Volume 1, Chapter 74 – Just Treat Her as My Younger Sister

“What’s the big deal if I want to get married? Why are you yelling at me like that?”

Qi Huang was startled and immediately grumbled inwardly. If Ruan Lingyu hadn’t brought it up, she would’ve forgotten all about it!

Cheng Hongling abruptly stopped walking but didn’t turn around, so her expression remained unreadable.

“Lingyu, what did you say? She wants to get married? To whom?”

Xu Mei, far less composed, asked in a fluster.

“Master, when we followed your orders to investigate in Ping’an County, we discovered she had visited the government office. After some digging, we found out she had used a forged identity token to register for marriage—with some young man surnamed Huang from Huatian Village.”

Ruan Lingyu summarized concisely.

Xu Mei’s face darkened at this, and she looked at Qi Huang with disappointment.

“So this is why you impersonated me and had the magistrate forge an identity token?”

Cheng Hongling slowly turned around, her beautiful face icy, her aura oppressive. Her narrowed eyes sharpened into blades as they swept over Qi Huang.

Qi Huang’s breath hitched, her mind blanking. She didn’t understand why Fairy Hongling was so furious about her marriage plans.

‘Wait—right now, I’m her doppelgänger. If I marry some country bumpkin, it’d be a humiliation not just for her, but for the entire Honghua Sect!’

The realization hit her like a bucket of cold water, and her back instantly drenched in sweat.

“Senior Sister, who exactly was she trying to marry?”

Cheng Hongling shifted her gaze to Ruan Lingyu.

“The man’s name is Huang Qi. His father is Huang Kairong, his mother is Li Fen, and he has a seventy-year-old grandfather. Their family has been farming in Huatian Village for generations.”

Ruan Lingyu laid bare Huang Qi’s background—after all, she hadn’t spent that evening in the Huang family’s courtyard just to watch the show.

“Huang Qi?”

Cheng Hongling frowned slightly. The name sounded vaguely familiar. After a moment, she asked uncertainly, “Three years ago, wasn’t there a cultivator named Huang Qi who was expelled from the Honghua Sect?”

“I think so! Even Steward Hu got dragged into that mess.”

“Could it be the same person?”

“Impossible. Must be a coincidence.”

The fairies murmured among themselves, piecing things together.

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Qi Huang shrank back guiltily as her past was exposed.

“Give me a reasonable explanation.”

Cheng Hongling took several steps forward, her presence overwhelming.

“I-it’s like this… I-I was repaying a debt of gratitude! When I first took human form, I was as fragile as an ordinary person. The Huang family took me in, and their son was already twenty-eight—if he couldn’t find a wife, he’d have to enlist in the army. So… I came up with this plan.”

Qi Huang was sweating bullets, but thanks to her habitual lying, she managed to improvise a halfway plausible excuse.

“A decent reason. But why should I believe you?”

Cheng Hongling pressed further.

“Well…”

Qi Huang was at a loss for words and instinctively retreated.

“Hongling, this is serious. If she marries some mortal while wearing your face, it’ll damage not just your personal reputation, but the Honghua Sect’s as well.”

Xu Mei interjected gravely.

“No, no! I never let them see my face! I always wore a veil!”

Qi Huang seized this lifeline desperately.

“Really?”

Cheng Hongling’s piercing gaze bore into her.

“R-really! I swear… I’m not lying! You can send someone to check!”

Qi Huang forced herself to meet her “original’s” eyes, doing her best to look utterly sincere.

“Lingyu, take a few disciples back to Huatian Village and verify her story.”

Xu Mei ordered the nearby disciples.

“Understood.”

Ruan Lingyu acknowledged.

‘Phew!’

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Qi Huang exhaled inwardly, grateful she’d been cautious before—otherwise, her family might’ve suffered for it.

“Come with me.”

Cheng Hongling commanded before striding off again.

Too terrified to protest, Qi Huang hurried after her like a meek little maid.

And so, Qi Huang followed her “original” back to the familiar little cabin, where her adoptive mother was sewing in the main room.

“You’re back, girl! What did your master want?”

Jiang Linian asked casually without looking up.

“It’s about her.”

Cheng Hongling stepped aside coldly.

Jiang Linian glanced behind her—and nearly fainted. There, standing behind her daughter, was another “daughter”, identical in every way except for their clothes.

“Wh-who is she?”

Jiang Linian scrambled to her feet and clung to her daughter fearfully.

“Mother, don’t be afraid! She’s… also me.”

Cheng Hongling quickly soothed her, belatedly realizing how shocking this must be for a mortal.

Qi Huang felt a pang of guilt—after all, she’d come to see Jiang Linian as a mother figure.

“She’s you? What does that mean? You’ve confused me.”

Jiang Linian looked utterly lost.

“She’s my doppelgänger. You know, a doppelgänger?”

Cheng Hongling tried to explain.

“No, I don’t.”

Jiang Linian shook her head honestly.

“A doppelgänger is like a second body split from my own… Ugh, just treat her as my younger sister.”

Cheng Hongling gave up.

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“Younger sister? Then what should I call her?”

Jiang Linian asked, still not quite understanding.

“Mother, my name is Qi Huang.”

Qi Huang introduced herself politely.

“I got the name, but how do I tell you two apart? Aside from your clothes, you look exactly the same!”

Jiang Linian scrutinized Qi Huang awkwardly.

Cheng Hongling pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and pressed a jade-like finger against Qi Huang’s forehead.

Not daring to resist, Qi Huang could only submit. As that cool fingertip touched her skin, a chilling energy seeped into her.

A moment later, Cheng Hongling withdrew her finger, looking faintly satisfied. “Good, the doppelgänger mark still works.”

‘What mark?’

Qi Huang wondered inwardly, extending her divine sense toward her forehead—where she “saw” a pink lotus-shaped mark the size of a bean, resembling a tattoo.

‘A pink lotus tattoo! Isn’t this the standard mark for female doppelgängers in the cultivation world?’

Qi Huang recalled her master’s teachings and cringed. Not only had she become a girl, not only was she someone’s doppelgänger—now she’d even been branded like property!

Just as she was about to withdraw her divine sense, it collided with Cheng Hongling’s.

“So you really do have Unity Realm-level divine sense!”

Cheng Hongling’s eyebrows rose slightly before she turned to her mother. “Mother, from now on, if you see this mark, it means it’s my sister.”

“Alright, that makes it easier.”

Jiang Linian sighed in relief.

“Now, come with me.”

Cheng Hongling ordered before stepping into her bedroom.

Qi Huang obediently followed. Under someone else’s roof, she had no choice but to comply—better to avoid unnecessary suffering.

Cheng Hongling sat on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs gracefully.

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Qi Huang stood stiffly before her, too guilty to even lift her head.

“Divine sense is a profound thing. Beyond scanning, its most notorious feature is seeing through objects—which is why many degenerates in the cultivation world use it to peek at women. Given your pitiful cultivation, I was worried someone might see your body and disgrace me. But it seems you really do have Unity Realm divine sense.”

Cheng Hongling smirked as she looked Qi Huang up and down.

Qi Huang stayed silent, curling in on herself further.

“Since you have Unity Realm divine sense, this’ll be easier. Do as I do—extend part of your divine sense outward to form a protective barrier around your body. This’ll ward off any ill-intentioned scoundrels.”

Cheng Hongling’s tone brooked no argument.

Qi Huang released her divine sense and indeed saw a translucent shield enveloping Cheng Hongling’s body. Mimicking her, she quickly formed her own.

“Do we have to maintain this constantly? Aside from you, the only Unity Realm cultivator in the Honghua Sect is Sect Leader Qin. Are we supposed to guard against him?”

Qi Huang found the mental strain taxing and ventured a question—before gasping in horror. “Wait, is he some lecherous old man who peeks at girls?!”

“Who knows? But maintaining this isn’t just about him—it’s mainly to train your divine sense and improve your strength faster.”

Cheng Hongling replied impatiently, making no effort to defend the poor sect leader.

“Oh!”

Qi Huang nodded in understanding.

“Alright, as the saying goes, ‘courtesy before force’. I’ve been courteous—whether I resort to force depends on you. Now, tell me: Why did a fragment of a face grow into a complete body? Why does a fragment of the Ethereal Soul possess such powerful divine sense?”

Cheng Hongling’s voice turned frosty again.

Qi Huang was stunned. These were questions she truly couldn’t answer.

“Not talking? Let me remind you—if you don’t speak now, you won’t get another chance. Once I re-establish our soul tether, I can just extract the memories myself.”

Cheng Hongling warned.

“How do you establish it?”

Qi Huang asked dumbly.

“Want to know? I’ll show you.”

With that, Cheng Hongling’s figure blurred—and she lunged at Qi Huang in a rush of fragrant wind.