The light of dawn shone through the wooden window, blessing the room with the morning warmth.
Luo Hong held half a mask in his hand as he quietly sat on the chair. The mask was the third prize, the Damaged Mask of the Evil Gents, which explained why there was only half of it. It felt like plastic and the slight curve on its mouth made it look warm and soft.
He touched the lips of the mask and the picture of a person wearing the mask appeared in his mind. The person wore green robes and held an oil-paper umbrella in the warm March. He stood on the bridge elegantly as he gazed into the sky.
The person looked like a gentleman of his era and…nonsensical!
‘Isn’t this the Mask of the Evil Gent? How evil is he now?!’ Luo Hong took a deep breath.
After the cultivation, his yang energy got stronger, yet he got the mask as a reward from the manual.
‘Is this a big joke? Should I put it on?’ A quick thought later, he walked to the copper mirror. He lifted the mask up and put it on his face.
Kabaam!
The moment the mask was on his face, the world around Luo Hong drastically changed. He heard an endless wail in his ears and found himself in total darkness as if the darkest cloud had swept over him.
Sorrow and anger, the emotions that resisted the world, gushed into his head. His eyes turned red immediately.
After he put the mask on, Luo Hong’s black hair suddenly turned silvery-white as if he was covered in snow. He looked elegant and warm on the outside but was broken and despair on the inside. He stood like a gentleman with elegance, yet he committed shady dealings that could destroy the world.
Evil was deeply rooted in his heart.
‘So, this is the Evil Gent?”
…
Luo Hong panted heavily after he took the mask off, and the silvery-white hair immediately returned to black.
“I felt like a totally different person with the mask on.” Luo Hong looked at the mask with caution.
However, the power that he felt from the mask surprised him. Be it the sword qi or the sha energy[1] in his dantian, both were boosted greatly with the mask on. He even felt like a veteran warrior who had mastered countless fighting techniques.
When he put the mask on, Luo Hong felt like he was smiling, but his face was cold as ice. He felt like a bloodthirsty beast, longing for slaughter.
“I can’t always put this on. It will affect my mind.”
Luo Hong planned to keep the mask away. At the thought of it, the mask transformed into a light and went into the human skin manual, shocking him.
“A storage function?” He could not put his excitement into words. “Can the human skin manual store items too?”
Luo Hong felt like he just stumbled upon a huge surprise. He tested it out but was soon disappointed. The human skin manual could only store the prize that he got, and not other random stuff.
Despite the disappointment, at least, it was better than nothing.
…
Hu Zhishui was dead. The great philanthropist of Anping County was an evil cultivator and the news got everyone riled up, so heated discussions were everywhere.
It was the first time the people of Anping County realized that evil was so close to them, the evil being that killed without hesitation!
Fortunately, Hu Zhishui was dead, and the fact calmed a lot of the nervous citizens. They then thought of Luo Hong.
“Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ has never joined such a literature gathering. He must have joined the gathering to expose Hu Zhishui’s dark side!”
“Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ wiped out the bandits in the Heiyun Stockade, and now he’s removed the hidden evil being in our county! He really is the representation of justice in our county!”
“Hu Zhishui was strong. Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ was badly injured in the battle, and he couldn’t even stand on his feed. He had to be carried away by his bodyguard. He gave his own life in exchange for society’s peace and harmony. His actions really deserve respect.”
All sorts of comments circulated in the county.
Luo Hong’s reputation surged higher than before with the news being the most discussed topic in the county. He was even much more popular than when he wiped out the Heiyun Stockade.
In the tea house, the storyteller recounted the battle between Luo Hong and Hu Zhishui eloquently while the listeners cheered ceaselessly at the amazing story. The entire county was immersed in some sort of fanaticism over Luo Hong.
More importantly, the scholars who had survived the incident were more terrified than ever. They gathered up and visited the Luo Residence.
“Thank you, Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’, for saving our lives!”
“People like us are afraid of evil. Only the bold child isn’t afraid of the darkness. He took it upon himself and fought evil on behalf of the people!”
“Childe ‘Long Hoe’ has always been an elegant, easy-going person. His noble heart is a role model to all of us!”
The scholars gathered in front of the Luo Residence and started bowing respectfully.
The overlaying clamor almost blasted the Luo Residence’s roof to the sky.
While Hu Zhishui’s reputation fell through the floor, Luo Hong’s reputation surged to the sky. Everyone in the county admired him for what he had done.
…
After having breakfast and scolding Little Douhua, Luo Hong got an update from the servants.
He covered his chest in agony after hearing what happened outside. He started to regret not killing all those scholars when they were out cold.
The scholars might not believe him, but his original plan was not to kill Hu Zhishui, the evil cultivator. He had just been trying to ruin the gathering.
Luo Hong was helpless as his reputation surged to the sky.
He could not just go out and tell everyone he was a little punk.
It would be stupid and more importantly, no one would believe him.
‘What a pity! I should have killed all of them!’
While he was in the toilet, he opened the manual and flipped to the diary page.
“June 20th, the Great Xia Calendar. Sunny.
“I accidentally killed Hu Zhishui, an evil cultivator who was disguised as a philanthropist among the people. I became the hero of Anping County, the hero that was admired and praised by many. My reputation is reaching the sky, and everyone is crazy about me.
“Diary entry, Sin Level -66”
Luo Hong almost broke down in tears. Fortunately, he exchanged the third prize before the praises came and he got doubled Sin Level from the kill. Otherwise, the praises from the people would drag him back to the negative and he would be further away from the third prize again.
For the whole day that day, the people praised him ceaselessly, but Luo Hong did not respond to any of it. He was not in the mood to head out either, so he stayed at home and concentrated on his recovery.
He called Zhao Donghan over for a friendly spar but realized that he was lacking a lot in terms of combat techniques.
Back in the battle with Hu Zhishui, if Di Shan’s shadow had not been strong enough to pin the man down, Luo Hong would have been stabbed a million times by Hu Zhishui.
Zhao Donghan was excited when he knew his young lord decided to stay at home and spar with him. He was really afraid that his young lord would go wandering outside because nothing good ever happened.
Fallen leaves danced in the backyard.
Luo Hong used a sword to spar with Zhao Donghan to make up for the lack of techniques.
In his signature green robes, Butler Chen watched for a while outside the backyard before he went away silently.
…
At the lotus pond, Butler Chen sat down peacefully with two cups of tea on the tea-table beside him. As he lifted one of the cups, the lid was softly ground around the edge and steam rose from the hot tea.
Then, the lotus leaves in the pond trembled all of a sudden.
An elder in crane robes appeared beside him and lifted the other cup of tea. He approached noiselessly. Luo Hong and Zhao Donghan did not notice anything even though they were just sparring next door.
“One of the greatest swordsmen in the world is doing a butler’s job in the Luo Residence. You’ve really opened my eyes to something new.” The elder smiled and had a sip of tea. He also had a piece of tea leaf just so he could chew and savor its bittersweetness.
“This is good tea,” he said.
Butler Chen glanced at the man and said, “The deputy director of the great Directorate of Astrology and Calendar is also someone’s dog.”
The elderly put his cup down. “Mind your words, Grand Master Chen. The crown prince is the next in line to the throne. It’s only natural that I served him with my abilities.”
Butler Chen chuckled. “Crown prince? That crown prince whose cultivation had reached the sky and is as lively as ever even though he had lived for a few hundred years? Who knows whether or not he is the next in line.”
“I don’t want to know about all those nonsense in the imperial court. I am here in Anping County to protect the child and lady on behalf of Master Luo.”
“Bring your bullsh*t back to the capital. Don’t you dare drag the child and lady into your problems. Or else, my sword won’t be as courteous.” Butler Chen skipped the courtesy with his words.
The backyard suddenly felt tense as if a myriad of swords appeared. The sword qi even sliced the lotus leaves into pieces.
[1] Sha – Sha Chi is translated as killing or attacking energy and Si Chi is low, also known as decaying energy—the energy that feels lifeless and dying.