Lin Xiaojin's Disguise Technique

Lu Feng gave a meaningful laugh, then asked, "Do you understand the art of disguise?"

Although Lu Feng possessed the Snowy Jade Crystal mask, it was best not to reveal such an item directly and lightly. Besides, relying on that alone and the image of Lin Liyun from more than three years ago in his mind would hardly be enough to create a flawless disguise.

Lin Xiaojin immediately nodded. Her idea of finding someone to impersonate her brother had stemmed precisely from the Disguise Technique she took such pride in.

Aside from learning spiritual cuisine these past years, what she most enjoyed pondering and studying was the Disguise Technique.

Moreover, because she constantly missed him and often stared at Lin Liyun's portrait, Lin Xiaojin could easily reproduce his face through disguise even with her eyes closed.

"Come with me to my brother's Cultivation Secret Chamber."

Lin Xiaojin closed the door to the Soy Juice Hall and led Lu Feng into the secret chamber behind the counter.

There was only a simple couch and a small long table, with nothing else inside.

"Big Brother Lu, sit here first," Lin Xiaojin said, bringing Lu Feng beside the couch and motioning for him to sit on its edge.

She then dragged the long wooden table over, took out a bronze mirror, cosmetic paste, and all manner of items used to assist with disguises from her storage artifact.

"My brother always liked to tie up his hair and wear a Small Hair Crown."

As she spoke, Lin Xiaojin climbed behind the couch, knelt behind Lu Feng with her knees bent, and smoothed his hair strand by strand with both hands.

"Who in the residence was close to your brother?"

While she arranged his hair, Lu Feng began asking about Lin Liyun's past. Disguise was not merely about changing one's face. Only by knowing oneself and knowing the enemy could one pass the false for the true.

Lin Xiaojin removed a thin black cord from between her teeth. As she tied up the hair she had arranged, she replied, "At home, only Xiao Wan and I were close to my brother. While he was still alive, the most outstanding member of the clan was Lin Lifeng. He was Third Uncle's—our current family head Lin Baijian's—son. Most of the younger generation was close to him as well. My brother, because his strength was ordinary and because of his birth, was rather inconspicuous instead."

As she recalled the past, Lin Xiaojin's face revealed a touch of sorrow once more. She continued, "My brother finally encountered a fortunate opportunity during an expedition, and his strength improved greatly. But then Lin Lifeng happened to die unexpectedly outside. Through a cruel twist of fate, many in the clan suspected that my brother had murdered him, seized his martial arts and resources, and thus gained his increase in strength. In such an environment, even fewer people remained close to my brother. Though it was later discovered that Lin Lifeng had died by accident and had nothing to do with my brother, the clan's estrangement from him did not change much."

"If the younger generation of the clan had not been left with no successors, with the old generation fading and the new unable to rise, my brother would never have been put to important use by the family, much less received the opportunity to enter the Earth Profound Domain."

Lin Xiaojin's eyes were slightly red. With a sigh, she came before Lu Feng and took out a sword canon from her storage artifact. "This was the opportunity my brother obtained during his past expeditions. Its grade is not high, but it still improved his swordsmanship considerably. Quite a few people in the clan have seen this sword art, so if Big Brother Lu wishes to fool them, you will need to learn the first few moves. My brother once said that the later moves placed a burden on the body and must never be practiced."

Lu Feng nodded and committed it to memory. Looking at the sword art in his hand marked with the words "Little Burial Flower Sword Canon," he curiously flipped through a few pages.

Just as Lin Xiaojin had said, its grade was not high. Anyone whose strength had reached the Core Formation Realm could practice it.

Yet the sword intent contained within those later moves that burdened the body was astonishing. By his rough assessment, this sword intent was even several degrees stronger than the Qing Tian Raindrop Sword and Drunken Willow Supporting Wind Sword cultivated by Jun Ziyi. Even the Nearing Immortality Nine Forms and Flying Spring Jade Echo Thirteen Forms were no less formidable.

Lin Xiaojin was not worried about whether Lu Feng could learn these sword arts. Once she learned that he was the disciple of the Night Feather Sword Master, such concern no longer existed. It was precisely for this reason that she had thought of this plan of replacing her brother through disguise.

Lin Xiaojin bent slightly closer. While Lu Feng concentrated on reading, she began using a brush to alter his eyebrows.

As she painted, she muttered, "Big Brother Lu, your sword-like brows are too proud and sharp. My brother's had a little less force to them, and their corners curved slightly."

Lu Feng abruptly lifted his head at her words, only to meet Lin Xiaojin's slightly reddened eyes.

Their gazes met. The brush in Lin Xiaojin's hand suddenly froze in place, and for a moment, she could not help falling into a daze.

In terms of appearance, Lu Feng clearly far surpassed Lin Liyun. Since Lin Xiaojin's mind was filled with Lin Liyun's features at that moment, seeing Lu Feng's handsome face so suddenly caused her to unconsciously compare them and lose herself.

After considering it, Lu Feng reminded her, "Do not shape everything according to Brother Lin's appearance from three years ago. You need to incorporate the changes of growth from these three years. If he still looks exactly as he did three years ago, it will instead arouse suspicion."

"Yes, Big Brother Lu has thought it through more thoroughly," Lin Xiaojin replied somewhat flusteredly. Her heart suddenly began pounding wildly, and she faintly found herself unable to look at that face again.

"Why did you stop painting?" Lu Feng asked in confusion.

"I..." Lin Xiaojin came back to herself and said in a panic, "This is quite good. I do not want to curl them any further. My brother's nature was too soft in the past. After three years apart, he should have gained a little more sharpness."

Lu Feng nodded. "Did your brother have anyone particularly close to him in the past? Or did he have any obvious scars or birthmarks?"

As Lin Xiaojin began adjusting Lu Feng's hair ends and sideburns, she recalled, "My brother always had few friends. Only Young Master Ji was close to him—the man you saw earlier. After something happened to my brother, if not for his constant help, the Lin Family's situation would likely have been even worse."

Lu Feng silently remembered this. He had not expected that weak and fat man to be someone so loyal.

After some thought, Lin Xiaojin added, "As for scars and birthmarks, I have never seen any. But Grandma seemed to have mentioned that my brother struck the back of his head when he was young."

Lu Feng frowned. If such an uncertain flaw existed, the risk of his disguise being exposed would be far too great.

"Ask your Grandma later. You must determine exactly where it was and what kind of scar it was."

Lin Xiaojin's expression stiffened. She said with difficulty, "After Grandma learned of my brother's death, she was so overcome with grief that she cried her eyes blind. I am afraid... I am afraid it will be difficult..."

By the end, her words had become choked with sobs.

Sympathy appeared on Lu Feng's face. If that was the case, then for this disguise... he would have to think of another excuse to deal with it.

Lu Feng earnestly asked about every detail of Lin Liyun's past, but the more he learned, the more he felt that this disguise was simply too easy to expose.

Appearance and bearing could be disguised, but not every past experience would be known to others. The scars left upon one's body would not simply vanish either. Once someone deliberately questioned him, he would inevitably reveal a flaw.

After a little less than half an hour.

Lin Xiaojin slowly put down an exquisite jade box in her hand and nodded in satisfaction. "Big Brother Lu, the thick layer of soft Flesh-Generating Balm applied to your face just now can last for a little over half a month, but remember not to let it come into contact with Fire Essence Qi."

Lu Feng took the bronze mirror from the table and carefully examined himself. When he saw the face reflected in it, he could not help falling into a daze, and a trace of reluctance unconsciously appeared between his brows.

Lin Xiaojin stared at Lu Feng absentmindedly. Though she knew full well that the person before her was not Lin Liyun, her longing for her brother was too deep. Seeing such a face in her hazy state, her nose could not help turning sour.

"Big Brother Lu—no, I should call you Brother Liyun now." A gentle smile appeared on Lin Xiaojin's face. "I wonder what the elders at home will look like when they see my brother like this."

As she spoke, Lin Xiaojin took several sets of azure robes from her storage artifact. "My brother always liked clothes in this color. Though he has been gone for three years, every year I prepared a set of clothes for him. Try them on and see whether they fit. I will wait outside."

Lu Feng's build was somewhat larger than Lin Liyun's had been three years ago. He had expected the clothing to feel somewhat tight, yet after putting them on, he found them astonishingly well-fitted.

Thinking of the reason, Lu Feng's face once again showed reluctance.

They fit so well because Lin Xiaojin had imagined that her brother was still alive and had tailored them according to how she thought his body would have grown.

Just as Lu Feng was still immersed in his emotions and adapting to this new face—

Boom!

A violent crash of splintering wood suddenly rang out.

Someone had clearly broken into the Soy Juice Hall.

Lu Feng immediately left the secret chamber and came to Lin Xiaojin's side by the counter. Looking at Gongsun Che and his group who had suddenly barged in, his expression turned ice-cold.

"Did you not suffer enough just now? You still dare to come?"

At Lu Feng's words, Wrathful Intent burst across Gongsun Che's face. He roared furiously, "You brat, were you the one who ambushed me from behind just now?"

As he signaled his subordinates to step forward and teach Lu Feng a lesson, he also berated Lin Xiaojin, "I had thought you were pure as ice and clean as jade. Who would have thought you would be so wanton? You actually hid a wild man in this tiny hall!"

"You!" Lin Xiaojin flushed with shame and anger. Then, thinking of Lu Feng's current identity, she suddenly understood the opportunity he had mentioned earlier and immediately changed her words, snapping back, "Did my brother throw you so hard that you lost your mind? You do not even recognize my brother?"

Several servants had already approached Lu Feng.

Lu Feng casually grabbed a handful of chopsticks from the counter. The instant those four servants raised their hands to attack, the chopsticks in his hand flashed forth.

Bang!

Under the immense force attached to them, the four servants were consecutively blasted flying backward. This was only because Lu Feng had held back, considering that Gongsun Che still had some use to him. Otherwise, mere servants at the Five Elements Realm would not have been able to withstand a single strike from him.

At the same time, Lin Xiaojin's casual remark about being "thrown senseless" gave Lu Feng a flash of inspiration, and he thought of a way to deal with being recognized through his disguise.

He had constantly been thinking about how to answer others' questions and probes, yet he had overlooked the simplest and most direct response.

He could simply refuse to answer.

Gongsun Che's face was extremely ugly at that moment. Upon hearing Lin Xiaojin's words, he had already reacted and was secretly studying Lu Feng.

From that lightning-fast attack, he had also sensed something familiar. He could vaguely make out that the chopsticks Lu Feng had thrown contained a terrifying sword intent.

Remembering that Lin Liyun had practiced swordsmanship in the past, he could not help believing it somewhat.

"Y-Your brother is still alive?!"

Gongsun Che took a wary step back, his face filled with disbelief.

As early as three years ago, he had sent people to inquire about what had happened in the Earth Profound Domain. He could be certain that Lin Liyun had died at Sun Zeguang's hands. Yet he had never expected that after three years of silence, this man who had long been dead would appear here once again!