It was mealtime.
Disciples rushed toward the dining hall, all competing to be the first to grab the limited-edition scallion oil fish noodles. Li Wentian, having grown bored with his cultivation, grabbed a novel the moment the hall opened. He started reading while he ate.
He didn't make it in time for the fish noodles, but for him, a bowl of plain scallion noodles was good enough. He had always loved the novels written by an author named Yunliu; once he started reading, he couldn't stop. Whether it was *Stop It, Female Demon Lord* or *The Peerless Senior Sister Keeps Entangling Me*, Li Wentian enjoyed them all.
As for the book currently in his hands, *Young Wanderer’s Folly*, it was a new purchase. The author had suddenly chosen a serious title, which felt a bit strange to him, but after reading a few pages, he found himself filled with a marvelous sense of anticipation.
"As expected of Yunliu," he muttered.
Li Wentian slurped his noodles and read, taking great care to ensure no drops of oily soup splashed onto the pages. Whenever he finished a book, he always stored it away meticulously, doing his best to keep the pages from yellowing. He would carefully wrap each finished book in thick paper, ensuring it could be preserved for a long time.
Just as Li Wentian reached a climactic point in the story, completely immersed and feeling as if he were in that world, a pair of hands suddenly pressed down on his shoulders. His soul was instantly yanked out of the fictional world and back into reality.
He turned his head in alarm. "Jiang Qiao, you brat! What are you doing? You scared the life out of me."
"Hahahaha, I managed to scare you like that? Just how small is your heart? If that’s the case, I’m afraid what I’m about to say will make you lose a layer of skin."
Jiang Qiao sat down, brushed the dust off his sleeves, and picked up an overturned teacup on the table, spinning it between his fingers.
Li Wentian bit off a strand of noodle. While chewing, he mumbled, "Just get to the point. What is it? Are you here to ask about Mu Qinggan again? I’ve already told you everything I know about her—there’s nothing left."
As he spoke, a small clump of noodles he had been chewing on flew out and, quite coincidentally, landed right next to Jiang Qiao’s left hand.
"Sss—can you please swallow before you speak?" Jiang Qiao looked disgusted, having narrowly escaped being hit. He paused, then continued, "You’ve been hiding something: the truth about your real identity."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Li Wentian swallowed his noodles, answered with a calm expression, and then went right back to eating, acting as if he didn't care.
Jiang Qiao, having already obtained concrete evidence from the Zhenbao Society, said softly, "I’m talking about the fact that you have been impersonating Li Wentian all this time."
Li Wentian’s chopsticks froze in mid-air. The noodles he had lifted splashed back into the bowl with a wet thud, soaking the novel. At the very moment his mask was about to be ripped off, Li Wentian was still grieving for his book—a copy he had waited in a long queue to buy, complete with Yunliu’s elegant calligraphy.
And now, it was ruined.
"Brother, I think you’ve misunderstood something. What do you mean 'impersonating'? I *am* Li Wentian."
Although "Li Wentian" felt a bit guilty, he had been hiding perfectly for so many years without a single flaw. He had almost completely convinced himself that he truly was Li Wentian.
Jiang Qiao sat down and produced the evidence. "Last time at the Black Market, you used the Healing Art that is only taught in Medicine Valley. But Li Wentian is a sword cultivator."
"Can’t a sword cultivator practice a few other skills for emergencies?"
"You have a point. However, you once purchased some strange herbs at the Black Market at a high price. Do you want me to list them for you? Renkui, fox tail, Soul-Clearing Pill, rock..."
Jiang Qiao observed Li Wentian’s reaction as he spoke. He watched as the calm, peaceful expression on Li Wentian’s face gradually stiffened, his fingers tapping anxiously against his thigh.
It seemed he had hit the nail on the head.
Li Wentian fell into a momentary silence. Jiang Qiao took in every micro-expression, yet Li Wentian still tried to force a smile.
Jiang Qiao continued his offensive. "You must know what those ingredients are for, right? Why would you go to the trouble of refining Transformation Pills?"
As he spoke, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but feel he had taken such a long detour; the talent for alchemy was right in front of him, yet he had gone through all that trouble at the Black Market. The formula for the transformation medicine was public knowledge, but the refining technique was demanding and nearly lost to time. Being able to refine a Transformation Pill definitely required real skill.
"Feng Cheng, you’ve been disguised as Li Wentian for so long. What exactly happened?"
Li Wentian remained silent for a long time. Finally, he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a mouthful of noodles. "Can we talk about this after I finish eating? I’m starving, my head is spinning, and I need to think."
"Fine, I'll give you time to eat." Jiang Qiao wasn't interrogating a prisoner; giving a person time to finish a meal was the least he could do.
...
The two strolled to a bamboo grove within the sect. Dao companions usually avoided this place for trysts, probably because they didn't want to be bitten by the stray hundred-year-old green snakes while sharing a kiss.
"So, where is the real Li Wentian?" Jiang Qiao stopped at the entrance of the grove. It was remote, and as long as they spoke quietly, it was a perfect place for a conspiracy.
"He’s dead. It was an accident." Feng Cheng kept his head down, staring at the cracks in the stone floor. He knew he had to drop all his pretenses and tell Jiang Qiao the whole truth.
"Back then, I was young and headstrong. The cultivation at Medicine Valley seemed to naturally suit my temperament, and the elders were always praising me. Later, I was promoted to be a disciple of Plucking Stars Cliff, where I met Mu Qinggan. She liked me, but I ignored her, pouring all my heart into alchemy."
"But Li Wentian was very fond of her."
"Eventually, I discovered some methods for transformation and managed to refine a Transformation Pill. Li Wentian asked me for one, saying he wanted to transform into me to spend time with Mu Qinggan."
"I thought his suggestion was outrageous. Although I had succeeded in refining it, the Transformation Pill was forbidden by the sect. Besides, the idea of him pretending to be me to get close to Mu Qinggan was simply too absurd, so I hid the pill away. But he stole it anyway."
"After taking the pill and turning into me, he chatted happily with Mu Qinggan and even learned many of her secrets. He often shared those things with me. I was repulsed, but that was how I found out about Mu Qinggan."
"One day, he gave me a Flowing Shadow Mirror so I could see how their 'dates' were progressing. I was reluctant and didn't use it at first. Later that night, I received a paper crane from him, pleading for help. I opened the mirror to see where he was, but all I saw was Mu Qinggan’s morbid smile. The dark room was filled with skin—human faces, exquisite and stunning, beautiful at a glance. Li Wentian’s screams were sharp and piercing, and then the image in the mirror vanished."
"I was terrified. I realized then what a horrific creature Mu Qinggan was—those faces, that skin..."
"..."
"Eventually, I had to disguise myself as Li Wentian. I tested the Transformation Pill on a chicken. If someone is killed while the effect is active, they never return to their original form. In a way, Li Wentian really did become me, and he remained me forever. I was forced to become Li Wentian for the rest of my life."
"I’ve confessed all this to you hoping you’ll keep my secret. So, from now on, just treat me as Li Wentian."
After processing all this high-density information, Jiang Qiao asked, "Do you have any more Transformation Pills? Give me a few." If he had known about the pills, he wouldn't have needed to use that Uglifying Pill.
"I don't think they’d be of any use to you. Who would you turn into? If you get caught, it’s off to the Confinement Tower or worse. Looking ugly isn't so bad; you can just claim that your appearance changed because of a backlash from your alchemy. That’s more believable. I can fill the vacancy left by Li Wentian, but you can’t."
Jiang Qiao grew anxious. "Just give me a few first."
"Not for now, unless you help me with something."
"What is it?"
"Since we both have something on each other, why don't we cooperate?"
Jiang Qiao was stunned. "What do you have on me?"
"You entering the Black Market, and you being the 'Number 32' who bid on the Duanhong Sword. Are those news-worthy enough?"
"..." To Jiang Qiao, these things meant trouble, but Li Wentian’s problems were far worse. "Compared to your situation, mine is just a minor annoyance. That’s not fair."
"Hey, don't you want to settle things with Mu Qinggan once and for all? She’s been pestering you every day, hasn't she?"
Li Wentian paused, then continued, "I can’t beat her, but if you and I team up, we might actually win. I can’t find her Collection Room, but perhaps you have a lead? Just like how you found my shopping list for the Black Market—where exactly does your investigation network come from?"
Li Wentian’s point reminded Jiang Qiao that the Zhenbao Society’s influence within the sect was indeed a resource he could use. However, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but retort, "My investigation sources are my own business. I’m not telling you. You’re at the Golden Core Stage and I’m at the Qi Refining Stage—fighting Mu Qinggan, who is also at the Golden Core Stage, isn't called 'winning easily,' it’s called 'having zero hope'!!!"
Jiang Qiao paused, then added, "By the way, if you knew Mu Qinggan was this dangerous, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"We aren't related. I honestly thought that if you died, I might be able to scrape up some money as your 'good brother'."
Jiang Qiao’s face darkened instantly.
"Anyway, we’re in the same boat now. Wait, did you use the Uglifying Pill to defend against Mu Qinggan? You know she only cares about looks."
"Exactly."
Hearing this, Li Wentian couldn't help but burst into laughter. "In that case, Mu Qinggan is truly in for a treat."
"?"
Jiang Qiao and Li Wentian confirmed their alliance. They continued strolling through the bamboo grove, exchanging basic strategies for dealing with Mu Qinggan.
Since Li Wentian knew her best, he quickly came up with a plan. "How about this: stop using that uglifying medicine. Go straight for her, take the initiative to ask her out several times, and bring the Flowing Shadow Mirror. She’ll eventually lead you to her Collection Room, and then I’ll notify the Sect Master, and we’ll go rescue you together. The Sect Master trusts her too much; he won't act without solid evidence, and the other elders just turn a blind eye."
Jiang Qiao looked at Li Wentian in silence. "Aren't you just pushing me into the fire pit? If the Collection Room is too far and you can't get there in time, you’ll just be handling my funeral arrangements."
"Actually, that would work too. Losing you to take down Mu Qinggan wouldn't be a bad trade."
"? You [expletive], get real. That method won't work. Being Feng Cheng, you’d be much more attractive to her than I am. You should stop taking the transformation medicine. Since you're both Golden Core, it would be more realistic for me to bring the Sect Master to save you."
"You overestimate me. Who can withstand her Water Heart Formula?"
"You really can't beat her?"
"What do you think? She’s the strongest disciple in the entire Canglan Sect. I really can't beat her."
"…Fine."
However, as long as he cultivated until he was stronger than Mu Qinggan, revenge would be within reach.
The two were still talking as they walked out of the bamboo grove, but Li Wentian heard a strange sound approaching. The coy, coquettish noise suggested a show worth watching. He pulled Jiang Qiao behind a giant rock and told him to hide.
The amorous scene slowly drifted toward them.
Jiang Qiao caught a glimpse: a female disciple with skin like jade and bones of ice, her clothes half-off, was embracing another male disciple. The woman flirted like flowing water, teasing the disciple’s heart. They whispered and rubbed against each other for a long time until the disciple clearly couldn't hold back anymore. "Wenyu, can we…"
"Of course not, unless you team up with me to enter the secret realm. After that, I’ll do whatever you want."
The male disciple pushed her away. "That’s not possible. I can buy you anything else you want, but I won't team up for the secret realm."
"Not even for the secret realm?" The female disciple’s eyes filled with tears. "Are you afraid I’ll drag you down and stop you from taking first place?"
"Look at you. Do you think you’re any more noble? You just want to use me to get a ranking." The male disciple spoke coldly.
"It seems you don't love me at all."
"We’re just using each other for what we need."
"..."
Li Wentian showed great interest in these two disciples. He whispered to Jiang Qiao, "That male disciple is Li Yuan. He’s a Mid Golden Core Stage cultivator, second only to Mu Qinggan. She’s in the late stage and about to reach the Nascent Soul, but Li Yuan is quite formidable too."
If Jiang Qiao didn't know the history between Li Wentian and Mu Qinggan, he would have thought Li Wentian was her most loyal fan.
"The female disciple is quite mediocre. She joined the sect last year, Wenyu. Her cultivation is probably not even as high as yours..."
Jiang Qiao’s face was cold. Li Wentian certainly understood the art of words; once he grew stronger, he would definitely have to spar with him. Jiang Qiao didn't think hiding there to watch a couple argue was a good idea, so he planned to leave quietly. Peeping was, after all, not a noble act.
But the next second, a heart-wrenching, masculine scream tore through the sky. "Urrghaaaaa—"
Jiang Qiao turned his head to look. All he could see was a sea of blood.