Chapter 332 - 331: Intimidation, the Master

Outside the Sad Tea Shop.

As Li Jing and Tongyan approached, the male demons that were guarding the shop door and preventing others from coming near, shifted their gazes towards them as one.

Upon seeing Tongyan, who was incredibly gorgeous with an eye-catching figure, the male demons’ eyes lit up. However, they quickly suppressed a certain emotion.

Li Jing noticed the changes in the demons’ gazes, and he couldn’t help but be silently amazed.

As expected of demons who lurk in the Dark Street, their "discipline" was extraordinarily strong.

It would have been different in a Dark Alley or the Old City.

Whether a demon or a human, anyone who saw a woman like Tongyan flaunting her figure in such places would not be able to help but observe her closely.

Harassment, well, that wouldn’t happen.

In these times.

Everyone knows.

The more beautiful a woman is, the more terrifying her cultivation level.

Just looking is fine.

Dressing like this, wasn’t it for people to see?

If you dared approach, that would just be asking for trouble.

Demons were not like humans; they had far fewer moral concepts.

Influenced by their animalistic instincts their entire lives, their desire to reproduce was just a basic instinct.

Especially for low-ranking demons.

Their ability to suppress their animalistic instincts was very limited.

When they became desperate.

Even settling for the same sex was an option!

To put it bluntly.

There’s a lot of lechers among male demons.

Compared to human males, those who were demons had much less self-restraint.

The scene unfolding in front of them was extremely rare.

On one hand, it was currently the beginning of summer, the breeding season for most beasts.

On the other hand, the cultivation level of these male demons in front of them was not high, probably at the level of the Three or Four Realms.

Their ability to suppress their beastly instincts was average.

Being attracted to Tongyan for only a brief moment, was truly rare while also showing their high adaptation to the Dark Street.

As ruffians and rogues, the people of the Dark Street were different from people in other areas like the Earth Realm.

Under the dual supervision of the Capital Inspection Headquarters and Dong Ye’s Inspection Branch, the people of the Dark Street showed an extraordinarily strong will to survive.

No incidents like harassment or mockery have ever or would ever happen in this area, and disputes are extremely rare.

The reason for this.

Was to avoid attracting the inspectors.

Even if they had personal grudges with each other, the people of the Dark Street had an understanding that any fights should take place outside of the Dark Street to avoid causing trouble.

Aside from the "discipline" of the male demons.

The arrival of Li Jing and Tongyan immediately attracted the attention of two female demons in the Sad Tea Shop.

The Six-Realm female demon disguised as a waitress casually glanced at the two of them before slowly going back to busying herself.

The Three-Realm female demon sat at a tea table, her gaze briefly lingered on Tongyan before it landed on Li Jing. She looked him up and down before slowly standing up.

Subsequently.

The male demons blocking the shop door moved to the sides, creating a pathway for Li Jing and Tongyan to enter.

Without stopping, Li Jing walked in with Tongyan.

Seeing that someone who barely gave a glance at the male demons that were being used as bodyguards outside, the Three-Realm female demon squinted her eyes and greeted them with a smile.

"Mr. Lu, hello."

During her greeting, she extended a hand.

Seeing this, Li Jing stopped but didn’t shake her hand, he responded indifferently.

"Don’t waste my time, a demon of the Three Realm like you isn’t in charge."

Having said that, he turned his gaze towards the Six-Realm female demon pretending to be a waitress.

The directness of Li Jing’s words caused all the demons present to change their expressions.

Between demons, there exists a mutual sense of recognition.

At this moment, it is clear that the newly arrived Li Jing and Tongyan are not demons.

The fact that someone could immediately distinguish that the female demon was a demon, and even accurately pointed out her rank, was more than shocking for the demons present.

Indeed.

Among human strong ones, there are those who can identify the existence of a demon within minutes.

But to be able to clearly distinguish even the rank, is very rare.

Tongyan, who was walking beside Li Jing, was also taken aback by this.

She knew that Li Jing had the ability to identify demons, but she didn’t expect that he could determine their actual realm as well.

Still, Li Jing was truly fearless...

Even if she had the ability to identify demons, if she were in his shoes, she would never dare easily expose a demon’s identity.

This wasn’t just for her own safety, but also for bystanders.

Exposing a demon’s identity was a major taboo for them.

It threatened their lives and their ability to live amongst humans.

If things went wrong, they might lose their lives and end up as prime materials being sold at the Spirit Item Trading Market.

With their lives threatened, what wouldn’t they do?

The demons gathered here were weak.

But there was at least one Six-Realm female demon present.

As a member of a sect, Tongyan was confident in her own strength.

Given enough time, she would have no problem defeating a Six-Realm female demon.

But in this mortal world, there is not enough room for her to manoeuver.

Unless she was sure that she could kill in an instant, she wouldn’t easily make a move, much less provoke someone.

Two Six Realm warriors clashing would cause incalculable damage to their surroundings. Who knows how many lives would be lost as collateral.

What she didn’t dare to do, Li Jing dared to do.

Is this what they call ’courage serves the bold’?

Tong Yan was secretly astonished.

On the other hand, the female demon from the Three Realm looked extremely rigid.

The male demons standing guard at the door also had varying expressions.

But among the more than ten people present, no one dared to make a rash move.

As the saying goes,

’He who often walks by the river, does not leave with dry shoes.’

Demons, blending into human society, are inevitably going to have their identities exposed from time to time.

No Demon could completely avoid such a situation.

If it was any other time,

were someone to uncover the demons’ identities, they would certainly find a way to deal with it.

But now, they were clueless about what to do.

They were not idiots.

Li Jing had the ability to identify demons and accurately judge cultivation levels so those who were seen through were not just the Three Realm female demon in the shop, he certainly had them all under his sight.

Not only them, shop assistants and salespeople in the mall were surely seen through as well.

At this point in time, was the Six Realm female demon acting as a waiter in the shop also being watched?

So the question arises.

In a mall full of demons, Li Jing was straightforward in making his move. Where did his confidence come from?

Everyone should know that the ones threatened were not just the Three Realm female demon in the shop, but all the demons in the entire mall.

Facing a seemingly indifferent Li Jing, all the demons were confused and uncertain, their eyes unanimously looking towards the Six Realm female demon in the shop.

The Six Realm female demon was in great discomfort right now.

As a great demon of the Six Realm who was also involved in the underworld, she had seen her fair share of storms.

In her long demonic life, it was not the first time her identity was revealed.

That did not bother her too much, she wouldn’t be at a complete loss like a lesser demon.

What upset her was,

She didn’t know why, but being watched by the seemingly calm gaze of Li Jing, a strong biological instinct kept alerting her, screaming at her not to provoke this man.

This feeling is a pain in the ass.

At the same time, the female demon was also confused.

A biological instinct is the survival advantage that comes with every demon that allows them to identify life-threatening dangers.

This instinct was of crucial importance for their survival as ordinary beasts before they transformed into demons.

The natural world is full of danger.

Survival doesn’t come easy.

Ordinarily, becoming a demon would cause a decrease in reactions to this biological instinct.

Especially after they have taken on a human form.

The realm and strength they possess as their own would gradually decrease the threats that could be lethal to them.

A human-shaped demon starts with a Three Realm transformation.

Most individuals in human society are just One Realm.

The ones who can threaten human-shaped demons only make up a minority.

Here comes the main point.

Being a threat and activating a potentially fatal warning from the demon’s biological instinct were completely different.

The female demon was baffled.

She, as a great demon of Six Realm, could not understand why she would have such a feeling when facing a human being.

Even if this human being was a Six-Realm, that would not justify her feeling.

Remember, they both just made eye contact.

Under the scrutiny of all the demons at this moment, the already uncomfortable female demon felt the immense pressure on her.

Not to mention she was the leader of the demons here.

Aren’t Great Demons supposed to maintain face?

However, confronting Li Jing, she did not even dare to utter a word.

Biological instincts aren’t as unfounded as a woman’s sixth sense.

If there’s a reaction, it means there’s a lethal threat.

The extent of the threat is so high, that if they fight, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Compared to predicting fatal dangers, the biological instinct of a demon pre-transformation is more tilted towards countering the lethal hunting of predators.

Post-transformation, it is still the same.

Simply put,

A demon’s biological instinct will not be triggered randomly, once triggered, it not only indicates danger but also that they could be killed in an instant like prey in the lion’s mouth.

How could the female demon dare to make a sound?

She is a Six Realm

Great Demon... but she is going to be killed instantaneously?

What the hell...

Li Jing did not know his presence was causing such feeling for the demons.

If he had known, he would have reflected on what exactly went wrong.

This situation is not advantageous for him.

If he wants to gain experience in this mortal world, he can only rely on encountering demons who break the law.

At the sight of him, if they are trembling with fear and taking a detour, wouldn’t that lower the probability of him gaining experience points?

At this moment, staring at the female demon, Li Jing frowned slightly.

One was a person who had been staring at him and hadn’t said a word, the other was a female demon standing there who seemed to be...swaying a bit, at least to his perception.

What’s the situation?

Could this Six Realm female demon have met him before?

Even if she had, this reaction was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Unless, this female demon was a survivor who had once witnessed him killing a monster.

But that seemed impossible.

As for the others, Li Jing wouldn’t dare say.

But what he dared to say for sure was...

Aside from his "sweetheart", all the monsters that had seen him take action had basically been dealt with.

A survivor?

There was no such thing.

Watching the Six Realm female demon shiver without daring to squeak, Tong Yan also noticed.

Seeing this situation, she couldn’t help but be astonished.

What on earth had Li Jing done?

Just one look from him, and it terrified a Six Realm Great Demon to this extent?

As she was surprised, Li Jing, seeing that the Six Realm female demon still wasn’t talking, finally spoke, his patience wearing thin.

"Are you Ye Liuli?"

"..."

The female demon remained silent, then reluctantly nodded

After seeing this, Li Jing raised an eyebrow.

The situation did not seem as bad as he had anticipated.

In his discussion with Tong Yan, he had prepared for the worst-case scenario: that both females in the shop were impostors.

Having confirmed the situation, Li Jing felt somewhat relieved.

He had come here just to investigate the Rakshasa group, the case wasn’t even officially underway yet, he didn’t want to waste too much time.

Confirming that the Six Realm female demon was the real deal, Li Jing sat down comfortably.

"Have everyone else leave, we need to talk."

Having said that, he added,

"Rest assured, I’m not really interested in you monsters, I just want to talk to you about something."

Seeing that Li Jing had sit down and spoken up, Tong Yan’s eyes sparkled twice and she casually sat down on his lap.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing smirked slightly.

The act needed to continue.

After all, the situation was different from the past.

Even with a clear stance, he couldn’t easily expose his identity as an inspector.

People are overly sensitive on Dark Street.

If he revealed himself as an inspector, then there would be nothing to discuss, as this group of monsters would pack up and leave overnight...

To get information about the Rakshasa group, he and Tong Yan had to make themselves appear like underworld personalities who had a bone to pick with the Rakshasa group.

But Tong Yan was going a bit overboard!

Why not just sit next to him?

Why did she sit on his lap?

Putting on a show for others was one thing, but wouldn’t it make him uncomfortable?

Did Tong Yan not consider him a man?

Given the current situation, Li Jing could only grit his teeth and stretch out a hand, sliding it around Tong Yan’s waist.

He had no choice.

Right now, he was in a difficult situation.

Tong Yan, being embraced, twisted slightly uncomfortably.

Being held like this, this was the first time for her.

It was quite new.

The feeling wasn’t bad, either.

This human cushion was quite sturdy.

As for being shy, that wasn’t the case at all.

She had grown up with the disciples in the long-stay Secret Realm, she didn’t have much to fuss about.

It was just an embrace, not a big deal.

In the end...

Like Tong Yan, sect children growing up in an environment completely disconnected from the real world had completely different philosophies from normal people.

After all, in their world there was no influence from various elements, only cultivation.

Love and motivational comments were completely nonexistent.

Without them, there was no influence.

From a certain point of view, they were like monsters, without too many moral concepts, not bound by anything.

Only after entering the world and having contact with all kinds of worldly things, would they gradually complete certain aspects, and whether they could complete them depended on their mood.

The primary purpose of their entering the world was to adapt.

But some unnecessary things, they would refuse to accept.

For instance, being shy for no reason.

Or, during a fight with someone, not being able to take action because of the restrictions between men and women.

Putting aside all the discussions for now...

Ye Liuli watched as Li Jing and Tong Yan settled down, hesitated for a moment, then made a signal to the Three Realm female demon who seemed at a loss for what to do.

The female demon understood, left the shop, and then moved away with the male demons who had been standing in front of the shop.

Seeing the demons leave, Ye Liuli brought two prepared drinks from the counter to sit down across from the two.

This was quite strange.

After Li Jing uttered the words, "I don’t have much interest in you demons," the pressure she felt from him disappeared, her legs stopped trembling, and her constantly alert biological instincts calmed down.

As a demon involved in the underworld, Ye Liuli had seen her fair share of disadvantages and had mentally steeled herself.

After a scrutinizing glance at Li Jing and another at the childlike face nestled in his arms, Ye Liuli started speaking.

"From what you mentioned earlier, Mr. Lu, your purpose is not what you said over the phone about buying Charming Night?"

"Just an excuse, I’m not really interested in opening a shop."

Li Jing replied dispassionately.

"I needed to find a way to draw you out, otherwise meeting you would have been tricky."

At these words, Ye Liuli pressed her lips together and said,

"Mr. Lu, you are indeed cunning. It looks like I’ll have to be extra careful in the future."

After saying this, half in jest, she handed two drinks to the pair and continued to inquire.

"So, Mr. Lu, you went to such lengths to meet me, what exactly did you want to discuss?"

Upon seeing the drinks, the childlike figure took one and started to drink without a care.

Li Jing’s mouth twitched ever so slightly at this.

The courage of this one.

She dared to drink a beverage given by a femal demon from the underworld?

However...

She certainly was great at playing her part as the girlfriend of a mafia boss.

There was an overwhelming sense of prideful indulgence about her.

This one surely watches a lot of television dramas upon coming to the mortal world.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to pull off this act so perfectly.

Choosing to ignore her, Li Jing turned to Ye Liuli and said,

"I came here for the Rakshasa group."

"The Rakshasa group?"

Ye Liuli was taken aback, saying,

"Our Night Charm Gang doesn’t have much interaction with the Rakshasa group. There are only occasional friction between us, Mr. Lu you..."

Before she could finish, Li Jing gestured for her to stop.

"Don’t misunderstand, I’m not here to fight for the Rakshasa group. I encountered some incidents that might be related to the Rakshasa gang, and I need to understand them more deeply. I wanted to find someone who knows them well."

Frowning at his words, Ye Liuli fell silent before responding.

"Should I understand that, Mr. Lu, you want to deal with the Rakshasa group?"

Apparently, Ye Liuli had misconstrued his intentions due to her and the childlike figure posing as underworld kingpins, causing Li Jing to play along.

"That’s one way to put it, but it all depends on whether or not they’re really connected to the recent incidents I’ve encountered."

Saying this, he continued,

"Recently, both the underworld and the legal world in the capital have been trying to carve up the Wang and Lu families’ assets. The decline of both families is inevitable, and the question now is how much of this huge pie each party can get, how much they can actually acquire. When someone blocks my way, I naturally have to devise strategies to deal with it. But at the same time, I don’t want to recklessly create enemies at this critical moment."

Hearing Li Jing talk in such a way, Ye Liuli silently nodded and said,

"I am not aware if the Rakshasa group has interfered with the Wang and Lu families’ assets. The situation for us demons has been very difficult since the issue with the Demon Beast Union a few months ago, and my people have not rashly left the Dark Street recently. However, as one who also operates in the Dark Street, my understanding of the Rakshasa group is indeed quite extensive. Mr. Lu, feel free to ask any questions, and I will do my best to answer them, let’s consider it a favor between friends."

Ye Liuli was so straightforward that Li Jing didn’t hold back.

What he wanted to know was not whether the Rakshasa group had interfered with the Wang and Lu families’ assets, but who they had been in contact with from the sect.

The fact that Ye Liuli and her men had not recently left the Dark Street to go to the capital did not greatly impact the situation.

Immediately, Li Jing spoke up.

"You, as a demon operating in the Dark Street, are in touch with lots of information, hence why I came to find you. First, I want to know if in the past month the Rakshasa group has been in contact with people of unknown origin behind the scenes?"

"About that..."

Ye Liuli appeared hesitant.

Obviously, she knew something.

But she was apprehensive.

Seeing her commitment to these feelings, Li Jing casually said,

"If you know something, feel free to say it. Don’t worry too much. I can assure you that this will not affect you or your power. If you can provide me with useful information, I will not let you down."

The sentence "I won’t let you down" caused a glint to flash in Ye Liuli’s eyes.

From her own experience, she knew this all too well.

Li Jing was no ordinary person.

It was challenging to imagine.

That someone like him could exist in the underworld.

But on the other hand, in the capital, it was expected.

This place was known as the Imperial City, after all.

A Six Realm was ten a penny here, not everyone walked the path of righteousness.

In the eyes of underworld figures, what’s the most crucial?

It wasn’t some bullshit friendship or even righteousness, but how much profit there was.

If Li Jing planned to deal with the Rakshasa group, it would be nothing but beneficial for Ye Liuli.

The Rakshasa group was the largest force in the Dark Street, bar none.

All the various powers in the Dark Street, big and small, had been taken care of by them to some degree.

Otherwise, the Rakshasa group wouldn’t be known as the strongest and most significant.

If the Rakshasa group were to fall, most of the Dark Street forces would benefit.

Li Jing’s mention of not letting her down sparked strong interest in Ye Liuli.

After hesitating for a moment, she bit her lip lightly.

"People of unknown origin... The Rakshasa group indeed had contact with them recently. And there were several groups, all quite strong."

More than one group?

Li Jing narrowed his eyes.

"Could you elaborate?"