Chapter 61: The Bluff

A person’s first reaction is always the most genuine.

Wen Xu was a natural observer. If he weren’t face-blind, he would have been a charismatic, calculating, and ambitious man. If he wanted to, he could become anyone’s friend and seize every opportunity to climb to the top.

Yet even if he couldn’t see anyone’s face clearly, he could still get the answers he wanted from them. After becoming a cultivator, observation became even easier. Thanks to a cultivator’s superior senses, he could listen to someone’s heartbeat, watch the changes in their pupils, and sometimes even detect the slightest shift in their breathing.

After all, the wind was everywhere. As long as there was no barrier of cultivation, the wind could bring him all the information he desired.

In front of him, Jiang Ying had almost no “secrets.” A first reaction never lied.

Her breath hitched for a brief moment, and her pupils contracted slightly. Perhaps she hadn’t even realized it herself, but the wind around her grew slightly warmer, heated by the brief rise in her body temperature from her tension.

Everything pointed to one thing: she knew about the task, and… it was related to her.

Once Wen Xu confirmed this, he suddenly grew curious. What kind of excuse would Jiang Ying use to fool them? Would she deny it outright, or admit it and find a convenient excuse to brush it off?

This was the advantage of holding a superior status. Even if they had arrived abruptly and asked their questions carelessly, because of their standing, the Jiang Family could not simply dismiss them the way they had dismissed the Yunxia Sect.

It was during the time Wen Xu was observing her that “Jiang Ying” finished her mental brainstorming. For a moment, she wanted to turn to her father for help, but reason told her that this was a very simple yes-or-no question. As a cultivator, if she lacked even this much judgment, she would be a laughingstock.

I must not show any flaws, she told herself.

If she admitted it directly, she would have to come up with a lie to cover it, and that lie would have to be highly reliable and convincing. That would be difficult. Moreover, since the task had appeared on the wall of Kaiyuan Peak, it meant this Shadow Retention Stone might not be the only evidence. This Junior Brother Bian might know more details. If her excuse fell through, it would be tantamount to exposing herself.

That would be highly unwise. Therefore, she had to deny it.

Having made up her mind, she immediately spoke up calmly, “What cry for help? Does it have to do with your task?”

Hearing this, Wen Xu thought to himself that while a person’s mouth could lie, their body could not. She had deliberately lowered her voice slightly. It sounded no different to others, but it could not escape his ears.

He could almost conclude that the voice crying for help in the Shadow Retention Stone definitely belonged to Jiang Ying.

So it wasn’t Senior Sister Jiang? Bian Chunzhou scratched his head, but he did not hand over the Shadow Retention Stone in his hand. The main reason was that he knew very well that Wen Xuxu didn’t have a Shadow Retention Stone with that recording at all. This one was definitely a fake, and handing it over would expose them. Fortunately, Senior Sister Jiang did not seem to have any intention of taking it to listen. “Yes, it’s a missing person task. Would it be convenient to ask where you were on the fifteenth, Senior Sister Jiang?”

The fifteenth of October was the day she had made her move. “Jiang Ying” would certainly not remember it wrong.

During that time, she had constantly begged her parents to let her go to Yonglu Mountain. It wasn’t until the fifteenth that her father finally relented.

She would never forget this day.

“On the fifteenth, I came down the mountain and returned home because of some matters.” “Jiang Ying” could finally turn to look at her father, Jiang Fengnian, openly. “I remember I even had an argument with you that day. Who would have thought…”

Lies were like that; once you told one, you had to tell countless others to cover it up. Wen Xu couldn’t help but marvel. The question Bian Chunzhou asked was truly tricky. If he were the one asking, he would have started from there as well.

Jiang Fengnian felt that something was off, but this questioning was indeed a small favor. Between fellow disciples, it was only reasonable that his daughter couldn’t refuse outright. Still, he decided to end this conversation as quickly as possible. “Yes, in the past, you only knew how to anger me. Now that your sister is gone, you should be more sensible in the future.”

“Jiang Ying” accepted the lecture at the appropriate moment. “I will.”

The loving father and filial daughter seemed to have no flaws, but the three members of the Yunxia Sect found the female cultivator before them increasingly familiar. Could it be that biological sisters simply looked alike? But Senior Sister Baozhu had never mentioned having a younger sister cultivating at Yonglu Mountain before.

Bian Chunzhou, however, was guided by intuition. After hearing this, doubts arose in his mind instead. Wasn’t it true that Senior Sister Jiang Ying had never once returned home since joining the sect? He couldn’t help but look up at Senior Sister Jiang. “So on that day, you didn’t return to the mountain, Senior Sister? I heard from Senior Brother Chang, who guards the mountain gate, that on that day…”

At this point, he glanced at Jiang Fengnian and felt it wasn’t appropriate to say it right now, so he simply swallowed the rest of his words.

“Jiang Ying” was driven mad by this. Just spit it out! If she could afford to offend them, she would have attacked long ago. “Yes, I only returned to the mountain at dawn. What of it? Are you doubting me?” The timing of dawn was correct, so she spoke with full confidence.

He hadn’t really suspected her before, but now he was a little suspicious. But could he say that out loud? Absolutely not.

Bian Chunzhou nudged Wen Xuxu, thinking they should retreat first before discussing anything else, when he heard Wen Xuxu’s voice ring out: “So Junior Sister Jiang returned home. But that’s strange. We asked Xia Ying to check the entry and exit records of cultivators in Langyuan City on the fifteenth, and there was no record of you. That’s why we took the liberty of coming to ask.”

Bian Chunzhou: Huh?! When did that happen? How come I didn’t know about this?!

But he would never pull the rug out from under his friend. He just wondered how Wen Xuxu could say this with such certainty.

Then why didn’t you say so earlier! A torrent of curses screamed through “Jiang Ying’s” mind, and her face almost contorted. She didn’t understand why these three were clinging to this matter so relentlessly. What was Jiang Ying’s relationship with them that warranted such aggressiveness?!

“No wonder. I knew the esteemed disciples of Yonglu Mountain wouldn’t be so reckless. Actually, this matter… was my own muddle-headedness,” Jiang Fengnian stepped in to defuse the situation at the right moment. “At that time, my eldest daughter, Baozhu, was on the verge of death. My wife and I were burning with anxiety and had nowhere to turn for help. That’s why we sent a letter to Yonglu Mountain, wanting A-Ying to ask her masters for help.”

“A-Ying refused, so we got into an argument. Actually, I knew she was just an ordinary outer disciple at Yonglu Mountain, so how could she possibly ask a Soul Transformation Divine Venerable to intervene? That’s why she left in a huff that day… Sigh, and then Baozhu was gone.”

“Jiang Ying” raised her voice at the right moment. “Yes! I didn’t go home that day, nor did I return to the city. Are you satisfied now? I don’t have a good relationship with this family, but do you really have to tear open that wound? My sister is gone. Even if I was the one they begged for help, do you really have to interrogate me at a time like this? May I ask, what did I do wrong?”

Having said this, “Jiang Ying” felt her heart settle. She told herself she wouldn’t be exposed. She could walk around freely in Yonglu Mountain, which proved there was nothing wrong with her.

She was Jiang Ying, and Jiang Ying was her.

“Apologies, we misspoke.” Wen Xu stepped back decisively and cupped his hands. “Please do not blame us, Junior Sister Jiang. My condolences. Oh, by the way, this is the Five Elements Spiritual Sword you ordered from the Refining Peak. I’m on good terms with the senior brother there, so I brought it along for him.”

The Five Elements Spiritual Sword? She looked down and saw that it was indeed an attribute-less, low-grade spiritual sword.

“Jiang Ying” thought of her own spiritual roots, and a flash of frustration crossed her mind. Five spiritual roots were just too many. “Thank you, Little Grand-Uncle Master. But next time, I will handle this kind of thing myself.”

Wen Xu suddenly pulled back the sword he was offering, the smile vanishing from his face. “You are not Junior Sister Jiang. Who are you? Junior Sister Jiang doesn’t know the Blazing Fire Array; she specializes in five elements spells. Furthermore, she never placed an order for a spiritual sword at the Refining Peak. What is your purpose in taking on Junior Sister Jiang’s appearance?!”

Hearing this, the father and daughter of the Jiang family both paled. Neither of them had expected this to be a trick!

Meanwhile, the Yunxia Sect disciples nearby suddenly cried out in surprise, “The Blazing Fire Array! That’s Senior Sister Baozhu’s specialty array!”

Oh ho, so there was such a thing?!

“Jiang Baozhu? So, you are Jiang Baozhu, taking her place?”

In a sense, Wen Xu had hit the nail on the head. But he didn’t know how the two of them had swapped, let alone how they had successfully deceived so many elders at Yonglu Mountain.

If only Master were here. With his keen eyes, he would probably have seen through “Jiang Ying” with a single glance.

“Dad, what do we do?”

Jiang Fengnian’s face also changed drastically. This was Langyuan City, at the foot of Yonglu Mountain. He asked himself: Flee! He was at the early Foundation Establishment stage. As long as he escaped Langyuan City, there would be no evidence left. Jiang Ying would be Jiang Ying, and even if a divine dragon from Yonglu Mountain came down, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

However, just as Jiang Fengnian stepped back, he was met with a blade. “Early Foundation Establishment stage. I’m your opponent.”

Chen Zui hadn’t expected this trip down the mountain to bring such a pleasant surprise. It turned out the hot pot was just the appetizer; the real feast was right here. He had never actually fought a Foundation Establishment cultivator one-on-one before.

“Chen Zui of Yonglu Mountain. I look forward to learning from you, fellow Daoist.”

The three Yunxia Sect disciples felt their souls leave their bodies. What was going on? What on earth was happening? How did a fight break out so suddenly? Since when could a Qi Refining cultivator suppress a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a fight?! Did this make any sense?

Indeed, Jiang Fengnian was a bit of a pushover. At least from Chen Zui’s perspective, he felt that other than having slightly more spiritual energy, this opponent’s attack methods couldn’t even compare to those of Li Anqu, the outer disciple he had fought the other day.

With Jiang Fengnian held back, “Jiang Ying” naturally couldn’t escape either. The sound of the fight outside inevitably reached the inner hall. Once Madame Jiang realized her daughter was out there, she hurried out.

“What are you doing! Let go of my daughter! My daughter is a disciple of Yonglu Mountain, I dare you…” Madame Jiang’s voice caught in her throat. No matter how ignorant she was, she still recognized the disciple robes of Yonglu Mountain.

“You must be Madame Jiang. Your own daughter was swapped, and you didn’t even notice?”

Oh no, we’ve been exposed!

Madame Jiang was not a cultivator, so she had no way of judging the cultivation levels of the three. Hearing this and seeing the situation, she immediately assumed that the Soul Swapping had been exposed. As a mother, she naturally wanted to protect her daughter. Without giving “Jiang Ying” a chance to stop her, she blurted out, “Spare her, I beg you to spare her! She just wanted to cultivate so badly. If there is any punishment, direct it all at me. My old life is worthless, you can take it.”

Bian Chunzhou: …The stench of a coddling parent was just too strong.