We All Look Alike

"You!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened, his face filled with resentment. "You can't do this!

"And he's my student. He knew about these arrangements too. I didn't commit any crime—you have no right to arrest me."

"Is that so?" Tang Ling curled her lips in a mocking smile. "He should wake up soon. Once he does, why don't we ask him?"

Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He was deeply saddened that his student had nearly died, but he did not believe he had harmed anyone.

Seeing that he had nothing to say, Tang Ling motioned for Tang San and the others to sit down. They sat before the child and waited quietly.

After a while, the child lying on the ground suddenly twitched twice before slowly waking up.

"Is this heaven?" The youth's hoarse voice emerged from his throat, grating harshly on the ears. He stared blankly at Tang Ling and the other two seated before him, his gaze bewildered.

"Of course not! We saved you. You didn't die, so how could you have gone to heaven?" Xue Qingxi handed him a cup of plain water and said with a grin.

"Thank you!" After hesitating for a moment, the youth got up, took the cup, and drained it in one gulp. Then he slowly turned to look around. When he spotted the person some distance away, he reflexively backed up two steps.

"Qing Di! You—I'm your teacher!" Yu Xiaogang looked at the youth's reaction, calling out to him with a wounded expression.

"I almost died just now." The youth's gaze and voice were filled with wariness.

"Your teacher didn't want to see that happen either. But absorbing a Spirit Ring with more years can indeed make someone stronger. You agreed to this too, didn't you?" Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, shifted himself against the tree trunk, and anxiously defended himself.

"You only said you'd teach me to grow stronger. You never said I had to absorb a 380-year Spirit Ring. I refused at the time!" The youth sat where he was, clutching the wild grass beside him tightly with both hands as he tried to calm himself. "

"When we came here, you said I had a mutated martial soul, and that a 100-year Spirit Ring would be just right. But after we entered, you came straight here,

"Spent all your effort defeating that 380-year White-Browed Ape, then told me you didn't have the ability to hunt a second one and made me absorb this one.

"Didn't I say I disagreed? What did you say? You said that if I didn't absorb it now, I would never be able to absorb another Spirit Ring! That I could never become a Soul Master again!

"I had no choice. I could only gamble!"

The more the youth spoke, the more agitated he became. Unable to contain his fury any longer, he howled. His vocal cords had been damaged, making his voice exceptionally shrill and miserable.

"No matter what, didn't you grow stronger some time ago? And the risk was worth it—what if you had succeeded?" Listening to the youth's accusations, Yu Xiaogang looked at him with something crazed in his eyes as he retorted.

"Then you should be ready to absorb your third Spirit Ring too. Why don't you take a risk?" Tang Ling rose and held back the youth, who was struggling to pounce on him, then looked at Yu Xiaogang with a half-smile.

"I failed to mutate my martial soul, so I can't advance anymore." Yu Xiaogang's expression turned furious, as though he hated her for tearing away his last shred of dignity.

"None of that is a reason for you to conduct human experiments. Er Sui, knock him out. I don't want to hear his shameless excuses." Tang Ling stared at him sternly before waving her hand in command.

Hearing that, Yu Xiaogang struggled to flee, only to be swiftly knocked unconscious and tied up where he was.

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving me." Having calmed down, the youth slowly knelt before Tang Ling and heavily kowtowed.

"It was nothing. How did you come across him?" Tang Ling helped the youth up, sat down, and quietly watched him.

"After I came out of the mountains, he picked me up.

"He asked me why I was wandering around. I said I'd been abandoned, so he asked whether I wanted to become stronger. Of course I did, so I agreed to become his disciple.

"He helped me raise my Soul Power to level ten, then brought me here to find a Spirit Ring." The youth slowly recounted everything as he looked at the three before him.

"You said he helped you reach level ten?" Xue Qingxi looked at him in surprise. "You didn't know?

"Even if you don't cultivate, your Soul Power will naturally rise to level ten, allowing you to absorb your first Spirit Ring. Only after that do you need cultivation to advance."

"So that's how it was? He'd been lying to me since then." The youth's eyes widened at those words, and then he spoke with a dejected expression.

"Where did you live before?" Tang San exchanged a glance with Tang Ling and asked with a frown. Why did this sound so much like secluded training for covert guards?

"I don't know." The youth shook his head, looking lost. "Qing Di isn't actually my name. He gave me that name.

"My previous name was 0174. I was locked in a cellar with many other children.

"Before, we were all taught body cultivation. Once we turned six, our martial souls were tested. The steward said that although my martial soul had mutated, it had no value. Then they threw us into the back mountain."

"How did you get out? What happened to the others?" Sympathy filled Tang San's gaze as he asked gently.

"They all died. Once they entered the valley, they crashed into the rocks and died.

"I didn't want to die, so I climbed the mountain with all my strength and got out." As the youth recalled the scene, his eyes were hollow and his face full of terror.

"A-Xuan, examine his body." Tang Ling frowned after hearing this. She shifted to the side and pointed at the youth's head.

Tang San understood what his senior sister wanted him to check. He got up, took out a small bronze cage, and shook it beside the youth's ear.

The rustling sound entered the youth's ears. He merely frowned, showing no other reaction.

"No gu insects." Tang San put away the cage, his gaze toward Tang Ling turning grave.

This world also had gu insects capable of controlling people. But indoctrination through words alone, without any other means, was even more terrifying.

"What did the children who were with you look like?" Recalling his words, Tang Ling caught a flash of inspiration and asked.

"We all looked very alike." The youth thought for a moment before answering.

"Did the steward ever say what sort of appearance had the most value?" Tang Ling continued questioning him.

"No. Our martial souls were tested separately in rooms while our faces were covered, so no one knew who anyone else was." The youth held his head, frowning as he spoke slowly.

"They were quite cautious, then. Do you think they'd go to the back mountain to check the number of bodies?" Xue Qingxi raised her brows with a sigh before voicing her guess.

"They probably would." Tang San looked solemnly at the youth on the ground.

"Er Sui, have our people keep an eye on the movements of the major sects." After pondering for a moment, Tang Ling looked at Tang Ersui. He immediately replied that he understood.

After receiving his answer, Tang Ling looked at the youth on the ground and said bluntly, "You can still absorb Spirit Rings. It's just that your first and second Spirit Rings can only be under one hundred years.

"And your face and identity are a problem. I have several options here. Do you want to hear them?"

Listening to her, hope appeared in the youth's eyes. Then he urgently said, "I'll follow my benefactor's arrangements! I was going to die anyway.

"You saved me, benefactor. Before I lost consciousness, he said that if I couldn't absorb the Spirit Ring, there was only one path left for me—death!"

"Good." Tang Ling nodded in satisfaction. "You are living evidence. Now, you have two choices.

"First, you can live alone on the mountain and not go out. Someone will guard you and bring you food. You can only leave once we resolve the trouble surrounding you.

"Second, you can make no attempt to hide yourself and become a target, drawing out the people who want you dead."

"I choose the second. I want to be someone useful!" Without hesitation, the youth decisively chose the second option.

"Are you sure? You may die." Tang Ling raised her brows in surprise and met his gaze.

The youth's eyes instantly turned vacant. "I'm sure. I won't regret it. I was abandoned because I was useless. I want to become someone useful to my benefactor."

"Good." Tang Ling nodded approvingly, then shifted her gaze to Tang Ersui. "Er Sui, go hunt a fifty-year Land-Rending Turtle over there."

"Yes!" Tang Ersui lowered his head in acknowledgment and sprinted in the direction Tang Ling indicated. A moment later, he returned carrying a fairly large Soul Beast.

"Now, absorb your first Spirit Ring." Tang Ling tossed the Soul Beast in front of the youth.

Looking at the Soul Beast before him, the youth excitedly bent down and kowtowed once more. Then he swiftly killed the Soul Beast, crossed his legs, and began absorbing it.

Once he closed his eyes, Tang San shuffled over to Tang Ling with a guilty expression. "Senior Sister, I'm sorry. I've caused you trouble again."

Tang Ling sighed as she looked at him, then reached out and rubbed his head. "How can this be called trouble? This is a useful weapon A-Xuan saved for me.

"No matter which sect he belongs to, having him gives us a reason to make a move."

"Really?" Tang San stared into Tang Ling's eyes with delighted surprise.

"Of course it's true. Our A-Xuan is the Son of the Heavenly Dao, blessed with overwhelming fortune~" Seeing how adorable he looked, Tang Ling could not resist pinching his cheek.

Tang San raised his hand and held Tang Ling's hand, smiling shyly and obediently. "As long as I can help Senior Sister."