What bad intentions could my Daoist partner possibly have?

Chapter 5 I came here to slay demons

A thousand miles south of Luohuang Mountain lies Huaishan Town.

"Those who have packed their belongings, gather at the East Town entrance. Those who haven't packed yet, hurry up!"

The town was teeming with people, all with their families, clearly preparing for a massive migration.

Most people wore expressions of reluctance to leave home, but no one complained.

Because this wasn't the first time.

The snake demons of Banzhu Mountain were the most vengeful snake demons in their knowledge. They would launch a fierce revenge if any snake demon under their control died except by accident.

Unable to defeat the cultivators who could cultivate on the mountain, they would target the towns and villages under the jurisdiction of the cultivators' forces, resorting to any means necessary.

Furthermore, since the cultivators on the mountain were unable to kill all the snake demons at once, the authorities issued a policy to relocate the people around the site of the snake demons' deaths.

They will move back after the storm has passed or after a large number of cultivators have descended the mountain to create a peaceful environment.

As the over 100-year-old mayor of Huaishan Town, Liu Ji knew in his heart that the Taoist practitioners on the mountain protected them for the sake of incense offerings, but he had no complaints about it.

Because those people on the mountain truly ensured favorable weather for Huai Shan Town.

For Huaishan Town, this is a very fortunate thing.

After all, not everyone is qualified to cultivate Taoism, and most people are those who have been abandoned by the times.

Ordinary people without the talent for cultivation will only meet one fate if they enter a place rich in spiritual energy: suffocation.

Having lived for over a hundred years, Liu Ji had long since come to terms with things, so he didn't ask for much. While managing Huai Shan Town well, he would occasionally send a few outstanding children to the mountain.

"I don't know if I'll live to see the day I return from this trip away from home."

Liu Ji sighed to his son Liu Yu, who was standing beside him.

"If it weren't for the mountain..."

"Watch your words!" Liu Ji glared at his youngest son. "There are difficulties on the mountain. We should be content with living a long and healthy life in this era."

Liu Yu sighed, "Then blame those snake demons. Wouldn't it have been better to just stay in their territory?"

Liu Ji slapped his youngest son on the back of the head: "Even the dog in the house knows to protect its pup. How could those intelligent demons possibly stay put and wait for the cultivators on the mountain to harvest them?"
Moreover, their methods of transmitting messages are faster than those of the cultivators on the mountain who haven't mastered any magical artifacts..."

"real or fake?"

"Nonsense! An ordinary tiger's roar can carry throughout the entire mountain forest, let alone a demon that has gained intelligence?"

“That’s right.” Liu Yu nodded in sudden realization, then asked in confusion, “Father, since they are so terrifying, why didn’t you let the caravan that rescued us take down Banzhu Mountain? Those people seem to be much more powerful than the mountain…”

Besides, this is a mess they caused; shouldn't they be the ones to deal with it?

Liu Ji glanced at him speechlessly, but still patiently explained, "We owe a debt of gratitude to Yunlan Valley, and this debt of gratitude has always been with Huai Shan Town, so we can't be two-faced, otherwise Yunlan Valley will blame us."

That caravan was clearly new to the area, not even knowing the nature of the snake demon of Banzhu Mountain, and they weren't willing to talk to us much. They could save us for a while, but not forever.

Besides, nothing's happened yet. If something does happen, then we'll just have to complain..."

"I understand. When will the people from Yunlan Valley arrive?" Liu Yu hurriedly asked. "It's been three hours since you burned that talisman, and we haven't seen a single person."

Didn't you say they would send someone to settle us within an hour?

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji's expression also showed some worry, but he still looked at the road and comforted him, "Things are busy up on the mountain too, maybe something has delayed them, don't worry, don't worry..."

……

The silver-scaled steed galloped past, leaving trails of afterimages behind it.

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have gotten involved in this."

Huang Qingwu said softly, "The people in this region are already grateful to Yunlan Valley. If you help them, they may not thank you. Yunlan Valley, which cultivates Yin spirits through incense and vows, will see you as a thorn in their side. There is no need to get involved in something that is thankless and difficult."

Li Qing'an had become numb to Huang Qingwu's attempts to guess his thoughts, so he didn't bother to pursue the matter further and simply asked, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Think about it, so much time has passed, the people in the town must have been relocated by Yunlan Valley. But if they are still in the same place, doesn't that mean there is a problem with Yunlan Valley as well? If that's the case, are you still going to storm Yunlan Valley?"

"You already said 'if'!"

"Shouldn't we consider the worst-case scenario in everything?" Huang Qingwu snorted coldly. "Besides, those common people are under the grace of Yunlan Valley, and they might even scold you for meddling."

One side consists of ordinary people abandoned by the times, the other side may have problems. If you ask me, killing them both would make you the most correct person, since the dead can't testify, right?

"You still say you're not a great demon?" Li Qingan retorted, which gave him a general understanding of Huang Qingwu's temperament.

If this female ghost were to truly be reborn in the future, she would slaughter anything that stood in her way, no matter what it was.

"Hehe, am I wrong?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Li Qing'an replied, tearing a piece of cloth from his clothes to cover his face. "The female ghost I killed even commented that I was hesitant and overly cautious... I'm not one to be morally coerced."

"That's good……"

"Speaking of which, you seem to have been worried that the female ghost's evaluation of me would actually happen to me. How many times have you said it along the way? What, are you my mother?"

"If you want to call me Mother, that's not impossible."

Li Qingan spat out a "Pah!" and then asked with some suspicion, "You wouldn't really be like that, would you?"

"Get out, get out! I'm just afraid you're hopeless!" "Heh... If anyone should be leaving, it's you. If I could just get away from you, I would have already done so."

Huang Qingwu remained silent, only offering a cold laugh.

Li Qingan stopped arguing with her and focused on what was ahead.

The silver-scaled steed pierced the air like lightning, causing the treetops on both sides to sway and startling a leaf and a bird.

Li Qing'an couldn't help but sigh at the advantages of being born into a wealthy family; the Silver Scale Steed, specially bred with Qilin blood, was even faster than a cultivator at the fourth stage of the Core Formation Realm.

This kind of heritage is something that even ordinary wealthy families can't match.

At least in the Chang Geng Realm, there aren't many domesticated demon beasts with this speed.

While pondering, Li Qingan saw a black line formed by the gathering of people in the distance.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but frown. Yunlan Valley hadn't sent anyone to relocate the people here yet? Had something really gone wrong?

The entrance to Huaishan Town.

Liu Ji's eyes lit up as he watched the figure approaching like lightning: "They're here, they're here, everyone..."

His voice trailed off as he recognized the silver-scaled steed as the same one that had belonged to the previous caravan.

It's not Yunlan Valley!
"Quiet, everyone quiet!"

Liu Ji hurriedly shouted again, "He is not a master from Yunlan Valley."

His prestige in Huaishan Town was clearly very high, and the excited crowd around him immediately quieted down, all looking at Li Qing'an, who had stopped his horse, with averted eyes.

Liu Ji took a deep breath, hunched over, and forced a smile on his aged face: "Did this venerable one leave something here? Tell me, and I'll send someone to find it for you right away."

Riding on his tall horse, Li Qing'an looked at Liu Ji and said, "I'm not here to look for anything, but I've heard about the nature of the snake demons here."

Liu Ji's eyelids twitched, and he quickly said, "What you've heard is not true. You have already helped us once, and the whole of Huai Shan Town will never forget it. The Venerable One from Yun Lan Valley will arrive soon, so there's no need for you to worry."

"I didn't see a single person from Yunlan Valley on the way."

As Li Qing'an spoke noncommittally, he dismounted and glanced sideways at another road.

It's better to come early than to come by coincidence.

On the mountain road, both above and below ground, a giant python raised its head, surrounded by a swarm of snakes, causing the road to tremble and dust to rise like waves.

A fishy smell hit my nose.

"Look, they'd love for you to leave. They seem grateful to you now because you arrived early. If you had arrived late, they would have cursed you out, probably saying things like 'Why didn't you come sooner?' and they would have hated you too. They probably think that way now..."

"Big sister, that's enough."

Li Qingan couldn't help but interrupt her: "Didn't this not happen? Besides, didn't you say before that actions matter, not intentions?"

"Just a reminder."

"It's not necessary."

At this moment, the people of Huaishan Town could not help but show fear on their faces after seeing the overwhelming swarm of snakes.

Everyone knows how to survive here, but for the people of Huaishan Town who have lived peacefully until now, apart from the elderly, this is the first time they have witnessed the arrival of a horde of demons.

The venom secreted by the snake scales clung to the earth, and the grotesque muscles that writhed and twisted resembled small mountains, easily corroding trees hundreds of meters tall, creating a stench that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The giant python in the center, with its human head and snake body, and blood dripping from its mouth, is particularly eerie, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding snake demons.

The cries of children were already rising and falling in the crowd.

Liu Ji watched this scene with trembling hands. Past memories were stirred up in his mind, causing him to subconsciously look in the direction of Yunlan Valley.

I still didn't see the familiar uniforms.

He glanced at Li Qingan again, his eyes filled with even greater despair.

If this passerby truly resolves the demonic calamity before them, they will inevitably feel grateful. What if Yunlan Valley blames them?
Moreover, could he possibly deal with such a terrifying demon by himself?

If a few more are killed, wouldn't the snake demons of Banzhu Mountain hate Huaishan Town even more?

Many people had already dragged their families into the town, and the older folks, though not running, were tightly embracing each other.

They knew they had no chance of escaping from the serpent demon that had gained intelligence.

Hearing the cries and gasps behind him, Liu Ji clenched his fists, glanced several times in the direction of Yunlan Valley, and with a flicker of his eyes, gritted his teeth and bowed deeply to Li Qing'an: "Please, Venerable One..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a tall shadow blocking his way.

"I came here to slay the demon."

Liu Ji looked up and saw Li Qing'an stepping out from beside the horse and drawing his sword from his left hand.

The crimson hilt resembles a blazing flame, while the blade's blue hue is like the gnarled roots of a large tree.

The sword's edge pointed diagonally at the snake demon with a human head and a snake's body in the center, while Li Qing'an stood majestically in front of Huai Shan Town.

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(End of this chapter)