Chapter 399: Disguise

Given Li Yongxun’s position, it was not surprising for her signature to appear on these documents. However, it was too much of a coincidence. Liu Fuqing decided to personally go to the National Police headquarters to investigate the “illegal solicitation” case and see if there were any other clues.

Before leaving, he gave Ke Yun a mission: “Secretly arrest Li Yongxun immediately.”

“Are you dressed yet?” Sima Qiudao asked impatiently in a low voice from the outer room again.

A few days ago, he had already had the female warriors he led disperse from the inn and secretly gather in this small courtyard he had rented at a high price.

Changing their attire in a place like the Qiong’an Inn would have been too conspicuous. This small courtyard, located in Lingao’s “wealthy residential area,” was very quiet and a perfect place for a change of disguise.

From the east wing came Zhou Zhongjun’s voice again: “Almost ready.”

This phrase had been repeated several times, and nearly half an hour had passed. Although the girls in the east wing were whispering endlessly, their voices hushed, the clothes were still not changed.

However, he couldn’t rush them. He was alone, leading this group of female disciples—most of them in their late teens, in the bloom of their youth, and disciples of various sects. If any gossip were to arise, his half-lifetime of good reputation would be ruined. Therefore, he had maintained a stern expression and said not a single extra word.

At this moment, Sima Qiudao sat in the central hall, appearing as if his “heart was as calm as still water,” but inside he was agitated by the incessant chattering of the women. The sun is already high in the sky. If we don’t set out soon, we’ll be late.

Sima Qiudao had already had his head shaved at a barbershop and bought clothes at a clothing store, dressing himself as a common “pseudo-Aussie” seen everywhere locally. To imitate the style of those “cadres,” he had even bought a “fountain pen” and tucked it into his breast pocket.

Looking at his “front-buttoning short jacket,” he felt very awkward. His head was cool and breezy, and he had never worn such short clothes before. It wasn’t that he hadn’t worn “short attire,” but he was still not used to the Aussie style of clothing with a hem that barely reached his waist. And these pants were a bit too “form-fitting.”

“Oh no, no, it’s too short…”

“You have to wear it! I’m going to tell the Abbess!”

“Sister Zhongjun, how do you wear this brassiere?”

…

Sima Qiudao took a deep breath. These damn Aussies! Even their rebellion is unconventional! If you want to rebel, just rebel. Why all this shameless nonsense!

To obtain the uniforms of the “pseudo-Aussie female students,” Sima Qiudao and the female disciples had run their legs off these past few days. The uniforms were nowhere to be bought, and ambushing female students to strip them of their clothes was difficult to execute. The pseudo-Aussie female students were rarely seen on the streets.

As the days passed, Sima Qiudao decided to give up on the “female student uniforms” and sent Zhou Zhongjun, who was most familiar with “pseudo-Aussie women’s clothing,” to buy a lot of women’s clothes in Dongmen Market. Even if they couldn’t pose as female students, dressing as “female pseudo-Aussies” was better than nothing.

Unexpectedly, it was Old Man Shi who came through in the end. Sima Qiudao successfully obtained three sets of Fāngcǎodì female student uniforms.

Getting their hands on these three old uniforms was a great relief to everyone. However, upon closer inspection, the old uniforms only consisted of a blouse and a skirt, and they were very worn. There were no matching shoes or socks.

“Shoes and socks are easy,” said Zhou Zhongjun, who had been wearing “Song-style” clothes and was very familiar with Lingao’s clothing stores. “The leather shoes they wear aren’t sold outside, but I heard they also wear black cloth shoes on a daily basis, and those are available everywhere. White socks are also easy to find.”

But with only three uniforms, they couldn’t disguise all the female disciples. Only three could get close to the genuine Aussies. After careful consideration, Sima Qiudao decided to have the three most skilled young female disciples pose as students, with the others providing support nearby.

Although these female disciples were not the main force for the assassination—that was Zhuo Yifan and the others—Sima Qiudao estimated that the others probably wouldn’t even have a chance to get close to the genuine Aussies. In the end, it might be up to these young girls’ desperate strike to save some face…

Fortunately, their status was very low. Even if they died, it wouldn’t be a great loss to their respective sects. If they could assassinate a few genuine Aussies, it would be something they could account for.

In the east wing, seven or eight women were chattering. The glass windows of the room were covered with thick curtains, making the originally bright room dim. A large dressing mirror, specially bought, stood against the wall. Clothes were piled messily on the bed and table.

Zhou Zhongjun was wearing a female student’s uniform, her hair trimmed, looking very much the part. However, the other female disciples were not as composed as she was. One of the other two chosen for their martial arts skills had initially “refused to the death” to wear the student uniform because it was “indecent.” It wasn’t that she found the skirt too short—that was no longer a major issue—but that the matching brassiere made her chest look too high and full, which she considered “lewd.”

Helpless, Zhou Zhongjun had to let her bind her chest with cloth strips in the old way before she finally put on the uniform. Although Nan Wan’er didn’t make a fuss, her face was flushed because the clothes didn’t fit well. After putting them on, she kept pulling down her skirt, almost pulling it off.

As for the other female disciples, they either complained that the skirt was too short, that it exposed their arms, that the neckline was too low… Some refused to wear socks and insisted on wearing long pants under their skirts, while others disliked the plain color of the clothes, finding it “taboo”…

After nearly half an hour of wrangling, Zhou Zhongjun finally managed to soothe everyone and get them all changed into “Song-style” women’s clothing.

Sima Qiudao glanced briefly at the transformed female warriors. He saw them all acting coy, looking as if they wished they could find a hole to crawl into. The heroic spirit of the jianghu women was gone. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The Aussies’ corruption of morals has reached such a state!

He said a few simple words, telling them not to pay too much attention to their clothes, lest they reveal a flaw to the Aussies.

“In the past, Yu Rang, in order to assassinate Zhao Xiangzi, painted his body with lacquer to make it look like he had leprosy and swallowed charcoal to make his voice hoarse, so that his appearance would be unrecognizable. He begged in the market, all to avenge his master. What we are doing today is to save the common people of the world!”

After these words, he had someone distribute the weapons.

The weapons were all short and easy to hide, either daggers or Emei piercers. Everyone was equipped with two or three throwing darts. To ensure a fatal blow, all the weapons had been treated with poison.

“Groups of two or three, set out separately!” Sima Qiudao said in a deep voice.

The sluice gate slowly opened. With a gentle turn of the rudder by Qian Duoduo, the Cang glided lightly across the water and entered the Wenlan River.

The wind was not favorable at the moment, but that was no problem for the all-female crew, who were now skilled sailors. They expertly adjusted the sails, and the newly painted white Cang nimbly dodged a line of black-smoke-belching barges heading towards Dongmen Market.

The small boat sailed on the Wenlan River. The river, having been dredged for navigation, was wide. The girls gazed at the scenery on both banks. A gentle breeze blew, and they felt refreshed and content.

Qian Duoduo and Zhong Xiaoying were busy in sailor shirts and canvas shorts, barefoot. Sonia refused to dress so “coolly,” but she was also in work attire. Only Lin Ziqi and Zhang Yunmi were dressed up. Lin Ziqi was wearing the full school uniform of the academy according to the “dress code,” while Zhang Yunmi was already in her performance costume.

“So, isn’t this a nice way to travel by boat?” Qian Duoduo said proudly.

“But we’re taking a big detour for no reason,” Lin Ziqi said. This was Qian Duoduo’s idea: everyone would gather at the Feiyun Club and then take the Cang to the stadium for the rehearsal.

Today was the day of the official dress rehearsal. Although it was called a rehearsal, it was actually a very formal performance. All participating personnel had to go through the normal performance flow, just without the interstitial acts, intermissions, and leaders’ speeches. The three days’ worth of programs would be run through in one day.

The rehearsal day was scheduled on a rest day for a reason. A rest day would allow more students and young naturalized citizens to observe. During the official performance, the audience would be allocated according to proportions from all walks of life, and the seats reserved for young people would be limited. The main target of the new culture’s popularization was the youth.

“Is it appropriate for us to go to the stadium like this?” Zhang Yunmi asked from the cabin. “Uncle Dongmen said we should take a carriage, with guards escorting us.”

Lin Ziqi and Zhang Yunmi had originally planned to follow Dongmen Chuiyu’s instructions and take a carriage escorted by guards. But Qian Duoduo had persuaded them to go to the club and take the boat to the stadium.

“Don’t worry, the water is very safe today. Didn’t that guard who escorted you to the club today say so? The water is actually safer than the land—any move by the rebels would be obvious at a glance.”

Lin Ziqi asked, “Speaking of which, why didn’t you let the guard come on the boat with us? With him here, it would be a bit safer, and besides, he has to go to the rehearsal too. It would have been a win-win.”

Zhang Yunmi also said, “I think we could have let him come on the boat. It seems a bit unkind. He looked quite disappointed.”

“Our Cang has an all-female crew. How can we have a man on board?” Qian Duoduo shook her head like a rattle drum. “Besides, with me as your guard, you’re still not at ease? His skills are not necessarily better than mine.”

Lin Ziqi laughed. “You’re bragging again.”

Qian Duoduo became anxious. “Has he fired as many shots as I have? Hmph, and those two black powder revolvers he’s carrying, I won’t even comment…”

“Alright, our safety is all in your hands. Don’t mess up,” Lin Ziqi said helplessly. “Uncle Dongmen said there are enemies active in Lingao right now.”