Chapter 172: Substitute Form Technique
Only at this moment did Xuan Xia’s first reaction in her heart form a sentence: Li Fu’s drawing skills were truly excellent.
Only then did she react with surprise and suspicion: After he fled Yanjing, Daoist Master Qin had only said they were tracking him, yet the man had actually come to Ningzhou?
At this time, Yan Wentao asked softly: “Boss, did you see it?”
He was referring to the strong death energy on the other party.
Xuan Xia countered by asking him: “Did he see us just now?”
Although Ren Yaozhe’s line of sight had only glanced over for a short two or three seconds, Xuan Xia felt like the other party had seen her.
Yan Wentao said: “Yeah? I had that feeling too.”
He added: “This guy is off.”
Xuan Xia agreed.
At the same time, she quickly opened the chat window with Daoist Master Qin, sent her location information, and then typed the three words “Ren Yaozhe.”
Daoist Master Qin should understand what this name meant.
After doing this, she said to Yan Wentao: “We’re tailing him.”
Yan Wentao: “Huh?”
But just after saying that, a car pulled up in front of them.
“Is this the car you called?” the driver in the car asked.
Xuan Xia thought for a moment and responded: “Yes.” As she spoke, she opened the back door and got into the car first.
Yan Wentao: “……”
Weren’t they supposed to tail him??
But seeing that Xuan Xia had gotten in the car, he naturally followed suit and got in as well.
Just as the door closed, the driver confirmed the destination with them. The endpoint was the ancient building scenic area; it was indeed the car Xuan Xia had just called.
After confirming it was correct, just as the driver was about to start driving, Xuan Xia immediately stopped him and negotiated: “Master, don’t rush to drive yet, wait a moment.”
Driver: “What’s up?”
If not for the pretty girl speaking, the driver definitely would have asked more impatiently.
Waiting for what, delaying his business?
But the next second, the driver saw a hundred-yuan bill handed to his side, along with Xuan Xia’s words: “Thanks, master.”
The driver hesitated and looked at it, took it, checked it while asking: “How long do we wait?”
Xuan Xia looked through the car window at Ren Yaozhe gradually walking away and said: “Just a moment.”
After negotiating with the driver, Xuan Xia told Yan Wentao not to look away and to keep a good eye on the departing Ren Yaozhe, while she quickly called Daoist Master Qin.
Daoist Master Qin’s phone didn’t connect, so she dialed others in turn, certain that one of them would pick up.
Finally, Uncle Zhong answered the phone.
“Miss Xuan, are you coming back?” Uncle Zhong asked after picking up.
Xuan Xia had no time for pleasantries and said directly: “Uncle Zhong, quickly get Daoist Master Qin on the phone, emergency!”
“Oh, oh, okay, hold on.”
Soon after, Daoist Master Qin’s voice came from the other end of the line.
Xuan Xia said: “I sent you a location. I saw Ren Yaozhe. Right now, Daoist Master Yan and I are tailing him. Hurry up and come catch him.”
Daoist Master Qin on the other end tensed up and immediately said: “Don’t act rashly.”
Xuan Xia said matter-of-factly: “Don’t worry, I know. Hurry and arrange for people to come.”
Although Yan Wentao had only heard Xuan Xia’s brief words, he quickly realized that the man earlier definitely had something wrong and leaned in to softly remind her: “Death energy, don’t forget to mention the death energy.”
Xuan Xia: “Oh, right. Daoist Master Yan says he saw Ren Yaozhe emitting death energy all over his body; he thinks it’s very off.”
Yan Wentao nodded emphatically.
After hearing this, Daoist Master Qin said: “Don’t hang up, wait for me.”
After that, Daoist Master Qin’s side went quiet for a while.
Seeing that Ren Yaozhe had walked so far he was almost out of sight, Xuan Xia urgently leaned forward and said to the driver: “Master, trouble you to drive forward a bit, drive slowly, and stop when I tell you to.”
Driver: “……”
But thinking that he had already been paid, he could only comply.
The car drove forward a distance until Ren Yaozhe re-entered Xuan Xia’s line of sight; only then did she tell the driver to stop.
After stopping again, the driver couldn’t help but ask the two passengers in the back: “You two… are you police?”
After asking this, the driver himself felt it sounded weak.
He’d never seen police disguised as Daoist priests.
“Do we look like it to you, master?” Xuan Xia countered.
It was clearly his question, but it got thrown back at him, making it pointless.
The driver chuckled twice and pretended he hadn’t asked.
“Boss, what’s the deal with that guy?” Yan Wentao asked curiously too.
Xuan Xia could only tell him: “He’s the biggest enemy of our temple right now.”
Yan Wentao dazedly said “oh.”
Changsheng Temple had enemies? He’d never heard of that.
But now that he was part of Changsheng Temple, that made him an enemy too.
Daoist Master Qin, who had been quiet for half a day, finally spoke again: “I’ve already sent people over. What’s the situation there? Did the other party see you?”
Xuan Xia briefly explained the situation here, but as for Daoist Master Qin’s last question, she didn’t know how to answer.
“He seemed to glance at Daoist Master Yan and me earlier. I feel like he saw us. But he didn’t run, and his walking speed was normal, so I’m not sure.” Xuan Xia said this while keeping an eye on Ren Yaozhe’s back.
In Xuan Xia’s understanding, she thought Ren Yaozhe should recognize her, just as she recognized him.
After hearing Xuan Xia’s words, Daoist Master Qin thought anxiously for a moment, then sternly demanded: “Stop following him and come back immediately.”
Xuan Xia knew the principle of “listen to advice and eat your fill,” but right now, she couldn’t heed this advice.
“I’m not getting close to him; I’m just following from afar.”
After searching for Ren Yaozhe for so long with twists and turns, letting him escape several times, now that he was right under her nose, how could she not keep watching and let him run again?
Xuan Xia thought to herself that today, no matter what, she had to catch him.
If Ren Yaozhe didn’t have some skills, she wouldn’t be holed up in the car holding position.
Daoist Master Qin clearly understood he couldn’t persuade her, so he asked in return: “If Ren Yaozhe turns back to find you, how will you evade him?”
Just as Xuan Xia was about to answer, Yan Wentao suddenly said: “Boss, he turned into the forest.”
“Alright, now your question is moot.” Xuan Xia speechlessly replied to Daoist Master Qin on the other end of the line.
She looked at the forest Ren Yaozhe had turned into.
This was a dense greenbelt forest; from outside, it looked deep with thick trees, giving a real wild forest feel. Once Ren Yaozhe entered, his clear figure immediately vanished.
So now there was a new problem: should she chase in or continue guarding outside?
“What happened?” Daoist Master Qin asked on the phone.
Xuan Xia told him the latest situation.
Daoist Master Qin said: “Don’t chase.”
Pausing for a second, he added: “Send me your current location.”
After sending the location, Xuan Xia heard the driver in the front seat ask: “You two about done? Still going to the ancient building scenic area or not?”
Yan Wentao looked at Xuan Xia; of course, this question was for her to decide.
Xuan Xia thought for a moment and said immediately: “Not going, thanks master.”
The driver quickly said: “Then this order can’t be canceled; I’m not breaking any rules.”
As he was about to say more, suddenly a van caught up from behind, braked and stopped in front of their car, and then the door opened as about ten people dressed as Daoist priests got out.
The Daoist priests immediately looked around, some frequently checking their mobile phones. Seeing only this one car parked nearby, they all turned their heads to look over.
The driver forgot what he wanted to say and hesitantly asked: “These people… are they with you?”
Scared him to death, so many Daoist priests.
Xuan Xia wanted to know the answer to this question too.
She first said to the driver: “Master, the order is complete; I’ll confirm it later.” Then she got out of the car and went up to greet the ten or so Daoist priests.
Upon asking, these ten or so Daoist priests were indeed the ones Daoist Master Qin had called.
They said they were Daoist priests from Baoyi Temple, happened to be performing a religious ceremony outside, and would pass by this area. Upon receiving the notification from the temple, they immediately detoured to rush over.
Baoyi Temple was also an established Daoist temple in Ningzhou, like Changsheng Temple, both from the Zhengyi lineage, and a mainstay unit of the local Daoist Association.
Xuan Xia didn’t know Baoyi Temple, but Baoyi Temple knew her as the property owner of Changsheng Temple.
Plus Yan Wentao, dressed as a Daoist priest, coming to greet them together, Xuan Xia soon learned that the lead Daoist priest among the ten or so from Baoyi Temple was Gong Ziliu.
Gong Ziliu had a small mustache that made his age hard to guess and said both politely and boldly: “Boss Xuan, we’ve heard about the situation. Now we’re all under your command. What do you need us to do?”
Seeing the number of people present, Xuan Xia immediately gained courage and said to Gong Ziliu: “The man we’re chasing ran into the forest, so trouble everyone to go in with me and chase him.”
However, before setting off, she didn’t forget to remind everyone: “That guy has some tricks; everyone be careful.”
Gong Ziliu: “Boss Xuan, don’t worry.”
Xuan Xia led the people into the forest.
Once inside, the Daoist priests from Baoyi Temple began showing their skills.
Some offered talismans, some scouted the path, and some divined.
Xuan Xia felt like they were deliberately showing off to her.
Then the divining Daoist priest spoke first: “Senior Brother Gong, Boss Xuan, this forest doesn’t seem to have any living people.”
“That’s normal; that guy has thick death energy and no vitality left around him.” Yan Wentao explained from the side.
The divining Daoist priest nodded in realization: “Oh, that’s how it is.”
Hearing this, Gong Ziliu said: “You all need to be even more careful, remember that.”
The Daoist priests from Baoyi Temple replied in unison: “Understood, Senior Brother Gong.”
Just two seconds after replying, a young Daoist priest suddenly shouted: “Senior Brother Gong, come look quick.”
Xuan Xia and Gong Ziliu went over and saw a set of clothes discarded under the tree.
Judging by the newness and cleanliness of the clothes, they had just been discarded.
Moreover, Xuan Xia recognized the style of these clothes; they were the ones Ren Yaozhe had been wearing.
He ran!?
Xuan Xia couldn’t help but scan the dimly lit forest around her, feeling an indescribable frustration: how did he slip away again!
At this time, Gong Ziliu picked up another thing from under the tree: it was a straw doll.
Gong Ziliu pondered and said: “This guy used the Substitute Form Technique to escape.”
Xuan Xia: “Substitute Form Technique?”
Gong Ziliu explained it to her.
The Substitute Form Technique was a type of Substitute Corpse Technique, but Substitute Form used an inanimate object to substitute for oneself, unlike the Substitute Corpse Technique which could use a living person to substitute.
The Substitute Form Technique was mainly for self-preservation and escape; it had no other uses.
But even without other uses, the Substitute Form Technique wasn’t a sorcery anyone could perform.
Having been in this field for so long, Xuan Xia had only seen Cui Cheng Zhi demonstrate the Substitute Corpse Technique once, and now she witnessed Ren Yaozhe demonstrate the Substitute Form Technique.
Why did these people who did evil all know such good sorcery? And she didn’t; Xuan Xia felt a bit unbalanced.
Gong Ziliu had the same thought as Xuan Xia, so he sighed: “I didn’t expect the man you’re chasing, Boss Xuan, to know such sorcery.”
“Daoist Master Gong, what do you mean?”
Gong Ziliu said: “This kind of sorcery, as far as I know, is extremely hard to master. Not everyone can learn it, and not everyone can master it. From what I know, only those old families in the Mystic Sect might teach this sorcery to their disciples, starting from childhood.”
After saying that, Gong Ziliu sighed again.
Xuan Xia sighed along after hearing it.
The two were sighing about roughly the same thing: envying those with family connections who could learn so many non-public good things from childhood.
Although Gong Ziliu determined that Ren Yaozhe had already used the Substitute Form Technique to escape, the group still searched the entire forest from start to finish without giving up, confirming there were truly no traces left, before reluctantly leaving the forest.
When Xuan Xia walked out of the forest, she saw that Daoist Master Qin had also arrived.
She went over and told him about Ren Yaozhe’s escape.
“Looks like he really did see you.” Daoist Master Qin said after hearing it.
But Xuan Xia was thinking: since Ren Yaozhe saw her, he didn’t choose to confront her directly but instead used the Substitute Form Technique to escape.
So could she assume that actually, Ren Yaozhe was afraid to face her?
If she had known Ren Yaozhe feared her, why hesitate? The moment she spotted him, she should have rushed up and grabbed him.
Regret!
Gong Ziliu instructed the Daoist priests from Baoyi Temple and walked over, saying self-reproachfully: “Daoist Master Qin, we arrived too late. If we had come a bit earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten away.”
“Don’t say that, Daoist Master Gong.” Daoist Master Qin said: “Thank you for Baoyi Temple’s help today.”
“No need; we’re all fellow disciples, happy to help.” Gong Ziliu also asked: “Daoist Master Qin, do you have a photo of the man you’re chasing? Do you need other fellow members of the Daoist Association to help keep an eye out?”
Daoist Master Qin thought for a moment and nodded that it was good: “This guy suddenly appeared in Ningzhou; who knows what he might do. Then we’ll have to trouble everyone to pay more attention.”
Gong Ziliu said: “Of course.”
Li Xinze nearby quickly sent Ren Yaozhe’s photo to Gong Ziliu. After receiving it, Gong Ziliu immediately forwarded it to various group chats with a message: This person is extremely dangerous. Please keep an eye out. Report immediately if spotted. Thanks.
Xuan Xia watched Gong Ziliu’s operations closely from the side.
Because of the temple master issue at Changsheng Temple, Xuan Xia had always thought Ningzhou’s Daoist Association might not be easy to deal with and hadn’t considered interacting with them. She hadn’t expected them to be so approachable.
Moreover, Gong Ziliu had so many group chats on his mobile phone.
So many group chats meant so many people.
It had to be said, Changsheng Temple’s temple master position was still vacant.
