Chapter Thirty-Six: The Impostor of the Impostor

"For no particular reason." Feng Jiu didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. "If you have the ability to get me off this bed, it's yours."

Stronger, weaker—again with this nonsense. What kind of contract guardian beast is this? How is anyone supposed to survive? Feng Ke’er knew she couldn't beat him, so she seethed, grinding her teeth and stomping her foot. "Fine, you win!" she fumed inwardly: Break the contract! Break the contract! As soon as I build my foundation, the very first thing I'll do is dissolve this contract!

She stormed over to the large wardrobe and flung it open, eager to see what the so-called "scion of a noble house" had stashed inside.

The wardrobe was quite spacious, divided into two levels. On the top was a somewhat thick blue cotton quilt; on the bottom, two short blue cloth robes, a millet rice ball, five white, irregular, pigeon-egg-sized, semi-translucent stones, and about a dozen gourds of various colors and sizes.

There seemed to be other treasures as well. Feng Ke’er’s anger eased a little when she spotted the gourds.

She opened them one by one, and a smile gradually appeared on her face. As expected from a "noble scion"! All the gourds were filled with spiritual pills. There were about a dozen Spirit-Nurturing Pills, over thirty Rejuvenation Pills, and a dozen or so thumb-sized white pills whose purpose was unknown.

She picked one up and sniffed it—it had a faint aroma of rice.

"That's a Fasting Pill," Feng Jiu explained, opening his eyes and hooking his wingtip. With a flutter, the gourd containing the Fasting Pills and the spirit stones flew over to him.

The legendary substitute for food—an immortal’s meal! Good stuff! Feng Ke’er slammed the wardrobe shut and braced her back firmly against it. She thrust out her hand and yelled, "Give it back!"

Feng Jiu looked at her seriously. "Fasting Pills are used by Foundation Building and Core Condensation cultivators during closed-door cultivation to supplement their strength. They can temporarily replace food and water. You’re only at the early Qi Refining stage, so they’re useless to you. I, on the other hand, need to seclude myself for ten days to consolidate my realm, and these Fasting Pills will come in handy." He paused, then added, "Trust me, they taste terrible. If not for cultivation, no one would want to eat them. These stones are low-grade spirit stones; consider them a loan. I’ll pay you back tenfold in the future."

Huh, since when did this guy become so agreeable? Feng Ke’er eyed him suspiciously.

Believe it or not! Feng Jiu closed his eyes again.

Feng Ke’er glared for a while, but eventually sighed and moved on with her business. She was, after all, a modern woman with higher education—why was she letting herself get worked up over a feathered prehistoric pet? How undignified.

Besides, she wasn’t really any better herself. She could turn a blind eye to the bird’s penchant for burning people to death, so what right did she have to judge? All those ideals were just illusions. The past was past; finding a mighty cultivator and learning the way home was what mattered now.

After a whole day of running around with nothing to eat or drink, she finally quieted down. The scent of the millet rice ball made her stomach growl.

It wouldn’t fill her up, but it was better than nothing. Resigned, Feng Ke’er turned her back to the one on the bed and nibbled at the cold rice ball, pondering her next steps: with a Concealment Talisman, it seemed no one suspected she was an impostor for now.

However, Qin Heng was clearly a second-generation cultivator with connections, not easy to impersonate. She’d have to gather information about him quickly.

For now, Wild Chicken Slope was out of the question. Without monsters to fight, leveling up was impossible. The Celestial Tome still only opened one page. She needed to find some cultivation books to fill in her knowledge.

As for finding a mighty cultivator—that was pure luck. Besides, returning to the modern world likely wouldn’t be easy. Mighty cultivators weren’t saints; why would they go out of their way to help her? So, that search could wait. She needed to establish herself first.

Feng Jiu sensed the room had quieted down. He opened his eyes and saw her staring absentmindedly out the window, and a trace of guilt welled up in his heart.

The reason he forbade her from touching the couch was partly because he was used to comfort and couldn’t sleep on the floor, but mostly because he had noticed as soon as he entered that a small Spirit Gathering Array was set up on the couch. It was the most concentrated and pure spot for spiritual energy in the entire house—perfect for cultivation.

As her contract guardian beast, he sensed that Feng Ke’er’s spiritual power was surging, on the verge of a breakthrough. Any other cultivator would have already chosen a spiritual hotspot to enter seclusion. Unfortunately, she was oblivious, lacking both awareness and experience.

Feng Jiu noticed, but didn’t intend to remind her. The array was too small for two; he was anxious to improve his own cultivation.

So, he could only apologize to his contract partner. At worst, he’d make it up to her afterward—once he finished his retreat, he could refine her cooking pot and pills with true fire.

With that, Feng Jiu concealed himself and closed his eyes, easing into his cultivation.

Feng Ke’er finished her rice ball and had more or less sorted out her thoughts.

She was truly exhausted. She remembered there was a water vat under the large camphor tree in the courtyard. Ignoring a certain someone, she took out her handkerchief, washed up quickly by the vat, then returned to the house. She wrapped herself in the blue cotton quilt and slept soundly on the wooden floor.

She thought she would have nightmares, but instead slept until dawn.

The next day, Feng Ke’er woke up early, tidied herself, and hurried out, closing the door behind her to wait for Senior Brother Tian at the courtyard gate.

Because of the lockdown, no one could go anywhere, so the others in the courtyard were still asleep. The door wasn't locked, but as it turned out, the six others were trustworthy, and besides, she had her feathered beast on guard—nothing to worry about.

She waited a short while at the gate of Courtyard Three before the door opened and Senior Brother Tian came out. He was surprised to see her. "Junior Brother Qin, what are you doing here?"

Feng Ke’er tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "I’m waiting for you, Senior Brother." In truth, she was anxious—afraid of running into someone familiar on the way and being exposed. With this fellow by her side, she could at least cover up a little.

A Qin family disciple, waiting humbly at the door for him! Senior Brother Tian was touched and immediately counted her as a confidant, chatting away.

Feng Ke’er probed for information and was delighted to find that Senior Brother Tian was quite the gossip. He’d been in the outer sect for two years and was about to break through, so he knew a lot.

For instance, from him Feng Ke’er learned that the Qin family's influence in Qingyun Sect was formidable: they were one of the three great supporting families; their patriarch was a late-Stage Void Transformation cultivator, likely to ascend soon, and one of the sect's top ten guardian elders; several of the main branch were in the Nascent Soul stage; and Qin Heng’s mother was a formidable mid-Core Formation cultivator, holding an important position in the inner sect.

"This year is the inner sect selection year," Senior Brother Tian said with great envy. "Your elder brother, Senior Brother Qin, is sure to enter the inner sect—the only question is whose disciple he’ll become. What about you, Junior Brother Qin? Do you think you’ll reach a new level of Qi Refining in the next four months?"

No wonder Qin Heng’s cabinet was full of pills. Clearly, the family hoped he’d break through within the four months. The inner sect? That’s where the mighty cultivators gathered! Feng Ke’er’s mind raced, and she scratched her nose, chuckling awkwardly. "I’ve only just started cultivating; it’s a long way off. When the time comes, I’ll be there to cheer you on at the competition."

Senior Brother Tian was a good sort and, hearing this, changed the subject to the triennial inner sect selection.

Master Chen had mentioned it in class before, but only briefly. Senior Brother Tian, however, spiced it up with juicy gossip, making Feng Ke’er listen with rapt attention.

Traveling with such a chatterbox, Feng Ke’er gained a lot.

The outer sect had been busy for four or five days, still with nothing to show for it. Since many Qi Refining disciples had been sent to Wild Chicken Slope for "training," most of the chores had ground to a halt. The outer sect was in chaos; even getting two meals a day was a problem.

The sect master was furious. He scolded the stewards and elders of both halls, announced that the "training" would continue, and stormed off to the inner sect.

The elders, helpless, held an emergency meeting and finally decided that all new disciples of more than two years’ standing would be organized to take over the duties vacated by the Qi Refining disciples.

So, as veterans among the new disciples, Senior Brother Qian and his five fellows were all given assignments. Except for Senior Brother Qian, who was sent to the lecture hall to air out jade slips, the others were assigned to the kitchens to stoke the fires.

Senior Brother Qian’s face fell when he got his task.

Ever since coming here, Feng Ke’er’s best skills were lying and impersonation; she’d become quite the hand at it. After a few days’ effort, she’d fully adopted her new role. Not only did no one question her identity, she was actually more popular than the original, already mingling with the brothers.

No sooner had she returned to the courtyard than Chen Xiong told her about the task. Everyone gathered to tease Senior Brother Qian.

Feng Ke’er was envious and was about to ask more when Chen Xiong nudged her and whispered, covering his mouth, "Those jade slips only get aired once a year—they’re filthy and probably crawling with jade bugs. Heh, Senior Brother Qian is infamous for his fear of jade bugs."

Who would have thought the tall, strapping youth was afraid of tiny bugs? How amusing. Feng Ke’er suppressed her laughter and said seriously, "Senior Brother Qian, let’s swap tasks." Jade bugs? So what? In this era, there were no books; all information was recorded on jade slips. She’d dreamed of poring over those slips.

Delivering food was easy enough, and it was only half a day’s work—the rest of the time was hers. For once, the clever Junior Brother Qin wasn’t thinking straight. Senior Brother Qian was overjoyed, afraid she’d change her mind, and quickly swapped tokens with her.

The others looked at Feng Ke’er as if she’d dropped from the sky.

Feng Ke’er pointed at her feet and hummed, "After all this walking, I’ve got blisters on my soles."

A delicate flower from a greenhouse!

There would be a show for them to watch.

In their eyes, there was disdain, but more so mockery and anticipation.

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Celestial Tome 36_Chapter Thirty-Six: The Impostor’s Impostor has been updated!