Chapter 3057 A Parent's Boomerang

As Fu Qian saw it, there was a very high chance Ji Zhaoyi did not even know the name Ji Feng.

After all, Classmate Liushuang had mentioned that the Ji Clan's ancestral records held no memory of anyone by that name.

Even his research into the bloodline suggested as much: Senior Ji Feng's method of becoming their ancestor was likely through direct designation, without ever involving a single strand of DNA.

So if he already knew that, why bring it up at all?

Simple. The Ji Clan might not know, but the Night Watchers just might.

As noted before, given the sheer span of his active years, Old Man Ji Feng's file was probably the thickest one the Night Watchers possessed.

Not to mention his involvement with the Laria Family and even the founding of the Federation—it wasn't entirely impossible that the two parties had crossed paths directly.

Dropping that name, then, was a classic case of achieving multiple benefits with one move. In fact, he had said it more for the Night Watchers' benefit than anyone else's.

Even aiming it at the Night Watchers was achieving multiple benefits with one move.

For one, it would test exactly how much they knew about the senior.

For another, it perfectly maintained his persona: that Professor Fu truly was scheming against the Ji Clan from every conceivable angle, to the point of exploiting even a predecessor's legacy.

"It is a pity, but the Ji Clan has no such ancestor."

Sure enough, at the name Fu Qian threw out, Ji Zhaoyi merely frowned, entirely unmoved.

"Oh? Then who established your inheritance system for the family head?"

Fully expecting this response, Fu Qian went straight for a key structural rule.

...

Ancestral tenets were highly private affairs; naturally, one wouldn't simply answer just because someone asked.

But while refusing to answer others was one thing, could he really refuse to answer himself?

Ji Zhaoyi did not make a sound in that moment, but his mind was visibly racing.

The most obvious tell was his complexion, which had remained perfectly stable until now, suddenly fluctuating between light and dark.

No wonder everyone loved paying respects to their ancestors. Just recalling the ancestral tenets was enough to impact destiny to this extent?

As the one who had lit the fuse, Fu Qian was more than happy to watch the drama unfold, merely clicking his tongue in marvel in that moment.

As for the rules governing the Ji Clan's family head, he was almost certain they were penned by Ji Feng's own hand.

After days of study, he could even identify the motive: using concepts to protect secrets. Ji Feng's goal in designating the Ji Clan as his offspring likely had nothing to do with continuing a bloodline; it was merely to serve as a Living Parchment.

The system of primogeniture was not rare, and it inherently had its pros and cons.

But to make the rule of the eldest legitimate son this absolute bordered on the abstract, to the point where even the people involved barely understood it.

Fu Qian, however, could understand it, because this perfectly dovetailed with his previous research, such as Annalise's distortion of the bloodline.

Transcendent Tier inheritance became abstract, no longer relying on simple genetic material; even concepts like eye color came into play.

And since Ji Feng had once visited the Full Moon Garden—and even made contact with the Blood Nova—he had naturally dabbled in this field as well.

Ultimately, when trying to leave a secret behind, he made painstaking designs with the bloodline at the core.

Relying solely on "offspring" would have been too easy to expose; adding a "family head" massively increased the security.

This was also why the definition of the family head was so absolute. After all, the slightest deviation would create a fundamental conceptual difference.

In short, such a rule bore the strong traces of Old Man Ji Feng.

But at the same time, the Ji Clan's ancestral records showed no trace of him. Where such an ancestral tenet had come from undoubtedly became an interesting question.

Fu Qian could be said to be highly anticipating His Excellency Ji Zhaoyi's answer—

"Was it you?"

However, the unpredictability of fate was fully demonstrated in this moment.

Right as the situation grew extremely delicate, and the Ji Clan's representative was visibly buckling under the pressure, a rather abrupt voice rang out.

Looking up, it was surprisingly Classmate Liushuang's mother. She had been silent this whole time, but now spoke softly, seeming to have finally snapped out of her daze.

...

The maverick was actually you?

Given Corvos's earlier framing, Ji Xue's address was naturally directed at him, which did not surprise Fu Qian.

What surprised him was her choice of words.

The other three had at least opened by calling his professional title. Setting aside this disrespect for academia, what exactly did "was it you" mean?

And he clearly wasn't the only one with this question.

With Ji Xue's interruption, Ji Zhaoyi was seemingly granted a brief respite, and thus took note of the presence of this genuine family head, looking thoughtful in that moment.

As for Corvos and the other spectators, it went without saying—they all looked to be listening with bated breath.

"I knew you were always around... even though I never confirmed it for her when Liushuang told me so."

Lady Ji Xue did not disappoint them. Entirely unfazed by the lack of a response, she just kept right on talking.

'Hmm... I think I know what's happening here.'

Seeing these words leave her mouth, the listeners' eyes lit up even more. Fu Qian sighed inwardly, his ominous premonition fully validated.

'Is this the legendary boomerang? You old rascal Fu Qian, you finally got what was coming to you.'

After her stint as his research assistant, Classmate Liushuang had developed a very scientific understanding of her own origins, fully accepting the reality of her asexual budding reproduction—but her mother certainly had not.

Judging by the concerns Aunt Miller had voiced back at Silver Mist Manor, Lady Ji Xue truly was a bit of a hopeless romantic.

When she ran away from home all those years ago, it was not impossible that, lost and confused, she had been trying to encounter the child's father.

The result was naturally nothing at all, but that didn't mean she hadn't held onto some beautiful, girlish fantasies, like a hidden guardian.

As a result, during his first mission at the Academy, in order to avoid having to silence Classmate Liushuang when she discovered a problem, he had casually fabricated a persona.

It had originally been a trivial matter, not to mention he had cleared things up later on; there shouldn't have been any adverse effects.

However, this was where the coincidence came in: he really had no history with Lady Ji Xue. Thinking about it now, if there was an intersection on the level of fate, then that past lie really was their only slight bond, basically picking the tallest among dwarves...

Then, after the other party's own contemplation, a boomerang sure enough came swinging back with a vengeance, destroying half a lifetime of Professor Fu's pristine reputation in an instant.

'Is this Many Injustices Bring Self-Destruction?' In that moment, Fu Qian understood why one needed to cultivate good karma in daily life.

Of course, he wasn't the only one reeling from the shock.

Everyone here had been around the block; how could their reading comprehension be anything less than stellar?

Although it was just a few short sentences, certain astonishing truths were clearly being unearthed.

Aside from Classmate Su Gao, more than one person in his line of sight was currently suffering from a severe case of blown pupils. Even His Excellency Corvos was faintly moved.

As for the primary stakeholder, Ji Zhaoyi, the "fate" that had just stabilized was already flickering once again, and his brain was clearly spinning frantically.

"It's been hard on you."

Since this was the case, how could Professor Fu mind playing along?

"You have taught her very well. I am very satisfied."

Making absolutely no attempt to clear his name, Fu Qian gave a slight nod instead, his tone exactly like that of an unscrupulous father who had shown up to demand financial support.