The Villainous Senior Brother Doesn't Want to Wash White [Transmigration] - Chapter 43

“I suspect the Emperor of Fengdu and Ji Qixue have a connection,” Ji Yanqing suddenly remarked while on the cloud carriage heading toward the Abyss of Qixue.

In truth, Ji Yanqing had already guessed during his conversation with the Emperor that the ruler of the Ghost Realm shared a profound history with the aunt he had never met. When the Emperor stated that he would never enter the Abyss of Qixue because he had promised her he wouldn’t without her permission—even now that she had perished—it confirmed his deep devotion.

After explaining his absence, the Emperor had flatly stated he was tired, arranged their transportation, and commanded them to leave the Ghost Realm immediately after retrieving the item. His gaze toward Ji Yanqing had been filled with exhaustion and disappointment.

Ji Yanqing realized that if he hadn’t received those 20 Villain Points earlier for the Emperor’s “loathing,” he might not have thought much of it. But now he sensed that this aunt, Ji Qixue, was the reason for the Emperor’s sudden change in attitude. He grew increasingly curious about her.

Since Ji Yanhui was his usual “man of few words” self, Ji Yanqing decided to bait the Spirit-Gathering ghost cultivator accompanying them to get more information. To his surprise, his companions—Qi Ye and Ji Yanhui—tried to play along, though their acting was painfully obvious.

“Is that so? I never would have thought of that,” Qi Ye said, nodding solemnly. “Mm, me neither,” Ji Yanhui added.

Ji Yanqing sighed inwardly at their poor performances, but fortunately, the ghost cultivator didn’t intend to hide the truth.

“The Young Master is right. Lady Qixue was the Emperor’s beloved,” the ghost explained. “She accidentally entered the Ghost Realm and met the Emperor. Back then, I was only at the Initial stage, but I know she only stayed in Fengdu for three years. In those three years, she provided all the ideas for Fengdu’s current infrastructure—the ‘Two-Dimensional Horse,’ the ‘Shared Cloud Carriages,’ and the ‘Fengdu Tour Groups’ were all brought here by her.”

Ji Yanqing: “…” Wait, those definitely aren’t things from the Cultivation Realm!

Ji Yanqing was now certain: Ji Qixue was a transmigrator. She had likely entered this world a hundred years ago—the same time the “abnormal fluctuation” was detected by HQ—and eventually found a way to leave this book’s world.

The cloud carriage stopped at the edge of a vast, dark pit. “Below is the Abyss of Qixue, where she once lived,” the ghost said, informing them that he would not follow. The “ghost cultivator” who stole the pendant was actually someone who had served Lady Qixue and had fled here a month ago.

Left alone, Ji Yanqing summoned his Golden Dragon Carriage to take the three of them down.

As they entered a portal at the bottom of the abyss, a mechanical, emotionless voice echoed: “Welcome back, Master.”

Qi Ye immediately grabbed Ji Yanqing’s hand, his sword unsheathed. “Senior Brother, be careful!” Ji Yanhui turned and looked at Qi Ye’s hand on Ji Yanqing’s before looking away.

“It’s likely just an automatic voice-activated greeting system,” Ji Yanqing analyzed calmly. Given that Ji Qixue was a transmigrator, a voice-controlled door wasn’t surprising.

Inside, they found a living room and three bedrooms. Ji Yanqing headed for the middle room, which appeared to be a workshop. It was filled with items that shouldn’t exist in this world: square jade slips shaped like mobile phones, a miniature model of Fengdu, and detailed urban planning documents for the cloud carriage routes.

Ji Yanqing felt a surge of respect for this legendary woman. He searched the workbench and found a pocket watch engraved with the numbers 639142. He felt a jolt of recognition—he had a similar watch back home, though without the numbers.

Finally, he found what he was looking for: a black M416 assault rifle. Hanging from the muzzle was the Cloud Pendant.

That was too easy!

He grabbed the pendant, feeling the abundant spiritual energy and seeing the character “Ji” carved into it. He headed for the door to show Ji Yanhui, but heard Qi Ye talking to someone in the next room.

“What’s wrong?” “There… there’s a monster…” A child’s voice sobbed.

Ji Yanqing rushed in to find a nine-year-old boy sitting on the floor in terror. But as Ji Yanqing stepped forward, he realized something was wrong. Why would an innocent child be in the Ghost Realm?

It was too late. The “child” smirked as Ji Yanqing neared. In a flash, the Cloud Pendant was in the boy’s hand, and his body turned translucent.

“You’re a Spirit Artifact (器靈 – Qìlíng)?” Ji Yanqing asked.

“You’re smart,” the boy huffed. “I’m not like that fool the Emperor. I was Qixue’s closest partner, but she abandoned me! I stole this pendant to get back at the Ji family. Thanks for taking it out of that room for me.”

The boy vanished and reappeared behind a transparent security door in the hallway. “You want this?” he mocked, tossing the pendant. “I hate the Ji family. I’m going to destroy it right now.” He gestured, and a small pool of molten lava appeared beside him.

“Wait!” Ji Yanqing shouted. He had a Vow of the Dao Heart with Ji Yanhui. If the pendant was destroyed, he’d be bound to Ji Yanhui forever.

“Come on, beg me,” the spirit boy laughed. “You look a bit like Qixue. Beg me nicely, and maybe I’ll give it to you.”

Qi Ye and Ji Yanhui attacked the transparent door with sword light and ice, but the barrier didn’t budge. “It’s useless,” the spirit jeered. “Only the Emperor can break this seal.”

Ji Yanqing looked at the transparent door and the digital keypad beside it. Wait… this is just a smaller version of an electronic security door.

He walked up to the door and, under the spirit’s mocking gaze, punched in the numbers from the back of the pocket watch: 639142.

Ding. The door slid open.

“How… who are you?” the spirit gasped.

Before he could get an answer, a furious Qi Ye and Ji Yanhui surged past the door. Qi Ye summoned a sword array, trapping the spirit.

“Uh… can you… not hit the face?” the spirit squeaked, a weak smile on his face.

In the Fengdu Ghost Palace:

The Emperor of Fengdu stood up abruptly. He felt the seal he had set years ago being broken. He remembered clearly: that seal required the correct password AND someone of his or his beloved’s bloodline to open.

“That means… Ji Yanqing is the child of me and Qixue!”