Chapter 90
From the very beginning when Xuanli appeared in the human world, Chi Jun suspected that she had some ulterior motive.
However, Chi Jun no longer wanted to mention matters concerning the Qin Mountain Clan, so whenever the topic came up, he would subtly steer the conversation away from it.
However, after dragging this out for so long, it's finally time to bring it up myself.
Chi Jun felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if a huge, boundless stone was pressing down on him.
He stared at Xuanli and slowly uttered two words—
"Qixie?"
Xuan Li raised an eyebrow.
"clever."
Chi Jun recalled the last time he sent the male ghost to Zishui Bay to find out why he had turned back into a fox. The male ghost didn't find out the core of the problem, but he brought back a message - Zishui Bay was filled with refugees from the Qin Mountains, and the Qin Mountains were about to collapse.
In Chi Jun's memory, the old fox king was brave and skilled in battle, and had ruthless methods. Since he was ten years old, the Qin Mountain Clan had been firmly seated on the mountaintop, and had almost unified all foxes.
Its sheer size and unstoppable advance on the battlefield instilled fear in all who heard of it. After about ten years, Qi Xie, who had been openly and secretly fighting against the Qin Mountain Clan, finally surrendered and willingly submitted to the Qin Mountain Clan.
To outsiders, the Qixie clan, after surrendering, adopted a very humble attitude, willingly becoming a subordinate of the Qin Mountains, not only sacrificing their lives for them, but also living in harmony with other races.
Over the years, Qi Xie's position became increasingly secure, and he gained people's trust.
Not to mention the other tribes, even many of the younger generation in the Qin Mountains were unaware that Qi Xie had once aspired to reach the summit, and that he and the Qin Mountains had become irreconcilable enemies. When some elders mentioned Qi Xie, they simply waved their hands dismissively, saying, "Qi Xie is nothing but a nobody. He has long lost his ambition and is no threat at all."
However, emperors are inherently suspicious, and Chi Jun had heard his father's words more than once implying vigilance and wariness towards the Qi Xie clan.
Indeed, with such outstanding abilities, how could one truly be willing to be subordinate to others?
Therefore, when the male ghost said that the "Qin lineage" was almost wiped out, Chi Jun's first thought was - Qi Xie has rebelled.
The dark aura clinging to Wang Shuai was clearly related to him.
Chi Jun was certain that the black mist was not released by those old men from Qin Zhiyi's lineage. If they wanted to find him and kill him, it would be so simple; they wouldn't need to use such a roundabout and troublesome method as releasing black mist to achieve their goal.
But if Qi Xie has already found him through the black mist, this means...
Seemingly sensing what Chi Jun was thinking, Xuan Li took a breath and said:
"Qixie may have seemed docile all these years, but in reality, long before the old fox king's death, he had secretly allied with other races, intending to rebel, and even the old fox king's death..."
Xuan Li stopped there and didn't continue talking about it.
"Less than ten days after the old fox king died, they couldn't hold back any longer and openly rebelled under any pretext. Your brother had just ascended the throne and his foundation was not yet stable. In addition, most of his power had already been quietly usurped by Qi Xie. He couldn't resist for long. The entire Qin lineage was either dead or injured. Right now, there was widespread mourning, and they could only eke out a living."
Chi Jun imagined the scene of his home, where he had lived for hundreds of years, now being devastated.
He kept a sullen face and didn't say anything.
"I've heard the male ghost talk about you."
Xuan Li sighed: "Chi Jun, I know you harbor resentment."
After a moment of silence, she continued, "Of your four masters, only Elder Sun is still alive and well, staying with your eldest brother. The other three were captured by Qi Xie and imprisoned, where they suffered greatly. Elder Bai... unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide."
Chi Jun felt a sudden "boom" in his heart, and his mind went blank for a moment.
After the blank period, some memories, both clear and previously forgotten, uncontrollably surged back.
When he was a child, Bai Lao spoiled him a lot, often letting him ride like a horse, and even letting Chi Jun hold the whisk and wave it around like a whip.
When he got a little older and reached school age, Master Bai taught him to read. He would slap Chi Jun's palm when Chi Jun was being naughty, and suddenly quiz him when Chi Jun wasn't studying seriously. Then he would turn around and brag to others that his apprentice had more tricks up his sleeve when he was being naughty than others, and that he could memorize a book after reading it ten lines at a glance. His words were full of boasting about his little apprentice's quick thinking.
Sometimes when Chi Jun gets into big trouble, he will spank him hard. After spanking him, he will sneakily apply medicine to Chi Jun's buttocks while Chi Jun is asleep in the middle of the night, and while applying the medicine, he will mutter a few words of disappointment to him.
As Chi Jun grew older, Old Bai began to scold him with a stern face, saying that he was always unreliable and that it would be difficult for him to find a wife in the future.
But clearly, someone was arranging to find a woman for Chi Jun behind his back, and this old man Bai was the first to jump out and confront them angrily: "Look at this yourself, is this even reasonable? This girl is simply not good enough for him!"
The other person asked angrily: If neither of them is good enough, then tell me who is?
Old Bai, clutching his whisk, turned away angrily and remained silent.
But Chi Jun also remembered that in the final moments, it was Bai Lao, who loved him the most and respected him the most, who stood without hesitation on the side of the new ruler—his own nephew—Chi Jun's elder brother, and said the most vicious words to him and took the most ruthless actions.
Chi Jun's spiritual energy was destroyed by his own hands.
He even wanted to kill Chi Jun, but was stopped by the other masters, who said:
"He's just a hopeless case, let's just leave him to fend for himself."
Thinking of this, Chi Jun pursed his lips and a fierce look appeared between his brows.
However, setting aside their eventual betrayal, at least for the entire Qin lineage, the four masters have always been highly respected.
If Qi Xie wants to secure his position in the Fox Clan, accepting amnesty is clearly a more appropriate and prudent approach than killing his masters.
Why not just imprison them, but also torture them?
Chi Jun remained silent, a sudden thought forming in his mind.
The speculation was so absurd that Chi Jun burst out laughing mockingly in an instant.
However, once the idea takes root, it quickly sprouts and grows, absorbing the recent events as nourishment, and grows into a dense and lush tree that is no longer easy to ignore.
Why torture them?
Chi Jun looked at Xuan Li.
Although it was a question, the light in his eyes already indicated that he had a vague answer in his heart.
Xuanli looked directly at him.
"for you."
"In order to find out your whereabouts."
*
This time, Chi Jun seemed to take an unusually long time in his bath.
Xu Qingzhou found it strange that it had been so long. As he looked down from the railing, he finally saw Chi Jun's figure at the top of the stairs on the left.
Why did it take you so long to shower today?
Chi Jun grabbed a towel and casually rubbed his hair a couple of times.
"I sweated a lot playing football this afternoon, so I took a longer shower."
He still had a smile on his face, but the forced smile vanished the moment Xu Qingzhou turned away.
After entering the house, Chi Jun put down what he was holding.
Without even drying her hair, she walked to the table and picked up a small mirror.
He rarely looks in the mirror, but tonight he stared at himself in the mirror for a long time.
The dark blue fox tail mark on his ear was given to Chi Jun when he came to the human world.
Chi Jun had always believed that it was a seal.
It was his four masters who used seals to suppress his spiritual energy in order to completely dispel his idea of returning to the fox clan.
In fact, he was right.
However, besides sealing the spiritual energy, he only learned tonight that this seal had another important function—locking up the "spiritual treasure".
The "spiritual treasure" containing immense energy of the Qin lineage is hidden in the small fox tail mark on his ear.
Although the "Lingbao" is a treasure of the Qin lineage, only a specific person in each generation of the royal family can wield it. Even if Qi Xie obtains it, he cannot unleash its enormous power. However, as an object that inherits the mandate of heaven, obtaining it is enough to make Qi Xie's history books and even his usurpation of the throne seem legitimate and as if it were ordained by heaven.
Another important reason is that Chi Jun's disappearance made Qi Xie even more certain that he was the one in this generation who could control the "spiritual treasure".
As long as Chi Jun is alive, he will always be a huge hidden danger, carrying the spiritual treasure.
This is why Qi Xie went to great lengths to find him.
“I’ve never told you this before, but your masters not only sealed your spiritual power, but also your physical form. Those people can’t find you, so they can only use your aura to lock onto people who come into contact with you and force you out. Even I, with the help of those gadgets I made before, can only see a slightly clear but blurry shadow of you during this period of time.”
“I haven’t said it because I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it. But now that you’ve noticed some signs, I have no choice but to tell you.”
Chi Jun understood the meaning behind Xuan Li's words.
If his masters only sealed his spiritual power, Chi Jun could understand it as their way of ensuring he could never return to the fox clan and would die of old age in the human world.
But they hid the "spiritual treasure" on his person and sealed his body to prevent the Qixie lineage from finding him—
Perhaps they were simply concerned for the safety of the "Lingbao".
perhaps……
Chi Jun desperately hoped that this "perhaps" was the only one, and nothing more.
*
The lights were off for a long time that night, and Chi Jun kept his eyes open, unable to fall asleep.
He looked at Xu Qingzhou in his arms in the darkness.
The girl slept soundly, her hand gently resting on his waist, her breathing long and even.
After a long while, Chi Jun gently kissed her forehead, then very lightly pulled her hand away and put it down.
In the quiet of the night, when no one was around, Chi Jun quietly got out of bed.
He silently put on his clothes and shoes, opened the door and went out.
The moment the door closed, the figure disappeared into the corridor.
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