Chapter 60 The Monstrous Tang Feng

Within the draped bed curtains, on the mattress.

The usually cold-tempered Xu Qingzhao, faced with Ren Ye's inquiry, simply did not want to say much: "Let us begin."

"Very well." Ren Ye hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He had originally intended to use this opportunity to win the Princess Consort over to his side, but after careful consideration, he felt he could not push the matter too hard, lest it produce the exact opposite result.

He might as well just get down to work first and strive to defeat her with impeccable service attitude...

The two sat facing each other, each adjusting their breathing.

The Princess Consort breathed like orchids. When she lightly raised her arms, array patterns where yin and yang intersected manifested beneath them.

"Thump, thump, thump...!"

Right at this crucial juncture, a series of urgent knocks rang out.

Xu Qingzhao instantly opened her eyes, her pretty face covered in frost as she asked in an icy voice, "What is it?!"

"Your... Your Highness, the Princess Consort, a singing girl named Qinghe claims there is a matter of utmost importance and demands an immediate audience with the Prince to report it," Xue'er's anxious voice sounded from outside the hall. "I have already turned her away twice... Who would have guessed that this madwoman is now threatening to set fire to the grand hall."

Although Xu Qingzhao was extremely eager to absorb the Qi of Heavenly Forgiveness, she still took the initiative to say, "Go quickly and return soon."

"...My beloved wife, warm up for a moment, Your Husband will be right back." Ren Ye had no idea what Tang Feng was up to this time, and his teeth itched with anger. He leaped barefoot onto the floor, his hair disheveled as he rushed out.

A moment after, Ren Ye dismissed Er Leng and Lian'er from the side hall, and with a sullen expression, he looked at Tang Feng and asked, "What is it?"

Seeing that Ren Ye was wearing only a pair of undergarments, with bare upper body and unkempt hair, Tang Feng asked in utter astonishment, "Ah, so the 'absorbing qi' you spoke of... is absorbed this way?! You stripped naked to sniff each other?"

"Can you act like a normal human being?!" Ren Ye was about to go crazy. "Are you here purely to torture me?"

Tang Feng swayed his waist as he stepped forward, reached into his sleeve, and pulled out a token, saying, "This thing is called a Disc Order. You should know what it is, right?"

"Of course," Ren Ye nodded. "What about it?"

"Project your consciousness into it; there is information inside." Tang Feng said no more and simply handed the token over.

This item was a specialized communication prop exclusively for players of the imperial court faction, but it could not be summoned in reality and could only be used within Qingliang Prefecture. After Tang Feng entered the door holding the Picture of Spring Breeze and Satisfaction, this item had automatically bound itself to him.

After taking it, Ren Ye frowned slightly and projected his consciousness into the Disc Order.

"Senior Administrator Li Yan has prepared a roasted suckling pig banquet in his manor. I heard that anyone belonging to the Prince Huai's Mansion is free to attend. The banquet starts at the You hour. Is anyone going?"

"Whoever goes is a fool. The Star Gate explicitly warned us that there is a mole within the imperial court faction. Why go? To voluntarily expose your identity?!"

"Heh, you wouldn't happen to suspect our Lord Li of being the mole, would you?"

"You idiot, in the previous scene, Lord Li was almost beheaded by Prince Huai right outside the door of the Hall of Meditation. How could he possibly be a mole?"

"You still haven't grasped Lord Li's intention. He wants to take advantage of the time before entering the tomb for everyone to mutually verify their identities. Furthermore, I heard... Liu Jishan, who was locked up in the Prince's Mansion dungeon, actually broke out of prison, and he is right at Li Yan's estate."

"Is this true? Lord Li saved Liu Jishan?!"

"It's true. My informant saw it with their own eyes."

"…!"

The Disc Order stored a large amount of communicative information in the form of voices, but it was impossible to distinguish gender, nor could one tell the exact number of people.

After listening to the information, Ren Ye quickly withdrew his consciousness and looked at Tang Feng with a solemn expression: "What do you think?"

"Was Liu Jishan going to find Li Yan also within your calculations?" Tang Feng asked very bluntly.

Ren Ye frowned, bent down, and sat in a chair: "Yes. Before I let him go, I could roughly guess that he would probably look for Li Yan. Because this person is a die-hard lackey of the imperial court faction. From my character's perspective, both the usurpation attempt at the Hall of Preserving Heart and the physical conflict at the Hall of Meditation were orchestrated by him. Since Liu Jishan was previously able to respond to Li Yan's usurpation, he naturally has a certain foundation of trust in him, and the two might even have had some shady dealings."

"...!"

"So, you wanted to let Liu Jishan go back to act as a mole by Li Yan's side to see the imperial court players' trump cards?" Tang Feng asked again, his eyes bright.

"That's right." Ren Ye's train of thought was clear: "I judge that the conflict between the fence-sitters and the imperial court faction is not intense, and there is a possibility of cooperation between the two sides. Using Liu Jishan as our eyes will allow us to see a lot of information."

Upon hearing this, Tang Feng involuntarily shook his head: "Personally, I think what you said is both right and wrong."

"How so?"

"If I were Li Yan, I would definitely not let Liu Jishan know too much. Because as long as they belong to different factions, competition exists." Tang Feng replied very decisively: "Information in this Star Gate is extremely important. The more you know yourself and the less others know, the greater your chances of winning. Therefore, I believe Liu Jishan's important role will lie within his own faction, rather than within the imperial court faction."

Ren Ye looked at Tang Feng in some surprise: "Did you figure this out yourself?"

Ignoring him, Tang Feng paced back and forth in the room on a pair of jade-white feet: "I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"I've decided to attend this suckling pig banquet, infiltrate the Senior Administrator's estate, and check out the situation with the imperial court players." Tang Feng turned to look at Ren Ye, his gaze very firm.

"No way!"

Ren Ye flatly refused, waving his hands repeatedly: "I know what you're thinking. You have the Disc Order and are already a player of the imperial court faction. If you use the right techniques, tonight... you might even be able to recognize them, completely figure out how many of them there are, what their identities are, and so on... But you've overlooked a crucial point."

"Let's hear it." Tang Feng looked at Ren Ye with an amused expression.

"The players of the imperial court faction all know that I killed Liu Ling'er. They already realize that I obtained Liu Ling'er's entry token, and they can certainly deduce that in this scene, I will definitely bring a teammate in who must hold a Disc Order." Ren Ye stood up and said: "You must know that Liu Ling'er is a woman. Even if the character was changed, coming back in would definitely still be a woman. Therefore, the moment you appear, the other members of the imperial court faction will immediately screen for female players. What will you do if they force you to use divine anomalies? What will you do if they force you to produce your entry token? You will be exposed in a matter of minutes, understand?!"

Tang Feng looked at Ren Ye with the expression of a proud parent watching their child finally grow up: "As expected of a former anti-fraud officer; your logical reasoning and reaction speed are both spot on...!"

"Don't lay on the flattery so crudely; this is just basic operation." Ren Ye didn't buy his act at all: "You cannot go."

Tang Feng blinked, then suddenly asked again: "Can your copying ability be used on me? If I can display divine anomalous abilities different from Liu Ling'er's, I will definitely be able to muddle through."

Ren Ye shook his head without hesitation: "You cannot use my ability."

"...Then can you beg the Princess Consort to give me two props possessing divine anomalies?" Tang Feng's ideas were highly variable, and his thinking was broad.

"I just confirmed earlier that the Princess Consort is a player." Ren Ye waved his hand again: "Forget it. In Qingliang Prefecture, aside from the abilities and props bestowed upon you by the Star Gate, we simply cannot use our class abilities. That is to say, even she cannot display her own divine anomalies, and props cannot be brought in either; there is nothing here that you can use."

"Heh, a bit tricky!"

Tang Feng swept his eyes across the floor, pacing rapidly with a high degree of focus.

"I told you, forget about it." Ren Ye frowned and added: "Even if I really gave you two props with divine anomalies, could you definitely sneak in? Have you ever considered what you would do if you were the only female character in the imperial court faction? Wouldn't you be exposed on the spot?! You'd be played like a noodle by the rest of those big strong men!"

As his voice fell, Tang Feng's delicate body suddenly stiffened, and she looked at Ren Ye with glowing eyes: "You've given me inspiration."

Ren Ye looked bewildered: "What inspiration?"

"Tap, tap!"

Tang Feng walked over quickly, her tone somewhat excited: "Look here, Liu Ling'er is a female, so the player who entered using her token must also be a female, otherwise it wouldn't match the courtesan identity card."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"So, what is the key point here? The key point is being female! What you said is indeed correct, as long as a female player appears, she will definitely be besieged by other players of the imperial court faction and demanded to prove her identity." Tang Feng paused here for a moment: "But what if I turn back into a man?!"

Ren Ye listened with a dazed expression: "If you slap an eggplant on yourself, they won't recognize you? Stop messing around...!"

"I'm not joking, I'm serious." Tang Feng emphasized anxiously: "If I'm a man, almost no one will check me."

"How are you going to turn into a man?" Ren Ye asked with his hands behind his back.

"Do you remember... the special prop given when entering the second scene?" Tang Feng smiled, raising his hand to reveal a Dao talisman.

This item was called the Metamorphosis Dao Talisman. Ren Ye had also obtained one when he entered, but its function was to be used after entering the Princess's Tomb, so as not to expose everyone's identities within Prince Huai's Mansion.

"...!"

"Why are you taking that out? I've sensed it; this thing simply cannot be used while in Prince Huai's Mansion." Ren Ye frowned.

"No, no...!" Tang Feng seemed to have entered a state of extreme focus, shaking his head slightly and speaking with unmatched clarity: "Do you remember how the Star Gate described this prop? The divine anomalous means left behind by a mysterious and powerful old Daoist priest... Listen carefully, it's divine anomalous means!"

Upon hearing the words "divine anomaly," Ren Ye's pupils contracted sharply, as if he had realized something.

"Hehe!" Tang Feng smiled triumphantly and vulgarly: "How is your imperial brush described? It can copy all divine anomalous abilities that appear in this Star Gate, right? Then what kind of reaction would occur if your imperial brush were used to copy the Metamorphosis Dao Talisman?"

"My goodness...!" Ren Ye stared at him blankly, suddenly feeling his hair stand on end.

At this moment, Tang Feng's eyes were reddish, with a wicked smile hanging at the corners of his mouth; no matter how one looked at it, he did not resemble a good person.

"Is... is this even possible? Can games be played like this?!" Having only ever entered this single Star Gate, Ren Ye asked with very little experience.

"Won't we know after testing it?" Tang Feng urged softly: "Test it with your talisman."

"Will this actually work?"

"Hurry up! If I can turn into a man, I will definitely be able to sneak in." Tang Feng had fallen into a state of madness, resembling a dedicated, truth-seeking scientist.

"Fine."

Ren Ye stopped wasting words, raised his hand to summon the Dao talisman, and instantly activated the imperial brush: "Lifting the brush to write grand chapters through the ages, I ascend the stage to paint mountains and rivers!"

"Whoosh!"

A stream of flowing light surged, and the imperial brush shone brilliantly.

A clear beam of light shot up from the crown of Ren Ye's head, and countless figures flashed through his mind instantly—those included people he had once seen, such as relatives, characters from movies and television dramas, photos on the internet, strangers he had passed on the street, and so on...

After standing in a daze for a long time, he casually selected a figure with his consciousness and gently flicked his palm toward Tang Feng.

"Whoosh!"

The figure overlapped with Tang Feng's body, and his height and facial features rapidly changed. In just two or three breaths, he had transformed into a plain-looking middle-aged man, though still wearing women's clothing.

"It worked!" Tang Feng looked excitedly at his own arms: "It really works!"

As his voice fell, the radiance of the imperial brush dimmed and it retreated back into the space of consciousness. Ren Ye felt a drained sense of weakness, and at the same time, a voice sounded in his ears.

[The Star Source Power of the imperial brush has been depleted. It can only be used again after twelve hours.]

Ren Ye slumped into the chair, staring blankly at the joyful Tang Feng, finally understanding why Huang Wei had sent such a mental patient into the Star Gate with him.

He was indeed somewhat abnormal, but he possessed thinking that broke the conventional mold. Or rather... his ideas were creative, completely different from ordinary people.

"I can go like this." Tang Feng looked at Ren Ye: "Since I am a man, there is no way anyone would suspect... that I hold Liu Ling'er's identity card."

...

Senior Administrator's Estate, kitchen.

An elderly man was feeding firewood into the stove.

Right at that moment, his body suddenly stiffened, and he murmured in disbelief, "Metamorphosis Dao Talisman... why is there an extra one? Wait, no... one of them is fake...!"

"Boom!"

In an instant, an overwhelming perception enveloped the entire Prince Huai's Mansion and rapidly spread across the entirety of Qingliang Prefecture.

A moment later, the old man instantly broke his composure and cursed: "Damn it... money wasted for nothing, there's a bug!"