No one seemed to notice anything amiss with Huang Li, whose face had been changed.
A woman who had been called ugly her entire life suddenly possessed beauty, attracting the admiration of the opposite sex. Even young masters from wealthy families, whom she had never dared to dream of, now flocked to her.
Only Chen Yu, whom Huang Li secretly admired, remained indifferent to her. Despite Huang Li's best efforts to seduce him, she couldn't even gain his attention.
Human hearts are such that the more they are denied something, the more precious they deem it and the more they desire to possess it.
However, the three-day trial effect quickly faded. Huang Li once again saw her former ugly self and sought out the charlatan again. To Huang Li, however, he was an immortal possessing great magical powers, calling himself Shao Banxian.
Lu Zhi's consciousness inhabited a cat by the street corner, lying on the ground and coldly observing the price Huang Li negotiated with Shao Banxian.
To possess something that doesn't belong to you, you must pay a corresponding price.
Initially, it was ten years of her life exchanged for five years of beauty. But Huang Li wasn't entirely foolish; youth is fleeting, and beautiful appearances will also age.
Shao Banxian then proposed another method: 'borrowing a face.'
This involved transferring another person's face onto one's own, with their consent. However, each person could only borrow a face once, and for only three months.
What Shao Banxian failed to mention was that the woman who agreed to have her face borrowed, whether willingly or not, would disappear the next day, becoming a face that appeared on a dressing table.
How much would a woman value beauty to the point of attaching another's face to her own?
But this method only lasted for one use. Huang Li soon discovered the problem: by borrowing another's face, she would live as that person.
Her appearance, family background, wealth, and lover were all merely fleeting blossoms for three months. After three months, she would revert to being the ugly Huang Li, a maid.
"She's truly more… cold-blooded than I anticipated." Lu Zhi's consciousness remained within the stray cat. Seeing Huang Li approach Shao Banxian again, the face she wore was Su Huanyi's.
Lu Zhi wondered if Huang Li hated Su Huanyi. Otherwise, why would she choose Su Huanyi as the first person to borrow a face from? Su Huanyi had always treated Huang Li like a sister, with over a decade of affection. Was it not worth a beautiful face?
Having witnessed Huang Li stealing Su Huanyi's life, Lu Zhi guessed that she would seek out Shao Banxian again, undoubtedly unwilling to accept the three-month limit.
The saying "greed makes one insatiable" seemed to perfectly describe someone like Huang Li.
Shao Banxian then offered her another method: she could maintain her face without decay by 'borrowing youth.' This was best done with a maiden in her prime, and each borrowing would last three months. The price was that she must not look in a mirror every night at the third watch.
The method Shao Banxian told her was also simple: using the maiden's hair as a medium and her blood as a bond. The blood would be used to draw a talisman, which, along with the hair, would be burned to ashes and consumed.
Huang Li accepted without hesitation and immediately sought a way to 'borrow' it.
Before leaving, Shao Banxian asked Lu Zhi the question he wanted to know: "Why did you choose your young lady?"
Indeed, while Su Huanyi had a good family background and appearance, she was only of upper-middle status. Their mistress-servant relationship was also very close. Logically, Huang Li should have targeted someone else.
Huang Li replied, "Because I'm familiar."
Lu Zhi suddenly understood. What a simple and direct answer.
Yes, because she was familiar.
If Huang Li wanted to steal someone else's life and live as them, she had to be familiar with everything about that person.
No one knew Su Huanyi better than Huang Li, making her the best candidate and the perfect answer.
Huang Li, who had orchestrated all of this, felt no remorse.
But what concerned Lu Zhi the most was Shao Banxian's gaze towards Huang Li – a look that resembled one cast upon an experiment.
The origin of anomalies has always been an unsolved mystery for humanity. Some say anomalies are monsters created by the universe; others believe anomalies are beings condensed from the fundamental evil of humanity.
If the latter were true, then everything Shao Banxian was doing could very well be the creation of anomalies, with Huang Li serving as his test subject.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhi's mood grew heavy.
Suddenly, Shao Banxian turned his head towards Lu Zhi, his heart skipping a beat, as if for a moment, Shao Banxian's eyes had met his.
"So it's just a stray cat from who knows where," Shao Banxian crouched down and stroked the cat Lu Zhi was inhabiting. Only then did Lu Zhi realize the man was quite young.
Soon, Shao Banxian turned and disappeared into the corner, and there were no further sightings of him. Yet, Lu Zhi felt an inexplicable strangeness.
Before Lu Zhi could sort out his thoughts, the scene flashed by like a sped-up video, showcasing Huang Li's life.
Suddenly, Lu Zhi's vision went dark, his body felt heavy, and his consciousness was once again confined within a body.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, Lu Zhi was still startled by the events that followed.
He had become 'Huang Li,' sitting at a dressing table and looking into the mirror. The woman in the mirror seemed to be looking back at Lu Zhi himself.
Lu Zhi's mental consciousness was momentarily chaotic, but he quickly calmed down, quietly awaiting the story's conclusion.
Huang Li, in a seemingly good mood, picked up the red comb on the table and gently stroked her waist-length, floor-sweeping hair, humming a peculiar melody. In the mirror, Huang Li's reflection slowly transformed into a faceless woman, yet she appeared unusually calm.
*Bang*—
The room door was suddenly kicked open from the outside. Huang Li instinctively turned around, only to see a maidservant she employed screaming and calling her a monster.
Lu Zhi empathized with Huang Li, feeling her emotions of fear, anger, and hatred upon her secret being discovered.
Huang Li's deception exposed, her husband Chen Yu stormed into the room. Before marrying Huang Li, he had already noticed something amiss with his wife, 'Su Huanyi.' When the maidservant broke in and reported Huang Li's secret, the truth spread like wildfire.
Huang Li shrieked, "Is that why you never consummated our marriage!"
Chen Yu grabbed Huang Li by the neck, his features contorted, "Where is my wife? Give her back to me, you monster!"
Lu Zhi's gaze remained unchanged, as he felt a sensation of suffocation. It was a mental misperception caused by his empathy with Huang Li!
No, I am not Huang Li!
I am merely an observer. I shouldn't feel any discomfort. This is just a scene of someone else's past memories replaying!
Suddenly, Lu Zhi's confined consciousness detached from Huang Li's body, allowing him to observe Huang Li being beaten by Chen Yu from a new, free perspective.
Lu Zhi looked at his hands in astonishment. Then, he heard the sound of flapping wings. Turning, he saw the bird that called itself 'Lucky Duck,' its beady brown eyes filled with shock, saying, "You escaped the mental control so easily?"
Lu Zhi didn't know either, but that didn't stop him from questioning, "What kind of duck are you, really?"
Hao Yunyi suppressed himself repeatedly, wanting to retort loudly. But thinking of the watchful Shen boss monitoring from backstage, he resentfully whispered back, "I'm a bird, a swan, not a duck! How many times do I have to tell you?"
Lu Zhi: "Okay, Lucky Duck, how do we get out of here now?"
Hao Yunyi: …
You're doing this on purpose, you're absolutely doing this on purpose.