Chapter 65: Mountains and Rivers Brush (Five)

Her question came so suddenly that San Zhi and Fu Mi, who had been engaged in their overt and covert struggles nearby, both instinctively turned to look at her.

Yun Xueqing’s expression remained unchanged. “Disguise Technique? Isn’t that something that only exists in cultivation novels?”

Without hesitation, he borrowed a line that Fu Wuxuan would typically say as an excuse.

Afraid of being seen through, Fu Mi also nodded. “This sort of thing doesn’t just appear in cultivation novels; wuxia novels have it too. It’s just that it doesn’t exist in reality.”

Dan Yunni’s gaze darkened slightly as she smiled meaningfully. She didn’t say whether she believed them or not and simply asked, “Who wants to start with the face painting?”

San Zhi and Yun Xueqing glanced at each other and, with perfect tacit understanding, pointed at Fu Mi nearby. “Him.”

Fu Mi smiled but didn’t curse at San Zhi. Instead, he turned to Yun Xueqing. “How come even you’re picking up his bad habits now?”

Yun Xueqing’s face remained calm and unruffled, as if nothing could stir his emotions. “After all, you arrived at Sister Ni’s first, so naturally, you get to enjoy the face painting first.”

Although Yun Xueqing had originally planned to find an opportunity to meet Sister Ni, taking the initiative and being controlled by others were two different things. Fu Mi had screwed him over, putting him at a disadvantage.

He and San Zhi had been dragged into this, while Fu Mi got to watch the show happily from the sidelines. He had to pull Fu Mi into the water too, to break this messed-up situation together. There was no reason to let Fu Mi stand by idly.

Fu Mi wore a smile on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes—a touch hypocritical. “There’s no helping it. My face is too delicate to withstand the harm from the paints. This kind of blessing is only for you two to enjoy.”

San Zhi was the best at snide remarks, his tone neither yin nor yang. “Your skin is so thick; forget paint—even coating it in cement should be fine.”

Dan Yunni glanced at San Zhi. “Are you dissatisfied? Or do you not want a face painting?”

San Zhi was somewhat surprised. “Sister Ni is actually asking for my opinion?”

Dan Yunni smiled on the surface. “Of course. You’re Little Mi’s friends, so you’re my friends too. If you’re unwilling, I certainly won’t force you.”

“There’s such a good deal?” San Zhi declared firmly. “Then I won’t do the face painting.”

He withstood Dan Yunni’s deathly glare. “Someone as naturally beautiful as me—could there be a better-looking face? No matter how good, it couldn’t be better than my current one.”

He was still sporting the appearance he’d had when checking into the hotel the night before: a body shaped like a perfect cube, facial features all crooked and twisted—almost human, but not quite. It was a bit creepy to look at.

Fu Mi turned to Yun Xueqing. “I want to throw up.”

San Zhi fantasized about finding an opportunity to bag Fu Mi up and beat him, barely holding back as he said to Dan Yunni, “With how I look now, I don’t even need a face painting to compete for the title of the town’s number one beauty.”

He said it with complete confidence, and in truth, his current appearance perfectly matched the town’s aesthetic. Contending for the top beauty spot wouldn’t be an issue.

As an outsider, Dan Yunni had perfectly normal tastes and couldn’t appreciate San Zhi’s look at all, but she was also an excellent actress. “Indeed, your current appearance is beautiful enough. But beauty has no limits. I can make you even more beautiful. Don’t you want to try?”

San Zhi immediately retorted, “I’m already like this—how could I get more beautiful?”

He was already this ugly—could he get even uglier?

Dan Yunni nodded affirmatively. “I’ve said it before: beauty has no limits. I can help you become even more beautiful.”

San Zhi: “I don’t believe it.”

He was utterly impervious.

Dan Yunni smiled. “If you’re worried I can’t paint you more beautifully, I can always change your face back.”

San Zhi was a bit surprised. “You can change it back?”

“Naturally,” Dan Yunni said indifferently. “If the customer isn’t satisfied, I just need to remove the paint, and it’ll return to your original appearance.”

San Zhi opened his mouth, wanting to refuse again, when he felt a chill wind at his back and a sudden drop in temperature.

He glanced at Dan Yunni in front of him. She was still smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

San Zhi had no doubt that if he refused again, he wouldn’t leave this room alive.

He had observed the weird aura on Dan Yunni and could sense she was a powerful Weird, but not as high-level as him—not a real threat.

The real threat was the brush in her hand. He couldn’t tell its grade as a Ghost Artifact, but it felt extremely powerful. Perhaps it wasn’t just for painting faces; it had other uses.

Greed stirred in San Zhi’s heart, and he agreed. “In that case, go ahead and paint my face.”

Dan Yunni had seen that San Zhi was a very powerful Weird. Devouring his Spirit Energy would let her advance several levels at least.

She had her sights set on San Zhi but didn’t know he had his eyes on her brush. Otherwise, she would have struck first instead of scheming here.

Since she could see through San Zhi’s identity as a Weird, she could naturally tell that Yun Xueqing was a sacrifice, emanating a tantalizing fragrance.

But while sacrifices could boost Spirit Energy, they weren’t as good as high-level Weirds. She focused on San Zhi and was lukewarm toward Yun Xueqing. “What about you?”

Yun Xueqing picked up on her subtle attitude. “I’m not pursuing beauty.”

This was a polite refusal, but Dan Yunni’s attention was fully on San Zhi. His rejection didn’t anger her; she just said indifferently, “In that case, today I’ll only paint this friend’s face.”

San Zhi refused outright. “No, he needs to get painted too—and first.”

Yun Xueqing looked at him strangely, and San Zhi immediately sidled up next to him, whispering, “Help me out.”

Yun Xueqing had a rough idea of what he planned and made no response, simply looking at Dan Yunni.

A rare flicker of anger appeared on Dan Yunni’s smiling face. “The people in town beg me to paint their faces, and I don’t. Now I’m offering to paint yours, and you’re all ‘yes’ and ‘no’—are you deliberately toying with me?”

Yun Xueqing had no mood to bandy words with her, but San Zhi, to achieve his goal, played to his strength in smooth-talking. “Of course not. You have such mystical skills; we’re unworthy of receiving them without merit, so we hesitated for a moment. But your face painting is too tempting—my friend here couldn’t resist the temptation after all.”

Dan Yunni listened to his flowery words and felt her expression soften a bit. “In that case, please have this friend go first.”

Yun Xueqing didn’t refuse and sat down on a chair as instructed. San Zhi and Fu Mi stood behind him, while Dan Yunni sat opposite, facing him. She held a palette in her left hand and the brush in her right.

Yun Xueqing noticed that the brush she held wasn’t a watercolor brush but a slender writing brush.

And the palette wasn’t the colorful kind normally used; it was only red, differentiated only by shades—some light red, some deep red.

Red evoked not just brightness and passion but also other associations, like blood.

Just thinking that made it seem as if a faint bloody scent already lingered in the air.

Were the paints in Dan Yunni’s hand really just ordinary paints?

Though Yun Xueqing’s face was covered by the Disguise Technique, he wasn’t wearing a human-skin mask. If her paints touched him, who knew what bad consequences might follow.

He was lost in these random thoughts when Dan Yunni, sitting opposite, said, “Don’t move at all when I start painting. If I make a mistake, your face might be ruined.”

Yun Xueqing’s gaze tightened imperceptibly as he suppressed his killing intent and nodded obediently, pretending to comply.

Satisfied with his submissive attitude, Dan Yunni was pleased. She dipped the soft brush tip into some light red paint.

She pressed down slowly, wetting the dry bristles completely, the tip now coated in fresh red.

She lifted the brush, about to paint his face.

As the brush drew closer, Yun Xueqing increasingly smelled the bloody stench from the tip.

Only then did he fully confirm that the red paint in her hand was absolutely not normal paint—his face couldn’t be touched by it!

With that thought, the brush was already inches away. He tilted his head aside on instinct, and the brush missed his face, landing on the wooden chair’s backrest instead.

His dodge was too abrupt, sending a few strands of hair floating into the brush—as if a chemical reaction occurred, or like something burning, they sizzled.

Dan Yunni’s face darkened ominously. “Why did you dodge?”

Yun Xueqing’s tone stayed even. “I thought you were going to paint my eyes. I got nervous.”

The excuse was flimsy. Dan Yunni was clearly starting with his mouth, and his eyes were too far from her hand for him to possibly think she’d paint them first.

But Yun Xueqing was the one lying, and as Dan Yunni stared at his face, his expression remained as bland as ever—no trace of guilt.

Dan Yunni suppressed her inner anger and said gently, “Just this once. You won’t get another chance to dodge.”

Her tone was gentle, but she set down the palette with one hand and pressed it onto Yun Xueqing—like a heavy stone on his shoulder, immobilizing him.

Yun Xueqing tried to break free from her restraint, but she seemed determined to make him take this stroke. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t shift her other hand.

Because he’d exerted himself, a thin flush spread over his disguised face, adding a touch of vivid color to his otherwise mediocre features.

Dan Yunni was pleased by the sight and relished the control—the way he struggled desperately yet futilely. Satisfied, she lifted the brush, aiming for his pale cheek.

The brush was right there; Yun Xueqing could even feel the moist vapor.

He couldn’t let it get any closer!

Yun Xueqing shouted, “San Zhi!”

Dan Yunni paused the brush and turned hurriedly, only to see San Zhi charging at her with a knife!

Dan Yunni reacted swiftly, raising her brush to block the attack.

San Zhi was secretly shocked: The knife in his hand was a B-grade Ghost Artifact that could cut through iron like mud, yet her brush blocked it effortlessly.

This brush was no ordinary item—it had to be the Mountains and Rivers Brush he was after!

San Zhi grew more excited but didn’t slack off. While clashing with Dan Yunni, he also summoned his natal Ghost Artifact, the Azure Lamp, to battle her!

Though Yun Xueqing had escaped danger, a bit of red paint still smeared his face.

As he watched San Zhi fight Dan Yunni—and even gain a slight upper hand—Yun Xueqing had no intention of helping. Instead, he walked into the bathroom.

It proved true that fashionable people loved beauty, and those who loved beauty invested heavily in bathroom renovations, complete with oversized mirrors.

The mirror in Dan Yunni’s home was exceptionally large, reflecting Yun Xueqing’s full body and letting him easily see the red paint on his face.

Just a tiny speck of red, like a beauty mark on his cheek, not affecting his looks at all.

But Yun Xueqing sensed the foul stench emanating from it, along with a faint ominous feeling.

He frowned, went to the sink, turned on the faucet, and tried to wash the red paint off his face.

He rubbed vigorously, turning his pale cheek bright red, but that speck of paint didn’t fade at all.

It clung like a maggot to the bone, stuck fast to his face—no matter what he did, it wouldn’t come off.

Ordinary methods clearly wouldn’t work.

Having been tainted by this filthy thing, who knew what would happen.

Yun Xueqing noted it silently, planning to confront Dan Yunni about it later.

In the few minutes he spent in the bathroom, San Zhi and Fu Mi had already teamed up to subdue Dan Yunni.

San Zhi grinned at her. “With both of us here, did you really think you could escape?”