Heaven-Collapsing Start [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“I find it inappropriate.”

“Does the First Elder not feel that the punishment you mentioned is… far too light?”

Before Ji Xingyuan could even knit his brows, he heard Ji Liang continue: “This is a major matter concerning the prestige of the Family Head. If it is handled so lightly and let go so easily, then where is my dignity as the Family Head? From now on, won’t everyone think they can easily ride over the head of the Family Head?”

The white-clad figure on the main seat clearly had his eyes closed, and a layer of silk ribbon further shielded his sightless eyes. Yet at this moment, Ji Xingyuan felt a sharp sensation, as if he were being stared at directly.

Since when did this person become so firm and unyielding? A flash of doubt crossed Ji Xingyuan’s heart, but on the surface, he spoke: “Then what does the Family Head think?”

Ji Liang’s flat and clear voice echoed in the hall.

“In my view: expel him from the family, as a warning to others.”

Ji Xuan, who was prostrate in the center of the hall, suddenly looked up, his expression no longer masking his terror. He instantly turned his head toward Ji Xingyuan, his lips trembling and moving, though under Ji Xingyuan’s sharp gaze, he did not let out any words of pleading.

Ji Xingyuan took two steps forward and bowed to Ji Liang on the main seat: “This… is it not perhaps a bit too severe? After all, this child Ji Xuan did it for the sake of…”

“I find it just right.”

Ji Liang nonchalantly interrupted him, continuing: “Just as the First Elder said, in terms of the starting point of this matter, he was acting out of good intentions. That is why I did not propose to completely strip him of his powers, but merely to expel him from the family. After leaving the family, he can still start a new life elsewhere.”

Although it would be under the strange looks of others, if he fled to a place where no one knew him, that would be a different story.

Ji Liang rested his head on one hand, his ink-like hair sliding down from his shoulder. His expression remained indifferent and calm from beginning to end, as if nothing could move him.

He tilted his head slightly toward Ji Xingyuan and said, “What does the First Elder think?”

Ji Xingyuan endured it. His hand, hanging at his side and hidden by his wide sleeves, finally couldn’t help but clench into a fist. He gave Ji Liang a deep look on the main seat and spoke in a steady tone:

“Everything shall be as the Family Head decides.”

However, Ji Xuan, learning of his upcoming fate, finally couldn’t help but cry out in plea: “First Elder save me! I don’t want to be expelled from the family! Didn’t you say you would let me—”

“Shut up!”

Ji Xingyuan’s scolding made him freeze instantly. Not knowing what he had thought of, his whole body went limp, and his head hung down.

“What is it?” Ji Liang asked, “Do you have something else to say?”

However, before Ji Xuan could react, Ji Xingyuan walked to his side, placed a hand on his shoulder, and spoke to Ji Liang on his behalf:

“Since the punishment has been set, as he is a disciple of my branch, I shall personally handle this matter. There is no need for the Family Head to trouble himself.”

He lifted the puppet-like Ji Xuan, bid farewell to Ji Liang, and turned to leave the front hall.

The moment they stepped out of the majestic main gates of the family house, as if throwing away trash, he tossed Ji Xuan to the side. He turned, glanced back at the gates, suddenly let out a cold snort, and strode onto the carriage waiting outside.

By the gate, the Chief Steward watched the carriage recede down the road with a smile. Until it was out of sight, the smile on his face faded, and he turned back inside.

Seeing Ji Liang just walking out of the front hall, he stood to the side with a bow and said softly, “Lord.”

Ji Liang passed by him without saying a word.

Behind him, the Chief Steward seemed to knit his brows slightly as if wanting to say something; in the end, he only let out a sigh.

He had been by this person’s side for a long time. From the time the Lord was favored by the previous Family Head even personally raised by him while enduring the envious and jealous gazes of countless main family disciples he knew that even though the Lord had talent superior to theirs, he never relaxed for a moment, but instead worked even harder and more diligently. The Chief Steward had seen all of this, feeling both gratification and heartache.

Until the Family Head unfortunately perished. He watched the Lord kneel in the mourning hall for three days and three nights until the Family Head was buried, and the Lord became the twelfth Family Head.

But how vast was the Ji family, which had been passed down for hundreds of years? Internal strife had never stopped; all sorts of intrigues and undercurrents were constantly moving. The Chief Steward felt that the Lord shouldn’t have to touch these filthy mundane affairs; the Lord should be accompanied by the wind, flowers, and the moon, elegant and unrestrained, carefree and without worries.

But the Lord decisively took up this heavy burden of the Family Head. It must be because he didn’t want to disappoint the previous Family Head…

Ji Liang knew that his behavior just now was actually quite different from the disguise the original owner maintained before these people. For the original owner to sit in this position after the death of the previous Family Head, first was his peerless and powerful spiritual power; second was the value the previous Family Head placed on him, even personally raising him; and third was the original owner’s “clear and bright” side, appearing uninterested in the family’s internal affairs, creating an illusion for the observant elders that he was easy to manipulate.

That was why when First Elder Ji Xingyuan first met Ji Liang, he was so nonchalant; he didn’t think Ji Liang would reject his proposal.

The result was unexpected. Ji Liang not only countered him but also changed the punishment to the severe penalty of expulsion. His attitude seemed to have hardened.

In reality, if acting according to the original owner, before consolidating all power into his own hands, he should have continued to show obedience to them to lower their guard.

But Ji Liang was not the original owner. He truly couldn’t endure it, and since the current progress hadn’t reached the final step, venting a little bit should be fine, right?

Thinking this, Ji Liang did so and he never regretted it.

…

Regardless of how these people ultimately thought of Ji Liang’s firm performance in front of the First Elder.

Within the high walls and large courtyards of the main house, Ji Liang returned to the original owner’s comfortable life. He did not take the initiative to contact the yokai side, as if he had forgotten the matter entirely.

The Chief Steward also felt dazed, thinking that on the day he faced the First Elder, the Lord seemed different somewhere… it must have been an illusion.

For over a month afterward, Ji Liang’s itinerary was unremarkable. He entered and left the gates of great houses, attended banquets, and went on excursions. Occasionally, he would heal the sick or ward off evil. His peerless grace, bright as the moon, fell into the admiring eyes of countless people.

It was easy to imagine that if such a figure were discovered to be plotting those things in secret, how great the fall would be.

Watching him build a high tower, watching him feast guests, watching his tower collapse… nothing could be more vivid.

Although Ji Liang intended to be a “salted fish” to the end, in the end, there was still that saying—

One cannot escape fate.

…

The carriage traveled along the road, lined on both sides by towering ancient trees. The green shade blocked the sky, casting large patches of shadows with dappled light.

This was the return journey after Ji Liang had treated a highly respected Monk Mingxin at Jingyue Sanctuary for an illness. Jingyue Sanctuary had always been on good terms with the Ji family. Now that Monk Mingxin had been invaded by evil energy during a confrontation with demons and was near death, they sought help from the Ji family. The Ji family, naturally, would not stand idly by.

General exorcism methods were useless against the rampant evil energy within Monk Mingxin’s body; otherwise, Jingyue Sanctuary would not have been so distressed. Thus, they thought of the current head of the Ji family, Ji Liang. With his unparalleled and powerful spiritual power, if it were him, there would surely be a way.

And they were right. Ji Liang transformed his spiritual power into a powerful and flawless purification force, sufficient to dispel the chaotic evil energy within Monk Mingxin.

Suddenly, the moving carriage gradually came to a stop. No matter how the attendant driving the carriage swung the whip, it remained unmoved, its four hooves pacing on the spot as if in unease.

“What’s going on?”

An attendant suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure appearing abruptly among the trees. Long silver hair wound down, a face exuding a hint of seductive allure, yet beneath the red robes was a long silver tail. Those slightly squinted, beautiful yet cold vertical pupils looked at him as if looking at a dead man.

In an instant, the attendant felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen. His teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. He likely recognized it was the yokai that killed the Fifth Elder! The Great Yokai that had popped up multiple times afterward!

“Th-th-th-there’s a yokai!”

“What?!”

“Alert!! Alert!!!”

“Protect the Lord!!!”

A squad of warriors instantly surrounded the carriage. Various swords and blades were pointed at the Great Yokai in the woods, their bodies tensed as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, the Great Yokai, who was the object of the warriors’ full vigilance, did not move at all. He merely glanced at them, the corners of his lips curving slightly.