Volume 4, Chapter 242 – My Doppelgänger’s Brain Is Missing (Part 1)

Qi Huang had many unspeakable secrets, any fool could see that!

Cheng Hongling, being sharp-witted and perceptive, knew this woman had never been fully honest with her, especially because of that Registry of Slaughter. That was precisely why she had deliberately left it out as bait.

“With her flashy, reckless personality, once she gets her hands on the Registry of Slaughter, she’ll think she’s invincible and act without restraint. Then all her secrets will spill out naturally.”

That was what Cheng Hongling had thought. But to her surprise, that seemingly deranged little doppelgänger didn’t take the bait.

“No good. Even though she’s a bit unhinged, she’s not stupid. The moment she detects my divine sense, she won’t make a move. Fine then, I’ll have to stay far away and let her have her way.”

Cheng Hongling quickly made up her mind and prepared to act on it.

That day, when Qi Huang arrived at the Ghost Tomato Shop, the storekeeper she had hired, Tang Ping, hesitantly spoke up:

“Fairy Hongling, I heard you promised to find Yuan Jie a partner?”

“Ah, yes. You know about that too?” Qi Huang asked curiously.

“You’re the future sect leader of the Honghua Sect! News like this spreads through the entire sect by noon, let alone what you ate for breakfast!” Tang Ping flattered.

“Is it really that exaggerated?” Qi Huang feigned modesty, though inwardly, she was quite pleased.

“Fairy, I know you’re incredibly capable. Could you… maybe help me find a partner too? I’m almost thirty, and my family’s been pressuring me. I’m getting anxious too.”

Tang Ping made her request.

Qi Huang smirked. She had long sensed Tang Ping’s intentions, it was impressive she had held out this long.

“Go on, what kind of man are you looking for?” she asked nonchalantly.

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“No requirements at all! As long as he has residency rights in the Honghua Sect!”

Tang Ping blurted out eagerly.

“No problem! Leave it to me!”

Qi Huang immediately agreed. She had been worrying about finding wives for her remaining brothers, and now, here was the solution delivered right to her doorstep!

“He Chao, Liu Keqian, Yuan Jie, and Tang Ping—perfect matches!”

“Once I get them settled, I’m retiring from this matchmaking business. Being a matchmaker is exhausting, it’s enough to drive you mad!”

Qi Huang swore to herself.

The next day, Yao Yao prepared to set off again. But before leaving, she had one task, to form a telepathic contract with her poop-scooper. Otherwise, with outsiders around, she couldn’t speak freely, making communication between them far too troublesome.

“What kind of contract allows telepathy like between a main body and a doppelgänger?”

Qi Huang was astonished.

“Don’t act like some country bumpkin, it’s embarrassing!”

Yao Yao rolled her red eyes cutely before explaining:

“This is an equal contract I recently obtained from a major sect, the ‘Soul Resonance Contract’. Both parties only need to sign it with their essence blood, and they’ll be able to communicate telepathically. It’s similar to the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube, but far more discreet. After all, who doesn’t have a few private words to share with a friend? With this, I can talk to you anytime.”

“Really? Something this convenient exists? Then what’s the point of the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube? That thing’s so expensive, why haven’t those scam merchants gone bankrupt yet?”

Qi Huang was incredulous.

“Ugh, are you dense? I just said, telepathy requires divine sense! Do you, as a doppelgänger, not know this? Can ordinary people even use divine sense? Without the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube, how are they supposed to communicate long-distance? Are you trying to strip them of that right?”

Yao Yao fired back.

“Uh…”

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Qi Huang was instantly rendered speechless.

“Moreover, once the Soul Resonance Contract is formed, the mark only exists within each other’s Sea of Consciousness. Since only those at the Incarnation Realm or above can open their Sea of Consciousness, this contract can only be signed by cultivators who’ve reached that level.”

Yao Yao continued her explanation.

“That requirement is way too high!”

Qi Huang was dumbfounded. Now she understood why no one in the Honghua Sect ever discussed this contract, both parties needing to be at the Incarnation Realm made it practically useless for them.

“Lastly, since the Soul Resonance Contract relies on divine sense, it means communication is limited to the range of each other’s divine sense. So while it’s discreet, its range is nowhere near the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube.”

Yao Yao added.

“Ah… so it’s just a watered-down version of the main body-doppelgänger bond?”

Qi Huang was a little disappointed. She had hoped this could compensate for the long-range communication gap between her and her main body, after all, right now, only she could initiate contact with Cheng Hongling if they were too far apart.

“Obviously! The main body-doppelgänger bond is the strongest in the cultivation world. Not only does it allow long-range telepathy, but the main body can also summon the doppelgänger at will. Most importantly, it’s a shared fate, how could some simple contract compare? Tsk tsk… truly a country bumpkin cultivator!”

Yao Yao never missed a chance to mock her shoveling officer.

“Yes, yes, I’m a country bumpkin, happy now?”

Qi Huang surrendered. A contract that required the Incarnation Realm to sign, and it was being called simple?

The two proceeded to sign the Soul Resonance Contract. The process was straightforward, mixing their essence blood, burning a Soul Resonance Talisman into it, and then drinking it.

After drinking it, Qi Huang discovered a plum blossom-shaped mark had indeed appeared in her Sea of Consciousness. Extending her divine sense toward it allowed her to communicate telepathically with Yao Yao. However, due to the limitations of her divine sense range, the effective distance was only a few dozen miles, and that was only because she had reached the Divine Realm. Before, it would’ve been even shorter.

Even so, Qi Huang was satisfied. She had always been one to appreciate what she had, and this solved her communication troubles with Yao Yao perfectly.

“I’ll be leaving soon. Can you clear up a doubt for me? You’re Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger, right?”

Yao Yao suddenly changed the subject.

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“As genuine as they come!”

Qi Huang hesitated briefly before answering with feigned confidence.

“Heh…”

Yao Yao smirked ambiguously before pressing further:

“If that’s the case, why is your personality completely different from hers? And why do you have your own little secrets?”

“Because when she cultivated me, she was only at the Unity Realm. She passed out after giving me just a face, so I developed purely from a Human Skin Mask. I didn’t inherit everything from the main body.”

Qi Huang mixed truth with lies. This wasn’t exactly a secret in the Honghua Sect, as long as it didn’t involve “Huang Qi”, it was fine.

“Ah, so you’re a premature birth. No wonder you act like a lunatic. Still, for her to cultivate a doppelgänger and open her Sea of Consciousness at the Unity Realm, she really is a genius.”

Yao Yao mused, biased as ever.

“How am I a lunatic?! I’m perfectly normal! I just behave differently from others, that’s called being unique!”

Qi Huang retorted indignantly.

“Oh really?”

Yao Yao smirked again before continuing her interrogation:

“Fine, let’s say I buy that. Then what’s with you casually summoning another doppelgänger out of nowhere? That’s not just ‘being unique’—a doppelgänger absolutely cannot cultivate another doppelgänger.”

“Says who? That’s exactly what makes me special!”

Qi Huang stubbornly insisted. She had no choice—she wouldn’t have revealed her doppelgänger in front of Yao Yao unless absolutely necessary.

“What flawless logic! Then why are you so afraid of your main body finding out?”

Yao Yao pressed further.

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“You know how controlling she is. I still need this doppelgänger for my great escape, of course I can’t let her see it!”

Qi Huang argued logically.

“…”

Yao Yao was momentarily stumped. But just the fact that a doppelgänger could cultivate another doppelgänger was enough to convince her something was deeply suspicious here.

The next day, Yao Yao left the Honghua Sect to go “plundering” again.

On the third day, Cheng Hongling also left the Honghua Sect, claiming she had urgent business that would take her away for three days.

“Hahaha! Heaven itself is helping me!”

Qi Huang swept the area with her divine sense and confirmed that the Registry of Slaughter was still hidden in the main body’s bedroom. She couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

With the main body gone, Qi Huang had no reservations. She sneaked in and stole the Registry of Slaughter.

“Now, I, Qi Huang, am the boss of the Honghua Sect!”

Drunk on her own triumph, Qi Huang immediately began courting disaster. Her first order of business was fulfilling the promise she had long delayed, playing matchmaker for Yuan Jie, Tang Ping, He Chao, and Liu Keqian.

The reason she had stalled before was simple: these people all knew her. If He Chao and Liu Keqian came to the Honghua Sect, things would spiral out of control, her main body would skin her alive!

But now? With the Registry of Slaughter in her hands, she feared nothing!

And so, Qi Huang left her brainless doppelgänger in the bedroom and secretly slipped out of the Honghua Sect, heading back to Ping’an County to fetch her two brothers for their blind dates.

What Qi Huang didn’t know was that very same night, Cheng Hongling quietly returned.

“Let’s see what this girl’s been hiding from me…”

A faint smirk curled Cheng Hongling’s lips as she leisurely stepped through the door.