After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

“We can’t go down into the mines right now.” The clan chief stood calmly before the village, neither servile nor confrontational. “Things underground haven’t been peaceful lately.”

“I know.” The fake Chi Yantian put on an imposing air and leaned forward, pressing one hand against his Blazing Rhinoceros’s head as he looked down at the clan chief. “That’s exactly why I’m giving you this opportunity.”

“You should understand that under normal circumstances, if I wanted precious ore, people would be lining up to offer it to me. Your village probably wouldn’t even get a chance. Now that the underground is unstable, this is the perfect time for you to lend a hand when I need it most. Surely you aren’t going to refuse?”

The clan chief cupped his fists.

“...Our clan only has so many able-bodied young men. I truly don’t want to involve them in an expedition this dangerous. I hope the holy son will forgive us.”

The fake Chi Yantian sneered.

“Looks like you don’t know what’s good for you.”

“Haven’t you heard what happened to the last village that didn’t know its place?”

The clan chief narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I heard.”

“But our clan has no intention of offending you, so we prepared an apology gift in advance. I hope the holy son will pardon us.”

The fake Chi Yantian raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of apology gift?”

The clan chief answered sincerely, “We prepared some spirit stones.”

“Heh.” The fake Chi Yantian gave a cold laugh. “You think you can buy me off with money? Do you have any idea how rich this young mas— ahem, this holy son is?”

A bead of cold sweat slid down the clan chief’s forehead.

The fake Chi Yantian narrowed his eyes.

“How many spirit stones?”

The clan chief swallowed.

“...Ten thousand.”

The fake Chi Yantian straightened in the saddle and scoffed.

“Are you joking?”

“On an ordinary mining trip, a single decent piece of ore can be worth more than ten thousand spirit stones. And now you want to apologize to me with only ten thousand?”

The clan chief said gravely, “But it’s perfectly normal for us to spend ten days or half a month mining without finding anything worth selling. Especially lately, with all the disturbances underground. Every clan that has gone down there has suffered heavy losses...”

“Spare me the excuses!”

The fake Chi Yantian’s face darkened. He suddenly launched himself into the air and kicked straight toward the clan chief’s chest.

“I think you just don’t know your place! You dare look down on me?!”

Veins instantly bulged across the clan chief’s forehead.

He clearly could have dodged.

Yet something flickered in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and stayed where he was.

Yu Qingtang, hanging over the wall, shouted in alarm.

“Go!”

Almost the instant his voice rang out, Ye Chenyan was already airborne.

His fist slammed directly into the impostor’s face.

Ignoring the panicked villagers behind him, Yu Qingtang hurried after him with the transmission stone in hand.

“Brother Chi, Brother Chi! Can you hear me?”

Chi Yantian’s voice came from the other side.

“Huh? It’s you! Perfect timing, I was just about to tell you—”

“Don’t talk yet! Listen to me first!”

Yu Qingtang quickly found himself a good position and adopted the solemn posture of a field reporter.

“Recently, residents of a small village in Rongzhou discovered a certain red-haired man claiming to be the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult. He has demanded precious ore and spirit stones from local residents, displayed an atrocious attitude, and behaved in a highly suspicious manner, leaving the surrounding population deeply distressed.”

“Standing before us now is one of the affected clan chiefs. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

He held the transmission stone toward the man.

“Clan Chief, a few words, please.”

The clan chief, who had already prepared himself to take a beating, had yet to process what had happened.

The “Chi Yantian” who had been throwing his weight around moments ago was now pinned beneath the foot of a young man with a long spear strapped across his back.

The clan chief opened and closed his mouth several times before turning blankly toward Yu Qingtang.

“Say what? Who’s on the other end?”

Yu Qingtang prompted him, “On the other end is the real Mr. Chi Yantian. This guy here is an impostor.”

“Do you have anything you’d like to say to the real Mr. Chi Yantian?”

The clan chief stared blankly.

After struggling for a long time, he finally managed:

“Huh?”

Yu Qingtang looked sympathetic.

“As we can see, our clan chief has clearly suffered a tremendous psychological blow...”

“Wait a damn minute!”

Chi Yantian finally caught up, his voice shooting upward in fury.

“You found someone impersonating me?! And why are you talking like that?!”

“It’s called a broadcaster voice, okay?”

Yu Qingtang cleared his throat.

“Very well, let’s turn our attention back to the scene. This red-haired gentleman claiming to be Chi Yantian—tsk, he really is at Nascent Soul, his hair is certainly red enough, and he has a fire spiritual root. Unfortunately, his skill level leaves something to be desired. He got planted into the ground after a single exchange.”

He gestured for Ye Chenyan to stop hitting him for a moment and held the transmission stone near the impostor’s mouth.

“Sir, would you care to introduce yourself?”

“Impudent!”

The fake Chi Yantian struggled to lift his head.

“You don’t even know who I am, yet you dare behave so arrogantly! Once I summon the Heavenly Fire Cult, we’ll flatten this pathetic little village!”

“I am the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult—Chi Yantian, the ‘Heaven-Burning Bull Demon’!”

Yu Qingtang pulled the transmission stone back.

“Brother Chi, did you actually give yourself that title, or did he make it up?”

“What Heaven-Burning Bull Demon?!” Chi Yantian exploded. “I’ve never even heard of that! That title suits Flamelet way better!”

Yu Qingtang glanced to the side.

“Incidentally, he found himself a Blazing Rhinoceros too. It’s just... not quite as fresh and handsome as Flamelet.”

“He even dares impersonate Flamelet?!”

Chi Yantian’s voice suddenly shot up another octave.

Yu Qingtang hurriedly held the transmission stone farther from his ear as an enraged roar burst from it.

“You two wait right there! I’ve already come out of seclusion! I’m heading to Rongzhou right now! Let me personally beat that arrogant bastard to death!”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow and looked up, fighting back laughter as he tried to maintain a properly serious expression.

The impostor finally realized something was wrong.

His eyes darted around.

He opened his mouth and asked quietly, “Who’s on the other end?”

Ye Chenyan, in a rare display of kindness, answered him.

“Chi Yantian.”

The impostor: “...”

Yu Qingtang leaned closer.

“Oh, he stopped talking.”

“Ridiculous!” The impostor forced himself to lift his head. “If he’s Chi Yantian, then who am I?!”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow.

“An impostor.”

The impostor’s eyes flickered.

“I’ll remember this! Not only did you dare attack me, you even dare spout nonsense and insult the Heavenly Fire Cult! Give me your name! If you’ve got any guts, don’t run!”

“You don’t remember me?” Ye Chenyan bent down with an amused smile. “Think harder. At the Golden Core Competition, you placed...”

He paused.

“I forget what place you got.”

“But surely you haven’t forgotten where the two of us placed?”

He pulled Yu Qingtang over and gestured between them with a smile.

“We were first.”

“Together.”

Yu Qingtang cleared his throat.

“Let’s stay humble. Humble.”

The impostor stared at them in alarm and disbelief, seemingly unwilling to accept that his luck could truly be this terrible—that he had actually run straight into acquaintances of the real Chi Yantian.

Yu Qingtang crouched down.

“Last chance. Confess and receive leniency. Resist and face severity.”

“Even if the King of Heaven himself came down here, I’d still be Chi Yantian!” The impostor’s eyes wavered, but his mouth refused to yield. “You’re spouting nonsense and trying to turn black into white. What a joke!”

Yu Qingtang reached out and poked the top of his head.

Then he poked his mouth.

“What are you doing?!”

Ye Chenyan instantly grabbed Yu Qingtang’s hand and stared at him in disbelief.

“Why are you touching him?! He—he looks like that!”

“I was checking whether his scalp was as hard as his mouth.” Yu Qingtang wiped his hand on Ye Chenyan’s clothes. “Come on. You can’t seriously be jealous of a guy like this. I have eyes!”

A vicious gleam flashed through the impostor’s eyes.

He suddenly shouted, “What are you idiots standing around for?! Help me!”

Then he abruptly plunged downward and disappeared into the loose sand.

A moment later, he burst back out behind his men, covered from head to toe in grit.

Yu Qingtang exclaimed and stepped back to give him room.

“Whoa! I’ve never seen Brother Chi use that move before! Is that something new you learned, Brother Chi?”

The impostor still had more than a dozen men with him, all dressed like members of the Heavenly Fire Cult. At his shout, they immediately closed ranks around him.

The impostor narrowed his eyes.

“We can’t let them leave alive.”

His sinister gaze swept over Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan, then the clan chief and the village behind them.

He sneered.

“Leave no survivors. Kill them all! Take everything, and then we leave!”

Yu Qingtang hurriedly spoke into the transmission stone.

“Brother Chi, remember to send word to the Heavenly Fire Cult! We’re beating this impostor up for you! Looks like a fight’s about to start, so I’m hanging up!”

Chi Yantian was so furious his head was spinning.

“Wait for me! You can’t beat him to death!”

“Too late!”

Yu Qingtang looked up with a sigh.

“Your Brother Ye is already off the leash. I’ll build the guy a little grave afterward. When you get here, you can stomp on it a couple of times.”

With that, he casually stuffed the transmission stone into his storage ring, hugged his qin against himself, and took position in front of the village in case anyone tried to slip inside and take hostages.

The clan chief’s expression changed several times before he lowered his voice.

“That man truly isn’t the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult?”

“He’s not.” Yu Qingtang spoke earnestly. “Uncle, think about it. A sect’s holy son is basically the face of the entire sect. At the very least, they have to consider the actual face!”

He pointed at the impostor, who was currently getting pummeled by Ye Chenyan.

“Look at that one.”

Then he pointed at Ye Chenyan, who was displaying his overwhelming might.

“Now look at this one.”

The clan chief obediently followed his finger back and forth, looking thoughtful.

“This...”

“Think about it. If those two appeared at the same time, he’d lose both the fight and the entrance before the first move was even exchanged!” Yu Qingtang clapped his hands. “My Brother Chi might not be the type to conquer people with his looks, but at least you can tell at a glance that he’s handsome, dashing, and carries himself like somebody important.”

Yu Qingtang wagged a finger.

“This guy doesn’t cut it. If you’re going to impersonate him, at least find someone handsome.”

The clan chief thought about it, then suddenly nodded in realization.

“That makes sense!”

“Since ancient times, the two leaders of Rongzhou’s Heavenly Fire Cult have always been exceptionally good-looking. Flame Immortal and Emperor Fire in particular left behind countless romantic legends that people still talk about to this day.”

He furrowed his brow.

Yu Qingtang’s argument had apparently convinced him about eighty percent of the way.

“Now that you mention it... he really doesn’t look the part.”

“Right?”

Yu Qingtang was just about to continue when a cool breeze carrying traces of moisture swept through the scorching desert.

Everyone immediately perked up.

Yu Qingtang looked up in surprise.

“That’s a lot of water spiritual power. More people coming?”

“Water?” The clan chief’s face lit up. “I know who it is! Disciples of Cloudmarsh Sect!”

“Hm?” Yu Qingtang muttered. “Talk about timing.”

Nearby, Ye Chenyan had just finished capturing the fake Chi Yantian. He too looked toward the direction from which the moisture-laden wind was blowing.

A group of people drifted toward them atop rainclouds.

Small hide drums beat softly on the clouds, accompanied by the chiming of bells and faint, ethereal music.

Ye Chenyan looked thoughtful.

“No wonder mortals build temples and shrines to them and offer sacrifices every year. Traveling around like that really does make them look like immortals.”

“They do bring rain to the desert, after all.” Yu Qingtang laughed. “If you’re doing good deeds, there’s nothing wrong with making a grand entrance. I’m more curious why they came here.”

In the original novel, Cloudmarsh Sect had been a fringe sect much like Biehe Sect, receiving only a passing mention during the Heavenly Fire Cult’s portion of the story.

Of course, wealth and strength were two entirely different things.

A young master stepped forward atop the raincloud.

He looked barely in his teens, with a jade ornament resting against his forehead, red lips, white teeth, and the pampered elegance of someone born into immense wealth and privilege. He truly looked like a young immortal.

Yu Qingtang had never seen him in the original plot.

The young master swept his gaze around the scene and blinked in surprise.

“Huh? Someone beat us to it?”

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