Chapter 75: No way, I absolutely cannot faint.
Huang Qi knew very well that his feet were his biggest vulnerability right now, so he had been very careful during this time, walking with small, woman-like steps and sitting properly without spreading his legs too far, so that he could hide them with his skirt.
Huang Qi thought he had been careful enough, but his cheap father’s unexpected “attack” completely threw him off balance, so he stammered in return, “Wh…what?”
“I’m asking why you’re wearing such big shoes?”
Cheng Yuan’s smile stiffened slightly, displeased that his daughter was ignoring him.
“Big?”
Huang Qi hid his feet tightly within his skirt, trying to play dumb.
“Look at your footprints, they’re almost the same as mine. I remember your feet weren’t as big as your mother’s.”
Cheng Yuan pointed at the footprints on the ground.
Huang Qi looked down and saw the row of footprints he had left, and immediately realized that the rain had betrayed him.
“I was really too careless.”
Huang Qi was very annoyed and began to rack his brains for a solution. Seeing his cheap father’s increasingly gloomy expression, he had a sudden inspiration: “Oh, I injured my foot while practicing my movement techniques a while ago, so I deliberately wear larger shoes to avoid rubbing the wound.”
“Is that so?”
Cheng Yuan immediately smiled with relief and asked with concern, “How is it? Is it serious? Do you want Daddy to take a look?”
“It’s okay, it’s almost healed.”
Huang Qi let out a deep sigh of relief.
“That’s good. I know you’re under a lot of pressure, but you need to exercise caution when practicing, otherwise it will be counterproductive.”
Cheng Yuan exhorted him carefully.
“Okay.”
Huang Qi nodded absentmindedly, then quickly made an excuse: “Dad, I have something important to attend to immediately. I’ll come to see you when I have time.”
“Go ahead, your business is important.”
Cheng Yuan said magnanimously, as he knew what his daughter would face in a few years and dared not delay her.
Huang Qi felt as if he had been granted amnesty and quickly put on his veil and ran away.
After turning the corner, Huang Qi spotted a large pharmacy by the roadside. He slowed his pace and eventually walked in.
“Young lady, what do you need?” The shopkeeper quickly came to greet her, with a trace of admiration in his eyes.
“Shopkeeper, please give me some medicine to help me sleep.”
Huang Qi made his request very discreetly.
“Sleep aid? Alright, please wait a moment!”
The shopkeeper turned to get the medicine.
“Shopkeeper, I want the kind that makes you fall asleep as soon as you lie down.”
Huang Qi added.
“Wh…what?”
The shopkeeper’s movements froze, and he turned back to ask cautiously, “Guest, are you talking about a… a sleeping pill?”
Huang Qi nodded calmly. As a cultivator, he was full of energy and couldn’t sleep even if he wanted to, so ordinary medicine was naturally useless.
“I’m sorry, we don’t have any! This is a controlled substance, and it’s illegal to sell it.”
The shopkeeper shook his head frantically.
“Are you sure you don’t have any?”
Huang Qi directly took out two taels of silver and placed them on the counter. He didn’t believe that such a large pharmacy would not have such a thing. Even if they didn’t, as long as he paid enough, the shopkeeper would find a way.
The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. He discreetly put the silver into his sleeve and said, “I forgot, it seems we still have some. Please wait a moment, I’ll go get it.”
A moment later, the shopkeeper came out from the back and handed Huang Qi a small bag of powdered medicine, instructing him, “This medicine is very effective. For young people like you, only one-fifth of it is needed each time to fall asleep. But please keep it a secret, young lady.”
“Thank you!”
Huang Qi took the medicine and left.
After leaving the pharmacy, Huang Qi felt a little more at ease. Now that his biggest vulnerability had been discovered by his cheap father, it would soon be known to everyone. To survive, he could only continue cross-dressing and fooling people, just like in Ping’an County Town before.
Of course, Huang Qi would not have done so if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, as he now had no room for error.
But if he was pushed to a desperate situation, it would be different. At that time, he would have to choose between gender and life. So buying some sleeping pills was for emergencies, otherwise, he might not even have the chance to be a woman.
“I hope I never have to use you again.”
Huang Qi put the sleeping pills in his embrace and then headed towards the city gate. He was quite satisfied with the results of this trip; he had obtained both things he wanted and had not directly stolen Hong Ling’s Tooth Token, so he didn’t feel too guilty.
As for the Tongming Comb, he had saved the entire HongHua Sect at the risk of his own life, so it was not unreasonable to use it, right? He would return it when he cultivated to the point where he no longer needed to sleep, and everything would be perfect.
Of course, that was assuming he wouldn’t be caught by the HongHua Sect!
By the time Huang Qi exited the city gate, dusk had fallen. However, in order to survive, he still planned to travel at night. After all, it was too close to the HongHua Sect, and it was also Hong Ling’s hometown, so it was really unsafe to stay there.
Huang Qi gradually moved away from the Prefecture Capital. Because the Yin Energy was too heavy, not only was the sun not visible during the day, but no starlight was visible at night either, so it became pitch black all around. Even though his five senses were much better than ordinary people, he could only take out the prepared torch to illuminate the way.
Of course, the torch could only dispel the darkness, but not demons and ghosts. Strange noises kept coming from the darkness in the distance.
Huang Qi knew that he was unlikely to encounter any pedestrians, so he took off the veil on his face, trying to use his beautiful face to scare away the lurking foul things in the darkness. It had proven effective when he was at the HongHua Sect. Of course, this was also his greatest reliance for daring to travel at night.
However, it was not enough. Huang Qi took out his protective amulet from his bag and wore it close to his body. Only when he felt a warm current enveloping his whole body did he feel completely at ease. With such double protection, if he still failed, it could only mean that his fate was sealed.
Huang Qi advanced along the mountain path with the torch. When he was tired, he would circulate the Guihai Technique to replenish his energy and then continue on his way. His only thought now was to go to the County Office to register, at least so as not to implicate his family, and then he would consider his own life and death.
Huang Qi walked for most of the night like this, his feet moving mechanically, becoming numb. As the eastern sky began to show the color of fish belly, his vigilance gradually relaxed.
But at that moment, Huang Qi suddenly felt a gust of cold wind, and his whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar, and he couldn’t help but shiver.
“Why is it suddenly so cold?”
Huang Qi confusedly moved his limbs and looked around. He found himself under an old locust tree.
Huang Qi didn’t think much of it and continued on his way.
As he walked, Huang Qi slowed down because he found the road ahead somewhat familiar, especially the crooked old locust tree beside him. He seemed to have seen it before.
“Could it be an illusion?”
Huang Qi muttered to himself in confusion. To save time, he didn’t dwell on it and continued forward.
After walking for a while longer, Huang Qi suddenly stopped, his heart beating violently, because not far from the roadside, the crooked old locust tree appeared again. This time, he was absolutely sure.
“What’s going on?”
Huang Qi muttered in disbelief, but no one answered his question in the darkness, only gusts of cold wind brushed his face.
Huang Qi shivered violently. He then realized that the protective amulet he was wearing had lost its warmth for some reason.
“Encountered evil spirits?”
Huang Qi quickly reacted. After all, he had stayed at the HongHua Sect for more than ten years. Although his cultivation was not great, he had some knowledge. The sudden dissipation of Yang Energy from the protective amulet was clearly the result of being eroded by heavy Yin Energy.
Huang Qi realized what was happening and was immediately filled with fear. He raised his torch and shone it around. In the darkness, it seemed as if there were people everywhere. Upon closer inspection, there was nothing. It was simply a case of being overly suspicious.
“I deliberately took double precautions for night travel, but I still ran into a ghost. What terrible luck!”
Huang Qi was on the verge of tears. As a cultivator at the second level of the Juling Realm, he could even see ghosts. Naturally, he could not solve this bizarre situation. However, not wanting to wait for death, he gritted his teeth and continued forward, hoping to get out.
But things didn’t go as planned. Huang Qi walked for a long time, but the old locust tree kept appearing in front of him.
“It seems I’ve run into a ghost wall!”
Huang Qi judged in a panic and began to search his mind for information about ghost walls.
The so-called ghost wall actually refers to the hallucinations that occur when a person is possessed by a ghost. The endless road in front of him was the most common manifestation.
“This means… I’m possessed by a ghost now?”
Huang Qi drew this conclusion, and his soul trembled. He carefully examined his body but found nothing, because vengeful souls are invisible to the naked eye.
Huang Qi didn’t want to wait for death, so he started running frantically. The old locust tree in front of him flashed by again and again, like a revolving lantern. Because it was extremely monotonous, it was extremely torturous to one’s mind.
He didn’t know how long he had been running. When Huang Qi was physically and mentally exhausted, the old locust tree appeared in front of him again. However, this time it was different. Vaguely, there seemed to be a figure hanging from it, swaying with the cold wind.
Huang Qi was so scared that his soul flew away. He could only flee backward, but after running only a short distance, the old locust tree reappeared, and the figure hanging from it became clearer. It seemed to be a woman, with disheveled hair and wearing a red dress, which was extremely conspicuous in the firelight.
Huang Qi had no choice but to turn around and run. He had been running back and forth like this for an unknown amount of time. His speed gradually decreased, and finally, due to physical and mental exhaustion, he stumbled and fell to the ground.
At the same time, an inexplicable dizziness struck his consciousness like a tsunami.
Huang Qi’s vision turned black, and his consciousness began to blur.
“No, I absolutely cannot faint, otherwise, even if I save my life, I won’t be able to save my ‘brothers’ below!”
Huang Qi began to struggle unwillingly because he knew that if he let the feminization mask seize the opportunity, he would completely bid farewell to his male body.
