622: Sneaking In

Sneaking In

Ming Yue nodded. 1

"She seemed like a good option to use and decently strong. Would it be possible to impersonate her?" she asked him. 

Meng Zhao rubbed his chin, thinking about the question. 

"It isn't a bad idea. Because of the way Qing Ji is, she moves alone so her face isn't very well known. She is only recognized by her cold and ruthless demeanor, something that you can replicate. As for her pure white clothes, you may have to change your outfit to match hers but a change of clothes can be arranged for you", he explained. 

The young woman then smiled at his last words. 

"I still have her clothes", she said, taking out the bloodstained robes from her spatial ring. 

The elderly man looked at it, inspecting the robes carefully. 

"There is blood on it but... that could work to your advantage. Because of her beauty and strength, there are many that wish to capture or kill her though she has bested them all. If you were to enter the city like that, no one would doubt your identity", he said. 

"In that case, I should head back to Redmist Sanctuary." 

Ming Yue stood up to go but Meng Zhao, grabbed her hand, stopping her from going. He stood up and handed something to her, a flare it would seem. 

"In case things get too dangerous, use the flare. There are soldiers stationed around there, keeping watch in secret. If they see the flare, they will immediately come to your location and bring you out", he told her. 

She looked down at the flare, holding it tightly before smiling in front of him. 

"Thank you, Grandpa Meng."

Then she left, leaving the elderly man to sit and drink tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Rou'er and Hongyu in the courtyard, training together. It was somewhat quiet within the store before Elder Fei stepped in joining him for tea,

"Are you really not going to tell anyone that she's returned?" he asked him. 

Meng Zhao merely sipped his tea. 

"I consider her my granddaughter, I will respect her wishes. In any case, it doesn't matter, she'll reveal herself soon enough. Until then, she's merely a ghost, a wanderer. If she wanted to leave, we'd have to mobilize an entire army to even catch her."

Putting the cup of tea down, he looked at Elder Fei. 

"She's like the wind, she just cannot be tied down", he told him. 

It grew quiet before the both of them chuckled. 

"Right, that is true, isn't it?"

The pair just sat there and enjoyed their tea, watching over the shop. 

And Ming Yue was well on her way back to Redmist Sanctuary. She was alone as Qing Ji would be, Xiao Yin and the other beasts were all back at Luan City. Dressed in the bloodstained robes, she flew over the trees before landing at the border of Mist Valley, descending and traveling the rest of the way by foot. 

"Mm, by the looks of it, the Nightmist Parade will start a week from now. I should decide how I want to deal with this", she thought to herself. 

"I could just send down a bolt of lightning but... that might alert the other branches immediately. Rather, it might just escalate everything to another war. I'd rather keep them in the dark as much as possible."

Deciding her next move, there was a glint of light coming through the tree branches as a dart flew out from the shadows. Ming Yue spun around, swatting the dart away with her hand before shooting a Wind Needle out with her other hand. 

It left barely a trace in its path as the cultivator followed it, heading straight for her attacker. Spreading her senses around, she narrowed her eyes before changing directions, moving even quicker than before. 

There was movement ahead of her as the branches rustled from her escaping target. They might have been able to dodge the Wind Needle but they could not avoid her. 

"Phantasmal Wind."

She suddenly vanished, practically teleporting right behind and thrusting the Zephyr Claws into the chest of her victim. They gasped for air, trembling in pain before falling to the ground and dying. They were alone in the depths of the valley, no one could hear the commotion. 

And when Ming Yue looked at the dying figure, an idea seemed to have formed. 

"If it's like this, I could just beat them at their own little game", she thought, "What did they call me before? The Reaper?" 

Thinking this, she turned her attention back to the body before taking out Blood Moon. One quick swing was all it took to sever their head. She reached in and grabbed the token before leaving the body. 

"If anything, this might work in my favor. Perhaps it will attract more of them to come", she muttered. 

"But then... that might bring more trouble to Red Lotus Country..."

Realizing this, Ming Yue looked at her choices, trying to figure out just which one would give the results she wanted. 

"Honestly, I don't find an issue with just destroying it all in one go", Xue Yue suddenly remarked, "I mean, it's the quickest, and sending a message could just make them fear you. Even more so, it might just give you the attention you need."

"I suppose so." 

The young woman pondered over her choices as Elder Zhen also said his piece. 

"I do agree, if you really want to, you can just kill them all. You do have two weapon spirits on you though it would be extremely taxing on your body", he suggested. 

"Mmmm, I'd rather not be flashy or grab too much attention from the start. I think I'll do it bit by bit, maybe find more information and hand it over to Grandpa Meng to share with the others. If the other branches send more here, they would be weakened enough for the others to take them down themselves", she thought, "It would bring more attention to Red Lotus Country but... as long as I deal with them before anything happens." 

Elder Zhen chuckled with a somewhat excited tone to his voice. 

"That doesn't sound bad at all", he responded, "Making the first move is always advantageous."

However, Xue Yue snorted a bit. 

"I still think it would be better for you to just destroy them all in one move. Give them a real surprise", she said to the others. 

"Alright, alright, if I get the chance, sure but for now, let's just move quietly."

Wiping her blade clean, Ming Yue took another look at the bleeding corpse before leaving, She even left the corpse to rot there too. Making her way through the valley, the journey was similar to the last time she went. 

There was mist surrounding her, thick enough to barely see several feet in front of her. 

If that wasn't enough, the scent of blood grew thicker the closer she was to the Sanctuary. Soon enough, the young woman emerged from the dense foliage, walking out before the gates. She looked at it up close, things were certainly a lot nicer compared to before. 

Her eyes then landed at the guards who noticed her but paid no attention to the blood on her clothes. She walked up, bringing out a cold expression on her face as she stood before them and took out the red token. 

Showing it to them, Ming Yue watched as they inspected the token before looking at her. 

"Qing Ji, the White Aspen, it is a pleasure to have you join us for the Nightmist Parade this year." 

They cupped their fists and greeted her but she only looked on silently, putting the token away. Lifting their heads, the guards split apart, giving her a path to enter. 

"Please enjoy your time at Redmist Sanctuary." 

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