Chapter 470: 470. Body Double Strategy

Chapter 470: 470. Body Double Strategy

Translator: 549690339

Qiao Cong, Old Mu, and Cheng Yun had all gone to bed, while Gu Ling and Qiao Jing were still strolling under the moonlight in the garden.

“After hearing you talk about it tonight, I really want to see what’s inside that magic treasure,” Qiao Jing said.

“I have no guilty conscience about letting you be my stand-in,” Gu Ling knew Qiao Jing was intentionally saying this.

Qiao Jing’s mouth twitched slightly, “Forget I said that, it’s just my sincere thoughts. Of course, I don’t want to be controlled by Mo Yan. If you can seize that magic treasure, we can explore it.”

The two of them, obviously, were not just making small talk in the middle of the night because they couldn’t sleep, but they needed to discuss the detailed plans for the forthcoming chapter. The sooner it was carried out, the better — they should set off tomorrow.

“The question now is, should we deploy troops or not, or should we stealthily attack?” Qiao Jing asked solemnly.

Deploying troops would indeed make a grand gesture and could easily encircle the enemy, but everyone on Xingluo Island, apart from the innocent women and children who had been taken there, was a master. If their ordinary soldiers went there, they might have an advantage in long-range attacks using explosives, but have no advantage in close combat.

Since they knew that most of the women on Xingluo Island were victims who had been abducted, and there were also children who knew nothing, they obviously couldn’t indiscriminately carry out an attack, and blow up the whole island. Besides, Xingluo Island was not exactly small. If they tried to keep their distance and bombed from the sea, they wouldn’t be able to reach the central area.

Moreover, the current targets were just two things: Mo Yan and the forbidden area.

As long as they destroyed the forbidden area on Xingluo Island, they would achieve half the success, and could directly block Mo Yan’s “way home.”

The forbidden area was not large, so, this time, the safest way to attack Xingluo Island was actually through a sneak attack. They shouldn’t alert the enemy. It would be best if they could infiltrate the island with explosives.

Therefore, on this point, the two agreed quickly: let Qiao Cong and Old Mu go, without taking any soldiers. Under the current circumstances, troops would not only be of no use but might even cause unnecessary casualties.

Then the problem left was — how to deal with Mo Yan.

“If that magic treasure can really capture people, it would be too tricky. But if we’re departing tomorrow, my grandfather and senior Mu could reach Xingluo Island by the end of February at the earliest, and they would have to take a detour to avoid Mo Yan along the way. If no one shows up on the first day of March, Mo Yan will return, and they would be in danger whether they got what they wanted or not.” Qiao Jing sighed, “We have to meet with Mo Yan anyway, otherwise, there’s no way to deal with him. Don’t tell me when we throw an explosive at it, he will directly capture it with that magic treasure?”

Gu Ling nodded slightly, “It’s possible.”

“Then, are you going with me?” Qiao Jing asked, then immediately said, “You have to go. Dealing with Mo Yan is very important, and we can’t do it without you. Let’s take the troops, take different ships, you disguise yourself as an ordinary soldier and stay away from me. In case Mo Yan wants to capture people, he will surely target me first. You just have to think of a way to kill him.”

“What if he captures you, and I kill him, and you and that magic treasure, perish with his life?” Gu Ling asked.

Qiao Jing was taken aback for a moment, he clearly hadn’t considered this possibility. Such a situation was very strange, but after thinking about it, he laughed, “Cousin, you’re really concerned about me. But I think it’s no big deal, you’ll definitely know how to deal with him without killing him.” For example, using a sedative on the weapon to make Mo Yan pass out.

In the end, Qiao Jing said, “If Mo Yan also has immunity to all kinds of poison, I could only say that the heavens are indeed unfair.”

So, they decided on the plan just like that.

When they were about to separate and go back to sleep, Qiao Jing thought of Cheng Yun, “Do you have any plans for him? He really wants to be your stand-in.”

“Let him pretend to be me and go to Xingluo Island,” Gu Ling said.

Qiao Jing nodded, “Okay, he has good martial arts skills, and can help. Although pretending to be you may not be useful, it’s also not necessarily useless. You have to train him well, make him use his brain a bit more. He shouldn’t be too rigid, nor should he easily trust the enemy.”

At dawn the next day, Cheng Yun was pulled out of bed by Gu Ling.

“Ah? What’s happening? What’s the problem?” Cheng Yun woke up and asked anxiously.

“No problem, you’re supposed to leave now,” Gu Ling said.

Cheng Yun hurriedly got dressed and after getting dressed, he remembered to ask, “Are we leaving now? Are we going to Xingluo Island?”

“You’re going, I’m not.” Gu Ling said, taking out the Disguise Medicine and starting to apply it to Cheng Yun’s face.

Cheng Yun blinked, “Are you having me pretend to be you?”

“Isn’t it what you wanted?” Gu Ling looked indifferent.

Cheng Yun instantly nodded, “If you think it’s feasible, then I am in.”

“Imitate my speech,” Gu Ling instructed.

Cheng Yun cleared his throat and tried, he adjusted his breath under Gu Ling’s guidance and very quickly got the hang of it. He attempted to mimic Gu Ling’s indifferent look and said, “Step aside, or die.”

“You utter ‘die’ so casually, you’ve truly given up your monastic identity,” Gu Ling said.

Cheng Yun coughed slightly, “I was just copying you.”

“Keep learning,” Gu Ling encouraged, “Learn as much as you can, the aim is to deceive Sheng Yue.”

Cheng Yun frowned, “Sheng Yue, will he be on the island at that time?”

Gu Ling nodded, “It is possible. The forbidden area is of great importance. If Mo Yan leaves the island, he might have Sheng Yue stay behind to watch and prevent any mishaps.”

Sheng Yue was Cheng Yun’s biological brother from the same parents, but by the time Cheng Yun came to know him, they were already adversaries. Their father, Pu Cheng, was still alive, whereabouts unknown.

“Well, I will go meet Gu Ling,” said Mo Yan, “Take good care of the forbidden area.”

Sheng Yue respectfully responded, “Rest assured, master, I will do my best to prevent any issues.”

Later that day, Mo Yan left Xingluo Island with a group of masters on a boat toward Jiaye City. There was no explosive on the boat, but everyone knew that whatever Mo Yan wished to carry was hidden where no one could see.

That night, Sheng Yue visited Feng Ming in the dungeon again, informing him that Mo Yan had set off.

“Why didn’t young master Sheng go?” Feng Ming asked.

“I need to stay and guard the forbidden area,” Sheng Yue said.

“I don’t understand. If young master Sheng is against Mr. Su, why did you go to Su Mansion in the first place?” With this question, Feng Ming indirectly admitted his affiliation with Su Liang.

However, Sheng Yue didn’t inquire further and even answered Feng Ming’s question, “In my view, there are no friends or enemies. Acting as I did back then was necessary. With Su Liang and Gu Ling, it is a relationship of mutual benefit and use.”

“Young master Sheng does not need to tell me all this.” Suddenly, Feng Ming had a bad premonition.

Sheng Yue casually said, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. But, no matter how much you know, it won’t be of any help.” Finishing his sentence, Sheng Yue left.

Feng Ming listened to the surroundings return to tranquility and closed his eyes.

Capital city.

Ever since Gu Ling left home, Su Liang noted Gu Ling’s potential itinerary on the self-made calendar Gu Ling left behind.

Su Liang had never set foot out of her door, occasionally she would have guests over. But to outsiders, Su Liang has been out frequently recently.

That’s because three days after Gu Ling left, Yan Shiba had a whimsical idea to disguise herself as Su Liang. Ever since then, she has been wearing Su Liang’s clothes, taking Zhengzheng, and Ji Xiaoshu out to play. She enjoyed playing the game of “guess who is your mom” with Gu Xiaonuan every day.

Yan Shiba’s impersonation of Su Liang became more and more convincing, even fooling Cen Man and Old Bai once. But she never succeeded in tricking Gu Xiaonuan.

Ji Xiaoshu analyzed that Gu Xiaonuan judged by the look in the eyes: Yan Shiba’s eyes were more tender and indulgent when looking at Gu Xiaonuan than Su Liang’s, so it’s not the same.

Yan Shiba was speechless about this. As a matter of fact, everyone spoiled Gu Xiaonuan too much and Su Liang had to establish rules for the child, so she was somewhat stricter with Gu Xiaonuan.

Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu thought that Yan Shiba was just impersonating Su Liang as a whim and would stop once she got bored. However, after several days, Yan Shiba still impersonated Su Liang every day.

“Aunt Yan, how long are you going to pretend to be my master’s wife? Are you planning to wait until my master returns and fool him before you stop?” Ji Xiaoshu asked with a grin.

Yan Shiba gave Ji Xiaoshu a light tap on the forehead, “Look at my face and call me again.”

Ji Xiaoshu then sweetly called out, “Mother.”

At this moment, Yan Shiba was about to take Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu to the Lin Family for lessons. Before they got on the horse, Yan Shiba pulled the two kids over, and whispered in their ears, “This is my strategy. Although Gu Ling ran off to the south to kill Mo Yan, what if Mo Yan doesn’t show up and comes to the capital city to catch people instead? If that time comes, he would take me back thinking I was your master’s wife. You’d have to save me then! Hahaha!”

Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu looked at each other in surprise.

Later when the two kids were alone, Zhengzheng sighed, “So Aunt Yan is disguising as mother to protect her! Aunt Yan is really kind to mother!”

Ji Xiaoshu cupped his face in his hands and said, “Of course, that’s because mother was kind to Aunt Yan first. Mother is the best person in the world!”

Zhengzheng completely agreed.

At bedtime, the two kids couldn’t help but reveal what Yan Shiba said during the day to Su Liang.

Su Liang then laughed, “You play with her all day. If someone wanted to kidnap me and takes her instead, they might take you guys too.”

Zhengzheng frowned, “That’s true. What should we do then?”

Su Liang calmly said, “If she wants to take you out to play again, don’t go. Let her go by herself.”

Ji Xiaoshu giggled, “Mother, aren’t you worried that Aunt Yan might be kidnapped?”

Su Liang shook her head, “No, she’s very lucky with her life.”

Zhengzheng’s eyes lit up, “I get it! It’s just like when father asked Uncle Jing to impersonate him. This is called...”

“A stunt double!” Ji Xiaoshu chimed in, “Just like the real and fake Monkey Kings. Confuse the enemy so they can’t distinguish who they’re looking for.”

“It’s not that complicated.” Su Liang shook her head, “Just in case something really happens, it can buy us some time. I knew what Yan Shiba was doing the first day she pretended to be me. She just didn’t say it on purpose, making people think she was just playing around. Since I didn’t say anything either, I decided to just let her have her fun.”

“Elder Brother, let’s switch identities tomorrow too!”

“Why? Nobody’s aiming to kidnap us.”

“Start practicing from now on, maybe it will be useful in the future. Isn’t that right, mother?”

“As long as you’re happy. Go to sleep.” Sending them off to sleep, Su Liang closed her eyes to rest, thinking that Gu Ling should be setting off to his rendezvous very soon, hopeful that everything would be smooth.