Chapter 41 Part 2

Cai Zhao was a bit stunned, "This... this isn't good, is it? We haven't even figured out who he is, and you're going to be this ruthless?"

"What's not good about it!" Dai Fengchi said loudly, "This little thief has ulterior motives. Infiltrating the sect must mean he has a major plot. If we don't capture him and interrogate him properly, what will we do if he causes a great disaster in the future?!"

Qi Lingbo giggled, "Are you scared now? Don't be. As long as this little thief is willing to kneel, kowtow, and apologize to me, it's not impossible for me to let him go, hehehehe..."

Cai Zhao: "Senior Sister Lingbo, don't fool around. Who do you think you are? It's not up to you whether he's let go or not—I didn't say we shouldn't capture him. I'm saying, is it necessary to use such severe instruments of torture?"

Dai Fengchi didn't see Qi Lingbo's flushed face and was still smug, "This pair of Soul-Locking Pipa Hook was personally supervised by Old Sect Master Yin. They're a perfect match for this little thief who's courting death, hahahaha..."

Cai Zhao murmured, "Wow, if Second Senior Brother hadn't said, I would've thought this pair of iron hooks was a torture instrument from the Demonic Cult. Turns out they were the brilliant idea of Old Sect Master Yin. I never would have thought."

Yin Sulian said sternly, "What do you mean by that?!"

Cai Zhao: "Actually, I'm just expressing my admiration for Old Sect Master Yin."

Yin Sulian suppressed her anger.

Fan Xingjia's eyes were fixed on the pair of iron hooks. He tugged forcefully on Lei Xiuming's sleeve.

Helpless, Lei Xiuming cupped his hands toward the fake Qi Yunke, "Sect Master, the Soul-Locking Pipa Hook is too vicious. Once used, even if the person doesn't die, they'll be more than half crippled. Sect Master, please be cautious."

Dai Fengchi said sinisterly, "Martial Uncle Lei, what do you mean by that? 'Too vicious'? Are you implicitly criticizing the late Old Sect Master Yin?"

Fan Xingjia couldn't bear it any longer, "Just now, Master said Eldest Senior Brother had no place to speak. Does that mean Second Senior Brother has the right to speak repeatedly?!"

Dai Fengchi took a step forward and rebuked angrily, "You insolent brat, you dare to lecture me!"

Fan Xingjia: "Second Senior Brother was disrespectful to Martial Uncle just now. Does that show any respect for seniority?"

Dai Fengchi strode forward, grabbed Fan Xingjia's arm, and twisted it behind his back. Fan Xingjia's martial arts were inferior, and he immediately cried out. Before anyone could speak, Cai Zhao flashed forward and kicked Dai Fengchi in the ribs, forcing him to let go of Fan Xingjia.

Then, Cai Zhao dropped her left shoulder, used the move 'Flourishing Branches and Leaves' to circle to Dai Fengchi's right side, kicked his left knee to the ground, and then grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back. This time, it was Dai Fengchi's turn to cry out in pain.

Yin Sulian stood up and cried out, "Cai Zhao, what do you think you're doing?"

Cai Zhao smiled, "What Second Senior Brother wanted to do to Fifth Senior Brother just now, is what I want to do now, I guess?"

Qi Lingbo shouted, "Second Senior Brother was just playing around with Fifth Senior Brother just now!"

Cai Zhao: "What a coincidence, I'm just playing around with Second Senior Brother too." She applied pressure with her hand. Dai Fengchi felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on his shoulder and back, and he couldn't get up, crying out in pain.

Fan Xingjia rubbed his arm and hid behind Lei Xiuming. Hearing Dai Fengchi's cries of pain, his heart bloomed with joy.

In fact, Dai Fengchi hadn't been so tyrannical and domineering before. It was only after Song Yuzhi was seriously injured that he began to act as if he were the designated next Sect Master, swaggering around all day and not tolerating a single word of rebuttal from his junior brothers.

Cai Zhao asked patiently with a smile, "Second Senior Brother, is this fun?"

Qi Lingbo was about to cry from anxiety, "Let him go!"

Li Wenxun couldn't watch anymore. He circulated his qi and shouted, "If you've had enough fun, then stand down!"

Cai Zhao released her hold with a smile, took a few steps back, and stood still. Dai Fengchi staggered back to the side of the Yin mother and daughter.

Seeing the juniors disperse, Li Wenxun gave Qi Yunke a rather strange look.

Cai Zhao knew Li Wenxun was wondering why his own Sect Master didn't stop the disciples from arguing—what other reason could there be? Of course, the impostor was inexperienced and didn't know what attitude to adopt towards three distinct disciples.

Just now, when dealing with Chang Ning, Li Wenxun had already grown suspicious of his attitude. To avoid revealing another flaw, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

Yin Sulian's chest heaved. She sneered, "Cai Zhao, you still dare to be arrogant at a time like this. This little thief impersonated the son of the Chang Clan to infiltrate the Qingque Sect; he's most likely a scoundrel from the Demonic Cult. You collude with him, disgracing the name of Falling Blossoms Valley. Even if I were to kill you right here today, it would just be cleansing our sect!"

Cai Zhao's expression was indifferent. She said unhurriedly, "Martial Aunt, what nonsense are you spouting in the middle of the night—was I the one who brought him up Jiuli Mountain? Was I the one who insisted he was the orphan of the Chang Clan? Up to now, have I said a single word to defend him?"

"As for 'colluding'... hehe, on the very first day I came to Jiuli Mountain, Master personally entrusted this person to me. Many elders know this. How can you now pursue my fault? If Martial Aunt is sleep-deprived and confused, I can fetch some fine essays to help you clear your head."

Hearing Cai Zhao's veiled threat, Yin Sulian immediately backed down and sat down sullenly.

The fake Qi Yunke coughed lightly again, "Zhaozhao, do not be rude to your Martial Aunt."

Cai Zhao said respectfully, "Master's teaching is correct. But..." She looked up, her gaze searching, "You and my aunt are sworn siblings who entrusted your lives to each other. Do you think the child she raised would be someone who colludes with the Demonic Cult?"

The fake Qi Yunke naturally wanted to take the opportunity to remove Cai Zhao, this thorn in his side. It was just a pity that the real Qi Yunke's persona of 'my bond with Cai Pingshu is higher than the heavens' was too solid. He couldn't turn hostile on the spot, so he could only say vaguely, "I know you wouldn't collude with the Demonic Cult. Alright, stand down."

He added, "Men, seize this fellow who's impersonating the orphan of the Chang Clan!"

"Wait!" Chang Ning suddenly raised his voice, "I have not admitted to being an impostor." He shot an annoyed glare at Cai Zhao, who pretended not to see it.

Fake Qi Yunke: "The Chang Family nanny has spoken. Could it still be false?"

Chang Ning said leisurely, "The Chang Family nanny isn't fake, but what she says isn't necessarily true."

"What do you mean?" The fake Qi Yunke's expression changed.

Chang Ning: "What if she was coerced into lying that I have a burn on my arm—alright, actually, I'm saying that you, Sect Master, coerced her."

The fake Qi Yunke laughed in anger, "I see you're at your wit's end, spouting such absurdities. Big Brother Chang and I were like brothers. Why would I frame his son?!"

The disciples also laughed one after another, accusing Chang Ning of having gone mad.

"Because—" Chang Ning slowly and deliberately dropped a bombshell, "You are not the real Sect Master Qi. You are an impostor."

These words struck like a heavy hammer, shocking everyone in the hall. They all turned to look at the fake Qi Yunke.

Yin Sulian's face turned pale with shock. Ouyang Kexie and Chen Qiong's expressions changed in unison. Cai Zhao also cooperatively put on a surprised look.

Li Wenxun slowly raised his hand to signal. Zhuang Shu immediately led twenty skilled Outer Sect disciples to block the main entrance of the front hall, cutting off Chang Ning's retreat.

At the same time, the man with the short aquiline nose secretly gave a signal to those on his left and right. The men in gray then also spread out, abandoning their quiet waiting.

Lei Xiuming grabbed Cai Zhao, "Zhaozhao, look, is the Sect Master..." He wanted to ask if the Sect Master before them was wearing a disguise.

Cai Zhao shook her head, "It's not a disguise."

The fake Qi Yunke breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Senior Brother Lei, if you don't believe me, you can come and touch my face to see if I've pasted or painted anything on it."

But then Chang Ning said, "Who said you used a disguise? To dare to stir up trouble and pull off a grand deception in the number one sect under heaven, how could you rely on a mere ordinary disguise?!"

Li Wenxun said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that?"

Chang Ning: "Has Martial Uncle Li never heard of the 'Body Switching Grand Method' of the 'Thousand Faces Sect'?"

As soon as these words were spoken, nine out of ten of the younger disciples didn't understand, but Li Wenxun and the others had heard of it to some extent.

Lei Xiuming said in surprise, "Body Switching Grand Method? I thought that was just a fabricated tall tale. Is there really a technique in the world that can completely transform one person into another? Weren't they wiped out ninety years ago?"

"It exists, of course it exists." Chang Ning said without hesitation, "That last disciple of the Thousand Faces Sect is currently imprisoned by this fake Sect Master Qi in the very dungeon where Elder Kaiyang was once held!"

—It was like pouring another ladle of cold water into hot oil. The crowd burst into a shocked uproar.

Li Wenxun moved closer to Chang Ning, "How do you know about that dungeon?" That dungeon was a secret of the previous generation. Fewer than five people in the sect knew about it. Even he himself only knew its general location.

"Perhaps an immortal visited me in a dream." Chang Ning tilted his head and smiled, his features handsome and elegant. "Why does Martial Uncle Li ask so many questions? Wouldn't you know if you just brought the person over to ask? —Do you want me to tell you the exact location of that dungeon?"

Li Wenxun looked at the fake Qi Yunke, his heart full of doubt.

Up to this point, Chang Ning had said what Cai Zhao had originally intended to say.

After a moment of stiffness, the fake Qi Yunke suddenly let out a long sigh, his face grief-stricken, "So that's how it is. This villain was actually planning this all along!"

Zeng Dalou said blankly, "Master, what do you mean?"

The fake Qi Yunke stood up and cupped his fist towards Li Wenxun and the others, "For some time now, the Demonic Cult has succeeded in several sneak attacks. I felt something was amiss, so I secretly arranged for people to investigate. A few days ago, I finally learned that the Demonic Cult had actually captured a disciple of the Thousand Faces Sect..."

"I finally managed to snatch the person back from the Demonic Cult. I just locked him in the dungeon yesterday, intending to choose a day to explain it properly to all my martial brothers. I never imagined that this villain would discover his whereabouts and turn it around to bite me back!"

Chang Ning laughed and started clapping, "Well said, well said. I didn't expect an impostor like you to be so quick-witted, to come up with a new story so quickly."

Qi Lingbo was dumbfounded, "What... what does this mean?"

Cai Zhao kindly explained to her, "It means that even though he captured someone from the Thousand Faces Sect, and even though he never mentioned it before, he is still the real one, definitely not a fake."

Fan Xingjia wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.

Lei Xiuming asked Chang Ning, "Does the Body Switching Grand Method have any distinguishing marks?"

Chang Ning: "There are no marks. The Body Switching Grand Method is formless and miraculous. Unless the disguised person disperses their own technique or dies, there are no flaws."

Li Wenxun's face was cold, "Since there are no flaws, does that mean we have to kill the Sect Master to know if you're telling the truth or not? Do you take the people of our Qingque Sect for fools!"

The fake Qi Yunke said, "Martial brothers, feel free to ask me some matters of the sect to see if I can answer."

Before Lei Xiuming could open his mouth, Chang Ning said, "Since you deliberately planned to replace Sect Master Qi, you naturally would have placed spies around him to find out everything about his daily life and preferences. Moreover, the various Martial Uncles and Sect Master Qi each have their own responsibilities and are not close on a daily basis."

Hearing this, Lei Xiuming couldn't help but glance at Yin Sulian, thinking that for an ordinary couple, the wife would be the one best able to tell if her husband was real or fake. But this couple argued every few days and were separated for eleven months out of the year. Their intimacy was not much better than that between martial brothers.

At this moment, Yin Sulian's face was pale, and she was trembling all over—if the husband before her was a fake, what should she do?

If others mistook Qi Yunke, it would just be the disciples being foolish or fellow sect members being unobservant. But if she, as his wife, mistook her husband, and even had intimate relations with an impostor, then even if the real Qi Yunke didn't hold it against her in the future, her reputation would be ruined, and she would be too ashamed to face anyone.

Fortunately, they had not been living together as husband and wife for the past few months.

Thinking of this, she no longer wanted to stay here.

Granny Mao understood the fear in her eyes and immediately had the Yin Clan guards surround the mother and daughter, preparing to leave early.

Cai Zhao suddenly said loudly, "Master, when I was ten, you came to Falling Blossoms Valley to celebrate my aunt's birthday. What gift did you bring?"

Lei Xiuming's spirits lifted. Like him, everyone turned to see the Sect Master's reaction.

A flash of panic appeared in the fake Qi Yunke's eyes, but he quickly calmed down and said, "How could I have only brought one gift? Naturally, there were many. I just don't know which one Pingshu liked the most."

Cai Zhao narrowed her eyes, "Master remembers incorrectly. That year, there was heavy snow, and all of Master's luggage and supplies were buried in the snow on the way—Master came to see my aunt empty-handed."

The fake Qi Yunke sighed, "Zhaozhao, I know you want to exonerate this impostor, but you can't just spout nonsense."

Dai Fengchi took the opportunity to chime in, "That's right, that's right. Master is busy with many affairs, how could he remember such trivial details from so many years ago! Seventh Junior Sister, are you trying to help this little thief..."

Yin Sulian, feeling disappointed in him, scolded in a low voice, "Fengchi, shut up!"

Dai Fengchi turned his head blankly, not knowing what he had said wrong.

Seeing that even Yin Sulian had become suspicious, the fake Qi Yunke immediately leaped high and struck out with a palm straight at Li Wenxun.