Heaven-Collapsing Start [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ji Liang had been staying in the original host’s courtyard for quite a few days. He understood that he was being grounded by Ji Yan; however, apart from being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall on the day of his return, he had not received any further punishment. He estimated that Mother Ji must have done something behind the scenes.

But to him, such a quiet atmosphere was not bad at all. He just didn’t know if this counted as the “calm before the storm.”

That day, after a doctor gave Ji Liang a diagnosis, the room fell into complete silence. For a long while, the silent doctor only shook his head and sighed.

Ji Liang was not surprised by this result. This body was already completely ruined; even a peerless divine doctor would be helpless, let alone an ordinary one.

The one hit hardest was Mother Ji. When she heard from Father Ji that Ji Liang had lost his martial arts and internal energy, she already couldn’t bear it; now, hearing the doctor say he could never practice martial arts again and that his body was growing weaker by the day irreversibly she was devastated.

One doctor after another was led into Ji Liang’s courtyard, and one after another they shook their heads and left.

Mother Ji’s face was full of sorrow, and the forced smile she wore in front of Ji Liang gradually vanished. Even Father Ji, Ji Yan, could not help but let his brows furrow deeply.

Earlier even before Ji Liang was brought back by Gu Yun Gu Yun’s reply had mentioned that Ji Liang had lost his martial arts and internal energy, but it hadn’t gone into detail. Ji Yan thought this was a temporary state; he didn’t expect the situation to have reached such a severe point.

Ji Yan closed his eyes, and only after a good while did he calm the turmoil in his heart. Then, from the courtyard entrance, he looked through the window at Ji Liang’s consistently indifferent figure. He must have seen him, yet his gaze remained calm, watching only the scenery within the courtyard.

Ji Yan sighed and turned, leaving soundlessly.

Within the manor, there was an oppressive silence.

The one who finally broke this silence was Alliance Leader Gu Yun, who had finally finished the backlog of matters from the previous period and, having some leisure time, remembered Ji Liang whom he had sent back to the Ji Family Manor.

At that time, Gu Yun brought Dr. Dong and arrived at the Ji Family Manor once again.

Although his current mood was not exactly “the timidity of one returning home,” standing outside the main gate of the Ji Family Manor, Gu Yun still couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive.

In fact, while busy with the affairs of the Martial Arts Alliance, he had been keeping an eye on his Big Brother’s situation. Hearing that Big Brother had been punished by Foster Father for kneeling in the ancestral hall made his heart ache; fortunately, Foster Mother had arrived, otherwise, based on his understanding of Foster Father, he feared the man wouldn’t have been able to get up for three days.

Furthermore, whether Big Brother’s current body could even hold up was another matter.

His companion, Dr. Dong, was already of advanced age, in his sixties, with hair at his temples as white as frost and a medium-length white beard on his chin.

He followed the new Alliance Leader Gu to the Ji Family Manor, thinking that some accident had befallen the Foster Father the Alliance Leader had acknowledged, until he saw the person who actually needed his diagnosis. Even someone as composed as Dr. Dong couldn’t help but widen his old eyes in surprise.

Gu Yun had not revealed the fact that Ji Liang was still alive to the public. Apart from the few people who knew from the start whom he had ordered to keep silent and who had not gone around spreading rumors there was only the Ji Family Manor.

Inside the manor, there were no gossiping servants to begin with. Even though the matter of the eldest young master returning from the dead was as shocking as thunder, under Mother Ji’s pressure, no servant was so tactless as to speak out.

This resulted in the fact that Ji Liang being alive was known only to a few; most people remained under the impression that the hateful rebel had been pierced through the heart by Alliance Leader Gu’s sword.

This was why Dr. Dong was so surprised his shock was likely even greater than Gu Yun’s when he first saw Ji Liang in Pangxi Village.

…

“Dr. Dong, how is my Big Brother?”

Ji Liang leaned against the head of the bed, one hand resting on the table beside him so Dr. Dong could better take his pulse.

In truth, this scene had occurred countless times with the doctors Mother Ji or Father Ji had found, but the results obtained were almost identical: only the doctors’ shaking heads and sighs.

Mother Ji’s heart, which was already anxious, felt cold again and again.

But Dr. Dong was different. He was highly skilled in medicine, a figure long revered as a “Divine Doctor.” If it were Dr. Dong, Liang’er’s body would surely get better; Mother Ji still harbored expectations, and until the final moment, she would not easily give up.

Under the tense gazes of Mother Ji and Gu Yun, Dr. Dong, sitting by the bed taking Ji Liang’s pulse, stroked his white beard time and again. The longer he remained in deep thought, the higher their hearts hung.

Even Father Ji, who usually didn’t show his emotions, frowned slightly.

After a good while, Dr. Dong finally released the pulse. He was not in a hurry to say what the result was, but first gave Alliance Leader Gu Yun a strange look, and then let his gaze sweep across Mother Ji (Su Rong) and Father Ji (Ji Yan) in turn.

He pondered for a moment before speaking: “To be honest, I have practiced medicine for many years, but I have never seen a situation like this.”

“Then my son’s body” Mother Ji hurriedly interjected.

“For now, there is no immediate danger.”

Dr. Dong walked to the table and picked up a brush to write down a string of medicinal ingredients.

Just as he was about to hand the prescription to Mother Ji, Ji Liang who had gotten out of bed at some point came to his side.

“Why doesn’t Dr. Dong take a look at this prescription of mine?”

His voice was thin and level, seemingly very different from before.

Dr. Dong gave him a look, his eyebrow twitching, yet he still took the prescription handed over by the other party.

However, with just one glance guaranteed by Dr. Dong’s decades of medical research this was likely the most suitable medicine for Ji Liang’s current condition; it was actually even more brilliant than his own.

Dr. Dong’s heart burned with excitement. His fingers gripping the prescription tightened slightly as he read through it word by word. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath.

His heart was still fluctuating, unable to calm down for a long time. Dr. Dong looked at Ji Liang, whose expression remained rippleless, and said with the joy of discovering a treasure: “Where did you get this prescription?”

He didn’t think for a moment that Ji Liang had written it himself.

Yet before Ji Liang could speak, Mother Ji asked curiously from the side: “Why does Dr. Dong ask that? Is the prescription not good?” Toward the end, her expression was inevitably a bit worried and urgent.

“No, it’s not that it’s not good. Quite the opposite; for Young Master Ji’s current condition, this prescription is obviously perfectly suitable.”

Hearing Dr. Dong say this, Mother Ji breathed a sigh of relief. After all, during these past days, the medicine Ji Liang had been drinking was brewed from this very prescription.

Ultimately, Dr. Dong did not learn the origin of the prescription. He gave a light sigh as if lamenting something, then put away the one he had written earlier. Because compared to this prescription, what he had written was actually a bit inferior; in the end, they continued with the medicine Ji Liang had been taking all along.

However, before walking out the door, Dr. Dong shook his head. What he didn’t say on the spot was that Ji Liang’s condition was only “temporarily” without danger; in reality, it was much more serious. Whether it was the prescription he wrote or the one Ji Liang produced, they were merely suppressing the accelerated deterioration of the illness.

However, after leaving the courtyard and facing Gu Yun and Father Ji alone, Dr. Dong spoke the truth.

Ji Yan’s lips moved. If even Dr. Dong was at his wit’s end… in the end, he couldn’t say a word. But Dr. Dong clearly saw a flash of grief in this great hero’s eyes, showing he was not indifferent.

Gu Yun’s reaction was within Dr. Dong’s expectations. This Alliance Leader was good in every way, but sometimes he was too sentimental and often not decisive enough though it was precisely because of this that so many people were willing to follow him.

But…

Dr. Dong sighed slowly, looked at the pain and bewilderment in Gu Yun’s eyes, then looked at the silent Father Ji, and spoke:

“Alliance Leader, Great Hero Ji, have you thought about it… how exactly this boy should be dealt with?”

A question that had been avoided for a long time finally revealed its bloody core with Dr. Dong’s words.

Indeed, Ji Liang had done many bad things: secretly harming colleagues, colluding with the Demon Sect, and even causing the death of the previous Alliance Leader.

With each and every one of these cases, it would have been fine if he were truly dead. But now he was alive; the moment the world learned he was still living, things would not remain as they were now.

He must give the world an explanation.

…

In the early morning, the sun rose slowly from the east. The golden sunlight dispersed the dampness of the night, and the air became mild.

Ji Liang opened the window, and the mild light scrambled to pour into the room, spilling over Ji Liang’s body, shoulders, and hair, bringing threads of warmth.

The broad leaves reaching toward the window were still stained with dew. The rustling sounds were the cries of insects, and cicadas were singing loudly.

The original host’s courtyard did not have only one room. On the contrary, it was very spacious, with flowing water, rockeries, and excellent greenery. Behind the house sat a pond with shimmering waves, a beautiful sight to behold.

All of this spoke of Father and Mother Ji’s love for the original host; it had truly reached the point where he could have whatever he wanted. And indeed, that was the case.

However, if Mother Ji’s love for the original host was “spoiling” love, then Father Ji’s love was “strict” love. Otherwise, it would not have resulted in the original host being a favored child of heaven yet not arrogant or willful, instead growing up to be gentle and polite if those later events hadn’t occurred.

One can only say that the world is unpredictable.

Ji Liang quietly gazed at the spring waters before him. A breeze blew past, causing the hair hanging over his chest to drift gently; it seemed rather pleasant.

Chirp, chirp-chirp…

The sound of a bird came to his ears. It flew to the windowsill and, not fearing Ji Liang standing by the window, hopped around.

Ji Liang waited for it to quiet down, then reached out and stroked the bird’s smoothly lined feathers. He removed a tiny bamboo tube from its leg.