Chapter 504 - 228: Delivered to the Door
He opened it and glanced inside. It was filled with bottles and jars.
There were also some small, sharp blades, but they looked like they were for trimming eyebrows or shaving, so he left them alone.
He put the tools away and returned to his cabin.
The cabin was still silent. No one spoke.
Zhou Zhengze, on the other hand, was carefully watching Fang Shuwen’s eyes. When he saw that the twitching had stopped, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
Fang Shuwen tossed the tools to Lu Ying’er, then turned to Luo Shuqing.
"That conical hat of yours is too conspicuous. Take it off."
"Unless Qingxiao Pavilion has some rule against showing your face?"
"N-no, it’s not that. I... I’m just... not very good-looking."
Luo Shuqing wrung her hands again. After taking a deep breath, she finally removed her hat.
Fang Shuwen was also a little curious about what she looked like.
He took a look by the light of the fire and was slightly taken aback. The girl wasn’t a classic beauty, and certainly couldn’t compare to a devastating beauty like Yu Yaoguang.
But with her round face and large eyes, she was actually quite cute.
The only shame was the red, infant’s-palm-sized birthmark on her left cheek, which ruined the overall aesthetic of her face.
"Ah!"
The gasp came from Zhou Zhengze.
Luo Shuqing quickly lowered her head.
"I-I’m sorry... D-did I... scare you...?"
Fang Shuwen smacked Zhou Zhengze on the back of the head.
"What’s all the fuss about? Haven’t you seen a pretty girl before?"
"Don’t you know it’s rude to stare? Turn your head..."
"Oh, right."
Zhou Zhengze quickly turned his head away, though he felt it was a shame.
’She’d be quite pretty if it weren’t for that birthmark.’
Luo Shuqing clutched her dress, her head bowed low.
Fang Shuwen’s words—outwardly a rebuke for Zhou Zhengze but actually meant to comfort her—seemed to have no effect.
"Alright, get on with it. Disguise her."
Fang Shuwen gave Lu Ying’er a push.
Lu Ying’er nodded repeatedly. Ignoring the pain of having her martial arts crippled by Fang Shuwen, she rushed over to Luo Shuqing. Under the watchful, menacing gazes of Zuo Xuan and Zuo Hong, she was about to begin but then paused.
She looked back at Fang Shuwen.
"Sir... what... what kind of disguise should I give her?"
"Make her..."
Just as Fang Shuwen was speaking, Luo Shuqing suddenly cut in.
"Could you... make me a little prettier?"
"I can."
Lu Ying’er nodded.
But Fang Shuwen rolled his eyes.
"Prettier? So you can attract more attention?"
Luo Shuqing realized her mistake at once. Looking a little disappointed, she finally said:
"Then... then just make me look plain. Just... don’t let the birthmark show..."
"Thank you."
Lu Ying’er glanced at Fang Shuwen again. After he nodded, she began her work.
Fang Shuwen watched for a while and realized there was more to this art of disguise than simply slapping a skin mask on someone’s face.
First, Lu Ying’er wiped Luo Shuqing’s face clean. Then, she took some substances from her bottles and jars to build up Luo Shuqing’s cheekbones and nose, and to lengthen her face.
Her slightly chubby face instantly became long and slender. With high cheekbones, she now looked a bit sharp and severe.
Next, she took out a piece of paper as thin as a cicada’s wing and applied it to Luo Shuqing’s face, covering the birthmark.
After that, she poured a skin-colored paste from a bottle and carefully spread it over Luo Shuqing’s entire face, creating a perfectly uniform complexion.
Once the substance dried, a face completely different from Luo Shuqing’s original one appeared before them.
Lu Ying’er then used fine brushstrokes to draw on new eyebrows and add other details, quickly softening the face’s stiff appearance.
Finally, she took a small blade and scraped the dried edges flat against the skin until no seams were visible. The disguise was complete.
Now, Luo Shuqing was completely unrecognizable.
Fang Shuwen might consider himself a gruff, unrefined man, but even he had to admit this was an impressive skill.
Lu Ying’er looked at Fang Shuwen timidly.
"This disguise will last for three days, as long as it doesn’t get wet."
"If she needs to wash her face and gets it wet, it will lose its effectiveness after a day."
"If... if you’re willing to spare me, I can reapply her disguise every day."
Fang Shuwen then looked at Zuo Xuan and Zuo Hong.
"You two have always been at Luo Shuqing’s side. I imagine the people from the East Sea would recognize you as well."
"You’ll need disguises too."
Zuo Xuan and Zuo Hong nodded.
Fang Shuwen gave Lu Ying’er a look.
Lu Ying’er quickly nodded and set to work on their faces.
It took a little over an hour, but eventually, three faces completely different from before were presented to Fang Shuwen.
Fang Shuwen nodded.
"Not bad."
Lu Ying’er looked at Fang Shuwen, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
In response, Fang Shuwen brought his palm down on her head.
Lu Ying’er looked on in disbelief. The lifeline she thought she had found had been so easily snatched away. The light in her eyes faded completely.
The scene startled Luo Shuqing and her two guards, who had been examining each other’s new faces.
They watched as Lu Ying’er, the very person who had just disguised them, crumpled to the floor.
For a moment, their expressions were complicated.
Fang Shuwen glanced at them and shook his head slightly.
"Do you really think that if I weren’t here tonight, she would have carefully disguised you and begged for her life? Or would she have killed those she could kill and captured those she could capture?"