Miss, Please Have Some Self-Respect — Let's See How the Impostor Keeps Up the Act Now
Miss, Please Have Some Self-Respect — Let’s See How the Impostor Keeps Up the Act Now
Not long after, Ying Yu sobered up from the wine.
She opened her eyes, her expression still somewhat dazed.
Her memory of what had happened in the pavilion was still fuzzy. It seemed that in the end, she had really let loose and taken the initiative to toast Gu Changge quite a few times.
And he had accepted every single one.
In the end, she was the one who collapsed first, and he had even caught her.
“How embarrassing, getting drunk in front of others.”
“Thank goodness I didn’t say anything foolish back then...”
Ying Yu let out a sigh of relief, but thinking about it, she couldn’t help blushing a little.
“Xiao Yu...”
At that moment, Ying Shuang, who had just come to check on Ying Yu, happened to witness this scene.
His brow furrowed involuntarily.
Could Ying Yu be thinking about someone? Why did she look a little shy?
This made Ying Shuang’s expression darken, and he subconsciously thought of Gu Changge.
She went out once, came back, and now she was thinking about Gu Changge?
“Brother.”
Ying Yu now noticed Ying Shuang at the door. Her expression quickly turned serious as she asked, “What are you here for?”
“I came to see how you were doing, but it seems my visit was unnecessary...”
Ying Shuang said flatly, still holding a bowl of medicinal soup for sobering up.
Ying Yu didn’t notice the emotion in Ying Shuang’s words.
She said, “Right, there’s something I need to tell you. Sky Emperor Mountain has very likely been schemed against by someone else. Young Master Gu included — he’s actually been used as well...”
This was the conclusion she had finally come to.
Why would Gu Changge harm them for no reason at all?
And the other two Successors of the Mortal Palace held the same attitude.
Unless Ying Shuang had been hiding something from her all along.
Otherwise, the true Successor of Demonic Arts lurking in the shadows was using and scheming against everyone, making Ying Shuang take the fall — and Gu Changge, too, was one of those being used.
However, hearing Ying Yu say this,
Ying Shuang’s expression grew even uglier, and he flatly declared,
“Impossible.”
“What exactly did that Gu Changge say to you, that after going out once, you’re already calling him Young Master Gu?”
Ying Yu was stunned. She didn’t know why Ying Shuang was so certain this was impossible.
Immediately, her gaze turned suspicious.
But she didn’t say anything more.
It seemed Ying Shuang really was still hiding quite a few things from her. This attitude of his toward Gu Changge was nothing short of deep-seated hatred.
Logically speaking, knowing someone was scheming against them, and with Gu Changge bearing no grudge against Ying Shuang,
Ying Shuang only needed to show himself and openly explain everything, and Gu Changge would surely understand.
With that, Sky Emperor Mountain could clear itself of the suspicion of harboring the Successor of Demonic Arts.
Why wouldn’t he do it?
...
Inside a pavilion.
Wang Zijin wore a pale blue dress, her face devastatingly beautiful, her whole being radiating flawlessness and perfection.
She sat by the window at that moment.
Chin propped on her hand, her slender fingers tapping the table before her now and then, looking utterly bored.
Xiu Er was diligently pouring tea for her at the side.
“Big sister...”
Wang Wushuang stood before her with a somewhat sheepish grin.
Looking honest and simple.
He scratched the back of his head.
Not a trace remained of that capable, reliable image he had shown before everyone earlier.
“What is it?”
Wang Zijin looked at her cheap little brother and asked crossly, “If it’s not something important, and you dared to use the protective talisman I gave you, in a moment I’ll show you why flowers are so red.”
She hadn’t expected that Wang Wushuang’s reason for using the talisman wasn’t any danger at all.
But to summon her.
So he was treating the protective talisman as a summoning charm?
Wang Zijin felt that giving him that talisman back then had been a waste, and she wasn’t planning to give him another one next time.
As for his sister’s various nonsensical phrases,
Wang Wushuang had grown used to them during this time.
Though he didn’t understand them,
he knew it meant she was going to teach him a lesson.
Still, he hurriedly said, “But big sister, didn’t you say back then that if I encountered anything urgent, I should activate the talisman and you’d come rushing over?”
“I did say that. But ’urgent’ means when your life is in danger...”
“I’m very busy right now, do you know that? That Jiang Chuchu recklessly charged straight into the Eternal Overcast.”
Wang Zijin said, somewhat exasperated.
Toward Jiang Chuchu — one of the few people she could actually talk to, with whom she got along well enough to barely count as a bestie — she was actually quite concerned.
That day, she had left the Longevity Wang Family to go find Jiang Chuchu.
She wanted to get some answers out of Jiang Chuchu.
But unexpectedly, the moment she mentioned Gu Changge in front of Jiang Chuchu, Jiang Chuchu’s expression turned even colder — at least a hundred times colder than usual.
Then, upon hearing that the Absolute Yin Heaven had emerged, Jiang Chuchu rushed off toward it.
She had no choice but to follow.
The two of them had no shortage of secret arts, and they did manage to find the place where the Eternal Devouring Qi was seeping out.
Then, Jiang Chuchu, ignoring her attempts to stop her, charged straight in.
It left her quite helpless.
Wang Wushuang, afraid of being blamed by his sister, hurriedly said, “Big sister, this was your own instruction — you said if there was ever news about Young Master Changge, I should tell you immediately.”
“This time, it was Young Master Changge who took the initiative to ask me to tell him your whereabouts.”
“So I knew how important this was, and that’s why I notified you right away...”
Gu Changge?
Hearing this, Wang Zijin was instantly interested and stopped blaming Wang Wushuang.
“You said he’s asking about my whereabouts?”
Toward this man who stirred her heart so much yet remained completely immune to her charms, Wang Zijin naturally paid extra attention.
Since parting at the Longevity Gu Family that day, she and Gu Changge hadn’t met again.
She hadn’t expected Gu Changge would actually take the initiative to contact her.
Knowing his personality,
one could only say he never visited without a purpose.
“Could it be this guy has something he needs my help with?”
Very quickly, Wang Zijin tossed Jiang Chuchu’s matter to the back of her mind.
At a time like this, what was a bestie compared to the man of her heart?
Although she knew Gu Changge most likely just had a favor to ask of her,
it still made Wang Zijin somewhat happy.
After all, this showed Gu Changge still remembered her, and hadn’t forgotten her the moment he turned around.
“Fine. Then tell Gu Changge that I’ll be waiting for him here.”
Wang Zijin then thought for a moment and said with a beaming smile.
Gu Changge was a smart man; once he knew, he would definitely come.
...
“So this is the entrance to the Eternal Overcast Battlefield?”
In the Southern Flourishing Heaven, within a desolate mountain range.
High in the sky, two figures appeared, arriving at this place.
Gu Changge raised an eyebrow, asking with feigned puzzlement.
“That’s right. If you don’t pay attention, you really can’t tell where it is, can you? Though an entrance like this probably isn’t the only one.”
Beside him was none other than Wang Zijin.
She clasped her hands behind her back and said with a grin.
Regarding the Eternal Overcast Battlefield’s location, Gu Changge had already extracted quite a bit of information from her.
After receiving Wang Wushuang’s reply, he hadn’t hesitated in the slightest, setting off to meet Wang Zijin and learning many things from her.
Wang Zijin herself hadn’t hidden anything from him, telling him everything in detail and saving Gu Changge a great deal of trouble.
Among it all was the entrance to the Eternal Overcast Battlefield.
Too lazy to send people to investigate, Gu Changge had simply asked her directly.
The Eternal Overcast Battlefield existed like a minor secret realm.
Because the Absolute Yin Heaven’s descent seeped into and devoured many worlds, when the Eternal Overcast aura spread, cracks would form in the barriers between many worlds, giving birth to small-world-like regions.
And so this place became the Eternal Overcast Battlefield.
“No words of gratitude for me?”
Wang Zijin’s face carried a faint smile as she looked at him. “Very few people know of the Eternal Overcast Battlefield’s existence as of now.”
“My thanks, then.”
Gu Changge smiled slightly, his face carrying just the right measure of gratitude — three parts, precisely. “Perfect timing to seize a few more slots while I’m at it.”
“Gu-xiong’s gratitude doesn’t seem very sincere to me.”
“Just a single sentence to brush me off.”
Hearing this, Wang Zijin shook her head with a distressed look. “Back then, finding this place cost us quite a lot of time.”
She had no intention of letting Gu Changge get something for nothing.
A word of thanks?
She didn’t need that.
Us?
Gu Changge’s gaze flickered slightly, clearly catching that word.
He guessed it was probably related to the other Successor of the Mortal Palace — Jiang Chuchu.
What was Jiang Chuchu doing running off to the Eternal Overcast?
Still, his expression didn’t change much as he said with some surprise, “Then how would Zijin-guniang like Gu to thank you?”
“How about offering yourself in marriage?”
Wang Zijin said with a grin. She refused to believe that under this kind of pressure, Gu Changge could remain as unflappable as before.
Although she knew Gu Changge was probably itching to strangle her right now for throwing out such a thorny question,
she didn’t mind. After all, this kind of conquest was what made things interesting.
Gu Changge was slightly taken aback, seemingly surprised.
Then he shook his head, putting on a “miss, please have some self-respect” look, and said, “Gu is a man with a fiancée. Zijin-guniang, such jokes mustn’t be made.”
“If Mingkong heard this, her jar of vinegar would be knocked right over.”
Seeing him like this,
Wang Zijin just wanted to roll her eyes.
What was he pretending to be a proper gentleman for, acting all righteous and dignified?
Still, she put on a thoughtful look, then changed her tone and asked,
“Since ancient times, men have had multiple wives and concubines. I never expected Gu-xiong to be such a devoted man.”
“It was presumptuous of me.”
“How about this, then — give me a personal belonging of yours, Gu-xiong.”
“Like that? Alright, then.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge didn’t hesitate.
He directly untied a crystalline jade pendant from his waist, dao patterns flowing within it, looking quite extraordinary.
He handed it to Wang Zijin.
“In the future, if I need something, can I use this jade pendant to come find Gu-xiong?”
Wang Zijin accepted it with a smile, seemingly quite delighted.
“Naturally, you can.”
Gu Changge smiled and nodded.
But inwardly he was sneering: you coming to find me is no problem, but expecting me to help you? Not a chance.
Afterward, the two found a faint spatial fluctuation within this desolate mountain range.
Within it, an extremely frigid aura circulated and spread, causing the nearby vegetation to wither and die, coated in a kind of blackish-brown granules.
Even with nine suns hanging in the sky, the chill could not be dispelled.
“Eternal Overcast aura. Not very pure... but it’s definitely seeping out from this place.”
Looking at these substances, Gu Changge couldn’t help but speak.
Wang Zijin also nodded. “From here, one can reach the Eternal Overcast Battlefield. As for entrances in other directions, I don’t know of them.”
Gu Changge’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The true location of the Absolute Yin Heaven was actually very hard to determine, but by following the direction from which the Eternal Devouring Qi spread within the Eternal Overcast Battlefield, it would be quite simple.
Afterward, the two retraced their path back.
Within the Eternal Overcast Battlefield, aside from the younger generation, one would almost never see older-generation cultivators — unless they were the righteous sort bursting with a sense of justice, intending to sacrifice themselves to stop the Absolute Yin Heaven’s eruption.
Many of the younger generation had also steeled themselves to come.
After all, to obtain a slot at the True Immortal Academy, one had to slay a certain number of Yin Spirits.
If they didn’t want to come, they had no choice.
So Gu Changge wasn’t worried that any powerful beings inside would disturb his plans.
“I heard Gu-xiong has made contact with Sky Emperor Mountain’s Ying Yu. What do you think of that brother of hers?”
Halfway back, Wang Zijin suddenly spoke up, asking about this matter.
Back at the Longevity Gu Family, she had suddenly been ambushed by the Successor of Demonic Arts’ people and suffered no small injury.
She had kept that grudge in mind all this time.
And in her view, no matter which possibility it was, the Successor of Demonic Arts was inextricably tied to Sky Emperor Mountain, inextricably tied to Prince Ying.
“Ying Yu-guniang is quite frank and straightforward. Her brother, I don’t know — I’ve never met him.”
Gu Changge replied with a natural expression.
“Is that Prince Ying really planning to be a turtle hiding in its shell for the rest of his life? If he isn’t the Successor of Demonic Arts, why doesn’t he dare show himself...”
Wang Zijin was quite convinced of her own judgment. And when she had asked Jiang Chuchu, the answer she received was silence.
If Sky Emperor Mountain were clean, given Jiang Chuchu’s impartial character, she would surely have spoken up in their defense.
But she chose silence.
That meant even she felt something was wrong with Sky Emperor Mountain.
“In that case, I happen to have a way to make Ying Shuang show himself...”
Hearing her say this, Gu Changge put on the appearance of pondering seriously for a long while, then said, “When the time comes, whether it’s real or fake, all will be revealed.”
Wang Zijin nodded, not suspecting anything.
The Successor of Demonic Arts had caused the Gu Family to lose considerable face back then.
It was perfectly normal for Gu Changge to choose to do this.
...
Over the following days, Ye Langtian, Ye Liuli, Chi Ling, and the others all received word from Gu Changge regarding the location of the Eternal Overcast Battlefield.
They were greatly shocked, and then overjoyed.
During this time, they had painstakingly searched for news from all sides, yet found no trace of the Eternal Overcast Battlefield.
Now Gu Changge had only just arrived in the Southern Flourishing Heaven a few days ago, and he had already uncovered everything.
Of course, they had no idea that this information came from Wang Zijin and had not a penny’s worth of connection to Gu Changge.
He purely felt that within the Eternal Overcast Battlefield, he needed a few acquaintances present, so that he’d have an alibi when the time came.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ying Yu also received the message Gu Changge had sent.
Her silver eyes widened in great astonishment.
She too had been probing for news of the Eternal Overcast Battlefield all along, without the slightest result.
After all, it concerned the slots for the True Immortal Academy.
One fewer person knowing meant one more chance for them.
And now Gu Changge had actually given her one more chance.
This moved Ying Yu somewhat. However, attached to the message was Gu Changge’s request.
If she ran into his people in the Eternal Overcast Battlefield, she should lend them a hand when the opportunity arose.
To this, Ying Yu naturally felt there was no problem.
It was a trivial matter.
From this incident, she also saw Gu Changge’s magnanimous and confident character.
Because he knew that no one else could wrest a True Immortal Academy slot from him.
Afterward, Ying Yu passed this news on to the rest of Sky Emperor Mountain’s younger generation.
However, she didn’t say it came from Gu Changge, fearing it would provoke Ying Shuang’s displeasure — that he would then choose to keep staying in the residence and go nowhere.
She certainly wasn’t going to fight for a True Immortal Academy slot on his behalf.
“It is the Will of Heaven. Since the Eternal Overcast Battlefield has been found, we shall simply go.”
Ying Shuang himself didn’t know the source of the news either.
Hearing Ying Yu’s words, he pondered for a moment and decided to set out.
If he didn’t go at a time like this,
it wouldn’t just be his own face lost, but Sky Emperor Mountain’s as well — and people might even begin to doubt the authenticity of his identity.
Soon, several days passed.
Following the location Wang Zijin had provided, everyone finally arrived at the Eternal Overcast Battlefield.
Here was a stretch of gray, hazy sky, with bleak clouds drifting about. Though sunlight clearly spilled down, a frigid aura permeated everything.
The mountain ranges were grand and the terrain vast, but the sole defining feature was that everything was barren, devoid of any vitality.
The so-called Yin Spirits were, in truth, ordinary cultivators and living beings who, after being contaminated by the Eternal Devouring Qi, ultimately transformed into Yin Spirits.
Most would lose their consciousness, becoming walking corpses that knew only to devour vitality. Only a rare few developed awareness, and even they were utterly at odds with the outside world.
“There are actually people who’ve already arrived here...”
Ye Langtian and the others were astonished to find that the Yin Spirits near the entrance had already been completely cleared out.
The Eternal Overcast aura here already made them feel quite uncomfortable.
If they went deeper, they might well encounter mortal danger.
“Gu Changge didn’t come with us — he must have gone in long ago...”
Ye Liuli glanced around and said as much.
Then they left this place, heading toward where the Yin Spirits were.
Half a beat later, fluctuations rippled through this spot once more.
The beings of Sky Emperor Mountain had arrived.
Ying Shuang and Ying Yu were both present, along with several ancient freaks like the black-clothed man Ah Gu — all sealed away until now, followers of the two.
Ying Shuang, dressed in long robes with his hands clasped behind his back, swept his gaze over the surroundings and said with calm indifference, “It seems someone arrived a step ahead of us. I’d like to see who has the gall to get ahead of us.”
Right now was precisely the time to solidify his majesty as Prince Ying.
A perfect opportunity to make a move later and intimidate the small fry.
“See? He really couldn’t resist coming.”
“No matter how you look at it, the Eternal Overcast Battlefield as it stands is the greatest breeding ground for the Successor of Demonic Arts.”
“There’s no reason for him not to come.”
From another direction, Gu Changge, who had been watching this entrance all along, couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Wang Zijin nodded in agreement.
“However... he seems to have noticed the two of us.”
“What powerful divine sense.”
She was then somewhat surprised, feeling that Ying Shuang’s spiritual perception seemed formidable, able to sense her location from so far away.
“As expected of Prince Ying.”
Gu Changge smiled slightly. “Then I’ll leave what comes next to you, Zijin-guniang.”
With that, the void before him blurred, and his figure melted into it and vanished.
Wang Zijin rolled her eyes inwardly, knowing Gu Changge intended to stand aside and watch the show.
But she didn’t hold it against him.
At a time like this, she obviously had to strike at Ying Shuang for revenge. Even without proof that he was the Successor of Demonic Arts, it made no difference whatsoever.
Weng!!
Very quickly, Wang Zijin’s figure vanished like a wisp of green smoke.
And in the area where Ying Shuang and the others stood, terrifying fluctuations suddenly erupted, resplendent runes exploding directly on the spot.
Ying Shuang bore the brunt of it. Before he could even react, his expression abruptly changed. “Who are you...”
“Wah!”
But before he could finish his words, Wang Zijin’s fist slammed into him. He let out a muffled grunt, was sent flying backward, spat out blood, and had quite a few bones shattered.
“Young Master...”
“Brother...”
The entire Sky Emperor Mountain party’s expressions changed in unison, utterly horrified.
“Impostor — at a time like this, I’d like to see how you keep up the act.”
Gu Changge’s figure lay hidden within the void.
Watching this scene, he couldn’t help but remark with great interest.