Volume 2, Chapter 107 – I Will Leave the Honghua Sect With No Way Out

Qi Huang waited patiently for three days. During this time, she learned that her target’s name was Kong Wei, whose surface identity was a clerk at a medicinal shop—leaving early and returning late—but in truth, he was a low-level disciple of the Severed Immortal Sect.

On the evening of the fourth day, Kong Wei finally grew restless. After closing the shop, he didn’t return home. Instead, he weaved through the streets before entering a tavern, where he met up with a middle-aged man who appeared slightly older.

Qi Huang observed carefully and noticed that this man was burly, with dark, glossy skin and a brisk gait—clearly no ordinary person.

The two took a private room and began speaking in hushed tones.

“Were you followed?”

The brawny man spoke first.

“Don’t worry, Brother Fu! I’ve been watching carefully these past few days—no tails at all.”

Kong Wei sounded absolutely certain.

‘So this is the “Brother Fu” that Kong Wei reports to.’

Qi Huang nodded to herself.

“Good.”

Brother Fu exhaled in relief before asking, “Then who was that person impersonating one of our Severed Immortal Sect disciples?”

“I don’t know. On the surface, he looked like a young man in his twenties—tall, thin, and bookish. I definitely don’t recognize him. Maybe you do?”

Kong Wei recalled before explaining.

“Know my ass! How many times have I told you? In this entire Jinqiu Prefecture, there are only the two of us from the Severed Immortal Sect. Do you not believe me?”

Brother Fu glared, his eyes fierce.

“Yes, yes, of course!”

Kong Wei nodded repeatedly, though his expression lacked sincerity.

Naturally, Qi Huang didn’t believe it either. For a cult like the Severed Immortal Sect, how could a prefecture as large as Jinqiu have only two members? This was clearly a smokescreen from Brother Fu.

“Since the other party is an impostor, it’s most likely a trap set by the government office or an immortal sect. Those damned dogs are getting more cunning by the day. Lucky for us, we didn’t make contact with that fake in advance.”

Brother Fu cursed under his breath.

“Then what should we do now?”

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Kong Wei sought Brother Fu’s opinion.

“What should we do? Nothing! The situation outside is too tense right now. We’ll lay low for now.”

Brother Fu gave his orders.

“Understood!”

Kong Wei quickly complied.

“Do you still have any Qi-Leaking Powder?”

Brother Fu pressed, just to be sure.

“How could I? Sect rules strictly forbid disciples from hoarding Qi-Leaking Powder. Even if I had ten guts, I wouldn’t dare!”

Kong Wei shook his head vigorously.

“Good. I was afraid you might be selling it privately again. If that got exposed, you know how severe the consequences would be, right?”

Brother Fu warned.

With that, their conversation ended, and the two soon parted ways.

Qi Huang naturally abandoned Kong Wei and shifted her surveillance to Brother Fu—the bigger fish.

After leaving the tavern, Brother Fu returned to a courtyard house in the city. As expected of a higher-ranking member, his residence was far more impressive than Kong Wei’s.

Qi Huang swept the place with her Divine Sense and was surprised to find that Brother Fu actually had a family—elderly parents in their sixties or seventies, a child of seven or eight, and even a younger brother in his late twenties. It was a complete household.

‘I never expected a Severed Immortal Sect disciple to have such a harmonious family. I thought they were all fugitives with no ties.’

Qi Huang was stunned, but she soon realized this family wasn’t as perfect as it seemed.

“Little Yao, why haven’t you taken your brother out to meet potential brides these past few days?”

The moment Brother Fu arrived home, his elderly father began questioning him.

“Ah, Father, we haven’t found any suitable girls recently.”

Fu Yao hurriedly explained.

“How is that possible? There are so many girls in this city!”

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The old man clearly didn’t believe him. After all, the prefectural capital wasn’t some backwater village—the gender ratio here was fairly balanced.

“There are plenty of girls, but as you know, in these times, many would rather be concubines to the rich than wives to the poor.”

Fu Yao shook his head helplessly.

“This won’t do! I’m not pressuring you, but the dynasty has moved the conscription age up to twenty-eight this year. Your brother is already twenty-seven. If he doesn’t find a wife this year, he’ll be drafted to the frontlines.”

The old man sighed heavily.

Fu Yao glanced at his good-for-nothing younger brother, his face filled with frustration. “He’s almost thirty, yet he still lazes around all day. After all his fooling around outside, has he really never met a single girl? It’s not like women only care about money. Without feelings, of course they’ll demand wealth. But if there’s affection, they’d follow you through anything.”

Fu Yao’s brother curled his lip dismissively, clearly not taking the words to heart.

Fu Yao grew even more exasperated. Seeing that he was wasting his breath, he simply gave up.

Qi Huang found the whole scene rather absurd. She had assumed that only rural men struggled to find wives, but it seemed even in large cities, the situation was the same.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Fu Yao left the house—wearing the uniform of a constable.

‘So you’re the mole.’

The weight in Qi Huang’s heart lifted slightly. However, she didn’t immediately rush to expose him. After all, she knew too little about the Severed Immortal Sect’s operations in Jinqiu Prefecture. Who knew if there were other moles in the government office? Besides, her main goal was to find her master and uncover the truth. Acting recklessly would only startle the enemy.

Having made up her mind, Qi Huang continued observing from the shadows.

Meanwhile, after returning to the Honghua Sect, Qin Quan received two more pieces of bad news.

First, the doppelgänger of his so-called “genius disciple” had run away.

Second, the disciples he had sent to Panshan Village to investigate the Blue Scale Stones had been obstructed by the Heyi Sect . A clash had broken out, and only half of them had returned.

“Heh. Misfortunes never come singly.”

Qin Quan shook his head helplessly before beginning his inquiries one by one.

“That doppelgänger’s Divine Sense was unusually strong—even stronger than the main body’s. It was able to resist the Soul Tether, so it escaped.”

Xu Mei explained carefully.

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“How could a doppelgänger’s Divine Sense surpass the main body’s? I thought a doppelgänger’s power was capped at eighty percent of the original. That’s common knowledge in the cultivation world.”

Qin Quan clearly didn’t believe it.

“I don’t know how it happened either.”

Xu Mei answered awkwardly.

“The logic is sound, but what I can’t understand is—why would the doppelgänger run away? A doppelgänger and the main body are the same person. Their thoughts should align. Don’t tell me you still don’t know.”

Elder Wu seized the opportunity to nitpick.

“Well, Hongling explained that this doppelgänger seems different from others… as if it developed its own personality.”

Xu Mei replied vaguely.

“What nonsense! Is she actually suffering from split personality disorder ? I’ve told you all before—if someone’s sick, get them treated!”

Elder Wu burst into mocking laughter.

“You should worry about yourself first. Why did only half of the disciples you led return?”

Xu Mei fired back furiously.

“Yes, Elder Wu. What exactly happened?”

Qin Quan redirected the questioning toward Elder Wu.

“The reason is simple. By the time we arrived, Panshan Village was already under the control of over a hundred Heyi Sect disciples. I tried reasoning with them, but they attacked at the slightest provocation. The fact that half of us made it back was pure luck.”

For once, Elder Wu’s face showed genuine helplessness.

“This is outrageous! It seems the Heyi Sect has truly abandoned all pretense and is now bullying the weak without restraint.”

Qin Quan gnashed his teeth in anger.

“Sect Leader, don’t worry. If we can’t deal with them, the Immortal Alliance can! We have both witnesses and evidence. How could we fail to bring them down?”

Xu Mei reminded him.

“At this point, we can only pin our hopes on the Immortal Alliance delivering justice.”

After much deliberation, Qin Quan could think of no other solution. He turned to Elder Ruan.

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“Elder Ruan, I need you to make another trip to the Immortal Alliance and inform Steward Cai of this matter.”

Elder Ruan hesitated, clearly reluctant, but in the end, he accepted the task—though he had little confidence in success, especially since he had just returned empty-handed from Steward Cai’s place.

“Sect Leader, when we reached Bajiao Village, we found it completely deserted—not a soul in sight.”

Protector Cao, who had just returned, reported to Lin Feng.

“Heh. I underestimated Qin Quan. He clearly anticipated my move and evacuated the villagers beforehand.”

Lin Feng chuckled lightly, unfazed.

“Then what should we do now? That Ma Wen is still in their hands. With both witnesses and evidence, if this matter reaches the Immortal Alliance, it’ll be hard to contain.”

Protector Cao sounded worried.

“So what if it reaches the Immortal Alliance? The cultivation world runs on strength, not righteousness! I sent you to kill those villagers just to save us some trouble. Failing that, we’ll just have to expend a little more effort.”

Lin Feng waved it off before turning to an elderly man beside him.

“Elder Zhu, select a few treasures from the Vault and deliver them to Steward Cai of the Immortal Alliance. Have him… lend us a helping hand.”

“Understood!”

Elder Zhu bowed in acknowledgment.

“Qin Quan… Qin Quan… This time, I’ll leave you crying to the heavens with no answer, and begging the earth with no relief!”

A cold glint flashed in Lin Feng’s eyes.

After several days of covert surveillance in Jinqiu Prefecture, Qi Huang noted that Fu Yao still hadn’t made contact with any other Severed Immortal Sect members. However, she had gained some useful insights—at the very least, she could now confirm he was the only mole in the government office.

Just as Qi Huang was growing impatient, Fu Yao finally made his move.