I Failed to Fake My Death After Scumming the Demon Lord [Transmigration] - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As the Young Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance, his word held immense weight, and his status was extraordinary. Even though he had shown disrespect to the gods and Buddhas right in front of them, the monks dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

Crash—!

The statue shattered in response, revealing a dark, hollow interior—it was actually empty!

The Lady of Double Happiness, with half her face shattered, was no longer merciful. The one remaining eye shot out a gaze filled with poisonous resentment. At the same time, several streaks of demonic energy, like the tongues of snakes, shot out from within the statue and scrambled desperately toward the temple gate.

Qin Gu had been prepared. His hand was already pressed against his sword hilt as he shouted: “Don’t let it escape!”

But someone was faster than him.

A white shadow flashed by, and sword light spread out like white silk, cutting off all paths forward for the demonic energy. The demonic energy fled in a panic and turned back to pounce toward the statue, but the sword light had already seen through it. In an instant, the light gathered into a cage, trapping the demonic energy within.

Qin Gu was quick-witted. He snatched the Demon-Suppressing Gourd from Qingli’s waist, formed a seal to activate it, and sucked the demonic energy into the gourd.

After doing all this, he looked at Ji Yun, who was sheathing his sword.

Ji Yun’s gaze lingered on Qin Gu’s bleeding shoulder: “Such monsters do not require Senior Brother to dirty his own hands.”

Qin Gu was stunned. He thought to himself, who told him the protagonist was a black-bellied schemer? This was clearly a thoughtful little white flower. He immediately smiled: “Many thanks, Junior Brother.”

If it were the past, if the original owner had his credit stolen, even if he pretended to be humble on the surface, he wouldn’t be able to hide the gloominess between his brows. But at this moment, Qin Gu’s smile was like spring rain. When he smiled, his eyes curved, showing not a shadow of his former pettiness.

Ji Yun’s pupils darkened, and the emotions in the depths of his eyes were unreadable.

Qin Gu did not notice Ji Yun’s reaction. He was examining the Demon-Suppressing Gourd in his hand. The demonic energy was crashing around inside, vibrating the gourd so much it seemed as if it were about to shatter.

Qingli, as if waking from a dream, offered a polite remark: “The Young Alliance Leader and Junior Brother Ji truly have an incredible rapport.”

Hearing this, Qin Gu felt ashamed. He returned the gourd to Qingli and said: “This seems to be an Earth Soul.”

In the setting of this world, a person has three souls and seven spirits. The Earth Soul is one of the three, representing a person’s evil thoughts. After a person dies, the three souls leave the body to be reincarnated, but if their obsessions are not extinguished, the soul will linger in the world. However, the Earth Soul, which symbolizes evil, and a statue representing virtue seemed to have nothing to do with each other.

That was the problem. Qin Gu walked quickly toward the shattered ruins of the statue, poked through the debris with his sword tip for a moment, and fished out a pitch-black object.

Looking closely, it was a tattered silk pouch. It appeared to have many tears but had been meticulously sewn up with dense needlework.

Confirming there was no lingering demonic energy, Qin Gu took out the contents of the pouch: two strands of hair tied together. He looked perplexed.

Finally finding an opportunity to interject, Qingli stepped closer and offered an explanation for Qin Gu: “Newlywed couples, seeking to be united for a lifetime, will cut their own hair and tie it together—it’s called a ‘Unity Knot’… The Young Alliance Leader is not yet of age for marriage, so it is normal not to know this.”

No, Qin Gu thought silently, the original owner probably did know. It was just that the soul occupying the body now was him. Although he had been twenty-five when he died in his previous life, he had been bedridden for many years and knew very little about romance.

Someone was even more perplexed than him. Ji Yun asked: “Hair is a common medium for curses; why would one hand over such a vulnerability to another?”

Qingli: …

Does the Yin-Feng Pavilion practice the path of heartlessness??

He pulled himself together after being struck by this realization and took the initiative to speak: “Young Alliance Leader, your wound needs treatment. How about we return to Qingsong Temple to rest?”

Qin Gu had almost forgotten he had a wound on his shoulder. Once reminded, the injury throbbed painfully, so he agreed immediately.

When he went to chase the demonic energy, the Temple of the Lady of Double Happiness had already been turned upside down by Qingli and his men. The statue was the only thing worth caring about, and staying longer was useless. Besides, having traveled night and day, they truly needed to rest.

Qingsong Temple was on a mountain on the outskirts of Lin’an City. Qingli prepared two adjacent rooms for them and took his leave after giving a few instructions.

Qin Gu nodded to Ji Yun: “Junior Brother, you’ve worked hard today. Go rest. Tomorrow we shall go and take a look at that wealthy merchant’s house.”

The two entered their respective rooms.

Closing the door, Qin Gu took off his outer robe and looked sideways at the wound on his shoulder. Ji Yun’s sword strike hadn’t damaged the bones, but taking a direct hit from a Nascent Soul cultivator’s spiritual power attack left the wound bloodied and mangled, looking exceptionally hideous and terrifying.

Biting his lip hard to peel off his inner garment, his forehead covered in sweat, Qin Gu leaned against the bed and gasped for a moment before rummaging for the spiritual medicine he had brought from the Yin-Feng Pavilion.

The closed door was suddenly knocked upon. It was Ji Yun, returned: “Senior Brother, are you asleep?”

Qin Gu looked at the oil lamp glowing on the table and was speechless for a moment.

Ji Yun’s courtesy lasted only a second, and he soon pushed the door open, holding a roll of bandages in his hands.

The youth’s cool, detached gaze fell upon Qin Gu’s exposed upper body: “It is inconvenient to tend to an injury oneself. I will bandage it for you, Senior Brother.”

Qin Gu was instantly flattered, but at the same time felt a slight sense of discord: Ji Yun’s attitude toward him had changed too quickly—too quickly to be logical.

His mind was filled with suspicious clouds, but his face could not show a trace of them. Qin Gu gathered his thoughts and sat down at the table. Once he was seated, Ji Yun’s hand reached over, two fingers pressed together and landing an inch from his wound.

His fingertips were warm, carefully pressing and massaging the tense muscles. Spiritual energy flowed in along with the touch, and even though it occasionally tugged at the wound, only a slight stinging pain remained.

Qin Gu narrowed his eyes contentedly, feeling a rare moment of relaxation.

Drowsiness began to set in, but he heard Ji Yun say: “I let Senior Brother get injured for my sake again. I’m sorry.”

His heart hammered against his ribs. Qin Gu was startled awake, but he saw Ji Yun with his head lowered, his expression unreadable, his hands still working, continuing to massage the wound.

Qin Gu paused and weighed his words: “Today in the fog, I was also deceived by the monster. Furthermore, you were only acting out of concern and chaos. It is not your fault.”

He wanted to laugh at the phrase “acting out of concern and chaos” himself, but he had to continue: “As for… ‘again,’ Junior Brother, are you referring to the sparring session? Wasn’t that just me falling down myself?”

This time it was Ji Yun’s turn to be silent. After a moment, Ji Yun pulled his hand away, instead digging out ointment to apply, then carefully wrapping him in clean bandages.

Only after treating the wound did he speak again: “Thank you for your broad-mindedness, Senior Brother.”

Having said that, Ji Yun cupped his hands and turned to leave.

No matter how you heard it, this sounded like he was insulting him in a roundabout way. Qin Gu, however, had no time to worry about it, feeling only a cold sweat soaking his back.

Ji Yun’s visit was not about healing—the probe was the truth.

Qin Gu gave a bitter smile and stroked the bandage on his shoulder. He truly hadn’t believed that he had amnesia, but the sword strike he had taken head-on today had probably left Ji Yun wavering.

The road ahead was long and difficult. He would sleep first and think about the rest later.

When the roosters crowed, Qin Gu woke from his dreams. The wound had nearly healed overnight, so he simply tidied his clothes and pushed the door open.

Ji Yun and Qingli were already waiting for him at the door. One could not ride a sword through the city, so the three of them rode horses toward the house of the wealthy merchant who had donated the statue.

The merchant was surnamed Jia and was in the fabric business. He had only become successful in the last few years, and his assets ranked quite high in Lin’an City.

They borrowed the name of the local government, and the wealthy Merchant Jia had sent the house steward to welcome them early in the morning. From the moment they dismounted and entered the mansion, servants along the way greeted them respectfully.

Approaching the main hall, the pot-bellied Merchant Jia waited personally in the corridor, accompanying them with a fawning smile as he invited them to take their seats.

Qin Gu frowned. It wasn’t that having thorough hospitality was bad, but everyone from Merchant Jia to the steward and servants seemed as if they were trying to drive them into the room.

The Jia mansion was clearly very grand. Was there something unpresentable in the courtyard?

Keeping his guard up, Qin Gu released a wisp of his divine sense without changing his expression as he took his seat. A Void Refinement stage cultivator could strip a portion of his divine sense from his physical body. Among those present, only he could do this.

But just because they couldn’t do it didn’t mean they couldn’t detect it. The moment the divine sense was released, two gazes were cast from the left and right, as if asking: What happened?

Qin Gu picked up a teacup, took a sip, and signaled for them to remain calm.

Merchant Jia naturally didn’t know about Qin Gu’s small trick. After waving for the servants to withdraw, he laughed: “Distinguished sirs, I wonder what brings you to see this commoner?”

Although he cupped his hands toward all three, his demeanor was directed at Qin Gu, clearly waiting for him to speak. In just a few steps, Merchant Jia had identified that Qin Gu held the highest status. The strength of this man’s ability to read people and situations made Qin Gu secretly nervous.

Since the invitation to speak had been handed to him, there was no reason not to respond. Qin Gu pondered for a moment and took the pouch from the statue out of his sleeve: “Does the Master of the house recognize this item?”

Neither of the other two expected Qin Gu to be so direct. Merchant Jia was even more startled: “This… I don’t understand what you mean?”

“You are a clever man, I will not beat around the bush,” Qin Gu placed the pouch on the table. “A few months ago, you commissioned someone to sculpt a statue of the Lady of Double Happiness. This pouch was found inside the statue.”

The fat on Merchant Jia’s face trembled: “That statue…”

Qin Gu said: “I smashed it.”

His tone was calm, as if he were stating the simplest of matters.

Merchant Jia’s expression became visibly stiff. After a long while, he let out a heavy, deep sigh: “You distinguished sirs don’t know the truth. Actually, this pouch was a token of love between me and a woman many years ago.”

As he spoke, his tone grew mournful: “I am a merchant, traveling away from home is inevitable. By the time I returned to my hometown, she had passed away long ago, and I didn’t even get to see her one last time… This Lady of Double Happiness statue was also commissioned to ease my grief.”

Qin Gu examined Merchant Jia’s every move without reservation, his words sincere: “You are a man who values love and loyalty, sir. But the woman passed away many years ago, so why did you decide to build this statue only recently?”

Qingli, standing to the side, trembled a few times and nearly laughed out loud. Even the look in Ji Yun’s eyes became a bit more complex.

Merchant Jia stopped wiping his tears. He didn’t look out of place: “To be honest with you, in the last few months, I have constantly dreamt of her. I fear she is not doing well in the afterlife…”

So he built the statue to accumulate merit for this woman named Chan Niang.

There were no obvious logical loopholes. Qin Gu picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and ate it, patting the crumbs from his hands: “The tea and the osmanthus cakes are both excellent. Thank you for your hospitality, sir.”

He stood up and put the pouch away again: “I cannot return this pouch to you yet. When the case is closed, I will naturally come and return it personally.”

It was over already? Merchant Jia was overjoyed. Seeing Qin Gu about to leave, he hurriedly waved for the steward to send them out.

From entering the mansion to leaving, it hadn’t even been half an hour. Once they were far from the Jia mansion, Qingli couldn’t help but ask: “Young Alliance Leader, do you truly think this man surnamed Jia has no issues?”

Qin Gu smiled without speaking. Qingli urged anxiously: “Young Alliance Leader, even if what Merchant Jia said was true, if the Earth Soul in the statue really belongs to that woman, then…”

Then it wasn’t accumulating merit, it was suppressing a soul.

Spiritual energy fluctuated suddenly around them. Qingli looked up and saw a cluster of golden-red light lingering by Qin Gu’s side, then merging with his body. He suddenly remembered:

Qin Gu had left a wisp of divine sense at Merchant Jia’s house!

Divine sense could share what it saw and heard with the physical body. Now that the divine sense had returned, the smile on the corners of Qin Gu’s mouth faded bit by bit.

Qingli was right. Merchant Jia clearly didn’t know they were from the Immortal Sects, which was why he dared to spout nonsense without changing his expression. His words might not all have been fake, but at most only half were true, and his stated purpose for building the statue was an utter lie.

Just now, as Merchant Jia was emotionally weeping, the divine sense had also toured the entire Jia mansion. In the spacious and bright mansion, there was one place that was completely out of place—a dense, sunless bamboo grove.

In the bamboo grove was a heptagonal stone platform, each of the seven sides bound by chains, and on the platform were inscribed birth dates of unknown origin.

Watching this through his divine sense, Qin Gu felt his scalp prickle.

—The Soul-Locking Array!

Suppressing a soul beneath the stone platform, keeping it fettered by iron chains day and night until the soul dissipated into nothingness.

This was an extremely vicious array that had been banned by the cultivation world for many years. The original owner had only secretly flipped through it in the Yin-Feng Pavilion’s library before his mother punished him with a full month of confinement.

In other words, the only ones who would still be using this Soul-Locking Array today were…

Demonic Cultivators.

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