Volume 1, Chapter 52 – I Suspect You’re an Impostor

“This is simply unbelievable!”

Huang Qi was almost numb with shock. Driven by curiosity, he began experimenting eagerly and soon discovered that the strangeness didn’t end there—not only had his hair become far more resilient than before, but it could also stretch, extending to incredible lengths.

“Stretching? Then what’s the limit?”

Suppressing his excitement, Huang Qi willed a single strand of hair to extend forward.

“One zhang… two zhang… three zhang… ten zhang…”

As the distance increased, the hair grew thinner and thinner. Only after stretching a full ten zhang did the strand finally snap.

“Ten zhang! The tensile strength is insane! And it matches the maximum range of my spiritual sense—that can’t be a coincidence!”

Unable to hold back his amazement, Huang Qi began pondering the practical uses of this bizarre new ability.

“Wait, if my hair is now as tough as steel wire, and it’s thin and nearly invisible… what if I used it as a weapon?”

A flash of inspiration struck. With a thought, a single strand of hair shot out like a needle, effortlessly piercing straight through a towering tree.

“This… this is what it feels like to be invincible?”

Huang Qi was dumbfounded. For someone who had spent over a decade failing to become a cultivator, the ability to annihilate a tree with a strand of hair was nothing short of miraculous.

To test the limits of his newfound power, Huang Qi sought out other targets. The results were soon clear—his hair could pierce through stone, though metal proved more difficult. Additionally, the farther the distance, the weaker the attack became.

“Invincible… but not quite! At most, I’m invincible within Ping’an County!”

He chuckled at his own exaggeration. The truth was, his hair’s hardness still had its limits—it could, at best, hold its own against a Body Refinement cultivator.

But Huang Qi was satisfied. Most cultivators needed decades to reach the Body Refinement stage, and even prodigies took at least ten years. Exceptional geniuses like Fairy Hongling were rare. Meanwhile, he had somehow achieved comparable power just by “dying” his hair once—wasn’t that enough? Besides, this only referred to direct combat. Hair strands were nearly undetectable; if used in an ambush, the outcome might be entirely different.

Suddenly, Huang Qi felt he ought to thank that vengeful ghost. If not for her “guidance”, he wouldn’t have gained so many life-saving abilities and might have died before even growing stronger.

“If I want true invincibility, I need more of that ‘hair dye’. Once that seed sprouts…”

He patted the seed hidden in his robes, lost in fantasies of future power.

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“Too bad the Honghua Sect won’t give me enough time to grow a tree.”

He laughed at himself. Becoming stronger might seem easy, but for him right now, it was still a distant dream. For the moment, staying in his male form was the more practical goal.

With that thought, Huang Qi carefully stored away the Tongming Comb, not daring to waste its remaining power.

At noon that same day, a tall, graceful figure entered Ping’an County.

She wore a water-blue ruqun that hugged her slender waist, her voluptuous figure like a ripe gourd beneath the thin fabric. Her long, jade-like legs peeked through with every step, and her stunningly beautiful face still carried a hint of youthful innocence—truly an angelic visage with a devil’s body. Every man who saw her instantly lost his wits, yet none dared approach her, for the girl carried a sword.

“Good heavens! Where did this girl come from? So beautiful yet wandering around alone—isn’t she afraid of being kidnapped as a breeding tool?”

“Shut up! Don’t you see the sword?”

“Hah! With a face like that, even if she were dragging a corpse behind her, it wouldn’t scare anyone off.”

“True. Even if she hacked me to death, I’d crawl back as a zombie just to cling to her!”

Whispers spread among the onlookers.

The young woman ignored them entirely, striding toward the center of town until she reached a street corner. There, she tapped the shoulder of a petite girl who had been stealthily observing something.

Startled, the smaller girl whirled around, puffing her cheeks in irritation. Her tiny fangs glinted as she glared like an angry kitten.

“L-Little… little junior sister?”

But the moment she saw the sword-wielding girl, her expression did a complete turnaround, breaking into a childlike grin.

“Senior Sister Miao Xiang, what are you looking at?”

The sword-wielding girl—Cheng Hongling—asked curiously.

“Looking for traces of that impostor, of course!”

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The petite girl, Miao Xiang, replied in a hushed voice. She was indeed a disciple of the Honghua Sect, and the girl before her was none other than Cheng Hongling, who had come specifically for this mission.

“Any leads?”

Cheng Hongling pressed without a change in expression.

“Sigh, no! That person seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.”

Miao Xiang pouted unhappily.

“Oh, ‘she’ hasn’t vanished. In fact, she’s grown even bolder—she stole the Tongming Comb right from our Honghua Sect.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice was icy.

“What?! How did that happen?”

Miao Xiang was shocked.

“It’s like this…”

Cheng Hongling summarized the events—how the Honghua Sect had been besieged by demonic cultivators, and how the impostor had taken advantage of the chaos to steal the comb.

“That scoundrel! If I catch her, I’ll bite her to death!”

Miao Xiang growled, though her attempt at ferocity only made her look more like an irritated kitten.

“By the way, where are the other senior sisters?”

Cheng Hongling asked, her flawless face as cold and unreadable as jade.

“They’re keeping watch in other areas. Should I call them?”

“No need. I came here specifically to catch that impostor. I heard she first appeared in this area.”

Cheng Hongling shook her head.

“Then… what about your secret mission? Is it done?”

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Miao Xiang suddenly asked.

“S-Secret mission? What secret mission?”

For the first time, Cheng Hongling’s expression flickered slightly.

“The one Master assigned you! Didn’t you say you were leaving to complete a secret mission?”

Miao Xiang tilted her head in confusion.

“When did I say that?”

Cheng Hongling looked equally baffled.

“Ten days ago! You told me yourself at the yamen gates! Have you forgotten?”

Miao Xiang’s concern grew. Was her junior sister suffering from amnesia?

“What? I wasn’t even in Ping’an County ten days ago.”

Cheng Hongling denied firmly, then sighed. “Senior Sister… I’m afraid you were fooled by the impostor again.”

“What?! You mean she was the fake? That’s impossible!”

Miao Xiang bristled, stubborn as a child.

“Why impossible?”

Cheng Hongling remained impassive, her demeanor so composed that an outsider might mistake her for the older sister.

“Because Eldest Senior Sister said the impostor had rough, large hands and deliberately avoided speaking—most likely a man in disguise. But that person looked exactly like you! Same voice, same hands, even the same… chest size! I checked personally—there’s no way it was fake!”

Miao Xiang argued logically.

“I’ve seen the impostor too. The resemblance is uncanny. Her disguise is so flawless even Master and my parents were deceived. It’s no surprise you couldn’t tell.”

Cheng Hongling explained patiently.

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“Really? Fine, other things can be faked, but what about the scent of Golden Life Blossoms? She had that too! You’re not playing a joke on me, are you?”

Miao Xiang raised an eyebrow, as if she’d caught her junior sister in a lie.

“She already had the Golden Life Blossom scent back then?”

Cheng Hongling’s eyes narrowed. She had assumed the impostor’s fragrance came from her stolen dress—but if the impostor hadn’t yet visited the Honghua Sect ten days ago, where did the scent come from?

“What are you muttering about?”

Miao Xiang leaned in curiously.

“Nothing. Was the scent as strong as mine?”

Cheng Hongling pressed.

“Not quite, but close! Someone with a dull nose might not notice the difference.”

Miao Xiang sniffed the air near Cheng Hongling and nodded decisively.

“That strong?”

Cheng Hongling’s cherry lips parted in surprise.

“Yes!”

Miao Xiang confirmed firmly.

“How is this possible?”

Cheng Hongling was baffled. Had the impostor also consumed Golden Life Blossoms? But the seeds were beyond rare—if she had access to such treasures, why risk her life stealing a mere Tongming Comb from the Honghua Sect? The seeds were far more valuable than the comb!

But just as she was lost in thought, Miao Xiang suddenly tensed, her hand flying to her sword hilt as she glared at Cheng Hongling with suspicion.

“No… you two look too alike. Now I have reason to suspect you’re the impostor. Prove your identity—or I won’t hold back!”