Volume 2, Chapter 116 – “Please Don’t Punish Me, Okay?”

Qi Huang was carried back in the most humiliating way possible, her already fragile male dignity trampled yet again. Countless times, she wanted to blurt out her true identity—but she didn’t dare. If this proud, peerless beauty knew she was holding a “filthy man”, a mere princess carry would be the least of her worries. Cheng Hongling might just crush her to death on the spot!

Despite her harsh words, Cheng Hongling’s actions betrayed her concern. Though she acted like she was dragging her disobedient doppelgänger back for punishment, the moment they got home, she gently set Qi Huang down on a chair.

“Lift your skirt. Let me see.”

Cheng Hongling crossed her arms, her tone brooking no argument.

“S-See what?! E-Even if I’m just a doppelgänger, I still have my dignity!”

Qi Huang hastily clutched her skirt, wondering if this was the so-called punishment.

“You really love making a scene, don’t you?”

Cheng Hongling rolled her eyes. “I just want to check your injuries.”

“Huh?”

Qi Huang’s small mouth parted slightly in surprise. She hadn’t expected her usually aloof Main Body to be so… considerate. For a moment, she was flustered.

“Ahem. Not that I care about a rebellious doppelgänger like you,” Cheng Hongling coughed, her voice tinged with something oddly tsundere. “It’s just that we share a Soul Resonance. If you’re hurt, I feel it too. I don’t want to suffer because of your recklessness.”

‘Ah… so I was overthinking it.’

Qi Huang nearly wept internally but obediently lifted her bloodstained skirt, revealing her mangled calf. Though she had bandaged it, the wound—severe to begin with—had barely healed after all the recent battles.

Cheng Hongling’s delicate brows furrowed as she carefully unwrapped the gauze. What lay beneath was a gruesome gash, as if a lumberjack had taken a few haphazard swings at a sapling and left it barely standing.

“A wound this bad… no wonder I could feel the pain. How did this happen?”

“J-Just… a scrape. Nothing serious.”

Qi Huang couldn’t possibly tell the truth, so she brushed it off.

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“A scrape?” Cheng Hongling arched an eyebrow. “What, did you scrape yourself on someone’s sword? Or maybe a spear? Or a club?”

Qi Huang froze, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? This is clearly an arrow wound.” Cheng Hongling’s voice turned sharp. “You got this saving Steward Hu, didn’t you?”

“Y-Yes! Exactly!” Qi Huang nodded like a pecking chicken.

“How fortunate for Steward Hu,” Cheng Hongling drawled sarcastically. “Even hiding in some backwater village, he just happened to run into you.”

“Yep… super lucky.”

Qi Huang laughed awkwardly, her eyes darting away.

Cheng Hongling smirked knowingly before heading into another room. She returned moments later with a high-grade medicinal ointment and began re-dressing the wound.

Just then, Jiang Linian hurried in. Overjoyed to see her “second daughter”, she gasped at the sight of Qi Huang’s injury.

“Little Huang! How did you get hurt like this?!”

“Mother, it’s nothing! Just a scratch.”

“A scratch?! Look at your tiny arms and legs—there’s a chunk of flesh missing! How much must this hurt?!”

Jiang Linian’s eyes reddened as she knelt to inspect the wound.

“Mother, let me handle it. I’m more experienced with injuries.”

Cheng Hongling gently shooed her away, leaving Jiang Linian to fret helplessly.

“Where’s Father?” Qi Huang changed the subject.

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“He’s gone again. That man can’t sit still.”

Jiang Linian answered distractedly, her gaze still fixed on the wound.

“Is he still making trips to the prefecture for goods?”

“Yes. All these years, he’s been scrambling to gather cultivation resources for your… sister.”

“That’s too dangerous.”

Though Cheng Yuan wasn’t her real father, the bond they’d forged in her dreams was genuine.

“What can we do? He won’t listen. Should we tie him up?”

Jiang Linian sighed.

“Once I’m strong enough, he won’t need to take such risks.”

Qi Huang clenched her fists in determination.

“Oh? Once you’re strong enough?” Cheng Hongling finished bandaging the wound and stood tall, her slender figure casting a shadow. “A disobedient doppelgänger like you—how many days do you even have left?”

Qi Huang fell silent. To her Main Body, her reckless escape must have seemed like sheer irresponsibility. But for her master’s sake, she’d do it again even if it killed her.

“Now then. Time to answer my question.”

Cheng Hongling’s expression turned stern.

“W-What question?”

Qi Huang’s voice faltered. She had a bad feeling.

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“Where did you run off to in such a panic?”

“Yes! Do you know how worried we’ve been?”

Jiang Linian chimed in.

“I… had urgent business.”

Qi Huang’s mind raced for an excuse.

“Urgent business? Would this business happen to involve Steward Hu?”

“N-No! Nothing to do with him!”

“Really? Then explain why you were in Mǎ’ān Village, a place so remote I’ve never even heard of it. And why you just happened to save Steward Hu there?”

Beads of sweat formed on Qi Huang’s forehead.

“It’s… just a coincidence!”

“Ah, yes, quite the coincidence! And an even bigger one—Steward Hu is the master of that Huang Qi boy.”

Cheng Hongling’s lips curled.

“Huang Qi? Who’s that? D-Don’t know him!”

Qi Huang was now drenched in cold sweat.

“No? But when you reported Wu He’s crimes to the Sect Leader, you mentioned Huang Qi being poisoned and expelled three years ago.”

“T-That was… what Steward Hu told me!”

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Qi Huang wiped her brow desperately.

“Oh? Then what about the other Huang Qi? If I recall, the son of that couple who saved you was also named Huang Qi. Could they be the same person?”

Cheng Hongling leaned in, her sweet breath brushing Qi Huang’s face.

“I… wouldn’t know.”

Qi Huang leaned back, her clothes now soaked through.

“Easy enough to find out. I’ll just ask them myself someday.”

Cheng Hongling’s smile vanished, replaced by icy detachment.

‘If she finds out both Huang Qis are the same person, she’ll start suspecting everything!’

Qi Huang’s heart pounded. Her only hope was that Cheng Hongling wouldn’t connect the dots—otherwise, her identity as a fake doppelgänger would be exposed.

“Honestly, I don’t even care why you ran away. What angers me is that a mere doppelgänger dares to disobey her Main Body—repeatedly.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice turned dangerous. “In all the cultivation world, have you ever heard of a doppelgänger as rebellious as you? Because of you, I’ve been mocked by certain lowlifes. So tell me—how should I punish you to vent my frustration?”

“I-I was wrong! Please don’t punish me! I’ll listen to you from now on, I swear!”

Qi Huang panicked. A true man knows when to bend! Once her Divine Sense recovered, whether she obeyed or not would be her choice.

“Oh no. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn.”

Cheng Hongling’s smile was anything but kind.