglin's door, he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, cultivating. Hearing the knock, his expression did not change as he said directly, "Come in."

The door opened, and a fragrant breeze filled the room. Madam Zhang entered gracefully with a flask of wine, asking softly, "This humble country dwelling has neglected Young Master. Please do not take offense."

Li Qinglin opened his eyes. "Madam's guest room is clean and refined. There has been no neglect. I thank Madam for taking me in."

Madam Zhang set down the wine tray, lifted the flask, and poured him a drink. "There is little in the countryside with which to entertain an honored guest. The night is deep and cold. Why not have a cup of warm wine?"

Li Qinglin merely looked at her without speaking.

Anyone who was not a Wooden Figure could see that her seduction could not have been more obvious. Besides, Li Qinglin had been waiting for her all along.

Seeing that Li Qinglin did not respond, Madam Zhang raised her cup and took a small sip herself, smiling lightly. "The wine is perfectly warm." As she spoke, she moved gracefully to the bedside and offered him the cup she had sipped from. "Can Young Master drink?"

Li Qinglin took the wine and smiled. "The wine is fragrant, and so is Madam. Why would I not drink?"

Madam Zhang's expression grew even more seductive, her gaze seeming ready to drip with water. "Would Young Master like something even more fragrant?"

Li Qinglin looked at her mourning white clothes and sighed. "It is just that Madam's current attire... cannot help but make one feel uneasy."

"What does that matter? The dead are gone; people must always look toward the future." Madam Zhang said sweetly, "Besides, is this mourning attire not all the more interesting?"

"It is indeed more interesting." Li Qinglin smiled without quite smiling. "I had not expected such charm to exist in a country manor."

Madam Zhang beamed. "It seems Young Master is either wealthy or noble, and has seen much of the world..."

Li Qinglin laughed. "Madam's tastes surpass the vulgar powders and common rouges in my household. Why not return to the Capital City with me? I guarantee Madam endless glory and wealth, far better than remaining in this mountain manor without even a proper hairpin."

Madam Zhang sighed softly. "Lihuo City... This servant girl's fate is thin. I fear I have no chance to enjoy such wealth. If Young Master is willing, then keep this servant girl company for one night and leave behind a few memories."

Li Qinglin did not know that his sister and Qin Yi had already overheard something of great value. Yet from his own perspective, he had also received the answer he wanted.

A promiscuous widowed woman running a rural manor was hardly some chaste martyr mourning her husband. If such a person could climb a high branch in the Capital City and enjoy wealth and splendor, she would most likely be unable to wait. Even if she had a reason not to go, she would surely hesitate before answering. Yet this woman had refused outright without a moment's thought.

Either she coveted something she had built up in this manor, or she feared that her unspeakable secrets would not survive the "background check" of a great Capital City household.

Even if the strange occurrences in the manor were not her doing, she was certainly connected to them.

"Since that is so, I naturally cannot bear to reject Madam's kind intentions." Li Qinglin finally tilted back his head and drank the wine.

Seeing him drink, a trace of delight appeared in Madam Zhang's eyes.

By then, the Daoist Nun had already arrived outside the guest room and was still standing on the roof opposite. Seeing this, she secretly shook her head.

"Such dense Death Qi cannot be concealed by any amount of perfume. This woman is either a demon or a monster. Li Qinglin appears shrewd, yet he actually dared to drink wine she handed him so carelessly."

She could not tell that Li Qinglin was testing her. She only felt that this man was beyond saving, a typical case of having his soul handed over by lust.

"How strange..." She looked at the tortoise shell in her hand. She had begun casting divinations from the moment she saw Li Qinglin. "The dragon battles in the wilderness; its blood is black and yellow. Why does Li Qinglin have such a Divinatory Symbol? Has he not already left the battlefield?"

Inside, Li Qinglin's eyes began to cloud. A lecherous expression appeared on his face as he reached out to embrace Madam Zhang's waist. The Daoist Nun sighed, no longer in the mood to deduce divinations. Whatever this Prince had done, she could not simply ignore a monster harming people.

Just as she was about to intervene, a sudden change erupted in the room.

Madam Zhang had been smiling as she nestled in Li Qinglin's arms, extending her slender hand to undo his belt. Her hand brushed over the Jade Pendant at his waist, and it suddenly radiated an intense five-colored glow. The glow seemed to contain terrifying scorching force, which shot from her hand straight through her entire body.

"Ah!" Madam Zhang sprang up as if shocked by lightning, clutching her head in agony. Staggering into the chairs in the room, she sent the wine flask and cups crashing all over the floor, yet she continued clutching her head and howling.

This was the sound Qin Yi and the others had heard.

"That Jade Pendant..." The Daoist Nun froze for a moment, but did not intervene. She watched coldly.

Clamor broke out throughout the manor. The Young Master rushed over with a group of manor hands, and amid the chaos, Qin Yi and Li Qingjun shook off the other manor hands and charged directly through the door.

The first sight inside nearly made Li Qingjun vomit.

Madam Zhang's beautiful, seductive face had begun to rot, as though a layer of human skin were peeling away. Dense maggots burrowed out from beneath her face, revolting beyond measure.

The glow around Li Qinglin also began to fade, subsiding before everyone's eyes.

A huge corpse worm slowly detached itself from the entire sheet of human skin and darted through the window, vanishing in an instant.

Behind them, the Young Master and the manor hands stood dumbstruck.

Remembering the tender affection from before, remembering how many times they had coupled with this monster without knowing it, everyone present nearly doubled over and vomited at once.

A Corpse Worm Demon. That was Madam Zhang's true form. She had merely worn an exquisite human skin.

"Corpse Worm Demon," Liusu said in Qin Yi's Sea of Consciousness. "It merely wears human skin; it has not even transformed its form. It grows by Yin-Yang Harvesting human essence and vitality. That is why the Young Master appears so excessively weakened by wine and women. In truth, his essence has been drained dry."

A post-event genius... Based on what he had seen in the mourning hall, Qin Yi could have reached the same conclusion himself. This Young Master had even wanted to monopolize the monster. Fortunately, he had not; if she harvested too much from him, he would likely have died. The manor hands who had supposedly "gone missing" had probably all been drained to death, then placed in the cave to form an array. The purpose was likely to use the array to gather spiritual energy, allowing her to completely take human form, and then... "fly together as a pair" with the Young Master?

The reason Li Qinglin had held such immense attraction for her was also because she believed harvesting Li Qinglin's innate cultivation would help her transform, not because Li Qinglin was so devastatingly handsome.

At that thought, Qin Yi suddenly felt much better...

He glanced at the Young Master, only to see that after vomiting, the man's expression had turned dazed.

"Her feelings for me were real..." he muttered. "She did not need to fight so desperately. She had walked carefully and slowly for so many years. It was only these past few months that she began to grow anxious..."

Li Qingjun heard him. She too stood stunned for a while, then sighed.

Perhaps they had been real.

"You will pay me back... You will pay..." The Young Master's expression gradually became savage.

Li Qingjun shook her head. "You are mad. She was a monster. Everyone in the manor was killed by her."

Qin Yi tugged at her sleeve. "He knows. He even helped cover up the arrangements beneath the cave, claiming they were his ancestors. The harming of people was a conspiracy they planned together."

Li Qingjun froze, then fell silent.

"What monster? Did any of you see one?" The Young Master turned savagely toward the manor hands. "Who saw one?"

The manor hands shrank back a step. "No... We did not see anything."

The Young Master looked again at Li Qinglin on the bed. Li Qinglin still seemed lost in a daze, his face flushed and his eyes unfocused. The Young Master suddenly laughed and shouted sharply, "The three of you murdered my stepmother. Is there any law left in your eyes?"

Li Qingjun said irritably, "Stepmother, my foot! Such a huge lump of worms..."

"No one saw a monster." The Young Master grinned viciously. "All we know is that the moment you arrived, my stepmother died! If you were not murdering for wealth, then who was?"

Li Qingjun did not argue, merely sighing. "Are you seeking revenge for her?"

Qin Yi added, "You mighty worm-fucking warrior, are you certain you want to fight in the manor? I suggest reporting it to the authorities instead."

The Young Master looked at Li Qingjun's spear, and apprehension flickered in his eyes. Qin Yi's words reminded him that whether he could win or not, fighting a martial artist to the death and reducing the place to broken walls and ruined buildings would mean nothing to him.

A monster was a monster in the end. Even if she had truly loved him, she was still a monster. Thinking of that disgusting corpse worm, all his anger dissipated. Why should he risk his life avenging her?

Would it not be better to settle this privately?

A thought stirred in the Young Master's heart. He said slowly, "If we report this to the authorities, the suspicion that you three murdered my stepmother may prove quite troublesome. I have some connections in the prefecture. Even if you are dragons crossing the river, you may not be able to run wild here."

Qin Yi said, "No need for your concern. I still trust the authorities."

Li Qingjun laughed despite herself.

The Young Master did not know what gave them such confidence. Seeing their stubbornness, he pointed at Li Qinglin on the bed and said again, "Your brother has been afflicted by my stepmother's Unique Secret Poison. I happen to have the antidote."

"Oh?" Qin Yi smiled. "What do you want us to exchange for it?"

"Leave behind that Jade Pendant, and we will naturally offer the antidote. Let us pretend nothing happened here."

The map had been exhausted, and the dagger revealed.

Remembering the Jade Pendant's miraculous display, it clearly possessed the power to ward off evil. Once the Young Master calmed down and abandoned thoughts of revenge, greed immediately arose in his heart. He wanted to claim it for himself.

Liusu quietly said to Qin Yi, "This jade may very well be a magical treasure with profound mysteries. I am somewhat interested as well..."

Qin Yi silently shook his head.

Over there, Li Qingjun pointed her spear at the Young Master and cursed furiously, "You are worse than that monster. Though she harmed many people, she at least had some genuine feelings for you. Yet to you, she was worth less than a piece of jade."

If he had truly sought revenge, Li Qingjun might even have praised him. Yet now, she was instead utterly enraged.

The Daoist Nun on the rooftop outside also sighed. At her feet, a corpse worm had been cleaved into two pieces. It was the fleeing Corpse Worm Demon, unable to evade even a single strike of her sword. Looking down at the demon's corpse, she murmured, "Why bother?"

A sigh suddenly came from the bed inside as well. Everyone turned to look, only to see Li Qinglin, who had supposedly fallen into a bewildered trance, calmly sit upright. His eyes were clear. Where was even the slightest trace of confusion?

He smiled at Qin Yi. "Brother Qin, I told you long ago. Sometimes, people are more troublesome than monsters."