Chapter 55 May your lineage endure and your life be peaceful year after year.
Ji Yuanbai's gaze was fixed on Yin Lisheng's face, his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions, as if a thousand words were stuck in his throat, yet he couldn't utter a single one.
“Immortal Venerable…” Ji Yuanbai’s voice was hoarse, tinged with emotion, “This person… he…”
Fu Yunshu frowned slightly. He looked down at Yin Lisheng in his arms and saw that his face was pale and there was blood on the corner of his mouth. He felt a pang of heartache.
He looked coldly at Ji Yuanbai, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "Patriarch Ji, we'll discuss today's matter later. I need to take Li Sheng to heal his injuries first."
Ji Yuanbai seemed to have just come to his senses, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, go heal your wounds, where are the people from Medicine King Valley!"
The disciples of Medicine King Valley, dressed in blue, quickly came forward to help. Fu Yunshu said no more, and helped Yin Lisheng turn and leave.
Although Yin Lisheng was seriously injured, he was still conscious. He looked up at Ji Yuanbai, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by pain. He whispered, "Master, I'm alright..."
Fu Yunshu gently patted his shoulder, her voice tender: "Don't talk, heal your wounds first."
As the others walked away, Ji Yuanbai immediately turned his gaze to Ji Hanyu.
He approached Ji Hanyu step by step, his eyes as cold as frost, sharp enough to pierce through people's hearts.
With each step Ji Yuanbai took closer, the oppressive aura emanating from him intensified. The surrounding air seemed to be frozen by this invisible pressure, and those around him felt a bone-chilling cold, instinctively retreating and not daring to get any closer.
“Ji Hanyu,” Ji Yuanbai finally spoke, his voice terrifyingly low, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, “I see you are…”
"Patriarch Ji!"
A shout drew Ji Yuanbai's attention, and the commotion attracted Shi Jin's attention as well.
"How you deal with this person is a matter for your Ji family," he said unhappily as he walked over. "But could we change the venue? The next match is about to start."
Ji Yuanbai's gaze swept over Shi Jin like a blade, his eyes filled with a chilling intent. However, it was indeed inconvenient to deal with Ji Hanyu here.
He picked the person up, flew to a secluded corner, and casually tossed him to the ground.
Ji Yuanbai walked up to Ji Hanyu, looking down at him with a cold expression in his eyes.
Ji Hanyu trembled all over, his face as pale as paper, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. He opened his mouth, as if wanting to explain, but when he met Ji Yuanbai's cold eyes, his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a single word.
“Ji Hanyu,” Ji Yuanbai’s voice was low and cold, and to Ji Hanyu, he seemed like a demon returned from the depths of hell, “Do you know how big a mistake you have made?”
Ji Hanyu trembled, her legs went weak, and she knelt down on the ground: "Uncle... I... I just wanted to win... I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."
"Want to win? Do you think I can't see that jade talisman is a demonic artifact!" Ji Yuanbai sneered, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger. "To win, you even dare to use evil demonic objects. What else wouldn't you dare to do!"
Ji Hanyu's face was deathly pale, her eyes filled with fear: "Uncle... I... I don't know... I just wanted to win... I didn't want to bring shame to the Ji family..."
"Don't you want to disgrace the Ji family?" Ji Yuanbai's voice suddenly rose, his eyes burning with rage. "Your actions today have already caused the Ji family to lose all face!"
"And you? Are you really questioning me for the sake of the Ji family? Didn't you force me to get to where I am today?!" Ji Hanyu finally exploded, roaring at Ji Yuanbai, "Do you think I can't guess who Yin Lisheng is?!"
Ji Yuanbai was taken aback. "What?"
Ji Hanyu looked at him sarcastically, "Stop pretending. You've taken good care of me all these years, isn't it just because you don't have a son? Yin Lisheng is your illegitimate son, isn't he?"
“You allowed me to walk around the Ji family with my head held high, you nurtured my ambition step by step, and then you created a child to steal my position. How could I not resent him?”
"If I don't take the initiative, am I just going to wait for him to come and take everything away from me one day?!"
Ji Yuanbai was extremely disappointed. "Yin Lisheng is not my child."
“Uncle, there’s no need to pretend anymore now that things have come to this,” Ji Hanyu said, her expression manic. “All these years you’ve been sending people to find someone who looks a lot like you, haven’t you?”
"Enough, I can't reason with you," Ji Yuanbai said coldly, without a trace of pity in his eyes. "Ji Hanyu, your actions today have violated the clan rules and are unforgivable."
“From this day forward, you are no longer a member of the Ji family, and I will abolish your spiritual veins.”
Having lost his spiritual veins, his cultivation was gone, and he was no different from a cripple from then on.
Ji Hanyu collapsed to the ground in despair. Ji Yuanbai showed no mercy and with a swift stroke, his knife fell, accompanied by Ji Hanyu's painful screams, as warm blood splattered onto him.
Ji Yuanbai turned and left, ignoring Ji Hanyu, who lay on the ground like a limp rag.
He raised his hand to wipe his face, his hands covered in blood, and Ji Yuanbai stared blankly at him.
Should we go see Yin Lisheng...?
Upon careful reflection, Ji Yuanbai couldn't help but laugh at his own slowness.
Fu Yunshu had no connection with the Yin family, so why would he go to the Yin family ancestral hall to worship them, and why would he be surprised when he saw his own face? Back in Yuzhou City, Ji Hanyu had been intentionally or unintentionally preventing him from seeing Yin Lisheng, so he must have already guessed something at the time, even though his guess was wrong.
Ji Yuanbai walked to the outside of Fu Yunshu and Yin Lisheng's courtyard, but did not dare to go in.
Over the years, he had vaguely heard of Yin Lisheng's reputation—a remarkably talented young genius. He figured that both Immortal Venerable Huaiwei and the Qingyuan Sect had treated him very well. Given that, what difference did it make whether Yin Lisheng knew about his origins or not?
“Master Ji,” Fu Yunshu said as he walked out of the courtyard, “why don’t you come in?”
Ji Yuanbai looked at him, "The Immortal Venerable must have intentionally prevented me from meeting him back then, so why did he stop doing so so soon?"
“Although I don’t know the specifics of what happened, Yin Lisheng has the right to know the truth,” Fu Yunshu said without avoiding his gaze. “Besides, with me here, you can’t stir up any trouble.”
"Let's go."
Fu Yunshu turned around first, and Ji Yuanbai followed immediately.
Pushing open the door, Yin Lisheng was half-lying on the bed, drinking his medicine.
Hearing the noise, Yin Lisheng turned around excitedly, "Master!"
When he saw that Fu Yunshu had come in with someone else, his face quickly turned cold.
“Li Sheng, this is Ji Yuanbai, the head of the Ji family.”
"Patriarch Ji, I am injured, so I will not rise to pay my respects."
Yin Lisheng naturally wouldn't give Ji Hanyu's uncle a friendly look.
"No need to get up." Ji Yuanbai continued to stare unblinkingly at Yin Lisheng.
Even the slow-witted Yin Lisheng could sense that something was wrong.
"Please speak your mind."
Ji Yuanbai glanced at Fu Yunshu, his meaning all too clear.
Fu Yunshu had no intention of prying into their private affairs. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Yin Lisheng say unhappily, "My master can know everything about me."
His mood inexplicably improved.
Ji Yuanbai smiled and said, "That's right. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Immortal Venerable Huaiwei has been very kind to you. You should know that."
Yin Lisheng: "..." He knew that the Ji family members never spoke nicely.
“We look very alike.” Ji Yuanbai’s tone was full of nostalgia.
"It's just a coincidence," Yin Lisheng said calmly.
“It’s not a coincidence,” Ji Yuanbai retorted. “Your surname is Yin, which is not a common surname. You are from the Yin family of the Northern Territory.”
Ji Yuanbai used an affirmative sentence.
Fu Yunshu's gaze suddenly sharpened, and Yin Lisheng's expression was not good either.
"Don't worry," Ji Yuanbai reassured him. "It's common knowledge throughout the cultivation world that all the life lamps in the Yin family ancestral hall have been extinguished. No one would think that there are still any survivors in the Yin family."
"Then why would Patriarch Ji think I'm a member of the Yin family?" Yin Lisheng asked sarcastically.
Ji Yuanbai stared intently at Yin Lisheng, "Because there is no life lamp for you in the ancestral hall at all."
“Yin Lisheng, you should call me uncle.”
Fu Yunshu and Yin Lisheng were both completely bewildered.
"What's the meaning?"
Ji Yuanbai took a deep breath, but tears still welled up in his eyes.
“Your father is Ji Yuanqing, my twin brother, Li Sheng. You look a lot like him.”
Yin Lisheng looked at Fu Yunshu at a loss, and Fu Yunshu reached out his hand and let him hold it, giving him a sense of security.
Fu Yunshu was somewhat worried, feeling that Ji Yuanbai's next words might overturn Yin Lisheng's understanding of things over the past few decades.
All he can do right now is have company.
"I...I'm not Yin Tianhe's illegitimate son?" Yin Lisheng asked blankly.
"No, Yin Tianhe is your uncle. Your mother's name is Yin Lanyuan, and she is Yin Tianhe's younger sister."
"How could this be?" Yin Lisheng said in disbelief, looking at Ji Yuanbai. "Tell me, what exactly happened in between?"
…………
Several hundred years ago, the Immortal Clan Grand Competition was hosted by the Ji family of Zhongzhou.
This year's Immortal Cultivation Tournament produced many figures who would later become household names in the cultivation world—Song Wenzhuo and Gu Zhinan of the Qingyuan Sect; Ji Yuanbai of the Ji Family; Qin Lianyue of the Miaoyin Palace; Yin Tianhe of the Yin Family; Xie Changfeng of the Xie Family…
This was the most dazzling Immortal Sect Competition ever, and the Wood City where the Ji family lived was bustling with unprecedented activity.
It was during this time that Yin Lanyuan and Ji Yuanqing fell in love during their youth.
“Wen Zhuo told me that you have no brothers or sisters, and the Yin family never intermarries with people outside the Northern Border. What Patriarch Ji said doesn’t seem credible,” Fu Yunshu questioned.
Ji Yuanbai gave a bitter smile. "This is the beginning of the tragedy."
"Immortal Venerable, you may not know this, but there has always been a rumor in the Central Continent that twins bring bad luck, and if a child is born to be a twin, the child must be executed immediately."
“My parents were originally from a branch of the Ji family. Back then, in order to save my brother’s and my lives, they only claimed to have had one child, Ji Yuanbai.”
"But the truth can't be hidden forever. Eventually, the matter was discovered, and I became Ji Yuanbai, the most talented young patriarch of the Ji family; my brother became Ji Yuanqing, and was trapped in the small courtyard forever."
Fu Yunshu could tell that there were many stories behind this, but he had no intention of exploring them.
“I don’t know how he met Yin Lanyuan. I only know that one day my brother suddenly came to tell me that he had fallen in love with someone and hoped that I could help him elope. That was the first time I saw a genuine smile on his face,” Ji Yuanbai closed his eyes. “So I agreed.”
"But the matter was still exposed. Yin Tianhe came to their door, and both the Ji family and the Yin family sent people out to look for them."
"In order to get the Ji family to withdraw, I made a deal with Old Master Ji. From then on, I became the sharpest knife in the Ji family, and like my brother back then, I was trapped in that small courtyard."
"Over the years, I have been cut off from all news from the outside world and have honestly done countless dirty things for the Ji family, my hands are stained with blood."
"I originally thought that my brother and sister-in-law had already gone into seclusion in some corner of the cultivation world, living a peaceful life. If that were the case, I would be willing to be an executioner for the rest of my life."
"However, twenty years ago, I overheard Ji Hanyu and other disciples chatting. The entire Yin family was wiped out. I was shocked. The old man, who was much older, had said that everything was fine with them."
“I went to question Old Master Ji, and from his evasive eyes I finally understood everything. I was utterly disappointed in this rotten Ji family, so I killed him and became the head of the family. Only power can allow me to investigate the things that puzzled me without any hindrance.”
"The time I went to the Yin family ancestral hall was to confirm Yin Lanyuan's life lamp. If she died, I'm sure my brother wouldn't live on alone."
“The moment I saw the life lamp go out, I was filled with despair. I thought I had no more relatives in this world, but I never expected that there would still be you.” Ji Yuanbai looked up at Yin Lisheng, his eyes full of longing. “Lisheng, Lisheng, the sound of parting. I don’t know who gave you this name, but my brother said that if we had a child, he would name you Changsui.”
"May you live a long and peaceful life, year after year."
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Author's Note: Everyone, please be careful of scams online! I almost got scammed out of 50,000 yuan on Weibo today, thankfully I reacted quickly. Also, I never conduct any financial transactions on Weibo. Please be vigilant and discerning. Today, the scammer pretended to be a mutual follower on Jinjiang Literature City to trick me. By the way, could you please leave a comment? [pleading]
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