Chapter 113 Bone of the Celestial Demon
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Ji Wuyou was afraid of this girl. He clenched his teeth as he growled, “What are you planning to do?!”
Qin Qianhuan removed her mask and revealed a face with bright eyes, white teeth, and a fiery mark on her forehead.
She laughed softly and said, “What could I do? Of course, it was to help you become a demon sooner and regain your memories.”
In her slender and beautiful fingers, the mask gradually became smaller until it became a decoration in her hair.
Qin Qianhuan said, “The reincarnation of the Celestial Demon Clan is, in a sense, also a cycle. Awakening—awakening of power, awakening of bloodline, and also… awakening of memories.”
Ji Wuyou remained silent.
Qin Qianhuan lazily commented, “But there wasn’t much to awaken in your memories—a life born in the Nine Hidden Demon Realm, possessing heavenly power, then fighting against the gods, getting stabbed through the chest by the Sword Sovereign, and living a monotonous and bloody existence.”
Ji Wuyou angrily retorted, “Shut up! I couldn’t understand a word you’re saying!”
He only knew that he was now Yunxiao’s disciple, personally chosen by the Sect Master, the prominent figure of the cultivation world.
What were these talks of the Demon Clan and the gods…
He couldn’t understand and didn’t want to understand. Ji Wuyou trembled all over, but he stubbornly clung to something in his mind.
Qin Qianhuan furrowed her brows and said, “Seems like your jealousy and resentment haven’t fully grown. But time is running out, and I can’t give you any more time. Ji Wuyou, come with me. I’ll show you how absurd and sorrowful your life has been.”
Ji Wuyou’s teeth ached from clenching them. He wanted to turn and leave, but the soft call of the gentle woman echoed in his mind, compelling him to restrain himself and remain in place.
“Wuyou, you need to get stronger as soon as possible.”
Stronger. How he wished to catch a glimpse of her. Amidst his uncertain and tumultuous life, she had always been the one standing by his side.
Qin Qianhuan turned her head slightly and looked at him with a playful gaze, her eyes filled with amusement.
Ji Wuyou felt each step as heavy as a ton, but he managed to keep up with her. The weary scholar from Zhonglian Village, the aloof and arrogant Queen Mother of the West, and now the woman before him, part Buddha and part demon. These three people brought him the same sense of oppression and suffocation. They appeared in his life with a seemingly destined mission to overturn his world.
The village buzzed with activity as the sun set, casting a golden hue and elongated shadows of the wooden houses. Under the banyan tree at the village entrance, an elderly person sat on a low stool, fanning away mosquitoes with a palm-leaf fan, engaging in casual conversation. Several toddlers, their bare bottoms on the ground, played with crickets and pebbles, filling the air with laughter. The elders discussed the newly crowned top scholar, the weather, and future generations.
The gentle breeze carried their soft voices.
“A few days ago, I passed by the Ji family and saw them joyfully tidying up their house and yard. They mentioned they would soon be moving to the county. I must say, the second son of the Ji family is incredibly fortunate.”
One person snorted dismissively, “Well, isn’t he lucky? But with all the shady things that couple has done, they will face consequences sooner or later.”
“That woman from the Ji family is infamous for her pettiness and cunning within a ten-mile radius. The second son of the Ji family appears meek and timid on the surface, but he has a devious side. They make quite a pair.”
“I wish they would just leave. They are a nuisance in the village.”
“But their luck is truly remarkable.”
Several elderly people talked about the Ji family couple, their faces displaying odd expressions.
Someone couldn’t resist the sour remark, “Good luck can also invite retribution. Aren’t they afraid of being haunted by the deceased couple from the Ji family at night?”
The conflicts within the Ji family were no secret in the village. Unfortunately, the eldest son of the Ji family was a simpleton, and he met an untimely demise with ominous signs at birth. The villagers were angry at his incompetence and pitied his misfortune, but they couldn’t be bothered to care.
The only thing that truly infuriated people was that annoying couple from the Ji family who inexplicably gained so many benefits.
Bang.
A pebble slipped from the child’s hand.
The child let out a cry and quickly crawled on all fours to chase after it.
His grandfather noticed and shouted, “What are you chasing after a worthless stone for? Erhu, come back here.” The old man grumbled as he stood up. “The ground is so dirty. If you put that stone in your mouth, you’ll get sick. Then where will we find money for your treatment? Your wicked parents have always had a problem with this old man. They’re probably looking for an excuse to kick me out…”
However, the old man’s muttering dissipated in his throat. After getting up, he stood still, staring straight ahead.
This perfectly round stone, excavated from the forests and streams, rolled forward until it reached the hem of a person’s yellowish dress.
Evening in the mountain village.
Two unexpected guests arrived at the village gate.
The child looked up in a daze. What caught his attention first was the string of multicolored beads on her wrist, emitting a radiant Buddhist light. For an innocent and ignorant child, it had an irresistible allure.
But as the child opened his mouth and made babbling sounds, he instinctively took a step back.
Bending down, the woman picked up the pebble from the ground.
Qin Qianhuan looked at the child and smiled, “Is this yours?”
The child had big, black eyes, as pure and clear as a cup of water. When he met her gaze, he felt an involuntary fear and stammered for a while before bursting into tears.
Qin Qianhuan’s expression changed, her smile turning icy.
She had always despised children.
If it weren’t for other matters at hand, she would have already used the bead in her hand to kill the child.
But not now.
“Is this yours? Take it.”
As a spoiled and arrogant young lady in the mortal realm, she never learned gentleness. Even her seemingly kind gesture of tossing the bead carried an inherent air of arrogance.
However, after all, it was just a child. The child didn’t care about such things. He reached out and caught the pebble, and his teardrops ceased.
Under the banyan tree, everyone fell into silence, gazing at her, at this woman whose appearance and temperament clearly didn’t belong here.
Erhu’s grandfather opened his mouth, feeling his heart sinking to his throat, and slowly spoke, “Miss…”
Before he could finish, Qin Qianhuan smiled first and said, “Sir, pardon the intrusion. I have come to this place by a friend’s request to find a young man named Ji Wuyou. Is he still here?”
Ji Wuyou… Some of the old folks didn’t initially register the name, but then, with delayed realization, they remembered the foolish son from the Ji family, and their gazes changed!
“May I ask, what is your relationship with the young man?”
Qin Qianhuan smiled gently. “My mother and his mother were close friends. My mother is worried about Ji Wuyou. I wonder how he is doing now?”
The elderly villagers were all taken aback.
Ji Wuyou’s birth mother had always been a mysterious figure in the village. No one could understand why such a celestial-like woman would marry the ordinary eldest son of the Ji family. The men in the village felt bitter about it—because Madam not only had a beautiful appearance but also possessed great skills. She helped the Ji family in their business, gaining fame in the town, and left behind several acres of land and a few shops after her death.
But now, all of that belonged to the blood-suckers, the the Ji family’s second son and his wife.
Looking at the young girl in the goose-yellow dress before them, the old people exchanged knowing glances, coldly smiling to themselves. The good days of the Ji family’s second son and his wife were probably coming to an end—someone had come looking for them.
The old man sighed insincerely and said, “Miss, I’m afraid you won’t be able to find him.”
Qin Qianhuan asked, “Why is that?”
The old man sighed and said, “This matter… it’s a long story. Miss, please have a seat first. Let us tell you about the hardships that child has endured. Ah, we have done everything we could to help, but there were also things beyond our control. Now that you’ve come, it’s a good thing. Ji Wuyou has suffered too much, and the wicked are still running rampant.”
Qin Qianhuan furrowed her brow and pretended to be surprised. “Is that so?”
She hesitated for a moment, nodded, and walked over, sitting on a large stone.
Ji Wuyou, who had been hidden behind Qin Qianhuan, hid himself in his cloak and straw hat. His fingers trembled as he followed her and sat down.
In his early childhood, many memories were blurry, and he couldn’t distinguish between good and evil. He was naive and innocent, so his impression of the village remained filled with fondness.
He only remembered that although the kids his age often bullied him, they still talked to him. His aunt, despite making him go hungry and sleep in a thatched hut, would occasionally bring him candy.
Now, Qin Qianhuan had brought him back, personally unraveling the truth of those years.
The old man said, “In fact, from the day Wuyou was born, his fate was destined to be unfortunate. The night his mother gave birth to him, there was thunder and rain, and the wild beasts in the mountains made everyone fearful. The midwife almost fled in fright. The next day, Wuyou had survived, but all the livestock in our village had died. Sigh.”
The old man’s face showed a tinge of regret.
Ji Wuyou calmly recalled and completed the unfinished part of the story.
The livestock died, and the villagers were furious. Behind his back, they cursed him as a harbinger of disaster. When he was young, no one liked him. When he encountered people on the street, they secretly spat and spit on him. He didn’t understand the meaning behind their actions, so he went back home and grabbed the dirty mess on his clothes, asking his mother about it. His mother put down the rice-washing basin in her hand, bent down, and whispered, “That’s their jealousy, jealous that you were born fortunate. Don’t pay attention to them.” It was the first time he encountered the word “jealousy.”
The old man continued, “The Ji family has two sons and a daughter. Besides the eldest, the other two are not good people. There are some things I’ve heard from others that send shivers down my spine. Ji Wuyou’s parents died on a trip to the city, I think it was because Ji Wuyou was sick. They went to get medicine, but halfway there, the horse went out of control, and they plunged off a cliff, with no trace of their remains.
“Out of control? How could a horse suddenly go out of control? I suspect it was the doing of the second son of the Ji family—hah, their whole family are blood-suckers. Before Ji Wuyou’s mother married into the family, they relied entirely on the eldest son. They didn’t treat themselves as outsiders at all, lazy and gluttonous, leaving all the farm work to Ji Wuyou’s father. They borrowed money and never paid it back, directly taking anything good they saw home without saying a word. Ji Wuyou’s father was simple and honest, unable to refuse, but his mother was not that kind of person. There were two occasions when she chased the second son of the Ji family out with a knife, her expression as if she wanted to kill. Even when they cried and begged on the ground, she paid no attention. Only after that did that couple start to restrain themselves.
“But even though they restrained themselves, they were slowly starving to death. At that time, the Ji family’s business was doing well, and I guess that’s when that malicious couple harbored evil intentions.”
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