Heaven-Collapsing Start [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Lately, those yokai seem much more active than before.”

“Yeah, I heard someone else was injured in a yokai attack recently.”

“How terrifying.”

Within the capital, such talk had gradually increased of late.

In this world, aside from humans, the most numerous creatures were the yokai. However, humans gathered in towns and villages, supporting and communicating with one another, while yokai retained the wildness of beasts, generally living in desolate deep mountains and ruling as kings over their respective peaks.

The history between humans and yokai has been like fire and water since ancient times. It wasn’t that there were no incidents of humans and yokai living in peace, but they often failed to come to a good end.

Ji Fengjun waved away the attendant who wanted to lead the way; he was already intimately familiar with the layout of the main house. He turned a corner, traversed a long corridor, and arrived before a door.

The two maids waiting outside bowed slightly to him, then pulled open the doors from both sides. Ji Fengjun nodded and stepped inside.

By the window, a blindfolded white-clad figure sat languidly. His hair, as smooth as a waterfall, trailed down, spreading across the soft couch and intertwining with his white robes.

Before him was a game of Go in progress. His slender, fair fingers held a black stone, remaining still as if he were contemplating his next move.

When Ji Fengjun entered, this was the scene he beheld.

He let out a slight sigh of relief and walked forward slowly, a smile naturally appearing on the face of this middle-aged handsome man.

“I heard you were attacked on your way back, Lord. It was that Great Yokai who killed the Fifth Elder, are you alright?”

Heaven knew that the moment he heard the news, he wanted nothing more than to rush back immediately. However, due to the frequent appearances of yokai lately, he, as the Third Elder, had to go and investigate.

In the end, he found nothing. Those active were all minor yokai; the Great Yokai recorded in the registers were all behaving themselves without any movement.

Speaking of the Great Yokai who attacked and killed the Fifth Elder, it was a yokai with the appearance of silver hair and a snake’s tail. One day, he suddenly appeared near the capital—a mysterious yokai from who-knows-where. However, his strength was comparable to that of Great Yokai who had been famous for a long time.

One very strange point, however, was that the silver-haired snake yokai had neither provoked the nearby Great Yokai to mark out his own territory, nor had he gone around committing outrages or raiding humans. He had only killed the Fifth Elder and loitered in front of humans a few times afterward.

And his most recent appearance was the attack on the Family Head returning from Jingyue Sanctuary.

Ji Fengjun knit his brows slightly, feeling a strange sense of something being amiss.

Snapping back to reality, Ji Fengjun looked at the ethereal white-clad figure by the window and smiled slightly.

Hearing his words, Ji Liang momentarily set down the black stone in his hand and spoke: “I am unharmed.”

Ji Fengjun had already seated himself leisurely on the other side of the low table, picking up the nearby wine pot to pour himself a cup, his movements showing a lack of formality. As he drank, he cast his gaze toward the game on the table.

“But regardless, that Great Yokai remains a hidden threat. If an agreement could be reached, that would be well, but I fear the other party will continue to target humans.”

First, the Fifth Elder fell victim to him, then the Family Head. If it weren’t for the Lord’s high spiritual power, he might have followed in the Fifth Elder’s footsteps. Thinking of this, Ji Fengjun couldn’t help but frown.

Ji Liang raised his head slightly and said, “Have everyone strengthen their defenses.”

The silver-haired snake yokai seemed to be targeting the Ji family. Ji Fengjun likely realized this as well, nodding with a slightly solemn expression.

Even after finishing this topic, Ji Fengjun’s brow did not relax. He looked out the window at a pond, the shimmering water surface rippling as a breeze brushed by, causing the leaves on the shore to sway.

He slowly let out a breath, tilted his head back, and drained the remaining liquid in his wine cup.

“What is it?”

Sensing his subtle annoyance, Ji Liang turned his head slightly.

Ji Fengjun poured himself another cup of wine and looked at Ji Liang, who was quietly waiting for his reply. He seemed to think of something; his expression turned slightly complex, showing some hesitation as if he weren’t sure whether he should mention those matters.

Ji Liang did not press him, but merely sat a bit straighter. His slender, fair fingers picked up the black stone again and then slowly placed it down. The crisp sound of the stone hitting the board rang out in the quiet atmosphere.

After a long while, seeing that Ji Fengjun still hadn’t spoken, Ji Liang spoke slowly: “Is it that the Elders are up to their little tricks again?”

Not expecting Ji Liang to say those words personally, Ji Fengjun froze for a moment before showing a helpless expression. He naturally knew that Ji Liang had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, but those matters… sigh.

“It doesn’t matter.”

In the end, it was Ji Liang who comforted him.

Among the ten Elders, probably only Ji Fengjun was truly on his side. To control him, the other Elders aside from their surface-level respect inevitably engaged in some small maneuvers in private.

Regarding all this, the original owner, maintaining his “clear and bright” persona, basically turned a blind eye.

Seeing Ji Liang say this again, Ji Fengjun could only gulp down the wine in his hand. Though he couldn’t control everything, if he saw something, he would certainly give them a warning.

Thus, the topic was dropped.

Silence returned to the room. After watching Ji Liang play against himself for a while, Ji Fengjun couldn’t help but feel an itch to join the fray.

The scenery outside the window was beautiful.

…

At night, a crescent moon hung in the dark sky, obscured by drifting dark clouds, leaving only a sharp corner visible.

Under the weak moonlight, the tree shadows were mottled, and a cool breeze blew.

This was a dilapidated small temple outside the city. The Buddha statue on the altar had lost half its body; the remaining half was covered in cracks, appearing as if it would completely crumble with a gentle touch.

All around was solitude and darkness, with only a few rays of dim, cold light projecting through the broken roof, faintly reflecting a tall figure standing within the ruined temple.

The night grew deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, the rumbling sound of wheels seemed to ring out, coming from far to near, finally stopping outside the ruined temple.

It was a wooden carriage with no driver and no horses pulling it. Four clumps of eerie blue ghost-fire hung around the cabin, burning quietly and strangely.

The carriage curtain moved without wind. In the next second, a figure stepped out. The moonlight reflected on his long silver hair, which was as translucent and beautiful as mercury.

He raised his eyes slightly, and his cold gaze pierced through the dark night, meeting the young Exorcist standing in the ruined temple. His mouth cracked into a grin.

“You’ve finally come.”

…

She Mengshan was indeed not a yokai from near the capital, yet no one knew where he came from. However, his formidable strength was such that even many long-famous Great Yokai had been defeated by his hand.

One piece of information the humans had wrong was that She Mengshan had not failed to challenge the nearby Great Yokai. On the very first day he arrived, he had provoked each and every one of those Great Yokai. It was just that Great Yokai have their own pride; seeing that She Mengshan had no interest in territory, they silently swallowed this bitterness. After all, no one wanted to go around broadcasting the fact that they, a Great Yokai, had been defeated by an unknown upstart.

These things only circulated secretly among the yokai, so the humans naturally didn’t know. But the original owner was different. Just as the demon soul said, the original owner was very keen on dealing with yokai; many of his schemes were carried out with the help of yokai.

Thus, the original owner knew the moment She Mengshan appeared.

Such a powerful Great Yokai, alone and of unknown origin… wasn’t he the perfect candidate to be used or to collaborate with?

Actually, in the beginning, the original owner’s contact with him was not very smooth. Even offering various temptations was of no use. Such behavior, which was always successful with other greedy yokai, had no effect on this silver-haired snake yokai.

Until the original owner exposed his true human identity before the silver-haired snake yokai. That’s right; when dealing with yokai, the original owner always used the demon soul to disguise himself as a yokai.

One could say that She Mengshan was the first to know the original owner’s true face.

He then showed intense interest. The original owner saw this and decided to play along. Likely in the original owner’s mind, there was nothing that couldn’t be used, it was just that this time, he used himself as the bargaining chip.

“Interesting.”

At that time, the silver-haired snake yokai curled his lips, his cold and beautiful vertical pupils reflecting an excited light.

“I can help you.”

Thus, the collaborative relationship between the two was established.

And in the agreement, She Mengshan, the only one who knew the original owner’s true face, had to keep his identity a secret.

When this point was proposed, the silver-haired snake yokai laughed wildly.

“Of course.”