Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 80 National Salvation Society

Just then, the study door was pushed open.

Xiuer came in carrying a mahogany tray with three items on it: a cup of realgar wine, golden in color and pungent in aroma; a cup of ginseng tea, dark brown in color and steaming hot; and a plate of mung bean cakes, emerald green in color and printed with the character "福" (fortune).

She entered the room, looked up, and just then saw the back of the person in the mirror.

Xiuer paused in her steps.

She didn't say anything, her eyes quickly scanning the study. The windows were closed, the curtains were still, the bookshelves were neat and there were no signs of disturbance, and on the desk, the inkstone that Huang Shujian often used was still in its original place.

But the person in front of the mirror is definitely not the young master.

Xiuer steadied the tray with her right hand, secretly clenched her left fist, and lowered her body slightly, adopting the starting stance taught by the Huang family guards.

"Who are you?" her voice was tense. "Why are you in the young master's room?"

The person in the mirror slowly turned around, revealing their ugly face completely under the light.

Xiuer took a half step back, causing the ginseng tea on the tray to sway and spill a few drops.

"I...I'm a super expert!" She tried to make her voice sound fierce. "Surrender now! Or I, Xiuer, will beat you to death!"

The ugly man laughed, a strange, hoarse laugh, like a broken bellows.

Then he raised his hand, pressed his five fingers to his face, and wiped it from top to bottom...

The crackling sound rang out again.

Bones are realigned, muscles are stretched, and height is increased.

The ugly mask was peeled off, revealing the real face beneath.

With sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose, and a naturally upturned mouth, it was Huang Shujian.

"It's me," he said.

Xiuer didn't relax. She stared at Huang Shujian, her eyes scanning from top to bottom and then from bottom to top.

Then she cautiously approached, circling around to Huang Shujian's left and then to his right, as if inspecting a counterfeit.

"Are you really the young master?" she asked suspiciously. "The young master's chest... has an embroidered tiger descending the mountain."

Huang Shujian smiled, unbuttoned his shirt, and opened his collar.

A gruesome wound ran diagonally across his body, like a centipede crawling on his skin.

Xiuer stared at the wound, then at the tattoo, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest, and the tray almost wobbled again.

"You scared me to death..." she complained playfully. "Young Master, how did you suddenly become a different person? You looked like a ghost!"

Huang Shujian tossed the dough onto the desk. It was a thin layer, almost transparent under the light.

"Just a little trinket."

The talent "Thousand Faces," combined with the techniques of "The Face Mask," allows for a deception so convincing that even without the human skin, the illusion is indistinguishable from the real thing.

Xiuer stuck out her tongue, placed the tray on the desk, picked up a piece of mung bean cake, and took a small bite.

Then, as if remembering something, she carried the pastries to the corner of the study.

There was a wooden shelf there, and on the shelf was a ceramic jar.

A beautiful woman's head was visible through the mouth of the jar.

Xiuer broke off a small piece of mung bean cake and carefully stuffed it into the beauty's mouth.

"You can sing," she muttered to herself, "from now on, I'll call you Singer."

The beautiful woman's head didn't respond, but the gramophone kept spinning, playing the second verse of "Night Fragrance":

"I love the vastness of the night... and I love the song of the nightingale..."

Suddenly, the lips of the woman with the beautiful head moved.

"Nightingale...nightingale..."

Xiuer was taken aback. She leaned closer, staring at the beautiful woman's face: "You want to be called Nightingale?"

The beautiful head continues singing:

"I love even more that flower-like dream...embracing the night-blooming jasmine..."

The pitch was very accurate, and even softer and gentler than a phonograph.

Xiuer's eyes lit up: "Then I'll call you Nightingale from now on! Sing like a nightingale!"

Huang Shujian ignored the conversation over there. He picked up the ginseng tea and took a sip. The tea was warm and the ginseng flavor was rich. As it went down his throat, his lower abdomen felt slightly warm.

He looked at Xiuer: "How are the little monkeys?"

"They're all kept at the shooting range." Xiuer walked back and picked up a piece of mung bean cake. "They're so happy now. They don't have to perform on stage anymore. They eat peaches every day and ride big white cranes all over the yard."

"A few poor little guys," Huang Shujian said. "They won't live more than a few days if they're lost. It's not much trouble to take care of them. Consider it an act of kindness."

Xiuer nodded, then remembered something: "Oh right, Hu Wan has already skinned that white fox. He hired the best tailor in Goose City, saying it will take seven days to tan before it can be made into a scarf. Young Master will be able to get it in a few days."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Zhao Ming pushed the door open and came in, holding a vest in her hands.

The vest was bluish-black, with a fine, scaly texture under the light.

"Young Master," Zhao Ming placed the vest on the desk, "Instructor Wu brought it over this morning."

Huang Shujian picked up the vest; it was icy cold and smooth to the touch, like touching a piece of cold jade.

But it is extremely resilient; even when pulled forcefully with both hands, the vest does not budge and does not change shape.

It was the skin of that giant python.

"Have you tried it?" Huang Shujian asked.

"We tried it." Zhao Ming nodded. "At three paces, the Mauser pistol couldn't penetrate it; within thirty paces, it could stop rifle bullets. We didn't try it any closer, for fear of damaging it."

Huang Shujian took off his outer robe and put on the Azure Scale Armor.

The axe was very light, weighing at most three pounds, and felt cool against the skin, but was quickly warmed up by body temperature.

He stretched his shoulders, but it didn't affect his movements at all.

My sense of security has increased.

If I had had this armor a month earlier, even if an assassin had struck my chest with a palm, my heart wouldn't have ruptured.

"Good stuff," Huang Shujian said. "Tell Wu Zhichong to reward him."

Zhao Ming responded and added, "Also, when I came in just now, I saw Miss Lu and Murong Xue waiting in the hall, saying they wanted to see the young master."

Huang Shujian raised an eyebrow.

"Let them in."

Zhao Ming went out, and a short while later, the door opened again.

Murong Xue came in first. She was still the same as before, wearing a white shirt and blue cloth skirt, with black leather shoes on her feet. She looked as energetic as a young poplar tree.

Upon entering, his eyes darted around, and when he saw the beautiful head in the jar, his eyes widened as he examined it closely.

Lu Yu followed behind her.

Compared to Murong Xue, Lu Yu seemed much more reserved.

She clutched the hem of her dress with both hands, head bowed, eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes; she wasn't a stunning beauty.

Her current demeanor is completely different from that night with the Black Tiger Gang.

The woman in black that night had sharp eyes and ruthless moves. She fought the headless zombie to a standstill, proving herself to be a trained fighter. Now, Lu Yu was docile and shy, not daring to look Huang Shujian in the eye.

Split personality.

Huang Shujian knew the answer, but he didn't know which one was the real her.

Murong Xue pulled Lu Yu to the desk. She looked at Huang Shujian and got straight to the point:

"Young Master Huang, we've come to apologize."

Huang Shujian didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

"I've heard about it," Murong Xue said. "Before, at the Black Tiger Gang, Xiaoyu fought with you... and that headless zombie."

I apologize on her behalf.

"But at that time, she was not thinking clearly, like a different person, not the same Xiaoyu as now."

Huang Shujian looked at Lu Yu, and Lu Yu lowered her head even further.

"I came here today to talk about this," Murong Xue continued.

She suddenly stood up straight, extended her right hand, palm up, and made a strange gesture: her thumb hooked around her middle finger, while the other three fingers were straight.

"National Salvation Society, Murong Xue."

Then she tugged at Lu Yu. Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and made the same gesture, her voice barely audible:

"National Salvation Society, Lu Yu."