Chapter 61: Painted Skin, Stripped Face
Seeing Fang Shu descend like a god, he effortlessly took the lives of two strong men.
Su Qin Gao crawled on her knees in the cave. She stared blankly at the scene before her, unable to recover for a while.
It wasn’t until Fang Shu checked if the two men were alive or dead, confirmed they were stone dead, and then his gaze fell upon her, that Su Qin Gao’s body trembled violently.
Bang bang!
She immediately prostrated herself on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing. However, she trembled so much that she couldn’t even speak.
Fang Shu sized up this woman. His eyes were calm; he showed no trace of a chivalrous hero’s demeanor. Instead, his voice was low and hoarse as he commanded, “Come forward and search them.”
He drew his sword and pointed at the two corpses lying before him.
Su Qin Gao quickly nodded. Seeing that Fang Shu didn’t intend to kill her immediately, a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
After a thorough search, she found a stack of Talisman Money, three Black Tickets, and several bottles of unknown Pills on the two men.
Fang Shu ordered Su Qin Gao to pile the items aside, then told her to strip the clothes off both men to ensure they had no hidden tricks.
By the time Su Qin Gao finished, the two men were merely corpses and showed no abnormalities.
Fang Shu’s heart relaxed slightly. He stepped forward, inspected them again, and then put the Talisman Money and other items into the prepared Shoulder Bag.
At this point, his gaze fell on Su Qin Gao once more.
Su Qin Gao, under his prolonged scrutiny, forced a charming smile onto her face.
Although the woman was bruised all over, her face was still intact. Her eyes were red and looked pitiful, truly possessing some beauty.
Seeing Fang Shu staring at her without speaking, his gaze flickering coldly, Su Qin Gao tried to continue her charming smile, but couldn’t help showing a look of fear and tears.
Suddenly, the woman seemed to have an idea. Trembling, she crawled on her knees to within half a zhang of Fang Shu. Enduring the pain, she took out a red date the size of a baby’s fist and held it in her palm.
She looked at Fang Shu ingratiatingly and finally stammered her first words:
“Immortal Elder, would you like a date? It’s good for your health.”
Hearing this, Fang Shu’s actions paused slightly.
He stared intently at the woman, and a subtle change finally appeared in his eyes.
After a few seconds of silence, Fang Shu asked in a hoarse, feignedly indifferent tone:
“What benefits did the Black Tiger Hall give you? Tell me honestly, and perhaps I can be persuaded to spare your life for money.”
Su Qin Gao’s face immediately showed even more hope. She hurriedly kowtowed and pointed at the Talisman Money and Black Tickets Fang Shu had already collected, saying urgently:
“The Talisman Money and Pills are all here. The rest has been saved as credit notes.”
Fang Shu’s brows furrowed instantly.
Su Qin Gao shivered in fear and cried:
“Immortal Elder, please see clearly. I haven’t dared to spend a single coin of this money.”
She wept profusely, and before Fang Shu could press her, she poured out the story of why she ran away from home and how she escaped the town like a torrent of beans.
“Immortal Elder, that old man was truly inhumane. Life on the mountain was too harsh, too harsh! I just wanted to go down the mountain, I wanted to go home.”
Su Qin Gao choked back sobs, “I never intended to set fire to the street; I only wanted to burn that old man to death.
It was the people from the Black Tiger Hall who told me that if I handed over the old man’s property to them and agreed to terminate the lease of the Paper House, they would help me suppress the matter.”
Bang bang! The woman kowtowed continuously and continued:
“I truly never thought it would turn out like this, I truly never thought! It was those rats, it was that person called ‘Rat Lord’ who controlled the rats and set the fire, which then ignited the entire Paper Workshop.”
Fang Shu squinted as he listened to this explanation and said calmly, “Oh, so that’s how it is. However, what does this have to do with me?”
He looked Su Qin Gao up and down and sighed, “Since you are useless, why…”
“No, this servant is useful, this servant is useful!”
Su Qin Gao hurriedly chimed in, “This servant can help Immortal Elder raise dates, this servant can be your ox or horse, and this servant’s body is still available. I only beg Immortal Elder to spare my life.”
Hearing these somewhat familiar words, Fang Shu felt a strange sensation in his heart, accompanied by a sense of disgust.
However, he feigned interest and said hesitantly:
“You have offended the Black Tiger Hall and your name is on the Marketplace. How can I take you back alive?”
Su Qin Gao’s eyes lit up. Trembling, she excitedly pointed at Fang Shu’s Shoulder Bag:
“To Immortal Elder! There is an ointment in here. As long as I apply it, I can change my face.”
Fang Shu glanced at the Shoulder Bag and said in a low voice, “Ointment for disguise? That’s only a temporary solution.”
But as soon as he finished speaking, a tearing sound echoed from the cave:
“No, no, Immortal Elder Master is mistaken. It is this servant who has cultivated Magic.”
Su Qin Gao extended her sharp, long nails and actually tore open her own face on the spot, slowly peeling it back to reveal the horrifying visage beneath the skin.
Even though Fang Shu had already Entered the Dao and become an Immortal Cultivator, his eyelids couldn’t help but twitch at the sight.
But Su Qin Gao paid it no mind.
She peeled off her entire face, held the shriveled Human Skin in her hand, and smiled charmingly again, saying:
“To Immortal Elder Master, this is the Skin Painting Technique. As long as I have suitable Human Skin to use, I can paint any appearance according to your preferences. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”
She also pointed at the two corpses on the ground, saying, “There are two ready-made skins here. Although they are male skins, with a little modification, and combined with my facial skin, they can be used. Does Master want me to try?”
As she spoke, Su Qin Gao stood up charmingly, covering herself, and looked at Fang Shu with longing eyes.
However, her face was now mottled red and white, lacking any seductive allure; it was merely horrifying.
Fang Shu observed her carefully, without any apprehension, but sighed softly, saying:
“To have even resorted to such Magic, it’s no wonder you were willing to ‘dance with tigers’ and commit such a disaster.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qin Gao’s face stiffened immediately.
She forced a smile and said, “Master, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”
So Fang Shu used his Long Tongue Sword to gently flick the Human Skin upwards, examining it as he chuckled:
“With such Magic, do you truly not understand, or are you pretending not to?”
One must know that Magic techniques like the Fur Transformation Technique and the Skin Painting Technique, due to market regulations, were not openly sold in Gu Ling Town by anyone.
And Su Qin Gao, a Mortal from the Mortal World in such dire straits, had even less money and means to purchase them from the Monster Market outside of town, nor could she necessarily find a Skin Painting Technique that suited her so perfectly.
In short, this technique could only have been offered to Su Qin Gao by the Black Tiger Hall, likely as an advance payment to lure her into becoming their pawn and give her a “way out.” This is why she dared to be so audacious as to commit the act of burning the street.
Plop!
Exposed by Fang Shu, Su Qin Gao knelt on the ground again, her body trembling.
To her surprise, Fang Shu suddenly withdrew his cold smile, and instead nodded, appraising her, saying with satisfaction:
“With this Magic to protect you, it seems you, this wretch, can indeed be of some use.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qin Gao looked up sharply, her eyes filled with ecstasy.
She then heard Fang Shu curiously ask her where she obtained the materials for her first cultivation of the Skin Painting Technique, and if there were any tips for its practice.
Realizing that Fang Shu seemed interested in the Skin Painting Magic, Su Qin Gao dared not hide anything further. She gritted her teeth and revealed the truth.
She said she first practiced with pig skin. Three days ago, she got the old man drunk and flayed his entire body for practice, and finally used her own facial skin, luckily succeeding in cultivating this technique, turning her own facial skin into the Skin Painting.
As she spoke of the process of flaying the old man alive, Su Qin Gao’s voice was a mixture of gritted teeth and a sense of exhilarating satisfaction, her emotions involuntarily revealed.
Fang Shu listened with an impassive face and commented:
“To have succeeded in cultivating this technique using only pig skin and an old man’s skin, your talent in such Magic is not bad.”
Hearing the praise, Su Qin Gao’s mind relaxed further, and a sense of joy welled up as she gazed at Fang Shu gracefully.
However, Fang Shu then sighed, “It’s a pity that the people who died in the Paper Workshop were all scorched and rotten. There’s so much material that cannot be used for practice.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qin Gao blurted out:
“Master need not regret it. Those wretches deserved to die, all of them! It’s even more convenient for this servant now that the Paper Workshop is burned, to buy their lives and flay their skins for you.”
She spoke with hatred and exhilaration, looking expectantly at Fang Shu, hoping for more praise.
“Oh, all deserved to die?” But Fang Shu, looking at her with a half-smile, sighed:
“A fellow Daoist like Su is so resentful and vengeful, I cannot afford to keep her.”
Su Qin Gao froze instantly, then realized something, her smile vanishing.
She hastily tried to explain something, but with a hiss, only fear and despair remained on her face.
Gurgle!
The woman clasped her hands tightly over her neck. Blood bubbles gurgled from her mouth and hands, but she was powerless to stop the flow of life. She could only stare at Fang Shu with regret and hatred, her face contorted.
Until she completely collapsed on the ground, Su Qin Gao still stared fixedly at Fang Shu, just like the people she had burned to death in the Paper Workshop, her eyes wide open in death.
Fang Shu calmly watched the woman bleed profusely and slowly die. He then shook his Tongue Sword, flicking off the blood.
In the cave.
After checking Su Qin Gao’s life signs, he fixed his gaze on her for several breaths.
Then.
Fang Shu skillfully tampered with their wounds and dumped the two corpses in the cave into the river, leaving no trace.
However, when faced with the third corpse, he hesitated for a moment before choosing to take it out of the cave and place it outside.
Then Fang Shu moved several large pieces of Wood into the cave and threw a Fire Talisman to ignite them, burning away the smell inside the cave to completely destroy the evidence.
After tidying up the scene, he picked up a corpse, turned around, and transformed into a fox with the Fur Transformation technique, then leaped into the mountain forest and disappeared after circling around.
It was dusk, and the birds in the mountain forest shivered.
But on the riverbank, the fishy smell permeated the water, attracting many scavengers who were noisily fighting over the spoils.
When night fell, the fat Rat with the red tail reappeared.
As soon as it jumped down into the cave, it scrambled out in a panic, staring blankly at the burning cave below, confused about the situation.
