Chapter 1: Wicked Son’s Matricide!
“Dad, she’s a demon!”
“You scoundrel! Yun Niang may be your stepmother, but she has raised you through thick and thin for years without complaint. Not only do you not repay her, but you slander her as a demon? I think you’ve gone mad!”
At the dining table, Ji Qing was arguing and confronting his father again.
This was not the first time.
Yun Niang did not speak, did not even defend herself, only shed silent tears on the side.
At this time, Yun Niang’s daughter, his six-year-old sister Ji Yao, also glared angrily at Ji Qing and said loudly: “Brother, Mom is not a demon. I won’t allow you to say Mom is a demon!”
Ji Qing glanced at his father and sister, then looked coldly at Yun Niang and said: “You can deceive others, but not me. One day, I will expose you!”
“You scoundrel, what a scoundrel! Get out! Get out!”
His father was trembling with anger all over.
Ji Qing said no more and turned to leave.
“Master, don’t be angry. Qing’er has always had a prejudice against me. You’ve known that these years. They say it’s hard to be a stepmother. These years I’ve tried very hard to be a good mother, but Qing’er… It’s all my fault for not giving you a son. If there were a son…”
Yun Niang lowered her head and shed tears.
“Yun Niang, it’s not your fault. This scoundrel has gone too far. He doesn’t study properly all day, instead reading strange tales and miscellany, which have addled his brain. Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, this family won’t be ruled by this scoundrel!”
“Men, lock this scoundrel in the courtyard. No one is to let him out!”
Master Ji comforted Yun Niang at length and directly placed Ji Qing under house arrest.
For this son, Master Ji originally had very high expectations, hoping his son could top the imperial exams and earn an official degree.
But after taking several exams without success, he was merely a Xiucai Scholar.
In an ordinary family, a Xiucai Scholar would be impressive enough. But for the Ji family, with its tradition of scholarship, a Xiucai degree was far from sufficient.
A few months ago, Ji Qing went mad for some reason, claiming his stepmother Yun Niang was a demon, causing chaos in the entire Ji Residence and unrest in the home.
Ji Qing returned to his room.
He was under house arrest and could not go anywhere.
At this time, the maidservant Fu Qin walked in.
“Young Master, you’d better not argue with Master anymore, and don’t say nonsense like the main mistress is a demon, otherwise not only will your monthly silver be deducted, but you’ll also be confined…”
Fu Qin brought in a bowl of food.
This was her own meal. Ji Qing was not only confined today but also denied food.
Ji Qing ate half and left half for Fu Qin.
Only Ji Qing remained in the room.
A scene from a few months ago flashed in his mind.
At that time, he had just “transmigrated” into Ji Qing’s body, and one night, he saw his stepmother Yun Niang tear open the skin on her face and put on a new exquisite face.
In fear, Ji Qing made a sound, which Yun Niang noticed.
Clearly, the real Yun Niang had died long ago, and the current Yun Niang… was a demon!
Ji Qing sensed the danger and did not dare act as if nothing had happened, or Yun Niang might silently kill him.
Therefore, Ji Qing made a big fuss about it.
He spread the word everywhere that Yun Niang was a demon.
He even invited high monks and Taoist priests from within a hundred miles to catch the demon.
It was unknown whether those high monks and Taoist priests were all fraudulent pretenders or if Yun Niang hid herself extremely well.
In the end, none of the high monks or Taoist priests could detect that Yun Niang was a demon.
Although Ji Qing’s constant troublemaking angered his father, it had an effect—at least Yun Niang did not dare act against him easily.
But as time passed, Ji Qing knew this method could only delay things temporarily; he had little time left.
If he did not deal with Yun Niang soon, she might really strike against him.
For a demon, making him die suddenly without a trace would be easy.
So, Ji Qing decided to strike first.
Ji Qing was a scholar, without the strength to truss a chicken.
Even though he had been practicing martial arts at a martial arts school these past few months, the instructor was mediocre, and a few months was not enough for any progress.
After weighing his options, Ji Qing decided to use poison!
He knew of a deadly poison, a combination poison that was harmless when taken separately.
But when mixed together, it was deadly, even more potent than crane’s top red.
However, poisoning required careful planning; no step could go wrong.
……
Three days later, Master Ji leaned on his walking stick, staring coldly at Ji Qing.
“Unfilial son, hurry up and offer tea to your stepmother.”
Ji Qing obediently picked up the teacup from the table and respectfully offered tea to Yun Niang with both hands.
On the surface, he had been forcibly “suppressed” by his father and had to humbly apologize to Yun Niang.
But in reality… this was his chance!
Yun Niang smiled faintly, looked calmly at Ji Qing, then took the teacup and sipped it lightly before setting it down.
“Master, Qing’er spoke nonsense out of ignorance. Please lift his confinement. Recently, many of his classmates have invited him to go on an outing, and after refusing several times, Qing’er has lost face among his classmates.”
Yun Niang spoke up to plead for Ji Qing.
“Unfilial son, since Yun Niang is pleading for you, your confinement is lifted. Remember, no more nonsense in the future!”
Master Ji warned sternly.
But Ji Qing did not reply; instead, he stared fixedly at Yun Niang.
He was silently counting the time in his mind.
He had already secretly given her the first two poisons.
Now, only the last poison was missing, and it was in the teacup just now.
The three deadly poisons separately posed no problem.
But once mixed, death would come in moments.
“Unfilial son, why are you staring at Yun Niang?”
Master Ji frowned, about to reprimand Ji Qing.
Suddenly, Yun Niang clutched her stomach, her brows furrowed, pain showing on her face.
“It hurts so much, Master, my stomach hurts so much…”
Yun Niang rolled on the ground in pain.
And soon vomited a large mouthful of blood.
“Poison, there’s poison…”
How could Yun Niang not know what was happening?
Her eyes fixed deadly on Ji Qing.
Master Ji seemed to understand too; his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Unfilial son, you…”
“That’s right, I poisoned it. Dad, once Yun Niang dies today, she will reveal her true form, and then you’ll know she’s a demon!”
Ji Qing admitted publicly.
After all, investigating his poisoning would not be difficult at all, so denying it was pointless.
“You scoundrel, what a scoundrel! You actually poisoned your stepmother—this is matricide…”
Master Ji’s voice trembled with rage.
He knew Ji Qing harbored resentment toward Yun Niang, but he never imagined he would be so depraved as to commit matricide.
This was one of the ten unpardonable crimes, punishable by death!
Ji Qing said nothing; at this point, more words were useless.
Ji Qing now had only one concern: could these poisons kill a demon?
The facts proved they could!
Yun Niang died in the end.
She died vomiting blood.
The moment Yun Niang breathed her last, Ji Qing’s mind buzzed.
Immediately after, a mysterious ancient book shining with golden light appeared in his mind.
It was titled “Demon Record” in large characters.
“Killed a clone of the Skin-changing Demon, obtained one origin point.”
Ji Qing was startled.
Had his golden finger arrived?
Over the past few months, Ji Qing had wondered why he had no golden finger.
Now it seemed this golden finger activated only after he killed a demon.
However, Ji Qing had no time to check the Demon Record now.
He squatted in front of Yun Niang’s corpse, fumbling on her face, trying to “peel off” the painted skin on her face.
But no matter how he tried, he could not peel it off.
This meant he could not prove Yun Niang was a demon.
“You scoundrel, what a scoundrel! You dared commit matricide? What a family misfortune! Men, bind this unfilial son and send him to the government!”
Master Ji was heartbroken.
Ji Qing had publicly poisoned his stepmother; even if he wanted to cover it up, he could not.
After all, a life had been taken, and it was such a heinous unpardonable crime.
How could it be covered up?
“Mom… what’s wrong with you? Mom…”
Ji Yao lay on Yun Niang’s corpse, crying her heart out.
“What a Skin-changing Demon… is this your way of getting rid of me?”
“The demon isn’t dead; only a clone died. You must still be hiding in the Ji Residence!”
Ji Qing’s sharp gaze swept over everyone present.
Suddenly, the Demon Record in Ji Qing’s mind vibrated violently and glowed brightly.
Ji Qing suddenly stared at a rough maidservant.
He even seemed to see the mocking look in the maidservant’s eyes.
“You…”
Ji Qing wanted to lunge at the maidservant, but several guards pinned him down.
“Young Master, forgive us.”
The guards bound Ji Qing and, per Master Ji’s orders, directly escorted him to the yamen.
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