Making Rouge

Several days passed.

Knock, knock, knock. "Is Yang Xuan here?" Ren Tingting called as she knocked on the door.

Although Yang Xuan had told Ren Tingting that she could visit the mortuary whenever she had time, he had only been saying it out of courtesy. Besides, in this era, people were still quite wary of places like mortuaries.

"Why did you come here?" Yang Xuan asked in surprise. He had not seen Ren Tingting since they parted that day.

"Didn't you say I could come here if I had any questions?" Ren Tingting said, pretending to be angry.

"When did I say you couldn't? Come in." Yang Xuan welcomed Ren Tingting inside.

"Everyone says mortuaries are terrifying, but it's not as scary as I imagined. It's no different from an ordinary household. In fact, Uncle Nine's place is quite spacious." Ren Tingting looked around the mortuary curiously.

From that day onward, Ren Tingting began visiting Yang Xuan every few days to ask him about cosmetics. By now, their discussions had expanded to include skincare products.

Ren Tingting was extremely interested in skincare products and cosmetics. Her ordinary friends and her late mother had only taught her things like how to apply makeup, and even what she had learned in the provincial capital had been limited to that. She had barely come into contact with making cosmetics or skincare products. The moment Yang Xuan began explaining them, her interest was immediately piqued.

On top of that, Yang Xuan was somewhat handsome, spoke humorously, and was exceptionally knowledgeable. Ren Tingting became even more fond of sticking close to him.

"You said last time that cosmetics made by yourself would be better, and wouldn't harm the skin, right?" Ren Tingting asked with her bright, limpid eyes.

"Actually, you can make some skincare products yourself to take care of your skin. After all, the skin on your face will slowly age along with us. Although aging can't be reversed, proper care can slow it down," Yang Xuan said.

"Then teach me how to make skincare products. You said last time that cosmetics take a long time to make. You have to teach me this time!" Ren Tingting pleaded coquettishly.

"All right. I'll tell you what to prepare, and I'll get the containers and such ready." Yang Xuan rose to his feet.

It had only been a short while before Ren Tingting arrived with servants carrying a large box.

Yang Xuan teased, "She must be a young lady from a wealthy family. She found everything so quickly."

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai wore expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Miss Ren is so beautiful. It would be great if she could become my wife," Qiu Sheng said.

"Let's compete fairly!" Wen Cai said impatiently.

Qiu Sheng smacked Wen Cai on the head. "Compete my ass! Look at the relationship between Junior Brother and Miss Ren. Do you think we still have a chance?"

Wen Cai looked at Yang Xuan and let out a heavy sigh.

Qiu Sheng took it in stride. "I was only saying. Ever since Junior Brother came, Master has been much happier. And we eat so well every day. What more could we be dissatisfied about?"

"Peel this orange and squeeze out the juice. Use just a little of it, then mix it with that seaweed powder and stir for ten minutes. After that, apply it to your face. This face mask will make your skin smoother." Yang Xuan explained as he made the mask.

"The color is kind of disgusting." Ren Tingting looked at the green mask with distaste.

"Don't underestimate these things. Used regularly, they can counteract the damage cosmetics do to your skin," Yang Xuan said.

"This mask can also make your skin fairer. Many whitening cosmetics contain mercury. Using too much can poison you. In more serious cases, women can lose the ability to become pregnant or even die." Yang Xuan's expression turned solemn.

And so, the days passed one by one.

Every day, Yang Xuan continued training his abilities as intensely as possible. If anyone asked why he worked so hard, well, there were no televisions, no computers, nothing at all. Besides practicing, there was nothing else to do. As for why he didn't return to the modern world—forget it. If he went back every time, how could he continue adventuring?

Suddenly, he heard a loud cry for help. It sounded like Wen Cai's voice. What had happened to make him shout so loudly? Yang Xuan immediately perked up. Practicing his skills every day was incredibly boring.

When Yang Xuan rushed into the mortuary, he was startled. More than a dozen zombies were hopping toward the door. Huh? That was strange. The fastest one could actually run. Could it have already become a Bu Hua Gu? If so, he might not be able to beat it.

Once he saw who it was, Yang Xuan was speechless. What the hell? It had scared him for nothing—it was actually Qiu Sheng. Then the ones behind him had to be the real zombies, and the lowest-ranked kind at that. In that case, he could just beat them casually. Yang Xuan strode forward. He did not even strike them; he simply drew a talisman in the air with his finger and pressed it against a zombie's forehead. He had no idea why Uncle Nine's magic power still required biting his finger.

By the time Uncle Nine and Four Eyes entered, all the zombies had already been immobilized.

When Four Eyes saw that the zombies had been subdued by Yang Xuan, his face turned pale with fright. These were only the lowest-level zombies. How could they withstand Yang Xuan's heavy punches?

Thank goodness, thank goodness. No broken bones, no disfigurement. "Nephew, thank you for holding back. Otherwise, all my customers would have been finished," Four Eyes said, still shaken.

Yang Xuan clenched his fist. "Hey, Uncle-Master, don't worry. I know how precious your customers are. How would I dare use any force? I didn't even use one-tenth of my strength."

Four Eyes turned to Uncle Nine. "Senior Brother, I've troubled you for quite some time. It's about time I prepared to leave."

"Then be careful on the road," Uncle Nine said. He truly did not know what to do with this junior brother of his. Four Eyes had originally planned to leave after a few days, but because the food was so good, he had stayed this long. If not for what had happened today, he might still have been unwilling to go.

At last, the story had begun. Looking at the familiar scene, Yang Xuan was overjoyed. Mr. Vampire had been Yang Xuan's favorite movie when he was a child. It was a little frightening for children, but it also had plenty of fun moments. More importantly, he would finally get to see just how powerful Master Ren really was.

Yang Xuan returned to his room. He could now skillfully use Talismans and draw them in the air. However, lacking a medium naturally meant this method was only effective against weaklings. It seemed he would have to find some good jade when he had the time and make a few Peace Talismans and Mind-Calming Talismans to give to his parents. And Natasha, too. Whenever he thought of Natasha, Yang Xuan felt sweetness spread through his heart.

Yang Xuan had now grown used to practicing his qi before bed. Tonight was the most crucial moment. If he succeeded, he would immediately advance. When he first began practicing the Maoshan Qi Cultivation Method, he had possessed only a trace of magic power. Ten traces became one strand, and ten strands became one stream. At present, Yang Xuan had nine strands and five traces inside his body.

Yang Xuan gathered his qi and focused his mind. Following the route described in the cultivation method, he slowly circulated his power. In truth, when circulating his power, his mind had to remain focused on the route, so time passed rather quickly. Yang Xuan's circulation gradually slowed: nine strands and six traces... eight traces... nine traces.

Break through for me! With a buzzing sound, ten strands of magic power slowly rotated inside Yang Xuan's body, condensed, and finally merged into a single stream.

Yang Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although his body was somewhat fatigued, his eyes gleamed brightly. Clearly, magic power was a higher level of power than Inner Force, though the two focused on different things.

The night passed without incident.