Celestial Demon Starting from Attribute Points-Chapter 67: In the Cellar

Crash...

Rumble...

Several sealed porcelain jars were pressed into a pool filled with crushed ice.

The jars contained buns, cooked meat, and the like.

The reason for placing them in the ice pool was an extra precaution to remove any potential epidemic air.

Wei Yao rolled up her sleeves, unafraid of the cold ice water, pressing the jars to the bottom of the pool. She then placed stones on top, clapped her hands, and watched from the side.

Meanwhile, Qiao’Er, wrapped in a thick cotton coat, squatted in front of a small stove at the cellar’s exit, constantly throwing wood chips into the stove.

The wood chips ignited as soon as they entered the stove, emitting a blinding red glow.

She squatted down, her face close to the stove, fanning it repeatedly with her hands to quickly build the fire, so she could cook the buns and meat that had undergone the "freezing process."

As for everyone’s laundry, it wasn’t washed in the cellar.

The Li family had plenty of clothes, so wearing different ones for years wasn’t an issue.

Thus, if the clothes got dirty, they were packed up and sent up to let the evil spirits handle them.

Originally, this was quite inconvenient, but Liu Yingyi seemed to know that the master needed some women, so aside from storing strong men at the corpses heap in the small bamboo grove east of the estate, he also stored a few skillful women.

On a certain autumn midnight, under a dark and windy moonless sky, Li Xuan walked out of the cellar and stood on the rooftop, revealing two embarrassing large tentacles.

Those tentacles were connected to the roof ridge’s eaves beast, and his hands slightly lifted, moving like they were performing some evil prayer, while the ghost-raising demon skill in his palms transformed into strands of evil white yarn, which floated towards the corpse heap in that bamboo grove.

As the white yarn covered the corpses, those bodies began to undergo slight changes. After a little over half an hour, some individuals started to rise from the ground, donning clothes that had been prepared in advance, reintegrating into the small county.

Among them, some women, wearing bamboo hats, arrived at the Li family to handle tasks that men couldn’t do, such as washing.

They didn’t just work for the Li family, but tried to patrol the entire Xiongshan County, going door to door, offering assistance from time to time.

Initially, the people of Xiongshan County were alarmed, but gradually they settled down, and many became curious about these individuals’ identities.

Yet these people only identified themselves with a phrase: "Mountain strangers, here to repay a debt."

Everyone found it peculiar.

But they didn’t understand what this repayment meant.

Nonetheless, with such a group maintaining order in Xiongshan County, the county indeed became more peaceful.

Master Li’s curiosity was also piqued; after some time, he seized an opportunity to ask, "Xiaoying, where are you from, and why aren’t you afraid of this plague?"

Liu Yingyi naturally replied with the unified phrase the master required: "Mountain stranger, here to repay a debt."

Master Li pursued the query: "What debt? Can you elaborate?"

He had become quite bored.

But Liu Yingyi didn’t answer.

At this point, Li Xuan stepped forward and said, "Father, it’s me, your son."

With those four words, the entire cellar went silent.

Tian Yuan forgot to read, Qiao’Er forgot to fan the fire, Second Mistress forgot to pressure her son to study, and the First Lady forgot to copy Buddhist scriptures. Everyone looked at Li Xuan.

In recent days, in the eyes of his close family such as these, Li Xuan had become increasingly mysterious, especially this time...

You could say, if it weren’t for this group of suddenly appearing strangers, the Li family might almost all be dead by now, and Xiongshan County certainly wouldn’t be as it is now.

Yet this group’s attitude towards Li Xuan was crystal clear to them, obedient beyond measure, and, beyond that, they often whispered among themselves about Li Xuan, though no one knew what they were discussing.

What’s the story here?

Li Xuan slowly narrated, "During my travels, I once saved a little fox, an unusual creature, with..."

In his mind, those two large tentacles flashed, so he continued, "with two large tails, spiritually intelligent.

After I saved it, it led me to its home, and it turned out to be a mountain estate.

In the estate, an old man entertained me, and asked my name and where I was from. I answered everything.

The old man then calculated and said only that Xiongshan County might face disaster.

I was shocked and asked the old man how best to deal with it.

The old man said there was a monstrous provocateur stirring up a plague, and urged me to quickly return. That’s when I came running back to ask you, Father, to block Half-Sky Gorge.

As for Xiaoying, he’s a servant from that old man’s estate, so I recognized him."

The evil spirit Liu Yingyi chimed in from the side, "What Young Master Li said is true.

Young Master Li saved our young master, and the old gentleman is very grateful, so he sent us to help Xiongshan County through this calamity."

Once those words were spoken, the cellar suddenly fell silent.

Everyone knew by now that these mountain strangers were demons, didn’t they?

Master Li shivered.

The First Lady’s hand holding the Buddhist scripture turned white from tension.

Tian Yuan also turned pale, never imagining that her own husband would perform a kindness for demons, and even more surprising, that those demons would return the favor.

But can the demons’ reciprocation be trusted?

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Wei Yao felt suddenly pleased. A hint of obscure delight flickered in her eyes as she resumed handling the jars of buns and meat in the ice pool.

Master Li, understanding the gravity, solemnly said, "Everyone, this is the biggest secret of the Li family; no one outside must know! Otherwise, disaster will surely befall us!"

Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

Master Li then went to the entrance of the cellar and gave a deep bow outside, saying, "Mr. Ying, I also ask you to keep this a secret for Xuan’Er, don’t let others know. I extend my gratitude to you and your family’s old master, and in the future if there’s anything the Li family can do for you, don’t hesitate to let us know."

After speaking, Master Li patted his son’s shoulder and said, "You brat, stop calling Xiaoying by his first name. You have to call him Mr. Ying! No respect for hierarchy, and you’re supposed to be a scholar!"

Li Xuan found it amusing in his heart, but his face remained sternly polite as he bowed, "Mr. Ying."

Outside the cellar, Liu Yingyi was overwhelmed with trepidation, so he knelt and responded with, "Hmm."

...

...

Night falls.

Tian Yuan tossed and turned, and finally leaned close to Li Xuan’s ear, whispering her worries: "Husband, demons are deceitful and cannot be easily trusted. Today’s gratitude may just be using us as fodder."

Li Xuan crafted such a story actually to lay the groundwork for "what if my demonic side becomes known to the family" and also to prepare for some of his future plans.

He needed the elders of the Li family, at least his parents and wife, to have some connection with these malicious spirits, or at least to know they were friends rather than foes.

As he became more familiar with the plague, he repeatedly replayed the events of that day at the Luoshi Sect in his mind.

After much contemplation, a speculation slowly formed in his mind.

Perhaps the "Red Cloud Demon Fiend that brought the plague" wasn’t originally at Luoshi Sect, otherwise... why hadn’t such a terrifying plague been reported early at Hundred Flowers Mansion?

The reason the demon appeared might have been that it was attracted by the great fire.

The Red Cloud Demon Fiend might love fire, so when it saw the wildfire in the mountains, it couldn’t resist running over. As for why it went beneath the "Tiger Demon Taisui," Li Xuan guessed that the demon’s body was resistant to burning, which resulted in high temperatures.

The Red Cloud Demon Fiend favored high temperatures, so it thought of settling down there.

Unexpectedly, after just a few days, the fire went out.

Soon after, he went up the mountain.

The Red Cloud Demon Fiend did not attack immediately but only released its aura to scare him away without uttering a word, indicating that the demon had an unusual temperament, one that could be described with the words "naturally gentle, introverted, and taciturn."

But Liu Yingyi and the soldiers directly demolished its home. The Red Cloud Demon Fiend, already angry at the extinguished fire, became even angrier at seeing its home being destroyed, so it bit some of the people up front and then dashed away.

This was a story he came up with after much reflection.

Whether this story was the truth, Li Xuan didn’t know, but at least it explained a lot, like why the Red Cloud Demon Fiend didn’t eat people or drink demon blood, why it fled, and why the plague fears cold but not fire.

And since the plague fears the cold, now... as late autumn approaches, will the plague disappear when winter brings freezing temperatures? 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

If the plague disappears, what will happen?

Chaos.

What emerges from chaos?

Of course, bandits and corrupt officials.

The Li family preserved themselves during the plague and became the sole dominant force; what is this called?

This is called being a target for envy when the tree is too tall.

But what is attracted isn’t the wind, but bandits and corrupt officials.

Li Xuan is particularly averse to trouble, so he likes to overthink; even when things are far from happening, he starts worrying.

’After the plague, will there be corrupt officials eyeing the Li family’s wealth?

Will there be bandits coveting the Li family’s possessions?’

’Anyone who dares threaten my family truly deserves death.’

However, after considering all this, he looked back abruptly and realized that this "deserving target" had yet to appear.

Therefore, Li Xuan planned to create his own band of bandits.

This was also the purpose of crafting this story.

He wanted his father and Liu Yingyi and his group to be familiar because Liu Yingyi’s group would eventually become bandits, while the Li family would be a powerful family harboring bandits.

Which corrupt official dares to target the Li family?

Just let this group of demons posing as bandits deal with them!

If the bandits killed an expert, he would turn that expert into a new demon, thereby creating a cycle of battle that grows stronger with each fight.

That’s a part of his plan.

At this moment, sensing the worry of his wife beside him on the pillow.

Li Xuan turned his head and gently touched her brow, softly saying, "My dear, rest assured, the two-tailed fox demon will not harm us."

Tian Yuan insisted, "They are not of our kind; their intentions must be sinister. Husband, haven’t you been bewitching by it?"

Li Xuan said, "If I’m bewitched, it’s you who has bewitched me, not some two-tailed fox demon."

Such cheesy sweet talk made the young mistress Tian touch his nose with her slender finger and couldn’t help but say, "Annoying, talk seriously."

Li Xuan replied seriously, "Trust me, my dear, that’s serious."

Staring into each other’s eyes, Li Xuan’s expression was clear and bright.

Tian Yuan said, "Alright, I’ll follow wherever my husband leads. Since you’ve spoken like this, I’ll trust you. Anyway, if it weren’t for the two-tailed fox demon, we might already be dead. It saved our lives; if it truly meant to kill us, we can just return the favor."

Seeing her gloomy and helpless expression, Li Xuan suddenly gave her a light tug, lifting her high.

Tian Yuan, shocked and embarrassed, hurriedly lay down, hitting him repeatedly, saying, "I can hear you."

Li Xuan said, "I’m gentle, and there’s a quilt between us."

With that, he gently pulled down his wife’s pants.

With such antics, the matter was forgotten.

Everyone accepted the story of the two-tailed fox demon, considering it the Li family’s greatest secret.

And the worried young mistress Tian, unwittingly bore the pressure of the two-tailed fox demon’s two "tails" first, biting her lips under the covers, stifling any moans of pleasure.

Beside them, Rose twisted her delicate body, couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Wei Yao practiced with a spear in the empty space of the cellar.

The spear gleamed, dancing into a silver flower.

The practice, ostensibly to vent frustration, also happened to suppress the tempting gasps of a lover.

Tonight, sorrow belonged to Wei Yao alone.

Slowly, Tian Yuan collapsed in satisfied exhaustion.

Li Xuan’s breathing gradually calmed.

In the cold cellar, he inhaled the lustful breath mixed with coldness, let it circulate through his small Zhou Tian, advancing through the paper and ink day, crossing the magpie bridge, falling into the Yellow Court, breathing long and continuous.

"Evergreen Unwithering Skill," in the end, was mastered to great perfection in this routine.