Under One Person: Dressed as Lü Liang, with vests all over

Chapter 193 Lü Liang: The Most Hated Alternate Identity

The next day, as dawn broke.

Three kilometers away from the hole in the open forest, a group of people in work clothes were busy setting up safety barriers between the trees.

On the bright orange safety barrier, a line of large characters was clearly and conspicuously printed: "Landslide danger ahead, please do not approach!"

Walking along the isolation strip, in the very center of the wilderness, there is a wide-open clearing.

At this moment, a number of people had already gathered in the open space.

Xu Xin, Lü Ci, Ishikawa Shin and his group... everyone who participated in the meeting last night, except for Lao Zhang, was present.

Zhang Chulan stood at the edge of the crowd, adjusting his communicator's earpiece while recalling the information he had read.

In the Battle of Toutenkulong back then, the Higanbana lost, but they did not evacuate China as agreed.

In fact, the leader of the Higoshi ninja clan came to China with the initial goal of establishing a foothold there.

Therefore, at the end of the battle, after the ninja leader died, the other Higan ninja who participated in the battle scattered and fled in all directions, hiding their whereabouts, in accordance with his last wishes.

Three Higanbana ninjas escaped back then. Apart from Eita the Demon, who has been confirmed dead, the whereabouts of the other two remain unknown.

These two individuals were someone Zhang Chulan was quite wary of.

They never revealed their whereabouts, secretly developed their influence, and even planted spies within the company. Their cunning and patience alone make them a force to be reckoned with.

Moreover, these two are quite formidable.

One of them, Bihe Ren, is a woman codenamed "Butterfly," and her special ability is "Qi Butterfly."

The Qi butterflies she created came in two types: one white and one red.

Although the white Qi butterflies themselves are not lethal, their numbers are extremely large, and they can automatically search for targets and enemies.

Once the target is spotted by the white butterflies, the red Qi butterflies swarm in instantly, triggering a devastating explosion.

In short, this is an extremely threatening group attack ability that is difficult to defend against.

Another ninja, named Yohei Aoyama, is a con artist who is said to be able to not only mimic the appearance of his targets but also their abilities.

In other words, Yohei Aoyama could disguise himself as one of their own and appear next to them.

……

While pondering to himself, Zhang Chulan subtly observed everyone present, secretly deciding that if he noticed anything unusual, he would immediately step forward to examine it carefully.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the center of the open space.

With a serious expression, Ishikawa Kenji held his sword steadily in his right hand, his eyes fixed firmly on Ishikawa Shin opposite him, and said respectfully:

"Father, let's begin!"

Ishikawa Shin nodded slightly, then nodded to Feng Baobao beside him.

Zhang Chulan noticed that Ishikawa Shin was not wearing his usual sharp suit today, but instead wore a loose-fitting dark blue training uniform with a white collar.

Compared to the president of the Fish and Dragon Society, he now seemed more like the leader of the Buddha Sword Society, possessing a more swordsman-like demeanor.

Ishikawa Shin gently handed the wooden box he had been holding to Yagyu Aiko, then turned to face the direction of Japan, bowed deeply, and murmured something:

"Ancestors, the ambition of Hirumaru will end today."

After the brief ceremony, Ishikawa Shin finally made up his mind. He turned to the side and said:

"Aiko, please bring Hiruma up."

However, after he finished speaking, Yagyu Aiko did not step forward as he expected. Instead, a strange, ambiguous smile appeared on her face.

"My beloved son?"

Ishikawa Shin frowned and called out again.

To everyone's surprise, Yagyu Aiko not only didn't move forward, but instead took a big step back.

In that instant, white and red Qi butterflies surged out from all directions, rushing towards the center of the arena.

"Watch out for those Qi butterflies!"

Lu Ci's expression instantly turned serious, and he loudly reminded him.

He stared intently at the Qi butterflies, gritting his teeth as he said, "It's that woman who escaped through the Heavenly Cave back then!"

Xu Xin, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly as well. He immediately turned around and loudly commanded Ma Long and Yuan, the Tang Clan disciples who were accompanying him:

"Someone is trying to steal the demon sword! Stop them!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Long and Sono immediately set off in the direction of "Yagyu Aiko".

"Yagyu Aiko" naturally wouldn't sit idly by and wait for her death. She tightly hugged the wooden box containing the demon sword and quickly fled to the outer perimeter.

At the same time, in the clear blue sky above the open space, many people dressed in black wearing parachutes were seen floating down.

Their hands moved constantly, and streams of Qi bullets poured down like meteors, heading straight for Zhang Chulan and the others, clearly attempting to cover "Yagyu Aiko's" retreat.

"Oh no, it's someone from the Hira-nin clan!"

While shouting loudly, Zhang Chulan quickly raised his hand and unleashed a "Thunder Technique" into the air.

Everyone present immediately joined the battle.

Just as Ma Long and Yuan of the Tang Clan were about to catch up with "Yagyu Aiko", a white Qi butterfly happened to touch Ma Long's hair.

Immediately afterwards, the butterflies that were fluttering everywhere seemed to have suddenly grown eyes, and swarmed towards Ma Long.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar erupted, flames shot skyward, and then a series of explosions followed one after another.

Ma Long and Yuan were violently impacted by the powerful blast wave, tumbling uncontrollably several times on the ground before barely managing to regain their footing.

The explosion was so powerful that, despite being dressed in the Tang Clan's specially made black-tipped armor, both of them inevitably sustained injuries to their backs.

"Be very careful not to get touched by those butterflies!"

Lu Ci reminded him again, and he suddenly bent down and slammed his palm down on the ground.

A powerful flow of Qi, centered on his palm, spread rapidly outwards along the ground like a surging tsunami.

In the blink of an eye, this powerful flow of Qi erupted beneath the feet of "Yagyu Aiko".

"boom!"

"Yagyu Aiko" was knocked off balance by the impact and was about to be overtaken by Ishikawa Shin and his son.

At this critical moment...

A weathered-looking Japanese woman appeared out of nowhere beside "Yagyu Aiko".

She moved with extreme speed, suddenly throwing out a cloak.

At first glance, the cloak appears quite ordinary, with a dull gray hue, but under the sunlight, it subtly shimmers with an unusual light.

The cloak drew a graceful arc in the air and landed with perfect precision on "Yagyu Aiko".

In an instant, the figure of "Yagyu Aiko" became blurred under the cloak, as if tightly wrapped in a layer of invisible, mysterious mist.

As the cloak fell, her body completely merged with the surrounding air, becoming invisible.

"Yagyu Aiko" disappeared from the spot.

When Lü Ci saw the old woman, his pupils instantly contracted sharply.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly turned upward, forming a smile with a hint of madness, as he shouted:

"You bitch! Now that you're here, you're not leaving!"

"You little rascal! You haven't gone to keep your brother company yet!"

Butterfly didn't back down and immediately retaliated fiercely, her voice filled with intense resentment and malice.

She suddenly raised her arm, and in an instant, even more Qi butterflies surged out like a tidal wave, whistling and flying towards Lü Ci's direction.

At the same time, she screamed at the top of her lungs into the empty air beside her:
"Don't worry about me, go quickly! Send the demon sword away, or I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"

Her words were still echoing in the air when Lü Ci's attack came swiftly towards Die like a storm.

A flash of light followed, and a deafening explosion rang out.

However, as the billowing smoke gradually dissipated, the butterfly had vanished.

Lu Ci frowned, squatted down with a displeased expression, and slammed his palm heavily on the ground again.

The next instant, Zhang Chulan, who had just knocked a man in black to the ground, suddenly felt a subtle yet extremely penetrating force quietly spreading from the soles of his feet throughout his entire body.

He immediately realized that this was the power of Ruyi Jin.

Sure enough, Lü Ci quickly withdrew his sensing hand and sneered, "That bitch has already escaped, probably chasing after that knife."

By this time, the black-clad Higanbana ninja who had descended from the sky had been almost completely dealt with.

Holding the blood-stained sword, Ishikawa Ken looked at Ishikawa Shin with a puzzled expression and asked:
"Father, how could my beloved daughter suddenly betray us?"

“No, that wasn’t Aiko; someone was impersonating her,” Ishikawa Shin shook his head, answering with absolute certainty.

"An imposter? How could that be?"

Kenichi Ishikawa looked surprised, his voice tinged with disbelief, "I saw Aiko practicing her sword at the hotel this morning?"

"Even if someone imitates Aiko, would they also imitate the swordsmanship of the Shinkage-ryu school?"

Upon hearing this question, Ishikawa Shin showed a hint of recollection and replied:

"Among the ten Bihe Ninja who fought against the Tang Clan in the Sky-Piercing Cave back then, there was actually one who could do this."

“Yohei the con artist, I’ve heard old people mention this Hiei Ninja Clan member before. That guy can impersonate anyone he’s ever met, whether it’s their voice, appearance, or mannerisms. As long as he can recognize them, he can imitate them.”

"Moreover, the more he understands his target, the closer this imitation becomes to perfection, almost to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing."

Ishikawa Shin's voice grew increasingly solemn as he continued:
"As the eldest daughter of the Yagyu family, it is not difficult for Aiko to obtain relevant information."

"The Shinkage-ryu of the Yagyu family is renowned, even surpassing our Buddha Sword. So, if it really was the con artist Yohei who made the move, it would be reasonable for him to be able to imitate some of the Shinkage-ryu's superficial aspects."

"As for his real son, he's probably still at the hotel right now."

Upon hearing this, Kenjiro Ishikawa was even more shocked.

"But that hotel was arranged by the company, and ordinary people can't just come and go as they please. Could there be a spy from the He Ren organization inside?"

Ishikawa Shin's expression was grave. "It's highly likely that this time, Higashi Shinobu has clearly revealed all his trump cards."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan instantly pictured Old Zhang in his mind.

He thought Lao Zhang would contact Bi Heren near the venue to launch an operation, but he didn't expect Lao Zhang to start taking action while he was at the hotel.

Zhang Chulan turned his gaze to Ishikawa Shin and asked urgently:
"President Ishikawa, you know Higanbana Shinobu best. Where do you think they'll go next after they stole the demon sword?"

After a moment's thought, Ishikawa Shin's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he said in a resounding voice:
“Send it back! They definitely want to send Hiruma back to Japan!” “However, none of them dare to directly verify the authenticity of Hiruma in the box, so the person called the Demon Candidate will likely come to China through special channels to inherit Hiruma and become the real Demon.”

"Quick! Let's chase them towards the border!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan immediately led Feng Baobao and Zhang Lingyu to chase after them towards the border.

Ten kilometers from here lies the uninhabited border area.

In this light, it seems that Old Zhang's choice of this location as the place for testing swords and harmonizing weapons was indeed quite "thoughtful".

However, Zhang Chulan asked Lao Zhang to choose the location precisely so that he could lure out those Bihe Ren.

If we don't give them any chance, they won't dare to show their faces.

……

On the way to the border.

After running a distance, "Yagyu Aiko" noticed that no one was following her, so she immediately took off her cloak, revealing her figure.

The next instant, she put away her cloak, transforming from a graceful woman with long, straight black hair into a bald old man—it was none other than Yohei Aoyama.

Soon after, the elderly Japanese woman, Die, caught up with them.

Yohei Aoyama handed the wooden box to Cho, and the two got into a car. The driver was Old Zhang.

All three of them wore expressions of excitement.

The demon sword belonging to the Hiei ninja has finally returned to their hands after being lost for many years.

"Hurry up! Yusuke and the others should already be waiting at the border."

Die urged Old Zhang on, and then, in fluent Mandarin, she said:

"The ship is ready. As long as Yusuke gets the demon sword and returns to Japan, our mission will be complete."

Her expression was fervent, her wrinkled face radiating light, and she whispered, "All these years of infiltration have been worthwhile!"

Yohei Aoyama and Lao Zhang also silently repeated this sentence.

Driven by the intense energy, Lao Zhang slammed on the gas and sped toward the border.

But, in the next instant...

"crunch-"

With a sudden stop, the tires screeched as they rubbed against the pavement, and Old Zhang's car came to a violent halt.

"What's wrong?" Yohei Aoyama asked.

"The tire blew out; someone's lying in ambush," Old Zhang replied in a deep voice, his expression grim.

He looked up, his sharp gaze locking onto the person blocking the car ahead, his pupils contracting in that instant.

Because the person standing there was clearly his superior—Gao Lian, the head of the Northeast region of NaDuTong.

Old Zhang immediately realized what was happening and decisively shouted to the back seat of the car:

“My identity has been exposed. Leave this to me. You continue transporting the demon sword to the border.”

Butterfly and Yohei Aoyama immediately jumped out of the car and tried to run away.

But since Gao Lian had set up an ambush here, how could he have come alone?

Several employees wearing Nadotong uniforms chased after Aoyama Yohei and Cho, among them was a superhuman with the ability of "Qi Arrow".

His harassment made it impossible for the two of them to run fast.

Seeing this, Yohei Aoyama tossed the cloak he was holding to Cherry and shouted, "Cherry, you go first!"

Butterfly glanced at the person who had caught up with her, gritted her teeth, and without hesitation, put on the cloak and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Yohei Aoyama attacked the surrounding employees of Natotong.

……

Not far away, Gao Lian was still standing in the same spot.

Seeing Old Zhang approach, he didn't speak, but directly put his hands together in a mudra and shouted:

"Thank you for your hard work! Please welcome Hu Tianbiao!"

With that shout, his appearance and physique changed rapidly; his ears became pointed, his mouth protruded, and his teeth and nails became sharp...like a fox.

At the same time, Lao Zhang's pupils also turned a deep black.

Black energy emanated from behind him, making the surrounding atmosphere cold and eerie.

The two attacked simultaneously, one throwing a punch like the wind, the other raising a leg like lightning.

"boom!"

As the attacks clashed, Old Zhang was forced to take a step back, his body swaying slightly.

"Gao Lian" bared his sharp teeth, revealing a provocative smile, and spoke in a voice completely different from his usual tone, mocking:
"Heh, the filth on you is surprisingly strong!"

"What filthy things!" Old Zhang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and retorted angrily, "These are all the heroic spirits of my ancestor, Bihe!"

"Really? I just think it stinks!"

"I will not allow you to insult the spirit of our ancestor, Bihe!"

"It really stinks! Ugh! I don't even want to eat it!"

"what--"

……

When Zhang Chulan and his group arrived, Gao Lian had already completely defeated Old Zhang.

Zhang Chulan noticed that Lao Zhang's injuries were very serious. Both of his arms had been torn in half, his suit was in terrible condition, and he looked extremely disheveled.

Gao Lian, now back to his usual self, looked up at Zhang Chulan and pointed towards the border:
"The wooden box was in a woman's hands. She had just put on a cloak and suddenly disappeared."

"It's an invisible feather cloak!"

Upon hearing this, Ishikawa Shin frowned. "This is a bit troublesome. The cloak can conceal our presence, making it difficult for us to track us."

"Then we can only continue heading towards the border," Zhang Chulan said.

Upon hearing this conversation, Old Zhang, who was lying on the ground barely alive, suddenly burst into laughter:
"Hahaha, you're too late."

"Yusuke has already reached the border. He will leave immediately once he gets the demon sword. It will be too late for you!"

"Hahaha, it's no use you defeating me. The spirit of the Bihe Ninja is immortal, hahahaha..."

Old Zhang was almost laughing to tears, but at that moment, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

Because he saw that Zhang Chulan was looking at him like he was an idiot.

……

Fifteen minutes later, at the border.

Butterfly's gaze was fixed on the other side of the border.

There, three strange Japanese figures stood looking around warily.

The positioning of two of them subtly protected the person in the middle.

She was very familiar with the appearances of these three people.

Standing in the very center is Harada Yusuke, the demon sword candidate trained by Hirashi. To his left and right are the demon servants "Gen-on" and "Raishin," respectively.

Butterfly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked towards Harada Yusuke, who was standing in the middle.

Speed ​​wasn't her forte; she only managed to shake off her pursuers because of the cloak's invisibility effect. Those people would probably catch up soon, so she had to hurry.

So, as soon as Die walked up to Youfu, she stuffed the wooden box into his arms.

"Yusuke, quick! Check Hirumaru. If there's nothing wrong, take it back to Japan right away!"

Yusuke slowly opened the box, touched it, and then slammed the wooden box shut just as the demon servant on the right couldn't resist moving closer.

Then, he nodded to the butterfly.

A look of ecstatic joy immediately appeared on Butterfly's face.

However, she didn't maintain this expression for long, because she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned around and saw it was Ishikawa Shin and his group.

Butterfly immediately turned around, her whole body alert as she stared at the people rushing towards them, while saying to Harada Yusuke:
"I'm blocking your way here, you'd better leave!"

After he finished speaking, Yusuke neither moved nor spoke.

Butterfly turned her head again and urged:

"Yusuke, you guys go quickly, don't worry about me. As long as the demon sword returns to Hiei-nin, it'll be worth dying here today—"

Before Die could finish speaking, her eyes widened suddenly, and her mouth opened involuntarily.

She lowered her head with difficulty, looking incredulously at her abdomen.

There, it was pierced through by three black needles.

Butterfly felt the sharp pain in her abdomen and finally realized what was happening.

She turned her head, blood and foam at the corner of her mouth, her eyes fixed on the person manipulating the needles, and said with difficulty, "You, you're not Yusuke..."

The next moment, she saw the "Yusuke" in front of her shrug and say in fluent Chinese:

"I never said I was."

"You—" Butterfly tried to say something, but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Lü Liangchao took a step back to avoid getting blood on his body.

Seeing the butterfly's unwilling look, he smiled and said, "Why are you so surprised? It's not like only you Japanese people know this kind of transformation technique."

"Where is Yusuke? Where is the real Yusuke?" Butterfly asked in a hoarse voice.

"There it is."

Lu Liang enthusiastically pointed to the bushes not far away.

Die forced herself to walk there, but when she saw the three familiar faces stripped of their clothes and lying in a disheveled mess, she finally couldn't hold on any longer. Her body swayed, she lost consciousness, and completely fainted.

……

At this moment, Ishikawa Shin, Lü Ci, Xu Xin and their group finally arrived.

　Thank you Black Flyer for the monthly pass!! Thank you!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)