Volume 4, Chapter 243 – My Doppelgänger’s Brain Is Missing (Part 2)

As soon as Cheng Hongling entered the house, her divine sense swept toward the upper floor. There, she saw her doppelgänger sitting obediently on the bed, deep in cultivation.

“So well-behaved? Did I misjudge her? Or did I return too early, before she had time to act?”

Cheng Hongling pondered this, then stepped into her bedroom with a sliver of hope, only to find the rosewood box empty.

“Just as I thought! No wonder she’s so calm, she’s already succeeded.”

A faint, rosy smile curled at the corners of her lips. Everything was proceeding exactly as she had planned.

“She must think I’ve run out of trump cards now. Soon, she’ll grow bold enough to act recklessly, and all her secrets will be exposed.”

This was what they called “you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child”.

Since she knew Qi Huang would eventually slip up, Cheng Hongling decided not to startle the snake in the grass. Instead, she calmly sat cross-legged on the bed and began her own cultivation.

The night passed, and Cheng Hongling noticed that her little doppelgänger was cultivating with unusual focus, so much so that she hadn’t moved an inch. It was almost… admirable.

Touched by this display of dedication, Cheng Hongling chose not to disturb her.

In truth, the doppelgänger Qi Huang had created wasn’t flawless. At the very least, its soul was different—instead of the characters “Spiritual Wisdom” (灵慧, Ling Hui) between its brows, it bore “Heavenly Surge” (天冲, Tian Chong). This was because the second doppelgänger had been cultivated using Qi Huang’s own “Heavenly Surge Soul”, the one that had been forcibly feminized. Anyone who probed with divine sense would immediately notice the difference.

Of course, Qi Huang was well aware of this. So every time she went out, she enveloped the doppelgänger in a powerful divine sense barrier, one that Cheng Hongling, at her current strength, couldn’t possibly break through. Naturally, this meant Cheng Hongling couldn’t inspect the doppelgänger’s soul.

It never crossed Cheng Hongling’s mind that the divine sense barrier she had once taught Qi Huang would one day be used against her.

Reаd оn KаtReaԁіոɡCаfе

Meanwhile, Qi Huang arrived at Ping’an County and immediately had her two brothers pack their belongings. Then, with a sweep of her divine sense, she lifted them into the air and flew toward the prefecture.

Why the prefecture and not directly to the Honghua Sect? It wasn’t that she was afraid of anything, she just couldn’t bring herself to openly clash with her original self.

Initially, Qi Huang had planned to act swiftly and decisively: take the brothers straight to the Honghua Sect, hand them over to the two women, issue them identity tokens, and call it a day. Whether love blossomed or not wasn’t her concern.

But the closer she got to the Honghua Sect, the more hesitant she became. She knew that doing so would expose her status as the Huang family’s future daughter-in-law, something her original self would never ignore. A confrontation was inevitable.

Qi Huang wasn’t afraid of her original self. But the thought of upsetting her made her heart waver. After all, hearts were made of flesh, they had spent so much time together. She couldn’t disregard their bond.

After much deliberation, Qi Huang decided to settle the brothers in the prefecture first. She would then bring the two young women over to let them interact naturally. This way, she could gauge their genuine feelings rather than forcing a marriage built solely on mutual benefit.

For these reasons, Qi Huang refrained from brute-forcing the matter. She brought the brothers to an inn in the prefecture. The entire trip, there and back, took only a single day, and that was with accommodating the brothers’ limited endurance. It spoke volumes about her speed.

He Chao and Liu Keqian had never flown like this before. By the time they reached the prefecture, their faces were flushed with excitement, their hearts pounding. They now regarded Qi Huang as nothing short of an immortal fairy.

“Sister-in-law, what are the girls you’re introducing us to like?” He Chao asked cautiously. Qi Huang had made it clear this was a matchmaking trip.

“Don’t worry, you’ll meet them soon,” Qi Huang reassured him helplessly.

“I’m not impatient. I just don’t want you to introduce us to those four or five fairy-like maidens from before, or anyone like them. We’re not worthy of such lofty matches. I’d hate to disappoint you.”

Rеаԁ оո ΚαtRеаdіոgСαfе

“Yeah, we may be poor, but poverty has its advantages, it keeps us self-aware.”

The two brothers took turns voicing their concerns.

“Relax, I know my limits. I won’t put you in an awkward spot. The girls I’m introducing this time are definitely ordinary.”

Qi Huang quickly explained. As a man who understood men, she knew their so-called “self-awareness” was really just fear of rejection.

Only then did the brothers relax. Little did they know, Qi Huang’s definition of “ordinary” was relative to her sect sisters. In truth, the grace and beauty of Yuan Jie and Tang Ping surpassed Xie Mei and Qu Zhen by leagues.

After settling the brothers in, Qi Huang leisurely made her way back to the Honghua Sect. By then, it was already dusk on the second day—but she wasn’t in a hurry. After all, her original self had explicitly said she’d be away for three days.

Back at the Honghua Sect, Cheng Hongling waited until afternoon. Yet her usually rebellious doppelgänger remained motionless.

“This isn’t right. Since when has she ever cultivated this diligently?”

Suspicion gnawed at her, so she decided to test the waters.

After brief contemplation, Cheng Hongling settled on using the “missing Registry of Slaughter” as an excuse to knock on the doppelgänger’s door.

Rеаd οn КαtRеadiոɡСаfe

No sooner thought than done. She marched upstairs and rapped on the door. But after a long wait, there was no response.

Inside, the “Heavenly Surge Soul” was terrified. Without a brain, she couldn’t control her body. Her frail physique also prevented her from using divine sense to investigate. It was like sleep paralysis, she had no idea who was outside.

But regardless of who it was, her stance aligned with Qi Huang’s: Under no circumstances should outsiders uncover the truth. With neither Cheng Hongling nor Qi Huang present, exposure would mean disaster for the Honghua Sect.

‘What do I do? What do I do?!’

Tian Chong was frantic, inwardly cursing Qi Huang to the depths of hell. If that wretched woman had given her a proper body, she wouldn’t be in this mess!

“May I come in?”

Cheng Hongling’s voice drifted through the door.

‘The original?! Perfect!’

Tian Chong exhaled in relief. Since she had been feminized by Cheng Hongling’s Spiritual Wisdom Soul, she recognized only Cheng Hongling as her true self. As for Qi Huang? Who’s that? Never heard of her.

‘If it’s the original, then exposing me isn’t a bad thing, it’s a good thing! It’ll reveal Qi Huang’s true identity!’

Overjoyed by this realization, Heavenly Surge desperately wished she could fling the door open. But no matter how hard she struggled, her body refused to obey.

After several unanswered calls, Cheng Hongling probed with divine sense and confirmed the doppelgänger was indeed inside. A pang of worry struck her.

“Could something have happened to her?”

Reaԁ оո ΚαtRеaԁіոɡСafе

The more she thought, the more anxious she grew. Drawing her sword, she slid it through the door seam and cleanly severed the latch. Then she stepped inside.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you answering?”

Cheng Hongling glared at the figure on the bed.

The “Qi Huang” clone gave no reaction, still seated in meditation. She wanted to respond, but her body was beyond her control. All she could do was panic internally.

Cheng Hongling scrutinized her “doppelgänger”. Her breathing was faint, so much so that her ample chest showed no rise and fall. Cheng Hongling’s face paled. She hurried forward and pressed slender fingers beneath Tian Chong’s nose. Only when she detected breath did she relax slightly.

“What’s wrong with you?”

She gave “Qi Huang” a gentle shake, and what happened next made her blood run cold.

The usually mischievous doppelgänger collapsed like a boneless doll, limp and lifeless.

“Wh—what?!”

Cheng Hongling stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. A moment later, she lunged forward in a frenzy, grabbing the doppelgänger’s wrist and channeling qi into her body for a thorough examination.

“You… where’s your brain?!”

A few seconds later, Cheng Hongling’s delicate frame began to tremble. Her beautiful eyes reddened as she slumped onto the bed, utterly devastated.