I Failed to Fake My Death After Scumming the Demon Lord [Transmigration] - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Qin Rulian was the fifth Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance.

Before Qin Rulian, there were six great aristocratic families in the Immortal Alliance, but in a catastrophe that occurred before Qin Gu was born, the Cangshan Sect lost too many disciples and withdrew from the ranks of the great families; consequently, the Immortal Alliance was left with only five great families.

And Qin Gu’s father was once the chief of the Cangshan Sect, the future Master of the Cangshan Sect—that is, had he not lost his life in the Cangshan upheaval, that is what should have been.

It was precisely after the Cangshan upheaval that “those who fall into the demonic path must be slain” became the First Prohibition of the Immortal Alliance.

The original story’s depiction of Qin Gu’s biological father stopped there; this genius cultivator who died young did not even leave a name behind.

Qin Rulian led him back to the main hall, then entered the bedroom through a side door.

Since becoming the Alliance Leader, Qin Rulian had stayed in the Drink Maple Pavilion only a handful of times; the bedroom was tidy and clean, the furniture was placed neatly, but it lacked a sense of human warmth.

She walked straight to the bookshelf beside the bed, raised her hand, and turned an eagle statue placed upon it;

A rumbling sound came from deep within, and the entire wall flipped over, revealing a secret room illuminated by flickering candlelight.

Qin Gu’s eyes widened slightly. A secret room in a Sect Master’s residence was normal; what shocked him was.

On a table directly facing the entrance sat a lacquered wooden spirit tablet. However, there were no incense or offerings before it; instead, there was only a cold, gleaming sword rack with a long sword resting horizontally upon it.

Qin Gu gazed at this sword from afar, a strange sense of closeness surging in his chest. He could feel that the air pressure around the sword was different from the rest of the room, yet this sword displayed no hostility toward him.

He had an inkling in his heart and raised his eyes to look at the dim, indistinct wooden tablet—

Jiang Chengxuan.

The moment he saw the name, his chest felt as if it had been struck by something heavy, filled with yearning and an acidic, aching sensation.

Qin Gu’s lips moved silently.

Father.

He looked at Qin Rulian, only to find that Qin Rulian was also looking at him. The coldness in those similar peach-blossom eyes had faded, replaced by a tenderness he had never seen before.

“Juan Zhi,” Qin Rulian said, “Go and see your father.”

Qin Gu hesitated, not knowing what emotions to face Jiang Chengxuan’s tablet with.

He thought of something: “Father’s tablet, how could it be in…”

How could it be in the Drink Maple Pavilion, and even in Qin Rulian’s bedroom?

Qin Rulian seemed to know what he was going to ask and shook her head: “That is not important, Juan Zhi. Go. This is your first time meeting each other.”

Qin Gu walked forward, one step at a time.

Qin Rulian’s voice rose from behind him: “This sword is called Hengqiu. In those days, it was a famous fierce sword that many a famous scholar could not tame. Later… it chose your father.”

Qin Gu looked at the Hengqiu sword. As he walked closer, the ancient patterns on the scabbard became clearly visible—aloof, mysterious, and filled with an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

Qin Rulian spoke as if telling a story from the extremely distant past: “During the Cangshan upheaval, your father used it to slay one hundred and one monsters and demons, never letting go until he died.”

An image involuntarily emerged in Qin Gu’s mind:

A young cultivator holding a long sword; the blood of monsters and demons staining the blade a shocking red; corpses littering the ground beneath his feet. With every swing of the sword, the sword’s aura would hum, and the head of a monster would fall to the ground.

“The irony is that the monsters and demons couldn’t kill him,” Qin Rulian’s voice grew cold. “He died at the hands of his own fellow disciple.”

Qin Gu’s heart hammered violently, as if he were being dragged into another abyss.

The long sword pierced through his chest. The cultivator, fighting until he had exhausted all his strength, coughed up a mouthful of blood in disbelief. As he collapsed dejectedly, he saw only a pair of scarlet eyes.

So that was the hidden truth behind the Cangshan upheaval.

No wonder, no wonder Qin Rulian was so furious at his behavior of shielding Cicada Lady!

Qin Rulian didn’t speak again. Qin Gu didn’t know how to start, and the secret room fell into silence.

He had already walked to the front of Jiang Chengxuan’s tablet, but he didn’t dare to look directly at it.

What would Jiang Chengxuan think? He died at the hands of monsters, yet his son had let a monster go.

“In fact, it was not that we had no suspicions,” Qin Rulian spoke again. “If we had brought the traitor to justice from the very beginning, he wouldn’t have died, but he believed in his junior brother.

“Your father, everyone said he possessed a great, encompassing love, but I felt his heart was too soft and he was indecisive.”

Qin Gu didn’t expect to hear such an evaluation, and his heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

In the real world, his parents had a commercial marriage. After he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, their marriage was dissolved as a matter of course; each left him a large sum of money, and they had had no contact since.

He had originally thought that a woman like Qin Rulian, who drew such clear lines between love and hate, could not have chosen to give birth to a child after her husband’s death for reasons of duty alone.

But “indecisive” truly couldn’t be counted as a positive evaluation, and while Jiang Chengxuan had been dead for sixteen years, today was the first time Qin Gu had ever paid his respects.

In the original story, the original body didn’t even know that Jiang Chengxuan’s tablet was in the Drink Maple Pavilion.

“That day in the hall,” just when Qin Gu was hesitating, Qin Rulian suddenly changed the subject, “I saw the shadow of your father in you.”

Qin Rulian’s words fell one by one, like raindrops tapping on his heart.

“I realized that even if you had never met your father, it could not change the fact that half the blood flowing in your body comes from him,” she said. “But you are also my child at the same time.”

“Juan Zhi, I believe you can walk a path different from your father’s.”

Qin Gu’s pupils trembled. At the same time, the Hengqiu sword vibrated violently in its scabbard, humming incessantly, and blue light subtly appeared on its intricate patterns—

Emotions surged in his chest. Qin Gu suddenly reached out to grasp the hilt and drew the sword!

For every inch the blade was drawn, the blue light became more dazzling. The heavy sword was like a fish leaping into the sea in his hand, moving freely and skillfully; Qin Gu injected spiritual power into the sword, and the blue and red colors merged, lighting up the secret room.

As the radiance intensified, the walls of the secret room vanished; he seemed to stand on the peak of a high mountain, with a giant rock blocking his vision in front of him.

Qin Gu’s hand was suddenly gripped by someone. He looked back in a panic and saw a handsome, majestic man smiling at him;

Qin Gu thought of Yan Baishu’s evaluation: “You look a lot like your father.”

The man guided his arm, his wrist flipped, and the Hengqiu sword swept out horizontally.

The blue light was like ten thousand li of surging waves, layered and (roaring), waves crashing against the stone cliff, emitting a huge roar;

The sword wave did not stop; in the blink of an eye, it transformed into several streams, like splashing waves, violently shattering the giant rock!

What powerful spiritual aura, capable of destroying a boulder without any effort.

With a realization in his chest, Qin Gu raised the sword and slashed again!

At first, the sword aura remained a deep blue, but as the sword light slashed toward the ground, the deep blue gradually changed, as if swallowed by flames, eventually turning entirely into scarlet red.

The earth shook, and a very deep gully was left in the ground.

Qin Gu was a little breathless, but the tremendous power of Hengqiu made his heart surge with passion.

A soft chuckle fell into his ears. He turned his eyes to look, and the man had already withdrawn his hand at some point, standing to the side and watching him with a gentle smile.

The man’s smile was gentle and gratified. Qin Gu understood instantly and took two hurried steps to move closer to him: “Father!”

Jiang Chengxuan retreated a step, his figure gradually dispersing;

The surroundings gradually grew dark. Jiang Chengxuan glanced toward a certain direction.

That look was full of affection and carried a thick sense of apology.

Qin Gu followed his gaze, looking straight into Qin Rulian’s eyes.

He turned his head again—the shadow of Jiang Chengxuan was gone, and the mountain peaks had also vanished, as if it had all been but a dream.

Only the Hengqiu sword in his hand, glowing with scorching red light, silently proved that this short time spent together had been real.

Qin Rulian lowered her eyes to look at the Hengqiu sword: “It truly recognized you as its master. Juan Zhi, from today on, the Hengqiu sword belongs to you.”

Qin Gu’s sword had been shattered by a palm strike during the battle with Yan Baishu, so the Hengqiu sword was truly a timely arrival.

Qin Gu nodded, thought for a moment, and truthfully told her about seeing Jiang Chengxuan.

Qin Rulian was slightly stunned. Hearing Qin Gu describe the scene of the mountain peak, the luster in her eyes grew dim: “So that’s how it was… I’m afraid that when your father died, a wisp of his divine sense remained on the Hengqiu sword. What you entered just now was a realm constructed by this wisp of divine sense. What was the scenery like on the peak of Cangshan?”

Qin Gu answered: “Beautiful.”

He immediately fell into thought: A wisp of divine sense could pull him into a realm—what kind of cultivation must Jiang Chengxuan have had when he died?

And what kind of strength must the demonic cultivator who killed him have possessed?

Hengqiu was sheathed. Qin Gu pursed his lips, making up his mind: “Mother, before Father’s divine sense dissipated, he kept looking at you… he, he is…”

The word “love” felt difficult to say when it reached his lips.

Qin Rulian smiled: “I know.”

She then walked forward and stood still in front of Jiang Chengxuan’s spirit tablet: “Today, I saw that you and Ji Yun are on excellent terms. Ji Yun is about to break through to the Emerging Aperture stage. If you have time, go and provide him with some guidance. Go back, Juan Zhi. Get some good rest.”

Seeing Qin Rulian mention Ji Yun to have him help with his cultivation, Qin Gu’s anxious heart felt a bit more at ease. He bowed to Qin Rulian, turned, and retreated.

As he left the secret room, he seemed to see Qin Rulian reach out her hand, gently stroking the name “Jiang Chengxuan” on the spirit tablet.

He realized with a start that this spirit tablet was old, yet clean, without a single speck of dust.

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