Chapter 276: The Edge of the Cliff

Leaving aside the two beautiful female Demons, each with her own motives, fleeing into the vast forest, let's return to Li Yunxin—

He now had blood dripping on his hands.

The blood came from the Seven-Segment Brocade's body—this female Demon was originally considered beautiful, but she was unrecognizable now.

Her face was swollen into a mass, like leavened dough. Forget about her "eyes squeezed into a slit"—you couldn't even see the slit.

All her limbs were bent at strange angles, looking like they had been deliberately broken—and not just once, but several times.

Her clothes were ragged, and her flesh was blooming open like flowers—this wasn't even cut; it was beaten apart while she was still alive.

And Li Yunxin stood in front of her, gasping for air.

His knuckles were raw and bloody; the blood was a mix of the female Demon's and his own.

Old Daoist Liu was on the side, eyes wide, mouth open, unable to utter a word.

The Snake Spirit Seven-Section Brocade was a Manifestation Realm peak Demon, and Li Yunxin was in the True Realm. The gap between the Manifestation Realm and the True Realm was immense. Logically, if Li Yunxin seriously raised a finger, he could crush the Snake Spirit into nothingness.

But...

He hadn't used Spiritual Power or spells. Instead, he had used the strength of his own physical body—like the constables in secular world prisons, to brutally interrogate a prisoner.

This was the reason for Old Daoist Liu's stunned state.

If anyone else had done this, Old Daoist Liu wouldn't have been surprised.

But it was Li Yunxin.

He knew that Li Yunxin was... almost out of control now.

Although it was "limited loss of control that was still self-managed," it was still a loss of control. He had lost his former pretense, patience, and demeanor. He had become a hysterical, terrifying brute, pouring the most primal force onto a female Demon's body.

Old Daoist Liu didn't know how to define Li Yunxin's current state.

The Heartology that Li Yunxin had taught him had not yet covered this chapter.

It had started after Lady Hong was taken away by Bai Yunxin—Li Yunxin was silent for a while, sighed a few times. Then he walked into the Central Hall and asked the Seven-Segment Brocade some questions. The Snake Spirit naturally refused to speak.

So, it began.

—Now, Li Yunxin was staring intently at the Snake Spirit, breathing heavily.

The violence had lasted for half an hour. He... must be tired.

The Old Daoist took a deep breath and called him softly: "Brother Xin, Brother Xin—"

He called a few times, but Li Yunxin paid no attention. He was panting like an ox, staring at the Seven-Segment Brocade on the ground.

The Old Daoist then slightly raised his voice: "Brother Xin!"

Li Yunxin heard him. He suddenly turned his head, staring at him like a wild beast immersed in the sensation of slaughter.

The Old Daoist felt a little nervous under his terrifying gaze. But he still mustered up the courage to say: "Brother Xin, it's time to... wake up."

But Li Yunxin just looked at him. Staring intently like a snake for a moment.

Then he suddenly asked: "Do you believe it?"

Old Daoist Liu was stunned: "Ah?"

But Li Yunxin didn't seem to expect an answer. He asked again: "Do you want to live?"

The Old Daoist was still confused.

Li Yunxin then said the third sentence: "What can I do?!"

At this moment, all the Old Daoist could do was blink. While blinking in confusion, he slowly walked to Li Yunxin's side. After hesitating for a moment, he cautiously raised a hand and placed it on Li Yunxin's shoulder: "Brother Xin, it's time to... rest."

His rough palm rested on Li Yunxin's shoulder for a moment.

Then... Li Yunxin looked straight at him. He looked at the hand, and his whole body suddenly slumped.

It was as if... his body had been filled with air. And now, he didn't know where a hole had been punctured, and all the air was leaking out. He could no longer stand. While looking at the Seven-Segment Brocade on the ground, he slowly backed away. He shrank a little with every step he took.

Finally, he retreated all the way to the wall, leaned against it, and slowly sat down.

His arms rested on his knees, staring blankly at the captive on the ground.

After staring blankly for a long time, he tilted his head and said to Old Daoist Liu: "You know I used to—look down on men who hit women the most."

The Old Daoist didn't know what to say. But he knew what to do.

He slowly walked over to Li Yunxin and sat down too—this Dragon's Son, Dragon King, True Realm Demon, highly cultivated Painting Daoist—just an hour ago, he had just foiled a terrible enemy conspiracy and emerged as the victor. But now... he was like a child again.

Li Yunxin was still looking at him—it was past noon now, and the sun was slowly descending toward the west. The midday sunlight was bright white, but the afternoon sunlight had a faint orange-yellow hue. So, the pale-yellow sunlight streamed in through the Central Hall's window, illuminating Li Yunxin's hair ends and pupils into a light brown...

He truly looked like a child.

He sat against the wall in the sunlight, his eyes unblinking, looking at Old Daoist Liu: "...She's not a woman. She's a Demon. She's here to harm me—you see her as a female Demon now, but who knows if there's a man or a woman hidden inside her?!"

The Old Daoist said: "Hmm. Who knows? Maybe not a woman. Besides, she's a Demon, not a human, an enemy, not a friend."

"Yes, yes—it's exactly as you said." Li Yunxin stared at him—he had a pair of beautiful eyes. Now, wide open, they had an even more innocent, childlike quality.

—If one didn't look at his bloody hands.

"I'm on an edge right now." Li Yunxin looked at Old Daoist Liu. "Right on an edge—the edge of a cliff, about to completely collapse. Don't you think?"

His tone was somewhat neurotic: "I think about it. I analyze, I look at myself—look. I was doing fine after taking care of the Mutual Aid Society people, right?"

"But then I suddenly found out I might be a false prince—God, what a terrible blow, as if the whole world is against me."

"And yet, outside, there are, hmm? Profound Realm great Demons waiting for me! They might try to kill me. Haha... and the True Dragon is supposedly coming too."

"And I don't even know if he's an enemy or a friend, damn it—I killed his son."

Old Daoist Liu stretched out a hand, placed it back on Li Yunxin's shoulder, and patted it.

Li Yunxin paused, but still continued speaking—

"Hahaha so many unfortunate things, every single one of them a matter of life and death—hahaha those watching might think it's nothing, just a challenge, and I'm being too sentimental and weak. Damn it... those people, in their lives... their girlfriend cheated on them, and they just got fired, and they just failed an exam, and they just ran out of money, and their rent was just due and they lost their phone, and they just caught a cold—they would feel like the world has ended and is working against them, feeling life is unbearable, so why should they expect me to feel calm and composed?!"

He almost roared the last sentence. Old Daoist Liu's hand on his shoulder felt the vibrations in his body.

The old man didn't know the exact meaning of the last words Li Yunxin spoke.

But he understood the general meaning.

He hesitated slightly, then slowly moved his hand up—he placed his hand on top of Li Yunxin's head.

Then, slowly... he stroked his hair.

He whispered: "No one is laughing at you. Brother Xin, no one is laughing at you. It's just you and me—just you and me in this room. Say whatever you want to say, I'm listening, alright."

Li Yunxin stared at him.

After staring for a long time, he exhaled.

His body then slowly slumped further, tilting down... leaning onto Old Daoist Liu's body.

Like a grandson who had been wronged, leaning against his grandfather.

Old Daoist Liu's body stiffened. But he quickly relaxed. He gently let out a breath and slowly patted Li Yunxin's back. He heard Li Yunxin speak again—

"What can I do? What can I do? Should I fight her, then? That's insane."

"I might not even win the fight. And then be wiped out by the people outside? That's insane."

He muttered to himself, as if in a trance. After talking to himself for a long time, he said again: "I want to, too... Insane. Insane... Insane woman..."

The Old Daoist slowly began to understand.

But just as he was thinking of a few words to say to Li Yunxin, Brother Xin's tone changed again—

"I will go back one day."

"You bastard."

"I was going to slowly play with you and eat you alive."

"Ha, you're lucky, your brother is tough, he saved you, huh?"

"You didn't expect me to be making waves here, huh? I will go back one day—"

Li Yunxin's tone became violent. He was like an evil wild beast hiding in the darkness, watching its enemy with blood-red eyes and issuing low curses. He poured out the most malicious words in a low, fragmented stream while in Old Daoist Liu's arms, as if narrating a revenge story, but he used a large number of words Old Daoist Liu had never heard before—he truly didn't understand anymore.

But he knew... this wasn't a bad thing.

Li Yunxin, who had suddenly been on the verge of collapse, was entering the final phase—doubt, negation, self-comfort. And now—he was trying to reconstruct his powerful psychological defense mechanism with terrifying memories.

...It must be those terrible memories that became the fuse for all this.

He had witnessed Li Yunxin's earlier loss of composure—like waking up from a nightmare. Old Daoist Liu truly didn't know what kind of terrifying past Brother Xin had gone through.

But he waited patiently—like a grandfather holding a grandson.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Yunxin stopped speaking.

He became silent in Old Daoist Liu's arms—Old Daoist Liu felt Brother Xin's body slowly stiffen, like a stone.

He thought for a moment, then slowly stood up, walked out the door without looking at Li Yunxin.

The afternoon sun was still shining gently. The Jun Mountain Ziwei Palace Central Hall... was peaceful and serene right now.

The cicadas in the forest were chirping—though their lives were short, they were still chirping at the top of their lungs.

A gentle breeze brushed through the leaves, and water vapor moistened Jun Mountain. Sunlight shone on the ground—there was a missing corner on a flagstone, and ants were crawling along the cracks.

The Old Daoist's robe quickly became warm from the sun—he gently rubbed his hands.

After basking in the sun for a while.

He heard steady footsteps from inside the door.

Li Yunxin walked behind him: "I apologize."

His voice was low, like a child who had done something wrong.

Old Daoist Liu didn't turn around, just smiled: "Hey..."

After a moment—

"This is the first time."

"And it will be the last."

Li Yunxin's voice became steady again.