Chapter 1: Unfilial Son Murders Mother!
"Father, she's a demon!"
"You unfilial wretch! Though Yun Niang is your stepmother, she has painstakingly raised you for years, day in and day out. Not only do you not think of repaying her, but you also slander her as a demon? I think you've truly gone mad!"
At the dinner table, Ji Qing and his father were once again arguing and confronting each other.
This wasn't the first time.
Yun Niang said nothing, not even offering a defense, simply weeping silently to the side.
At this moment, Yun Niang's daughter, Ji Yao, only six years old, also glared angrily at Ji Qing and loudly declared, "Brother, Mother is not a demon! I forbid you from saying Mother is a demon!"
Ji Qing glanced at his father and sister, then looked coldly at Yun Niang and said, "You can fool others, but you can't fool me. One day, I will expose you!"
"You wretch, truly a wretch! Get out! Get out of here!"
His father trembled with rage.
Ji Qing said nothing more, turning and leaving.
"Mister Ji, don't be angry. Qing'er just has a prejudice against me. You know it's been like this for years. They say it's hard to be a stepmother, and I've tried my best to be a good mother all these years, but Qing'er... It's all my fault for not bearing a son for you, Mister Ji. If only I had a son..."
Yun Niang lowered her head and wept.
"Yun Niang, it's not your fault. It's that unfilial wretch who is too much. He doesn't study properly all day, instead reading strange tales and miscellaneous books, which has muddled his mind. Don't worry, with me here, this house is not for that unfilial wretch to control!"
"Someone, lock this wretch in the courtyard! No one is to let him out!"
Mister Ji comforted Yun Niang for a while and then directly grounded Ji Qing.
For this son, Mister Ji had originally held high hopes, wishing for him to pass the imperial examinations and achieve official status.
However, he failed several exams, only managing to become a xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level examination).
For an ordinary family, a xiucai was not bad. But for the Ji Residence, a family that valued literary tradition, a xiucai degree was certainly far from enough.
A few months ago, Ji Qing, for some unknown reason, went mad and claimed his stepmother Yun Niang was a demon, causing chaos and unrest throughout the entire Ji Residence.
Ji Qing returned to his room.
He was grounded and couldn't go anywhere.
At this moment, the maid Fu Qin walked in.
"Young Master, you still shouldn't argue with Mister Ji, and certainly don't speak such nonsense about the Mistress being a demon. Otherwise, not only will your monthly allowance be withheld, but you'll also be grounded..."
Fu Qin brought in a bowl of food.
This was her own meal. Ji Qing was not only grounded today but also denied food.
Ji Qing ate half and left the other half for Fu Qin.
Only Ji Qing remained in the room.
A scene from a few months ago flashed through his mind.
At that time, he had just 'transmigrated' into Ji Qing's body. One night, he saw his stepmother Yun Niang tear off the skin on her face and replace it with a delicate new one.
Ji Qing, in his fear, 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 danger. He dared not pretend that nothing had happened, otherwise, he might be silently killed by Yun Niang.
Therefore, Ji Qing blew the matter up.
He spread rumors everywhere that Yun Niang was a demon.
He even invited some eminent monks and Taoist priests from within a hundred li radius to come and capture the demon.
He didn't know if those eminent monks and Taoist priests were all charlatans with false reputations, or if Yun Niang was incredibly good at hiding.
As a result, not a single eminent monk or Taoist priest could identify Yun Niang as a demon.
Although Ji Qing's constant troublemaking angered his father, it also had an effect; at least Yun Niang dared not easily lay hands on him.
But as time passed, Ji Qing knew this method could only delay things for a while, and his time was running out.
If he didn't deal with Yun Niang soon, she might really come after him.
For a demon, silently causing his sudden death wouldn't be difficult, would it?
So, Ji Qing decided to strike first.
Ji Qing was a scholar, powerless to even truss a chicken.
Even though he had been practicing martial arts for the past few months, the martial arts master he found was very ordinary, and a few months wouldn't show much improvement.
After weighing his options, Ji Qing decided to use poison!
He knew of a potent poison, a combination of different substances. Taken individually, they were harmless.
But if several were mixed together, it became a deadly poison, even more potent than red-crested crane poison.
However, poisoning required careful planning; not a single step could go wrong.
...Three days later, Mister Ji leaned on his cane, staring coldly at Ji Qing.
"You unfilial wretch, 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.
Superficially, he was being forcibly 'suppressed' by his father, compelled to humble himself and apologize to Yun Niang.
But in reality... this was his chance!
Yun Niang smiled faintly, looking calmly at Ji Qing, then took the teacup, took a small sip, and set it down.
"Mister Ji, Qing'er was just being thoughtless and speaking nonsense. Please lift his grounding. Recently, many of his classmates have invited him out for spring outings, and after repeatedly refusing, Qing'er has lost face in front of his classmates."
Yun Niang spoke up, pleading for Ji Qing.
"You unfilial wretch, since Yun Niang has pleaded for you, your grounding is lifted. Remember, you are not to speak nonsense again!"
Mister Ji sternly cautioned him.
However, Ji Qing did not reply; instead, he stared intently at Yun Niang.
He was silently counting the time in his mind.
He had already subtly given Yun Niang the first two poisons.
Now, only the last poison remained, which was in the teacup he had just offered.
Separated, the three potent poisons were harmless.
But when mixed, they would cause death within moments.
"You unfilial wretch, why are you staring at Yun Niang?"
Mister Ji frowned, about to scold Ji Qing.
Suddenly, Yun Niang clutched her stomach, her brows furrowed in a knot, her face contorted in pain.
"It hurts so much, Mister Ji, my stomach hurts so much..."
Yun Niang writhed on the ground in pain.
And very quickly, she spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.
"Poison, there's poison..."
How could Yun Niang not know what was happening?
Her eyes were fixed on Ji Qing.
Mister Ji also seemed to understand, his eyes wide, as if in disbelief.
"You unfilial wretch, you..."
"That's right, I put the poison. Father, when Yun Niang dies today, she will surely reveal her true form. Then you will know she is a demon!"
Ji Qing admitted it publicly.
After all, if they wanted to investigate his poisoning, it wouldn't be difficult at all, and denying it would be meaningless.
"You wretch, truly a wretch! You actually dared to poison your stepmother? This is matricide..."
Mister Ji's voice trembled with rage.
He knew Ji Qing had a prejudice against Yun Niang, but he never expected him to be so deranged as to commit matricide?
This was a heinous crime, 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, yes!
Yun Niang ultimately died.
She died spitting blood.
The moment Yun Niang breathed her last, Ji Qing's mind buzzed.
Immediately afterward, a golden, mysterious ancient book appeared in his mind.
On it were written the three large characters: "demon record."
"Killed a Skin-painting demon clone, gained one source point."
Ji Qing was startled.
Had his golden finger arrived?
For the past few months, Ji Qing had wondered why he didn't have a golden finger.
Now it seemed, this golden finger would only activate after he killed a demon.
However, Ji Qing didn't have time to examine the "demon record" yet.
He knelt before Yun Niang's corpse, fumbling at her face, trying to 'peel off' the painted skin on her face.
But no matter how he tried, he couldn't remove the painted skin.
This meant he couldn't prove Yun Niang was a demon.
"You wretch, truly a wretch! How dare you commit matricide? This is a family misfortune! Someone, tie up this wretch and send him to the authorities!"
Mister Ji's heart ached.
Ji Qing had publicly poisoned his stepmother; this matter could not be covered up, even if he wanted to.
After all, a life had been lost, and it was such a shocking and heinous crime.
How could it be covered up?
"Mother... what's wrong with you? Mother..."
Ji Yao lay on Yun Niang's corpse, crying as if her heart would break.
"What a Skin-painting 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, emitting a bright light.
Ji Qing abruptly stared at a coarse maid.
In fact, Ji Qing seemed to even see a hint of mockery in the maid's eyes.
"You..."
Ji Qing wanted to pounce on the maid, but unfortunately, several guards immediately restrained him.
"Young Master, I'm sorry."
The guards tied up Ji Qing and, as per Mister Ji's instructions, directly escorted him to the yamen (local government office).
PS: New book opening, please collect and follow!