Chapter 145: Ji Yan

At this moment, the dark night shrouded the entire Dragon Grave Valley.

Qin Xuanxi’s primordial spirit saw, under the bright moonlight, a tall, bare-chested man with long hair standing there.

Suddenly, a child ran over carrying a torch and shouted at the long-haired man, "Chief, your wife has given birth! It’s a boy!"

The long-haired man was immensely excited and immediately turned and ran towards his home.

Shortly after, a modestly furnished room appeared before Qin Xuanxi’s eyes.

The long-haired man was sitting by the bed, pressing a gentle kiss to his wife's forehead, before taking an infant from the arms of the midwife.

Holding the baby up high, the long-haired man laughed heartily, "Hahaha, I, Ji Xian, have a son now! Hahaha!"

Startled, the baby suddenly opened its mouth and began to wail.

At that very moment, the long-haired man caught sight of a fire dragon mark on the infant’s tongue.

Stricken with terror, the long-haired man began to tremble all over. "Ji Yan... This child is Ji Yan! He cannot be kept, this child cannot be kept—A-yue!"

Hearing her master's call, a giant white python slithered into the room.

"Husband, what on earth is the matter?" the woman on the bed asked, struggling to prop up her upper body.

"A-ya, I'm sorry," the long-haired man said, looking at his wife with eyes brimming with tears. "This child is the reincarnation of Ji Yan; we cannot keep him!"

With those words, the long-haired man tossed the infant in his hands straight to the giant white python.

The giant white python immediately opened its blood-red maw and swallowed the baby whole.

Witnessing this scene, the woman on the bed fainted on the spot.

Immediately afterward, the scene before Qin Xuanxi shifted once more.

This time, a small town appeared before her, with a crescent moon hanging high in the night sky.

A crowd holding high torches surrounded a small courtyard.

Blood was already flowing like a river within the courtyard.

Before collapsing, a man covered in blood cast one last look back at his four-year-old daughter.

A strip of white cloth was bound over his daughter's eyes.

Hovering in the air above the courtyard stood a red-haired woman.

Gazing down at the man who had just collapsed into a pool of blood, the red-haired woman said, "You knew full well that your daughter was the reincarnation of Ji Yan, yet you let her live until today, disregarding the safety of the entire Hongyang Ji Clan. Do not blame us for being merciless."

Then, she issued her command, "Burn her to death!"

Countless torches were hurled into the courtyard, and blazing infernos instantly engulfed the entire compound.

Bath in the fiery light, the four-year-old girl inside the house suddenly reached out and removed the white cloth from her eyes, as if wishing to catch one last glimpse of this world before perishing.

As the white cloth slipped from the girl's face, Qin Xuanxi was utterly shocked to see a fire dragon mark imprinted on the pupil of the girl's left eye...

The vision before her vanished into nothingness once more.

Sinister rebukes suddenly echoed in Qin Xuanxi’s ears:

"Get out!" "Get out!" "You are not of the Hongyang Ji Clan, get out at once!"

Some entity within the Xuan World Stone seemed to have sensed the intrusion of Qin Xuanxi’s primordial spirit and was driving away this uninvited "guest."

Fearing that her primordial spirit might be harmed within the Xuan World Stone, Qin Xuanxi hurriedly withdrew from it.

Once her primordial spirit returned to her physical body, Qin Xuanxi began to recall the sequence of scenes she had just witnessed inside the Xuan World Stone.

From these visions, she extracted two key terms:

"Ji Yan" and "Fire Dragon Mark."

This Ji Yan seemed to be a terrifying entity within the Hongyang Ji Clan capable of cycle reincarnation, a figure so formidable that even the entire Hongyang Ji Clan held them in deep dread.

With every reincarnation of Ji Yan, a fire dragon mark apparently manifested on their body. Consequently, whenever the Hongyang Ji Clan discovered this mark on anyone within their clan, they would execute them immediately.

Yet, what did all of this have to do with her master, the Wine Immortal?

Her master did not even share the surname "Ji."

Could it be possible, however, that her master had concealed her true lineage and was actually a member of the Hongyang Ji Clan?

Or perhaps even her master herself was unaware of her true origins?

Qin Xuanxi thought to herself that she must investigate her master's background thoroughly from now on.

Her master's death might very well be intimately connected to her origins.

...

Meanwhile, in Abundant Year Lane, Yancheng, State of Li.

Upon seeing that her brother's level was 132, Song Yao found it highly unusual.

After all, only ten days had passed since the first test login opened, and no player could possibly reach such an absurd level in so short a time.

Could this "brother" before her actually be a high-level "monster"?

After all, apart from players, the only entities with levels were monsters that yielded a certain amount of experience upon being slain—much like those level-3 wild chicken monsters they had previously killed in Peach Blossom Village.

Ordinary NPC characters, on the other hand, possessed no levels at all.

Yet how could this Xuan World use her brother's appearance as a prototype template to create a "monster"?

Despite her rising suspicions, Song Yao still wanted to confirm whether the person before her was truly her real brother.

Therefore, she addressed Song烨, "There are far too many bizarre and illusory things in this world. I cannot confirm you're my brother based on looks alone; you must answer a few questions for me first."

Song烨 smiled and replied, "What questions do you want me to answer? Your birthday is July 9th, your Chicken Dinner game ID is 'Sister is Proud, What Can You Do To Me?', during the sophomore summer vacation you bought several pairs of black silk and white silk stockings but only dared to wear them at home, you like to take a nap on the living room sofa at noon, and all those saliva stains on the sofa are yours, you—"

"Enough, enough, stop!" Song Yao flusteredly reached out to cover Song烨's mouth. "I know you're my real brother! Stop talking already."

One had to bear in mind that her direct superior, Pei Wangshu, was still right here. If her brother blurted out anything even more outrageous, she would die of embarrassment.

At that exact moment, Li Xiuling, who had remained unconscious all this time, suddenly woke up. Seeing Song烨 and the others, she wore a look of surprise.

"Why are you here?" Li Xiuling asked Song烨.

"This residence belongs to a friend of mine. That question should be directed at you—why are you here?" Song烨 countered.

Li Xiuling managed a pale, bitter smile. "Just think of me as a headless fly crashing around and accidentally wandering into this place."

"What happened to your injuries?" Song烨 asked again.

"It's nothing, these wounds will heal," Li Xiuling forced out a faint smile before looking at the two women standing beside Song烨. "And these two are?"

"This is my sister, and that is... my sister's friend," Song烨 answered.

"Ah? Your sister has grown up so much?" Li Xiuling exclaimed upon seeing Song Yao's proud figure, marveling, "The changes are—truly massive!"

Song烨 offered an awkward chuckle.

He had no idea how to explain to Li Xiuling that this sister was not that kind of sister.

Standing to the side, Song Yao was equally bewildered and baffled.

"I must leave this place right away. Hopefully, the next time we meet, we can still share a drink together."

With those words, Li Xiuling retrieved a medicinal pill from her storage domain and swallowed it on her own.

Relying on that pill, she seemed to recover a fraction of her spiritual power.

"Song烨, do not speak to anyone about having seen me here, or you will spell big trouble for yourself."

Having left behind this warning, Li Xiuling rode the wind and flew away.