Chapter 4

Indeed, how should I repay the favor of saving my life?

Lan Ling was momentarily speechless. He couldn't just say he would owe it and pay back a hundredfold later; that would be too hypocritical.

The woman in black continued, "And I don't need money, I don't need anything. What I want is for the Suo family's legacy to continue."

Lan Ling asked, "If I don't agree, will the Suo family's legacy be destroyed?"

"Yes," the woman in black replied. "Young Master Suo Lun is the only heir. The royal family has been eyeing the Tianshui City territory for years, always thinking of reclaiming it to be directly ruled by the royal family. If Young Master Suo Lun dies, Tianshui City will have no successor, and the royal family will have sufficient reason to reclaim the territory."

Lan Ling fell silent.

The woman in black said, "If you agree, you won't just be repaying my favor for saving your life; you'll also be saving a family that has lasted for two hundred years."

Lan Ling said, "I really want to repay your favor, but I also want to be myself."

The woman in black said, "How about three years? You just need to pretend to be Young Master Suo Lun for three years to help the Suo family through this crisis. After three years, if you wish, you can return to being yourself."

...

After a full half-hour, Lan Ling nodded with difficulty and said, "Alright, I agree. I'll pretend to be Suo Lun for three years, just three years!"

"Deal," the woman in black sighed with relief.

The twin sister beside her seemed to want to say something but was stopped by her cold gaze.

"My name is Ye Jingyu, and my sister is Ye Jingfeng. Once you recover, we'll take you to a place to change your face," the woman in black, Ye Jingyu, said.

"Change my face?" Lan Ling was startled at the words.

"Don't worry, it won't be dangerous, and you can change it back later," Ye Jingyu said. "Rest well, we'll continue on our journey to find a place to stay."

With that, Ye Jingyu led her sister out of the carriage and continued to urge the horses forward.

"Sister, how could you make such a decision without the young lady's consent?" her sister, Ye Jingfeng, whispered.

"Miss will agree. I'm doing this for her, for the Suo family," Ye Jingyu said.

...

In the following days, Lan Ling recuperated in the carriage while Ye Jingyu took him to a mysterious sorcerer to change his face.

His body was truly extraordinary. He had just been saved from the brink of death, yet he was fully recovered in just a few days. It was unknown what mysterious energy was within him.

The three of them traveled for five days, covering over a thousand miles. The area became increasingly remote and desolate.

One day, they finally arrived at their destination, the castle of a mysterious sorcerer.

The castle was located in a remote, uninhabited mountain, and it was a wonder how it was built.

Though not large, the castle was exquisitely beautiful.

The castle was entirely black, while the garden was very colorful, creating a stark contrast.

It seemed the sorcerer was very wealthy. This place was in the middle of a remote mountain, with no signs of human habitation for a hundred miles, yet the sorcerer had built his castle here.

Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingfeng dismounted, and Lan Ling got out of the carriage. The three of them entered the castle.

The entire castle was empty, like a ghost town. However, the trees in the garden were neatly trimmed.

Upon entering the castle, Lan Ling distinctly felt the temperature drop several degrees.

The interior of the castle was lavishly decorated, but the lighting was very dim. This opulent yet oppressive atmosphere made Lan Ling feel as if he were in a vampire castle from a horror game.

The castle was still empty, but every piece of furniture and every inch of carpet was spotless.

Though Ye Jingfeng was highly skilled in martial arts, she was rather timid and found the atmosphere here unsettling. She secretly wanted to hold her sister's hand, as she had never been here before.

Ye Jingyu led the two up the stairs, climbing for what seemed like many floors until they reached the top of the castle.

There was a large door ahead, black and adorned with gold threads. Ye Jingyu knocked, but there was no response. The door seemed to open on its own, as if a breeze had blown it open.

The scene behind the door gave Lan Ling a great shock.

The entire castle was luxurious and exquisite, but this room on the top floor was like hell. Lan Ling saw countless heads, countless eyes, countless limbs, and various colored liquids. The air was filled with a strange, eerie smell.

Moreover, these severed heads belonged to both humans and various creatures, and some of the heads' eyes were still moving.

This was a laboratory. Behind a large table sat a gaunt person, draped in a black robe and wearing a pointed hat. At first glance, it seemed there was no one inside the robe, just a wooden frame. The person was so thin that their hands, which were long and sharp like branches, were visible.

This must be the owner of the castle, a mysterious sorcerer.

"What is it?" the sorcerer asked, their voice like dry wood, indistinguishable as male or female.

"Change face," Ye Jingyu said.

...

"The faces must be very similar, with almost identical bone structures to be swapped," the sorcerer said.

"Very similar," Ye Jingyu said, then opened the coffin.

As if a breeze had blown, the gaunt, ghost-like sorcerer was suddenly in front of Lan Ling. Only then did he see the face under the black cloak.

It was a woman, so old that her age was indiscernible. Her face was so thin it was just skin and bones. The only way to tell she was a woman was by her bright red lips. Moreover, she was blind, with empty eye sockets like dry wells.

She extended her claw-like hands and touched Lan Ling's face. Instantly, his hair stood on end, as if he had been touched by a ghost.

She examined his face very carefully, not missing a single millimeter. Then she went to touch the face of Suo Lun's corpse in the coffin.

After a quarter of an hour, she said, "It can be done, for a thousand gold coins."

Lan Ling, unfamiliar with the economy of this world, didn't know if a thousand gold coins was a lot or a little, but Ye Jingfeng gasped.

Ye Jingyu said, "We don't have that much gold. Can we do the swap now and pay the rest in a month?"

"No," the sorcerer said.

Lan Ling said, "Then can we go back to get the money and come back to change the face?"

Ye Jingyu shook her head. "There's no time."

The sorcerer said, "Either do it now, or never again."

Ye Jingyu said, "But we really don't have that much gold."

The sorcerer said, "How much do you have?"

Ye Jingyu said, "Only ninety-eight coins."

The difference between ninety-eight and a thousand was too great. Moreover, the sorcerer seemed completely unwilling to negotiate. For a moment, Lan Ling didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed for the sisters.

Ye Jingyu said, "Is there no other way? Changing the face is really important to us."

"That's not my concern. I only want money," the mysterious sorcerer said.

Lan Ling finally understood why the sorcerer's castle was so opulent and luxurious. She was truly wealthy.

"There is another way," the mysterious sorcerer suddenly said.

Ye Jingyu said happily, "Please tell us."

The mysterious sorcerer pointed at Ye Jingfeng. "I like her. If she stays with me for three years, I'll waive the 902 gold coins you lack."

Upon hearing this, Lan Ling and Ye Jingyu almost said in unison, "No."

After a few days of interaction, Lan Ling had grown very fond of Ye Jingfeng. Her martial arts skills were higher than her sister's, but she was very innocent and timid, always following her sister's lead.

For Ye Jingyu, her sister had been inseparable from her since childhood, like conjoined twins. Though her sister's martial arts skills were higher, she had always been the one to take care of and protect her.

To be separated from her sister for three years would be like being cut apart. Not to mention leaving her sister in this terrifying castle, which she could not accept, given Ye Jingfeng's innocence and timidity.

"If you don't agree, leave," the mysterious sorcerer said coldly.

For a moment, Ye Jingyu stood there, unsure what to do, while Lan Ling was extremely unwilling.

"Alright, I agree," Ye Jingfeng suddenly stepped forward and said firmly.

"Sister," Ye Jingyu exclaimed.

Ye Jingfeng said, "Sister, our master raised us, and Miss treats us like sisters. I can't let the family be destroyed. To continue the family's legacy, my small sacrifice is nothing."

Ye Jingyu's eyes turned red. "Can you really do it? You've never been away from me."

"Try and see," Ye Jingfeng said. "Sister has taken such good care of me that I'm like a child now."

Ye Jingyu closed her eyes in sorrow, took a deep breath, and then opened them. "Alright, I agree. My sister will stay with you for three years. You won't make her do anything terrible, right?"

"Of course..." the mysterious sorcerer chuckled. "Alright, I'll start the face change. You should leave now."

The mysterious sorcerer opened a box and took out a living creature. The creature was completely transparent, like a blob of water. When it was taken out, it let out a terrified scream. Was this creature to be used for the face change?

They could only watch so much. Then, Ye Jingyu and the others left the laboratory.

...

After just two hours, the laboratory door slowly opened.

Lan Ling's first sight was Suo Lun's corpse, which was now unrecognizable. Not only was his face gone, but his entire body's skin had disappeared.

On the table's stand, there was a new mask.

It was completely different from what Lan Ling had imagined. It wasn't a human skin mask but a thin, semi-liquid crystal layer, about two to three millimeters thick, with the contours of a human face but completely transparent. It was constantly flowing, as if it had a life of its own.

"Lie down, let's change your face," the sorcerer said.

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