Chapter 1019: Struggle

As the light flickered, Xiao Xiao’s features began to change subtly; her face gradually blurred, as though shrouded in mist.

Moments later, the mist dissipated, and standing before Ye Qingchen was no longer Xiao Xiao but a robust man identical to Old Liu.

Her muscular contours, facial outlines, and even the clothes on her body were indistinguishable from Old Liu, perfectly mimicking even the fierce aura Old Liu carried.

Xiao Xiao slowly opened her eyes and asked in a low voice, “Young Master, how does it look?”

Ye Qingchen looked at the “Old Liu” in front of him and nodded in satisfaction, “Not bad, truly flawless. Even the aura of spiritual power is the same. This way, no one will notice your identity in the short term.”

Xiao Xiao smiled faintly, then walked towards the already collapsed Old Liu on the ground.

She lifted Old Liu single-handedly and effortlessly dragged him towards the pigsty. Old Liu was barely alive, unable even to muster the strength to struggle, only weakly moaning twice.

Xiao Xiao pushed open the wooden door of the pigsty, a more intense stench assaulted her, but she was fearless at the moment. She coldly glanced at Old Liu and then threw him directly into the pigsty with a forceful swing.

Old Liu was flung into the pigsty by Xiao Xiao, landing heavily in the filthy mud.

The stench inside the pigsty was far worse than he had expected, and the pungent odor instantly filled his nostrils.

Old Liu, already tormented by drugs and feeling dizzy, now coupled with the nauseating smell, made his stomach churn, almost unable to hold back from vomiting.

He struggled to prop himself up, only to find himself surrounded by sticky excrement and sewage, with Filthy Pigs covered in mud squirming alongside him.

The stench mixed with the filthy environment made Old Liu’s face turn pale; he desperately covered his mouth and nose, trying to suppress the urge to vomit, but the bile kept rising.

He retched a few times, eventually failing to hold back, his vomiting reverberating in the pigsty along with his incoherent groans.

As Old Liu endured the nausea, Da Hei glared at him fiercely from the side, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment.

Though Da Hei was in the same nauseating environment, his current sentiment mostly was dissatisfaction and frustration towards Old Liu.

“I told you not to trust me!” Da Hei glared at Old Liu in rage, his voice carrying undisguisable resentment and frustration, “I screamed so desperately, yet you didn’t believe me! Look what happened now? We’re both stuck here!”

Da Hei grew angrier with every word, his chest heaving violently.

He originally counted on Old Liu to see through Ye Qingchen’s disguise, but this guy was fooled by a few words and a pot of wine, even Da Hei’s scream was useless. Now, the two of them were thrown into this disgustingly filthy pigsty, truly deserved.

Old Liu listened to Da Hei’s angry reprimands, his face full of shame; he forced down the discomfort in his stomach, lying motionless in filth, only able to let out a low sigh.

His heart was full of regret, but it was too late to say anything now; their situation was so miserable, as if fate was playing a cruel trick on them. Old Liu gazed up at the cloudy sky, left only with endless regret and self-reproach inside.

Ye Qingchen sneered as he walked towards the muddy, stench-filled pigsty, spiritual power condensing into a beam of light at his fingertips, binding Da Hei and Old Liu firmly.

The bindings of spiritual power were as solid as steel, instantly immobilizing the two.

The ropes seemed to come to life, wrapping tightly around their bodies, leaving no gap.

The two struggled violently, attempting to escape this predicament, but no matter how hard they tried, the bindings grew tighter.

Da Hei and Old Liu’s eyes were filled with fear and fury, watching as their chance to resist dwindled to nothing. Ye Qingchen calmly picked up two tattered burlap sacks nearby, gave them a cold look, and mercilessly pulled the sacks over their heads. The sacks were tattered and soaked in sewage and mud; once on, the heavy stench immediately enveloped them, suffocating them.

With the sacks covering their heads, their world instantly turned pitch black, leaving them unable to see anything, only feeling the sewage seep through the sack seams, sticking to their skin, cold and wet.

Driven by the harsh environment, Da Hei and Old Liu became more furious, struggling desperately, but the spiritual power bindings left them no way to escape.

In their rage, they opened their mouths to curse loudly, but before words could leave their lips, Ye Qingchen promptly stuffed pre-prepared rags into their mouths.

“Mm-mm—” Their curses were stuck in their throats, muffled and blurred, filled with anger and helplessness. Unable to exert pressure, their powerful cultivation could not be utilized; they could only endure this immense humiliation in the filthy pigsty.

Ye Qingchen, seeing their mouths gagged, clapped his hands contentedly, then turned to Xiao Xiao, saying indifferently, “Alright, they’re mute now, even if they struggle, they can’t make a sound.”

Da Hei and Old Liu twisted within the sacks, still trying to break free but to no avail.

Ye Qingchen’s spiritual power binding left them no room to escape; the more they struggled, the tighter it became. The two could only emit angry whimpers inside the sacks, with nowhere to vent their fury, resorting to cursing Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao in darkness.

Having securely tied up Da Hei and Old Liu, Ye Qingchen turned back beside Xiao Xiao. He glanced around, ensuring no one else approached, then turned his gaze to the now fully disguised Xiao Xiao, melding inquiry with a trace of worry, asking softly, “Xiao Xiao, is this facial disguise technique absolutely flawless? Chen Rui is very cunning, don’t let him see through it in the end.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao’s lips slightly curled upwards, a confident smile appearing on her face.

She patted the tools in her hands, speaking with determined confidence, “Young Master, don’t worry! The technique I used this time is our family’s advanced facial disguise technique, infused with Da Hei’s spiritual power aura, making it indistinguishable from reality. Not to mention Chen Rui, even if your master came personally, he might not spot any flaw.”

She raised her head, looked into Ye Qingchen’s eyes, and continued confidently, “This technique not only changes appearance but also mimics Da Hei’s spiritual power fluctuations, he might not even recognize us. Once transformed, unless the opponent can instantly channel spiritual power to probe thoroughly, otherwise they won’t detect anything.”

Seeing her so assured, Ye Qingchen’s doubts gradually eased. He nodded, revealing a grateful smile, saying, “In that case, I’m relieved. We’re off on an adventure now, this time we’ll make that Chen Rui fall flat on his face!”