Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Human Feelings
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
Li Qinglin was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed while meditating when Mrs. Zhang knocked on his door. His expression didn’t change at the sound, and he said, “Please come in.”
The door opened, and the room was immediately filled with a fragrance. Mrs. Zhang walked in with a pot of wine and said softly, “I’m here to apologize for having put a fine young master like you in such a bleak room.”
Li Qinglin opened his eyes and replied, “My lady, your guest room is exquisite and spotless, so no apology is needed. Thank you for letting us stay here.”
The lady put down the tray, poured him some wine, and said, “We don’t have anything nice to treat an honorable guest like you. It’s quite chilly tonight, so may I invite you to have some warm wine?”
Li Qinglin only looked at her in silence.
Anyone with eyes could see that she was hitting on him, not to mention that Li Qinglin had been expecting her visit.
Seeing that Li Qinglin didn’t reply, Mrs. Zhang took a sip of the wine and chuckled. “It’s the perfect temperature.” She slowly approached his bed and raised the cup she had drunk from to Li Qinglin’s mouth. “Dear young sir, would you like some?”
Li Qinglin took the cup and smiled. “What a nice wine, and you smell even nicer. How could I say no to that?”
The look on Mrs. Zhang’s face became even more mesmerizing, and her eyes were like two rippling pools. “Would you like more?”
Li Qinglin looked up and down at her mourning gown and sighed. “But considering the state you’re in, I don’t feel…”
“Don’t let it bother you. The dead are gone, and the living have to move on,” Mrs. Zhang said seductively. “Plus, doesn’t this mourning gown make things even spicier?”
“It does, indeed,” Li Qinglin said with a half-smile. “I didn’t expect to find such a beautiful woman in a farm village.”
Mrs. Zhang smiled prettily. “Young master, you must be from a very affluent family to know so many things…”
Li Qinglin chuckled. “My lady, you’re so much more interesting than those commonplace women at home. Would you like to go back to the capital city with me? I’m going to give you a luxurious life, and it’s going to be so much better than what you have here in this deserted farmhouse. You can’t even find any decent jewelry here.”
Mrs. Zhang heaved a sigh. “The city of Li Fire… I’m afraid I’ve been cursed with an unfortunate life, and I won’t be able to withstand your good fortune. If you really find me pleasant, spend the night with me so that I’ll have something to remember you by…”
Li Qinglin didn’t know that his sister and Qin Yi had overheard some valuable information, but he had found out what he needed on his own.
This woman was a frivolous widow in a farming village, not some chaste woman who swore to remain a widow forever. When given a chance to go live in the capital city as a rich woman, she should’ve grabbed it without hesitation. Even if she had her doubts, she should’ve at least hesitated before turning down the offer, but this woman said no without so much as batting her eyelashes.
Either she couldn’t leave behind something she had been working on at the manor, or she feared that her identity wouldn’t withstand the scrutiny of the big families in the capital city.
Even if she wasn’t responsible for the anomalies at the manor, she was definitely involved.
“In that case, it’d be very rude of me to say no.” Li Qinglin downed the wine in one go.
The lady was pleased to see this.
Meanwhile, the Taoist Priestess had arrived and was standing on the roof opposite the guest room. She shook her head when she saw this.
“No fragrance is strong enough to mask the smell of death. This woman has to be a demon. Li Qinglin is supposed to be a shrewd man—how could he drink the wine she handed him?”
She couldn’t tell that Li Qinglin was only probing. Instead, she decided that he had been carried away by that woman’s bewitching glances and was beyond saving.
“How strange…” She looked at the tortoise shell in her hand. It was a divination tool, and she had started telling Li Qinglin’s fortune from the moment she saw him. “‘The dragon is fighting in the wild, and blood is shed.’ Why does the manifestation for him look like this? Hasn’t he left the battlefield already?”
Inside, Li Qinglin’s eyes turned glassy, and there was a lecherous expression on his face as he reached for the woman’s waist. The Taoist Priestess sighed and forgot about the divination. No matter what the prince had gotten himself into, she still had to take care of this demon.
She was about to take action when events took a different turn.
The woman had been leaning into Li Qinglin’s chest with a smile on her face while her hand brushed over the jade pendant on his belt. All of a sudden, the pendant lit up, giving off a colorful, resplendent glow, which seemed to burn her skin. The sensation ran up her arm and spread to her entire body.
“Argh!” The lady jumped to her feet like she had been electrocuted. Burying her head in her hands, she tumbled around, knocking over chairs. The wine pot and cups were rolling on the floor, but she was still screaming.
That was the sound Qin Yi and the others heard.
“That jade pendant…” The Taoist Priestess was surprised and had decided not to intervene. Instead, she only observed in silence.
After a hubbub of noise, the young master of the manor arrived in a hurry with his servants. Taking advantage of the chaos, Qin Yi and Li Qingjun had also gotten rid of the other servants and charged directly into the guest room.
The scene inside almost made Li Qingjun throw up.
The lady’s beautiful face was melting, and the skin on her face was peeling off. Maggots swarmed out, and the scene was repulsive.
The glow surrounding Li Qinglin began to fade and eventually disappeared as everyone watched.
A giant necro bug slowly crawled out from under the human skin. The next second, it jumped out of the window and disappeared.
The young master and the group of servants watched with their mouths agape.
Recalling how they had flirted with “her” and their intimate moments… They all retched.
That demon necro bug was Mrs. Zhang’s original form, and that pretty face was only the disguise it had been wearing.
“Demon necro bugs,” Liusu said in Qin Yi’s head. “They literally just wear human skin. They don’t even transform into a human shape. They live on the vital essence of human beings through fornication, which is why that young master looks like a wasted alcoholic. His body has been depleted.”
You belated genius… Qin Yi thought. Based on what he had discovered in the mourning hall, he was able to make a similar conclusion. That young master had tried to keep the demon as his own. Luckily he hadn’t or else all the sex would’ve gotten him killed. The “missing” servants had probably all been killed during sexual intercourse after all their vital essence had been sucked dry. After that, their skeletons had been put inside that hole and arranged into a formation. The demon was probably trying to transform into a human shape with the help of the essence-gathering formation so that it could “live happily ever after” with the young master.
It had found Li Qinglin attractive because his internal energy could help with its transformation, not because he was insanely handsome.
That thought made Qin Yi feel much better.
He glanced at the young master and saw that he looked touched after he was done throwing up.
“She really had feelings for me…” he murmured. “She didn’t have to work so hard. She was very cautious for years, and it wasn’t until these few months that she started to rush things…”
Li Qingjun was a little baffled when she heard that and heaved a sigh as well.
Maybe the man was right.
“It’s your fault… Give her back to me…” The look on the young master’s face gradually turned hideous.
Li Qingjun shook her head. “You’ve lost your mind. She’s a demon, and she was the one who killed all those people in the manor.”
Qin Yi tugged at her sleeve. “He knows that. He even lied to us about the bones in that hole, saying that they belonged to his ancestors. They were in it together.”
Li Qingjun looked baffled and didn’t say another word.
“Where’s that demon you’re talking about? Did you see it?” The young master turned around and glared at his servants. “Did any of you see it?”
The servant stumbled back and said, “No… we didn’t see anything.”
He then looked at Li Qinglin, who still seemed to be in that bewitched state with blushed cheeks and glassy eyes. The young master started laughing and said harshly, “The three of you have killed my step-mother! You’ve broken the law!”
Li Qingjun snapped. “Step-mother? There was a giant bug…”
“No one saw it.” The young master grinned maliciously. “All I know is that as soon as you got here, she was dead! What other motivation could there be if you didn’t kill her to steal my family’s wealth?”
Li Qingjun didn’t retort and only heaved a sigh. “Do you want to take revenge for her?”
Qin Yi chimed in. “Sir, are you sure you want to start a fight here in your manor? I would advise you to make an official report.”
The young master seemed to be intimidated by Li Qingjun’s spear and Qin Yi’s words reminded him of something. Even if he could defeat these warriors, the fight would trash the place, and what good would that do?
Demons would always be demons, even if her feelings for him were real. The sight of that disgusting necro bug was enough to appease his anger, and he gave up the idea of avenging her.
How about asking for compensation?
Struck by the idea, the young master slowly said, “If we make a report to the officials, the three of you will be in a lot of trouble when I accuse you of killing my step-mother. I’m very well-connected here. Even if you have some kind of status in your own territory, that might not work here.”
Qin Yi said, “Please don’t worry. I have faith in the officials.”
Li Qingjun only chuckled.
The young master didn’t know their real identities. Seeing how stubborn they were, he pointed at Li Qinglin, who was still sitting on the bed. “Your brother has been drugged by a unique concoction made by my step-mother, and I have the antidote.”
“Really?” Qin Yi grinned. “What would you like in return, then?”
“Give me that jade pendant, and I’ll give you the antidote. After that, we can all forget about what’s happened.”
That was his real purpose.
He saw the wonders of the jade pendant and realized it could expel evil forces. As taking revenge was out of the question, the young master turned greedy and wanted the treasure for himself.
Liusu told Qin Yi, “That pendant could be a very rare treasure, and I’m interested as well…”
Qin Yi only shook his head slightly.
Meanwhile, Li Qingjun was infuriated. She pointed a finger at the young master and yelled, “You’re worse than that demon! It killed a lot of people, but it had real feelings for you. To you, even a jade pendant is more important!”
She might’ve praised him if he actually tried to take revenge, but now, she was furious.
The Taoist Priestess on the rooftop sighed as well. A necro bug had been cut into two halves at her feet, and it was none other than the fleeing demon from before. It was killed by a single sweep of her sword. Looking down at the dead demon, she asked quietly, “Was it worth it?”
Inside, the crowd heard a sigh as well. Turning around, they saw that Li Qinglin, who was supposed to be drugged, had straightened up. His eyes were bright and clear, and he didn’t seem to have been affected at all.
He smiled at Qin Yi. “Brother Qin, I told you already. Men can be a lot more difficult to handle than demons.”
