Chapter 121: Quan’yuan’e’ren
Seeing Jiang Ce storm out angrily, A Qiang immediately went up to greet him.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Ce shook his head: “Nothing. By the way, let me mention this to you—don’t listen to any of that stuff he calculated for you.”
“Why? Everyone says it’s very accurate.”
A Qiang was somewhat puzzled.
“It’s exactly because it’s accurate that I’m telling you not to listen.”
Jiang Ce spread his hands: “Think about what he told you—all that nonsense like Greedy Wolf Enters Fate and encountering a fierce fiend again. Think about yourself, think about your family. If you really get hit by the fierce fiend, won’t your whole family be done for this lifetime?
Don’t even think about gambling—ten bets, nine losses, and the last one will eventually trip you up.
Anyway, I’ve warned you. Whether you listen or not is none of my business.
I’m glad to have met you. Just take it as my sincere advice to you.”
With that, Jiang Ce left the manor, leaving behind A Qiang with a face full of confusion.
Not long after, A Qiang was suddenly drawn by a commotion. Looking back, he saw Ji Feng announcing that the Master was unwell and couldn’t provide help to everyone today.
The crowd was in an uproar, but A Qiang was curious—what exactly had the two of them said?
Suddenly, his mobile phone rang. A Qiang answered, and on the other end was a voice faintly tinged with glee: “Brother Qiang, a boss found my brother. Someone owes him money and won’t pay it back. He wants to hire someone to teach them a lesson. After it’s done, we’ll each get twenty thousand bucks. How about it—go or not?”
A Qiang’s breathing quickened a bit, but for some ghostly reason, he recalled Jiang Ce’s words from just now. He suddenly woke up, wasn’t swayed by the greed in his heart, and finally said: “No, find someone else.”
At the same time, Jiang Ce was wandering glumly along the road.
The more he thought, the more something felt off. Yuan Xin was such an honest person—why would he work for a gluttonous ghost? Even stepping back ten thousand steps, even if he had no relation to the gluttonous ghost, the voodoo doll was undeniably real, even containing a reanimated corpse of an infant skeleton inside.
Given Yuan Xin’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t do something like that. Unless he’d been pretending to be Ding Zhen for the past ten or twenty years. But they grew up together—if he’d been pretending since he was four or five, how could he fool everyone? It seemed too far-fetched no matter how he thought about it.
Moreover, when Yuan Xin was asked about their Master and the other senior brothers, he had that evasive, hemming-and-hawing look. Though he verbally denied everything, based on Jiang Ce’s understanding of him, it was obvious he could see through such clumsy acting.
Could it be they were all in the same situation—a whole family neatly diving into the sea together?
Jiang Ce’s expression grew grave. He muttered to himself: “This shouldn’t be. Logically, with my background, the family shouldn’t have this kind of stain. Even if not a family of loyal martyrs, they should all be upright folks. Eldest Senior Brother aside, the others shouldn’t be.”
But once he accepted this premise, Jiang Ce’s thoughts multiplied.
An ordinary person—why could he be used as the frontman?
Yuan Xin was now the Master—would the next step be to mythologize him?
So the question was, what core competitiveness did he have to warrant such heavy reliance?
When Jiang Ce had just started cultivation, he’d once suspected that their Master, who scolded him for nearly becoming a fierce fiend, wasn’t simple. Now it seemed he’d still been too conservative.
With their Master’s connections, even an ordinary person could be gilded like this. If someone had real capability, how would they be enshrined? He didn’t even dare imagine.
Jiang Ce slapped his thigh and suddenly realized: “No wonder they’re so eager to rush me down the mountain—they’ve got a money-making path and want to isolate me!”
Then Jiang Ce became even more glum.
His mentality was this: he feared his brothers were suffering, but even more feared them driving Land Rovers. Though he verbally said he didn’t believe Yuan Xin, when Yuan Xin so sincerely guaranteed he hadn’t been bewitched, Jiang Ce had actually taken it to heart.
Back when they were kids, when Yuan Xin guaranteed he’d take the blame for him, he really didn’t admit it even when hung up and beaten— at most afterward he’d grumble with a depressed face, “Why didn’t you tell me the thing you did was stealing the merit box?” That was true ironclad loyalty. In his impression, whenever Yuan Xin spoke so solemnly, it wasn’t a lie.
So that could only mean his guess was very likely true—they truly hadn’t been bewitched by the gluttonous ghost. It was completely one willing to beat, one willing to take—a collective dive into the sea.
Suddenly, a question flashed in Jiang Ce’s mind.
If that was the case, then why didn’t they bring him along? Did they think he was too kind-hearted to do evil cultivator work?
Or was it that in this past year they’d encountered something that led them astray, not having time to tell him—or fearing he’d curse them with his strong sense of justice, making them unable to show their faces?
It could only be said—all were possible.
“What should I do?”
Jiang Ce sighed and slumped onto a bench by the roadside. He’d just vowed to go find Second Senior Brother, but where to find him?
He did want to verify his guess, but he had no way to do it. After all, over a year without contact—back then no one had mobile phones, except Second Senior Brother who secretly watched movies and bought one, but he’d given it to Jiang Ce when they parted. Now, aside from receiving a dream message, he couldn’t think of any way to contact their Master or the senior brothers.
“Forget it.” Finally, Jiang Ce sat up straight and made up his mind: “Anyway, I originally planned to contact the gluttonous ghost. Afterward, I’ll learn more from the gluttonous ghost’s mouth.”
Then he stood up and staggered toward Lu Mountain outside the city.
Luocheng, nighttime.
In a coffee shop, four bald men sat together, their faces solemn.
The one with the most effeminate and handsome features had a stern face as he asked: “No one leaked the news, right?”
“Second Senior Brother, don’t worry. The moment I got your call, I arranged everything. No one will know about the brief absence.” The honest-looking bald man was full of anger: “Dare to mess with Little Junior Brother—I’ll go take out his disciple in a bit.”
“Hey, we monks embrace compassion. Fourth Senior Brother, don’t be impulsive—just do him.” The kindly bald man soothed.
“His disciple can be skipped—he’s already been done in by Little Junior Brother.” Yuan Se waved his hand: “I just got the news—it was his disciple’s mess that made Little Junior Brother mad at us. Yuan Xin just got scolded this afternoon. Look, this has already seriously damaged our family harmony. How about this—I’ll take his wife too, and wreck his family.”
“So what, just take his wife and call it even—no messing with him?”
The honest-looking bald man frowned.
“Mess with him, why not?” Yuan Se slapped the table: “Just don’t kill him. Return to Origin Limitless is hard to find, and Bai Qing has followed Master for so many years—killing him would be awkward on the surface.
Right, Fifth Junior Brother, you’ve fought Bai Qing. Give us a rough idea—what level would make him not die but suffer terribly?”
The kindly bald man was about to speak when Yuan Xin interrupted: “Not good. If we really beat him half to death as you say, and the gatekeeper finds out, Xiao Lin will bring people to attack. Bai Qing definitely can’t hold them off. If Luocheng falls, Master will be angry.”
“What do you mean—just go through the motions? Can something like this be handled with mere motions?”
Yuan Se glared at Yuan Xin.
“Let me finish.” Yuan Xin sighed: “Have you forgotten I know the life-substitution technique?
When the time comes, bind one of his closest loved ones or friends, and you can beat however you want—he’ll feel it all: pain, suffering, even the fear of near-death, nothing left out. But he won’t die—instead, his loved one dies in his place. Isn’t that perfect for both sides?”
Yuan Se was stunned, then overjoyed: “When it comes to despicable, it has to be Third Junior Brother. You two need to learn this well.”
The other two bald men gave thumbs up upon hearing this and praised: “Third Senior Brother, you’re really vicious!”
Yuan Xin looked helpless: “Why say it so harshly?”
“Good, it’s settled then. Let’s head out.”
Then, the four bald men headed under cover of night to the gluttonous ghost’s secret base in a KTV in Luocheng.
They didn’t even need to show any ID—just their four faces got them green lights all the way to Bai Qing’s most private personal area.
Bai Qing, dressed in a suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses with graying temples, looked every bit the middle-aged successful man.
Seeing the four appear before him, he didn’t react at first, only vaguely sensing they weren’t friendly.
He stood up uneasily, had someone serve tea, then cautiously asked: “Sorry for not welcoming you properly. May I ask who you gentlemen are…”
Yuan Se sipped his tea and got straight to the point: “I heard your disciple died?”
Bai Qing’s face changed, forcing a smile: “He met with an accident while out some time ago. All his fault for being too eager for quick success. Not only did he try to snatch a corpse king that’s become a fierce ghost from the gatekeeper, he even wanted to wipe out all those gatekeepers. In the end, not only did he fail, he even dragged down an elder at Five Energies Returning to Origin. Sigh, such a disappointment.”
“Did you catch the killer?”
Yuan Se asked with a fake smile.
Bai Qing shook his head, his tone full of deep hatred: “I’ll catch them sooner or later. Then I’ll skin them and pull out their tendons to comfort my disciple’s spirit in heaven. Thanks for your concern.”
Hearing this, Yuan Se and the others exchanged glances and sneered.
Though Bai Qing was dissatisfied with their behavior, he couldn’t show it and feigned confusion: “What’s this about…”
But before he finished, the honest-looking bald man—Jiang Ce’s Fourth Senior Brother—slapped him hard across the face: “Skin and tendons? Giving you face, are we?”
Bai Qing clutched his burning face, eyes full of disbelief.
Yuan Xin set down his teacup: “To be honest, among the gatekeepers your disciple targeted, there was one of ours. Not just one of ours, but our Little Junior Brother. In other words, if not for our junior brother’s superior skills, he’d have died at your disciple’s hands.”
“This… no one’s ever told me. Is there some misunderstanding?”
Bai Qing’s head exploded. He knew these guys’ tempers—separately they might listen to reason, but with Yuan Se leading, they were pure bandits, all villains. That’s why he’d always been cautious and kept his distance. He never expected such a big grudge—they were here to make trouble.
The beloved disciple he’d praised a second ago was now labeled a traitorous disciple in his mind.
Dead and still causing trouble for his master—deserves to die!
“No one telling you is normal. We just found out too. But rest assured, no misunderstanding. I’ll lay it out—we’re here today to vent for our junior brother. So get ready; the night is still long. We’ll take our time.”
Yuan Se said with a grin.
But to Bai Qing, that smile was utterly chilling.
He probed: “Does the Cult Leader know about this? Can I… verify with the Cult Leader?”
“No need to verify. Everyone’s time is tight. If all else fails, go complain to him in a few days. But tonight, don’t overthink—just behave, and it won’t hurt.”
Looking at Yuan Se’s devilish whisper, Bai Qing inwardly screamed he’d have to be a fool to believe it.
Meanwhile, Yuan Xin wasn’t idle. He’d prepared an infant skeleton: “Um, Helmsman Bai, trouble you to call out your best friend.”
“W-what are you going to do?” Bai Qing was extremely nervous.
Yuan Xin smiled: “As my senior brother said, considering you’ve toiled diligently for so many years, we won’t make it hard on you. So we’ve decided to let someone else die in your place.
But to show we’re truly angry and upset, this person must be your best friend. Of course, if not, your wife, kids, mom, and dad work too.”
“I have none.” Bai Qing’s face was ashen.
Yuan Xin held the skeleton and looked helplessly at Yuan Se.
Yuan Se waved grandly: “Then like this—make it quick. We’ll give up Luocheng. Go develop somewhere else. We’ll burn all your painstaking efforts from these years in one go. How’s that?”
“You’re crazy?!” Bai Qing finally snapped: “I’ve slaved away thanklessly for years, and just because of my dead disciple’s mistake, you’re taking it out on me? Fine, take it out on me—but you’re even willing to ruin the Cult Leader’s plans? You really care about nothing?”
Jiang Ce’s Fifth Senior Brother looked hesitant: “Second Senior Brother, I think it’s a bit too much.”
Bai Qing’s expression eased slightly and he was about to speak when he heard him continue: “Luocheng can’t be lost. Third Senior Brother just got started elsewhere—have him come back to take over Luocheng.”
Bai Qing was stunned and blurted: “What about me?”
“None of my business.”
“You see.” Yuan Se shrugged: “So behave, find someone willing to die for you. We’ll finish and leave. Of course, whether Little Junior Brother troubles you later is your own grudge—we’re just doing what senior brothers should.”
Bai Qing gritted his teeth in silence for a long time: “I won’t forget today’s humiliation.”
Yuan Se tilted his head: “Forget or not—what difference does it make? Got anywhere else to go? Forgot how Celestial Master’s Mansion beat you into a stray dog?”
Bai Qing’s fists clenched then relaxed. He let out a long breath and finally accepted his fate: “Fine, wait here. I’ll go arrange it now.”
Seeing Bai Qing leave, Jiang Ce’s Fifth Senior Brother asked uneasily: “Isn’t this going too far? If we push him too hard and he betrays Master, what then? Eldest Senior Brother will surely target us.”
Yuan Se chuckled and glanced at Yuan Xin, who calmly explained while wiping the skeleton: “Pushing him too hard is possible, but he can’t betray. From the day he joined us, Master put a restriction on him. If he betrays—boom! Explosion.”
