If You're Rong Yidao, Then Who Am I?

Jiang Residence.

The night was deep, hazy moonlight spilling over the ground like mercury.

Zhou Ning'e was fast asleep, curled beneath the blankets, her breathing even. Jiang Tu sat at the bedside and gently stroked his wife's tender cheek.

"Wife."

She did not wake.

"Get up and go back to sleep."

He patted her again. Only then did Zhou Ning'e let out a soft, muddled "Mm?" as she turned over and answered half-awake.

"Wife, I have something to discuss with you."

Zhou Ning'e rubbed her sleepy eyes and propped herself up. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and even barefaced, her features remained exquisitely lovely. She looked at the sky, then at Jiang Tu's solemn face by the bed, and yawned.

"Husband... so late at night, what do you need?"

"Lend me our son."

"?"

Zhou Ning'e blinked, and more than half her drowsiness vanished at once.

"Little Jiang Liu...? Now?"

"Yes. For a while, he won't be home. From now on, he likely won't be home much either, at most returning at night to show his face. Just tell outsiders the child is ill and unable to see visitors. Every few nights, have him show himself to keep the lie intact."

Sitting on the bed with the blankets in her arms, Zhou Ning'e swiftly ran through the situation in her mind. Her thoughts rapidly cleared, and her eyes sharpened. "Husband... you intend to borrow Little Jiang Liu's shapeshifting ability to assume someone else's identity? Could it be..."

Some time ago, Rong Yidao had verbally harassed her in Welcoming Wind City. Then Big Household Zhou had gone to their door, suffered humiliation, and retreated miserably back to Xiaopei County... These two matters had left a smoldering fire in Jiang Tu's heart, one he had kept hidden. She had always sensed it and often comforted him over it, yet she had never expected her husband to wait silently until tonight before suddenly taking Little Jiang Liu away.

There could only be one explanation!

Zhou Ning'e reached out and gripped Jiang Tu's hand solemnly. "Husband, are you truly going to—"

"Shh... It is enough that you know it in your heart. There is no need to say it aloud. My mind is made up. Just rest easy, wife."

Zhou Ning'e looked at him.

In the night, her husband's eyes were as still as an ancient well, yet calm and resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

Her crimson lips parted as she considered it briefly. In the end, she did not try to persuade him further. Half worried and half moved, she thought, her husband was willing to personally kill for her sake—and for her father's!

A wave of guilt rose in her heart for no reason. "You are a cultivator who never liked killing. My father and I have burdened you..."

"Why say such foolish things? Husband and wife are joined branch to branch, sharing honor and disgrace... Besides, I am not doing this solely for you. I have my own calculations as well... Wife, you need only cooperate with me and play your part in this performance. There is no need to say anything else."

"These years, I have worked with you to raise Little Jiang Liu. When have I ever made a mistake? Husband, rest assured."

Jiang Tu nodded. Just as he was about to rise, she caught his sleeve.

"Husband, I have one more matter."

"Yes?"

"This lie about Little Jiang Liu can only be hidden for a few more years. Once he reaches fourteen or fifteen, he should grow into a young man... Then husband, you need only put on a little makeup to play our son yourself. When that time comes, you must act clever and lively, so you can make Grandfather happy—and make me, his mother, happy too!"

Jiang Tu: "..."

He recalled that Zhou Ning'e had managed the business of complexion-preserving cosmetics these past years and had indeed learned quite a few makeup techniques. Any craft in her hands would become masterful after a period of study; simple makeup was naturally no challenge.

But he had not expected this to be what she had been plotting in her heart.

"Wife, you really know how to play! You mastered makeup just so you could make your husband call you Mother? Dream on!"

He raised a hand and flicked his wife lightly on the forehead, then rose and strode swiftly out the door.

Behind him came Zhou Ning'e's soft laugh and gentle reminder. "Husband, remember to be careful in all things. Return safely."

Inside the quiet chamber.

Jiang Tu sat cross-legged. Opposite him sat a youth—it was Little Jiang Liu.

Publicly, it had been born in late summer of the thirty-fourth year of the Jingtai Era. It was now autumn of the forty-fifth year of Jingtai, already eleven years old. It was slightly taller than children its age, with handsome brows, clear skin, and an endearing appearance.

In terms of looks, it possessed Zhou Ning'e's quiet, pure beauty along with some of Jiang Tu's refined handsomeness. Naturally, it was good-looking.

At that moment, Little Jiang Liu tilted its head at him, its eyes hollow and blank.

Jiang Tu raised a hand and beckoned.

Whoosh!

The youth that had accompanied Jiang Residence for more than ten years rapidly shrank, returning to a palm-sized Straw Figure and dropping into his hand. Jiang Tu's fingers moved swiftly as he reshaped its face, adjusted the contours of its brows and eyes, added several strands of stubble, and quickly transformed it into a new face.

A moment later, a black-robed figure appeared before him.

Its face bore an eighty or ninety percent resemblance to Rong Yidao, except its eyes still carried a natural dullness and simple-minded air. Its mouth sagged at the corners, making it look not particularly bright.

"Mm... It will do. As long as it can fool people, that is enough."

After thinking briefly, he drew another Straw Figure from his sleeve—the Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure.

This little fellow had its hands and feet tightly bound with specially cultivated grass rope. Tied into a ball, it sat on the table with puffed cheeks, its little face full of pitiful grievance. But the instant it met Jiang Tu's gaze, it bared its snowy little tiger teeth and grinned foolishly.

Its limbs kicked wildly, as though it might break free at any moment to cause trouble.

Over the past few months, Jiang Tu had chased it away countless times, but before long it would always show up again, tearing apart the Jiang Residence and wreaking havoc.

Later, Jiang Tu simply began tying it up tightly whenever he saw it. Every few days, he would drag it out and beat it. Once it behaved, he would send it back to see its mother, Xiao Tuyun. When it returned, he would tie it up again. The cycle repeated, and he barely managed to keep it under control...

Yet its trips to visit relatives at Green Mountain Lake clearly had not gone very well either. Xiao Tuyun seemed to dislike it even more and would often send it back in short order.

No one wanted it, yet it remained fiercely loyal to both its masters. No matter how they chased it away, it would not leave. It truly was heartless and carefree.

"Tonight... we are handling serious business. If you dare fool around, do not even think about coming back in the future!"

He remembered that the Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure had a cautious, reliable side whenever serious business was involved. Otherwise, he would never let it out.

Sure enough, when the Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure heard there was serious business, it actually quieted down. Blinking its large eyes, it nodded solemnly, the little tuft atop its head bobbing back and forth.

Only then did Jiang Tu hesitantly untie the grass rope. This time, it did not sneak away. Instead, it sat properly on the table with its short legs crossed, waiting quietly for Jiang Tu to speak.

"Wouldn't it be better if you always acted like this?" Jiang Tu felt somewhat reassured. "Next, the Myriad-Forms Straw Figure will remain under my direct remote control, coordinating from the center. Little Jiang Liu will shapeshift and travel outside, taking Rong Yidao's place... Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure, you will deliver the killing blow."

"Do you all understand?"

Little Jiang Liu nodded blankly.

The Spirit-Wisdom Straw Figure blinked. Despite being so small, it actually clasped its fists with great solemnity, bowed properly, then grabbed Little Jiang Liu.

Whoosh!

Green light surged forth, wrapping around the two of them—

The Great Earth Escape Art activated! In the blink of an eye, the two Straw Figures sank into the earth and vanished without a trace—

Jiang Tu closed his eyes, his consciousness crossing a hundred miles to synchronize with the Myriad-Forms Straw Figure.

The night wind swept past his ears, and his field of vision suddenly rose.

Magnificent and bustling Welcoming Wind City spread out beneath the night sky, countless household lights scattered like stars!

Welcoming Wind City.

Hoo, hoo, hoo—

The Myriad-Forms Straw Figure transformed into a Snow Owl, pure white from head to toe. Its wings spread wide as it circled high above the city, its bright, sharp eyes precisely sweeping over every street and alley.

Following the direction in which that Daoist messenger had departed, tracing the vine to find the melon... In a dark alley in the east of the city, two black-clad figures spoke in low voices, Daoist Sect Secret Whistles hanging at their waists... On the second floor of a teahouse in the south, someone sat idly by a window with a Daoist sword on his back...

Looking over the entire city, there were more than thirty messengers in total, along with at least fifteen Daoist Sect disciples moving covertly through the shadows.

The Snow Owl memorized each person's location and the routes of their patrols and surveillance. Avoiding every line of sight, it swept its wings and drifted down—

Hoo.

The Snow Owl called out, lowering its head to peck at the white feathers on its breast. It was no different from a real Snow Owl.

A moment later.

A black-robed figure emerged from the mouth of an alley, walking neither quickly nor slowly. A Snow Owl perched on its shoulder, while its robes bulged at the chest. From time to time, a pale, chubby little head poked out from its collar to look around, only to be pressed back down by the Snow Owl's claw.

He stopped before the gates of Rong Residence. No one was around.

Whoosh!

A flash of green light, and his body merged through the courtyard wall.

Within the courtyard, snores rose and fell.

The guards and servants, both in the open and in hiding, lay sprawled beneath the corridors in every direction, all sleeping like the dead. As the black-robed man walked onward, packets of fine purple powder scattered around the grounds. In the hands of the Herbal Scholar, the dose of this sleeping drug was measured perfectly—it only drugged, never harmed. When they awoke, they would remember nothing.

Without a sound, he drifted to the doors of the main hall.

The incense inside was thick.

Rong Yidao slept in the center, with a woman on either side of him, both already deeply asleep. The pale purple medicinal powder spread through the hall.

After receiving warnings from the Daoist Sect, Rong Yidao had restrained himself. He had dismissed most of the mortal women he had abducted into the residence, keeping only a few of his favorites at his side.

Suddenly—

Rong Yidao, asleep on the couch, abruptly opened his eyes!

After more than a decade as a Farmer, followed by many years under the Daoist Sect, his instinct for danger was far keener than that of ordinary cultivators. Moreover, upon the earth, the Field Steward's perception naturally far surpassed that of Daoist Sect cultivators.

Danger!

He instantly became alert. Looking around, he caught the scent of something strange amid the haze and hurriedly sprang upright.

"Wake up! All of you, wake up!" He shoved the women on either side, but they did not react at all.

Cold sweat immediately broke out at his temples!

On instinct, he leaped toward the ground, intending to use Earth Escape and flee far away.

Bang!

The main hall doors were suddenly pushed open, making his movements falter.

Moonlight poured inside!

A black-robed man stood outside, his hood covering most of his face. Shadows obscured his true features, but his build was nearly identical to Rong Yidao's.

"Who are you?!"

Rong Yidao shouted, demanding an answer. If anything was amiss, he could flee at any moment!

Rustle!

The black-robed man slowly raised a hand and pulled back his hood.

Moonlight fell across that face. The brows, eyes, features, contours, and stubble beneath the jaw were all exactly like his own. Apart from the idiotically clever look in those eyes, there was no difference at all, as though he were looking into an extremely tasteless mirror.

Rong Yidao froze on the spot. "You... who are you?! Why do you look so much like me?!"

The "Rong Yidao" opposite him opened his mouth, paused for a moment, then spoke in a wooden voice. "I am... Jiang... Liu."

Rong Yidao: "???"

Jiang Liu?

What the hell was Jiang Liu?

The black-robed man did not seem to realize he had misspoken. He simply stood there stupidly, possessing none of an assassin's threatening presence. Rong Yidao's thoughts were so disrupted that even his emotions became disjointed.

Smack!

The Snow Owl on his shoulder flapped a wing and smacked him on the back of the head.

Black-robed Rong Yidao came to his senses as though waking from a dream and spoke again, his words only slightly clearer. "I am... Rong... Yi...dao."

Rong Yidao was stunned. He nearly laughed from anger, feeling only absurdity in his heart—utterly fucking absurd!

You cannot even speak properly, yet you came here to shove your face in mine and openly impersonate me?!

Are you all right?!

You are Rong Yidao? Then who am I?!

"Bold, ignorant commoner! In broad daylight, you dare impersonate this Daoist master! What crime should you be charged with?! Why do you not swiftly bare your neck and await execution!"

Black-robed Rong Yidao did not answer. He merely stared blankly at him and tilted his head.

The hall fell into dead silence—