Chapter 38 Part 2

Chang Ning slapped his chopsticks on the table. "Originally, Sect Master Qi was supposed to be 'seriously injured', but you intervened, and he only suffered minor injuries. That's why the imposter had to later have 'the poison not yet cleared, with recurring injuries'!"

He thought for a moment and added, "Maybe they originally wanted to replace Song Yuzhi too! Good heavens, don't tell me Song Yuzhi is already a fake."

Cai Zhao said irritably, "If Song Yuzhi were a fake, are all those people from the Vast Heaven Sect blind?! I heard that among the protectors who came this time, two of them watched Song Yuzhi grow up, and another two spent seven or eight years with him in the Qingque Sect!"

Chang Ning said "oh," with a hint of disappointment.

"I don't think they can replace that many people," Cai Zhao said, catching her breath, a thoughtful look on her face.

"From what Young Master Qian said, it seems the longer the disguise, the more effort it takes him. Replacing Senior Brother Fan only took a few days, and Young Master Qian was as exhausted as if he'd shed a layer of skin. For those in important positions, they would need to be replaced for at least a few months. And I don't think they have many 'Young Master Qians' on hand either." If it were easy to replace people, they would have replaced Steward Chen instead of bribing him and being so polite.

Chang Ning thought for a moment and agreed.

Cai Zhao took out the golden needle wrapped in a handkerchief from her bosom. "I took this from the back of Senior Brother Fan's neck. Do you recognize it? Is it the 'Soul-Disrupting Needle' that Steward Chen mentioned just now?"

Chang Ning took the golden needle and examined it repeatedly. "Yes, this is it. A trivial gadget from some unorthodox path, utterly useless."

"Useless? I think it's quite powerful. We were turning the place upside down next to him, and Senior Brother Fan didn't even wake up."

"It really is useless." Chang Ning contemptuously tossed the golden needle aside. "The power of the Soul-Disrupting Needle isn't the needle itself, but the soporific drug it's soaked in. When it hits an acupoint, the person falls unconscious on the spot. But it has a major drawback—it has an extremely strong smell that lingers for a long time. Unless you have no nose, you can smell it from twenty or thirty feet away."

"The user must carry a small needle case that isolates the smell, because the moment the case is opened, the smell immediately spreads, and anyone would notice. Let's put it this way, the Soul-Disrupting Needle can only be used in a sneak attack, striking a vital point with lightning speed. But if you can already launch a sneak attack, why not just use a poisoned blade or needle, which has no smell? This kind of thing is only used when you want to capture someone alive. For them to go to such lengths to capture people, I expect your father and Sect Master Qi are safe for now."

Cai Zhao stared blankly for a moment before saying, "No wonder I never liked the bitter medicinal smell in Master's room. Now that I think about it, it was probably used to cover up the smell of the Soul-Disrupting Needle."

"We've gained a lot today, but we now face two difficulties. First, how many people have been replaced? Second, how can this Body Switching Grand Method be broken? To figure these two things out, we have to ask that Young Master Qian. But after today's commotion, who knows where they will move him."

Chang Ning tapped a wine cup askew with a chopstick, looking every bit the part of an elegant and unrestrained drinker.

"I know," Cai Zhao said suddenly.

Chang Ning stopped tapping, thinking he had misheard. "What did you say?"

Cai Zhao: "I said, I might know the general whereabouts of Young Master Qian."

Chang Ning's eyes were clear and cold, without a hint of intoxication. "...What was that pill you gave Young Master Qian just now?"

Cai Zhao gave a bitter smile. "Like the Soul-Disrupting Needle, it's also a rather useless thing."

She looked at the sky outside the window. "It's about time. Let's go buy a hunting dog."

...

Qingque Town was backed by the majestic and perilous Jiuli Mountain, surrounded by dense and vast mountain forests.

Since there were mountain forests, there would naturally be an abundance of birds and beasts.

Since there were birds and beasts, there would naturally be hunters.

And to hunt, one naturally needed hunting dogs.

Thus, Cai Zhao easily found a small hunter's shop at the end of town. She spent all the gold and silver nuggets in her purse to buy a small but keen-nosed hunting dog. Leading the dog to a deserted spot, Cai Zhao took out a small wax pill from her bosom, crushed it, and smeared the grease inside onto a handkerchief, which she then held under the dog's nose to sniff.

Night was falling, and the sight of Chang Ning and Cai Zhao strolling through the town with a hound seemed quite refined to outsiders.

As they walked, Cai Zhao explained in a low voice.

"The thing I gave Young Master Qian is called a 'Hidden Fragrance Pill'. My mother made it."

"When my mother was young, she loved fragrances. Well, many girls do. But when you're out and about, there's no time to burn incense. If you just pour perfume on yourself, you'll be drenched in fragrant sweat once a fight starts, which is rather embarrassing. So my mother thought, is there a medicine you can take that makes your body naturally emit a fragrance? Unfortunately, she never figured it out, not even by the time of the Battle of Mount Tu."

"Later, when my mother settled down in Falling Blossoms Valley, she finally had the leisure to calmly concoct this 'Hidden Fragrance Pill'. A person who takes the pill will start emitting a fragrance after half an hour. Alas, who knew that this thing was not only time-consuming and expensive to make, but the scent was also unpleasant. My aunt once joked that it smelled like the cheap perfume a flirtatious proprietress would use to attract customers, left out for three years, rained on, and finally doused with a ladle of vinegar."

"My mother was so angry she threw away the whole box of Hidden Fragrance Pills. My aunt said it was a pity to throw them away, so she told me to pick them up to play with. My aunt and I have fed the Hidden Fragrance Pills to chickens, ducks, pigs, dogs, horses... and of course, people."

"The fragrance lasts longest on a person, about two hours. It's shorter for all the other animals. Once the time is up, the smell disappears completely. Later, my father said that although the scent isn't pleasant, it could be used for tracking. Sigh, but when we really tried it, we found it to be quite useless."

Chang Ning was very interested. "What's wrong with it?"

Cai Zhao sighed. "As long as the person who takes the pill has internal energy, they can completely force out the pill's effects with their internal power once they notice it."

Chang Ning chuckled lightly. "Indeed, nothing in this world is perfect."

He then stopped and turned to look at the girl. "You're so confident. Do you think Young Master Qian won't force out the pill's fragrance?"

Cai Zhao tilted her head and counted on her fingers. "First, Young Master Qian's martial arts are weak, and he just expended a lot of effort performing the 'Body Switching Grand Method'. Even if he had a little bit of power left, there isn't much of it now."

"But he can ask others to help him force out the pill's effects," Chang Ning questioned.

"True," Cai Zhao said. "But there's a second point. This Young Master Qian is very vain and already wears perfume. They were also in a hurry to set a fire and hide, so they might not have noticed the smell of the Hidden Fragrance Pill. We can take a gamble."

Chang Ning first nodded, then smiled, a smile devoid of any worldly emotion.

"You don't need to gamble. That Young Master Qian is not resigned to being imprisoned," he said. "You might not have seen it, but when he was fumbling around on Fan Xingjia, he took the opportunity to stuff a paper ball into his hand. After finishing the technique, he collapsed next to Fan Xingjia. When he heard those people wanting to kill Fan Xingjia, he quickly took the paper ball back and stuffed it into his own sleeve."

Cai Zhao's eyes widened. "You mean..." She thought it was gross to watch a man touch another man, so she hadn't looked closely.

"I guess the paper ball had something like a plea for help written on it," Chang Ning said.

For the first time in two days, Cai Zhao showed a smile of relief.

...

Qingque Town had a total of two main gates for entry and exit.

The south and east gates. To the west and north was Jiuli Mountain.

Chang Ning and Cai Zhao first took the hound to the two gates to confirm whether that group had left Qingque Town—as expected, they hadn't. They were still in the town.

Then the two of them walked through all the residential areas in the town, including the alley that had just been burned down—in case they decided to circle back.

But still, they found nothing.

So they had to wander through the taverns, teahouses, and restaurants. These places were filled with the strong aromas of alcohol and food, but fortunately, the scent of the 'Hidden Fragrance Pill' was distinctive. Cai Zhao had tested it before in the bustling downtown area of Falling Blossoms Town, and the hound could distinguish it.

However, there was still no trace.

Seeing that the two hours were almost up and the pill was about to lose its effect, Cai Zhao started to get anxious.

Chang Ning suddenly said, "Let's go up Jiuli Mountain and have a look."

Cai Zhao was stunned.

At first, she thought Chang Ning was being absurd. Those people would have to be crazy to walk right into a trap. Even if Qi Yunke had been replaced, there were still many highly skilled martial uncles in the inner and outer sects, and hundreds of disciples were not to be trifled with. An imposter who only dared to hide in a sickroom couldn't possibly control everything—otherwise, why would they have gone to the trouble of replacing Fan Xingjia?

But then, on second thought, what if?

So the two of them hurried to the northwest. To their surprise, as soon as they reached the foot of Jiuli Mountain, the hound started barking furiously. A trained hound knows to pounce on its prey without hesitation. If Chang Ning hadn't held the leash tightly, the hound would have already dashed up the mountain.

A chill ran down Cai Zhao's spine, and she looked at Chang Ning in fear.

Chang Ning scooped up the hound and said in a low voice, "Quick, up the mountain."

The two summoned their internal energy and shot up the mountain, startling birds in the forest along the way, moving through the air like two flying birds.

When they reached Wind and Cloud Peak, Chang Ning quickly put down the hound in his arms.

As soon as it landed, it ran straight to the edge of the cliff, barking incessantly.

The barking attracted the disciples guarding Wind and Cloud Peak.

It was late, and the iron chains were not supposed to be activated. However, when Song Yuzhi had crossed the cliff earlier, he had instructed them to be sure to let Cai Zhao cross, lest she get into trouble staying outside.

Song Yuzhi's prestige in the Qingque Sect was second only to Qi Yunke's, and he was even more just in his actions. The cliff-guarding disciples naturally obeyed.

Thus, in the dead of night at Wind and Cloud Peak, the horn sounded again. After the disciples on the opposite bank saw the correct flag signals and the faces of Chang Ning and Cai Zhao, they quickly released the iron chains.

Chang Ning and Cai Zhao quickly picked up the hound and crossed the chains. As soon as they set foot on the edge of Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff, the hound in Chang Ning's arms struggled free, jumped to the ground, and ran off at high speed. Chang Ning tapped his toes and immediately followed.

The middle-aged disciple by the chain box asked with a smile, "Junior Sister, did you buy a dog to amuse yourself?"

Cai Zhao gave an awkward smile. "Haha, yes."

"This dog seems to have a bad temper. Junior Sister will have her hands full." The disciple thought that Cai Zhao must have bought the dog to play with because she was feeling down about her father's disappearance. She was still a young girl, after all.

Cai Zhao hurried to catch up with Chang Ning. She hadn't gone far before she saw Chang Ning and the hound by a patch of grass.

The hound was sniffing and circling around the grass, but it could no longer determine the direction.

Chang Ning stood aside with a frown.

Cai Zhao looked up at the sky.

It was the beginning of the midnight hour, the bright moon was high in the sky, and the pill's effects had worn off.