Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 48 I'll Tear Off Your Face
Zhou Zhao's heart soared to the ground, then plummeted back down, shattering into pieces.

The moment Qianmian removed her mask, she thought she was about to meet Su Changying, who had been missing for four years.

That inexplicable sense of familiarity that had been there since Chang'an, that tacit understanding that he would prepare the roster when she wanted it, and the bowl of clean mutton soup in front of her...

But beneath the mask was Zhu Li's pale, cold face.

As if that wasn't enough, Qianmian blinked, and his previously cold and unfathomable gaze suddenly became empty.

"This is Zhu Li..."

He had the word "Li" still in his mouth when he saw the little girl opposite him leap up and reach out her hand to him.

Qianmian stumbled backward, crashing into the screen behind him. With a thud, he fell against the wall behind the screen, finding himself with nowhere to retreat.

Zhou Zhao pounced over, her slender, white fingers like crab claws, and grabbed his face in an instant!

Thousand Faces: "..."

His eyes were filled with astonishment!
Zhou Zhao felt the touch under his hand, and to Qianmian's shock, he pulled and tugged hard!

They couldn't uncover any true nature!
Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and rubbed it again, but no dirt came out!
Zhou Zhao frowned and released her grip. Qianmian's fair face was already red from being pinched. He was stunned, as if Zhou Zhao had taken away his ability to think.

After a long while, Qianmian finally came to his senses. He covered his mouth and coughed violently.

"Zhou Zhao, do you always act so arbitrarily?" After a long silence, Qianmian finally managed to squeeze out these words.

Zhou Zhao stared intently at him, as if trying to see through his many masks to his very soul.

"Unlike my predecessors, I can't just replace one lost face. I only have one face, and no matter how careful I am, I'm bound to lose it eventually, so I might as well do whatever I want."

Qianmian coughed again. So he had planned to be shameless and do whatever he wanted from the very beginning!
Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow. If Qianmian was Su Changying, what reason did he have not to acknowledge her? There were only the two of them in the house. The landlady downstairs was clearly his confidante. If someone was watching, she would have noticed it with her martial arts skills.

If Qianmian weren't Su Changying, her face wouldn't have been disguised, and she would have caused such a stir, attracting so much attention.

If Su Changying is in Tianying City, why doesn't he come out to search for her?

Or is it that Su Changying is not in Tianying City now, but will only arrive on July 15th, for example, is he the master of mechanical arts mentioned by Qianmian?
Zhou Zhao's mind raced, and he looked at Qianmian with a predatory gaze.

In any case, Zhu Li's face is definitely not Qianmian's real face, so his disguise skills are truly amazing!

"You plan to use this face to stay by my side? In what capacity?"

Once Zhou Zhao calmed down, he realized that the Thousand Faces had been replaced with Zhu Li's face, which was definitely not unfounded.

Qianmian nodded.

"What is your mission? To monitor the movements of Tianying City and obtain the 'Six Paths Heavenly Book'? What exactly is the 'Six Paths Heavenly Book'?"

Zhou Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the bamboo slip that could conjure up sacrificial texts out of thin air. Could that bamboo slip be the "Six Paths Heavenly Book"?
But upon closer reflection, she rejected the idea.

The bamboo slips had previously been stored unremarkably on a bookshelf in the basement of the Shanming Villa built by Princess Changyang. Later, because her elder brother Zhou Yan happened to have his hand resting on them, they were taken into custody by the Court of Justice as evidence.

If that is the "Six Paths Heavenly Book", why would Zhang Ran go to such great lengths to build Tianying City?

They even sent out a spy.

“Now there’s one more person protecting Liu Huang,” Qianmian said, unable to resist touching his face.

Zhou Zhao has a really strong grip!
He had already discovered back in Chang'an that this girl was ruthless not only to herself but also to others. If she weren't a member of the Zhou family and didn't aspire to be the Minister of Justice, this Tianying City would be her perfect battlefield. Just look at how long it's been; she's already adapted to the way "promotion" happens here. His face was still burning with pain; it would probably be a bruise by tomorrow.

The wound on my neck, inflicted by Zhou Zhao, has not yet completely faded.

Really...

Qianmian pondered for a moment, then pursed his lips. "It's a tortoise shell. It can predict good or bad fortune and even lead to immortality. I don't believe it, but many people do."

"There is no such thing as immortality in this world, and it is precisely because people can die at any time that life is interesting. Don't you agree, Miss Zhou?"

Zhou Zhao shook his head, looking at his collarbone, wondering if his skin was unusually long... what if he could lift it up starting from the collarbone...

Her gaze was too direct and intense, and Qianmian felt as if he had been burned. He tightened his clothes without making a sound, and could no longer strike any carefree or dashing pose. He knelt down opposite her seriously, like a dignified and rigid gentleman.

Seeing that the collarbone was no longer visible, Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow and withdrew his gaze with some regret.

"Tortoise shell?"

Zhou Zhao repeated, "This is not unusual. People record past events using bamboo slips, tortoise shells and animal bones, as well as silk, sheepskin, bronze, and other materials. Among these, texts related to the worship of deities are mostly engraved on bronze or tortoise shells."

"I find anything interesting, regardless of life or death, because it's what I want to do."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he picked up the meat pie and began to eat it seriously. After all that fuss, the meat pie had gotten a little cold, and it was becoming a bit greasy.

After she had eaten and drunk her fill, she took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth, and then stood up.

"Thank you for the breakfast. Tomorrow at noon, I'll treat you to a show in the pine forest outside Xuanwu Gate as a return gift. Then you can use this face to enter the city and join Tiandou Village by my side. As for your identity..."

Zhou Zhao looked at Qianmian's face, clicked her tongue twice, and waved her hand, "I'm too lazy to think about it. With this face, no matter what identity you find, you'll end up as Xie Laosi."

Qianmian was confused for a moment. Seeing Zhou Zhao about to leave, he couldn't help but remind him, "The real experts of Xuanwu Hall are not those three chieftains. There is a guy with tattoos on his face by the old hall master's side. He is Qin Tianying's spy placed by the Xuanwu Hall master's side."

"Although you are highly skilled in martial arts, this man's skills may not be inferior to yours. If you encounter him, you should be on your best."

Zhou Zhao stood up. She thought that this was probably the reason why Qianmian wanted to become Zhu Li and stay by her side.

She nodded, opened the door, and swaggered out.

The roasted mutton shop now has a few scattered customers, all there to eat steamed buns, their chatter adding a touch of lively atmosphere.

The mistress of the house walked upstairs, holding a wooden tray in her hand. When she came in, she saw Qianmian sitting there stiffly, wearing a mask, staring blankly at the empty bowl of mutton soup opposite her.

She knelt down silently and began to clear the dishes from the table. The moment she looked up, she was shocked to see Qianmian's swollen and red face.

"Was it that Miss Zhou who did it?" the mistress of the house exclaimed in surprise. "You didn't kill her."

Qianmian suddenly looked at her, but the mistress of the house was not afraid. "Don't you think you treat her differently?"

It wasn't that the city hadn't been without its "colleagues" with a thousand faces before, but they all eventually died.

Qianmian stood up but didn't respond to the conversation. "Next time, don't add cilantro to my mutton soup either. The meat patties will taste bad if they get cold. Keep them warm over the charcoal fire."

As he spoke, he flashed out of the window and disappeared.

The wife of the landlord looked at the screen that had fallen against the wall, and suddenly thought of some scenes. She clicked her tongue twice, shook her head and chuckled softly.