Chapter 983: Confrontation

"What's this?" Zu An asked, curious. He opened it and saw eight large characters on the title page: "A Thousand Faces, One Face for a Thousand."

Following that were many diagrams, detailing various parts of the human face, as well as explanations of the torso, limbs, and other intricate anatomical structures.

"This looks like a textbook on sketching and anatomy," Zu An mused, somewhat dazed. At that moment, a small piece of paper fell out. He picked it up and saw it was the notes of Daoist Thickbrows.

It turned out that Daoist Thickbrows's distinctive eyebrows were too striking. No matter how he disguised himself, he was always instantly recognized when committing crimes, leading to his increasingly notorious reputation.

Initially, he didn't mind, but as time went on, he found his activities became increasingly difficult. He had to put in several times more effort than others to accomplish the same things, all because of his bad name.

Consequently, he had always wanted to change his appearance, at least to disguise himself when committing misdeeds so that people wouldn't recognize him.

Unfortunately, the disguise techniques in the martial arts world all had various limitations. Even if they could alter his face, they couldn't conceal his distinctive, impressive eyebrows.

The only way to change them would be to shave them off, but he had always been proud of his thick eyebrows and couldn't bear to part with them.

After numerous searches, he fortuitously discovered this miraculous manual, "A Thousand Faces," in an ancient secret realm.

Despite having cultivation techniques that needed to be practiced, even mastery of this manual wouldn't enhance one's cultivation level. Instead, it offered a unique path to achieve something even Grandmaster-level experts couldn't: the ability to freely alter one's appearance.

Unlike other disguise arts circulating in the jianghu, which often required the use of drugs or other auxiliary tools and made it difficult to perfectly replicate someone's appearance, "A Thousand Faces" was different.

"A Thousand Faces" required no drugs or external assistance. Instead, it first demanded extreme proficiency in drawing and memory. This was necessary to instantly commit to memory the target's appearance and all the intricate details of their body.

Then, following the cultivation methods described in the manual, one would alter their own muscles and even bones to perfectly match the target's appearance, height, and all other details, making it impossible for even the closest acquaintances to detect any flaw.

However, the manual's cultivation difficulty was extremely high. While memory was manageable, as cultivators' mental strength was far greater than ordinary people's, making it easy to remember details in a short time...

The crucial point was that drawing relied on talent, and it was very difficult for ordinary people to reach the level required by "A Thousand Faces."

Another difficulty lay in cultivation: "A Thousand Faces" did not enhance one's cultivation, but it demanded an enormous amount of primordial qi. After all, maintaining the constant alteration of muscles and bones required primordial qi, and to achieve spontaneous, unrestrained transformation, both the quality and quantity of primordial qi needed were terrifyingly high. Daoist Thickbrows, at his current level, simply couldn't achieve it.

"No wonder he only wore a black robe this time and didn't successfully disguise himself," Zu An thought. He placed the booklet into his Glazed Orb, reflecting that with this, he gained a Mystique-like ability, which would be incredibly useful for anything he might do in the future.

This was truly an unexpected bonus for the day. Thinking of his gains, Zu An immediately felt exceptionally pleased.

Just then, a commotion and cries of alarm erupted outside, seemingly mixed with the voices of Pleasure Pavilion staff trying to explain.

Zu An quickly summoned Daji back, then lay down on the couch. No sooner had he pulled the covers over himself than the door was kicked open from the outside.

"Who...?" Zu An feigned being startled awake, groggily getting up from the couch and looking blankly at the doorway, as if still unaware of what was happening.

At the same time, he secretly observed the situation. The cultivation levels of the people who entered were all quite high; several were similar to Yang Long, and the one leading them was even more formidable, with extremely stable primordial qi fluctuations, giving off an unfathomable aura.

"A Grandmaster?"

The person who entered had very noticeable triangular eyes, as if carved from the same mold as Sun Ji. Given his age, he was undoubtedly Sun Ji's father, Sun Xun, the Prime Minister of Yan.

As soon as he entered, he surveyed the room with incredibly sharp eyes, which quickly fell upon Zu An.

At this opportune moment, Zu An transitioned from bewilderment to realization, then roared angrily, "Who are you people? Get out!"

Hearing his words, Sun Xun's face darkened. "Young man, you truly have no fear of death."

At that moment, the Pleasure Pavilion staff also rushed in, led by the Fat Venerable.

He completely lacked his previous arrogance, instead appearing somewhat obsequious. "Prime Minister Sun, what brings you here? Is there some misunderstanding?"

Tang Tian'er and others followed beside him, maintaining sweet, professional smiles. She secretly glanced at Zu An, a hint of confusion passing through her eyes, wondering why he had woken up so quickly.

However, on second thought, Sun Xun and his men had kicked the door open, making such a loud noise that it would be hard not to wake up. Besides, the physical resistance of merfolk was somewhat different from humans, so she didn't dwell on it.

"Misunderstanding?" Sun Xun sneered. "My Ji'er has been killed. Shouldn't I come looking for the murderer?"

The Fat Venerable was greatly alarmed. "What? Something happened to Young Master Sun?"

"Don't you know?" Sun Xun's sharp gaze fixed on him. "Guests' movements in and out of Pleasure Pavilion are highly confidential. Guests cannot ascertain the whereabouts of other guests; only your Pleasure Pavilion knows each person's path of departure."

The Fat Venerable quickly argued, "You're wrong, Prime Minister Sun! For so many years, our Pleasure Pavilion has never done anything to harm the interests of our guests; this is our very foundation. Moreover, Young Master Sun bid on an item this time, and the payment hasn't been settled yet. Wouldn't it be a huge loss for us to harm him?"

"What?" Sun Xun's eyebrow shot up, and the temperature in the entire room instantly dropped.

The Fat Venerable had no choice but to brace himself and produce the IOU for Sun Xun to inspect. He briefly explained the whole story, then asked, "I wonder if that jade pendant is still on Young Master Sun?"

Sun Xun snorted. "It was taken long ago."

He scanned the IOU. It was indeed his son's handwriting, and it also bore his private seal.

Sun Ji had also informed him of this matter through a special channel. Upon learning, he immediately brought people to rush over for support, but unexpectedly, he was still a step too late.

Watching Sun Xun brazenly tuck the IOU into his robes, the Fat Venerable's eyelids twitched. However, he also knew that the money would certainly not be recovered, and it was better to suffer the loss and avoid further trouble, lest Sun Xun direct his anger toward the Pleasure Pavilion.

Sure enough, after taking the IOU, Sun Xun didn't press the Pleasure Pavilion further. Instead, he looked at Zu An. "Are you Room Number 333?"

"That's right," Zu An replied calmly, standing up.

"Seize him!" Sun Xun waved his hand, and a group of people pounced on Zu An like wolves.

Zu An glanced at the Fat Venerable and Tang Tian'er. "Is this the Pleasure Pavilion's way of treating guests?"

The Fat Venerable hesitated, but Tang Tian'er spoke first. "Prime Minister Sun, why do you want to apprehend him?"

At the same time, she secretly transmitted a message to the Fat Venerable: with so many guests watching, if they did nothing, the Pleasure Pavilion's reputation would be ruined in the future. Moreover, they couldn't cut off their ties with the merfolk.

The Fat Venerable also found this situation a headache, but knowing she made a good point, he quickly stepped forward to intervene.

Sun Xun's eyes narrowed. "What? Is your Pleasure Pavilion trying to protect the murderer of my Ji'er?"

The Fat Venerable and Tang Tian'er were taken aback. "He's the murderer of Young Master Sun? Could there be a mistake?"

"Our man's dying words identified him as the murderer. What, do you think I, the Prime Minister, would lie?" Sun Xun said impatiently. If he hadn't been wary of the unfathomable backing behind the Pleasure Pavilion, he would likely have long ago razed the place to the ground and used it as a burial accompaniment for his son, certainly not having the patience to say so much.

At this point, Zu An spoke up. "Nonsense! I've been in this room the entire time, and Miss Tang can vouch for me. How could I have gone out and killed someone?"

As soon as he said this, all eyes in the room fell on Tang Tian'er. Everyone wondered if such a beautiful hostess had just been accompanying Room Number 333. Did Jade Token guests receive such special treatment?

Other Jade Token guests felt rather dejected. They had the same Jade Tokens, so why hadn't they enjoyed such perks?

Under everyone's gaze, even the usually poised Tang Tian'er couldn't help but blush. But given the situation, she had no choice but to say, "Just now... I was indeed with him."

She certainly couldn't say that she had drugged him and left. Doing such a thing to a Jade Token guest would be an absolute scandal for the Pleasure Pavilion.