I Failed to Fake My Death After Scumming the Demon Lord [Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

In the original novel, after Ji Yun was framed, the Immortal Alliance eventually caught the real traitor. To avoid repeating history, Qin Gu had been keeping a close watch on that specific traitor for a long time; the individual had shown no suspicious activity recently. More importantly, that traitor was an outer-sect disciple, while the information about the blacksmith shop could only have been leaked by an inner-sect disciple.

There was more than one traitor, and this one hidden within the inner sect had never been caught, not even by the time Ji Yun eventually drew his sword against the Heavenly Dao and destroyed the world at the end of the story.

It was clearly just the beginning of autumn, yet Qin Gu felt a bone-deep chill, as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

The number of inner-sect disciples in the Yin-Feng Pavilion was small. While a small group made things easier to track, it also meant that any move could easily alert the enemy.

Who is it?

Qin Gu turned his eyes toward Ji Yun, his gaze particularly intense. Ji Yun blinked in confusion: “Senior brother?”

Qin Gu immediately looked away: “It’s nothing.”

He thought for a moment and came up with an idea: “Let’s go ask the mountain-guarding Taoist boy.”

They returned to the mountain gate. Qin Gu stopped in front of a noticeably shorter maple tree by the side of the road.

The Yin-Feng Pavilion didn’t have human gatekeepers; the “Taoist boys” he referred to were these very maple trees.

Immortal sects were often built on mountains imbued with spiritual energy. All things have spirits, and it was not strange for maple trees to develop sentience after being nourished by spiritual energy for many years.

Qin Gu cleared his throat: “Little Feng, Little Di…”

Before he could finish, the short maple tree shook, and two leaves drifted down. With a flash of golden light, they transformed into the shapes of two little Taoist boys upon landing.

The two boys looked to be about seven or eight years old—one with a pair of topknots and the other with twin braids. They bowed to Qin Gu and Ji Yun: “Good morning, Senior Brother Qin. Good morning, Senior Brother Ji.”

“Good, good, good morning to you both,” Qin Gu said with a smile, ruffling the little boys’ heads. “Senior Brother Qin wants to ask you, which senior brothers or sisters have gone down the mountain recently?”

Having stood there for years, the maple trees watched in all directions and listened to everything; they were no different from gatekeepers.

The little maple demon with the topknots, Xiao Feng, scratched his cheek: “Senior Brother Qin, you love to make things difficult for us. So many senior brothers and sisters go down the mountain every day, how could I possibly…”

Before he could finish, the braided maple demon, Xiao Di, covered his mouth: “Senior Brother Qin is asking if there were any anomalies, right? Hmm… now that you mention it, there were indeed three people: Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Huang, and Senior Sister Ye.”

Qin Gu looked at Xiao Di approvingly, thinking what a sharp child he was, and began searching his memory for anything related to them.

Senior Brother Huang was an outer-sect disciple, so he was naturally ruled out. Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Sister Ye were both inner-sect disciples, and both were slightly senior to the two of them.

He followed up: “Did you see which direction they headed?”

Xiao Feng finally struggled free from Xiao Di’s arm: “There’s a long way to go after leaving the mountain gate, how would I kn—”

This time, Xiao Di wrapped his arm around Xiao Feng’s neck and gave a tug, causing Xiao Feng to let out a “caw” of pain.

Xiao Di smiled sweetly: “You’re stupid enough to die. We two might not have seen it, but the aunties and uncles of the maple forest saw it.”

With that, they turned into two streaks of golden light and returned to the trees. The surrounding maple trees began to sway rhythmically, as if people were whispering. After a short while, Xiao Feng and Xiao Di landed lightly again and bowed to them.

Xiao Feng spoke first: “There is a girl named Shen who washes laundry in the town at the foot of the mountain. As soon as Senior Brother Zhang went down the mountain, he ran into Miss Shen coming out of her house. The two immediately embraced, and Senior Brother Zhang said, ‘Yue’er, I have missed you so much I could not sleep for nights’…”

Qin Gu felt as if a swarm of bees was buzzing in his head and shouted: “Stop, stop!”

What kind of chaotic mess is this?!

He looked at Ji Yun, who was expressionless and unmoved.

Cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness really is different, Qin Gu thought, rubbing his temples before turning to the reliable Xiao Di: “And Xiao Di? Did you hear anything?”

Xiao Di thought seriously: “Senior Brother Qin, did something happen at the blacksmith shop? I just saw the blacksmiths being carried back by senior brothers and sisters…”

Qin Gu nodded. Xiao Di bit his lip, hesitating, and kept fiddling with his braid: “Senior Sister Ye… Senior Sister Ye was seen heading toward the blacksmith shop, but I remember it wasn’t Senior Sister Ye’s turn for duty this month.”

Got it!

Feeling invigorated, Qin Gu shook his head to cast out thoughts of “embracing while weeping” and “tears until dawn”: “Thank you, Xiao Di. Don’t worry, Senior Brother Qin won’t wrongly accuse an innocent person.”

He pinched the little maple demon’s cheek and turned to Ji Yun: “Let’s go take a look.”

Senior Sister Ye’s full name was Ye Yuqing, and she lived in the disciples’ quarters.

However, it was poor timing. Other disciples told Qin Gu that Ye Yuqing had just rushed out in a hurry, heading off to parts unknown.

The two looked at each other and walked to a quiet area. Ji Yun said: “She hasn’t gone far. If senior brother wishes, I can catch her immediately.”

Qin Gu smiled helplessly: “I know you can, but we only have suspicions; we have no concrete evidence… Never mind. Let’s go see the blacksmiths first. I heard that Sect Leader Lu has arrived as well.”

An attack on the blacksmith shop was no trivial matter. Someone of Lu Mi’s standing in the Immortal Alliance would immediately understand the implications, so it wasn’t surprising he would come personally.

Upon hearing Lu Mi’s name, the look in Ji Yun’s eyes turned cold, and he let out a scoff.

Qin Gu patted his shoulder reassuringly, finding it secretly amusing.

The blacksmiths were being housed in the recovery area of the Medicine Supervision Division. Before they even got close, they could hear the disciples talking inside.

“Senior Sister Ye, you must not!”

Catching the keyword, Qin Gu took two quick steps and pushed open the door.

He happened to hear Lu Mi, dressed in black, speaking coldly: “With just you, I’m afraid you won’t be able to get revenge; you’ll only end up making the Demon Purging Division collect your corpse. To join the Demon Purging Division, your cultivation must at least be—”

Lu Mi turned his gaze to Qin Gu, who had just pushed the door open: “At least it must be like his.”

Qin Gu: …

He looked somewhat awkwardly at the woman kneeling in the center of the room with red-rimmed eyes.

He cupped his fists: “Sect Leader Lu, Senior Sister Ye, everyone… what is happening here?”

As the saying goes, what you seek is right before your eyes. He hadn’t expected to find Ye Yuqing here, and he certainly hadn’t expected that she sounded like she wanted to join the Demon Purging Division.

This deviated significantly from his speculations, leaving him momentarily unsure of how to react.

Fortunately, a burly blacksmith ran over and bowed repeatedly: “Young Alliance Master, please, help us persuade Xiao Qing.”

From the blacksmith’s words, Qin Gu finally understood. Ye Yuqing was an orphan, abandoned by her family in an alley when she was still in swaddling clothes. She had happened to be found and adopted by the people of the blacksmith shop. Later, seeing that she had good aptitude and was the adopted daughter of the shop, Qin Rulian took her in as a disciple, and she officially began her cultivation.

Ye Yuqing knelt stubbornly on the ground: “Demonic cultivators hurt my family! Even if I die, I will perish together with them!”

Ye Yuqing’s cultivation was at the late stage of Nascent Soul, and all these years she had not broken through to the Out-of-Body stage.

Even Qin Gu, who had been at the Out-of-Body stage, had no power to fight back against Yan Baishu; how could Ye Yuqing, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage, hope to win?

Under the pleading gaze of the blacksmiths, Qin Gu advised: “Senior Sister Ye, the demonic cultivators are coming with great force; it is not something you or I can deal with. It is better to leave it to the Demon Purging Division.”

Who would have thought that Ye Yuqing would suddenly raise her head, her red-rimmed eyes looking as if they were bleeding: “The Young Alliance Master grew up bathed in the care of your master and uncles, so how could you understand my feelings? I was abandoned by my parents from a young age—if it weren’t for everyone at the blacksmith shop, I would have died long ago! If I do not avenge this, I am not fit to be a person!”

The blacksmiths were shocked: “Xiao Qing, how can you speak to the Young Alliance Master like that?”

They apologized profusely: “Young Alliance Master, please, do not take offense at Xiao Qing. She is just panicked…”

Qin Gu shook his head with a smile. To outsiders, perhaps it was as Ye Yuqing said—that he, Qin Gu, had grown up in luxury and did not understand the hardships of life.

However, the truth was the exact opposite. When he transmigrated, the original body had already passed the age of being spoiled, and his own past life… parental affection was not worth mentioning.

Ye Yuqing, however, did not stop there. She shuffled forward on her knees: “Junior Brother Ji, you are the same as me. You must understand how I feel. Please, beg Sect Leader Lu for me and let me join the Demon Purging Division.”

Qin Gu felt a jolt and looked at Ji Yun.

At this time, Ji Yun did not know his own background; he only knew he had been abandoned on a cliff and adopted by a couple who made their living cutting firewood.

Hearing this, Ji Yun did not respond directly. Instead, he took a string of beads with cloudy, dull coloring from his robes: “These were given to me by my adoptive parents when I entered the Yin-Feng Pavilion. Senior Sister Ye, I understand your feelings.”

Ye Yuqing’s eyes lit up, but Ji Yun changed his tone: “But I have no certainty that I can defeat the demonic cultivators. Senior Sister Ye, your cultivation is not as high as mine.”

The implication being: How then do you plan to take revenge?

A tear fell from Ye Yuqing’s eye. Her body began to tremble violently, and she sobbed until she was gasping for air: “I am too weak… I’m sorry, if only I could be stronger…”

As Ye Yuqing was cradled in the arms of the blacksmiths, Qin Gu and the others tactfully exited the room and walked under the eaves.

Lu Mi looked at the two of them: “The sect leaders of the five great families have already made their positions clear: the Ancestral Worship Ceremony will proceed on schedule. The Demon Purging Division will strengthen supervision, but we cannot relax. Since you have traded blows with Yan Baishu, we may need your assistance when the time comes.”

Naturally, they did not refuse and agreed.

Lu Mi leaned against a pillar, his scrutinizing gaze falling on Qin Gu like thousand-year-old ice: “His cultivation is about to surpass yours. Young Alliance Master, do you not find that shameful?”

Qin Gu frowned slightly. He detected a tone of mockery in Lu Mi’s words: “Why would Sect Leader Lu say that? Xiao Yun is exceptionally talented; it is only natural that he would surpass me.”

Lu Mi said, “Oh?” and replied, “Is that so? That is well.”

Qin Gu stopped Ji Yun, who was about to speak, and bowed to Lu Mi with neither servility nor overbearingness, intending to take his leave.

Lu Mi might look down on him, but because of the original novel, Qin Gu held the man in high regard. However, he was not a masochist who would stand there and be mocked for no reason.

They hadn’t walked far before Lu Mi’s voice echoed from a distance: “Qin Gu, I look forward to your performance at the Ancestral Worship Ceremony.”

As his words fell, a “ding” sounded in his mind.

Side Quest: Ancestral Worship Ceremony

So it took all this time to realize Lu Mi is the NPC who gives out quests.

Task Intelligence:

The following one thousand words of information regarding the Ancestral Worship Ceremony are omitted; please refer to the original novel for details.

Please do your best to ensure the Ancestral Worship Ceremony proceeds smoothly.

Note: Whether the ceremony proceeds smoothly will have a crucial impact on the direction of the plot.

Task Difficulty: Extremely high uncertainty.

Reward: Increase the success rate of the main quest.

You do not have the right to refuse this quest.

Starting from the “Task Intelligence” section, Qin Gu’s lips twitched uncontrollably. By the time the final “You do not have the right to refuse” appeared, he sighed deeply in his heart.

To be honest, the Ancestral Worship Ceremony was a plot point that could not be avoided.

But the trail of the traitor had been cut off here, and the system was being evasive, making the unease in his heart grow ever heavier.

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