Chapter Sixty-Five: Counterfeit
Qu Yiqiu left behind the jade slip, finished a bowl of tea, and departed from the Ferrying Pavilion.
Standing before the pavilion, gazing up at the signboard shimmering with spiritual light, she furrowed her brows in worry.
The Thousand-Faced Protector inside had agreed readily enough, but she did not believe it would be so easy. Though the man’s appearance was hidden behind a pearl curtain artifact, she could sense his true cultivation level with perfect clarity.
Only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Thus, thanks to the cultivation she concealed with the help of Little Yan, the Thousand-Faced Protector behind the curtain saw nothing out of the ordinary. He assumed she was merely a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
Moreover, considering she was not yet sixteen, the Thousand-Faced Protector had never suspected she might be hiding her strength.
According to the pavilion’s usual rules, all cultivators above Qi Refining were subject to bone age inspection. Yet Qu Yiqiu’s bone age had been checked by the puppet maid who welcomed her, and the Thousand-Faced Protector did not perform a second inspection.
This gave him the mistaken impression that tasks for low-level cultivators were exceedingly simple.
But Qu Yiqiu knew it would not be so straightforward.
She possessed the soul lamps of Qu An’yi and Zhao Yuexuan, yet could sense no movement from them whatsoever; the message talismans she sent had received no reply—a situation that had never occurred before.
She speculated they might be trapped somewhere devoid of spiritual energy, which would explain their complete silence.
A land of severed spirit was the most terrifying place for a cultivator; it was tantamount to stripping away all their skills, leaving only frail mortal bodies to survive in utter peril.
Worried, Qu Yiqiu knit her brows, hoping the Ferrying Pavilion’s reputation was as miraculous as legend claimed, and that they could truly find her parents within ten days.
“Move aside, move aside—don’t just stand there, friend!” a burly male cultivator urged her impatiently.
Lost in thought, Qu Yiqiu was startled to see the road suddenly fill with men.
She shifted aside, confused, and the burly cultivator immediately charged ahead, followed by a flood of others who had been blocked by his massive frame.
Qu Yiqiu looked in surprise toward the direction they ran.
From the crowd, voices rose continuously: “Is it really Fairy Yiqiu? What does she look like? Is she as beautiful as the legendary Divine Consort Fairy?”
“I’ve never seen the Divine Consort Fairy, but I know this Fairy Yiqiu must be even more beautiful!”
“Fairy Yiqiu, look over here! Fairy Yiqiu, I love you!”
“At last, Fairy Yiqiu is parading outside—so beautiful, utterly celestial!”
“Where? Where? Let me see too!”
“Go on, go on, you young brat, stop pushing!”
“Out of the way!”
Hearing her own name, or one similar, Qu Yiqiu walked to the edge of the crowd and saw a thirteen-year-old boy thrown out.
She watched as the boy scrambled up, intent on squeezing back into the throng, and quickly stepped forward to seize him.
“Young friend, do you know who’s inside? Answer me and I’ll give you some spirit stones for sweets.”
The boy gave her a disdainful glance and replied gruffly, “Who do you take me for? A few spirit stones aren’t enough to buy my sweets!”
Qu Yiqiu was momentarily taken aback by his boldness and cheek.
Without hesitation, she twisted her wrist, and with a crack, wrenched the boy’s arm into a braid.
“Ow! That hurts—let go! Let go! Release me!”
Qu Yiqiu smiled faintly at his struggles. “Speak nicely, and I’ll let you go.”
Tears sprang to the boy’s eyes from the pain, and he wailed, “Let me go, big sister, I’ll tell you right away who the fairy inside is!”
She released a faint aura of pressure and let go of his arm.
“It was wrong of me to delay you, but you shouldn’t be so rude.”
Freed, the boy rolled his eyes secretly but dared not provoke her further. “Yes, yes, you’re right, Fairy Sister!”
Qu Yiqiu knew his words were not sincere, but since she needed information, she took out a medium-grade spirit stone.
“I trust this will buy you enough sweets. Tell me, what’s this about Fairy Yiqiu that everyone’s shouting?”
Clutching his sore arm, the boy’s eyes lit up at the sight of the spirit stone.
“That’s enough, more than enough! Fairy Sister, you are so kind—so beautiful and generous!”
“Since you’ve accepted the stone, just tell me about this Fairy Yiqiu.” Qu Yiqiu had no patience for his flattery.
Besides, he was only thirteen; she found his worldliness a little pitiful.
The boy snatched up the spirit stone and hid it quickly in his clothes, grinning. “Fairy Sister, the Fairy Yiqiu they’re shouting about is the new courtesan queen of Spring Rain House. They say she looks exactly like Qu Yiqiu, disciple of the number one orthodox sect! Everyone loves her for it!”
Qu Yiqiu was stunned.
She had never imagined such a thing.
Had her reputation really spread this far?
“Fairy Sister, I’ve answered your question. Can I leave now?” The boy glanced at her, testing.
She waved her hand. “Go on.”
“Yay!” The boy jumped for joy and darted back into the crowd.
Qu Yiqiu gazed at the sea of demonic cultivators blocking three streets, unable to resist the urge to see who dared imitate her face—and even steal her name!
She sent out her spiritual sense, sweeping the crowd, and saw only a lavish palanquin shrouded in layers of gauze. At its roof glittered a massive pearl, the breeze stirring the veils, creating a dreamlike vision of a beauty’s profile.
But in a single breath’s time, the veil fell again, concealing the beauty’s features.
Qu Yiqiu frowned slightly.
This new courtesan queen must have used some enchantment; with only a fleeting glimpse, she had nearly lost herself, craving to see more.
No wonder most of the onlookers were only at the Qi Refining stage.
Shaking her head, Qu Yiqiu decided not to stay.
What did it matter that someone was imitating her? She was just an ordinary demonic cultivator now—there was nothing she could do.
With that thought, she turned away.
Unbeknownst to her, in the extravagant palanquin, the woman within sensed a trace of spiritual consciousness recede. She lifted a slender, jade-white hand to draw back the gauze, provoking a frenzy of screams from the crowd.
The young boy leapt up above the crowd, flashing a broad, toothy grin.
Had Qu Yiqiu not already left, she would surely have noticed the familiarity in the glance exchanged between the two.
...
Night was falling.
Qu Yiqiu had no intention of traveling after dark.
She rented a room in the city and took out Mo Qingli’s soul lamp.
Compared to her parents’ soul lamps, this one was far more restless, as though its owner was anything but safe.
Qu Yiqiu studied it for a while, silently reciting the soul lamp’s search incantation, and squeezed a drop of her essence blood onto it.
The lamp absorbed her blood and immediately glowed red, releasing a wisp of smoke that drifted southeast.