Not only does he look like her, but his demeanor, tone, and even the graceful way he pours himself a drink, as well as his familiar attitude, are all exactly like Yue Hongling.

It's not possible to achieve this effect simply through makeup and acting. He is so familiar with Yue Hongling that anyone else pretending to be her would be seen through at a glance, but no matter how you look at it, it's impossible to tell that he is fake.

The only explanation is that the illusion technique of the Maitreya Sect is indeed quite impressive. I can't sense any illusion effects at all, but I still fell for it silently. It's really amazing!

"I originally thought that the Maitreya Sect was just finding someone to pretend, but I never expected that it would actually be Miss Yue here. Is this the surprise that Master Fayuan mentioned?" Zhao Changhe pretended to be pleasantly surprised as he sat down beside her. "I never thought, I never thought... Miss Yue is actually the Maitreya Sect's heavenly maiden..."

Yue Hongling rolled her eyes. What kind of nonsense is this? How could he not know that I am a follower of the Maitreya Sect?

Oh, wait... he must think that the heavenly maiden of the Maitreya Sect is disguised as me, so he doesn't want the heavenly maiden to see through his and Yue Hongling's true relationship, so he deliberately pretends not to be familiar with Yue Hongling.

Yue Hongling didn't come here to play role-playing games. She intended to discuss business with Zhao Changhe and didn't want to see someone pretending to be her and enjoying themselves with her identity. It's disgusting just thinking about it.

She said directly, "I am Yue Hongling."

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Zhao Changhe refused to believe it and smiled, "Of course, it's Miss Yue. When Miss saved me at Zhao Village, I was deeply moved and couldn't forget it. I never thought that Master Fayuan... no, the Buddha himself would let Miss Yue come to guide me in the teachings of Buddhism. This is really great..."

Yue Hongling almost wanted to kick him. He's right in front of a real person, but this idiot still thinks it's the heavenly maiden disguised as me. Do I have to prove my identity?

In the eyes of the world, the intersection between these two is only limited to Zhao Village. The fact that Zhao Changhe said these things to the fake Yue Hongling is exactly why others believe that he secretly loves Yue Hongling. There are no loopholes. Only the real Yue Hongling knows that their connection goes far beyond that. The relationship between the two of them began to become close in the mountain stronghold. The more he only mentions Zhao Village, the more it proves that he considers it a fake.

So actually, it's enough to mention the connection in the mountain stronghold to expose this play.

But just as Yue Hongling was about to speak, she suddenly stopped, her ears twitching.

Someone was eavesdropping.

She could only swallow her words and start to act along, "Because of our deep connection, the Buddha has sent me to guide you... Our Maitreya Sect and you are destined to be together. You have the support that you lack, the opportunities that you need, and... me..."

As she spoke, she praised herself. Even the heavenly maiden disguised as Yue Hongling would say it like this! It turns out I have some talent for acting!

But the next moment, she regretted it.

Zhao Changhe eagerly approached, with a pig-like expression on his face. "I understand! A wise person doesn't speak in riddles. The Maitreya Sect wants to recruit me, right? If Miss Yue is here, I will join the sect with a wave of my hand! Of course, I need to have a taste of your beauty... Ah, Miss Yue, don't blame me, I'm just being direct. I am deeply attracted to you..."

As he spoke, he even tried to put his arm around her waist.

Zhao Changhe intentionally acted like a pig to create the image of a rough man. The more the other person despised such a fool, the more likely they would reveal some deep secrets. For example, what the Maitreya Sect plans to do next in Yangzhou could be directly extracted, or even let him directly participate.

As for controlling the situation, he believed that the other person wouldn't go straight to bed. He had to be cautious, after all, he was pretending to be Yue Hongling and being too promiscuous would easily raise suspicions.

Sure enough, the "Heavenly Maiden of Picking Flowers" pretended to be reserved and angrily kicked him, "Zhao Changhe! Is this the only thing you have on your mind?"

Zhao Changhe endured without dodging, deliberately falling to the ground and then quickly getting up, smiling, "This is how we gangsters are. If you don't see the rabbit, you won't let the eagle go. If you really want to teach me Buddhism, I won't understand it. It will take forever. Has the Maitreya Sect given up on its big plans in Yangzhou?"

With this sentence, Yue Hongling could completely guess his thoughts. He wanted to trick the heavenly maiden into speaking. But she still couldn't help blushing.

I'm not the heavenly maiden! How am I supposed to act in this play? Who is listening outside? Why haven't they left yet? If they don't leave, I'll smash the stage. Let's just stop acting!

Suddenly, a voice entered her ears from outside, "Why did you hit him?"

Yue Hongling responded coldly, "That's just Yue Hongling."

Outside, someone clicked their tongue, feeling that it seemed right, and said, "You should give him some benefits too, slowly lure him in. Don't get too addicted to the act."

Just as Yue Hongling was about to say something, the words stopped at her lips. She hesitated and listened carefully.

Someone was eavesdropping.

She had to swallow her words and pretend, "Because of our deep connection, the Buddha has sent me to guide you... Our Maitreya Sect and you are destined to be together. You have the support that you lack, the opportunities that you need, and... me..."

As she spoke, she praised herself. Even the heavenly maiden disguised as Yue Hongling would say it like this! It turns out I have some talent for acting!

But the next moment, she regretted it.

Zhao Changhe eagerly approached, pleading, "Sister Yue, I know you're not just an ordinary heavenly maiden. Can you at least let me hug you... If you hug me, I'll listen to the teachings of Buddhism seriously!"

While he spoke softly, he tried to put his arms around her.

Yue Hongling was in a difficult position. She couldn't dodge, but she also couldn't not dodge. She hesitated and didn't move, and he ended up hugging her tightly and even leaned in to smell her neck.

Yue Hongling's whole body was covered in goosebumps, her skin tightened, and she resisted the urge to slap him and send him flying. She took a deep breath, and the first thing she did was to transmit her voice to the person outside, "We're starting soon. Are you still listening outside?"

The person outside laughed awkwardly, "I'm just worried that something might go wrong. I'll leave since this guy is completely infatuated with Yue Hongling. There's no need to listen anymore, I'm leaving."

Zhao Changhe, who was holding her in his arms, was very surprised. How is it possible that even the scent is exactly the same as Yue Hongling's? And she's still so tense, like a little bird. This is really something that can be achieved through illusion?

But he still continued to ask with dedication, "Sister Yue, I finally have you in my arms. You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day... As long as you tell me what to do in Yangzhou, I'll do it immediately, even if it means giving my life..."

"Is that so?" The "Heavenly Maiden of Picking Flowers" in his arms smirked, "Do you really want to hug Sister Yue? Since when did you start thinking like that?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Of course, it started when I sat behind you on your horse..."

"Oh? Then when I was injured in your room, why didn't you take advantage of the opportunity?"

"That's because I respected... huh?" Zhao Changhe paused for a moment, suddenly widened his eyes.

He carefully retracted the motion of rubbing against her neck that he had been doing in her arms, slowly leaned back, and saw the other person's mocking expression, "The person in charge, you're really good at pretending. Have you revealed everything now?"

"Ah no, it's not like that, Sister Yue, let me explain!"

"Bang!" Yue Hongling stood up, threw him over her shoulder, and slammed him onto the floor, "So you want to die that badly? Then go ahead and die!"

Zhao Changhe covered his head and lay on the floor, "Damn, why are you the real one? I'm innocent... I was just saying those things to deceive the fake ones, to find out what they are planning to do in Yangzhou... Aiyo, don't step on me, those were all lies, I've never been in love..."

His words suddenly stopped.

The stomping behind him also stopped.

The atmosphere became dead silent, with only Yue Hongling's slightly rapid breathing, gently filling the room.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside again, someone approaching. They communicated through a secret transmission, "What happened? We heard a noise... Huh? This breathing sounds good... Did that guy use violence again? He's so impatient."

The room was too quiet, and even Zhao Changhe's senses could perceive the movement outside. His thoughts turned quickly, and he shouted loudly, "The profoundness of the Maitreya Sect's teachings is indeed impressive. Could this move be the Bodhisattva Sitting on a Lotus? I have learned from it..."

The footsteps outside went away again.

Zhao Changhe got up and lowered his voice, barely audible, "Don't take those words from before to heart... If there was something in Zhao Village that I had in mind, it was the hope that one day we could ride horses and wield swords together in the world. Today's incident is embarrassing, but I am honored. Perhaps my past thoughts are now coming true."

Yue Hongling looked at him quietly and didn't answer for a moment.

Both of them knew that Zhao Changhe had stopped midway through his previous sentence and didn't finish it.

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(End of this chapter)