The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#618 - Han Shan Ke's Completion Plan [To make up for the mistakes in the previous chapter]

The instant the man inside the thatched hut removed the mask of identity from his face, Lu Jing truly thought Han Shan Guest had come back to life.

Because that face looked no different from Han Shan Guest's.

In fact, their height and build were almost identical, and even their voices were hard to distinguish. The reason Lu Jing didn't recognize him at first was mainly because Han Shan Guest's tone sounded lazy and indifferent, as if he didn't care about anything, while the person in front of him spoke with a much more serious tone, faintly carrying a sense of authority.

For someone who hadn't encountered Han Shan Guest in Mirror Lake Valley, the second tone would be more in line with his supposed identity.

But for someone like Lu Jing, who had dealt with Han Shan Guest before, he could clearly feel that the person in front of him was not Han Shan Guest.

Moreover, the real Han Shan Guest had been personally sent away by Lu Jing.

Lu Jing still carried the leaf that Han Shan Guest had transformed into.

So Lu Jing asked Fire Element Sun, "What's going on here?"

"What do you mean, what's going on?" Fire Element Sun was also a little confused now.

Earlier, Lu Jing had been forcing him to find someone, and with his own life in Lu Jing's hands, he had no choice but to bring Lu Jing here.

Now that the person had been found, Lu Jing didn't seem satisfied.

Wait, could this guy be trying to weasel out of the deal this way?

Thinking of this, Fire Element Sun's expression couldn't help but change. "Friend, doing things this way is a bit unreasonable, don't you think?"

Lu Jing also realized at this point that there might have been some misunderstanding in their previous communication.

And it wasn't entirely Fire Element Sun's fault.

Mainly, Lu Jing had heard Supervisor Huang say that Qi Wenren had been missing for some time, and he had happened to run into Fire Element Sun, an old acquaintance, in Liang City, so he naturally connected Qi Wenren's disappearance with Mister Ji.

He suspected the latter was involved.

So, after capturing Fire Element Sun, he inquired about Qi Wenren's situation.

Lu Jing had also been careful, because he wasn't sure if Qi Wenren's disappearance was Mister Ji's doing. He didn't want to inadvertently put Qi Wenren in danger if the other party didn't know Qi Wenren had come to Liang Province.

So Lu Jing didn't mention Qi Wenren's name.

As a result, Fire Element Sun mistakenly thought Lu Jing was after the fake Han Shan Guest, and in order to save his life, he had no choice but to bring Lu Jing to this thatched hut.

Which led to the scene just now.

The fake Han Shan Guest probably sensed that the atmosphere was a little strange, so he cleared his throat and said, "Mister Sun, you haven't introduced this brave warrior to Us... The great cause is not yet accomplished, and We are in need of talent. If this brave warrior truly has real ability, then We will certainly not treat him unfairly."

"No need for introductions," Lu Jing said, "Why don't you take a break? Aren't you tired of pretending to be Zhu Zhen all the time?"

"Bold madman, how dare you call Us by Our given name! Since you recognize Us, why do you still question Our authenticity!" The fake Han Shan Guest glared and shouted. He was quite dedicated, still trying to act the part even at this point.

It was clear that Mister Ji had put a lot of effort into training him, but unfortunately, the time was still too short.

And since it was a banner, it didn't necessarily have to be the genuine article. A counterfeit could suffice.

However, the problem was that the genuine article had already been damaged by Lu Jing, and this counterfeit's luck was also inherited, as he had run into Lu Jing again.

Lu Jing asked the fake Han Shan Guest and Fire Element Sun, "Did you come here to fool those three local chieftains, or these prominent families in the Northwest? You wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles just to recruit officials, would you?"

The fake Han Shan Guest glared, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Fire Element Sun.

He didn't know how Lu Jing had seen through that the current Zhaozong was fake, mainly because the real Zhaozong had been missing for more than forty years. Even those who had seen him back then had probably forgotten most of it by now.

Not to mention, looking at the other man's age, he didn't look to be fifty or sixty years old.

But there was no point in thinking about such things now. The most urgent thing was to consider how to save their lives.

Fire Element Sun said, "We have been in contact with the Tubo side, as well as the Ding and Yue families, but not many people have seen Zhaozong, uh... the fake Zhaozong. Only two people. The reason Mister Ji wanted him to come was because the head of the Ding family has a close relationship with him. Mister Ji wanted to see if the fake Zhaozong could persuade him to defect."

"That way, we might be able to annex the three Northwest prefectures without bloodshed."

"Besides this, do you have any other purpose for coming to Liang Province this time?" Lu Jing continued to ask.

"No, at least I don't." Fire Element Sun spread his hands, his expression seemingly genuine. "As for whether Mister Ji sent anyone else here, I don't know and can't guarantee it."

"Then him..." Lu Jing pointed to the fake Han Shan Guest, who had calmed down again.

"Oh, it's because of a strange object. That strange object can completely transform a person's appearance into that of another person. Of course, their tone and mannerisms still need to be trained."

Fire Element Sun's words made Lu Jing frown even more, because it meant that Mister Ji could create as many Han Shan Guests as he wanted.

Even if he killed this counterfeit, it wouldn't help. If pushed, Mister Ji could even mass-produce Han Shan Guests and use them as expendable items.

Just thinking about it was headache-inducing, so Lu Jing still used the old method, leaving the headache to the person who should be having the headache. He still focused on the matter at hand.

After thinking it over, he asked again, "Have you seen anyone from the Directorate of Celestials in Liang City these past few days?"

Lu Jing was just asking casually, not expecting much, but seeing the expressions on Fire Element Sun and the fake Han Shan Guest's faces, Lu Jing realized that they might have actually seen Qi Wenren.

The two looked at each other, and finally Fire Element Sun spoke, "At General Yue's residence, there's a tall, thin guy with hands that reach past his knees. He might be from the Directorate of Celestials."