The Aloof Junior Brother I Was Supposed To Be Is Actually A Hopeless Romantic! - Chapter 9

To escape the clutches of his unfilial son, Chen Ji swallowed his pride. He turned around, cupped Liu Jingyun’s face in his hands, and said with utter sincerity, “Senior Brother was wrong. Will you forgive Senior Brother, please?”

Liu Jingyun’s dark eyes watched him quietly as he added another condition. “From now on, you are not allowed to be mean to me in front of Jiang Cichao.”

“Fine, I understand,” Chen Ji replied.

The kid is growing up and wants to save face, Chen Ji thought. He agreed that he should probably consider the children’s dignity and refrain from shouting at them in front of other disciples.

Only after receiving a definite answer was Liu Jingyun willing to let go. Once Chen Ji regained his freedom, his gaze fell back upon the chicken feathers by the lotus pond. Many of the scattered feathers still had bits of skin attached to the roots. The blood had soaked almost every quill on the ground, and the exposed entrails drew a swarm of buzzing flies. The stench was foul.

Chen Ji did not know if weasels were typically such messy eaters, but looking at the pile of remains, it was clear that more than one chicken had been consumed. Given the size of a weasel, it could eat two chickens at most before bursting, yet there were at least ten carcasses here. Judging by the state of the blood, this was not a collection over several days; it had happened in just a day or two.

Was a weasel hosting a chicken-eating party here? Otherwise, why would there be so many feathers? Chen Ji was perplexed. He felt no residual demonic energy in the area, confirming it was not the work of a monster.

“A-Ji, look here,” Liu Jingyun said. He used his sword to part the nearby weeds.

At the sound of his voice, Chen Ji looked over. Beneath the tall grass lay a pair of small, strange footprints. Since the soil near the pond was soft, it was easy to leave an impression. However, these prints were bizarrely tiny, barely the length of Chen Ji’s pinky finger. Perhaps due to the way the weight was distributed, only one toe was visible; the marks of the other toes were completely missing.

“What kind of creature leaves prints like these? It does not look human, monster, or ghost,” Chen Ji muttered.

Liu Jingyun continued to clear the weeds in the direction the toes were pointing. The tiny footprints were hidden by the rapidly growing spring grass; if one did not look closely, they would be easily overlooked. Chen Ji watched the trail stretch from deep to shallow until it vanished into the dense woods in the distance.

“Shall we take a look?” Liu Jingyun asked.

“Let us go,” Chen Ji answered.

Although there was no demonic energy on the feathers, the strange footprints were unsettling. Chen Ji still wanted to earn silver to fix the houses, hoping a monster might appear so he could claim a reward. While the silver from Jiang Cichao and Tianjizi was enough for the lumber, he was determined not to use it. Tianjizi’s money was meant for Feng Zhimu, and he intended to find an opportunity to return Jiang Cichao’s silver later.

With his plan settled, Chen Ji and Liu Jingyun followed the tracks into the forest. The early spring sun was not particularly warm, providing only a slight coolness. As they entered the woods where new leaves were sprouting, a gust of wind blew from the depths. Chen Ji felt an unexplainable, creeping chill.

The ground here was harder, and the strange tiny footprints were no longer visible. However, Liu Jingyun seemed able to see where they led, walking straight ahead without a moment of hesitation.

“Liu Jingyun, can you see them?” Chen Ji asked.

Liu Jingyun turned his head. “Can A-Ji not see it?”

“See what?”

“Ghostly energy.”

“What ghostly energy! The chicken-eater is a ghost!” Chen Ji was so startled he immediately scanned his surroundings. Ghosts were his greatest fear.

The original owner’s village had been wiped out by a Ghost King that appeared from nowhere. Having inherited those memories, Chen Ji vividly remembered the day of the massacre. A Ghost King nearly eight feet tall, dressed in rags and radiating overwhelming ghostly energy, had slaughtered the villagers without a shred of mercy.

Though Chen Ji was braver than the original owner, that scene had left him traumatized. Even a small ghost popping up by the road could startle him. Influenced by that memory, the moment he heard the words ghostly energy, he gripped Liu Jingyun’s sleeve tightly.

“I was not sure at first, but after entering the woods, I can feel a ghostly energy as thin as mist,” Liu Jingyun said while raising his hand. “A-Ji, if you are afraid, hold my hand.”

Chen Ji did not hesitate for a second and squeezed his hand tight. “If a ghost comes out, you have to tell me in advance.”

“I will,” Liu Jingyun promised readily.

“Then let us keep going.”

“Mhm.”

Liu Jingyun followed the faint trail of ghostly energy. The forest was also under the protection of the Tianyun Sect and enveloped by the spiritual aura of the boundary. The thin ghostly energy would have been undetectable from a distance; it was only by entering the woods and observing carefully that it could be found.

Under Liu Jingyun’s guidance, they arrived before a massive boulder. The rock overlapped with the mountain face, showing no signs of anything unusual. Liu Jingyun drew his sword and gave a light flick; the sword energy easily sliced the boulder in two. The rock fell to either side with a thud, revealing a dark cave behind it.

The cave was pitch black, and Chen Ji tried his best to press himself against Liu Jingyun. “Is the ghost inside?”

“A-Ji, if you are scared, wait for me outside. I will go in and see what is happening,” Liu Jingyun suggested.

“No! I am going with you!”

Based on Chen Ji’s years of experience reading novels, separating from the protagonist during a dangerous moment was a surefire way for a side character to die. Although the protagonist encountered more danger, the chances of survival were always higher when staying by their side. In reality, Chen Ji was simply terrified. He forgot that without changing the ending, he practically could not die. He had claimed to be brave, yet in the face of a ghost, he even forgot about his own golden finger.

Seeing how frightened he was, Liu Jingyun said nothing more and simply held Chen Ji’s hand. “Let us go.”

“Right, right, let us go. If there is any dirty thing ahead, remember to tell me first.”

“Mhm.”

Liu Jingyun pulled a Night Pearl from his pocket. Its glow illuminated the dark tunnel. Using his spiritual energy, Liu Jingyun caused the pearl to levitate in the air. They stepped into the cave one pace at a time. As they ventured deeper, the air grew thick with the stench of blood and rot. Suddenly, Liu Jingyun stopped.

Chen Ji, who had been too afraid to even open his eyes, slowly squinted through a tiny slit before snapping them shut again. “Liu Erha, why did you stop?”

“A boundary is blocking the path,” Liu Jingyun said.

“Another boundary? What on earth is hidden in this cave that requires so many layers of protection!”

Chen Ji sensed that a major secret was buried here. According to novel tropes, anything guarded by multiple boundaries at the foot of a sect’s mountain was bound to be a big revelation. He racked his brain trying to recall the plot of the novel but could not remember any scenes related to this cave. This must be some hidden plot, Chen Ji thought.

“I am going to break the boundary,” Liu Jingyun said. “A-Ji, hold on to me tightly.”

“Don’t worry, I will!” Chen Ji nodded with absolute conviction, gripping Liu Jingyun’s hand with both of his.

Liu Jingyun held his sword in one hand. This boundary felt even more powerful than the one outside; he would need to use fifty percent of his cultivation to bypass it. With one swift strike, the white sword energy shattered the invisible barrier. A gust of rotting, ghostly wind accompanied by the piercing cry of a baby rushed toward them.