Chapter 336: Chapter 290: Li Level Mask
Only after Huang Sanbing had completely stopped moving did Yang Xiao stop. He crouched down to pull the magic artifact—an apparent wooden stick—from Huang Sanbing’s hand.
Unexpectedly, Huang Sanbing’s grip was incredibly tight. It was only after breaking a few of his fingers that Yang Xiao finally got hold of the treasure.
Once in his hands, however, Yang Xiao felt that something was off. The texture didn’t feel like wood, but rather like some kind of animal skin. Pressing it with his hand, he could feel segments inside, similar to bones. With a little force, the stick could bend, but not too much.
Yang Xiao then realized that this magic artifact was not a wooden stick at all, but rather some sort of unknown animal’s skin wrapped around a series of bone segments. Despite searching, he couldn’t find any seams on the outer skin; it was as if the object was naturally whole.
With the treasure now in hand and planning to study it in detail later, Yang Xiao carefully wrapped it in cloth from his backpack, and then it was time to deal with the body.
Putting on his mask and carefully wiping the blood-stained face of Huang Sanbing, Yang Xiao lifted his phone, trying to avoid nearby identifiable landmarks. He finally chose an appropriate angle, held up the Mountain Splitter Blade, and placed one foot on the body to take a combined photo.
After repeatedly checking that the photo met the requirements, he put away his phone and then chopped off Huang Sanbing’s head, took out a bag he had prepared earlier, placed the head inside, and stuffed it into his backpack.
There was no need to clean the scene, as it was the Mirror World. He left the headless corpse where it was.
It wasn’t safe to linger, so after changing into clean clothes, Yang Xiao prepared to leave.
Definitely not through the main garage door, Yang Xiao once again used the Soul-Capturing Mirror’s ability to find a spot outside the garage and teleported out.
Taking advantage of the night, he left Xia Shi Town; after a bumpy ride, it took a whole day to get back to the Peace Hotel in Xiang Ma Town.
Using the special contact method left by the Peace Hotel, Yang Xiao walked into the hotel door at midnight; without any reception, the lanterns marked with Yuan Character Room No. 7 led him back to that room.
The corridor was very quiet. The storage locker appeared again by the door. This time, familiar with the procedure, Yang Xiao put the bag containing Huang Sanbing’s head into it.
As soon as he entered the room, he heard the clinking sound of a delicate bamboo tube rolling down the hole.
Unscrewing the bamboo tube, he found a miniature camera hidden inside, along with a note instructing him to take a photo of the corpse.
He took out his phone, found the photo, snapped a picture with the miniature camera, and then put the camera back into the tube before tossing it back through the hole.
About half an hour later, becoming impatient, a new bamboo tube finally arrived. The hotel had confirmed that Yang Xiao had completed the task. They asked how he would like his payment, suggesting that 9 million in cash was inconvenient to carry and could be converted into an equivalent amount of gold.
Of course, if he insisted on cash, that was also possible; if he couldn’t take it all at once, he could come several times over a month to collect, and the hotel would keep the remainder safe for him. Additionally, congratulations were in order for Yang Xiao—he had now gained the hotel’s approval. They would gift him a new mask, and higher-level privileges would also be opened to him. He would be able to purchase information and trade various treasures, including Resentful Eyes and Resentful Eye Derivatives, of course, within his level of authority.
Yang Xiao had no immediate need to buy or sell a Resentful Eye, but he knew it would be useful in the future. As for Resentful Eye Derivatives, his mind immediately went to the silver metal boxes the technical department used to seal the Resentful Eyes, as well as the silver special gloves they wore.
These were items Yang Xiao urgently needed. In the future, if he killed any Evil Cultivators or enemies, their Resentful Eyes that were not immediately useful could be stored and sold here later. After all, some of the Resentful Eyes belonging to Evil Cultivators were very unstable and carrying them around for long periods could be dangerous—too dangerous to turn over to the Patrol Defense Bureau, having already had a Shadow Engraving Stone confiscated.
Yang Xiao wrote down his requirements, requesting a pair of special gloves, and two silver carry cases for storing Resentful Eyes, one larger and one smaller, specifically marked with the dimensions of the new magic artifact he had acquired.
On his way back, Yang Xiao stored the Drama Robe and the new magic artifact separately, checking on them frequently. He found that the Drama Robe behaved and didn’t devour the magic artifact, perhaps because he was closely watching, making it difficult to act.
Anyway, Yang Xiao decided to first seal away the new magic artifact. Keeping such a dangerous item exposed could have dire consequences, similar to what happened with Granny Hong’s Red Bridal Veil.
Soon he received a reply from the hotel. The items were for sale, but the prices shocked Yang Xiao—the larger case cost 2 million, the smaller one 1.5 million, and the gloves were sold singly at 800,000 a piece, with a discount for a pair at 1.5 million.
Yang Xiao had earned 9 million from this deal, but purchasing these items would cost him 5 million. Could Resentful Eye Derivatives really sell for such prices?
After a moment of silence, knowing that the hotel did not allow bargaining, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but ask, "Do you sell second-hand ones?"
"Sorry, but our hotel operates with integrity, deceiving neither the old nor the young, and does not have any." Each word on the note seemed to prick at Yang Xiao’s heart, reminding him that he was, fundamentally, still poor.
He bit the bullet and placed the order anyway. He could try to get these items through the Patrol Defense Bureau instead, but it would be troublesome, and he feared arousing unnecessary suspicion—Nalan Shuo had already taken notice of him.
After waiting another hour, a new message finally arrived: the transaction was complete. Two carry cases, a pair of gloves, and a new mask were all ready and waiting in the storage box outside his door.
The hotel especially noted that one of the cases contained gold bars worth 4 million on the market, advising him to make sure everything was correct before leaving.
After burning and grinding up all the notes he’d used for communication, Yang Xiao went to the door. The soundproof door opened slowly, and he moved into the corridor, pulling open the storage locker. Indeed, everything he had requested was neatly arranged inside, and Huang Sanbing’s head was gone.
One of the silver boxes was open, revealing 8 neatly stacked gold bars gleaming with the promise of wealth, a sight that brought joy to the heart.
After confirming everything was correct, Yang Xiao turned his attention to the other side of the locker, where a single mask was placed by itself.
The mask’s surface shone with a metallic luster similar to that of the silver boxes, light to the touch, adorned with inscrutable patterns, and seemingly much more intricate than the current one on his face. Most importantly, the right cheek of the mask bore a character—not Yuan, but Li.
The hotel had mentioned before that this new mask represented a higher level of authority. Presumably, this Character "Li" Mask ranked above the Yuan one.
