CHAPTER 283: LIUGUANG CAVE AT QINGFENG RIDGE!

“Excellent! Daoist Master Li, you’re truly a decisive man. Rest assured, after this matter is settled, I shall report it to the court. Those who render service shall all be duly rewarded!” Wang Wen clapped his hands and laughed.

This seventh-rank Inspector Censor carried upon him a righteous qi that shielded his body, and ordinary demons and malevolent spirits could not approach him. Even heretics who cultivated evil arts could not contend with such an official, lest they suffer backlash.

Li Yanchu could not discern what exactly this Lord Wang harbored in his heart. But as for slaying the Mountain Lord, that had already been his intention.

To slay demons and exorcise ghosts was precisely the duty of a priest of the Zhengyi Daoism. The Dao he followed was the Dao of slaying demons and exterminating evil.

“Lord Wang, to tell the truth, I have urgent matters to attend to. I fear I cannot wait for the high monks and masters from the prefectural city to arrive,” Li Yanchu said to Wang Wen.

Hearing this, Wang Wen raised his brows, instinctively thinking this young Daoist intended to decline.

But this was the very man whose name had appeared in the court gazette, and he was resolute in judgment, as well as righteous in bearing. He did not seem the sort to evade responsibility.

Thus, Wang Wen merely gave Li Yanchu a measured look and said calmly, “Then what are you trying to say?”

“I shall go to Qingfeng Ridge tonight, slay the Mountain Lord, and put an end to this affair!”

Wang Wen was taken aback. He frowned and said, “Daoist Master Li, your youth and courage are admirable, and your skills profound, but that Mountain Lord’s cultivation runs deep. I fear you may not be able to handle him alone. It would be safer to wait until the masters from the prefectural city arrive.”

“There is no need. I have my own methods of subduing demons. Tonight I will go to Qingfeng Ridge to slay the fiend. Tomorrow, I must be on my way to other matters.” Li Yanchu’s tone was cool and steady.

Hearing this, Wang Wen fell silent. He had intended to dissuade the young Daoist, but when his gaze met Li Yanchu’s bright, unwavering eyes, he found himself unable to speak further.

Though his heart held little hope for Li Yanchu’s chances, Wang Wen finally said, “Then, Daoist Master Li, you must be careful. If the task proves beyond reach, you must preserve your own life above all.”

“Thank you for the warning, my lord,” Li Yanchu replied solemnly.

He left composedly, refusing any martial guards or bailiffs as escort. At Wang Wen’s side appeared a young, stalwart officer with a three-chi sword at his waist and a sharp, penetrating gaze.

“My lord, this Daoist Master Li’s journey is fraught with peril. Worse, he risks alarming the enemy before we are ready. Why did you not stop him just now?” the young officer asked.

Wang Wen sighed, “Do you think I did not know? Yet when I looked into his eyes, I felt against all reason that perhaps he truly might succeed.”

The officer shook his head. “That Mountain Lord is a great demon of five hundred years’ cultivation. Even his serpent demon underling is no easy foe for ordinary men of letters. This Daoist Master Li is overestimating himself.”

Wang Wen gave no reply. He was, after all, a civil official, not a Confucian adept or Daoist cultivator. Concepts like cultivation or spirit power were vague to him.

The young officer, however, was a Demon Slayer Colonel from the Court of Judicial Review, and his judgment was usually keen. Yet Wang Wen still felt that the calm poise, the unshaken composure of that young Daoist was something that could not be feigned. The outcome of the battle tonight might well be something extraordinary.

After leaving the Zhao family residence, Li Yanchu mounted Blackie and rode straight toward Qingfeng Ridge.

If not for the Buddhist relics he carried, which was infused with the great power of high monks, Li Yanchu could have directly employed the Cloud-Riding Immortal Art.

Even so, Blackie, the donkey infused with spirit qi, was no ordinary beast. When it galloped at full strength, its speed was anything but slow!

The wind howled past his ears as Blackie ran with wild abandon, seemingly tireless. Ever since Lady Yun had begun following Li Yanchu, the creature had been as excited as if it had been fed drugs.

Clip clop, clip clop!

Its hooves thundered like rolling drums.

The rider and the donkey vanished in a trail of dust as they charged straight toward Qingfeng Ridge.

***

Two hundred li of mountain road was not far at all for Blackie at full gallop. By now, the horizon had begun to brighten, the first light of dawn piercing the darkness. It was the moment between night and day, when the human body awakened with its first surge of vitality.

Li Yanchu dismounted, leading Blackie forward with his eyes fixed on the deep and treacherous mountain ridge ahead. At his side stood a striking beauty with her hair coiled in a simple bun and her face bare of cosmetics. Though clad only in plain blue cloth, her graceful figure was subtly revealed.

“Daoist Master, the Mountain Lord dwells within Liuguang[1] Cave, here in Qingfeng Ridge. From here, it is about seven or eight li farther,” Lady Yun said softly.

Li Yanchu nodded. “Lead the way.”

Lady Yun’s body trembled. Her delicate brows furrowed, though she made no move.

“What is it?” Li Yanchu asked.

“I... I am afraid.” Lady Yun’s lovely face had gone pale and she was almost on the verge of tears.

Li Yanchu had never seen a spirit so cowardly in all his life! You’re a spirit born of grass and wood, for goodness sake!

Li Yanchu stepped forward and gave Lady Yun a swat on the rear, scolding impatiently, “What are you afraid of? Hurry and lead the way. No matter how fierce he is, can he possibly be fiercer than me?!”

Lady Yun’s face flushed red. In disbelief, she covered her backside with both hands, her cheeks burning as though they might drip water.

She then blinked. Well... that was true. This young Daoist was ruthless in battle and hated evil with a passion, and he killed men—no, demons—without a hint of hesitation. In a sense, he and the Mountain Lord were opposites: one was righteous, while the other was wicked.

But when Lady Yun compared them in her heart, she found she couldn’t decide which was more terrifying.

“Daoist Master, come with me.” Lady Yun cast her spell and soared toward Liuguang Cave.

Li Yanchu inclined his head slightly, then unleashed his own unmatched footwork, leaping through the forest in pursuit.

Blackie grew excited, but in the blink of an eye, both figures had vanished. Left alone, the donkey pranced about in circles, venting its excess energy.

Qingfeng Ridge stretched for over a hundred li, teeming with venomous insects and fierce beasts.

At last, Li Yanchu reached the mouth of Liuguang Cave. There lay two or three dozen skeletons, more than half of them clearly human. When he saw this, his expression darkened at once. Meanwhile, Lady Yun’s eyes showed a flicker of pity, but far more of fear.

With a grim look, Li Yanchu strode straight into the cave. The stench inside was overwhelming. Along the path lay countless bones. It was like stepping into the very lair of hell, thick with the coppery reek of blood that made one’s stomach churn.

At this time, Lady Yun’s complexion turned deathly pale. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling.

From deeper within came the sound of men and women laughing, mingled with the sounds of a zither. Such refined sounds in this bloody, suffocating cave were grotesquely out of place.

Lady Yun glanced nervously at Li Yanchu, only to find his eyes cold as frost, terrifying in their intensity. Quickly, she lowered her head and followed obediently behind him.

In truth,I’d much rather hide back inside the Dragon-Tiger Scepter... I really don’t need to be here for this kind of grand confrontation.

While Lady Yun was lost in her wandering thoughts, Li Yanchu had already emerged from the cave and entered an even larger cavern. Inside were a dozen or so skeletons, along with the half-eaten remains of a woman, which was grotesque and unrecognizable.

A burly middle-aged man stood there with his outer robe open to reveal his rippling muscles. In his hand he gripped a large bronze cup.

A golden crown adorned his head, radiating an aura of menace. Cradled in his arms was a voluptuous woman, clad only in a tight-fitting top that revealed her waist and navel. She exuded an indescribable charm as she twisted her slender waist, performing a dance so provocative it made one’s mouth go dry while radiating a raw, primal allure.

Beside them, a sallow-faced scholar played the zither, smiling from ear to ear.

Suddenly, a man and woman stepped into the cavern. The three immediately turned their gazes toward the newcomers, scrutinizing them.

1. 流光 (liúguāng, “flowing light”) literally means “flowing light” or “passing light.” In classical and literary Chinese, it often describes the fleeting or transient quality of light, time, or beauty. It can evoke imagery of sunlight, moonlight, or other luminous effects in motion, and is sometimes used metaphorically to suggest the passage of time or ephemeral brilliance. ☜