21. Changing Faces (Part 3)
◎Who exactly are you?◎
Ahead, Ran Qinghe seemed to have thought of something and suddenly turned around: "By the way, you..."
Seeing that Lou Tinglan was still ten steps away, she was puzzled and hesitantly called out, "Why are you so far away from me?"
Lou Tinglan froze, instinctively putting the candied hawthorn she had bitten off back into her hand, and hurried forward, leaving the vendor standing there calling out, "Hey, young master—"
Ran Qinghe, unaware of his action, asked, "Have you sensed any fluctuations in spiritual energy around you?"
Lou Tinglan said, "No. The Imperial Preceptor must have gone to find you."
However, the "you" Lou Tinglan refers to is not Ran Qinghe, but Ran Qinghe, whom the Imperial Advisor wants to save.
Ran Qinghe raised her eyebrows and nodded. If that's the case, then it's true, because she did indeed impersonate Ran Qinghe.
As they predicted, Prince An, Shen Zihuai, chose the throne. Just as the Imperial Advisor was about to activate the Mirror of Past Lives again, Qi Feng and Lou Tinglan interrupted him by following the trail of spiritual energy. While the three were fighting fiercely, Ran Qinghe secretly switched the mirror with the real one.
She activated the Mirror of Past Lives, transporting her to this point in time. Ran Qinghe was already dead, Prince An had besieged the capital, and Prince Yong had replaced her, amidst the turmoil of the changing of the throne.
The more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it is for them to fish in troubled waters.
If Ran Qinghe's guess was correct, the Imperial Advisor would definitely rush to the Ran residence the moment he entered the Mirror of Past Lives to check on Ran Zheng and Ran Qinghe's situation. Therefore, she had Qi Feng impersonate Ran Zheng and wait at the Ran residence in advance. Meanwhile, she and Lou Tinglan, one impersonating Ran Qinghe and the other impersonating Shen Zihuai, set up a game against the Imperial Advisor.
Ran Qinghe slowly and methodically calculated, "If I were the Imperial Advisor, after the last failure, I would definitely try my best to prevent Ran Zheng and Ran Qinghe from leaving the mansion, thus eliminating future troubles. Because of the influence of the Imperial Advisor, an outsider, on the events within the mirror, deviations are inevitable. We must take advantage of these deviations. When his mind wavers and his guard is down, that will be our opportunity..."
She was halfway through her sentence when she noticed Lou Tinglan's gaze lingering on the corner of her lips. She raised her hand, and Lou Tinglan snapped back to reality.
Ran Qinghe asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem with the plan? If so, we can still change it now."
Lou Tinglan remained silent, then took out a white handkerchief from his robes. A small larkspur was embroidered on one corner of the handkerchief. He handed it to her, then pointed to the corner of his lips: "The candied hawthorn you just ate..."
When Ran Qinghe saw that the candied hawthorn in his hand was gone, she immediately understood. "I just offered you some, but you wouldn't have them. Alright, alright, I still have three hawthorn balls left on this stick. You can have them all."
He paused, and Ran Qinghe, who was in the mortal realm, was much easier to talk to than usual. Perhaps it was because they had finally stood on the same side and no longer argued with each other.
He reached out and used a handkerchief to wipe the corner of her lips. Even through the touch of the handkerchief, he could feel how soft her lips were.
He suddenly came to his senses again, took back the handkerchief, and clenched it tightly in his palm.
Ran Qinghe was like a fox that bristled at the slightest touch, leaping far away at the slightest provocation: "What are you doing?"
Lou Tinglan said calmly, "There are sugar residues."
Ran Qinghe turned her face away in a panic and said, "There's candy... then can't you use a dust removal spell?"
Lou Tinglan replied in a serious tone, "You said it yourself. I am now Shen Zihuai, just an ordinary mortal."
Ran Qinghe: ...
She didn't know how to react, and turned to leave with a glance, but Lou Tinglan suddenly said, "Thank you."
Ran Qinghe thought he was referring to the matter of the Imperial Advisor. "Why thank me again? I'm not that selfless. I'm just afraid that the Imperial Advisor will mess up the past and implicate me."
But Lou Tinglan wasn't talking about that.
He sensed that his heart, which had been injured again by the Imperial Preceptor, was now being slowly mended by wisps of spiritual energy. In the mortal realm, spiritual energy was scarce, and it was even more difficult for cultivators to gather spiritual energy after being injured.
And all of this should be attributed to the pill that Ran Qinghe fed him.
Now it seems that the pill was not the Flying Flower Poison she mentioned, but a Spirit Gathering Pill, a pill used to help cultivators absorb spiritual energy. In addition, it is very complicated to refine and is extremely rare and valuable within the realm.
Seeing that Ran Qinghe had misunderstood, he did not explain again. If he had a poison in his body that could temporarily reassure her and prevent her from running away, then he would not need to reveal it.
*
At the entrance of the Ran residence.
Just as Ran Zheng boarded the carriage leaving the mansion, the carriage shaft snapped open with a crack. The front of the carriage lurched forward due to inertia. He instinctively tried to use his spiritual power to control the carriage, but managed to stop it. He could only tumble out of the carriage.
As he stood up, the Imperial Preceptor stood openly to the side, making no attempt to conceal his identity as the "person in the mirror." The carriage was clearly the Imperial Preceptor's doing; he seemed determined to do everything in his power to prevent "Ran Zheng" from leaving the mansion.
He silently chanted in his heart, "I am Ran Zheng, the man in the mirror. I cannot see the Imperial Preceptor. I cannot see the Imperial Preceptor." He stepped into the mansion without blinking, and secretly activated a puppet talisman, shouting to the servants, "Hurry up and fetch a fast horse."
Then he muttered to himself, "What bad luck, what kind of day is this?"
The puppet talisman, transformed into a servant, swiftly led the horse over. Qi Feng felt a pang of regret; he only had three puppet talismans left, and now he was using one merely to lead the horse—what a waste!
Fortunately, the Imperial Preceptor's attention was entirely on him and he paid no attention to anything else; otherwise, with the Imperial Preceptor's cultivation level, he would have been able to see through the puppet talisman at a glance.
Under the watchful eye of the Imperial Advisor, he nonchalantly stepped on the stirrups, mounted his horse, and rode off down the main street.
The Imperial Advisor, as expected, tried to use the same old trick again, attempting to overturn the shops on both sides of the road to block his way. However, "Ran Zheng" was extremely fast, and the Imperial Advisor was also restrained by the pedestrians on the long street, so he was unable to stop him for the time being.
At the end of the long street, "Ran Qinghe" rode a fast horse towards us.
The Imperial Advisor had to stop what he was doing, quite surprised to see "Ran Qinghe" here. According to his memory, "Ran Qinghe" should be at the Ran residence, not riding a horse down the street.
Ran Qinghe reined in her horse and called out, "Father!"
With his back to the Imperial Advisor, Ran Zheng tried his best to hide the smile that was about to spill from the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the reins and replied in a serious manner, "Hmm. Lan... Qinghe, we are currently in the midst of war. Why are you running away every few days? Why don't you go back to the manor and stay there?"
Ran Qinghe gritted her teeth, forcing out a worried look, and whispered, "Father, I came here to tell you that Brother Ahuai has already infiltrated the capital city. He told me personally that Prince Yong will attack the capital city in three days and that we should leave with him."
Ran Qinghe noticed that the Imperial Advisor's expression changed visibly for a moment. Seeing that he seemed lost in thought and about to become suspicious, she quickly interrupted his thoughts and continued to persuade "Ran Zheng," "Father, don't hesitate any longer. If it's any later..."
Ran Zheng asked, "Shen Zihuai? Where is he now?"
Ran Qinghe said, "Brother Ah Huai is waiting outside the city right now. Father, come with me quickly."
Ran Zheng feigned refusal, saying, "No, Father has important matters to attend to today."
Ran Qinghe gestured to him with her eyes, indicating that it was about time, while also urging him more urgently, "Father, don't hesitate, life is more important after all."
The Imperial Preceptor was clearly also affected by the emotions of the two, and unleashed his spiritual power to strike the horse. "Ran Zheng's" horse was startled and began to gallop wildly involuntarily. He stumbled and almost fell off the horse.
Although the Imperial Advisor was unclear about why the situation had suddenly changed, and had no time to ponder why Shen Zihuai had suddenly come to the capital, he knew that since there was a way to avoid the impasse that lay ahead, he had to do it.
Although a smile appeared in Ran Qinghe's eyes, she remained composed and feigned surprise, asking, "Father, are you alright?"
Ran Zheng reined in his horse and looked toward the city gate, saying, "It seems even the heavens are urging us to leave quickly."
After saying this, the two rode their horses through the long street and headed out of the city.
As dusk fell and the city gates were about to be locked, the flow of people in and out was sparse. The soldiers guarding the city were pushing the two heavy city gates. The two gradually quickened their pace, avoiding the flow of people, and rushed out of the city.
Qi Feng activated the last two puppet talismans, and two soldiers suddenly appeared in the corner, stopping the two men's fast horses.
If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. If you can leave the city smoothly, anyone who sees it will notice the incongruity.
"Wait, the city gates are already locked. If you need to leave the city, do so tomorrow."
Ran Zheng paced back and forth, extremely anxious, and asked, "What should we do?"
He glanced at the Imperial Advisor beside him out of the corner of his eye: "Qinghe, why don't we wait a while today, and wait until I return to my residence, pack up my valuables, and then we can make other plans."
The Imperial Advisor responded immediately, and the two city gates that were closing seemed to be glued to the ground, impossible to move even a fraction, leaving only a pedestrian passage open.
Ran Qinghe exclaimed in delight, "Father, the city gates are not completely closed yet."
The two puppet soldiers, who were being controlled, waved their hands and said, "Never mind, we'll let you out this time."
Beside a side road outside the city gate, a very simple carriage was parked. The driver sat in the front seat outside the curtain, only moving occasionally; clearly, it was a puppet talisman made by Ran Qinghe.
A pair of slender hands parted a corner of the brocade curtain, and the gaze fell precisely on the red-clad girl riding happily from afar on horseback.
This person was none other than "Shen Zihuai".
For some reason, when the Imperial Advisor saw "Chen Zihuai", he stayed where he was and did not go forward. He just watched from a distance.
Ran Qinghe threw herself onto Chen Zihuai, then turned around somewhat embarrassed to look at Ran Zheng and the Imperial Preceptor behind him.
Ran Qinghe noticed that the Imperial Preceptor was holding the fake Mirror of Forgotten Past in his hand, perhaps preparing to activate it again.
Ran Qinghe felt a chill in her heart and gestured to "Ran Zheng" saying, "Father, come quickly."
Ran Zheng understood, deliberately revealing a bit of the dagger tip from his sleeve, and walked towards Chen Zihuai.
The cold light reflected from the dagger caught the Grand Preceptor off guard. Before he could fully react, "Ran Zheng's" blade was about to slash at "Chen Zihuai's" neck. His pupils constricted, and he leaped to subdue "Ran Zheng's" wrist. But the next second, he suddenly remembered:
Those outside the mirror cannot interfere with the actions of those inside.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Zihuai behind him flipped his hand and made a hand seal. The binding array under his feet had already taken shape. The array light shone brightly, trapping the Grand Preceptor firmly in the array.
Meanwhile, Ran Zheng, who was being restrained by him, seized the opportunity to grab Ran Zheng's wrist and fasten the shackles.
"Who are you?!"
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