Chapter 98

It was already surprising enough that Jiang Liuzhao carried Taiqing Sect uniforms on her person, but what truly baffled Lu Mingyi was the fact that the emerald Storage Ring held not just one set.

Besides the six-scroll cloud-patterned inner disciple robes she now wore, there were even three-scroll cloud-patterned outer disciple robes—and astonishingly, nine-scroll cloud-patterned core disciple robes as well.

Lu Mingyi rummaged through them thoughtfully. The core disciple robes were out of the question, and showing up as an outer disciple alongside the Long Rainbow Sword Venerable didn’t seem right either. In the end, she settled on the six-scroll inner disciple robes.

But what was even stranger happened after she put them on—

These robes fit her too perfectly.

Lu Mingyi had braced herself to adjust to an ill-fitting size, since her reborn body was noticeably taller than before. In the Cultivation World, where beauties came and went like flowing water, not many were as tall and slender as she was now.

Jiang Liuzhao must have prepared these based on her own measurements, or perhaps those of people close to her.

Yet neither Xiao Yuxie, Qi Yinxue, nor Jiang Liuzhao herself would have fit these robes.

As Lu Mingyi changed, she couldn’t help but think: These couldn’t have been sized for Guan Du, could they?

Guan Du was Jiang Liuzhao’s core disciple, after all, which made it even less likely that Jiang Liuzhao would prepare inner or outer disciple robes for her.

The question lingered like a feather brushing her heart—light enough to dismiss, yet itchy enough to spark curiosity.

Lu Mingyi smoothed the folds at her collar and lifted her gaze to the mirror. Dressed in robes so familiar from her past life, she almost felt like she was just heading off to a lecture or seeking out someone in idle boredom.

But gazing at the blurred, utterly unfamiliar face in the mirror, she knew all too well that the past was gone forever.

When Lu Mingyi returned to the Tianshu Pavilion hall, she leisurely tied back her long hair, placed the emerald ring on the tea table, and sat down with feigned casualness. “The robes fit perfectly. Thank you for your thorough consideration, Long Rainbow Sword Venerable.”

She emphasized “thorough consideration” with deliberate weight.

But Jiang Liuzhao acted as if she hadn’t noticed, calmly retrieving the ring. Her soft gaze swept openly over Lu Mingyi’s form, eyes lingering before meeting Lu Mingyi’s steadily. “If they fit, that’s good.”

Lu Mingyi: “…”

Her instincts told her there was some reason behind it, but Jiang Liuzhao betrayed no hint of anything unusual. She couldn’t very well ask outright why the robes matched her current figure so precisely.

“Yes, perfect,” Lu Mingyi said, shelving the matter for now and refusing to dwell.

Jiang Liuzhao cast the technique swiftly— in the span of a breath, Lu Mingyi felt a sensation like gentle flowing water wash over her face.

She blinked, then touched her cheek. The skin felt smooth and soft under her fingertips, indistinguishable from the real thing.

The Disguise Technique had no spiritual energy requirements and was one of the easier spells to learn, but its final effect depended entirely on the practitioner’s skill.

Altering one’s appearance wasn’t hard, but making it so lifelike as to fool anyone was another matter for most.

If Lu Mingyi’s own Disguise Technique was masterful thanks to her talent and grasp of the subtleties, then Jiang Liuzhao’s instantaneous application was pure perfection in spiritual control.

On the way to Phoenix Platform, Lu Mingyi kept raising her hand to touch her face now and then, trying to puzzle out the method behind Jiang Liuzhao’s technique.

Her own skills were impressive enough, but achieving this human-skin-mask level of realism was still beyond her.

The thought of the Disguise Technique inevitably brought another person to mind—

Ji Xuyun.

Ji Xuyun’s cultivation had skyrocketed over the past century, but when she first infiltrated Qianji Sect undercover as Zhou Yulai, she was merely at the Golden Core Stage.

At Golden Core, she’d fooled Qianji Sect’s elders. Later, at Nascent Soul, she’d slipped into Taiqing Sect, dwelling under the noses of its members—including Jiang Liuzhao—for decades.

When it came to mastery of the Disguise Technique, Ji Xuyun’s talent was unmatched.

And paired with it was her effortless fabrication of identities.

Lu Mingyi had spent three years at Ji Xuyun’s side—a mere snap of the fingers for cultivators.

Yet in that time, they’d traveled Jiangxia together, passing countless landscapes and villages. Ji Xuyun knew the local customs inside out and spoke of her “past life” in Jiangxia like a fond memoir.

“I never met my mother. She died before I was born.”

On the night Ji Xuyun accompanied Lu Mingyi to the Northern Cluster Mountains in Jiangxia to pay respects to her parents for the first time, amid the patter of rain, Ji Xuyun smiled faintly and said this.

“Ah… sorry.” Lu Mingyi had frozen, apologizing first.

Ji Xuyun chuckled lightly and waved it off. “No need. I never knew her, so there’s no real feeling there. As for my birth mother… she probably saw me as a burden. She never much liked me and left not long after I came of age.”

“Our home was poor back then. My mother had low cultivation and could only make things for others to scrape by. We lived in Jiang City, but just on the outskirts—we couldn’t afford much, only rented a little shack. I used to wonder why, after all those years relying on each other, she still didn’t like me.”

It was late for tea, so Lu Mingyi poured Ji Xuyun a cup of hot water and said softly, “Maybe your mother had her own hardships? But she still raised you. You said you used to think about her— what about now?”

“Now…” Ji Xuyun tapped the cup’s rim with her fingertip, smiling as she narrowed her eyes in easy tones. “I’ve figured it out. People have their own fates. My fate with my mother was probably just that.”

“But,” Ji Xuyun pivoted with a wink at Lu Mingyi, “I feel like my fate with Senior Sister Lu runs pretty deep, don’t you think?”

“You know, you’re right.” Lu Mingyi laughed, shrugging. “How long have we even known each other? And here I am, bringing you to my parents’ graves. Before you, only A’Zheng came that often.”

“Senior Sister Shen…” Ji Xuyun propped her chin on one hand, her fingertip tapping the cup with faint rhythm. “Speaking of which, doesn’t Senior Sister Lu have a deep bond with her too?”

Lu Mingyi nodded firmly. “Yeah. A’Zheng and I basically grew up together. Crazy to think about, right?”

Ji Xuyun still smiled, but her eyes dropped.

“Still, if your mother knew you’d joined Taiqing Sect and become an inner disciple on Sword Peak, she’d probably be proud. She raised you, after all. Did you ever contact her later?” Lu Mingyi poured herself water, drank, and asked.

“No contact.” Ji Xuyun smiled still, gazing out at the rainy night. “As for pride… maybe? If she knew…”

At the time, Lu Mingyi hadn’t detected anything off in the exchange.

She figured it wasn’t just her—even Taiqing Sect’s inner disciples were recorded. Ji Xuyun must have fed the same story to the sect elders, deceiving everyone seamlessly.

Her Disguise Technique was flawless, and her talent for spinning tales was otherworldly.

A talent like that, and the righteous path had no prior record of her? Even the fragmented records from Lin’an painted her early aptitude as utterly mediocre, rejected by every sect.

Now Ji Xuyun had returned to Lin’an—her “true hometown.” Was it just the Five-Colored Stone, or something more?

If the Demon Sect hadn’t secured the Five-Colored Stone this time, would Ji Xuyun have turned directly on Shen Mingzheng?

Lu Mingyi pondered deeply, and before she knew it, Phoenix Platform’s eaves came into view.

If Yaoguang Ravine was already famed for its opulent estates, then Phoenix Platform was the crown jewel—even outshining the family head’s Facing Light Pavilion.

The pavilion alone spanned nearly a hundred acres, complete with waterside pavilions, gardens, and arched bridges. Its main building gleamed with vermilion lacquer, its glazed-tile eaves blazing brighter against the red. At each corner of the roof perched carved phoenixes with wings outstretched.

It was both earnest hope and profound affection for Shen Mingzheng.

Phoenix Platform was also the place in Yaoguang Ravine Lu Mingyi knew best.

After Shen Mingzheng “chose” her and insisted she stay by her side, Lu Mingyi’s status in the Shen Family shot straight up. Shen Pianchen and Xia Huan even planned a courtyard just for her.

For an orphan with no clan background or shown talent, that was extraordinary favor.

But Shen Mingzheng wasn’t satisfied.

She wanted Lu Mingyi living right in Phoenix Platform.

Phoenix Platform had been built specially for Shen Mingzheng by Shen Pianchen—the young master’s, future family head’s residence. Only servants stayed in the outer buildings. How could someone just move in?

Shen Pianchen tried gentle persuasion, but couldn’t withstand Shen Mingzheng’s tantrums.

She’d demanded trinkets before—pretty jade, flashy artifacts, or sudden spirit pets.

But never had anyone captured her interest like this.

In the end, Shen Pianchen and Xia Huan relented. Phoenix Platform was vast; a child living alone might feel empty. They agreed.

That first night, Lu Mingyi slept in the room next to Shen Mingzheng’s and was shaken awake in the dead of night.

“Lu Mingyi! Lu Mingyi! Get up!”

It was Shen Mingzheng, brimming with excitement.

“…What? It’s still dark. If you wanna play, wait till morning…”

“Come on, I wanted to play at night—that’s why I had you move in!”

“What do you want?”

“You said you used to climb walls at night, right? Take me tonight? Phoenix Platform’s walls are pretty high. You up for it?”

“…”

She knew this little ancestor meant trouble!

Whatever Shen Mingzheng’s motives back then, they’d lived together ever since.

Even after Lu Mingyi joined Taiqing Sect at fifteen and returned to Yaoguang Ravine, she still stayed with Shen Mingzheng.

Once inside Yaoguang Ravine, Guan Du had asked curiously where Lu Mingyi used to stay and if she wanted to check for forgotten things.

Lu Mingyi had brushed it off then, since she’d always lived at Phoenix Platform.

But there was no need to bring it up now.