The Ends of the Earth

Qiao Mingyuan braced himself and drove two silver needles into the back of his neck.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

Qiao Mingyuan let out a slight sigh of relief, then instinctively looked at the mirror in front of him.

However, at that glance, Qiao Mingyuan's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"What the hell!" Qiao Mingyuan couldn't believe his eyes.

In the mirror, Qiao Mingyuan's features had softened, stripped of any trace of masculine ruggedness, and now faintly exuded a gentle, feminine aura.

Whether in the East or across the ocean, this appearance and temperament were those of an absolute beauty.

"How is this even possible?"

Qiao Mingyuan felt it was inconceivable. At this moment, his entire facial structure had changed; this was something makeup could never achieve, and even plastic surgery might not yield such perfect results.

"Was it those two iron needles?"

Waves of shock rippled through Qiao Mingyuan's heart.

The reversal of his appearance had occurred immediately after he inserted those two iron needles.

"Don't worry, you only need to pull the iron needles out, and your appearance will return to normal."

Su Yuan's voice came at the perfect moment.

Using iron needles to fix the skin in place to alter one's appearance was a method of disguise provided by the Grey Mirror.

A person's appearance is primarily composed of three parts: bone structure, facial features, and skin.

If any of these three parts are altered, it has a massive impact on one's appearance.

Changing one's look by pulling and pinning the skin is the simplest method, and such arts of disguise existed in ancient Xia Kingdom.

Of course, the ancient disguise techniques of the Xia Kingdom could at most alter one's features; achieving what Qiao Mingyuan had—transforming from a man into a woman, even manifesting a gentle feminine temperament—was naturally extremely difficult.

This involved many factors, such as the precise points where the needles were inserted and the tension used to fix the skin. Changing one's appearance is easy, but changing it into a specific, desired look is hard.

But with the Grey Mirror, none of this was a problem.

Su Yuan had obtained the answer directly from the Grey Mirror regarding exactly where to insert the needles to achieve this effect.

"It's too incredible."

Upon hearing that he could revert to his original self, Qiao Mingyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, put on the wig and the breast forms, and change your clothes."

Su Yuan instructed.

"Alright."

Qiao Mingyuan trusted Su Yuan implicitly and immediately began to change.

Two minutes later, the Qiao Mingyuan who had entered the dressing room was gone, replaced by a great beauty with fair skin, soft features, and a gentle temperament.

Qiao Mingyuan looked at himself in awe.

As he was now, let alone those hunting him, even his own wife would likely fail to recognize him.

"You can go out now."

Su Yuan's voice came through.

Hearing this, Qiao Mingyuan immediately prepared to walk out.

Suddenly, Qiao Mingyuan paused and looked at the lockers he had opened.

He had borrowed clothes and cosmetics from the lockers, but he had left behind an equivalent amount of US dollars as compensation.

"Will this leave any clues?" Qiao Mingyuan asked cautiously.

If the disappearance of clothes and cosmetics, combined with the sudden appearance of extra dollars, reached the ears of the killers hunting him, they would likely be able to deduce something.

"It won't," Su Yuan said.

Through the Grey Mirror, he knew that in three hours, the first female staff member would discover her belongings were missing and find the compensatory dollars.

Six hours later, the station manager would be informed and would order an investigation into who had entered the dressing room.

Naturally, they would find nothing.

Su Yuan had long since replaced the surveillance footage for the entire station.

Finally, the station manager would ask the staff member who lost her belongings how she wanted to resolve the matter and whether she wanted to call the police.

The reply would be, "Forget it."

Although the clothes and cosmetics were gone, the compensation received was several, if not ten times, the value of the lost items.

As for calling the police? Not to mention whether they could catch the person, the dollars would be considered "evidence" and would have to be turned over.

That was something none of the parties involved wanted.

Therefore, the final outcome of the matter would be that it was simply left unsettled.

The parties involved even intentionally kept this matter hidden from the outside world.

It was even more impossible for outsiders to know.

Leaving behind US dollars as compensation would completely conceal Qiao Mingyuan's whereabouts.

If he did not leave the money, the parties involved would choose to call the police, and if the matter escalated, it would instead attract the attention of the Truth Society's assassins.

This was the reason why Su Yuan wanted Qiao Mingyuan to specifically leave US dollars as compensation.

Every action Su Yuan took was linked, one step after another, with a specific purpose; nothing was without meaning.

It was even more impossible for there to be any hidden dangers or loopholes.

If a so-called hidden danger or loophole truly appeared, it was one that Su Yuan had left intentionally.

Following Su Yuan's orders.

Qiao Mingyuan walked out of the changing room and headed straight toward the platform exit.

Although Qiao Mingyuan appeared indifferent on the surface along the way, his heart was in turmoil, for he had encountered at least a dozen men in black suits and sunglasses.

How on earth did I manage to walk from the restroom to the changing room?

Qiao Mingyuan swallowed hard, his sense of awe toward Su Yuan, who was directing him, growing even deeper.

Soon.

Qiao Mingyuan reached the exit and successfully left the platform.

From beginning to end, not a single man in sunglasses glanced at him.

In fact, the dozens of men in sunglasses had searched very thoroughly; they observed every male for a moment longer than necessary.

They were worried about whether it might be Qiao Mingyuan in disguise.

However, Qiao Mingyuan's current external female features were far too obvious.

He was practically a different person from the "Qiao Mingyuan" they were hunting.

Naturally, there was no attention paid to him.

"Leave the platform, head right, and in two minutes a taxi will pass by. Flag it down and take that taxi..."

Qiao Mingyuan obediently followed Su Yuan's instructions and, three hours later, arrived in an inland city.

"Have I... successfully escaped the pursuit?"

Qiao Mingyuan felt as if he were in a dream.

In truth, when he saw that assassins were already waiting for him at the platform, he had already prepared himself to die.

"Who are you, and why did you save me?"

Only now did Qiao Mingyuan ask.

"Who I am is not something you need to know. As for why I saved you? There is no rush for that matter yet."

Through the phone, Su Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Rest for a while first. Go to Room 35 on the twelfth floor of the Hill Hotel. The door to that room is unlocked, and no one will disturb you. You can rest inside for half a day."

"You're just leaving me there alone?" Qiao Mingyuan was stunned and couldn't help but say, "Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

Although he didn't know why Su Yuan had saved him, there had to be a purpose; it couldn't possibly be free, could it?

And regardless of the motive, he would inevitably be needed.

"Run?" Su Yuan's tone was indifferent. "You won't run."

This sentence held an implication that Qiao Mingyuan was unaware of.

Even if you wanted to run, you wouldn't be able to.

Even if you ran to the ends of the earth, what could you do?

To Su Yuan, finding out someone's exact location was merely a matter of asking.