Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

Upon reuniting with Chi Junlin and the others, Feng Lingqiu quickly recounted her encounter with the fake Lin Jun outside the city.

After hearing this, the group was all extremely surprised.

Some people didn't quite understand why, after someone impersonated Lin Jun, they didn't immediately come to the Hui residence to infiltrate it.

Instead, she first went outside the city to find another demonic witch named "Thousand Changes" who lived near Xiangshui County.

Wenren Tianxia asked with some doubt, "If the one impersonating Lin Jun is Ye Qiancao, then both of them are members of the Demonic Sect. Isn't she in cahoots with Qianbian?"

But according to what Master said, at that time one was chasing the other.

Could it be that they've had a falling out?

Upon hearing Wenren Tianxia's question, it was Wenren Xuan, who was standing to the side, who spoke first.

"That's not necessarily the case."

At this moment, the group turned to look at Wenren Xuan.

At this moment, Chi Junlin looked at Wenren Xuan and couldn't help but frown.

Because she had gone to see the lantern festival with Liuli and the others, she was not at the Hui residence.

I wonder what Wenren Xuan has been doing in the manor these days.

Wenren Xuan, having once been a member of the Demonic Sect, was more familiar with the behavior of Qianbian and the others.

So he explained, "Although they are all members of the Demonic Sect, they each form their own faction within the sect."

For example, Qianbian is a disciple of the Joyful Sect of the Demonic Path, under the jurisdiction of Zizaitian, one of the three great demons. If he were to encounter people from the other two sects, they would probably have to determine who is stronger first.

It's even less likely that they will join forces.

Ye Qiancao was particularly unconventional within the Demonic Sect. Not only did he not belong to the other three sects, but he also regarded other Demonic Sect disciples as tools and playthings.

She was infamous within the demonic sects, and more demonic sect disciples died at her hands than righteous sects!

It's no wonder that Qianbian turned and fled when he encountered Ye Qiancao in disguise as Lin Jun.

Upon hearing Wenren Xuan's explanation, the group nodded slightly, seemingly beginning to understand the situation.

Then Wenren Xuan added, "As for why Ye Qiancao wants to deal with Qianbian... I'm afraid she has already regarded Lin Jun as prey... and will not allow any member of the demonic sect to lay a finger on her..."

As she spoke, Wenren Xuan glanced at Chi Junlin with a strange expression.

Chi Jun remained silent at this moment.

Wenren Tianxia said with some annoyance, "Ye Qiancao... it really is her... I knew it."

At this moment, Wenren Xuan looked at Feng Lingqiu again and continued, "However, I am quite curious. Ye Qian's disguise skills are extraordinary, and her imitation of Miss Lin Jun is also very lifelike. How did Elder Feng know that the Lin Jun she was impersonating was fake?"

Is there any special method of identification?

Seeing Wenren Xuan looking at him with curiosity, Feng Lingqiu smiled slightly.

Then he said two words, "Password".

"signal?"

Wenren Xuan was stunned.

Lin Jun and Feng Lingqiu exchanged a glance, both noticing the special meaning in each other's eyes.

That happened before, when Chi Junlin and the others were still in Nandu and had not yet set off for Xiangshui County...

-

"signal?"

"Yes, the code."

Chi Junlin nodded and said to Feng Lingqiu, "I realized before that there are many people in the Demonic Sect who can disguise themselves and change their appearance. So in order to prevent some of them from changing their appearance and pretending to be close friends to get close to us, we should agree on a simple code."

If you have any doubts about the other person's identity, simply give them the code. Once they respond, you can confirm their identity.

I've already confirmed the code with Wenren Tianxia and the others. Elder Feng and I are quite close, so let's agree on one too."

Feng Lingqiu thought about it and seemed to find that what Chi Junlin said made a lot of sense.

He nodded and said, "Then what should we use as the code?"

Chi Junlin replied without hesitation, "I think the code should be as simple as possible, so that if the other party is not a real person when verifying their identity, it will not arouse their suspicion."

So, we might as well do this: when we feel there's an awkwardness in our relationship, we just call each other by our names. Then, if the other person replies "It's me," we can confirm their identity.

Feng Lingqiu nodded, thought for a moment, then looked at Chi Junlin and called out to her, "Lin Jun?"

Chi Junlin replied with a smile, "It's me."

Feng Lingqiu felt this was an excellent idea, and she would agree on a secret code with Wenren Tianxia the next day.

But then she frowned and said to Chi Junlin, "But what if I need to tell you something and call you by your name? We can't always use secret codes, can we?"

Chi Junlin then said, "That's simple. When verifying identities, just use names as a code. For anything else, call us whatever you want. We're already that familiar with each other anyway."

Feng Lingqiu then smiled and nodded, saying, "That's excellent."

-

After the recollection ended, Feng Lingqiu and Chi Junlin exchanged a smile, neither saying anything more.

With so many people around, the two of them naturally wouldn't reveal their secret code.

However, looking back, Feng Lingqiu did feel something was wrong the moment he saw the fake Lin Jun, and they exchanged a secret signal at the time.

The other party did not respond.

At that time, Feng Lingqiu had already determined that the other party's identity was fake.

Everything she said afterward was just a deliberate act to keep the fake Lin Jun calm.

However, the fake Lin Jun, played by Ye Qiancao, remained extremely vigilant.

In the end, Feng Lingqiu never found the right opportunity to take her down.

At this moment, Chi Junlin looked at Feng Lingqiu again and asked, "Speaking of which, Elder Feng just said that you came to see me this time because your master is in trouble? What kind of trouble is it that requires Elder Feng to make this trip?"

Feng Lingqiu then looked at Chi Junlin with a hint of worry on his face and replied, "Nephew Lin, you may not know this, but after Alliance Leader Tong led us, a group of righteous people, out of Nandu, we traveled along the southwest, crossed the Five Ridges, and entered Hunan. We were preparing to enter Hunan through Baiyue to formally attack the Demonic Sect."

However, upon arriving in southern Hunan, they discovered that the area was shrouded in miasma and dangerous, making it difficult for them to continue their journey.

And just then, an epidemic broke out, and many people fell ill, so they wanted to ask the locals for help.

However, the Xiangnan region seems to be deeply influenced by the Demonic Sect, and the Eight Eccentrics of Xiangnan are also committing evil deeds, so local clans and ethnic minorities are extremely resistant to outsiders.

In short, the righteous alliance has encountered setbacks everywhere in southern Hunan and is now teetering on the brink of collapse. If this continues, the alliance may disintegrate from within before it can even begin its campaign against the demonic sect.

Leader Tong is also at a loss, unable to think of a good solution. That's why he sent me to ask you, my dear nephew, for help, to see if you can help us through this crisis.”

Upon hearing Feng Lingqiu's explanation, Chi Junlin also revealed a helpless smile.

As expected, their beloved master still lacked leadership experience.

He loses control over his subordinates at the slightest setback.

Chapter 289 Awakening, the Female Within

Although Chi Junlin felt helpless, he was still very happy that Tong Yan was the first person he thought of when she encountered trouble.

So he nodded and said to Feng Lingqiu, "I understand the details. I will go there as soon as possible. Elder Feng must be tired after your long journey. Let's rest here for a while, and we can discuss the trip to Xiangnan tomorrow."

Feng Lingqiu nodded upon hearing this.

Then, accompanied by Hui Sanmei and others, they went to their guest rooms to rest.

Wenren Tianxia originally wanted to leave with her master, but Chi Junlin stopped her and gestured for her to wait a while.

After the others left, Wenren Tianxia and Chi Junlin went to a corner and asked, "What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

Chi Junlin shook his head and said, "There's nothing wrong, I just want to ask you something."

"what's up?"

"When I took Liuli and the others out just now, you stayed in the manor. Did you notice Wenren Xuan's movements? Did she leave the manor?"

Wenren Tianxia thought for a moment and then replied, "I didn't know during the day, but earlier this morning, Wenren Xuan came to me to play cards and invited Wei Ziqing and the Hui sisters to join in."

After playing for a while, she said she was a little tired, so she lay down to sleep. I noticed she stayed on the bed the whole time and didn't leave.

She didn't get out of bed until you made a commotion at the door.

She was in my sight the whole time, so she probably didn't have a chance to leave.

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin nodded and said, "I understand. That should have nothing to do with her."

Wenren Tianxia asked again, "Is there anything else?"

Chi Junlin replied, "That's all."

So she left Chi Junlin's side and went to find Feng Lingqiu.

As for Chi Junfulin, after pondering for a while, he walked alone to the other side of the courtyard and found Guo Shentong alone in his room.

The mansion was quite noisy earlier because of the fake Lin Jun incident, which woke up Guo Shentong, and he hasn't been able to go back to sleep yet.

Upon seeing Chi Junlin enter alone, he immediately prepared to kneel down.

Chi Junlin waved his hand, indicating that he should dispense with the formalities.

He then asked, "Where does your inspection range extend? Has it reached the Hunan region?"

Guo Shentong felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, and replied in a low voice, "General, you jest. The imperial court has always had insufficient control over Hunan. Apart from the salt commissioner, they have never even reached that area to collect taxes. Since ancient times, the Hunan-Yunnan region has been a self-governing area of ​​local chieftains, and not a single agricultural tax can be collected. What would I be doing there?"

So after I've basically finished inspecting the three prefectures south of Dongting Lake, I'll be heading back home.

After saying this, Guo Shentong cautiously asked, "General, you wouldn't... want me to go to Hunan, would you?"

"Need not."

Chi Junlin looked thoughtful, then glanced at Guo Shentong's obese body and added, "If you, fatso, go there, won't you just die over there?"

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, Guo Shentong immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Chi Junlin continued, "Take out the official seal and write me a new inspection report."

Guo Shentong paused for a moment, then cautiously said, "Can this inspection document be written carelessly? After all, it wasn't issued by the Ministry of Revenue."

Chi Junlin gave Guo Shentong a look as if he were looking at an idiot.

Guo Shentong slapped his forehead and quickly laughed, "I misspoke. I forgot what the general's status is. Wherever the general is, the Six Ministries are there too."

He then hurriedly took out the official seal and documents, and, following Chi Junlin's instructions, wrote a new tax inspection document, word by word, clearly and meticulously.

Seeing Guo the Prodigy respectfully take out the official seal and stamp it, then blow on it to make the ink dry quickly, Chi Junlin nodded in satisfaction.

He added, "I won't make things difficult for you. When you get back, just give me my name and the Ministry of Revenue will issue you a replacement document."

"Not at all... General, you are overthinking it."

Guo the prodigy said it, but he was secretly overjoyed.

This is because the merits of these imperial tax inspectors were linked to the places they inspected.

The more barren the places you go to inspect, the more merits you can gain.

Now, thanks to Chi Junlin's words, Guo Shentong has achieved such a large tax inspection record without even having to go to Xiangnan in person.

Wouldn't that mean they'd surpass all their peers in the exam rankings, far ahead of the competition...?

Getting promoted twice in a row won't be difficult at that time...

As for Chi Junlin, he picked up the document and thought to himself that his trip to Xiangnan was now completely safe.

As long as they can gain the support of local clans and ethnic minority tribes, the Demonic Sect won't be able to cause any trouble there.

The only remaining problem is probably the Eight Eccentrics of Southern Hunan who are wreaking havoc in the area.

Thinking of this, Chi Junlin couldn't help but frown.

Because she had some understanding of these "Eight Eccentrics of Southern Hunan".

Although this group of local Hunanese forces were not particularly strong in martial arts, each of them was incredibly difficult to deal with.

In the original timeline, this group was supposed to die at the hands of Ding Xia.

Moreover, if they hadn't each come out from their old strongholds in Hunan, their strength would have been greatly reduced, and Ding Xia probably wouldn't have been able to defeat them one by one.

Now, however, the Crimson Emperor intends to go directly to their respective lairs and wipe them out in advance.