Chapter 0: 70. Conscience Sold
The current situation is as follows:
Qin Gou believed Ying Wusheng had ill intentions and deliberately used an initial show of force to subdue Ying Fengqi, the ‘Soul Ancestor’, to prevent him from seeing through his true identity. He felt that continuously fending off the probing from the two ‘Ying’ individuals working in concert was rather taxing.
If it were from Ying Fengqi’s perspective… as soon as Qin Gou uttered, “I heard you were my capable subordinate,” he had fallen into despair. His years of deceiving others by claiming false connections were likely already known to the Abyss Demon God. Coupled with the ruthless blow from his own clansman, Ying Wusheng, it was clear they had both pronounced his death sentence!
As for Ying Wusheng, who was momentarily bewildered, he had only wanted to expose Ying Fengqi’s lies and thus firmly establish his absolute dominance within the Soul Plunderer clan. He had no idea which of his words had been wrong, causing the Demon God to suddenly look upon him with a cold eye. Could it be that he had made a miscalculation from the very beginning?!
Meanwhile, the Abyssal Divine Bridge, which had been silent for a long time, was racking its brain, thinking hard: Where did this ‘Soul Ancestor’, Ying Fengqi, come from? Did such a person truly exist back then? Or had his memory been significantly skewed after being severed by Qin Gou with a single saber strike?
Finally, Ren Ci, with a perfectly serious little face, suddenly felt an urge to urinate.
In the vast main hall of the sanctuary, the air was almost stagnant. No one present could afford to be careless!
“Ying Fengqi, you said earlier that you fought at Cang Xiao Rock. This venerable self wants to hear what merits you achieved then. Does it match your title?” Qin Gou, naturally, was the first to speak again.
He didn’t know what place ‘Cang Xiao Rock’ was or its status during that battle. Anyway, based on what he knew, Ying Fengqi was not in the sanctuary during the most intense and brutal phase of the battle. So, he decided to firmly place the hat of ‘failure to protect the sovereign, what crime deserves’ on him. He aimed to find an excuse to dismiss him before this fellow could discover more flaws in his pretense as the Demon God.
However, these words were clearly understood by Ying Fengqi himself in a much more dire way.
As a member of the defending army, their stronghold, the Divine Bridge Sanctuary, had been breached. What merits could he possibly have? As for his title, his reputation over the years had been built on the basis of “It is said! He was once favored by the Demon God.”
“This subordinate… deeply understands that I am guilty of grave sins and have accumulated boundless evil. I am no longer worthy of answering my Lord’s question!” Ying Fengqi’s voice was hoarse. He gave up any chance of arguing, feeling that at this point, the more he lied, the worse his fate would be.
“You still possess some self-awareness.” Qin Gou’s voice remained cold.
Despite his words, Ying Fengqi’s immediate surrender, his attitude of being ready to be struck down, was somewhat beyond Old Qin’s expectations. If this person had uttered even half a word of protest, he would have directly rebuked him for “still daring to argue” and feigned anger to punish him by dismissal.
Now, it seemed that Ying Fengqi himself did not suspect him. The one truly needing the utmost caution was Ying Wusheng, that fellow who looked like he was full of schemes!
Of course, if the true Abyss Demon God were fortunate enough to witness everything happening in this hall at this moment…
Someone impersonating him, judging another person who was impersonating someone close to him, with utmost seriousness and a proper demeanor. He would likely be so enraged that he would spit up three liters of blood on the spot!
Even more crucially, that Qin fellow was his absolute nemesis. This scoundrel had driven a deity like him out of the Abyss, only to play house in his solemn sanctuary?! Was there any more insulting way to treat a god in the world?
“However, this is far from enough.”
Qin Gou stared at Ying Fengqi and continued, “If you, Ying Fengqi, truly know your guilt, you should never have dared to let any news of yourself reach this venerable self! Furthermore, you dare to appear so brazenly before this venerable self today? Tell me, what exactly were you thinking? Is this your provocation?”
As soon as the words fell, Ying Fengqi’s face paled with terror, and his body trembled.
Ying Wusheng, standing nearby, became even more confused. How could these two be having such a back-and-forth? According to his plan, after the old man’s boasts about his past valor were seen through by the Demon God, he should have been utterly finished. Yet, the situation was deviating further and further from what he had originally envisioned.
Ying Wusheng could even gradually discern a hint of disappointment in the ‘Demon God’s’ tone!
Then, he heard Ying Fengqi, in his utter panic, suddenly mention his own name:
“No, this subordinate would not dare to offend my Demon God even if I had the courage of a bear and the heart of a leopard. The reason I came today is that the Death’s Halt Demon Lord ordered me to come. Just now, it was said that my Demon God personally summoned me, and I would never dare to disobey the order!”
Behind the evil mist, Qin Gou’s eyes lit up. This was the sentence he had been waiting for.
“Death’s Halt?!”
In an instant, all eyes in the hall turned to Ying Wusheng alone.
Ying Wusheng quickly explained, “My Lord, please be observant. This subordinate informed my Lord from the very beginning about the reason for today’s proposal. It is because our ancestor has been pining for it, wishing for it his entire life. As a junior, this subordinate merely wished to help him realize his dream.”
“This is not what I wanted to ask.” Qin Gou snorted coldly. “You just need to tell me if you know that in the eyes of this venerable self, Ying Fengqi is utterly unworthy of his title?”
“I…” Ying Wusheng’s eyes trembled, but he ultimately did not dare to lie. He could only say in a deep voice, “This subordinate knows!”
Qin Gou’s mouth twitched. Was Ying Wusheng genuinely stubborn, or was he now afraid to deny anything?
Knowing this, he still dared to bring Ying Fengqi here to test me? Aren’t you trying to get him killed? While you constantly address him as ‘Ancestor’ with reverence, you hate him to the bone in private? Old Qin couldn’t help but deeply suspect this.
“This is quite interesting. Death’s Halt, your actions today have made this venerable self quite displeased. But I will not punish you, because this was a promise this venerable self personally made to you. However, regarding Ying Fengqi, I decree that he shall not step outside the Soul Plunderer clan for a hundred years, nor shall he participate in any major clan affairs from now on!” Old Qin clearly remembered that Ying Wusheng had previously mentioned that Ying Fengqi had obstructed the replacement of the Demon God statue.
“My Lord!”
For a moment, both Ying Wusheng and Ying Fengqi were moved.
Ying Fengqi sighed that he had managed to save his life.
Ying Wusheng, however, felt that Ying Fengqi should have undoubtedly faced death.
Qin Gou immediately waved his hand and said decisively, “Enough, no more pleas. This punishment is given considering that Death’s Halt, you have now achieved one of the Ten Pillars of the Abyss, and you personally brought Ying Fengqi here, which is why this venerable self is willing to show leniency! Otherwise, this old, withered wood would have only met a dead end! Ying Fengqi, you should also be fortunate that your clan has such an outstanding junior!”
“Yes, this subordinate thanks my Lord! Wusheng, O Wusheng, I almost misunderstood you earlier. I never expected you to exhaust all your efforts to save me. I am truly ashamed!” Ying Fengqi clasped Ying Wusheng’s shoulders, deeply moved.
“I…”
Ying Wusheng looked bewildered. Although Ying Fengqi’s power within the clan would be greatly reduced, which was beneficial to him, he still felt something was wrong, though he couldn’t pinpoint it. Moreover, everyone else in the hall seemed to see nothing amiss. Could it be that he was the one with the problem?
At this moment, Yan Suoyun entered the hall with a look of anxiety.
Qin Gou’s eyes lit up. This was exactly the excuse he needed to make Ying Wusheng and the others leave. He immediately gave an order.
After the ‘Two Yings’ had retreated together, Yan Suoyun quickly asked, “Senior Brother, am I late? After receiving the Spirit Power Transmission, Suoyun rushed here immediately.”
“No harm done. The matter is resolved anyway.” Qin Gou smiled indifferently.
“Resolved?” Yan Suoyun said blankly, “Senior Brother, how did you resolve it when you were completely in the dark?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t Senior Brother describe Ying Fengqi as someone close to the Demon God in the message? But in reality, this person is purely a charlatan. Back then, he was merely one of the subordinates of the Fallen Puppet Demon Lord. Although I don’t know where he got a ‘King’ rank token to deceive people later, in Suoyun’s impression, the Abyss Demon God probably wouldn’t even know who this person is. He vastly exaggerated his experiences!”
“Is that true? Suoyun, when did you know this?”
“I knew it from the very beginning.”
Yan Suoyun recounted truthfully, “But whenever Ying Wusheng asked me about it, Suoyun deliberately changed the subject. This is because the Soul Plunderer clan is rather unique. For ordinary living beings, if their foundation is severed, their lifespan will also be greatly reduced. However, Ying Fengqi has been able to extend his life to this day by relying on soul pearls. As a price, this has caused the Soul Plunderer clan to expend massive resources for him alone. At least from the current perspective, this has effectively curbed the excessively rapid growth of the Soul Plunderer clan. Why should Suoyun destroy this harmless statue called ‘Ying Fengqi’?”
“So that’s how it is. Suoyun, your strategy of turning the enemy’s plan to one’s own advantage was quite profound!”
“No, it’s all thanks to Senior Brother’s excellent teaching.” Yan Suoyun shook his head humbly and was very curious, “After all, Suoyun can’t understand at all how you managed to send away Ying Fengqi and Death’s Halt without knowing anything.”
“Uh, how about you, Xiao Ci, help me explain? You witnessed the entire process with your own eyes anyway,” Qin Gou chuckled and looked at Ren Ci beside him.
“Me? I only saw that Fellow Daoist Qin was able to achieve this not by deliberately pretending to be familiar with Ying Fengqi, but rather by… the word ‘honesty’.” Ren Ci spread her small hands in slight confusion. “That is, only saying what he knows, and then…”
“That’s enough,” Old Qin said with satisfaction. “This is sufficient. It is exactly honesty; never engaging in crooked or wicked tricks! As expected, Xiao Ci understands me very well.”
“Something has happened, Senior Brother,” Yan Suoyun transmitted via voice, his tone peculiar.
“What are you doing? The person is right in front of me, why are you still using covert transmission?”
Yan Suoyun said very seriously, “Because Suoyun just realized today that Jia Ren seems to have some special feelings for Senior Brother.”
“How do you know?” Qin Gou couldn’t help but be startled. “No, Suoyun, when did you start moonlighting as a fortune teller? How did you figure that out?”
“Because the last person who praised Senior Brother as an honest and simple person, and who didn’t blush afterwards, was only Master!”
“Nonsense. Cough, even if some things have indeed happened between Jia Ren and me recently, you can’t just make such forced connections, right? It’s just a compliment. Many people praise your elder brother like this, such as Xiao Yan, Qishuang, Yuan Zhen, Qingyu, Little Chair…”
Qin Gou himself felt more and more that something was wrong as he spoke. He suddenly stiffened, his expression changing strangely. “Suoyun, you haven’t praised me like that yet, have you? Your elder brother doesn’t really believe your strange theory; I’m just asking casually.”
“Senior Brother, please rest assured. Suoyun is willing to go through fire and water for Senior Brother, but I cannot speak against my conscience. Only in the eyes of lovers is there beauty.”
“I’ll be damned, thank you!”
The next day.
“Ding, please choose an auspicious day for the host to officially enter the Mortal Transformation.”
