The Villainous Senior Brother Doesn't Want to Wash White [Transmigration] - Chapter 25

Ji Yanqing urged Qi Ye to keep up as they began walking again, but he deliberately slowed his pace to give Qi Ye enough time to heal his injuries.

However, he had only taken half a step when several footsteps sounded behind him; Qi Ye had quickly moved to stand in front of him.

Qi Ye looked deeply at Ji Yanqing and said in a low, heavy voice, “Danger lies ahead.”

Ji Yanqing: “…”

No, really, Little Qi Ye? There isn’t even anything ahead yet.

Looking at Qi Ye blocking his path, Ji Yanqing felt as if he were looking at a puppy wagging its tail, desperate to prove its worth—specifically, a pure white one.

But when he looked closer, Qi Ye was standing sideways with his sword in hand, surrounded by circling sword intent. The stray hairs on his forehead fluttered slightly, and a streak of fresh red blood marked his cheek.

The white-clad youth remained as cold and aloof as ever. That tail-wagging puppy must have been a mere figment of Ji Yanqing’s imagination.

Ji Yanqing’s eyes lit up slightly as if drawn in by Qi Ye’s presence. With a faint curl of his lips, he walked toward the younger man.

Qi Ye didn’t hear any further notifications of favorability changes, but judging by Ji Yanqing’s reaction alone, it wasn’t hard to guess that he had succeeded.

Will Senior Brother give him a hug? Or perhaps a kiss?

Whichever it was, Qi Ye had already made up his mind: this time, he would absolutely not be the one to let go first.

Qi Ye watched Ji Yanqing approach and stand before him. As Ji Yanqing slowly raised his hand, Qi Ye’s heart filled with both anticipation and trepidation.

However, Ji Yanqing’s raised hand merely landed on his right arm. A white light from a healing spell flashed, and Qi Ye’s wound slowly mended.

Once the healing was complete, Ji Yanqing glanced at Qi Ye and said quite helplessly, “Getting injured just from defending against a surge of spiritual energy… those who can’t handle it shouldn’t force themselves.”

Qi Ye: “???”

Qi Ye wanted to explain, but when he opened his mouth, he realized Ji Yanqing wasn’t technically wrong.

He certainly couldn’t tell Ji Yanqing that he had let himself get hurt on purpose just to make him soften his heart, could he?

Before Qi Ye could figure out how to prove he wasn’t “incapable,” Ji Yanqing stepped in front of him. He pulled out various magical artifacts and spiritual treasures he had previously swiped from the Wanbao Pavilion, practically wrapping Qi Ye in layers of heavy defense—

Looking at it this way, it certainly made Qi Ye seem far “sturdier” than before.

“Stay behind me.”

Having made thorough preparations, Ji Yanqing dropped that line and finally continued toward the Sword Immortal Hall with peace of mind.

Qi Ye snapped back to his senses and quickly caught up with Ji Yanqing, his spiritual sword ready to unsheathe at any moment.

The two walked side-by-side, having completely forgotten about the Fox Demon following behind them.

After crawling out from the ruins of the spiritual energy impact, the Fox Demon witnessed the scene. Watching the two figures walking ahead, he had only one thought in his heart:

I want to set them on fire! (Meaning: “I want to burn these ‘lovebirds’!”)

On the way to the Sword Immortal Hall, several more spiritual energy impacts erupted ahead.

Fortunately, Ji Yanqing was well-prepared. Combined with his seemingly bottomless supply of artifacts, the journey was relatively safe.

However, the state of the Secret Realm was not optimistic. The distance from the secret chamber’s exit to the Sword Immortal Hall was originally only a hundred meters, seemingly right before their eyes, yet they had been walking for over an hour and still hadn’t arrived. Ji Yanqing’s expression grew solemn.

Because of the previous impacts, the Secret Realm was becoming increasingly unstable; it could collapse at any moment.

He had to complete the task and leave with the spiritual sword before the realm fell apart.

When the three finally reached the Sword Immortal Hall, the place was unrecognizable. Everywhere the eye could see were marks from sword intent attacks. Meng Xingchen had indeed turned against Liu Ningyun and the others.

What Ji Yanqing hadn’t expected was that the person currently facing off against Liu Ningyun was actually Liu Ziyi.

“Ziyi, wake up!”

Reluctant to harm his own kin, Liu Ningyun was in a wretched state. The veil on his face had long since fallen off, and his body was covered in wounds. He was seen struggling to defend himself while attempting to wake the woman in purple before him.

He looked quite pitiable and charming.

Ji Yanqing thought this to himself, his gaze lingering on Liu Ningyun for a moment.

Qi Ye stepped forward proactively, blocking Ji Yanqing’s line of sight while analyzing the situation: “Liu Ziyi must be under an illusion spell.”

Ji Yanqing didn’t notice Qi Ye’s rather deliberate movement. He swept his gaze across the Sword Immortal Hall, finally locking onto a specific spot.

“Over there.”

Qi Ye had mentioned earlier that Meng Xingchen was not a sword cultivator. Given the current signs, it wasn’t hard for Ji Yanqing to guess that he was also of the Demon Race—and one specialized in illusions at that.

Only an illusion can see through another illusion.

Understanding immediately, Qi Ye unsheathed his spiritual sword, breaking Meng Xingchen’s disguise with a single strike.

Meng Xingchen’s figure appeared in the hall, surrounded by demonic energy, yet he was clutching that long sword tightly in his arms.

“It seems you knew long ago. But where exactly did I leave a flaw?”

Since Ji Yanqing had attacked him the moment he arrived, Meng Xingchen naturally reached that conclusion. He let out two low chuckles and asked.

Ji Yanqing needed to stall for time, and Meng Xingchen happened to possess the traditional villain trait—talking too much. He naturally wouldn’t waste this opportunity, though he couldn’t mention the 50 “Villain Points.”

After a thought, he simply plagiarized Qi Ye’s analysis, speaking eloquently: “First of all, you aren’t a sword cultivator…”

As he spoke, Ji Yanqing peeked at Qi Ye beside him.

Qi Ye was only slightly shocked upon hearing the opening sentence, after which his cold expression returned. The corner of his mouth even lifted in an almost imperceptible arc; he seemingly didn’t mind Ji Yanqing’s plagiarism at all.

Seeing that Qi Ye was giving him face and not exposing him, Ji Yanqing felt completely at ease and continued his analysis.

On the other side, after entering the hall, the Fox Demon also saw that Liu Ziyi was confused by a demonic technique. To prove he was indeed an ally, he took advantage of the moment while Ji Yanqing was distracting Meng Xingchen to perform a series of maneuvers, finally bringing Liu Ziyi back to her senses.

By the time Ji Yanqing finished speaking, the situation had become extremely unfavorable for Meng Xingchen.

Sensing this—especially after hearing Ji Yanqing’s analysis and realizing he had unknowingly left so many flaws—Meng Xingchen’s face turned even darker and more unsightly. He let out a cold snort and swept his gaze over the group.

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter anymore. Because I have already found what I was looking for.”

“When the Secret Realm collapses, you all can stay here forever!”

With those words, the shaking of the realm became even more violent. Everyone struggled to keep their footing. Suddenly, a black gate of light appeared in the Sword Immortal Hall. Seizing the moment while everyone was distracted, Meng Xingchen leaped into the gate in one bound—

Almost a second before the black gate closed, Qi Ye, without a moment’s hesitation, entered the gate to give chase.

Even Ji Yanqing, who was standing right next to him, only had time to reach out and grab Qi Ye’s sleeve.

The sound of tearing fabric rang out. Before Ji Yanqing could stop him, Qi Ye had vanished before his eyes, leaving only a piece of blood-stained white cloth in his hand.

Ji Yanqing looked down at the fabric in his hand, his emotions momentarily complex.

He realized that for some time now, Qi Ye had been trying to prove something.

And now, Qi Ye had finally succeeded in proving it.

Given this sudden turn of events and Ji Yanqing’s reaction, the atmosphere on the scene became solemn. After all, since Meng Xingchen could escape from here, he clearly knew more about this Secret Realm than they did. In their eyes, Qi Ye’s rash decision to give chase was both risky and impulsive.

The Fox Demon walked up. He wanted to offer words of comfort to Ji Yanqing but didn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, Ji Yanqing soon snapped out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw the Fox Demon’s eyes filled with worry.

Ji Yanqing told himself: He absolutely wasn’t worried about Qi Ye just now.

As a transmigrator, Ji Yanqing knew Qi Ye was the protagonist. He possessed powerful “Golden Fingers” and was usually quite steady and cautious in his actions. Since he chose to give chase, he must have spotted a flaw in Meng Xingchen’s escape.

Now that the Secret Realm was crumbling, rather than worrying about Qi Ye, it was better to think about how to leave this place safely.

“Leave Meng Xingchen to Qi Ye. If we want to get out of here, we must find the Clear Sword Heart.” Thinking this, Ji Yanqing spoke up, finally breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Although Liu Ningyun hadn’t been to that secret chamber, he didn’t show the slightest surprise when Ji Yanqing mentioned the “Clear Sword Heart.”

After settling Liu Ziyi, who had fallen into a coma again shortly after waking, Liu Ningyun turned his gaze back to Ji Yanqing.

He had, of course, seen what just happened.

Ji Yanqing appeared unconcerned about Qi Ye on the surface, but Liu Ningyun could easily glimpse a hint of unease and worry in his eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, Liu Ningyun spoke up: “Actually, before entering this Secret Realm, I and the other two families already suspected this situation.”

Ji Yanqing’s heart stirred slightly. He looked at Liu Ningyun with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

Shen Xiao had seemingly “kindly” given him the opportunity to enter the realm, but in reality, he must have known it was fraught with danger. It wasn’t hard for Ji Yanqing to realize that as the head of the Liu family, and given his reaction to the mention of the Sword Heart, Liu Ningyun couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the realm’s secrets. He might have even entered with the purpose of uncovering a conspiracy.

Ji Yanqing just wasn’t sure why Liu Ningyun chose this specific moment to tell him.

Liu Ningyun continued: “So, before engaging Meng Xingchen, I had already sent a message out of the Secret Realm.”

There are actually reinforcements?

They were currently trapped in the Secret Realm with little understanding of the situation. Never mind finding Meng Xingchen; they couldn’t even be certain if the method to leave was viable.

If there was someone outside to assist them, the situation would naturally be much better.

Hearing this, Ji Yanqing’s eyes lit up, and he quickly followed up: “Is it someone from your Liu family?”

“It is someone from the Ji family,” Liu Ningyun replied, shaking his head.

In a luxury viewing loft at the highest point of Wanbao Pavilion, a snow-white “little fluffball” was lying on a soft cushion.

Suddenly, a willow leaf drifted by, floating past its eyes.

Having finally seen something that moved, the fluffball’s half-closed eyes snapped open. It instantly gained energy, chasing after the willow leaf with the determination of someone who wouldn’t rest until it was caught.

After a series of jumps and bounds, just as the fluffball was about to catch the leaf, a fair and slender hand reached out and caught it. Another hand gently stroked the fluffball’s fluffy fur.

The owner of that hand was lazily nestled in a soft couch; it was the fluffball itself that had jumped into the person’s lap.

“Meow?”

The fluffball didn’t mind being held. Its round blue eyes stared curiously at the willow leaf in the person’s hand. With a gentle rub of two fingers, the leaf turned into bits of light and eventually vanished.

After a moment of contemplation, the leisurely expression on the person’s face gradually faded. He then stood up and walked toward the door.

Outside, Shen Xiao, who was about to enter, saw that this person was actually going out—a rare occurrence. Naturally, he guessed something. Opening his folding fan, he asked, “Are you going to help?”

“Mn,” the person spoke. His voice was cold and sharp, like ice that hadn’t melted for ten thousand years.

Shen Xiao thought for a moment. Given that Ji Yanqing had scammed him once before, he decided not to tell the man that among the “two people hired at random” he mentioned earlier, one of them was the younger brother this man least wanted to see.

After all, the scene of these two meeting would certainly be very interesting.