Chapter 44: Fairy Hong Ling Appears
Twenty-eight minus thirteen equals what? Even someone suffering from a stroke ten times over would know the answer, but Huang Qi counted on his fingers for a long time, afraid of making any mistakes.
“Fifteen! It’s fifteen! Why would it be like this?”
Huang Qi got the same answer after checking several times, and he was completely stunned. He had risked his life to come to the HongHua Sect for this very tooth token, and never did he expect such a result.
“One year off, it’s just one year off! Heaven is trying to kill me!”
Huang Qi wanted to cry but had no tears. The dynasty stipulated that one was considered an adult at sixteen. If he took this tooth token for registration, let alone get registered, his entire Huang family might be wiped from the records.
Huang Qi slumped onto the chair, feeling lost and uncertain: “What should I do now? If I don’t register by the deadline, the yamen might not be able to find me, but they definitely won’t find my corpse, so they’ll suspect me of evading military service. Then, they’ll definitely drag my father to fill the quota. Such things happen all the time.”
“Ling’er, are you ready? Mother has something to tell you.”
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Liniang’s voice came from outside.
Huang Qi snapped back to reality, thinking that when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten. The most urgent matter now was to leave this troublesome place, so he casually replied: “Almost ready!”
After saying that, Huang Qi walked to a corner and opened the wardrobe. A dazzling array of women’s clothing immediately came into his sight, including outer garments and intimate apparel like traditional Chinese undervests. A richer fragrance wafted towards him.
These must be Fairy Hong Ling’s clothes!
If it were in the past, Huang Qi would have been tempted to let his imagination run wild, but he was no longer in the mood. He casually picked a relatively plain dress to change into, then tucked the Tongming Comb into his chest before walking out of the room.
“Sit down, Mother has something to tell you.”
Jiang Liniang gestured to the stool next to her.
Huang Qi wanted to escape as quickly as possible, but since his adoptive mother had said so, he couldn’t just leave. So, he obediently sat down.
Jiang Liniang’s face showed affection as she reached out her fair hand to gently smooth her “daughter’s” hair, sighing, “My daughter is so beautiful. She’s already grown like this at fifteen. No wonder those men are always thinking about her.”
“Who’s thinking about me?”
Huang Qi was a little curious.
“Ling’er, do you know? The Prefect’s son from the Prefect’s Yamen has gone to your father again to propose marriage.”
Jiang Liniang’s face showed a hint of a smile, it was hard to tell if she was happy or worried.
“Propose marriage? I… I’m only fifteen, doesn’t he know that?”
Huang Qi instinctively retorted.
“Your father said the same thing, but he’s persistent! So, he presumptuously proposed a solution, wanting to forge another tooth token for you with an increased age, so that it would meet the legal requirements.”
Jiang Liniang said helplessly.
“Wha… what?”
Huang Qi was stunned. Wasn’t this exactly what he needed given his predicament?
“Heh heh, who doesn’t know his little schemes? He’s afraid that if you continue to grow, he’ll lose control, so he’s impatient to marry you.”
Jiang Liniang said with disdain.
“Is… is that so?”
Huang Qi’s heart raced with excitement, and he responded casually.
“I wanted to ask you what you think. With Prefect Fu’s wealth and connections, finding a Golden Life Flower seed is probably unrealistic, but he can still find you some urgently needed medicinal herbs for cultivation.”
Jiang Liniang reminded him, wanting to make the situation clear so her daughter could choose for herself.
“I won’t marry him.”
Huang Qi refused without hesitation. His answer wasn’t based on personal preference but on careful analysis. The real Hong Ling had considered defecting to the Changhe Sect for a small amount of resources, which indicated she wasn’t someone who would easily sell her lifelong happiness.
“I knew you’d refuse. I’ll tell your father later, and he can make it clear to the Prefect’s Yamen.”
Jiang Liniang’s face showed a proud smile.
“Alright, Mother! I’m going out for a bit. Sect Leader Qin was injured, and he asked me to look after the HongHua Sect for him. I don’t know if all those evil spirits have left yet.”
Huang Qi couldn’t sit still any longer, so he made an excuse to leave.
“Okay, Mother will make lunch. Remember to come back and eat later.”
Jiang Liniang instructed.
Huang Qi responded casually, then hurried out the door. Before leaving, he looked back deeply. He saw his adoptive mother also gazing at him quietly, with adoration in her eyes.
Huang Qi’s heart tightened; he felt a pang of reluctance and couldn’t move his feet.
“She’s Fairy Hong Ling’s mother, not mine.”
Huang Qi reminded himself, then cruelly left.
Huang Qi walked all the way towards the main gate. After hearing his adoptive mother’s words, he already had his next destination in mind.
“Since the Prefect’s son insists on getting me a tooth token, I can’t let down his good intentions, right?”
Huang Qi made plans in his mind. That’s right, his next target was to go to the Prefecture Capital and find the Prefect’s son, then fulfill his request.
Huang Qi walked all the way to the entrance, and people kept greeting him along the way. After all, he had disguised himself as Cheng Hong Ling today and saved the entire HongHua Sect, so his reputation had naturally soared.
Huang Qi didn’t dare to linger and headed towards the path down the mountain.
“Junior Sister Hong Ling, where are you going?”
A disciple from the HongHua Sect asked with concern.
“Those evil spirits have caused so much harm to our HongHua Sect, I must eliminate them completely!”
Huang Qi explained with feigned indignation, then drew his long sword ineffectually and rushed down the mountain.
“Wow! Junior Sister is so majestic and valiant! When can I be as powerful as her?”
“Don’t even think about it! It’s impossible. She’s already a strong practitioner in the Guiyi Realm. With our talent, we’ll never reach that level in a lifetime.”
“That’s you! Don’t include me!”
…
Envious voices rose from behind him.
Huang Qi descended the mountain, encountering injured disciples along the way. Whenever someone asked him, he would brush them off with the same excuse, immediately earning him looks of admiration.
Huang Qi gradually distanced himself from the HongHua Sect. When he confirmed there was no danger, he took out the veil he had used before and put it on, his intention of course being not to leave any traces.
“Save me…”
As he walked, Huang Qi suddenly heard someone shouting for help again. The voice was trembling, utterly pathetic.
Huang Qi no longer wanted to bother and planned to leave directly, but after walking a few steps, he inexplicably stopped.
“Forget it, who told me I’m kindhearted.”
Huang Qi chuckled self-mockingly, then headed towards the direction of the cries for help.
As he got closer, Huang Qi lowered his footsteps and, through the gaps in the vegetation, he saw a terrifying scene. A figure dressed in tattered official robes and with disheveled hair was pressing down on a male disciple, its gaping maw biting his neck. Its sharp claws were deeply embedded in the male disciple’s flesh, pinning him to the ground.
“Bronze Corpse! It’s the same Bronze Corpse that fought with Sect Leader Qin before!”
Huang Qi would never forget its appearance, so he recognized it at a glance, and his soul instantly trembled with fear.
Huang Qi instinctively wanted to run, but he found that in front of the Bronze Corpse, a female disciple had already collapsed from fear, completely losing the ability to escape.
“Damn it! This is going to kill me!”
Huang Qi gritted his teeth and, bracing himself, rushed out of the bushes. Holding his long sword, he pointed it intimidatingly at the Bronze Corpse: “Since you haven’t left yet, you can stay here forever!”
The Bronze Corpse shivered when it heard Huang Qi’s voice. It didn’t dare to look, abandoned the male disciple’s corpse, and fled down the mountain. Because it was moving on all fours, its speed was extremely fast, and each leap covered more than thirty feet, like a terrifying beast.
“Stop! Don’t run!”
Huang Qi chased after it bravely. He knew that if this monster wasn’t scared away, the HongHua Sect would never have peace.
Huang Qi chased and chased, but soon lost track of the Bronze Corpse. After all, with his Juling Realm cultivation, how could he keep up with it?
Just as Huang Qi was about to give up, a flash of blue light suddenly appeared before him. A sword energy more than ten feet long swept across, passing through the forest to his right.
Huang Qi stiffly twisted his neck and saw that the towering trees in that forest had fallen neatly like wheat harvested by a scythe, stirring up a violent airflow that made him stagger a few steps.
Before Huang Qi could steady himself, a familiar black shadow rushed towards him. It was the Bronze Corpse, returning like a stray dog, with a large, bone-deep wound on its chest.
“Did this guy discover I’m a fake?”
Huang Qi was terrified to the extreme and had lost the strength to escape.
As the Bronze Corpse rushed closer, it suddenly saw Huang Qi, so it grabbed the ground tightly with all fours, barely managing to steady itself. Then, with a panicked expression, it said, “You… you’ve actually cultivated an external manifestation!”
“What manifestation?”
Huang Qi asked blankly.
But the Bronze Corpse didn’t dare to linger and fled in another direction.
As Huang Qi was wondering, a clear female voice suddenly sounded from a distance. Although not loud, it echoed all around like a songbird’s call in a valley.
“I said, no evil spirits are allowed within thirty miles of the HongHua Sect. Since you’ve come, you don’t need to leave.”
Huang Qi’s eyes widened. That voice was exactly the same as his current one!
It was clear that the real Fairy Hong Ling had returned!
