The Clown with the Black Staff

Soon after, You Ye brought Luo Qiu the masks he needed.

These three masks were naturally items left behind after the previous owner had them stored—the difficult choice lay ahead.

Initially, they were only meant to conceal his face and hide his identity during future transactions. But now that these three masks were brought out, each one was exceptionally exquisite.

Luo Qiu casually picked up one of them and carefully touched the decorations. This was undoubtedly a Venetian mask, a half-face type known as a 'Bauta,' and its craftsmanship was extraordinarily ornate. Luo Qiu subconsciously put it on.

A sensation of closeness spread, but it quickly vanished. In the end, it felt as if it had completely merged with his skin. Not only was there no stuffiness, but he couldn't even feel the weight of the mask on his face.

—Mask of Falsehood: Grants invisibility upon wearing.

Such information suddenly flowed into Luo Qiu's mind. He looked at You Ye with curiosity and asked, "Can you see me now?"

"Visually, no," You Ye replied calmly. "But You Ye can sense Master's presence."

Luo Qiu blinked in surprise. He then fetched a mirror to examine himself and found that his reflection had disappeared. After fiddling with it for a while, he took off the 'Bauta.'

While invisibility was pretty cool... it seemed rather useless. He only wanted his guests to not know his identity, not to be completely unseen.

However, as a trinket, it seemed alright.

Luo Qiu picked up the second mask. It was a paper-mâché mask. Although made of paper-mâché, the hardening technique was quite good. It had a white base with golden eyes, and the cracked lips were painted red... it was essentially a Japanese fox mask.

Luo Qiu tried it on as well.

—Mask of Inari: Can pray for a bountiful harvest.

Hmm... this might be useful in ancient times or in places with poor agricultural technology today. Moreover, this Japanese fox mask didn't match You Ye's attire for Luo Qiu at all, so it was still rather useless.

He had no choice but to pick up the third mask—a clown mask.

Putting it on caused no discomfort, and just like with the previous two masks, information about this clown mask flowed into his mind.

—True Clown: The ability to see through all illusions.

The illusions mentioned here refer to performances that deceive the eyes through special techniques and props, not supernatural abilities or magic.

"Good thing it's a white-faced clown; if it were a colorful one, that'd be something else," Luo Qiu mused to himself. "Besides, no customer would want to see a boss who looks like a clown, right?"

You Ye clearly didn't understand, so she offered no opinion.

"I'll go with this one. Although the ability is still quite useless, it's a better match than the other two," Luo Qiu said, standing up.

Wearing the clown mask, he didn't look comical at all. On the contrary, thanks to the outfit chosen by the maid automaton, Luo Qiu, with the clown mask on, exuded a playful and mysterious aura... though something still felt slightly off.

Luo Qiu looked at himself from all angles in the full-length mirror, trying to figure out what was missing. At this moment, You Ye brought a top hat from the cloakroom, along with a black cane and a pair of white gloves.

Luo Qiu put on the hat and gloves, and took the cane, casually swinging it. It felt quite good.

"Well, from now on, you can call me Mr. Clown," Luo Qiu said with a playful smile. "In this place of traded desires, having a clown doesn't seem so bad."

"Master, as long as you're happy."

Luo Qiu was about to retort with a few words, but at that moment, the wind chimes in the club's lobby rang.

He had just gotten a new look, and a customer arrived immediately. It was like a pillow arriving just when you're sleepy... Luo Qiu muttered, and headed downstairs.

He saw a young man standing nervously at the entrance, not daring to walk in directly, but observing his surroundings.

Calling him a young man, Luo Qiu estimated he was a few years older than himself.

One's demeanor easily reveals their true nature and bearing... this must be a well-bred young master from a wealthy family, or perhaps a successful social elite.

"Welcome. This is the Trafford Buyer's Club. How may I help you... esteemed guest."

With his hands clasped behind his back holding the cane, Luo Qiu walked down the stairs step by step, further observing the young man's reaction.

"Who are you?" The young man, however, cautiously remained at the entrance, not stepping further in, his guarded expression intensifying.

"Me?" Luo Qiu had intended to smile... then he realized since he was wearing a mask anyway, he might as well say nonchalantly, "I am the owner of this club. You can call me Boss, or you can call me... Mr. Clown."

Luo Qiu walked up to the young man and then 'smelled' a familiar scent... the scent of a Black Card.

Well, this was the third transaction-related visitor. Aside from Pianxian who stumbled in herself, counting this one, they were all Black Card holders.

How many Black Cards had actually been circulated by the club before? Luo Qiu couldn't help but mutter again, but he didn't stop the conversation with his guest: "Aren't you going to come in?"

"Can people's any wish really be granted here?" the young man asked, frowning.

Luo Qiu suddenly snapped his fingers, then opened his palm. A black card floated above his palm. He said with a smile, "Since you're here with the card, you should have confidence in this place."

The young man subconsciously touched his chest, even opening his suit jacket to look inside his inner pocket, only to find that the Black Card he had hidden there had disappeared.

He took a deep breath, quickly calmed down, and said in a deep voice, "Hello, Mr. Clown. My name is Zhong Luochen. I've come here today to make a deal with you."

Business shouldn't be kept waiting, Luo Qiu politely moved aside, making an inviting gesture, and said cheerfully, "You Ye, please attend to our guest."

Sweating profusely in the sweltering heat is perfectly natural. However, if one is drenched in sweat even in an air-conditioned room set to eighteen degrees Celsius, then... it must be because they've engaged in some intense activity.

Cheng Yun lit a cigarette, looking contentedly at the woman lying on the bed, exuding a charming aura.

She was a hostess from Gu Yue Zhai.

She had no background, but she possessed some beauty, was intelligent, and also wanted to climb the social ladder, thus choosing the quickest and most effective method.

Cheng Yun knew what this woman wanted—because he understood what women truly desired, he had already "handled" the hostess before his boss had finished dealing with Zhang Qingrui.

Of course, while the hostess was still quite good, she couldn't compare to Zhang Qingrui, who was an exceptional choice in terms of family background, knowledge, and talent.

But Cheng Yun was self-aware, knowing which women he could easily "handle" and which ones were beyond his reach for the time being.

"Why are you so free this time? Don't you have to follow your young boss?" the hostess asked with a seductive smile at Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yun was also wondering about this. After leaving Gu Yue Zhai in the morning, Zhong Luochen had rushed back to Gu Yue Zhai again that afternoon. After that, Zhong Luochen had sent him away, and he didn't know where he had gone alone.

Since arriving in this city, Cheng Yun had been diligently running errands, following closely behind. Now, he had been sent away. He even wondered if Zhong Luochen had suddenly started neglecting him because of what that old woman had said during the day.

Damn it, this couldn't continue, or everything he had worked hard to gain would be wasted.

Take this woman, for example. She was quite calculating. If she knew he was no longer capable, she would probably turn her back on him immediately.

Although she was a calculating woman, her skills were indeed excellent, and he wanted to continue playing with her for a few more days. Most importantly, he still wanted to stay by Zhong Luochen's side and gain more trust. This way, his status in the capital would be even higher.

"During the day, I saw your Miss Zhang personally invited two people to the collection room. Do you know who they were?"

The woman knew that Cheng Yun was always very concerned about Zhang Qingrui's affairs, and even more so, she knew that he was trying to please his boss. But it didn't matter, as long as this man could give her what she wanted. Therefore, she didn't hesitate to tell Cheng Yun what she knew about Zhang Qingrui's preferences.

"That woman is the deputy editor-in-chief of a local newspaper. She has already been here twice," the woman recalled. "That's when she met the young lady. As for the other man, I don't know. He was brought by Ren Ziling, but they looked very close, so he might be a good friend or a younger brother."

Cheng Yun took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke, saying, "A mere deputy editor-in-chief of a newspaper? Hmm..."