Chapter Nineteen: Mistaken Identity

Don’t worry! You still have fifty years left in your lifespan; they don’t have as much as you, so you can outlast them.

This ghostly bird doesn’t understand humor at all.

Through Fat Chirp’s eyes, he noticed that every courtyard in the entire estate was connected by a small river that ran between them, linking everything together.

Dao Sansheng suddenly remembered the Water-Avoiding Pearl in his storage ring—now it would come in handy. He called Fat Chirp back, took out the Water-Avoiding Pearl, and jumped into the small river running through the courtyard.

The splash startled the two young servants standing guard outside the door. They rushed in, saw nothing unusual, and left again.

Holding the Water-Avoiding Pearl, Dao Sansheng dove into the river. After descending just a few meters, he couldn’t hold his breath any longer and immediately surfaced, gulping down air—it seemed his method was wrong.

He then put the Water-Avoiding Pearl in his mouth and dove again. This time, he found he could breathe freely underwater; it seemed he had found the right way. However, being underwater, he couldn’t see what was happening on land. With so many people around, how was he supposed to find Qian’er?

Fat Chirp sent back images from the surface, which appeared in Dao Sansheng’s mind’s eye. It seemed that even underwater, he could still interact with Fat Chirp—not bad at all.

The Li residence was quite large, but Fat Chirp flew very quickly. After one loop around, Dao Sansheng had a rough idea of where the bride was located.

On the left side, there was a beautifully decorated courtyard, brilliantly illuminated. Inside, a woman sat in front of a mirror, her gorgeous face reflected within—fair skin and peach blossom eyes. She twisted her waist in front of the mirror, scrutinizing her makeup closely.

Fat Chirp had just flown past and noticed this courtyard—it was the most festively adorned place in the Li residence.

Dao Sansheng hid in the water, slowly moving toward that courtyard. Whenever someone patrolled past the river, Fat Chirp would spot them in advance, allowing Dao Sansheng to avoid detection several times.

The images in his mind grew closer as he neared the courtyard. The closer he got, the more he felt an urge to turn back, yet he also wanted to go in and ask why.

In the end, he summoned his courage and crawled out from beneath the water.

As he emerged from the river, he was greeted by a dazzling sight: the courtyard was draped in red silk for the wedding, festooned with red lanterns, paper cuttings on the doors, and a giant double-happiness character—festivity everywhere.

Dao Sansheng climbed up to the window, peering through and seeing the shadow cast by the lantern light—a silhouette that seemed so familiar. He noticed an open window nearby and slipped in quietly.

The woman before the mirror still twisted her waist, dressed in a red bridal gown, crowned with a phoenix coronet and silk veil. Even from behind, it was clear she was a beauty.

“My lord, it’s only one night—can’t you wait? Here I am!” The woman turned and threw herself at him. Dao Sansheng, not wanting to linger, turned to leave through the window, but she clung to him tightly.

Sensing something amiss, the woman let go and screamed, “Who are you?”

The servants guarding outside heard the commotion and rushed to the door, calling out.

Dao Sansheng quickly covered the woman’s mouth, her muffled sounds still escaping.

The servants outside dared not enter, so they continued to knock.

“Miss Dao, are you all right? We’re the servants of the Li residence.”

Dao Sansheng released his hand, signaling for her to speak.

“I’m fine, there was just a rat. You can go now.”

The servants left, and only then did Dao Sansheng remove his hand from her mouth. Seeing her face—though beautiful, she was not the one he sought—he felt immensely relieved.

“Why did you break into my room in the middle of the night?”

Dao Sansheng bowed deeply in apology. “I’m sorry, it was not intentional—I entered the wrong room.”

The woman refused to let the matter rest, so Dao Sansheng told her the truth.

“My name is Dao Sansheng. My sister, Dao Qian’er, and I are from Dao Family Village, Dao Family Town. My sister came to work at the Li residence some time ago, but soon after, I heard that Master Li was taking a concubine—a woman named Dao Qian’er. So I came here, but it seems I was mistaken.”

After hearing his explanation, the woman became much warmer.

“My surname is Fang, and my given name is Chunmeng—I’m from Xiling County. I was brought up in a brothel after losing my parents at a young age, but Master Li rescued me, and I married him.

However, since I’m from Xiling and have no family, and my former name is known by many, it happened that Dao Qian’er entered the household at the same time. She was chosen by someone from the Violet Immortal Palace and taken away, so Master Li and I agreed to use her name instead.”

“What? Qian’er was taken by someone from the Violet Immortal Palace?” Dao Sansheng was shocked. He had never heard of such a place, nor did he know where it was.

“It was her opportunity, her own choice. Both Master Li and I asked her. Here is a recommendation letter—with this, you can seek her out at the Violet Immortal Palace and apply to become a disciple. This letter is recognized by all the major sects on the continent.”

“Where is the Violet Immortal Palace?”

Dao Sansheng blurted out impatiently.

“It’s far from here, but they have a recruitment branch in Donglin County. Dao Qian’er is there now.

There’s an unwritten rule in the cultivation world: every year, the major families and clans can recommend a certain number of disciples to the great sects. All the cities are jointly managed by the sects, and taxes are distributed as needed, so there’s fierce competition for talented cultivators.

Some even use underhanded means to obtain recommendation letters from the clans, then hand them out to promising youths, disrupting the original fair competition.

Because of this, outstanding talents now choose their sects, causing some to decline and others to grow stronger.

I advise you to pick a good sect; you don’t necessarily need to join the Violet Immortal Palace. That’s not a place for just anyone—it’s the most powerful sect on the continent. I’ve also heard that Dao Qian’er is a rare single-spirit root talent and will go far on the path of cultivation.”

Dao Sansheng ignored her advice—he believed that human will could triumph over fate; even if destiny was hard to defy, he would force the heavens to change their course.

Feeling there was no more to discuss, Dao Sansheng took the recommendation letter and slipped away into the night.

His first attempt had been fraught with danger, but the second time he made his way back with ease, quickly reaching the courtyard where his family was staying.

Surfacing, he saw that no one seemed to have noticed his absence, so he hurried back to his room.

After a night of turmoil, Dao Sansheng had only just begun to rest when dawn broke and the courtyard filled with noise, the commotion drifting into his room.

“Damn, Fatty didn’t even call me,” Dao Sansheng muttered angrily as he got up, opened the door, and walked out into the courtyard, where he saw Fatty and several little girls playing. “That shameless fatty, abandoning me for girls.”

“Dao Sansheng, you’re up! Did you go looking for that girl you’ve been longing for last night?”

At some point, Xue’er had noticed Dao Sansheng and came over to greet him, with the little girl trailing behind, rolling her eyes at Dao Sansheng as if cursing his entire family.

“I was cultivating all night. When I woke up, the sun was already high. I must be exhausted from these past few days. I need to catch up on sleep,” Dao Sansheng said, turning to return to his room.