Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 667 Everyone is Evil
"Hey, comb! Over here, over here!!"

In the alley, a middle-aged man waved to Xiao Ran, then led her to a shady corner of the alley.

"Sir, would you like a shave or a hair comb?"

Xiao Ran put down the carrying pole, took out her tools, and asked with a smile.

The person who came in sat on a wooden stool and said in a low voice, "It's too hot outside, and my head is so stuffy that I'm getting a rash. Could you shave some of the hair at the back of my head for me?"

The man was probably in his thirties. He had a large black mole on his face, a long face, a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks. He didn't look like a decent person at all.

"Hey, you don't need to shave it off. I'll just thin out your hair for you."

What is "thinning"?

"It's just cutting off a portion of your hair to make you look cleaner, but people outside won't notice."

"Can't tell?" The man looked at Xiao Ran in surprise, having never heard of such skill.

"You absolutely cannot tell."

Hearing Xiao Ran's assurance, the man nodded: "Alright, thank you for your trouble."

Xiao Ran picked up the scissors, gently rubbed her thumb against the blade, and it made a crisp "clang" sound.

With his left hand, he picked up a lock of hair from the back of the guest's neck, while with his right hand, he opened and closed the scissors like a sparrow's beak, the hair falling down in a rhythmic motion.

To be honest, Xiao Ran wasn't very good at cutting hair, but his attributes were too high, just like Xu Zhu in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. His internal strength was so high that he could learn anything quickly.

Recalling the techniques of hairdressers in real life, Xiao Ran's scissors moved faster and faster.

A moment later, Xiao Ran gently blew, and a cool breeze blew away the stray hairs on the man's body.

The man suddenly shrank his neck: "It's chilly!"

Xiao Ran turned to his side and placed the bronze mirror in front of him: "Look, can't you see anything from the outside?"

The man looked at himself in the mirror from left to right and couldn't see anything, but his head felt much clearer than before.

At this moment, Xiao Ran suddenly paused and glanced at the corner of the wall. She saw two constables hiding behind the wall, secretly watching her.

Two pairs of eyes gleamed, and a strong sense of being watched enveloped Xiao Ran, as if there were several cameras around her, observing her every move from every angle.

"Is this ability granted to them by ghost stories?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran took out the [Razor] and, after subtly activating it with the [Barber] rune, said to the man, "Old method, new use. I'll carve a 'Hidden Dragon Gully' for you, and I guarantee your luck will get better and better from now on."

"Okay, okay." The man immediately nodded in agreement, after all, everyone hopes their luck will get better and better.

Xiao Ran deftly moved the tip of his knife through the hair, picking out strands of hair finer than willow catkins.

As the blade gleamed with the light of runes, it gently traced a barely perceptible line along the man's head. Immediately, the man felt a surge of lightness throughout his body, as if he were floating on air.

"Sir, would you like a shave?"

Xiao Ran put down the razor, picked up the bronze mirror again, and the man looked at himself, a satisfied expression on his face: "Not bad, not bad, how much?"

Xiao Ran held up five fingers.

"Hey, yours is twice as expensive as Old Yang's!"

"It's worth the price, isn't it? You absolutely won't find another place with this kind of craftsmanship anywhere else."

"Alright, that's settled then." The man reluctantly took out a piece of silver from his pocket, weighed it in his hand, and handed it to Xiao Ran: "Change."

"This... I don't have change." Xiao Ran looked at the silver the man handed her with a troubled expression.

"Can't find change? Then wait here, I'll go get you some."

The man pursed his lips, put away the silver, and was about to leave when Xiao Ran quickly stopped him, looking troubled: "Sir, you..."

"Are you afraid I won't come back?"

"No, no, no, it's just that my business can't afford to be delayed." Xiao Ran lowered her head, looking embarrassed.

Seeing this, the man curled his lip and said, "Alright, I know you don't believe me. Here's what I'll do: I have a treasure here that I'll leave with you."

The man took out a box from his sleeve, which was sealed with a tape: "Look carefully, it's a sandalwood box with a seal on it. You're not allowed to remove it, otherwise... even if I sold you, I couldn't afford to pay for it."

"This is too valuable. My small business can't afford such a loss. Why don't you go and exchange it for cash, sir? I'll just wait here."

But the man shoved the box into Xiao Ran's hands without saying a word: "Remember, whatever you do, don't break the seal."

"Oh, sir...you..." Xiao Ran wanted to take him back, but the man turned and left.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran's face showed panic, but he couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Looking at the seal in his hand, he couldn't help but sigh:

"This place is really interesting. First, they put laxatives in the tea, and now we've encountered a con artist. This town seems peaceful, but actually... it's full of bad people."

The so-called "fraudulent porcelain" is actually a type of swindling technique used in the underworld.

For example, syrup is made by boiling cane sugar and maltose together, and gypsum powder is added to increase its hardness, thus imitating the texture of porcelain. The surface is then decorated with exquisite patterns using traditional techniques such as iron red and famille rose.

The vases made were exquisite, and then they were taken to pawnshops. If there were experts in the pawnshops, they would recognize the quality and dismiss the matter with a few words.

But if you don't realize it and accept this thing, after three to five days, it will get damp and soften, and its true form will be revealed. By the time someone comes to collect it, the vase will only contain syrup.

At that point, even selling the pawnshop might not be enough to cover the losses. This is the infamous "Sugar-Bodied Scam" in the underworld.

Similarly, Xiao Ran guessed that the person in her hand was already far away and had no intention of giving her the money. After three to five days, most people would lose patience and tear off the seal. Then, when the person came back with the money, hey, once they saw that the seal was broken, they would have the upper hand, and Xiao Ran would be left with no way to explain herself.

Xiao Ran knew exactly what was going on, but she still cooperated and waited in the same spot.

As for this man, it probably won't take three to five days, maybe a day at most, before he comes begging to me.

Just as Xiao Ran said, doing bad things is incredibly easy.

So what if those two constables are watching me from every angle?

If I have a skill, who could tell that I've done anything wrong?

After sitting there for a while and not seeing the other person return, Xiao Ran got up and carried the load.

"Combing your hair!!"

Xiao Ran carried the load on a shoulder pole and swayed as she walked towards the street...

The two constables were left looking at each other with bewildered expressions, unable to figure out anything.

"What?! He changed careers and became a hair comb maker?!"

Qi Tongwei listened to the report from his subordinates, looking completely bewildered.

"Didn't you notice him stealing people's things while he was combing his hair?"

"No, none of us took our eyes off him, but we really didn't see him make any moves."

Several constables shook their heads and recounted in detail Xiao Ran's activities that day.

I combed the hair of six families in total: two were elderly people, one was a baby who had just turned one month old, one was an old lady, and two were young girls.

But they saw everything clearly from beginning to end; they neither stole any money nor took advantage of the young girl.

"He not only failed to steal any money that day, but he also suffered quite a loss."

A constable recounted Xiao Ran's day's achievements.

"Fake copper coins, diarrhea fluid, that's one thing, but those two little girls were clearly trying to set a trap. The first one failed, and the second one followed suit. Sitting there, their little hands were never still. What's most hateful is that kind-looking old lady; she smeared poison in her hair."

At a table further inside the inn, Xiao Ran and the others reunited. Xiao Ran complained helplessly about the unpleasant things that had happened to her that day.

It's as if everyone in this town can't survive without doing something bad every day.

"What's so special about that? I went to check the feng shui of a family, and good heavens, seven or eight feng shui masters had come to this family, but none of them could figure it out. When I went to take a look, guess what?"

Jin Chanzi kept everyone in suspense until they saw everyone looking at him before he said, "Their family has all sorts of magic, witchcraft, and even feng shui formations. None of them are beneficial to them. At first, I was wondering who they had offended. Then the host came over, saying he was tired, and handed me a cup of tea laced with sleeping potion. He planned to bury me to make a living grave for them."

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this.

Jin Chanzi, of course, took off running. Before leaving, he didn't forget to upgrade all the messy things in their house, ensuring that their family would be childless and plagued by chaos.

Xiao Ran looked at Huang Le and saw him sitting to the side smiling, so she asked, "And you?"

“I went back to my old job. There’s a brothel behind town where I sell condoms. They’re very popular. They’re clean, hygienic, and prevent pregnancy. I sold a lot of them, but I poked a few holes in them.”

Damaged goods!

Xiao Ran pursed her lips, but this was also a bad thing. At this moment, Xiao Ran glanced sideways and found that Dai Long, who was sitting to the side, was not saying anything.

"Dai Long, what's wrong? Didn't you finish?"

Dai Long raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and filled with murderous intent. He opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "I killed someone."

"what?"

This answer exceeded Xiao Ran and the others' expectations. Dai Long was a company employee, and supposedly the most law-abiding. How could he have committed murder on his own initiative?
"I was telling fortunes today when an old lady came in. I tried to trick her with some 'comedic talk,' but this old thing turned out to be even more of a beast than I thought."

The so-called "huanghua" refers to tricks, secrets, and by extension, the skill of using clichés.

Fortune tellers use words to test the other person's reaction, speaking to people in a human way and to ghosts in a ghost way. In the field of physiognomy, there are seventy-two kinds of rhetoric, one after another, and they can find out your background in just a few words.

As a descendant of the Dai family of Xiushui, Dai Long had learned this skill since childhood and used it with consummate skill. In just a few words, he convinced the old beast to reveal all his family's secrets.

"This old beast drowned seven of his own granddaughters. His daughter-in-law went insane because of it and was locked in the cowshed by him like an animal."

As he said this, Dai Long's eyes reddened. He couldn't understand how there could be such a person in the world. Isn't it said that grandparents love their grandchildren more? So what if he's a boy? He doesn't even share the same surname as his grandmother.

"He drowned seven of his granddaughters; some of the children hadn't even opened their eyes yet when they were held alive in the water vat..."

Dai Long narrowed his eyes, a half-smile on his face; "So, I gave her a Five Thunder Talisman and had her soak in a water vat."

Just as Dai Long finished speaking, a loud thunderclap suddenly came from outside, and a bolt of lightning flashed out from a farmer's yard.

The commotion attracted many people to come and see, and they saw the body of an old woman lying in the yard. The body had been chopped up and was emitting a pungent wisp of smoke.

Seeing no movement in the courtyard, the group boldly entered. Unexpectedly, the old ox in the pen seemed to be greatly agitated and rushed out of the pen, charging straight towards the group.

Everyone scattered, and Old Niu burst out the door. Coincidentally, a man with a large black mole on his face, hearing the commotion, came over to join the fun. However, he couldn't dodge in time and was directly knocked away by Old Niu, flying into the air and crashing heavily to the ground...

(End of this chapter)