Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 135: Fake Celestial Maiden

The civil servants of the Demon Suppression Bureau were having a rough few days.

When Zhao Changhe was displaying his heroic spirit on the streets and challenged Wan Dongliu to a battle, they were busy doing all they could to extract information from the followers of whatever demonic cults. While Zhao Changhe was engaging in intimacy with a heroine in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, they were still engaged in battles of wit and even sustaining injuries in the process.

Investigating and arresting followers of the Maitreya Cult in such a large city was no easy task. It would take at least a month just to scratch the surface. And that was not even mentioning the recent incident at the White Lotus Temple, where they had to comb through every nook and cranny for several days without rest.

One day, while the personnel of the Demon Suppression Bureau were conducting a search of a warehouse at White Lotus Temple, they stumbled upon a girl hidden in a corner among some piles of clothes. When they pulled her out, they found her on the brink of starving to death

When they questioned her, she claimed to be the flower-picking celestial maiden of the White Lotus Temple. She said that she had inexplicably been knocked unconscious and she had woken up in this miserable state a few days before. She even asked the people from the Demon Suppression Bureau what year it was now.

The Demon Suppression Bureau already had undercover agents in the Maitreya Cult. Gong Chaoqun had prior knowledge of a celestial maiden from the Maitreya Cult planning to seduce Zhao Changhe, and that was why he had intercepted him on the road to warn him about the illusion techniques of the celestial maidens. It had then become clear that the celestial maiden who was meant to seduce Zhao Changhe was the flower-picking celestial maiden. So then, where did this nearly-starved celestial maiden come from?

Gong Chaoqun realized something was wrong and quickly asked Tang Buqi to find Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe hurried to the Demon Suppression Bureau to take a look. When he arrived, he saw the flower-wielding goddess who appeared extremely exhausted. Her appearance vaguely resembled the celestial maiden he knew, but there were significant differences that made her seem unfamiliar.

He crouched down in front of her and asked, “Do you know me?”

The flower-picking celestial maiden looked confused for a while and then replied, “Are you... the Bloodthirsty Asura Zhao Changhe?”

The corners of Zhao Changhe’s mouth twitched when he heard that title. “Yes. Did you guess that from my appearance?”

“No, I saw you enter the White Lotus Temple.”

“...And then?”

“I only know that you went to see Abbott Fa Yuan for advice, but I have no idea about what you discussed,” the flower-picking celestial maiden said, clearly struggling to remember the events that took place. “Abbott Fa Yuan told me earlier that if you came, you would be my mission... But before I even received the order that day, I suddenly fell unconscious.”

Zhao Changhe’s expression became increasingly strange.

It seems that someone knocked this woman unconscious and took on her identity... Leaving aside the intentions of the impostor, if they were indeed a fake celestial maiden, then how did they deceive the members of the Maitreya Cult?

Oh, right... Zhao Changhe knocked his head. The impostor really only needed to make herself look like Yue Hongling. As long as she did that, the other members of the Maitreya Cult would probably not think too much about it...

Wow, whoever she is, that girl is really interesting. She actually took advantage of the opportunity to impersonate Yue Hongling and infiltrate the Maitreya Cult. Even when the White Lotus Temple was attacked that night, she joined in the resistance! She’s truly amazing!

Upon further thought, Zhao Changhe could actually conceive an even more interesting scenario.

The impostor had knocked out the real flower-picking celestial maiden not because she intended to replace her, but rather for a different purpose. That would explain why she continued to stay in the White Lotus Temple: she had some kind of agenda.

However, just as she knocked out the real flower-picking celestial maiden, someone just so happened to call for the flower-picking celestial maiden and task her with the mission to impersonate Yue Hongling...

At this point, the impostor would have been in a dilemma. After all, she could not possibly just wake up the real celestial maiden that she had just knocked out and tell her to go do her mission, right?

So, taking advantage of the fact that she was in the clothing warehouse and the dressing room was nearby, she had simply donned a red heroine attire, put on a bit of heroic spirit, and disguised herself. Then, she had confidently gone out, pretending to be the flower-picking celestial maiden on a mission.

The ordinary members of the Maitreya Cult had no reason to give it much thought. They even touched up her makeup to make her look more like Yue Hongling before sending her to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it all seemed to him. What was even more interesting was that, just as the impostor had been sitting in his room waiting for him, thinking about how in the world she was to go about finishing the ridiculous mission, the real Yue Hongling had suddenly burst in and knocked her out, then stuffed her under the bed.

Zhao Changhe almost laughed out loud at the thought.

No wonder she was so cooperative with him, pretending to complete the mission and acting as if something had happened between her and him. It all fit together seamlessly. The real flower-picking celestial maiden should not have behaved like that. He had mistakenly thought that she was a genuine celestial maiden who had not been brainwashed enough.

Although he did not know what her original purpose was, what subsequent changes in her thoughts took place, why she had ended up genuinely helping him through dual cultivation, and what her true intentions were, that was probably more or less how everything had started.

There was no way that she had intentionally come and knocked out the real celestial maiden just to take her place and get close to him. There was no logic to it. If she really wanted to get close to him, a clean and innocent identity would have been much more useful than pretending to be a celestial maiden.

“It’s settled.” Zhao Changhe contemplated for a while before turning to Gong Chaoqun. “This is just an ordinary celestial maiden of the Maitreya Cult. Handle her however you see fit.”

Gong Chaoqun understood his meaning. “What about the one from before...”

“I’ll have to trouble the Demon Suppression Bureau to help me screen through what kind of background such a person might have. She is smart and decisive, handles matters irregularly, yet open-minded like an actual celestial maiden of the Maitreya Cult...”

Gong Chaoqun’s expression became increasingly strange. “Why don’t you go to the Four Idols Cult? Aren’t you quite familiar with them?”

Zhao Changhe was rather annoyed. “The saintess of the Four Idols Cult wouldn’t do this kind of stuff. She would not flirt with people she doesn't like. You guys have got it all wrong!”

Tang Buqi said in a strange tone, “Well, we don’t understand the saintess of the Four Idols Cult as well as you do.”

Zhao Changhe clenched his fists.

Tang Buqi took a step back.

Zhao Changhe was too lazy to pay any more attention to him and said, “Another clue is that she truly knows the cultivation art of the Maitreya Cult. I suspect her apparent lack of combat experience back then was due to her being unfamiliar with this cultivation art. I believe that she has a different fundamental art, and her cultivation might not be low, but there is still a significant gap between her and Yue Hongling. Anyway, this should have narrowed down the possible suspects quite significantly. Please help me screen for her with this information. Let me know if you find anything.”

Gong Chaoqun was already sifting through the information in his mind. After a moment, he shook his head and then nodded. “Alright, I’ll handle it.”

Tang Buqi’s eyes looked back and forth between the two of them, his gaze filled with confusion.

Gong Chaoqun added, “There is another matter that I believe you’ll find very interesting.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“The correspondence between Fa Yuan and the leader of the Maitreya Cult. You did not read the letters before you gave them to me, did you?”

“No, there were too many letters. I did not have the time to go through them one by one. Anyway, it’s your responsibility to keep track of the movements of the rebels, isn’t it”

“Yes, it is indeed largely our responsibility. However, there was one letter in particular, which you might be interested in,” Gong Chaoqun said with a smile. “In a letter from Maitreya to Fa Yuan, it mentioned the possible presence of a treasure that nurtures vicious energies in the Jiangdong area, with there being a particularly high likelihood of it being in Jinling. Fa Yuan wrote an unfinished reply, suggesting that Yangzhou definitely did not have it and that it was more likely to be in Gusu.”

Zhao Changhe listened quietly, but his breathing became noticeably heavier.

Tang Buqi interjected: “What is this treasure that nurtures vicious energies?”

Gong Chaoqun smiled and said, “Well, the Maitreya Cult believes that killing leads to enlightenment, and in line with that thinking, many of their techniques are filled with vicious and aggressive qi. The more malevolent a person is or the more they kill, the more powerful their techniques become. That is why the Maitreya Cult was once interested in recruiting Mister Zhao. As the Bloodthirsty Asura, he fits their killing techniques very well. In fact, the practices of the Blood God Cult also encourage killing. The heavier the vicious qi, the stronger they become. In the later stages of the Vicious Blood Art, relying solely on blood and qi is no longer enough, They also need to kill to nurture vicious energies.”

Zhao Changhe remained silent, understanding the logic behind it all.

A long time ago, when he wanted to break through, he deliberately sought the heads of Wang Dashan’s men.

Why did every battle, especially those involving bloodshed, help his Vicious Blood Art? Why was his strength at its peak after each breakthrough?

It was all due to the fundamental principles behind the Vicious Blood Art.

Tang Buqi continued to ask, “So there are also treasures that can nurture this kind of vicious qi?”

“Treasures, locations, special methods, all these exist. It’s impossible to just rely on slaughtering people yourself.” Gong Chaoqun chuckled, then turned to Zhao Changhe. “You were the one who provided us with these letters, and I thought that this particular piece of information would prove quite useful to you, so I thought I’d return the favor.”

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath. “Thank you very much. It is indeed useful... very useful.”

What had he just been contemplating?

He had already pretty much exhausted the benefits of his physique, so now he needed to consider aspects that were beyond human capabilities.

Vicious qi was the epitome of this, a quintessential aspect of the Vicious Blood Art. In order to break through to the sixth layer and beyond, and perhaps even reach the Profound Mysteries, this was something he needed to focus on.

However, could he really devote himself to solely killing others?

Unexpectedly, before he could dwell on it further, this great piece of news had arrived.

He no longer needed to ponder on where to head next. Wushan and the capital would have to wait for now.

He wanted the subsequent parts of the Vicious Blood Art, but he was afraid of having to face Cult Leader Xue at his level. The answer to that problem was now before him—of course, it was to improve himself as much as he could before confronting the man.

His next destination needed no further consideration.

Gusu, you better get ready.

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