The Villainous Senior Brother Doesn't Want to Wash White [Transmigration] - Chapter 22

Qi Ye’s expression looked very serious, not as if he were joking.

But Ji Yanqing didn’t believe for a second that Qi Ye hadn’t realized he wasn’t a fox demon. Hadn’t Qi Ye’s previous analysis proved that he already knew Ji Yanqing’s habits by heart?

Ji Yanqing thought for three seconds and quickly understood.

According to his previous villainous persona, taking the initiative to be close to Qi Ye was impossible. Qi Ye didn’t want to expose him directly, so he said that on purpose just to make Ji Yanqing admit it himself!

Junior Brother, you have ultimately underestimated my determination to complete the mission.

Ji Yanqing didn’t think for long. In fact, at the same moment he reached that conclusion, he leaned in toward Qi Ye and gave him a quick “mwah” on the cheek. Before Qi Ye could react, he immediately pulled away, as if nothing had happened.

“You…”

Qi Ye froze, looking at Ji Yanqing with eyes full of disbelief.

Qi Ye had originally thought that even if Ji Yanqing were willing to be a bit close to him to cover up his previous lie, it would be a hug at most. He never expected that what he would ultimately get was a kiss?

Is he… really not dreaming right now?

Although Ji Yanqing had told himself he only kissed Qi Ye to complete the mission, as he met Qi Ye’s utterly staggered face, he seemed to savor that split-second sensation. Don’t be fooled by Qi Ye’s usual cold face; kissing him was like taking a bite of a marshmallow—soft and sweet.

Even though he wasn’t the one being kissed, Ji Yanqing’s cheeks felt inexplicably hot. To hide his emotions, he turned his head away and stated with a completely calm tone: “I’ve already proven I’m the fox demon. Now let’s think about how to get out of here.”

So what if Qi Ye saw through my identity? As long as he doesn’t say it, the one who kissed him was the fox demon. What does it have to do with me, Ji Yanqing?

Thinking this way, Ji Yanqing felt fine again.

“Mhm, okay.”

Qi Ye responded and turned to walk forward.

“The wall is in front of you; there’s no path.” Ji Yanqing reached out to pull him back. Seeing Qi Ye’s obviously over-shocked reaction, he even felt a bit smug.

Didn’t expect I’d actually kiss you, did you? Now it’s your turn to be a fool!

However, Qi Ye was only a fool for that one moment. Once Qi Ye started seriously considering how to leave the secret chamber, Ji Yanqing felt like he had activated a “cheat code.” He didn’t need to search or think at all; every problem was quickly resolved by the “cheat” named Qi Ye.

Soon, Qi Ye discovered that there seemed to be another secret chamber behind the wall.

Ji Yanqing was unconvinced: “Why didn’t I find it?”

To this, Qi Ye explained: “Because the texture of the wall is different. This section of the wall should have existed for a long time, and it looks like people have tried various methods to destroy it before without success.”

Ji Yanqing: ??

Hearing this explanation, Ji Yanqing began to reasonably suspect if Qi Ye had previously guest-starred as the protagonist in some detective novel. This secret chamber was a bit eerie, and since Ji Yanqing couldn’t use magic, the task of opening the wall naturally fell to Qi Ye.

However, Qi Ye only touched the wall tentatively a few times before it let out a “ying”… ah no, a series of booming sounds, and another secret chamber indeed appeared.

The new chamber was entirely different in style from the previous one. It looked more like a quiet study, containing a writing desk, an incense burner, and a painting hanging on the wall. Meng Xingchen likely never imagined that the wall he couldn’t open no matter how hard he tried would be opened by Qi Ye with just a few random touches.

The protagonist’s “golden finger” was so powerful that it was no wonder the villains in the book could never win no matter how hard they tried.

Ji Yanqing, the villain who had never been shone upon by the protagonist’s golden finger, couldn’t help but shed a tear in his heart. He silently decided that once this mission was over, he must find more trouble for Qi Ye to appease the spirits of the villains in heaven.

“There are words here.”

Just as Ji Yanqing was complaining about the golden finger, he heard Qi Ye speak. Ji Yanqing snapped back to his senses and looked over. Qi Ye was standing before a wall. He had done something to make lines of shimmering text slowly emerge on its surface.

Ji Yanqing realized these words might be the key to explaining why this secret realm existed, but embarrassingly, he couldn’t read them. Coming to this world, the biggest headache for Ji Yanqing was the script. Usually, he relied on his spiritual sense while cultivating, which automatically translated even the most obscure text into something he could understand. But now that his spiritual sense was unusable, he could only ask Qi Ye: “What does it say?”

“It records a type of demon race called the Black Fox.”

Qi Ye’s voice wasn’t loud; it even sounded a bit muffled. Ji Yanqing thought for a moment and felt awkward asking Qi Ye to speak louder, so he could only move closer and stand by Qi Ye’s side. Only then did Qi Ye’s voice reach his ears clearly.

“In ancient times, a Sword Immortal appeared among the humans. The longsword in his hand was cast from extremely cold black iron and had slain countless ancient great demons. Later, he was plotted against by the joint efforts of the Witch and Demon races. The Witch race was annihilated, and he also perished. The extremely cold black iron sword fell into the territory of the fox demons and turned into ‘Iron Essence.'”

“Ten thousand years passed, and those Iron Essences absorbed the demonic qi of the foxes, gradually gaining spiritual consciousness. Once they possess consciousness, they are at least at the Gold Core stage. Over time, they gained a place among the demon race and were called the Black Fox tribe.”

“Although the Black Fox tribe is powerful, they have a fatal weakness. They are, after all, transformed from the Iron Essence of cold iron; once their identity is exposed, they naturally attract pursuit from all sides. In the medieval era, half of the Black Fox tribesmen refined their consciousness to cast spiritual swords.”

Ji Yanqing suddenly realized something and said, “The spiritual sword in Meng Xingchen’s hand… is a Black Fox tribesman?”

Previously, Ji Yanqing thought it was strange that Meng Xingchen would call the sword in his hand his Dao companion. Now it seemed that Meng Xingchen’s elaborate setup of this illusion to lure sword cultivators was likely for that sword—the former Black Fox tribesman.

Qi Ye nodded and continued, “Once a Black Fox tribesman is cast into a spiritual sword, their consciousness vanishes. The only way to find their consciousness again is to use the ‘heart’ of a sword cultivator as a guide. The higher the cultivation of the ‘sword heart,’ the greater the chance of recalling the consciousness. Each recall requires a hundred years.”

The image of those heart-shaped stones on the floor immediately popped into Ji Yanqing’s mind.

“So, those stones…”

Ji Yanqing’s voice trembled slightly—anyway, he was a “fox demon” now, so it didn’t matter if he acted a bit cowardly.

Qi Ye took over the sentence, “Those are the hearts of sword cultivators.”

This explained why the cultivators who had visited the Yunjian Secret Realm before all perished shortly after returning for various reasons. Because they had taken the artifacts from the realm, they had left their own hearts as an exchange. After reaching the Primordial Spirit stage, the soul is incredibly powerful and can exist outside the physical body within a certain range; losing their hearts, they appeared normal, but because of the defect, their cultivation could not progress, and they all perished eventually.

“The person who recorded this also wrote that there is a type of sword heart called the Clear Sword Heart. The Black Fox tribe is born without a heart; even if they possess consciousness, their ultimate realm can only stop at the Primordial Soul stage. But if a Black Fox tribesman who already has consciousness obtains a Clear Sword Heart, they can continue to cultivate and might one day even achieve the level of a Golden Immortal or Dao Ancestor.”

“A thousand years ago, he met a sword cultivator with a Clear Sword Heart. He fought that cultivator for five hundred years without a winner. Through their back-and-forth, they became friends. The sword cultivator made an agreement with him: if he ever unfortunately perished, he would reincarnate into this Ling Mansion. At that time, the Black Fox would come to take that Clear Sword Heart.”

Hearing this, Ji Yanqing understood everything completely.

The one who recorded this should be that fox demon. Like Meng Xingchen’s Dao companion, he was also a Black Fox tribesman, but he was luckier and hadn’t been refined into a spiritual sword. And the item he wanted to take from the Ling Mansion was that agreed-upon Clear Sword Heart.

Actually, for Ji Yanqing, no matter how much past conspiracy was in this secret realm, his current goal was only one: find that Clear Sword Heart and exchange it for the spiritual sword from the fox demon.

But who exactly was that Clear Sword Heart currently on?

Ji Yanqing pondered, unconsciously biting his lower lip lightly. As he thought, he noticed a gaze on him and suddenly realized his habitual behavior. He quickly let go of his lip, but Qi Ye’s gaze did not move away.

Qi Ye’s eyes, as dark as the night sky, were fixed on Ji Yanqing—specifically, on his lips. Ji Yanqing’s bite earlier had been a bit strong; a shallow tooth mark still remained on his moist lips.

Ji Yanqing’s heart sank slightly.

Does Qi Ye know something again?

Or rather, he had long known that as soon as Ji Yanqing started thinking, he would unconsciously bite his lower lip. Although Qi Ye didn’t say anything this time, it wasn’t hard to guess from his increasingly deep gaze that he had definitely seen the action.

Perhaps he would expose him directly in the next moment.

Ji Yanqing’s heart couldn’t help but speed up, and his breathing became faster; his flaws seemed to be increasing. In his panic, his eyes accidentally caught Qi Ye’s lips. Qi Ye had a very nice lip shape, the thickness of the petals just right, currently pressed together lightly like a freshly picked cherry—looking soft and thirst-quenching.

“Senior Brother has always disliked me. If he were truly here right now, he would never be close to me…”

Ji Yanqing licked his lips. Qi Ye’s previous words popped into his mind, and his heart felt as if scratched by a kitten’s paw, suddenly feeling a bit restless. According to Qi Ye’s previous logic, since he had been seen through again, did he need to…

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