Chapter Fifty-Five: My Feet Were Really Exposed
“Go! Go! Investigate thoroughly, investigate carefully! There will be a big reward for finding that imposter!” Huang Qi shouted, then sped towards the outskirts of the town. Although he had managed to fool the two disciples from the HongHua Sect, his whereabouts were now exposed, and this small county town would soon be under intense scrutiny by the HongHua Sect.
To save his life, Huang Qi had to take a slight risk and rushed towards Ping’an County Town overnight.
The night was filled with cold winds and strange noises. Huang Qi dared not relax, his spiritual sense was constantly in an out-of-body state, carefully observing the movements around him. When he felt tired, he replenished it with the Tongming Comb. Fortunately, the night passed without any incidents.
The next day at noon, Huang Qi encountered two HongHua Sect disciples in a small town. Of course, he wouldn’t deliberately approach them to show off that he was Hong Ling, so he simply hid in the shadows and monitored them with his spiritual sense.
“Junior Brother Xu, remember, from now on, if you meet someone who looks exactly like Junior Sister Hong Ling, only look at their feet, not their faces!”
“Why?”
“Because that imposter looks exactly like Junior Sister Hong Ling, except her feet are as big as a man’s.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
“I heard it from a senior brother. He encountered Junior Sister Hong Ling this morning.”
“I see! Then where is Junior Sister Hong Ling?”
“She’s afraid that we will be deceived by that imposter again, so she has returned to report the matter to the Sect Leader.”
… The two disciples discussed as they walked.
“Damn it, my feet were really exposed, and Hong Ling actually came this way. The only fortunate thing is that she has already returned.” Huang Qi felt like crying. He could disguise everything else, but these feet couldn’t change size at will. This meant that from now on, no matter how much he disguised himself or how good his acting was, it would be meaningless. Once discovered by the HongHua Sect disciples, he would be exposed immediately.
Thinking about this, Huang Qi put on his veil again and quickened his pace. As he said before, even if he had to die, he would die after registering at the Yamen.
In the afternoon, Huang Qi finally returned to Ping’an County Town, but he didn’t enter immediately because there were still a few immortals guarding it. They must have known his weakness by now.
“Hong Ling and them have such good relations. Since she came this way, there’s no reason she wouldn’t come to Ping’an County Town.” This was his reasoning.
With this thought, Huang Qi dared not step half a foot into the county town and just loitered foolishly near the city gate.
It was the next morning, and Huang Qi still hadn’t found a reliable method. He became increasingly anxious: “What should I do? What should I do? I only have two or three days left. If I don’t register, my father will surely suffer.”
Just as Huang Qi was getting agitated, he suddenly noticed a carriage approaching on the official road.
“How could I be so stupid? Since I can’t show my feet, I just won’t show them!” Huang Qi suddenly realized and quickly walked towards the carriage.
After a simple negotiation and paying a few taels of silver, the people in the carriage got out, and Huang Qi got in.
“Go straight to the Yamen.” Huang Qi immediately instructed the coachman. His purpose was simple: to use the carriage to travel so he could quietly register at the Yamen and then quietly leave.
The coachman took the order and drove Huang Qi into the county town.
Huang Qi was not idle; he constantly released his spiritual sense to observe the surrounding situation. Along the way, he didn’t find any trace of the immortals.
“That’s strange. The county town is so small, where did they go?” Huang Qi was very puzzled. Seeing that he was about to reach the Yamen gate, his spiritual sense detected Miao Xiang’s presence. That little girl was still watching from the street corner. Huang Qi couldn’t enter from the front gate, so he instructed the carriage to take a detour, planning to use the back entrance. However, the situation he detected next made him despair because there were two more immortals lurking around the Yamen: Su Qing and Yun Fei. There was no angle for him to sneak in.
“How could it be like this?” Huang Qi was flustered. He really couldn’t understand why those immortals suddenly focused their attention on the Yamen. Now he couldn’t show his face at all.
“How could I be so stupid? They must have discovered the flaw I left behind.” A moment later, Huang Qi gritted his teeth in annoyance. Last time he went to the Yamen, Miao Xiang saw him. Now that his identity was exposed, they naturally followed the clues. How could a small county Yamen defend against a few immortals?
“Now they probably know my background and know that I must register with the Tooth Token before the end of the month, which is why they are focusing most of their attention here.” Huang Qi quickly reached a conclusion in his heart, and his heart sank halfway.
“What should I do now? With these man’s feet, I’ll be exposed if I go out. If I don’t go out, how can I register?” Huang Qi fell into a dilemma.
“Miss, where should we go next?” the coachman outside asked respectfully.
“I’ll get off here.” Huang Qi said and got out of the carriage. While the three immortals were not paying attention, he secretly slipped into an inn. He desperately needed a quiet environment to think of a countermeasure.
Huang Qi asked the shopkeeper for a room near the Yamen. After entering, he propped open the window and stared blankly at the Yamen, racking his brains to figure out how to get in.
Half a day passed, and Huang Qi still hadn’t thought of a reliable method. Finally, he could only hold onto a glimmer of hope and thought: “Although they are immortals, they haven’t reached the realm of not eating or drinking. They still need to replenish their strength. They should leave at night!”
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. The three immortals did leave at night, but another two came to take their place, so there was no opportunity.
“What can I do now?” Huang Qi was pacing frantically but dared not show himself easily.
Thus, another night passed. The next morning, Huang Qi found three civil officials leaving the Yamen, but he didn’t know where they were going on official business.
…
On the other side, in Huatian Village, Huang Kairong and his wife’s faces were ashen. They sat in front of their door, sighing, because their excellent daughter-in-law had been missing for ten days to half a month. Even more desperate, they couldn’t contact their son.
“Husband! It’s almost the end of the month. If the government comes to ask for him, how will we account for ourselves?” Even the usually clever Li Fen was completely flustered.
“There’s no other way!” Huang Kairong sighed deeply and said, “I’ll go and take his place then!”
“You? How can that be?” Li Fen’s face showed grief.
“What other choice do we have? Actually, I hope my son doesn’t show up. That way, I can go in his place. But the government probably won’t be so easily fooled.” Huang Kairong suddenly smiled with relief.
Li Fen wanted to say something but stopped, speechless for a moment. As parents, she naturally understood her husband’s thoughts.
“But… but the problem is, no matter who goes, I can’t bear it! I heard that most people who go to the battlefield never return.” Li Fen finally couldn’t hold back her sobs.
“Don’t cry! Be careful, Father might hear!” Huang Kairong quickly warned.
The couple didn’t tell his father that they failed to register at the Yamen with their daughter-in-law that day, fearing that the old man would worry. Li Fen quickly covered her mouth and swallowed her tears with difficulty.
At this moment, three fast horses galloped from not far away, and the officials in official uniforms were very conspicuous. Huang Kairong and his wife exchanged glances, both feeling a sense of foreboding. The three fast horses indeed headed straight for the Huang family. The leading middle-aged official had an unfriendly expression and shouted as soon as he dismounted, “Where is Huang Qi? Bring him out quickly!”
“Officer brother, may I ask what’s the matter? I am Huang Qi’s father.” Huang Kairong asked respectfully.
“What’s the matter? Are you pretending to be foolish? Our Yamen notified you half a month ago that the dynasty’s military service system has changed. Any unmarried man who is twenty-eight years old must report to the Prefecture Capital before the end of this month. Where is he?” The leading middle-aged official’s expression became even more ferocious.
