Volume 2, Chapter 94 – Today, I’m Going on a Killing Spree (Part 3)

“Sect Leader, Elder Zhou of the Huxiao Sect and his group are outside requesting an audience.”

Early in the morning, Qin Quan received this report from a disciple.

“Elder Zhou? He hasn’t left yet?”

Qin Quan was both shocked and suspicious. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what the other party was scheming. Though a bad premonition gnawed at him, he couldn’t very well refuse them entry. He had no choice but to instruct the disciple to invite them in.

Not long after, Elder Zhou entered the main hall with several of his disciples in tow.

“Sect Leader Qin, it’s been a few days. I trust you’ve been well?”

Elder Zhou’s smile was radiant.

“Indeed, indeed! Elder Zhou, please, take a seat!”

Qin Quan’s scalp prickled under that smile, making his words stumble slightly.

“Has your sect’s genius disciple emerged from seclusion yet?”

Elder Zhou cut straight to the point after sitting down.

“Elder Zhou, you jest. What ‘genius disciple’? Weren’t you the one who called her a fraud?”

Qin Quan’s tone carried a faint trace of resentment.

“Sect Leader Qin, my actions back then were for your sect’s own good. That genius disciple had just broken through and truly needed to stabilize her cultivation. If I had spoken the truth, disciples from other sects would have swarmed in recklessly, and she might have suffered a qi deviation.”

Elder Zhou spoke with an air of profound wisdom.

“Then the Honghua Sect must thank Elder Zhou for his consideration! But tell me—if my disciple emerges and is exposed as a fraud, wouldn’t that damage your reputation?”

Qin Quan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Those who achieve great things do not fuss over trivialities.”

Elder Zhou replied dismissively.

“True. But that’s only if your ‘great thing’ succeeds. Otherwise, the losses may outweigh the gains.”

A mocking expression flashed across Qin Quan’s face. He didn’t need to think hard to guess what Elder Zhou’s so-called “great thing” was.

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“Rest assured. Success is guaranteed.”

Elder Zhou answered with absolute confidence before finally laying his cards on the table: “Sect Leader Qin, since we’ve come this far, I’ll speak plainly—that Cheng Hongling of yours? The Huxiao Sect wants her.”

“Heh…”

Qin Quan was so angry he laughed. “Elder Zhou, from the sound of it, you’re here to snatch her away. Did you even plan to discuss this with me?”

“I’m here for Cheng Hongling, not you. Why would I need to discuss it with you?”

Elder Zhou sneered.

“You—!”

Qin Quan was on the verge of losing his temper, but then it struck him—Elder Zhou was right. The disciple belonged to the sect, but she wasn’t a slave. Whether she stayed or left wasn’t something he could dictate.

“It seems Sect Leader Qin has come to his senses. In that case, kindly inform that genius disciple of ours. If she’s willing to join the Huxiao Sect, we will spare no effort in nurturing her—and we’ll even credit you with a great merit.”

Elder Zhou pressed his advantage.

Qin Quan opened his mouth but ultimately couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“Oh, and I want to hear her answer from her own lips, not through you. Understood?”

Elder Zhou drove the point home.

Qin Quan’s face twisted with unwillingness, but he had no choice but to swallow his humiliation and comply.

“That old fox deliberately lied to keep this matter quiet. If too many competitors got involved, the Huxiao Sect’s chances of poaching Hongling would plummet.”

Xu Mei immediately saw through Elder Zhou’s scheme.

“Exactly. He even resorted to deception for Hongling’s sake. It seems they’re dead set on getting her this time.”

Qin Quan’s expression was grave.

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“Sect Leader, please relay this message to him—tell him that Cheng Hongling will remain a disciple of the Honghua Sect for life. She won’t go anywhere else.”

Cheng Hongling disliked beating around the bush and stated her stance directly. She had once considered temporarily joining another sect to seek opportunities, but after nearly causing the Honghua Sect’s annihilation, she no longer entertained such thoughts.

“Understood!”

Qin Quan’s face brightened with relief, though a hint of awkwardness remained. “But I’m afraid I can’t be the one to deliver this message. He insisted on hearing it from you directly—clearly, he doesn’t trust me.”

“What if he sees through me? I’m only at the sixth layer of the Unity Realm.”

Cheng Hongling frowned.

“Why not wait until your doppelgänger returns?”

Xu Mei suggested.

Cheng Hongling hesitated but ultimately acquiesced. A strange feeling crept into her heart—on the surface, the doppelgänger was acting on her behalf, but upon reflection, it almost seemed like she had become the expendable one, incapable of handling anything without the doppelgänger’s intervention.

With his mind at ease, Qin Quan decided to employ the classic tactic of delay, leaving Elder Zhou to stew for a while.

When Qi Huang woke up in the morning, she felt an odd discomfort in her abdomen—a dull, throbbing pain. At first, she assumed it was a digestive issue, but then she remembered she was now a cultivator. A sliver of doubt took root in her mind.

The inexplicable pain put her in a foul mood all day. Her gloomy expression quickly drew the attention of her fellow disciples.

“What’s wrong with Little Junior Sister today? She seems upset.”

“Yeah, it’s strange. This doppelgänger version of her is usually so gentle—why does she suddenly seem like a different person?”

“Should we ask?”

Unable to contain their curiosity, the senior sisters approached Qi Huang for answers.

Irritated by the pain and hoping they might have a solution, Qi Huang reluctantly explained her predicament.

“You may not be a high-level cultivator, but you’re still a cultivator. How could you possibly have a stomachache?”

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Shen Yuan immediately sensed something amiss.

“Exactly! Even outer disciples rarely suffer from physical ailments, let alone full-fledged cultivators.”

Ruan Lingyu nodded in agreement.

“Then what’s wrong with me? Am I… dying?”

Qi Huang panicked at their words.

“Little Junior Sister, where does it hurt? Let me take a look!”

Miao Xiang, who had some medical knowledge, asked with concern.

“Here.”

Too distressed to care about modesty, Qi Huang pointed at her lower abdomen.

“That’s not where the stomach is.”

Miao Xiang blinked in confusion before her expression shifted to one of sudden realization. “Little Junior Sister… are you joking with us?”

“Joking? About what?”

Qi Huang was genuinely baffled.

“Is it… your menstrual cycle? You didn’t know?”

Miao Xiang’s lips twitched with suppressed amusement.

“Menstrual cycle?!”

Qi Huang’s vision darkened. She reflexively jumped to her feet, vehemently denying it: “Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

“Possible. Extremely possible. For female cultivators, unexplained lower abdominal pain only means one thing.”

“Isn’t today supposed to be Little Junior Sister’s cycle?”

“You even remember that? Impressive!”

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“But she’s a doppelgänger! Do doppelgängers and their originals share the same cycle?”

“It seems they do!”

The other senior sisters chattered away, utterly unfazed.

Qi Huang was devastated. She slumped back down, her soul seemingly drained from her body. She had naively assumed that becoming a girl only involved adapting to physical changes—something she could get used to in ten days or so. She had completely overlooked the fundamental biological differences between men and women. The monthly ordeal was, without a doubt, the most vexing aspect of womanhood.

Her senior sisters exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to react.

‘I’m just a doppelgänger—not even a complete person. Maybe it’s not that.’

Qi Huang clung to this desperate hope. Until she saw undeniable proof, she refused to concede.

By evening, the “ironclad evidence” finally arrived. Faced with the “bloody truth”, Qi Huang’s last shred of denial crumbled.

Unprepared for feminine necessities, she had no choice but to turn to her senior sisters for help.

Ruan Lingyu couldn’t fathom why her junior sister’s doppelgänger was so clueless about this, but she patiently guided her through the process step by step. The other senior sisters gathered around, offering unsolicited advice and watching the spectacle with undisguised amusement.

Qi Huang wished the ground would swallow her whole. Even as a full-grown man (in mind, if not body), this situation would have been unbearable.

“Losing blood every month… Even if I still think of myself as a bull, I’m a bull with weak legs—one push and I’ll topple over. Can I even… function like this?”

Qi Huang was beginning to doubt everything.

The Next Day at Noon

Qi Huang was eating with her senior sisters and Li Shi when the sound of galloping horses suddenly echoed outside.

Ruan Lingyu walked to the door to investigate, then murmured in surprise:

“Disciples of the Heyi Sect? Why are they here all of a sudden?”