Free Web NovelChapter 5: Chapter 5—Switch
Chapter 5—Switch
Lei Cheng returned to his own appearance, and so did Yun Che. He stared at him intently, waiting for an answer.
Yun Che swallowed hard.
"If we do this—" He was already sweating. "The Xiao Clan wouldn’t be the ones to kill us." He paused, turning his gaze toward the main house of the courtyard. "It’s Master Lei Feng who would kill us first."
"So you are simply afraid of death," Lei Cheng said plainly, standing and folding his hands behind his back.
Yun Che nodded without hesitation. "Yes. I can serve you my entire life, Young Master—but I wouldn’t lose it for you." His eyes sharpened.
’Damn. He might actually fight me if I keep pressing.’
Lei Cheng clicked his tongue and stepped toward the wooden doors. Yun Che’s eyes flashed coldly at his young master’s back.
Lei Cheng turned his head. "What if they never find out?"
"How could that possibly be?" Yun Che asked, lowering his gaze and not daring to hold eye contact. "No matter how perfect your plan, Young Master, one day the truth will come out."
Lei Cheng sighed, rubbing his forehead. Then he snapped his fingers.
White light washed over both of them simultaneously. Yun Che’s eyes went wide.
"Now," Lei Cheng said—his voice coming from Yun Che’s face and frame, "Let’s test it." He pointed toward the corridor. "If even one servant or maid figures out that you are Yun Che and not the Young Master, I shall no longer force you."
Yun Che, now wearing Lei Cheng’s face, straightened up and called out loudly, "Remember your words, Young Master!" He dashed out the door. "I shall prove your plan has flaws!"
Lei Cheng smiled quietly and followed a few steps behind.
The corridors were already dressed for the wedding—ribbons, flowers, and trinkets arranged along every corner, not a single one crooked, and not a speck of dust remaining. The servants and maids moved carefully through it all, making sure everything stayed perfect.
"Lin Mei!" Yun Che clapped his hands.
A petite maid trimming a potted flower along the corridor wall twitched and hurried over.
’Lin Mei,’ Lei Cheng noted quietly from where he watched. The same maid who had fetched Yun Che earlier—his personal maid, responsible for his food and clothing, while Yun Che managed his daily affairs like meetings and travels.
She bent slightly. "Young Master."
"Young Master?!" Yun Che pointed at himself, eyes wide. "Can’t you tell the difference?"
’Oh... the Young Master is playing a new game.’ Lin Mei nodded cheerfully to herself. "Who might you be then, Young Master?"
"I am not the Young Master!" Yun Che barked. "Look at my height! My skin!" He thrust his palms toward her.
Lin Mei tilted her head and studied him carefully. "You are approximately 190 centimeters, and your skin is so soft, Young Master." She grabbed his hand and rubbed it lightly.
’Wait.’
Lei Cheng raised his brows from across the corridor. ’It even affects sensation. I only expected a visual change.’
He flicked his index finger.
Ring!
Every head in the corridor turned instinctively toward the right—reacting to the clear echo of a soft bell produced by the illusion.
’Not just sight,’ Lei Cheng nodded to himself. ’Sound as well. This Illusion Intent affects all five senses.’ He filed that away. For now, he catalogued five—though cultivators would gain additional senses as their level rose. He simply didn’t know any high-level cultivator to test that theory on yet.
"Soft?!"
Yun Che yelped in a high pitch, pulling his hand back and rubbing both palms together frantically. "Too soft... how can this be?!"
As a servant, he had worked from dawn to dusk, managing the Young Master’s affairs all day and training through the nights. His palms should have been thick with calluses. Now they felt like a nobleman’s hands—impossibly smooth.
The other servants and maids had begun peeking from the corridor corners. Yun Che spotted them and barked, "If anyone can identify my true identity... I will personally hand them ten silver coins!"
Every eye went wide. They swarmed forward.
Yun Che shot a desperate, pleading look back at Lei Cheng.
Lei Cheng smiled faintly and nodded. ’He doesn’t have ten silver coins. Only I, the Young Master of the Lei Clan, could actually pay that out for him.’
One by one, the servants moved in. A tall servant stepped forward, reached out, and touched Yun Che’s forehead.
"Height—matches."
"Temperament—matches."
"Handsome—matches."
Then one servant drifted around to inspect from behind and gave a slow nod.
Lei Cheng scowled from across the corridor. ’I need to dismiss that one. I did not expect anyone to pay attention to my backside.’
Yun Che’s hands hung limp at his sides, face stiff and going stiffer with each passing confirmation. ’Height, appearance, temperament—everything matches. Young Master’s temperament isn’t exactly distinguished—it’s that of a rich playboy who’d flinch at the smallest thing. Any servant could imitate it by just acting pampered.’ His mind scrambled for something, anything.
"No!" Yun Che roared. "There has to be something—keep looking!"
The servants exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what new game their Young Master was playing.
While the commotion continued, Lei Cheng—still wearing Yun Che’s face—quietly slipped away.
He moved through the corridor and stepped out into the garden, stopping to look toward the main room of the courtyard, then the side room. His expression dropped.
’No matter what, Yun Che will refuse.’
He lowered his head, eyes half-shut.
’I am sorry.’
’This is the only way.’
"Don’t worry," he murmured under his breath. "I’ll make sure you survive."
Then he stepped into the main room.
The main room was dressed as beautifully as the corridors—flowers of different colors arranged throughout, trinkets and ribbons hung at precise positions to draw the eye to every corner.
Lei Cheng walked through and made his way to his father’s bedroom. He tapped on the door.
"Come in." A deep voice from within.
He pushed the wooden doors open. Lei Feng sat on his rocking chair, a book open in his hands.
Tick. Tick.
"Is something the matter?" He didn’t turn his head, still focused on the page.
Lei Cheng saluted calmly. "Master Lei, the Young Master is playing a new trick. It seems he does not wish to get married." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Lei Feng’s grip tightened. The book cover creased under his fingers, almost crushed.
He stood slowly. "How dare he..."
