The pitch-black cave resembled a gateway to the depths of hell. The girl’s luminous pearl illuminated only three steps ahead, yet she pressed on without hesitation. Changning, watching the faint light ahead, felt a twinge of unease.
Ten deep gray stone steps led downward, then a turn, followed by another ten steps, and another turn. This opened into a dark stone chamber, about seven or eight zhang wide and one and a half times the height of a person. Besides a table, a stool, and a bed, the room contained only three iron racks on the stone wall—two large and one small—for storing miscellaneous items. A tiny lamp on the table cast a dim, cold light.
After just one day apart, the Young Master Qian seemed to have lost five jin and aged three years. His once-luxurious robes were now wrinkled and disheveled. His hair was uncombed and his face unwashed. He sat ungracefully on the straw-covered stone bed with one leg curled up and the other dangling, his ankle still shackled by an iron chain embedded in the wall. Beside him sat a coarse ceramic bowl containing two cold steamed buns, one of which had been partially eaten.
Upon hearing footsteps, Young Master Qian leaped up, puffing out his chest proudly. “You needn’t bring me food,” he declared haughtily. “I said I wouldn’t eat, and I won’t. Even dogs would turn their noses up at this coarse, cold fare… Wait, who are you?” He noticed two unfamiliar figures.
Cai Zhao tucked the luminous pearl into her robe. “We’re here to save your feet,” she stated.
Young Master Qian’s eyes widened as he pointed at Cai Zhao. “You… you…” Then, gesturing to the tall youth behind her, he exclaimed, “And you, from that day… Both of you?!” Being an expert in the art of body transformation, he quickly recognized their true forms once prompted.
Realizing who they were, anger surged within him. He burst into a tirade: “How dare you show your faces here! I was living comfortably, eating and drinking well, until you two meddled and got me locked up in this wretched place!”
Changning retorted coldly, “Pigs also eat and drink well, living comfortably. However, once they’re fattened up, they’re slaughtered immediately. They’re counting on your body transformation technique now, but once someone else learns your skills, do you think you’ll fare much better than a pig awaiting slaughter?”
Young Master Qian shuddered, fear crossing his face. “They… they said it was too exhausting. They promised to find me two filial disciples after this period…”
“And once those disciples learn the technique,” Changning interrupted, “they can dispose of their master.”
Unwilling to appear weak, Young Master Qian raised his chin defiantly. “I never wanted disciples anyway. They forced me. I’d rather die than comply. Don’t try to intimidate me—I won’t tell you anything!”
Ignoring him, Cai Zhao turned to Changning. “In that case, let’s cut off his feet and take him back for questioning.”
“Agreed,” Changning chuckled, forming his hand into a blade-like shape as he approached Young Master Qian.
Terrified, Young Master Qian shrank back onto the stone bed. “Don’t do anything rash! This place is heavily guarded. If I shout, neither of you will escape!”
Changning glanced back at Cai Zhao. “Maybe we should just kill him. This fool won’t reveal anything even if we take him back—who could hear a shout from this underground stone room? Unless he knows the Lion’s Roar technique… Does he look like he’s mastered that skill?”
Cai Zhao’s lips curled into a smirk. “He doesn’t look like he’s practiced the Lion’s Roar, but he might have mastered the Turtle Fist.” This was a common technique used by street ruffians.
Young Master Qian’s face alternated between shades of green and red, unable to settle on a color. Finally, he meekly said, “Ask what you want. I’ll tell you what I know.”
Changning, who had no questions, swept his sleeves aside and sat at the stone table, waiting for the girl to inquire.
“Don’t worry, we won’t force you,” Cai Zhao approached the stone bed. “First, did they capture more than one Face-Changer?”
Young Master Qian’s face suddenly turned pale. “…I don’t know how many they caught, but when the Face-Changers were massacred years ago, only my master escaped. After my master passed away, I became the last Face-Changer.”
“You’re lying from the very first sentence,” Changning interjected. “The Face-Changers were wiped out ninety years ago. How could your master still be alive recently?!”
Young Master Qian quickly responded, “My master was thirteen when the massacre happened. He passed away ten years ago at the age of ninety-six. How about that!”
Changning fell silent, turning away.
Cai Zhao nodded. “Second question: How many people have you transformed for them so far?”
Young Master Qian hesitated slightly. “Not counting the Mister Fan from yesterday, eight and a half in total. The half didn’t work out—but that wasn’t my fault. I only had a painting to work from, not a real person. How was I supposed to transform accurately?”
Cai Zhao pressed on. “Do you know who these eight people were?”
Young Master Qian let out a strange cry. “My lady, look at these shackles! They captured me—do you think they’d confide in me? I only knew their faces, not their names or backgrounds.”
Cai Zhao asked if any of them had round faces. Young Master Qian meticulously replied that three had round faces, asking if she meant oval, perfectly round, or just generally round. Exasperated, Cai Zhao asked about square faces. Again, Young Master Qian responded academically, saying three had square faces, inquiring if she meant perfectly square, rectangular, or trapezoid.
Amused yet irritated, Cai Zhao said, “Surely you’d recognize if any of them were famous in the martial arts world?”
Feeling wronged, Young Master Qian cried out, “I’m lower than a street rat! My master lived in hiding his entire life, changing names and locations constantly. If it weren’t for a slip-up a year ago, we’d never have had any contact with the martial arts world!”
Cai Zhao’s palm itched with the urge to strike him. To avoid breaking this fool’s nose, she moved away from the stone bed, walking to the iron racks before turning back. “Fine. I have one last question for you—and you must know the answer to this one!”
After catching her breath, she asked, “How can your body transformation technique be undone?”
Hearing this, Young Master Qian’s expression became a mix of pride and embarrassment. He smiled apologetically, “Well… the best method is to wait for the effect to wear off naturally. After all, it’s just a trick to fool people. It can’t last forever. Once the time is up… Hey, hey, don’t come closer!”
Changning had risen, lifting the stone stool as if to strike. Young Master Qian cowered, shrinking back.
“Of the eight people you’ve transformed,” Cai Zhao asked, still hopeful, “what’s the longest the effect has lasted?”
Young Master Qian stammered, “…Six months.”
Cai Zhao leaped onto the stone bed, grabbing Young Master Qian’s collar—in six months, her father’s ashes might already be scattered!
“There’s another way!” Young Master Qian screamed, shielding his face.
Cai Zhao paused.
Gasping for air, Young Master Qian continued, “Death. If the person dies, the technique is immediately nullified!”
He swallowed hard. “Didn’t you see it that day? As soon as Little Gong died, his appearance instantly reverted!”
Cai Zhao turned her head, her thoughts flashing back to the final moments after hiding in the secret chamber of Fan Xing’s house the day before—a thunderous crash, and on the blood-soaked carpet, Fan Xing’s corpse was twisting and changing shape…
She whirled back, demanding, “Does it have to be death? Won’t internal injuries or a knife wound reveal the original form?”
“No injury will work unless the person willingly disperses their energy. Only death will do—when a person dies, their dantian ruptures, their qi dissipates, and their meridians break. Only then will the original form be revealed!”
Young Master Qian loosened his collar, indignantly continuing, “Why do you think both righteous and evil factions joined forces to exterminate our sect back then? If the body transformation technique had a weakness, they wouldn’t have feared us so much! Hah! The sea may turn into mulberry fields, mountains and rivers may shift, but the body transformation technique will never change—that’s what my master said!”
Cai Zhao frowned, looking towards Changning.
Changning spoke slowly, “If we kill the impostor, we won’t be able to question him. But if we don’t kill him, and he refuses to admit anything, what can we do? We’re truly caught between a rock and a hard place.”
He turned to Young Master Qian. “When did you come to Qingque Town?”
Young Master Qian was taken aback. “So this is Qingque Town? Three months ago, they put me in a box and brought me here. They had me hide in corners of taverns and such, repeatedly observing one person. I just watched him for two and a half months before daring to use the body transformation technique. He was quite imposing—everyone bowed to him.”
He sighed. “Including yesterday’s Mister Fan, I’ve completely depleted my energy. I won’t be able to transform again without resting for a month or so.”
“So you were already lurking in Qingque Town before the grand ceremony,” Changning mused, his eyes suddenly gleaming.
He turned to Cai Zhao with a smile. “Remember yesterday when you couldn’t understand why they dared to bring this person to Wanshui Qianshan Cliff? Now it’s clear—in a month or so, Song Shijun will come to see his son.”
A flash of realization struck Cai Zhao. “…And a month after that, Uncle Zhou will come!”
Changning lowered his head, gently smoothing his sleeves. “That fence-sitter Si Qi, with Taichu Observatory half in ruins, your father and Sect Leader Qi already captured—if they can replace Master Song and Master Zhou, hmph, their grand plan can succeed.”
He slowly stood up, his smile gentle. “To prevent the Six Sects of Beichen from being wiped out in one fell swoop, we should kill him first. Once he’s dead, no one in the world will understand the body transformation technique anymore.”
Young Master Qian pressed himself against the wall in terror, his voice trembling. “No, no, please don’t kill me! I’ve never done anything bad. I’ve always hidden well, never getting involved in martial arts affairs…”
Cai Zhao stood with her back turned, silently facing the large iron rack on the stone wall.
After a moment, she turned around and tugged at Changning’s sleeve, whispering, “Let’s go. We’ve been in here too long; people outside might get suspicious.”
Changning couldn’t believe it. He said in a deep voice, “Don’t be soft-hearted now. If we don’t kill him, it’ll lead to endless trouble!”
Unable to move the tall youth, Cai Zhao turned back. She forced a smile, her eyes seemingly glistening. “Have you heard of the two things my aunt was most proud of in her life?”
Changning snorted in frustration.
Cai Zhao lowered her head, speaking in a muffled voice. “On her deathbed, my aunt said she was most proud that she never killed Nie Hengcheng, and that… no matter how desperate the situation, she never killed an innocent person; no matter how difficult, she never stood by when an innocent person was in danger.”
She had heard these words on the tower before, thinking them ordinary at the time. Only now did she realize how difficult it was to accomplish these two things.
Changning’s chest heaved with anger, his eyes cold. “Your father’s fate is unknown. Can’t you make an exception in this urgent situation?!”
The usually gentle girl stubbornly shook her head. “No, we must not cross that line. Once there’s a first time, there will be many more.”
She raised her head, smiling. “When I first met you, I didn’t know who you were. It was because of my aunt’s words that I felt compelled to save you, even in my confusion.”
Remembering the carefree, lively girl from that spring day, Changning’s heart softened.
He said gently, “Alright then. We’ll find another way. He’s powerless now, so it’s not harmful to leave him for now.”
Just as they reached the second corner of the stone steps, a voice came from behind—”Actually, there was one person who once broke the body transformation technique.”
Changning and Cai Zhao turned back, filled with surprise and joy.
“It was the Ancestor of Beichen,” Young Master Qian said, standing by the stone bed with his head lowered.
“Two hundred years ago, my ancestor used the body transformation technique to assist the Ancestor of Beichen in defeating evil. On the day the demons were vanquished, the mortally wounded Ancestor called my ancestor over and asked him to transform into anyone he wished. Though confused, my ancestor complied.”
“Then, the Ancestor had his servants bring the Snow-Scale Dragon beast he had raised for many years. He took a small amount of saliva from the beast’s mouth and had my ancestor drink it—Snow-Scale Dragon saliva is a rare and precious tonic, highly beneficial for cultivators, so my ancestor drank it immediately.”
“Soon after, his body turned ice-cold, as if he were dead, and shortly after, he reverted to his original form.”
“The Ancestor, in front of everyone at his sickbed, warned my ancestor that in all things under heaven, in yin and yang, there is always a counterbalance. Therefore, no technique in the world cannot be undone, and no sect that will last forever. He told everyone to be mindful of this.”
“Then the Ancestor passed away, and not long after, my ancestor went into seclusion—I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what my master told me.” Young Master Qian finished, wringing his hands tightly.
“Snow-Scale Dragon beast?” Cai Zhao exclaimed in surprise. “I’ve read about it in books. It’s said that the Ancestor raised many rare and magical beasts, like the Gossamer-Winged Ice Crane, the Red-Headed Eight-Legged Snake, and even a qilin steed that could run a thousand li in a night… But the books say that after the Ancestor passed away, the ethereal energy of Jiuli Mountain dispersed, and those rare beasts gradually left.”
“Don’t you know? The Snow-Scale Dragon beast was probably real,” Changning said, frowning. “A hundred and sixty years ago, the Snow-Scale Dragon beast wreaked havoc across the land, injuring countless people, until it was finally driven away by the united efforts of the martial arts world.”
Cai Zhao perked up. “Where was it driven to?”
“North from here, to the Great Snow Mountains in the frigid regions.”
…
After leaving the underground prison, the two silently retraced their steps.
The mountain wilderness grew increasingly cold, with black-clad figures still patrolling like ghosts.
Only after leaving that area did the two finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Changning supported the slightly winded girl but said, “This is what you get for being a good person. Although Jiuli Mountain is in the north, even if we rode fast horses non-stop, it would take more than half a month to reach the Great Snow Mountains. And who knows if that Snow-Scale Dragon beast is even still alive.”
“Let’s not count on the Snow-Scale Dragon beast for now,” Cai Zhao said, catching her breath and straightening up. “We need to capture that impostor. He won’t travel without many skilled fighters, so we should capture twenty or so. If we interrogate them one by one, we might get some information.”
Changning chuckled. “Wow, Zhaozao, that’s quite ambitious. To capture twenty or so, you’d need the whole sect to help you. How will you convince them?”
“I’ll tell them everything directly,” Cai Zhao said solemnly. “No matter how well he imitates my father, there must be flaws. As long as the senior uncles believe me, we can catch them all in one fell swoop.”
Changning frowned slightly. “That might not work. Sometimes, what’s said isn’t the most important thing. It’s about whether the speaker can make everyone listen.”
As they talked and walked towards Qingjing Study, a group of people suddenly surged towards them from the front, carrying swords and lanterns, with blazing torches. In an instant, they surrounded the two.
The person at the front was Feng Chi.
He smiled coldly. “You two are in quite a mood, aren’t you? In the middle of the night, instead of staying in your rooms, you’re wandering all over the mountains. Since you’re not sleeping, that’s good—come with us. The Master has summoned you.”