Chapter 561: Ancient Disguise Technique

Balding Uncle had mentioned before that he had tried to capture my livestream video, but failed. Even when he used another phone to record the screen, the video would inexplicably corrupt by the next day.

This proved that whoever managed to capture the Underworld Live Show live broadcast was no ordinary person. It was highly likely they were the Traitors, who were equally familiar with the live broadcast rules.

They were trapped in the Dream Realm, unable to escape. Their physical bodies remained in the real world and were exceptionally fragile. This was practically the best time to kill them.

'They struck first out of fear. This video clip must be their counterattack and warning to me.'

The released video clip was highly specific. It was the exact footage I had shot using the Plum Blossom Brooch. It was in a first-person perspective the entire time with no audio. Judging solely from the video, no one would connect it to me. In other words, I was still safe for the time being.

"Streamer, how do we handle this? Your live broadcast video has already spread through certain circles." Balding Uncle listed several forums and websites featuring screenshots of the broadcast.

To avoid censorship, most of the gory images had been pixelated.

"These screenshots and videos have probably already caught the attention of the cyber police. The authorities will issue a response soon." I felt a surge of irritation. This incident could easily blow over or blow up into something massive. Although the video's content was bloody and cruel, it had taken place in an enclosed space known to very few. The only surviving witnesses were me, Du Yu, and He Bo. I doubted those two were stupid enough to expose the specific location. After all, to a certain extent, they were accomplices too.

Without evidence, the police definitely wouldn't act rashly. My real concern was that someone with ulterior motives might exploit this, continuously expanding the incident's reach until it triggered a firestorm of public opinion.

At that point, forced by public pressure, the police would undoubtedly launch a full-scale investigation, putting me in an even worse position.

My experience on the night of the city-wide manhunt had already taught me that against the masses, an individual's power was ultimately limited.

"We need to suppress the heat on this as quickly as possible. We can't give it time to gain traction and escalate." Usually, only celebrities or public figures engaged in online PR. They had entire teams at their disposal. I knew nothing about this field, so to achieve my goal, I had to find an industry insider.

"An industry insider... King of Bad Movies?" I stood by the table and quickly reached a decision. "Uncle, head back for now. Don't come looking for me for a while; I'm afraid you'll get dragged into this. Contact me by phone if anything comes up, but remember to delete all records after every call. Leave no loose ends."

"Is it really that serious?" Balding Uncle packed up his computer, looking somewhat worried.

"I suspect this video is just their first move. They should have a follow-up plan." I sighed and looked out the door. "The wind sweeping through the tower heralds the rising rainstorm. This is an eventful time; it never hurts to be careful."

After seeing Balding Uncle off, my mood hit rock bottom. The killer who tried to assassinate me in the hospital hadn't been caught, Sakurako was in critical condition after getting hurt in my place, and now this livestream video had leaked.

'The killer trying to assassinate me probably won't give up. As long as he strikes again, I'll have a chance to flush him out. That's not urgent. Right now, only the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple has the ability to treat Sakurako's injuries, and it will be three days before their Taoist priest arrives in Jiangcheng.' Weighing the urgency of these matters, I pondered for a moment and quickly reached a decision. 'The first thing to resolve right now is the livestream video. I'm no good at online PR, so I need to borrow the strength of my livestream viewers. King of Bad Movies has his own film studio, making him half an industry insider. I might as well try my luck and go find him first.'

An intense sense of crisis tightened around my neck like an iron chain. I didn't know when the enemy would resort to more aggressive tactics, so I had to act immediately.

Pulling out the Live Show Phone, I didn't hesitate and directly sent a message: "I want to redeem the ancient disguise technique and the Misfortune Pocket Watch."

"Redemption successful. Points deducted. Current point balance: 77."

The ancient disguise technique would allow me to change my face and evade the police investigation as much as possible. The Misfortune Pocket Watch could hypnotize, and with my rich experience in entering the Dream Realm, the two made a perfect combination.

I took a taxi to the Central Bank. After retrieving a black package, I didn't return to Ting Tang Road, but directly boarded a coach heading to Xinhu.

King of Bad Movies had mentioned during a livestream that their Worst Film Studio was quite famous locally in Xinhu and had an excellent reputation. I could find it just by asking around a little.

Sitting in the very last row of the coach, huddled alone in a corner, I untied the black cloth package.

Beneath the layers of black cloth lay a thread-bound book and a rather old envelope.

I weighed the envelope in my hand; it was heavy. When I held it to my ear, I could hear the ticking of hands and the turning of gears. The sound was peculiar, as if it contained some sort of underlying pattern that compelled a person to focus and listen involuntarily.

Tearing open the envelope, I tipped its contents into my palm. It was a large pocket watch, about sixty millimeters in diameter, with a white gold case, a meticulously polished crystal, and a winding crown set with a cabochon sapphire. The dial consisted of two parts: an outer ring featuring twelve solid gold Roman numerals, and another part with flame-blue hands and a sub-dial.

It was an incredibly luxurious pocket watch. I couldn't see how it had anything to do with misfortune at all.

Turning it over to inspect the case back, I saw a line of English engraved into the metal, appearing as if written by a quill: "To the dying husband".

'To a dying husband? A gift for a late husband? To a dying butler?' Knowing nothing about English, I tried to translate it for a moment before quickly giving up. In truth, what was written on the watch didn't matter to me. Bearing one hundred thousand merit, I firmly believed I could easily master this pocket watch that symbolized misfortune.

Stowing the Misfortune Pocket Watch, I opened the book on the ancient disguise technique. After reading just a few pages, I was quickly drawn in by its contents.

The ancient disguise technique was roughly divided into three categories. The first was Bone-Eating Disguise.

First, one had to cultivate a type of Gu insect that liked to eat human bones. It would be inserted through the nostrils and guided by medicinal catalysts to feed on the facial bones. Once the bones were pared down, the facial skin would be sliced open, shaped with a golden anvil, and sutured along the skin's texture. Three months later, the person's face would be entirely transformed.

This method sounded harrowing, but the actual operation wasn't too difficult. The book contained the cultivation method for the Gu insects, with every single step detailed thoroughly.

However, this method was somewhat useless to me. Altering the facial bones was indeed equivalent to getting a new face, but I simply couldn't afford to wait three months.

The second method was the widely known Human Skin Disguise. Back during the Amusement Park Live Broadcast, this was the method Qiu Ren used to disguise himself.

Normally, the human skin was best taken from the faces of virgins, and they absolutely had to be young people under twenty-six years old. One could drill a hole in the top of the head and pour in mercury to peel the face off, or use specialized knives to flay the face. After complex medicinal processing, it would finally be made into a Human Skin Mask that could be preserved long-term. When using it, beef and mutton fat served as an adhesive. By mixing different proportions and styles, one could disguise themselves as various people.

This method was quite cruel. The face had to be harvested while the person was still alive, or within three shichen of their death.

Every process was described in the book with extreme detail—cold, graphic, and enough to make a person's scalp tingle with dread.

The final disguise method was rather special. It was called the Qimen Thousand-Face Disguise.

This disguise method was a guarded secret among the eight great trades of the Jianghu. First, it emphasized face-reading—being able to discern the characteristics of a person's face at a glance. Then, through micro-adjustments supplemented by simple drugs, one could deceive the world.

Even standing in front of an acquaintance, one wouldn't be exposed. The only drawback was that this disguise lasted for a very short time; the drugs were only effective for one shichen.

The Qimen Disguise also included an entire set of methods for exercising facial muscles, as well as techniques for micro-adjusting and shifting facial bones. I nodded repeatedly as I read, completely won over by the wisdom of the ancients.

'If I can learn the Qimen Disguise, I'll be able to come and go freely even if I'm wanted by the police again.' As I flipped to the end of the ancient disguise technique book, I suddenly noticed a page that was completely blank, with absolutely nothing written on it.

'A printing omission? A misprint? That shouldn't be.' Reaching out to stroke the page, it felt ice-cold and as thin as a cicada's wing. It didn't seem like ordinary paper, and it even had a bit of elasticity to it.

Pinching it firmly, I tore it out. Only when I shook it open did I realize with a shock that this was actually a fully crafted Human Skin Mask!