novelnext Chapter 314 - 188: Painted Skin (Part 2)
Chapter 314 - 188: Painted Skin (Part 2)
Chu Qing chuckled:
"You might not know, the wonders of transforming appearance can be said to be incredibly amazing.
When used well, it can change in countless ways, used to harm others... it can even destroy families."
"How can this be used to harm others?"
Gentle was somewhat curious.
Chu Qing then told her a story.
It was about an expert, who, although he defeated his opponent in a duel, was seriously injured and fell into a coma.
When he woke up, he found himself transformed into another person.
Beside him appeared a delicate wife.
The wife told him his new name and identity, but he naturally wouldn’t believe it easily.
He suspected someone had played tricks on him.
He questioned his wife, even considered killing her, but the weak wife only pleaded in agony.
Faced with the weak wife, he couldn’t bring himself to be ruthless, so he wanted to check if there was something wrong with his face...
But no matter what method he used, his face’s appearance didn’t change a bit.
This expert had no family in the past, always on his own.
His wife’s gentle voice gradually led him astray, day after day, he began to feel that past events seemed like a dream.
Gradually believing he really was the person his wife claimed.
And his wife always treated him very gently.
Originally, he thought life would continue day by day like this...
But unexpectedly, one day, after hunting outside, he found his wife dead when he returned home.
Died tragically, bullied before death, the whole room was in chaos.
On the ground were clues of the enemy.
The expert went mad, followed the clues and found the enemy.
His martial arts were extraordinary, the enemy wasn’t his match, knelt down and begged, saying they never did those things...
But the expert didn’t believe it.
His wife was dead, there were tokens on the scene, and clues.
Why would they still want to deny?
He killed the enemy’s whole family... but his wife couldn’t come back to life.
He drowned his sorrows in alcohol, collapsed drunkenly on the street.
In a daze, he seemed to see his wife coming to find him, gentle hand caressing his face... In a daze he opened his eyes, but it’s just a dream.
He originally thought it was a beautiful dream, but when he saw his face again, he found it was actually a nightmare.
He returned to his original appearance.
And he was located right in the enemy’s family he had wiped out.
Martial heroes seeking justice for this family had already arrived at the doorstep.
They compared martial arts, confirmed the expert was the killer, everyone shouted to attack and kill him.
He wanted to explain, but couldn’t explain.
Using all his strength, he broke through the siege, returned to the place he once lived with his wife.
But there, nothing was left.
No house, no tragically dead wife, just an empty ground.
Those chasing him had already arrived, he was hit in a daze, injuries accumulated and as he was nearing death, he saw outside the crowd, a white-clothed woman standing.
Her appearance was identical to his wife’s.
Only the smile on her face was no longer gentle and warm, she grimly smiled at him.
After hearing this story, Gentle’s expression became somewhat heavy.
She rubbed her cheeks:
"So terrifying..."
"You actually know fear?"
Chu Qing was a bit surprised.
This story wasn’t something he casually fabricated, but a true story.
At the time, White Chess told him... that wife was actually an assassin from Mirror of Sin, also a Master of Disguise.
She herself didn’t know martial arts, but carried a blood feud.
That expert was one of her enemies, and the other enemies were the family wiped out by the expert.
In terms of martial arts, she wanted to kill these enemies was absolutely impossible.
So, she used transforming appearance to set a trap, over the course of half a year, made the expert fully believe she was his wife.
Guiding the expert to help her, eradicate her great enemies.
Ultimately, the expert also died in the plan set long ago, in a siege...
No one knew why the expert suddenly went insane and killed an entire family.
No one realized they became a knife in someone else’s hands.
They only thought they were ridding the Martial World of evildoers, they were great heroes! They emerged and advanced!
Yet they didn’t know, that this woman who knew no martial arts, used transforming appearance and Disguise Art, avenged a colossal blood feud for herself.
For this reason, Chu Qing always felt, in the Martial World, what can kill isn’t just martial arts.
Martial arts are just the foundation.
However, if one only knows how to rely on martial arts and wins by force, they are bound to fall into the third-rate.
One day, they might become a knife in someone else’s hand without even realizing it.
Because there are truly clever people in this martial world, they manipulate hearts, killing without bloodshed, and murder invisibly.
Of course, up to now, Chu Qing still doesn’t know, in the story Bai Qi told, which side is good and which is evil.
After all, he himself stands not quite right, so how could he define the good and evil of others?
But this little story, which even made Gentle say ’afraid’, was somewhat unexpected for Chu Qing.
Gentle thought carefully for a moment:
"It is indeed a bit terrifying... the intention is quite terrifying."
Chu Qing nodded:
"Let’s go, these things count as unexpected gains.
"After returning to the stronghold later, I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
Gentle asked.
Chu Qing smiled:
"In my room, create the illusion that we are having a heart-to-heart conversation. I plan to, wait for the rabbit."
The plan to wait for the rabbit was already in Chu Qing’s mind once he knew there was a hiding place here.
Deceitful Poison is just a minor character, not worth mentioning.
What really deserves attention are those on the Evil Extermination List.
But small characters could also bring big trouble, especially those skilled in poison, the most feared in the martial world.
Now that this nail is pulled out, other matters can continue.
First, let Gentle and the ’Third Young Master’ have a heart-to-heart talk in the room to let everyone know that the ’Third Young Master’ has never left the stronghold.
Then, in the identity of the ’Night Emperor’, go find Tie Lingyun, tell him the identity of the contact person, let him keep an eye on it, don’t make a move yet, and don’t draw attention to avoid alarming the enemy.
Finally, Chu Qing came to the hiding place... waiting for the rabbit.
These things sound complicated, but they are not difficult to execute.
The only slight challenge is the initial secret probing when the ’Night Emperor’ meets Tie Lingyun for the first time, but Chu Qing is quite adept at this.
Therefore, without waiting for the night, Chu Qing had already returned to the hiding place, quietly waiting for the opponent to show up.
...
...
The night at Ghost God Gorge seemed truly linked to demons and gods.
The gale within the gorge howled, each sound resembling the weeping of fierce ghosts.
And at the edge of Ghost God Gorge, there was now a scholar wearing a mask with a face design.
He was dressed in white, standing with his hands behind his back at the edge of the cliff, as if he could fall at any moment.
A coughing sound arose from behind, very sudden, but it did not startle the scholar.
He only furrowed his brow slightly and turned to look at the new arrival.
This was an old woman, over fifty, with gray hair, wearing a mask of the Mirror of Sin.
"Old Madam Withered Butterfly?"
The scholar spoke faintly, with a slight tone of inquiry.
The old woman did not look up, only muttering to herself:
"Whose child is this, at this hour, not resting at home, how did you end up in a place like this, enticing the wind and the moon?
"Come, come, if your parents don’t love you, granny loves you... how about that?"
As she spoke, her wrist shook, and she suddenly held a wooden doll.
Gently shaken:
"Look, is this fun?"
"Not fun."
The scholar responded coldly:
"Don’t touch me, be careful or you might not keep your head."
As soon as he spoke, the doll in Old Madam Withered Butterfly’s hand flew out, and the scholar’s robe sleeve waved, a burst of gang wind shook, and the wooden doll was immediately fixed in mid-air.
The doll spread its arms, revealing two sharp little knives, its gestures changing with Old Madam Withered Butterfly.
In the air, came a sound like tearing fabric, forcibly tearing open the scholar’s gang qi, heading straight for the scholar’s forehead.
"Courting death!!"
The scholar was furious, his feet unmoved, suddenly lifting his arm to point, like adding eyes to a dragon!
Seeing that this finger was about to fall on the doll,
A figure suddenly descended from the sky.
With hands clasped, a monk wearing a face mask with a bitter expression appeared between the two.
The doll’s knife, the scholar’s finger, both fell on the monk’s body.
Yet like striking defeated leather, causing no harm to him.
The bitterness on the monk’s face seemed to deepen, and he spoke softly:
"Friends, why such strife here?"
...
...
ps: Continuing to ask for monthly votes~ Still feeling the effects of a cold, nothing else matters, just that my mind is buzzing and it’s very uncomfortable, annoying!