The Villainous Senior Brother Doesn't Want to Wash White [Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Ji Yanqing stared at the Golden Light Glazed Lamp, lost in thought.

His mood was complex, his eyes carrying seven parts astonishment and three parts conflict. His face, which was already peerlessly beautiful, no longer held its previous arrogance or disdain, making one inexplicably feel a twinge of pity for him.

“Senior Brother, rest assured. I will definitely bring it back to the sect.”

At some point, Qi Ye’s gaze had fixed firmly on Ji Yanqing’s face. Noticing the look in Ji Yanqing’s eyes as he stared at the glazed lamp, Qi Ye couldn’t help but tighten his hand beneath his sleeve, speaking softly.

It’s precisely because you said that that I’m extra worried, Ji Yanqing thought. He immediately restored his previous haughty state, let out a cold snort, and said, “As long as you understand.”

Once the plot was delivered, the middle-aged man and the young girl left the main hall.

“This secret realm is quite interesting.”

Liu Ningyun let out a light laugh from behind his veil. Most of the secret realms he had visited before were of the exploratory type; this was the first time he had encountered a stage-clearing mode with a storyline.

Seeing that everyone present had accepted the story quest, Ji Yanqing deliberately asked, “Have you all decided on the reward artifacts?”

There were five of them, but there were only two reward artifacts. Choosing would surely lead to disputes and refusal to back down. Furthermore, with both Liu Ningyun and Meng Xingchen at the Gold Core stage, Qi Ye might not have any chance to obtain the Golden Light Retrograde Glazed Lamp under the pressure of their higher realms.

However, Liu Ningyun misunderstood the meaning behind Ji Yanqing’s words.

Liu Ningyun promised softly: “There is nothing here that I want. Fellow Daoist Zhang can take that glazed lamp without worry.”

Meng Xingchen also stated in a heavy voice: “There is nothing I want here either.”

Liu Ziyi said somewhat reluctantly: “I only want that Book of Myriad Laws.”

Although she found Ji Yanqing a bit unpleasant, she could see that the two from the Ji family wanted that glazed lamp. Since she had already chosen one artifact, it wasn’t right to take what others desired.

Ji Yanqing: “…”

What else could he say? He couldn’t exactly say that his look toward the lamp earlier was just him wondering how to prevent Qi Ye from getting it, right?

With the distribution of artifacts settled, all that remained was to rescue the person and complete the mission. As they spoke, a door in the front hall opened at some unknown time. Outside was the long street beyond the mansion, where a drizzling rain was falling. The eerie silence seemed to hide unknown dangers.

Ji Yanqing silently took a step back. Since he couldn’t eliminate the possibility of Qi Ye getting the lamp through reward distribution, he would simply watch from the sidelines as they cleared the stage. Even if they were cultivation geniuses, if he didn’t help, Ji Yanqing didn’t believe they could clear the stage smoothly!

However, facts proved that without Ji Yanqing’s help, they cleared the stage even faster.

The three sword cultivators were naturally beyond reproach. As soon as the group stepped onto the long street, the raindrops instantly turned into sharp blades, besieging them from all directions. Almost simultaneously, Qi Ye’s sword unsheathed like a thunderous downpour, transforming into several rays of sword light that struck down every blade.

Liu Ningyun didn’t easily unsheathe his sword, but when monsters appeared to block the path, he held his sword in his arms, and a single sword note became a full-screen AOE (Area of Effect) attack.

“Fellow Daoist Li’s sword array is very special.”

“Fellow Daoist Liu’s sword note is also quite unique.”

Liu Ningyun and Qi Ye exchanged a glance, praising each other with unknown sincerity, but both automatically ignored Meng Xingchen. Compared to Qi Ye and Liu Ningyun, Meng Xingchen seemed more like a normal sword cultivator, except that the sword in his hand was incredibly sharp. When the group reached the end of the rainy street and found no path forward, Meng Xingchen drew his sword and gave a swing. The illusion before them shattered like a mirror.

Regarding such a scene, one couldn’t exactly say, “Your Dao companion looks really useful,” could they?

After walking through the rainy street and the illusion shattered, a weird cave appeared ahead. Some of the tunnels were filled with strange arrays; sometimes multiple entrances would appear, and they even encountered NPCs who made them choose an antidote—only the correct choice allowed them to proceed.

Ji Yanqing originally thought that being assigned two powerful teammates with no needs was unlucky enough. What he absolutely didn’t expect was that the temperamental Liu Ziyi was actually a straight-A student. Every time she pondered for a moment, she came up with the answer.

“This is the array of the Yin-Yang Sect; follow me.”

“The third one on the right is the Gate of Life.”

“The second bottle is the antidote.”

Ji Yanqing watched, dumbfounded. He couldn’t help but ask Liu Ningyun quietly, “What exactly is the background of this kinswoman of yours?”

“It is a bit embarrassing to say, but the technique Ziyi cultivates requires passing through three cycles of reincarnation without losing memory. In her previous life, Ziyi was a disciple of the Sect of Ten Thousand Daos.”

The Sect of Ten Thousand Daos. Ji Yanqing knew this was a sect that existed a thousand years ago; because they knew too much, they were wiped out.

And so, because he had four god-tier teammates, even though Ji Yanqing dedicated himself to slacking and dragging them back, the five-person group reached the final cave without much effort.

“It’s done.”

With Liu Ziyi’s word, the previously tightly shut cave door slowly opened. Judging by the layout inside, it should be the fox demon’s nest.

Ji Yanqing: I feel like I can see that glazed lamp waving at me.

Ji Yanqing felt desperate in his heart, and even his steps into the cave slowed down slightly, as if that could prevent them from completing the mission. Just as he was lingering outside, he suddenly heard Liu Ziyi say, “This situation seems a bit troublesome.”

Troublesome? Let me see what kind of trouble it is!

Hearing this, Ji Yanqing’s eyes lit up. He perked up and walked quickly into the cave. The furnishings in the cave were very simple: a simple table and chairs, and a soft couch. A man was sitting blankly on the couch; he should be the person they were tasked to rescue.

So, what kind of trouble did they run into? Ji Yanqing was curious but couldn’t ask directly, so he could only observe silently.

Soon, he noticed something wrong. The man—the “Chen Lang” the girl spoke of—didn’t seem to have any injuries, but his face was blank and his eyes were hollow, as if he were a puppet who had lost his soul and self-awareness.

Liu Ziyi explained: “Chen Jia has been deluded by the fox demon’s illusion technique. To break the technique…” At this point, Liu Ziyi paused slightly, her gaze shifting toward Liu Ningyun. “We must rely on someone whose beauty surpasses that illusion.”

…Using looks to charm an NPC, that’s very ‘fox demon.’

Ji Yanqing also understood why Liu Ziyi looked at Liu Ningyun; among the group, the one with the highest “face value” was Liu Ningyun. Liu Ningyun’s brow furrowed slightly; this was the first time he had heard of such a method to break an illusion. But if they didn’t wake Chen Jia, taking a puppet-like person back wouldn’t count as completing the mission.

After hesitating for a moment, under everyone’s gazes—some expectant, some nervous—Liu Ningyun finally took off his veil. Ji Yanqing didn’t know how Liu Ningyun disguised himself, but in his eyes, Liu Ningyun’s features were like a painting, peerlessly elegant.

Yet, Chen Jia remained unresponsive. Even Liu Ningyun’s beauty couldn’t wake Chen Jia from the illusion. The mission, which had been going smoothly, had hit a wall.

A brief silence fell over the cave. Qi Ye looked at the puppet-like Chen Jia, feeling anxious and unwilling. He was just that close to getting the Golden Light Retrograde Glazed Lamp. At that time, the misunderstanding between him and Senior Brother Ji could be resolved. Perhaps Senior Brother Ji would even move back to Luoxing Pavilion to live with him…

Qi Ye suddenly proposed: “If we can slay the fox demon, Chen Jia’s illusion should also be broken.”

Ji Yanqing: !!

Ji Yanqing looked at Qi Ye in surprise. Although the Qingmen Sect didn’t associate with the demon race, they wouldn’t indiscriminately kill demons who hadn’t taken human lives. Furthermore, based on Ji Yanqing’s understanding of Qi Ye, he was certain that in the past—even knowing this was just an illusion—Qi Ye would never have proactively proposed slaying the fox demon.

What happened to the kind and pure boy in white!

Ji Yanqing hurried forward to advise: “It’s not good to be so killy and fighty. Why don’t we go back and ask about the situation first, then take our time to plan…”

“What’s wrong?”

Before Ji Yanqing could finish his sentence, he felt the atmosphere around him change. The people who were just furrowing their brows and thinking of a solution were now staring straight at Ji Yanqing, as if a flower had bloomed on his face.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang, pardon me.”

Before Ji Yanqing could realize what they were looking at, Liu Ningyun had stepped in front of him and reached out to remove the hair ribbon from his head. The lavish ribbon embroidered with gold thread drifted down, and Ji Yanqing’s long black hair fell like a waterfall.

Due to his surprise, Ji Yanqing’s peach-blossom eyes lacked their usual disdainful squint; at this moment, they looked watery and endearing. The cinnabar mole between his brows was as red as a winter plum in the snow. His skin was fairer than snow, and he looked radiantly beautiful.

Chen Jia, who was still trapped in the illusion, seemed to be startled awake by the beauty before him. He widened his eyes at Ji Yanqing, and the previous blankness in his eyes gradually turned into obsession.