Heaven-Collapsing Start [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ever since the appearance of the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect, the number of Martial Arts Alliance experts stationed around Ji Liang had increased significantly to prevent a repeat of the last time where the enemy successfully escaped.

Because of this, the contact between Ji Liang and the Yin Lou (Hidden Pavilion) had to be suspended as a precaution.

It was not until today, when Ji Liang left the manor again, that the Hidden Pavilion found an opportunity. To deliver information to Ji Liang, they staged this little performance.

After expressing a thousand thanks, the old beggar left the tea house. With a hunched back and a limp, he entered a dim alleyway. After weaving through several turns, he finally felt that the person secretly tailing him had left in frustration.

His pace faltered for a second, then the old beggar continued forward as if nothing were wrong. Fifteen minutes later, he ducked into an ordinary courtyard.

Inside the room, a beautiful figure was already waiting for him.

“Was the message delivered to the Master’s hands?”

“It has been delivered,” the old beggar replied respectfully.

“Good.”

Chun Niang waved her hand to dismiss the old beggar. She lowered her head to read the message sent from the Demonic Sect’s side; her slender brows furrowed, revealing a flicker of anger.

After a long while, her delicate fingers applied pressure, and the entire slip of paper instantly disintegrated into powder.

…

As the sun began to sink toward the west, Ji Liang returned to the manor. The journey had been peaceful, and no one from the Demonic Sect had appeared.

Xiao Ba relaxed significantly, though he was also puzzled. In his view, the likelihood of the Demonic Sect appearing on this trip was very high, and everyone else thought so too, yet things had turned out contrary to expectations.

Furthermore, the matter Ji Liang had asked him to promise… had also not been mentioned.

However, under the surveillance of the surrounding Alliance experts, Xiao Ba did not voice his subsequent questions. After all, this was a matter only between him and Ji Liang, and Ji Liang appeared to have no intention of explaining.

That night, a cool breeze blew, and dark clouds obscured the starry sky.

Gu Yun, having arrived at the residence, was listening to the reports from several brothers who had followed Ji Liang in secret during the day. He felt some regret that they hadn’t been able to lure out the Demonic Sect, though he supposed it was likely that the sect had also heightened their vigilance.

Such an obvious bait and trap it remained to be seen if the Demonic Sect would bite again. But since they had kidnapped Ji Liang’s student Ah Heng and dispatched the Right Envoy to appear before Ji Liang, they must have a plan.

Therefore, the Demonic Sect would surely appear again; if not this time, then perhaps the next.

Gu Yun frowned in thought for a moment. Before leaving the manor, his footsteps paused slightly. He gazed toward a certain direction of Ji Liang’s bedroom.

After a long while, he finally stepped forward. He was just… going to check on how Eldest Brother’s health was. While Gu Yun searched for an excuse for himself, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of cowardice. After all, as long as the matter with Ah Heng remained unresolved, he felt he had no face to meet his brother.

However, when Gu Yun stepped into the courtyard, he unexpectedly saw a thin figure sitting beneath a tall tree, one who should have already retired to rest. It seemed he had been waiting for a long time.

At this moment, a breeze brushed past their cheeks, the dark clouds dispersed, and cold moonlight poured down from the sky.

Ji Liang slowly opened his closed eyes, looked over, and his gaze clearly reflected Gu Yun’s silhouette. For the first time, he spoke proactively:

“Alliance Leader Gu, how about we make an agreement?”

…

He watched Ji Liang’s silhouette enter the house. The dim yellow candlelight flickered for a while before gradually going out.

Gu Yun knew his brother must have gone to sleep. However, as he remained standing in the courtyard, feeling the coolness and silence of the night wind, he could not smooth the surging waves in his heart.

Just now, Ji Liang had taken the initiative to say that he could help lure out the Demonic Sect, but it required playing a part in a scene with him, and then letting the Demonic Sect people take him away.

When these words were spoken, before he could even rejoice that his brother had spoken so much to him in such a pleasant manner for the first time in two or three months, Gu Yun couldn’t help but be greatly shocked.

However, before he could object or refuse, he heard his brother’s voice as light as flowing water and without any emotional fluctuation continue:

“You shall disguise yourself as Xiao Ba and follow me as my person when the Demonic Sect takes me away. At that time, I will protect your life in front of the Demonic Sect Leader. This way, you will also be able to grasp the movements of the Demonic Sect and eventually wipe them out in one fell swoop.”

At that moment, Ji Liang looked at Gu Yun. His expression remained as indifferent as water, waveless and boundless, as if the person who had uttered such startling words was not himself.

After his initial daze, Gu Yun fell silent.

Perhaps because the silence lasted a bit too long, he was misunderstood by his brother. The light voice reached his ears again, carrying a few hints of mockery.

“What? Does Alliance Leader Gu not believe me? Quite right. I was already in collusion with the Demonic Sect; it is only natural for Alliance Leader Gu to distrust me. Perhaps this is another trap set together with the Demonic Sect against Alliance Leader Gu and the Martial Arts Alliance.”

How could Gu Yun not hear the ridicule in those words? He could only manage a bitter smile.

“I did not disbelieve Elder Brother’s words.”

Undoubtedly, Ji Liang’s plan was very tempting. Moreover, with Gu Yun’s martial prowess, if he were among those Demonic Sect remnants and truly wished to escape, he could certainly withdraw with ease. He just didn’t understand why his brother would do this.

Furthermore, his brother’s health was poor; such a major undertaking made it difficult to guarantee that his condition wouldn’t worsen.

Thus, Gu Yun fell silent, hesitating, unable to reach a conclusion for the time being.

Beside him, Ji Liang let out two cold laughs. Perhaps because the breeze was a bit chilly or due to the emotional fluctuation, he covered his mouth and began to cough.

Gu Yun panicked instantly, wanting to reach out and do something, but upon meeting Ji Liang’s eyes, he could do nothing and say nothing. Those words of concern seemed stuck deep in his throat.

What kind of gaze was that? Gu Yun couldn’t find the words to describe it. He only felt that from the moment he discovered his brother was alive until now, the emotion in those eyes was probably at its most vivid and intense in this very moment.

After a long while, Gu Yun sighed and finally spoke with difficulty:

“…Elder Brother, please allow me to consider it.”

…

When this matter was brought back to the Martial Arts Alliance by Gu Yun, two schools of thought emerged.

Those in favor felt the benefits outweighed the risks. Given that they would be prepared, the Alliance Leader would not be in danger, and they could discover the hiding place of the Demonic Sect remnants, allowing them to catch the sect in one net.

Those against it felt that Ji Liang had already been in collusion with the Demonic Sect, and with the appearance of the Shadow Pavilion people mixing with the sect, they feared his evil nature was hard to change. They suspected a hidden motive; it was better to be safe than sorry.

Ultimately, however, Gu Yun looked toward a certain seat on the right at a middle-aged man with a stern and upright face; it was Ji Liang’s father, Ji Yan. From the beginning of the discussion until now, he had remained silent without saying a word.

“Foster Father, what do you think?”

It took a long while before Ji Yan spoke: “Everything shall follow the Alliance Leader’s arrangements.”

It was only today that Ji Yan realized with a start that, unknowingly, the gaze that used to look up at him with childhood admiration had long since vanished.

It seemed a long, long time had passed long enough for Liang-er to grow into an adult, yet the distance between father and son seemed to have stretched further and further apart. To the point that now, he had no way of guessing what Liang-er was actually thinking.

Ji Yan let out a melancholy sigh in his heart and stepped out from the main hall, only to suddenly hear a sound behind him:

“Foster Father.”

It was Gu Yun.

He looked at the father figure before him, yet his voice suddenly failed him.

It wasn’t until Ji Yan spoke: “Does the Alliance Leader have a matter?”

Gu Yun was silent for a moment and then said: “Foster Father is worried about the Elder Brother, right… I will protect the Elder Brother’s safety and will not allow him to suffer the slightest harm.”

These words were spoken with a determined tone, like an incredibly solemn promise.

The air went quiet. Just when Gu Yun thought his foster father would not say anything more, a voice slowly drifted over.

Father Ji: “Was it… a decision he proposed himself?”

Gu Yun nodded.

Father Ji: “…Since that is the case, so be it… let him go.”

After saying these words, Ji Yan seemed to lose all the strength in his body. He waved his hand and turned to leave.

Standing there, Gu Yun could only watch his foster father’s silhouette with worry as it drifted further and further away.

…

In the end, this matter was decided by Alliance Leader Gu Yun. With a resolute tone, he chose to implement Ji Liang’s plan and suppressed the few dissenting voices.

In truth, by choosing this, Gu Yun had his own selfish motives. Besides using it to thoroughly eradicate the Demonic Sect, he also intended to venture into danger himself to clear up certain doubts behind the scenes. What better way to learn the truth than to enter deep into the Demonic Sect and contact its members?

The only thing he was worried about was his brother’s health. Thus, before the plan was implemented, Gu Yun brought over the highly skilled Physician Dong to diagnose Ji Liang.

Physician Dong stroked his medium-length white beard, glancing with his eyes at the slightly solemn Alliance Leader Gu, then at Ji Liang, whose gaze remained consistently indifferent and waveless, and slowly shook his head.

Seeing this, Gu Yun couldn’t help but ask anxiously: “How is it? Has the illness become serious again?”

This was probably a case of “the emperor isn’t worried, but the eunuch is.” Physician Dong sighed inwardly and shook his head again.

“Rest assured, Alliance Leader. Young Hero Ji’s health is fine; there are no signs of deterioration.”

Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

Physician Dong took out several jade bottles and placed them on the table. They were the pills Ji Liang was familiar with, refined after the prescription was improved; the ones left for Ji Liang at the Ji Villa had already been finished.

“Take these to prepare for any unforeseen needs.”

“Many thanks.”

Ji Liang picked up the jade bottles and offered his thanks.

Physician Dong waved his hand but finally added a word of caution: “Remember, do not use martial arts, otherwise even the gods will find you hard to save.”

Half an hour later, Physician Dong walked out of the manor. Before stepping onto the carriage Gu Yun had prepared for him, he suddenly looked back.

After a long while, he sighed, turned, and boarded the carriage.