Volume 8, Chapter 536 – Just How Many Fake Identities Do You Have? (Part 1)

“What? Her name isn’t Jiang Ling?”

A group of high-ranking elders gaped in shock, completely unprepared for such a dramatic twist.

“If not Jiang Ling, then what is it?”

Hua Ruyi instinctively pressed for an answer.

“Huang Ling. ‘Huang’ as in the color yellow.”

Qi Huang casually fabricated a name on the spot.

“Huang Ling?”

Hua Ruyi chewed over this new name, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

“What do you mean ‘yellow’? Couldn’t you have discussed this with me before making up a name?”

Cheng Hongling transmitted her displeasure through a mental message.

“What’s wrong with yellow? I quite like yellow, it symbolizes harvest.”

Qi Huang replied with an air of seriousness.

“Oh really? Seems to me you don’t just like yellow, you like indulging in it.” ¹ 黄 (huáng) = Yellow, 铃 (líng) = Bell. 黄色 (huángsè) in Chinese has two distinct meanings: literal meaning = The color yellow and slang meaning = Pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit content

Cheng Hongling deadpanned, immediately regretting her words the next second. How could she have uttered something so vulgar?

“…”

Qi Huang was left speechless. Damn, she saw right through me? Couldn’t she have just let it slide?

Seeing that her doppelgänger didn’t tease her, Cheng Hongling sighed in relief. For some reason, she always felt completely at ease around her other self, often speaking without restraint.

“Wait, if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean your main body carved a fake name on the Immortal Stele? That’s a grave disrespect to our ancestral immortals!”

After a moment of stunned silence, Elder Zhou reflexively voiced his suspicion.

“Exactly! How could a false name be inscribed on the Immortal Stele? Such a solemn matter should not be treated as a joke!”

Another elder chimed in.

“And so? Would you have preferred my main body to carve her real name? If she had, Huarong Sect would truly have no way out now.”

Reαd oո KαtRеadiոɡСаfе

Qi Huang countered calmly.

“You—!”

Elder Zhou wanted to argue but found himself tongue-tied.

“My disciple is right. Though she used a false name, she saved Huarong Sect in the process. The outcome is favorable, she should be rewarded, not punished.”

Shi Yuqi swiftly stepped in to shield her disciple.

The elders exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to make a hasty judgment.

Hua Ruyi paced the hall for a moment before fixing Qi Huang with a stern gaze. “The outcome may be good, but what was your motive? I refuse to believe you foresaw Cao Yang forcing you into becoming his concubine!”

“Of course I didn’t. But I did this to prevent such a scenario. The effects of the Immortal Stele are common knowledge in the cultivation world. Once a woman catches the eye of someone like Cao Yang, a descendant of immortals, she can’t escape. If I wanted to remain uninvolved, a fake name was necessary.”

Qi Huang recited the justification she had prepared long ago.

“Is that so?”

Hua Ruyi’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Though the reasoning sounded flimsy at first, upon closer inspection, it held some logic.

After a brief silence, Hua Ruyi finally declared:

“Esteemed elders, though Jiang Ling, no, Huang Ling, disrespected Ancestor Hua Yan by inscribing a false name on the Immortal Stele, she inadvertently resolved Huarong Sect’s crisis. Let her merits offset her faults, no reward, no punishment. Does this satisfy everyone?”

The elders murmured among themselves before nodding in agreement. Having narrowly escaped disaster, none were eager to provoke the Cao family into a fight to the death. If anything, they were grateful to Cheng Hongling.

“Then what now? Should the Holy Maiden correct her name?”

Elder Zhou suggested.

“Correct it?”

Qi Huang let out a cold laugh. “Are you trying to ensure the Cao family learns my real name, Elder Zhou?”

“Indeed! If my disciple changes her name now, the Cao family will inevitably follow suit. Would that not plunge Huarong Sect back into peril? What exactly are your intentions, Elder Zhou?”

Shi Yuqi pressed aggressively.

At this, the other elders glared at Elder Zhou. After all, the old woman had a history of treachery.

Reаd oո KаtRеαⅾingСαfе

“Ah! Don’t misunderstand! I merely wished to uphold the sanctity of the Immortal Stele!”

Elder Zhou hastily defended herself.

“It’s of no consequence. Huang Ling acted for the sake of Huarong Sect’s future. I’m certain our ancestors would not hold it against her.”

Hua Ruyi mediated before continuing solemnly:

“For the sake of Huarong Sect’s survival, I implore everyone to keep Huang Ling’s true name a secret. Should anyone betray us, do not blame this sect master for being merciless.”

“Sect Master need not worry!”

The elders pledged in unison.

With the matter settled, the meeting concluded. The elders filed out of the hall in high spirits, the crisis averted and their burdens lifted.

Only Qi Huang, her master, and her doppelgänger remained.

“I kept the three of you behind because there’s something I still don’t understand. I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Hua Ruyi spoke humbly.

“Sect Master, speak freely!”

Shi Yuqi replied, flattered by the trust placed in her.

“Others may not know Hua Yu’s temperament, but as her master, I understand her better than anyone. She has always been prideful, vowing since childhood that the man she marries must never take a concubine. So why would she agree to this? Isn’t this self-degradation?”

Hua Ruyi voiced her misgivings. As a master, she wished for her disciple to marry a devoted man.

“What’s so hard to understand? As the saying goes, ‘Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.’ Once she enters the Cao family, her wishes won’t matter.”

Shi Yuqi reasoned.

“Junior Sister, you underestimate the value of a nine point bloodline!”

Hua Ruyi shook her head. “That saying applies only to ordinary women. In the cultivation world, female cultivators with a nine-point bloodline are one in a million, the Cao family would never disregard her feelings.”

“Ah, true. With her qualifications, men would chase her madly anywhere. She doesn’t need to stay with the Cao family, they should know that.”

Shi Yuqi realized her oversight.

Rеaԁ οn ΚαtReaⅾіngCafе

“Precisely. That’s why this is so unusual. I can’t make sense of it.”

Hua Ruyi fell into deep thought.

“Perhaps she wants my ancestral cultivation method.”

Qi Huang interjected suddenly.

“Right! She’s keeping us close to extract our secret techniques. Once she obtains them and combines them with her nine-point bloodline, she’d be unstoppable.”

Cheng Hongling added, as if reading her counterpart’s mind.

“And once she has the method, she’ll kill us. She gets stronger and keeps Cao Yang all to herself, who could resist such temptation?”

Qi Huang drove the point home.

“Ah! I’d forgotten she also cultivates Water Qi. Any technique you can practice, she can too.”

Hua Ruyi’s eyes lit up with understanding, her doubts vanishing instantly.

The brief discussion concluded, and the trio returned to Biyu Peak.

Once inside, Shi Yuqi set up a divine sense barrier and soundproofing talismans before cursing:

“That damned Elder Zhou never learns! Even after Hua Yu was stripped of her Holy Maiden title, she’s still stirring trouble.”

“She’s probably clinging to the hope that Hua Yu can stage a comeback.”

Cheng Hongling speculated.

“Likely!”

Shi Yuqi nodded, then stiffened in alarm. “If that’s the case, aren’t you two in danger? Your real name was just exposed, what if she immediately reports it to Hua Yu?”

“Master, Master… do you really think so little of your disciple’s intelligence? If ‘Jiang Ling’ was fake, what makes you think ‘Huang Ling’ is real?”

Qi Huang smiled faintly.

“What? Huang Ling is fake too?”

Shi Yuqi blinked, then smacked her forehead. “Of course! In that situation, you’d never reveal your true identity.”

Reaԁ оո KаtRеаԁіոɡСαfе

“Exactly. As the saying goes, ‘A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.’ I won’t trip over the same stone twice.”

Qi Huang smirked confidently.

“People often say ‘big breasts, no brains,’ but it seems that saying doesn’t hold up when it comes to you.”

Shi Yuqi praised.

Qi Huang, however, felt awkward. After all, mentally, she was still a man.

“The problem is, no matter how many fake identities we use, it doesn’t solve the root issue. As long as Elder Zhou remains, we can’t act freely.”

Cheng Hongling pointed out.

“Well said.”

Shi Yuqi nodded thoughtfully.

“Which is exactly why I pretended to reveal my ‘real’ name instead of staying silent, to lure the snake out of its hole.”

Qi Huang’s crimson lips curled slightly.

“What do you mean?”

Shi Yuqi was lost.

“Master… if not for me, you’d never have disproven the ‘big breasts, no brains’ stereotype in your lifetime.”

Qi Huang teased.

“Ugh—”

Shi Yuqi flushed with embarrassment.

“She’s setting a trap to catch Elder Zhou red-handed.”

Cheng Hongling grasped the plan immediately.

“Correct. If Elder Zhou still intends to collude with Hua Yu, she’ll surely report my ‘real name’. Once we catch her in the act, we can pluck out this thorn for good.”

Qi Huang pulled out a Shadow-Retaining Mirror, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.