Li Mazi gritted his teeth and smiled at the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt. "Big Brother, you"re back!"
The mysterious man didn"t reply and merely stretched out his fingers, feeling the water. "The temperature isn"t high enough."
Li Mazi"s face paled. "Big Brother, at this pace, I"ll get roaste—"
However, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt completely ignored him and entered the Daoist temple; we were also ignored.
Yin Xinyue sighed with emotion. "I"ve seen a lot of stars try their hardest to act cool, but this guy is this cool without even trying."
Her words left me speechless. The two of us followed after him and entered the temple.
The mysterious man lit a stick of incense for Wong Tai Sin"s statue and turned around. "Were you able to find a way to solve this problem?"
I forced a smile and said, "Unfortunately, I couldn"t think of anything."
The man continued, "In that case, we can only resort to a more traditional approach. We have to force the Human Bones Necklace out of his body."
Yin Xinyue"s face paled. "With "traditional approach"... you don"t plan on cutting his belly open, right?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt expressionlessly glanced at her, which surprised me quite a bit. I didn"t think any man could remain unmoved in front of Yin Xinyue"s beauty, but I was proven wrong.
The word "cold" truly fitted him.
He gave me the bundle on his back and said, "Choose one."
I asked in puzzlement, "What do I have to choose?"
He didn"t reply and opened the wrapper covering the bundle.
Inside were a few ancient dresses. Given the style, they were from the Han Dynasty. To be precise, it was clothing of high-ranking civil and military officers.
The "traditional approach" he mentioned was seemingly related to acting in a play.
Yin Xinyue giggled. "Are we going to cosplay as ancient characters?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt nodded. "Yes, we"ll be cosplaying."
To be honest, I was surprised that he knew such a modern term.
I looked carefully and finally settled on the attire of a military officer.
The reason was that it looked cool. The surface was similar to scale armor, and it emitted a beautiful radiance under the light of the setting sun.
But, after choosing this attire, I regretted it. It was very heavy and weighed at least 15 or 20 kg.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt glanced at Yin Xinyue. "Your turn."
Yin Xinyue was startled. "Do I have to choose one as well?"
The man nodded.
Yin Xinyue took a careful look and finally chose a dazzling pink dress. It seemed like something a princess or an empress would wear: gorgeous, large sleeves, low-cut, innumerable decorative patterns, and a slim waist. I started fantasizing about how she"d look after wearing the dress.
The last piece of clothing was that of a civil officer.
I asked the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt, "Are you going to wear it?"
He shook his head and tossed the outfit beside Li Mazi.
The Daoist child helped Li Mazi get out of the barrel.
His whole body was bright red, and he looked rather pitiful as he staggered.
Yin Xinyue suddenly recalled something and asked Li Mazi, "Do you need to use the toilet? You"ve been holding it for the whole day if I"m not mistaken."
Li Mazi shook his head, and his face became even redder.
Yin Xinyue and I looked at each other... yup, he"d peed in the barrel.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt asked, "Do you know where the necklace"s hate comes from?"
I briefly told him the story of the loyal minister Chao Cuo, who was unjustly put to death by Emperor Jing of Han. However, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt waved his hand in disapproval. "Chao Cuo"s hate doesn"t come from his unjust death, but from being unable to see his newborn daughter."
I was puzzled and thought to myself: That dude died centuries ago. How could you know how he felt...?
The man continued, "His last words were: Poor me, I couldn"t even see my soon-to-be-born daughter!"
Yin Xinyue"s expression changed. "Are you saying that I have to play the role of Chao Cuo"s daughter? In that case, who"s going to play Chao Cuo"s role?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt pointed at Li Mazi. "Him."
Yin Xinyue seemed unhappy and quietly complained.
On the other hand, Li Mazi seemed delighted. "Daughter, let daddy hug you."
Yin Xinyue turned around and left, furious.
As for me, I was going to star as the military officer that killed Chao Cuo, which worried me to no end. Unlike Yin Xinyue, I wasn"t an actor. Moreover, I was born delicate-looking and didn"t seem at all intimidating. I wasn"t sure if I could properly play the role of a military officer.
What if my performance wasn"t convincing enough and made things worse?
Still, now that things had gotten to this point, there was nothing else we could do.
Seeing that the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt was as calm as always, I was rea.s.sured.
As long as he"s here, nothing will go wrong!
When he"d quietly appeared in our hotel room a few days ago, he"d already predicted that we"d come looking for him today. In front of such skills, I can only prostrate myself in admiration!
In the evening, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt forbade Li Mazi from eating. "From now on until tomorrow morning, you"re not allowed to touch food."
Li Mazi knew that it was for his own good and didn"t complain.
To prevent Li Mazi from secretly eating any food, we moved all edible things into the warehouse. Moreover, we were told to remove everything that could be bitten or swallowed from the room, including candles and whatnot.
I asked the mysterious man, "What"s the purpose of what we"re doing?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt replied, "Tonight, Li Mazi won"t be Li Mazi. He"ll try to eat everything he can get his hands on and throw up. If he succeeds, it"ll be over for him. He"ll vomit his intestines out."
Li Mazi subconsciously covered his mouth, frightened to death.
While waiting, I asked him curiously, "How come we"re using this method to deal with the Human Bones Necklace?"
It didn"t feel like a Daoist technique, but something that merchants of otherworldly items would use.
As far as I knew, Daoist priests would use peach-wood swords or spells to deal with demons and monsters.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt didn"t reply. However, the Daoist child interjected, "You"re also part of the circle of otherworldly items, and yet, you"ve never heard of Senior Brother"s name? You"re really inexperienced."
I was startled. This mysterious man is also a merchant of otherworldly items?
I asked him, "May I know your name?"
The Daoist child smiled smugly, but just as he prepared to continue, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt glared at him and scolded him. "Enough chit-chat."
The Daoist child swallowed his words and pouted.
We waited and waited, but even though the rooster outside started crowing, Li Mazi had yet to do anything strange.
I got a little impatient and asked, "Will everything go well tonight?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt didn"t reply. He told us to get into Li Mazi"s room, while he went somewhere with the Daoist child.
Yin Xinyue wore the pink dress, and she looked absolutely stunning in it. My heartbeat sped up just by glancing at her.
Li Mazi started drooling and scared her off. She didn"t even dare to approach him, afraid that he might do something inappropriate.
Since I was exhausted, I decided to lie on the bed, and without realizing it, I fell asleep.
But, because I was just dozing, even a small movement was enough to wake me up.
I noticed that Yin Xinyue was asleep beside me, clinging to my arm.
Seeing her lovely face, I subconsciously stretched out my hand to caress her cheeks.
However, just as I focused on Yin Xinyue, I heard the gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth. It came from Li Mazi"s direction!