Chapter 2259: Changing Faces

The dark forest contained everything—spider webs, wild fruits, bird feathers, insect eggs, and leaves—yet none of them clung to him.

Such a person ought to be strolling through a place of blooming flowers, but here he was, in a desolate wilderness.

The man in the hat saw him and felt a strange unease. The other person was heading straight for the dilapidated hut, meaning he was coming for him.

As expected, when the man in green spoke, he was startled. "Tang Jingye?"

"Who are you?" the man asked, frowning as he scrutinized him up and down. "What kind of prank is this?"

Over a hundred years ago, when he left his seclusion to handle some business, he had been played for a fool by his sect brothers.

Those guys with short memories couldn't be trying the same old trick again, could they?

"The Heavenly Centipede you're waiting for won't be coming," the man in green kindly informed him. "It attempted to steal from Tongyue Town's Profound Crystal warehouse and was captured last night."

Heavenly Centipede, Tongyue Town! As soon as these two keywords were uttered, Tang Jingye's heart sank. His gaze at the man became one of wary uncertainty. "How do you know that?"

"I just came from Tongyue Town," the man in green sighed. "You immortal sect demons who've just emerged from seclusion get hold of some vague information, but you don't realize that times have changed outside. You'll just be used as pawns."

A red light flashed in Tang Jingye's hand, revealing a long sword. He pointed the sword's tip at the man and said:

"Are you one of Cang Yan's people?"

"I am not," the man in green replied, smiling, which made him appear even more handsome. "It's a pity you bear the name of an ancient grand sect, yet your methods are still too petty. Just stealing a bit of profound crystal."

A vein throbbed on Tang Jingye's forehead. He wanted to speak but hesitated.

That's right, the other person knew his name and, naturally, his origins.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to help you," the man in green said, "to help you make things a little more chaotic." He suddenly stepped forward. "But first, I need to borrow your face."

His movements seemed slow but were incredibly fast; in a single step, he was in front of Tang Jingye!

"You're asking for death!" Tang Jingye raised his wrist. His sword moved like three plum blossoms in winter, pointing at the man in green's throat, abdomen, and lower vital spot. Although his movements were nimble, the qi from his sword tip was extremely sharp. A nearby branch, clearly still three feet away, was instantly severed!

A large boulder diagonally behind the man in green emitted a dull crack and was also split in two by the sword's qi.

A gust of mountain wind blew, and the jungle swayed, concealing the commotion within.

A moment later, a squirrel furtively peeked its head out and saw that the battle in front of the dilapidated hut had ended.

Tang Jingye sat slumped against the pine tree, a bowl-sized hole gaping in his chest and bleeding profusely. His long sword had been sent flying ten meters away, stuck in the ground.

But he wasn't dead yet. Although his head was tilted and he didn't even have the strength to lift his neck, he still glared at the enemy before him.

"You... you..." Who exactly are you?!

The man in green stood before him, looking down, gently licking the drops of blood from his fingernails.

It was Tang Jingye's blood.

"Quite fresh."

After saying this, his appearance changed. His features subtly shifted.

Just a few breaths later, the man in green had a new face—

Tang Jingye's face!

Witnessing this scene, Tang Jingye on the ground widened his eyes, while the other person tilted his head, matching the angle of Tang Jingye's own head.

Referencing the original template, his features made further subtle adjustments.

The two faces were now identical, as if looking into a mirror; even the mole on the jaw was perfectly replicated.

"Alright, we've been out for a while now," the man in green said, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck with one hand and lifting him up. "We... erm, I should return to the sect now."

The last sight Tang Jingye saw in his life was a smile appearing on "his own" face, familiar yet terrifying.

When the next gust of mountain wind blew, there was no longer anyone in front of the dilapidated hut.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), a contingent of people arrived, surrounding the dilapidated hut. They were led by Commander Chen and the Maoling Giant.

Inside and outside the hut, there wasn't a single soul. Only the squirrels in the trees, disturbed a few times, grumbled noisily.

The Maoling Giant was very displeased. "Could it be that the Heavenly Centipede lied again? Its accomplice isn't here at all?"

Missing their target was irritating. They had been traveling all night yesterday. It should have been catching up on sleep this cool morning, but instead, it was kicked out by Granny Zhu to run an errand.

It looked enviously at its brother; the dwarf was sleeping soundly on its shoulder.

Just then, a guard discovered a pool of blood beneath the pine tree behind the hut.

There was blood on both the tree trunk and the ground, indicating someone had been severely injured there.

Commander Chen knelt down to examine it. "The blood hasn't changed color much," he noted. "This person was injured at most an hour or two ago."

The Maoling Giant reached down and rubbed the blood-stained sand, bringing it to its nose to sniff, and even licking a bit. "Human, male," it declared. "Must be several hundred years old. His cultivation isn't weak; the spiritual energy in his blood hasn't dissipated. Also, this person is probably dead."

"How can you tell?" Commander Chen asked, surprised.

Just by tasting one more bite, could it draw so many conclusions?

"I just tasted a small piece of flesh and blood," the Maoling Giant grinned, licking its yellow teeth as if savoring the taste. "It was a fragment from the tip of the heart valve, very fresh indeed. This person's heart was gouged out. I don't think he's likely to survive."

It had been a long time since it last ate a human; it missed it terribly.

"The Heavenly Centipede's contact was killed?" Commander Chen frowned. "Someone actually got ahead of us. Could it be their enemy?"

The Maoling Giant stood up and turned to walk back. "Wouldn't know about that," it said.

It wasn't its business; it was too lazy to think any further.

Since they were traveling with Granny Zhu, Puhua and Sun Hongye no longer rode the mountain eagle, opting instead for the Maoling Giant's special transport.

The Maoling Giant only partially resembled a human in appearance but in reality had no kinship with humans. They possessed innate dual talents in earth and wood, along with the ability to shorten distances, covering over a hundred meters in a single stride when traveling.

No matter how rugged the mountains and dense the forests, it moved as if on flat ground. Sun Hongye sat on the giant's shoulder; one moment she was at the bottom of a valley, enjoying leaves brushing against her face, the next she was standing at the top of a cliff, feeling the mountain wind on her face, and another glance down revealed a bottomless abyss. The thrill was indescribable.

Sun Hongye now understood why Granny Zhu scolded them: How could they be late with such a travel speed? Before the battle, this fellow was probably hiding in some corner, slacking off and oversleeping.

The Maoling Giant also mentioned the incident at the dilapidated hut, but lacking sufficient information, they couldn't figure out what exactly happened and had to give up on their wild guesses.

The further they walked towards Jucheng, the less desolate wilderness there was and the more prosperous the towns became. Not only did the number of carriages and horses on the roads visibly increase, but birds also constantly flew to and fro in the sky.

Both land and air were bustling.

The Maoling Giant didn't travel by conventional routes, preferring cliffs and secluded valleys. This peculiar sight often drew travelers to stop, watch, and point, but most onlookers' eyes were filled with curiosity rather than fear.

After all, there were simply too many strange sights along this journey. Even villagers venturing out to see the world found their horizons broadened with each new sight.

To say nothing of other things, on the plain where they were currently walking, small whirlwinds often roamed, usually following the main roads or small paths.