Volume 1, Chapter 2 – She Mistook Me for Her Junior Sister

‘Who is she even talking to?’

Huang Qi glanced around nervously. After all, the person being called was “Junior Sister Hongling”—he was neither named “Hongling” nor was he a junior sister.

“What are you looking around for?”

Fairy Lingyu strode right up to him and casually patted his shoulder. Her fair, delicate hand felt as soft as a willow branch in spring, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance. The intimate gesture was a stark contrast to her usual cold, aloof demeanor.

Huang Qi stiffened instantly, his heart nearly exploding in his chest—because she was indeed addressing him.

‘How is this possible?’

A tremor ran through his body. He was still wearing the Human Skin Mask, which meant Fairy Lingyu recognized it, not him. This could lead to a disastrous consequence: if exposed, he would be guilty of impersonation—and not just anyone, but Fairy Lingyu’s own junior sister!

If this were an ordinary person, Huang Qi might have been able to talk his way out of it. But this was a cultivator from the Honghua Sect, someone whose power transcended mortal limits, with a sword at her waist. There was a real chance he wouldn’t even get the opportunity to explain himself before meeting a gruesome end.

“Old Zhang, stop staring! Didn’t you notice the waist token on that woman in white?”

“What about it?”

“That’s a cultivator’s token from the Honghua Sect! You wanna die?”

Whispers from passersby drifted into Huang Qi’s ears.

His gaze instinctively dropped to Fairy Lingyu’s slender waist, where a rectangular silver token hung. The words “Cultivator” were prominently engraved in the center, with “Honghua Sect” in the upper left corner and the owner’s name—”Ruan Lingyu”—in the lower right.

This was a cultivator’s Token, issued by the Immortal Alliance as proof of a cultivator’s identity.

Seeing it, Huang Qi’s heart twisted with bitterness. He had joined the Honghua Sect at the age of ten, enduring fifteen years of grueling training—all for the sake of earning this very token. Yet, in the end, he had been expelled without ever obtaining it, mocked as a “cultivation deadbeat”.

‘I’ve already been expelled from the Honghua Sect, and I’m not even acquainted with Ruan Lingyu. If my identity is exposed, she definitely won’t show mercy.’

Fear gripped him. Terrified of being discovered, he didn’t dare make a sound.

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so strange?”

Ruan Lingyu scrutinized him with narrowed eyes, her suspicion growing by the second.

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Huang Qi averted his gaze, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might leap out of his throat. Desperate, he decided to gamble—he pointed at his mouth and frantically waved his hands.

“Oh, toothache?”

Ruan Lingyu’s expression cleared as if she had just solved a great mystery.

Huang Qi saw a glimmer of hope and nodded eagerly.

“Wait, Junior Sister Hongling! As the Honghua Sect’s number one expert, how could you possibly get toothache?”

Huang Qi’s mind blanked.

‘Number one expert? Isn’t the sect leader the strongest?’

He had spent years in the Honghua Sect and had never heard of this “Hongling”. Was she some newly emerged genius from the past two years? But why hadn’t there been any rumors? Was Ping’an County really that isolated?

Regardless, impersonating the top disciple of the Honghua Sect was an even graver offense. If exposed, he’d be dead before he hit the ground.

Huang Qi almost burst into tears. He never imagined that the random mask he’d picked up would turn out to be the face of a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

“Ah, wait—could it be your wisdom teeth? You mentioned that before.”

After a moment of contemplation, Ruan Lingyu came up with an explanation on her own.

Huang Qi couldn’t believe his luck. Seizing the lifeline, he nodded like a woodpecker.

“I knew it! Want me to take a look?”

She took a step closer, her delicate fragrance wafting over.

Huang Qi, however, stumbled back in panic. Under normal circumstances, he would have been overjoyed by such proximity—but right now, the closer she got, the higher the risk of exposure.

“Hah, since when are you so shy with me? What’s there to be reserved about between sisters?”

Ruan Lingyu didn’t press further but suddenly grabbed his hand.

The moment their skin touched, Huang Qi felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His legs nearly gave out.

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This was Fairy Lingyu—a woman he had once been too ashamed to even glance at—and now, somehow, he was experiencing skin-to-skin contact with her.

“Huh? Why are your hands so rough?”

Her fingers traced over his calloused palms, and her expression shifted.

‘Oh no!’

Huang Qi’s heart plummeted. The mask only disguised his face—his hands were still unmistakably male. If she saw them clearly, he was dead.

Yet struggling would only hasten his demise.

Ruan Lingyu studied his hands intently, her expression growing more serious by the second.

Huang Qi was on the verge of wetting himself. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, she suddenly looked up with pity in her eyes.

“Junior sister… you’ve already pushed yourself hard enough all these years. There’s no need to overdo it. Look at these hands—how could a girl let them get like this? Don’t you know how to take care of yourself?”

Huang Qi gaped.

‘She thinks my hands are like this from training?!’

Before he could process this absurd reasoning, Ruan Lingyu had already dragged him to a nearby tea stall.

The stall owner, who had never seen such beauties in his life—let alone an immortal cultivator—nearly dropped the tea in his trembling hands.

Of course, Huang Qi was shaking even harder.

“You should cover your face for now.”

Ruan Lingyu’s sudden suggestion made Huang Qi’s blood run cold. He almost asked why but bit back the words just in time.

“That face of yours is too eye-catching. Aren’t you afraid of attracting trouble?”

She leaned in her breath sweet as orchids, and whispered teasingly.

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Huang Qi had been wanting to hide his face this whole time—what if someone else who recognized it showed up? But he had nothing to cover it with, so he could only force a helpless smile.

“Honestly, what am I going to do with you?”

With an indulgent sigh, Ruan Lingyu took out a light pink handkerchief from her sleeve and tied it around his face herself, concealing the breathtaking mask.

Huang Qi finally relaxed slightly. The faint floral scent from the fabric made his head spin.

“By the way, what are you doing in a place like this?”

Once they were seated again, Ruan Lingyu tilted her head curiously.

Huang Qi hesitated, then shook his head vaguely. The less he did, the fewer mistakes he’d make.

“Ah, I get it—you’re here to clear your mind, right? That’s good. A change of scenery helps you forget unpleasant things.”

Once again, she came up with an explanation on his behalf.

‘What ‘unpleasant things’?’

Huang Qi was dying of curiosity but didn’t dare ask.

“I just finished handling a haunting in the countryside. Who’d have thought I’d run into you here? Want to head back together?”

Huang Qi’s soul nearly left his body. He shook his head so hard his neck hurt.

Just this much interaction had nearly given him a heart attack—there was no way he could follow her back to the Honghua Sect.

“Alright, I won’t force you. But you should return soon—Master will worry.”

She spoke gently, like an elder sister coaxing a stubborn child.

Huang Qi nodded obediently, praying she would leave soon.

“Oh, right—here’s the twenty taels of silver I borrowed from you last time.”

After lingering a while longer, Ruan Lingyu finally stood to leave—but not before placing two gleaming silver ingots on the table.

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Huang Qi’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

‘Twenty taels?! That’s enough to buy two cows!’

For a brief moment, even his fear was overshadowed by greed. But his conscience quickly reasserted itself.

He wanted to refuse, but words failed him. In a panic, he grabbed her hand and shook his head violently.

“I know you don’t see me as an outsider, but you’re a high-level cultivator—resources don’t come cheap. Take it.”

She pried her hand free with a smile and strode off without looking back.

And just like that, Huang Qi could only watch as the beautiful fairy walked away—having not only deceived her into giving him a scented handkerchief but also extorted twenty taels of silver and groped her hand.

“Mother above… if she ever finds out I’m not ‘Junor Sister Hongling’ but actually a man…”

The thought made his hair stand on end.

Snatching up the silver, he bolted back to the inn like a man possessed. After this near-death experience, he swore off cross-dressing forever.

“Better to lose face than lose my life!”

Ignoring the innkeeper’s puzzled stare, Huang Qi barreled into his room and collapsed onto a chair.

He immediately reached for the edges of the mask, trying to peel it off—but then, something terrifying happened.

It wouldn’t budge.

“What the—? It came off easily before!”

He tugged harder, but the mask clung to his face like a second skin. The more he pulled, the more it hurt—until finally, the edges of his real skin began to tear.

“It won’t come off! It won’t come off!”

Huang Qi clutched his face in horror as an icy dread seeped into his bones.