Chapter 660: Hyacinth’s Family
The little girl was sobbing with great sorrow not because Xia Fei had struck too harshly but because her ego had been bruised. Forget about how Xia Fei had seen through her impersonation skill; the fact that she had also been very ruthlessly thrown into a puddle of mud, which resulted in her face being caked in the filth, greatly damaged the lady’s self-esteem.
“Haha! Looks like she is Hyacinth’s daughter. You’re here to ask for his help with your business, yet you beat up his daughter. There’s bound to be a good show now,” the old demon lord gloated.
Xia Fei shook his head, giving a side-eye to the three thatched houses before carefully scrutinizing that teenager with the thick eyebrows.
“It’s not that simple. We’ve already been tricked by Hyacinth’s disguise from the very start,” Xia Fei said with knitted eyebrows. “The courtyard’s fake, the forest is fake, and even the people are fake!”
The teenager, who was standing in front of the girl to protect her, was startled because Xia Fei’s eyes had suddenly sharpened.
The old demon lord found it inconceivable. “How were you able to sense this but not me?”
Xia Fei whispered, “This is an illusion skill, a complement of both disguise and superb acting. Rather than calling this a bamboo forest, it’s better to call it a stage, a huge stage!”
Oro could not help but harrumph. Though his cultivation had been severed, he still had a discerning eye. The fact that Xia Fei could detect that Seth was not the real Seth had already surprised him enough, but now that Xia Fei was stating that everything here had been false, did that not mean that his level of insight and a.n.a.lysis was even greater than Oro’s if he was actually proven correct?!
Taking a step forward, Xia Fei got beside the young girl and teenage boy. The teenager remained closely guarding the girl behind him, his eyes alarmed. Meanwhile, the girl was wiping away her tears and the mud, curiously taking stock of Xia Fei as well as the peanut-sized Furball on his shoulder. A slight trace of excitement could be seen in her innocent eyes.
“There’s an old saying from my own planet: ‘Once and twice but never thrice.’ Today, I sincerely came to consult the great master, Hyacinth, so if you don’t wish to do so, you can just directly state that, and I won’t trouble you over your decision. Is there a need to lay down deception to such an extent? Besides, though your methods are clever, you’ve failed to fool my two eyes.”
Xia Fei spoke earnestly, and the teenager with thick eyebrows replied solemnly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Master’s not in, and you bullying my junior sister is evidence that it’s you who visited us with ill intent, yet you’re now blaming us for tricking you? What sort of logic is this?”
Xia Fei lifted his wrist and handed to the lady a delicately embroidered handkerchief with deft skill, such that the thin and silken cloth floated down like a falling leaf. The young lady took this handkerchief and wiped her tears. She was curious and interested in knowing how Xia Fei had managed to make the handkerchief float like that.
“If not for the young miss first pretending to be Seth, things wouldn’t have unfolded like this,” Xia Fei softly admitted. “Still, no matter what it was, bullying a little girl isn’t right, and for that, I apologize to the young miss.”
With that said, Xia Fei did a slight bow to express his regret. However, the girl mumbled with dissatisfaction, “I’m already fourteen! How dared you call me little!”
The teenager threw a sharp glance at the little girl next to him, and she abruptly went silent, no longer saying a word. Xia Fei noticed this scene unfold and was even more certain of his judgment.
“The lady is still young and likes playing pranks, so of course I won’t comment on this, but the master is a generation older than us all, so it’s hard to justify this continued lie, no? It’s just an insult to your status as a master,” Xia Fei casually said.
“Who’s trying to lie to you? My junior sister was just messing around with you, but what proof do you have that we are both trying to trick you?” The teenager spoke strongly.
Xia Fei spotted a sliver of disdain in his eyes, looking like he had steeled his resolve to keep up the charade to the end. He must believe that there was no way for Xia Fei to have seen through it all.
Xia Fei shook his head lightly. “Since the master wants proof, then please watch.”
With two clenched fists, Xia Fei grabbed two stray strings from the air and jerked them together in one direction.
“Collapse!”
*Crash*
Imperceptible law force dissipated in mid air. It was as if a hurricane had pa.s.sed through. The bamboo forest was blown in every direction, and even the thatched houses fell along with everything!
A shocking scene unveiled! Xia Fei’s surroundings all changed as a result of his one attack. Another courtyard was revealed after the bamboo forest fell away, green glazed tiles were overhead, with white clean walls. Pebbles decorated the courtyard walls, which gave it an inelegant look.
With a stomp, Xia Fei dashed out to where the collapsed houses were and retrieved two people. One was the drugged and unconscious Seth, and the other was a stranger with a spa.r.s.e goatee, wearing an angry expression on his face.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fei threw that goateed man beside the two youths. “The master asked for evidence; I’m not sure if this is enough.”
A series of wrinkles, which was incongruent with the teenager’s age, appeared on his forehead. He had a bewildered look on him; his illusion had been broken, and even his disguise had been seen through. His a.s.sistant, who had been hiding in a corner, was dragged out by Xia Fei. too. As a disguise artist, a top cla.s.s impersonator, being seen through was no doubt an embarra.s.sment!
The young girl stopped crying, pouting as she looked at Xia Fei.
After a good while, the girl angrily yelled, “You’re so unreasonable! Where would there be anyone as belligerent as you!”
Xia Fei replied, unperturbed, “You’re the ones who’re bullying guests first. My slave didn’t offend any of you and was even eagerly leading me to meet with the great master, yet you drugged him.”
With that said, Xia Fei pulled out some medicinal concoction which he had previously prepared, and placed it in front of his slave’s nose for him to smell.
Seth leaped up from the ground, all alarmed. He examined his surroundings before blus.h.i.+ng profusely. “I-I got careless and…”
“No need to explain. It’s not your fault,” Xia Fei waved his hand dismissively.
That was when the teenager suddenly burst into laughter, no longer sounding like a child but rather someone with a slightly hoa.r.s.e voice.
“Good stuff. It’s been twenty years, and this is actually the first time that my thatched cottage of obscurity got seen through.”
*Bang*
Green smoke suddenly appeared, enveloping the teenager, little girl, and even the goateed man. By the time the smoke dissipated, three people could be seen standing in the bamboo forest. One was a lady in a long dress, looking the same as before. The only difference being that she was no longer stained in mud, and her hair was well groomed, with crescent-shaped bangs hanging from her forehead. Her two arms were folded in front of her, glaring at Xia Fei indignantly.
The other two were a middle-aged couple of husband and wife. Their expression was calm, and Xia Fei understood that they were still in disguise. As a top cla.s.s impersonator, the Hyacinth couple seemed very reluctant to reveal their true faces to others.
Xia Fei did not care to unmask them and decided to let them be.
“Seth, ten years have pa.s.sed since we last met; are you still well?” Hyacinth chuckled as he approached, seemingly having already let go of the fact that Xia Fei managed to see through their ruse.
After a short exchange of greetings, Seth introduced Xia Fei to Hyacinth while he told the impersonator how he ended up becoming Xia Fei’s slave.
With the fake houses gone, Hyacinth had no choice but to lead Xia Fei into his real abode.
Upon entering, Hyacinth’s spouse set up a formation outside, and the courtyard was surrounded by a bamboo forest again. Looking from outside in, there was no trace of the real house, and even the three thatched houses were rebuilt.
Living up to the name as a master of disguise, the intricate camouflage was set up with deft swiftness. If anyone mistakenly entered Hyacinth’s compound again, there would be no way for them to discover where their home really was.
With both the guest and host seated, the spouse came back with a tray of bamboo tea and snacks.
“How should we address you, brother?” Hyacinth asked.
Seth had no clue what Xia Fei’s real name was, so he could only look questioningly at him.
“Just call me Ah Fei,” Xia Fei softly answered.
Ah Fei was an a.s.sa.s.sin written by the famed writer Gu Long. The speed of his daggers were second to none, making a name for himself with just his two bare hands. Now that Xia Fei was wanted by both sides, it was not ideal for him to reveal his real name, and so he decided to borrow the name of Ah Fei for use as his pseudonym.
“You must be the prestigious and respected master of camouflage, Hyacinth. I’ve long heard and admired your exploits,” Xia Fei said even as he furtively scanned the man’s palms. Sure enough. He noted that a little finger was missing on his left hand, which confirmed what Seth had once said. Over the last twenty-five years, Hyacinth had only failed once, and he had maintained his flawless record in his career from then on.
Even a great expert would occasionally slip up. The powerful Oro himself ended up being sealed in the Law of Ternary Spectrum’s isolation containment and had been trapped inside for tens of thousands of years. The key was not making the same mistake twice.
If a warrior’s life had only been smooth-sailing, that would hardly be a good thing at all. It would be very easy for one to get too full of themselves and turn impetuous, so the flawless record Hyacinth maintained after the one failure meant that he was a smart person, able to learn from his lesson and finally become a master in his field.
Hyacinth chuckled. “I won’t lie to you, but Hyacinth isn’t just one person but rather an entire group. I’m only the representative of the whole team.”
Xia Fei nodded. “The young miss called to her father and uncle in her panic earlier. I suppose that these uncles of hers aren’t too far from here, are they?”
Hyacinth smiled. “Those who work in this line stress on being everywhere and also nowhere, so I really can’t give a straight answer to your question.”
Xia Fei nodded. “But of course. I’ve witnessed your methods first-hand, and it’s truly very ingenious.”
Hyacinth paled. Xia Fei had clearly seen through his ruse, so the compliment he gave was a little hard to accept at face value.
“Come, Brother Ah Fei. Let me do some introductions. This is my wife, Poria, and my daughter, Sakura.” Hyacinth changed the topic and introduced his family to him.
Xia Fei did not bother scrutinizing the face of Hyacinth’s wife. Since it was just a fake visage, there was no point in remembering her face. Instead, it was the lady Sakura, whose face he was certain was her true face. At the moment, she was blowing at a green bean cake, taking a big bite of the treat while she turned her face away, ignoring Xia Fei.
After some very superficial small talk was done, Hyacinth asked, “Brother Ah Fei, how did you manage to see through Sakura’s disguise just now? I’m not one to toot my own horn, but Sakura has an innate gift in this profession, and given that she received the tutelage from me and my wife since the age of seven, you’re actually the first to have spotted that she’s an impersonator.”
When the young girl heard her name mentioned, her ears p.r.i.c.ked up and she carefully listened, blinking her little eyes intently.
Xia Fei answered, “Yesterday’s rain made the ground muddy, and Seth’s body frame meant he would make distinct imprints with every step he took.”
Sakura abruptly stood up and pointed at Xia Fei. “What nonsense! How could impersonators like us have missed that particular detail? I already imitated it perfectly!”
Xia Fei smiled. “It’s too bad. The young miss’s footprints were very similar, but she overlooked a slight detail; a human’s sole isn’t flat, unless they have flat feet. Otherwise, there will surely be slight unevenness in the print.”
“Furthermore, Seth’s left leg is injured, so his footprint tilts slightly outward. Due to his injury, his steps are a little off base, so one foot’s stride is about fifty centimeters wide, and the other is forty-nine centimeters.”
Hyacinth and his family were all stunned upon hearing this. They had not expected that there would be so many minutiae in just the imitation of footprints and strides! Xia Fei’s observation skills were too shocking!
“Actually, these minor details aren’t that critical. What mattered the most is that Miss Sakura is a lady, and she isn’t a boorish man like Seth. When walking, her steps are slightly clamped up, and her inner thighs are tense, not completely relaxed.”
*Clank*
Sakura’s cheeks blushed. She was still a young girl, so her slightly tensed walking was the innate self-protection a girl had. After all, men and women were anatomically different. This was the logic on how an expert could tell whether a woman was a virgin or not from the way she walked.
When the uncouth Seth began walking like a virgin, it became a huge giveaway that Xia Fei could not ignore.