Huainanzi

The cat demon did not understand and merely rumbled in its throat, seeming quite uncomfortable.

Li Yunxin knew it was because she had attached herself to his body. Daoists, swordsmen, and painters of talismans all cultivated the Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law and mysterious inner arts; a current of Righteous Qi naturally dwelled within their bodies, unlike ordinary people.

Thus, when demon spirits possessed such people, their spirit bodies would be repelled and resisted, causing them great discomfort. He stepped back a few paces. "Go back. You helped me, and I'll remember the favor. But my qi sea is sealed right now, so I can't produce a painting that would let you possess it comfortably. Once I find a solution, I'll come look for you."

A gust of yin wind circled Li Yunxin, and the cat demon muttered irritably, "Huh? Later? Huh? How long is later gonna be? Ha... before, there were people... mm, hmph! Not later, I won't wait... eh?"

She suddenly fell silent. The grass tips several steps away bent low in a patch, and the yin wind drifted away.

The cat demon seemed to have discovered something. Li Yunxin had no idea what scheme this thing, which understood so little of human affairs, was plotting. He only looked toward the path he had come from. But two breaths later, he suddenly heard rustling sounds.

Someone was coming from that direction.

He frowned warily, then stared in astonishment.

A girl stumbled out of the woods, flailing her arms as she charged forward. She ran unsteadily while giving off laughter like silver bells, babbling nonsense from her mouth. "Huh? Good, good-good, hahahaha, this is mine, haha, eh, this is mine, heeheeheehee—"

The girl had lovely features, a slender figure, and skirts flying in the moonlight. She should have made for a beautiful sight.

But hearing that laughter, Li Yunxin only felt his scalp tingle.

Because that was Qiao Jiaxin.

The cat demon had possessed Qiao Jiaxin's corpse.

About ten minutes had passed since the girl died. Qiao Jiaxin's living soul should have been taken away—assuming the Black and White Lords of the Underworld, whom he had never seen, truly existed.

There was still some spiritual energy lingering within such a corpse. Perhaps her constitution and the hour of her death were special as well, allowing the cat demon to possess her. Not only had she possessed it, she moved with remarkable ease, as though this shell had belonged to her from the start.

"Qiao Jiaxin" ran up to Li Yunxin, stumbled, and rammed her head into his chest. Li Yunxin frowned slightly and steadied her. He wanted to scold her, but did not know what to say.

After all, he had only spent one day with Qiao Jiaxin. They could hardly be called familiar.

Only after the cat demon had rubbed against his chest for a while and finally stood steady did Li Yunxin sigh. "All right."

"This can count as your good fortune. You helped me once, and it was not in vain. I've heard of this sort of thing."

"In the past, there were spirits that possessed corpses, and even righteous masters who did the same. Corpses would rot away eventually; putting everything to its proper use could be considered the way of Heaven. But there are a few things you must take note of."

His parents had told him these things, and he remembered them all. He simply had not expected them to be useful today. There were rules to such matters. They might not have been implemented as thoroughly as the laws and regulations of later generations, but there were always standards and boundaries. He had never truly understood before, thinking them perhaps pedantic. But after meeting the cat demon and Ninth Young Master, he felt that he understood.

Ninth Young Master looked almost human. He had a human appearance, human clothing, and spoke human words. Yet when he picked people up, he ate them, just as people picked up chicken legs and ate them.

In the eyes of a great demon like him, human ethics, rites, and teachings were all dogshit. Humans existed to be eaten. There was no possibility of communication—just as people of this age would not communicate with pigs and dogs.

And there were no animal protection laws now, either.

This cat demon did not possess Ninth Young Master's great divine powers. She possessed a statue and had a temple. Perhaps she had not committed such evil deeds in the past, but judging from her speech and conduct, she also understood little of human affairs. These different kinds were, in the end, not human.

Cultivators often said, "Those not of our kind must harbor different hearts." There was, in truth, some sense in that.

So there were rules.

"You are a spirit creature,

No one would build you a temple for no reason. You must have received help from an expert. Then that expert should have told you some rules as well. I'm afraid you've forgotten after so long, so I'll tell you again."

Li Yunxin looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar Qiao Jiaxin. "You knew I could help you, so you helped me. To me, that was a life-saving favor, and thus there is a bond between us. Perhaps the person who helped you before had an identity similar to mine. When you possessed me just now, you also witnessed my abilities. So I can help you, and I can harm you. It depends entirely on whether you can properly be a person."

"Now I'll tell you this: once you possess a human body and enter the human world, you must abide by human rites and teachings. You are a spirit creature, and perhaps your wild nature is hard to tame. But when something angers you, think deeply for the time of three breaths before deciding what to do."

"First, you may not take human lives."

"Second, you may not marry humans."

"Third—"

At that point, "Qiao Jiaxin" suddenly knelt before him and looked up at him. Her large, jet-black eyes gleamed brightly in the moonlight. Her face was devout and solemn, yet carried a hint of timid uncertainty.

Li Yunxin froze slightly, then realized that this little cat demon was "listening to the law."

For beasts and spirit creatures, many things humans took for granted were "law."

Humans considered filial piety toward one's parents to be only natural, considered not eating one's own kind to be only natural, and considered rites, righteousness, and moral bonds to be utterly ordinary. Yet to beasts and spirit creatures, these were "laws" born from the great way of human ethics.

It seemed this little cat demon truly had been enlightened by someone before. Otherwise, she would not be showing such an expression now.

Li Yunxin suddenly felt a little better and smiled faintly.

"Third, your three views must be proper."

Qiao Jiaxin blinked and tried to speak like a normal person. "Huh? Three views? Ha? Is that three big temples? Are you going to build me three big temples?"

Li Yunxin laughed. "The three views are one's outlook on life, worldview, and values. You don't need to understand them yet. Just remember them. You'll understand later."

"But if you want to follow me, we still need to go to Weicheng. This body of yours... let's just say she was frightened into madness. There's a place for us to stay there, so in that case... we'll have to look after the other people from the escort agency. Mm, it's fine if you don't understand. Just follow me. When I call you to possess me, come possess me. We'll go save them."

"What a grand tone, young man."

The moment Li Yunxin finished speaking, another voice rang out.

The voice likely belonged to a young man in his early twenties. It was pleasant and magnetic, with a rising lilt at the end, carrying a somewhat unrestrained air.

Then a young man in a white brocade robe emerged from the forest.

Li Yunxin frowned, and his heart gave a jolt.

As the man walked out, it was as though a gentle force surrounded him, lightly pushing aside all the grass and trees so that not a single thread of his clothing was touched.

His steps were light, seeming not even to bend the grass beneath his feet. Wherever he went, even the chirping of insects became gentler.

Under the moonlight, a faint radiance even shrouded his body, making him seem like a celestial being.

Li Yunxin knew this meant that this ill-tempered young man cultivated the Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law and mysterious inner arts.

Just like his parents.

But the other party should be from the Dao lineage or the Sword Sect.

Considering what had happened tonight, his identity should be that of a disciple of the sect master of the Voidsoar Sword Sect, one of the seventy-two sects, and a fellow disciple of Kang Cangzi and Red Pine Master.

In other words, he was the one who had sent a flying sword letter to the Six Ghosts of Hejian, ordering them to kill Li Yunxin and the others.

He should have come earlier, but he had not. Now, he had come.

Li Yunxin took a deep breath and smiled. "Good evening. I've troubled you to come in person. Where are those people? Oh, right—how should I address you?"

The other man walked to within a dozen or so steps of Li Yunxin. He glanced at the headless corpse of the swordsman on the ground and shook his head slightly. "Mortals."

Then he raised his head, looked Li Yunxin over, and smiled absentmindedly. "My Daoist name is Huainanzi. On my way here, I saw a few and killed a few. It gradually became dull, this matter. Crossing tribulation is troublesome in the end."

"You're a cultivator too, aren't you? Hm, you cultivate the Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law as well. Under which True Person do you study? Heh... certainly not. You clashed with my two junior brothers, and your snow mountain qi sea was sealed by the methods of my Voidsoar Sword Sect. A few days ago, I discovered that both junior brothers had died. But it should not have been your doing. It was some great demon."

"However, since you are also implicated, and I lack the power to seek revenge against that great demon, I'll kill you instead. First, it will serve as an offering to my two junior brothers. Second, it will count as crossing a tribulation. Do not take it too hard. You, too, are crossing a tribulation—it is simply a death tribulation."

"There. Be on your way."