Chapter 4 – Acting

Hao Chen had only taken a few steps when he was suddenly blocked.

“Halt! The area ahead is the territory of our Lingxiao Sword Sect. Who are you?”

Hao Chen turned and saw two people wearing black and white Daoist robes. There was a pattern of small swords on the robes – the symbol of the Lingxiao Sword Sect.

These two disciples were responsible for guarding the mountain gate. Before Hao Chen could respond, one of them recognized his identity and pointed to his gold-edged white Daoist robes, saying: “These robes…..you’re from Tiangong Pavilion?”

Hao Chen waved his fan in front of his chest. His eyebrows curved as he gave a polite smile: “Precisely.”

The affirmative answer, coupled with Hao Chen’s handsome face that made people feel favorable toward him, made the gatekeepers relax their vigilance.

Tiangong Pavilion, as a sect famous for its weapon refining, had always had a close relationship with their Lingxiao Sword Sect. Disciples of the two sects often interacted with each other and visited each other’s sects.

The gatekeeper disciple wasn’t surprised by this, and logically speculated: “Are you here to visit a friend?”

The smile on Hao Chen’s face deepened. Just when he needed an excuse, an excuse was given to him. He readily answered: “That’s right.”

Although the gatekeepers were basically unguarded against Hao Chen, they asked one last question out of convention: “What’s his name?”

Once they knew the name, they would notify the fellow disciple and tell him to pick the visitor up at the mountain gate. Then Hao Chen could enter the sect freely.

However, Hao Chen didn’t know anyone from the Lingxiao Sword Sect, and also hadn’t come to visit a good friend. If he made up a name at random, even if that person did exist, he would be exposed immediately upon meeting them.

But his luck was surprisingly good this time. He did know of someone from the Lingxiao Sword Sect. And that person would never have the chance to confront him or expose his lies to his face.

Hao Chen pretended to be upset and closed his fan, tapping it lightly against his forehead: “It’s like this, the last time I met that fellow Daoist, we hit it off immediately. We had a great discussion and drank all night, becoming close friends. He also invited me to visit the sword sect, but…..”

Hao Chen seemed to sigh with extreme regret: “We talked about life ideals, poetry, and songs, but we forgot to tell each other our names.” Although it sounded a bit unbelievable, it was not completely unreasonable. The gatekeeper didn’t doubt Hao Chen’s words overlymuch, and only said: “Then describe his appearance, and I’ll help you find him.”

Hao Chen recalled the face of the corpse and described: “He…..has a rather ordinary appearance, and he’s about the same height as me. And…..well…..”

Hao Chen was stuck. It seemed his good luck had finally run out. He didn’t have any special hobbies, so he naturally wouldn’t gawk at a corpse. He’d simply taken a glance, and only vaguely remembered its general appearance.

And that person had looked so ordinary. He never forgot things due to having an excellent memory, but despite that being the case…..Hao Chen really couldn’t think of any adjectives to distinguish him. It would be as difficult as describing a single sheep amongst a flock.

As he contemplated for what seemed like half a day, the gatekeeper disciples became a little impatient. Then Hao Chen said in pleasant surprise: “Oh, now I remember. He had a teardrop mole at the corner of his eye.”

“Teardrop mole?” Based on this feature, the disciples began to search the list issued by the sect. This roster detailed basic information on the disciples, including their names and appearances.

Hao Chen waited patiently to the side. He had already mentally prepared what he would say. It didn’t matter what the man’s name was – it mattered that he was dead.

He had died in a treasure theft, a common scene in the cultivation world, and had been dead for almost a month.

The role Hao Chen had arranged for himself was that of a pitiable friend who, unaware of the man’s death, had come to visit him. It would be unreasonable for the two gatekeepers to chase him away. He intended to enter the gates on the pretext of mourning his friend, and then…..

Hao Chen narrowed his eyes, making mental calculations.

The gatekeeper perusing the roster scratched his head irritably. Finding someone based on a teardrop mole was such a slow process. Unlike names, which were listed according to a certain pattern, the distribution of appearances was random, so he had to search through all of the sword sect’s disciples.

Just when he was about to lose his mind, he happened to look up and see two people passing by the mountain gate. They appeared to be fellow disciples who had just finished their meals and were headed back to their residences.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was that…..one of those fellow disciples had a teardrop mole at the corner of his left eye!

While Hao Chen waited for the gatekeeper to check the list, he was also fabricating his story, and was so busy that he didn’t notice the people coming up behind him. He just saw the gatekeeper disciple suddenly straighten up, apparently having found the right description.

Hao Chen promptly asked: “Did you find him?”

The gatekeeper nodded.

The smile on Hao Chen’s face deepened. He just waited for the other party to tell him the sad news of that unfortunate friend’s death. Then he would shed a few crocodile tears and sneak in legitimately.

Just as he was brewing tears, he realized that there was no sorrow on the gatekeeper’s face. Instead, he smiled and waved at someone behind Hao Chen, saying: “Look behind you, is that him?”

Behind him? Hao Chen was baffled. He belatedly turned his head and encountered Feng Ye, who had stopped walking when he was inexplicably greeted by an unfamiliar fellow disciple.

Hao Chen’s breathing stagnated for a moment. His pupils dilated slightly, and he somewhat lost control of his usual smooth demeanor due to this unexpected meeting.

He didn’t answer the gatekeeper right away, and the disciple observed his reaction with puzzlement. Hao Chen looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

But was he not seeing a ghost? The dead had come back to life.

When he didn’t receive an answer, the gatekeeper could only ask again: “Hello? Is he the person you’re looking for?”

“He’s not…..” Hao Chen replied subconsciously, but in the next moment, he firmly contradicted himself: “He is!”

He opened the folded fan again and covered his lips with it to hide his uncontrollable smile. It was only that even though he was smiling, that smile didn’t give off a friendly feeling. Instead, it gave a person an inexplicable sense of danger that made one’s hair stand on end.

Hao Chen looked at Feng Ye’s face, which should have been gray and lifeless, and said word by word: “He is the one I’m looking for…..”

This man who had come back from the dead.

A sudden chill made the two gatekeepers standing near Hao Chen subconsciously shiver. Just as they were confused, Hao Chen returned to his normal state, and the coldness just now seemed as if it had been an illusion. 

He lowered his fan, took a few steps forward, and bowed to Feng Ye in greeting: “Fellow Daoist, it has been a long time since last we parted.”

Since last they parted? Feng Ye was stunned. He looked at Hao Chen, and then at the fellow disciples guarding the gate not far behind him. 

Feng Ye instantly came to a realization. His reaction speed was just as fast as Hao Chen’s as he promptly responded: “Indeed…..fellow Daoist, it’s been a while, haha.”

“I went back and pondered the scriptures you explained to me last time, and felt that you were very insightful. I came to beg your hospitality today just to discuss the sutras and the dao with you once more.” Hao Chen spoke without batting an eyelid about something that had never happened.

Feng Ye quickly assessed the situation. He couldn’t glean anything from Hao Chen’s expression, nor did he know if “he” actually had such a good friend.

He couldn’t act rashly for the moment, so he just gave an ambiguously-worded general answer: “I only have a basic understanding of it. Fellow Daoist is too polite.”

“Fellow Daoist is too modest!”

“Not so, not so.”

These two people, with no rehearsal beforehand, acted out a show on the spot, singing in unison and performing with the tacit understanding of old friends. But in fact, these people with their own ulterior motives didn’t know each other at all.

The gatekeepers saw them talking so enthusiastically and believed they really knew each other. Very tactfully, they turned around and returned to their post.

And Fang Yang, who had been walking with Feng Ye, finally found a gap in their conversation and asked the question he had been holding back: “Shixiong, who is this…..?”

How should I know who he is? Feng Ye thought. But with a smile as fake as Hao Chen’s, he said to the newcomer: “Fellow Daoist, you may not know, but I cultivated too hard the other day and had a deviation, which injured my brain. I’ve forgotten a lot of things, such as…..your name?”

However, he had forgotten that there was an overly-straightforward fellow junior disciple right next to him, and as soon as Feng Ye finished speaking, Fang Yang cut in: “Shixiong, when have you ever cultivated?”

Feng Ye: “……”

Feng Ye coughed dryly, then speedily found a rebuttal: “Nonsense. Shixiong just doesn’t cultivate in front of you, but he actually cultivates routinely every night.”

Fang Yang glanced up at Feng Ye, who was a head taller than him, and expressionlessly called him out: “Are you talking about sleeping?”

Feng Ye: “……”

It was evident that his stair-building speed was slower than Fang Yang’s speed in dismantling them.

Feng Ye glanced at Hao Chen guiltily, and saw that Hao Chen’s lips were slightly raised as he observed him with a smile.

Feng Ye’s originally somewhat timid heart instantly became less timid. Hao Chen’s reaction wasn’t right. If he really knew the original person, he should have revealed some suspicion over such obvious flaws.

But the guy in front of him looked as if he was watching a show…..there was an eighty percent chance that there was something fishy about this person, Feng Ye deduced at once.

Therefore, the previous statements were likely all traps that he had already fallen into. He was at a disadvantage, so if he wanted to regain the initiative, he had to turn the tables.

Feng Ye’s mind raced. He suddenly said: “Fellow…..”

Hao Chen beamed and reminded him: “Distinguished people tend to have short memories. My name is Hao Chen.”

“Oh.” Feng Ye slapped his head as if he had suddenly remembered: “Fellow Daoist Hao. Come to think of it, the last time we discussed the dao and drank under the moon, Fellow Daoist Hao had a huge appetite for wine.”

Hao Chen’s entertained expression froze. They didn’t know each other at all, and had discussed nothing. He had fabricated their discussion of the dao to unearth this person’s fraudulent identity.

Although there was indeed something wrong with the person before him, he hadn’t expected him to react so quickly. After just two or three sentences, that person realized there was something wrong with Hao Chen too and threw a question back at him.

This was bait. No matter how he took it, he would be biting the hook.

Hao Chen smiled at him duplicitously and didn’t give a direct answer, but just went along with it: “Something like that.”

Feng Ye abruptly drew his sword. The smile on his face vanished and he lifted an eyebrow as threatening as a blade.

He stared into Hao Chen’s eyes and said in casual tone that was actually interrogative: “Ah, my memory is so bad. Brother Hao didn’t drink at all, it was actually me who drank a lot that night. I remembered it wrong, but how did Brother Hao also remember it wrong?”

Hao Chen narrowed his eyes and returned Feng Ye’s piercing gaze. The two people stared probingly at each other, and neither spoke for a long while.

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First round: Draw

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Chapter 3 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 5