Chapter 419: You’ve Changed, Xiao Zhang (1^st Update)

Although Long Qingyue’s expression never gave anything away, Ye Wenxin still asked, just for show, “Why me?”

Long Qingyue smiled and said, “The only cultivators here are Miss Xiao Zhang and you, Miss Wenxin. If the Jiangshi King really intends to attack, we ordinary people would probably be torn to shreds.”

It sounded quite reasonable, but coming from Long Qingyue, it made Ye Wenxin feel she had bad intentions. Still, she couldn’t figure out what kind of script Long Qingyue had constructed, nor did she dare to agree hastily.

At this moment, Xiao Zhang coughed a few times with effort, adding, “If nothing unexpected happens, the Secret Guards’ support should arrive by the afternoon, so you don’t need to worry about safety issues, Wenxin.”

Xiao Zhang was doing her best to act like someone severely injured, so she wouldn’t have to act as Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng. More importantly, according to the information the Secret Guards had sent, Long Qingyue had also started taking action. If Long Qingyue saw Xiao Zhang playing Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng when the time came, she would be dead many times over.

To keep her own puny life, Xiao Zhang didn’t dare agree to anything.

But Ye Wenxin was different. She already bore some resemblance to Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, and even had some affinity with her. If it were Ye Wenxin, Long Qingyue probably wouldn’t be as harsh.

“Well… why don’t we wait for those Secret Guards to arrive, and then we can discuss it further?” Ye Wenxin also tried to refuse, but Long Qingyue just smiled and said, “Miss Wenxin, even someone as ordinary as me is willing to risk my life. How can you, at this critical moment, be afraid to die?”

Long Qingyue’s selfless act swayed three of the Mo clan leaders, and they voiced their support. This Jiangshi King was something that ordinary people dared not provoke; from a mortal’s perspective, Long Qingyue’s sacrifice was indeed quite significant.

Ye Wenxin gave a bitter smile and could only agree, “You’re right. The cultivators’ foundation is to save all beings in this world. How could a cultivator such as I be afraid of death when the common people are suffering?”

Ye Wenxin also pretended to be filled with a sense of tragic heroism, but Long Qingyue just kept smiling. It was hard to tell whether she was smiling because Ye Wenxin couldn’t escape her control, or because she found it amusing that she, a dignified Demon Lord, had actually learned the ways of the immortal sects.

Regardless, the matter was settled. Ye Wenxin would play the role of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, and to prevent the Jiangshi King from becoming suspicious, Xiao Zhang would take on the identity of ‘Ye Wenxin’…

Looking at the familiar face in the mirror, Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but sigh. She had never imagined that after roaming the Martial World for over fifty years, there would come a day when she would need to pretend to be herself.

“Wenxin, are you ready yet?”

Xiao Zhang, feeling that Ye Wenxin’s transformation was taking too long, urged her from outside. Ye Wenxin touched her face and raised her voice a bit, “I’ll be out soon, still fussing with the clothes.”

Ye Wenxin was already wearing that bright red dress, though. She was just smoothing her face, trying to prevent it from looking too stiff. Yet, whenever she reverted to her original form, Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but become serious to maintain the image of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng.

She watched as her face reflexively tensed up, and ultimately forced out a smile before slowly walking out.

As soon as she opened the door, Ye Wenxin saw everyone staring straight at her. Their expressions were filled with amazement and disbelief. Compared to Gu Qingcheng’s portrait, the current Ye Wenxin looked as if she had stepped right out of the painting.

Ye Wenxin felt a bit embarrassed and, inexplicably, guilty. She forced the same familiar smile and asked, “Do you think I look like her?”

Her tone was still in Ye Wenxin’s own voice. Third nodded vigorously and added, “It would be even more perfect if you didn’t speak.”

Ye Wenxin couldn’t tell if this was a compliment or a jab, so she forced a smile and tried to change the tone of her voice. However, she deliberately didn’t adjust it all the way back to her original voice, just to avoid being too convincingly real.

Seeing this, Long Qingyue smiled at Ye Wenxin and said, “It’s almost like the real thing.”

For a moment, Ye Wenxin almost rolled her eyes, but, since she was using Gu Qingcheng’s appearance, she kept up with the pretense and nodded lightly. Xiao Zhang kept circling around Ye Wenxin, sharing more tips on how to play Gu Qingcheng.

“The Demon Lord is not fond of smiling, so Wenxin, try not to smile too much.”

“???”

Ye Wenxin felt that Xiao Zhang had the wrong impression of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, because in reality, the Demon Lord loved to smile, especially while killing.

“The Demon Lord is not very talkative.”

“???”

Ye Wenxin was filled with countless questions, genuinely confused about where Xiao Zhang was getting this information, as it was completely inaccurate.

As Xiao Zhang continued to speak about these totally wrong points, Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Zhang, where the hell did you get this information from?”

Xiao Zhang looked a bit puzzled. “All those Martial World news chronicles had written about it like this.”

Ye Wenxin burst out laughing. Xiao Zhang was the distinguished commander of the Secret Guards, yet she was quoting content from those gossip magazines. This left Ye Wenxin speechless. Seeing Long Qingyue still smiling on the side, Ye Wenxin continued to ask, “Has Her Highness the Eldest Princess never mentioned anything about the Demon Lord?”

Xiao Zhang’s expression turned a bit awkward. “Her Highness deals with numerous affairs every day and rarely speaks of others, let alone the Demon Lord.”

Long Qingyue was deeply reserved, so it was only natural that she wouldn’t share stories about her best friend with her subordinates. However, hearing that Long Qingyue had never mentioned her at all, Ye Wenxin felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Back when she was still the Demon Lord, she would talk to Liu Churan about Long Qingyue every day. Yet, to her surprise, it seemed she was the only one praising Long Qingyue daily.

But when Ye Wenxin mulled it over, she seemed to understand why Long Qingyue and Liu Churan had such a terrible relationship. She realized that while she was constantly mentioning Long Qingyue to Liu Churan, on Long Qingyue’s side, it seemed she was always talking about Liu Churan.

Ye Wenxin began to reflect deeply, strongly aware that the main reason for Liu Churan’s overly obsessive behavior was her own doing. As she glanced at Long Qingyue, Ye Wenxin seemed to see a familiar scene unfolding once more.

Her worry grew even stronger. Xiao Zhang, thinking Ye Wenxin lacked confidence in her, continued earnestly explaining why she didn’t want to play the role of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng.

“In the past, people had impersonated the Demon Lord to commit fraud, and Her Highness sentenced them to death.”

Ye Wenxin looked at Xiao Zhang with a strange expression upon hearing the truth, and couldn’t help but remark, “You’ve changed, Xiao Zhang.”

Xiao Zhang sighed helplessly. “How have I changed?”

Ye Wenxin continued, “You know that Her Highness hates it when anyone impersonates the Demon Lord, which is why you don’t dare to play the role. But if I play the Demon Lord, wouldn’t I also be risking death?”