I Failed to Fake My Death After Scumming the Demon Lord [Transmigration] - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The fainted commoners were handed over to the Qingsong Temple disciples to be sent home. he news of the monster being subdued was sent to the Immortal Alliance by Qin Gu via a flying crane. Before the Demon-Slaying Division of the Immortal Alliance could arrive, the three of them set off immediately for Merchant Jia’s residence.

“Senior Brother,” just as they were rushing along the road, Ji Yun suddenly spoke up. “How much do you remember about what happened in the bamboo forest?”

Qin Gu turned his head in confusion, only to see Ji Yun looking straight ahead, not even glancing at him. He replied truthfully: “I don’t remember any of it. Why?”

Ji Yun made a soft “Umm” sound, still not looking at him: “It’s nothing, just… curious.”

He looked at Qingli again, but Qingli just spread his hands innocently. The gourd even shook slightly, though it was unclear what Chan Niang meant by it.

Qin Gu touched the tip of his nose: It’s truly strange, did I say something I shouldn’t have? Having no choice, he tapped the system: “What did I do after the demonic energy invaded me?”

The system remained silent in his mind for a moment:

“It would be better if you didn’t know.”

Qin Gu: …

He vaguely remembered answering a few questions, but it was limited to that. Well, since no one was willing to say, he wouldn’t press the matter. In any case, it didn’t seem to have much connection to the current situation.

The night was deep, yet the commotion of Qingsong Temple disciples leaving the city still caused many commoners to peer out from their homes holding lanterns. Qin Gu did not want to attract attention, so he chose a remote alley to take a detour.

Knocking on the Jia mansion gates, the steward immediately let them in. This time, Merchant Jia did not make them wait. He was even dressed impeccably, as if he had prepared beforehand. Seeing they had arrived, Merchant Jia immediately greeted them: “Immortal Lord, Immortal Lord! I heard the monster has been eradicated. Ah, you are the great benefactors of Lin’an, you are my, Jia Baogui’s, great benefactors!”

Qin Gu had seen this man’s true face in the illusion. Seeing him smile obsequiously now made him feel even more disgusted. But he could not show it, so he said politely: “It is within our duties, sir. You overpraise us. It is just that…”

He deliberately drew out his tone without finishing. Sure enough, Merchant Jia grew anxious: “Has some accident occurred? Immortal Lord, please do not scare me!”

Hooked.

Qin Gu sighed quite seriously: “That monster only had two souls left. Although it isn’t impossible… the soul that remained will likely have a surge of demonic power. If the monster’s hatred is not placated, then it will be terrible…”

He was completely spouting nonsense, but Merchant Jia was bluffed into extreme nervousness: “How terrible?”

Qin Gu said: “I fear it will haunt you day and night, never-ending until death.”

Merchant Jia’s pupils trembled visibly as he probed: “Then what if… we used a suppression method?”

Seeing him racking his brains, he was able to speak of evil arts like the Soul-Locking Array so euphemistically—people in business were indeed glib-tongued.

Qin Gu sneered internally, but his expression remained incredibly sincere: “Even if the Ancestral Master himself descended to the mortal realm, he couldn’t suppress it!”

Merchant Jia paced back and forth in anxiety. Qin Gu watched his flustered, short-breathed state and provoked him: “Sir, there is no need to worry. You are filled with righteous energy. Surely that monster would not dare to intrude. If anything really happens, you can just come find us then.”

Having said this, he deliberately walked a few steps toward the door: “We should head back to report. Sir, we take our leave…”

This feigned departure was clearly the final straw for Merchant Jia. Merchant Jia shouted immediately: “Wait! Immortal Lord, Immortal Lord! Immortal Lord, come with me!”

A moment later.

A narrow, dense bamboo forest stood in jarring contrast to the Jia mansion. Bamboo leaves overlapped one another. The wind blew, emitting only a rustling sound while remaining motionless. This was the bamboo forest Qin Gu had seen in his consciousness.

Merchant Jia looked left and right. The sound of the leaves made him particularly paranoid: “Immortal Lord, please, this way.”

Even knowing what was in the bamboo forest, the moment they saw the Soul-Locking Array bound by chains, the shrill, miserable wail of the Heavenly Soul still made the scalps of those possessing spiritual power go numb. Seemingly sensing that Chan Niang was nearby, the Heavenly Soul’s struggle became increasingly intense, yet it was blocked by the chains time and again. The soul and the iron chains touched, emitting a sizzling sound of being burned.

Day and night, this was the torture Chan Niang endured.

Clang—

Under the impact of the Heavenly Soul, the chains hummed violently. Merchant Jia was so scared that he hid his fat body behind Qin Gu: “Wh-what is going on here?!”

He looked up to find that the once gentle young man’s face was as cold as frost: “You don’t know?”

As he spoke, white mist filled the bamboo forest. The thicker the fog, the louder the clashing sounds became. Faintly, he seemed to hear a woman’s operatic singing voice:

“I traveled a thousand miles to find you,

Was it for a few taels of your filthy silver?”

Merchant Jia kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead: “Immortal Lord, listen to my explanation! I… I had deep affection for Chan Niang. This, this is a cenotaph I built for her. I truly do not know what you are talking about!”

Clang—!!

Another gust of wind surged, and the chains snapped straight. One, two… seven chains broke in succession from the middle!

All of Merchant Jia’s glib, false words vanished, and he let out a scream of extreme terror. He could only beg Qin Gu, who came from an immortal sect, for help. Who would have expected Qin Gu to step back, lower his eyes, and take on an indifferent expression, his lips parting slightly: “Why must you explain to me, sir? You should tell her directly.”

What does that mean?!

Merchant Jia knew the situation was wrong. He scrambled and crawled toward the outside of the bamboo forest. However, the thick fog blocked his path in an instant. Behind him, the broken chains clattered—clack-clack—like a gavel striking the floor. Merchant Jia felt an indescribable fear.

The woman’s singing gradually became clear:

“The petition is submitted, my Lord husband, I only fear you shall not be able to come or go!”

This, this is… Merchant Jia’s vision spun. Decades of wine and debauchery had made him forget the deep affections of his youth, but he remembered this aria. This was the aria Chan Niang loved to sing the most. It told the story of—

The thick fog condensed into a woman’s silhouette. The soul imprisoned in the Soul-Locking Array suddenly merged with it. With the three souls reunited, Chan Niang’s features became clear and recognizable. She stepped from behind Qin Gu, step by step, toward Merchant Jia. With every step, the tears in her robe mended, and the filth on her embroidered shoes was wiped away. By the time she stood still, she was already in the appearance of that young, delicate girl from the illusion.

Looking at Merchant Jia, after Chan Niang appeared, he had fallen to his knees with a thud. His fat body retreated with difficulty like a pile of meat, his face covered in mud. For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was the demon and who was the human.

Chan Niang said: “Jia Baogui, do you recognize me?”

Merchant Jia kowtowed incessantly: “Chan Niang, Chan Niang, Grandmother, my wife—please spare me. I was momentarily blinded by greed. Spare my dog’s life, and I will immediately! I will immediately enshrine your memorial tablet in my ancestral hall…”

Chan Niang looked at him with pity, saying nothing.

Merchant Jia panicked, kowtowing until his forehead made thud-thud sounds: “Don’t you want to be my wife? Chan Niang, I promise you, if you spare me, I will marry you, make you my primary wife, and let them all worship you…”

Chan Niang still did not reply. Merchant Jia collapsed and shouted: “Speak! What exactly do you want me to do? What will it take for you to let me go?”

The man cowering before her no longer had a shred of the arrogance he had displayed when they reunited.

The bamboo branches swayed gently. Chan Niang giggled, her voice as crisp as a bell: “Alright, my love, you want to marry me, but unfortunately I am already dead. How about…”

She extended her hand, her fair fingertips stopping in front of Merchant Jia: “How about you come with me, and we get married in the underworld?”

Her words fell lightly. A pitch-black mass of energy emerged from Merchant Jia’s forehead and was gripped in Chan Niang’s hand. Merchant Jia’s eyes lost their focus, rolled back in his head, and he convulsed, passing out.

Chan Niang did not even spare him another glance, turning instead to look at Qin Gu and the others standing not far away. Her figure began to become transparent, like surging fog, ready to dissipate at any moment.

Qin Gu stepped forward a few paces: “You only took a wisp of his Earth Soul?”

That murky, black mass was Merchant Jia’s Earth Soul. The greater the evil, the darker the Earth Soul. Merchant Jia’s Earth Soul had become so black that no light could pass through it.

Chan Niang smiled: “The Immortal Lord showing mercy to this concubine was already taking a huge risk. How could I make things more difficult for the Immortal Lord?”

By allowing a monster to take revenge, Qin Gu had already violated the Immortal Alliance’s prohibitions. If Chan Niang had taken Merchant Jia’s life, it would indeed be difficult for him to provide an explanation.

Chan Niang added: “I have taken Jia Baogui’s Earth Soul. He will spend the rest of his life demented and foolish, never again able to plot for wealth by taking lives. Immortal Lord, my obsession is gone. It is time for me to go to the underworld to atone for my sins.”

Monsters do not enter the cycle of reincarnation. To atone, one can only cease to exist.

Qin Gu’s lips trembled, but he ultimately could not say anything. Chan Niang seemed to know what he was going to say, waving her hand lightly as if to comfort him.

She gave Ji Yun a smiling glance before suddenly saying to Qin Gu: “Immortal Lord, this concubine envies you both. Such true devotion is rare in this world…”

Qin Gu was startled, but Chan Niang refused to speak further. The thick fog finally dissipated, and the faint morning light brightened on the horizon. Chan Niang looked longingly at the slight glimmer of light, folded her hands, and bowed solemnly to the group. With the bowing motion, her form began to collapse, eventually turning into a hazy, thin mist, dissipating in the wind.

Her farewell was also carried away by the wind: “This concubine shall never forget the Immortal Lord’s kindness. I pray that you take care.”

A long time passed, and no one in the bamboo forest spoke.

It was Qingli who broke the silence: “Young Alliance Leader, the monster… how shall we explain this to the Demon-Slaying Division?”

A monster that should have been judged by the Immortal Alliance had ceased to exist, and the Demon-Slaying Division was famously a group of battle maniacs with nothing but slaying demons on their minds. Since they had traveled thousands of miles only to find nothing, how to give them a satisfying answer was indeed a severe problem.

Qin Gu nudged his chin toward the ground: “Well, hand him over.”

Merchant Jia lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Qingli: …

Watching Qingli walk toward Merchant Jia, Qin Gu suddenly asked: “Senior Brother Qingli, where did you go earlier outside the city?”

Qingli’s footsteps halted: “I was protecting the commoners, Young Alliance Leader. Why do you ask?”

Qin Gu squinted and smiled, but the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes: “I am not asking about that. I am saying…”

“…When we mixed into the crowd, where did you go?”

The air froze abruptly.

Qingli turned slightly, half his face hidden in the shadows of the bamboo leaves: “I have been following behind you and Junior Brother Ji, haven’t I?”

—The moment the word “behind” was spoken, Qingli moved with lightning speed, his movements incredibly fast as he clawed directly at Ji Yun’s chest!

Ji Yun hurriedly raised his sword to block, but he could not catch up to the opponent’s speed. “Qingli’s” five fingers formed a claw and had already touched the fabric over his chest!

A brilliant golden-red light flared. “Qingli” was shaken back a few steps. At the same time, Qin Gu swung his sword, cutting off any possibility of a counterattack, and pulled himself between the two, gripping the sword with both hands, staring coldly at “Qingli,” who was shaking off his arm.

“Qingli” suddenly realized: “You left spiritual energy on all of them?”

He patted his head exaggeratedly: “Then didn’t you discover it from the very beginning? You played along with me until now? Hahaha, Qin Gu, you are truly interesting!”

Qin Gu gripped the sword hilt tightly, his heartbeat so fast his eardrums were vibrating, not daring to relax for a single breath.

Before his eyes, “Qingli’s” disguise stripped away, revealing an overly pale face, even the eyelashes were snow-white—it was no exaggeration to say it was white to the point of transparency.

His blue, glass-like pupils turned and landed on the backs of Qin Gu’s hands, where veins were bulging due to tension. He grinned: “You are afraid of me?”

Qin Gu felt sweat seeping from his palms. Every word felt as if it were squeezed out of his throat:

“Yan… Bai… Shu!”

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