Mask Face

The market stretched from where you stood to the horizon, creating a bustling, lively scene of tranquility.

The oil lamps, some still, some flickering, made the street exceptionally bright. Inside, shadowy figures could be seen, and one could faintly hear some boisterous gentlemen and ladies shouting about who stepped on whose foot or whose skirt.

It is still quite vivid.

Both sides of the street were selling all sorts of things, mostly daily necessities and food. Yu Xing stepped forward, her gaze passing through the gaps between people, and saw what looked like very fresh vegetables on the stalls. On the nearest stall, the cabbage leaves even had water droplets on them, looking fresh and clear.

Calodi followed closely behind Yu Xing, basking in the light of the oil lamp.

It wasn't just the two of them sharing a portable oil lamp. Looking around, Yu Xing could see several couples sharing the lamp, including lovers, brothers, and even mothers and children.

Without exception, these people stood very close together, as if afraid that the oil lamp would not shine on one of them.

However, their expressions were obscured because they were all wearing masks. All the stall owners and customers wore similar masks, and even their clothing lacked distinctive features, as if they were intentionally trying to downplay their own characteristics.

Yu Xing seemed to be deep in thought. The importance of the oil lamp was self-evident. If one wanted to walk around this market without an oil lamp, something terrible would happen, as would being recognized.

Interesting. He and Calodi are now representing the hotel, so where are the others from?

"These tomatoes are good," Calodi suddenly said to a stall.

Yu Xing snapped out of her daze and looked over, discovering that the stall specialized in selling tomatoes. Several baskets of red tomatoes were quite large, piled up round and plump.

"So, I'm now in charge of purchasing everyone's food, clothing, and other necessities for tomorrow?" Yu Xing turned her head and whispered to Calodi to confirm.

"Yes, buy some tomatoes, Xixi likes to eat them," Calodi said.

Yu Xing paused for two seconds, actually pondering why the money was with Calodi and why Calodi couldn't buy it himself.

But perhaps this is just the rule of procurement, after all, the oil lamp is now in his hands.

He squeezed to the side of the stall, and imitating the other buyers, picked out a bag of tomatoes, then let Calodi pay for them.

"I want to eat the kind of bread we had today," Yu Xing said casually.

Calodi was clearly very familiar with the market; upon hearing this, he gestured with his chin. "The bread is up ahead."

The two walked through a large group of masked shoppers.

During this time, Yu Xing deliberately stepped on the hem of a woman wearing a cake dress.

"Oh! Be careful!" the woman complained, then patted her skirt after Yu Xing took off running, and left as if nothing had happened.

He seems... to have very little hostility.

"New arrivals! Only ten pieces!" the stall owner shouted, briefly attracting the attention of shoppers.

However, it seems that most people are mainly there to buy food; most glanced at the stall and then left without showing any interest.

Yu Xing asked, "Clothes? Can we buy them?"

"... Yes, Daisy buys them all the time," Calodi replied. "She likes to dress up Xixi in different ways, and as for herself... oh, the bread's right there, you see it?"

Using the dim light that covered most of her body and the mask that concealed her completely, Yu Xing raised an eyebrow.

Calodi seemed to have left something unsaid, then changed the subject as if he remembered something.

And he just said... Daisy likes to dress up Xixi? That doesn't sound like a sign of a very bad mother-daughter relationship.

Yu Xing temporarily suppressed the unease she had noticed and went to the bread stand to buy enough bread for two meals.

Then, seemingly casually, he remarked, "The market is so lively, like the only opening in an enclosed space..."

His tone was filled with exclamation and "joy," like someone cursed to never leave the hotel, who had suddenly discovered the only exception.

Calodi glanced around, his face expressionless, and said, "I'm afraid this gap isn't as wonderful as you think."

Yu Xing: "Hmm? What do you mean...?"

"Ah!!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a heart-wrenching scream came from behind, and everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

Yu Xing also turned his head sharply, and in that instant, he sensed a kind of malice from behind.

It's a kind of malice that drifts out randomly, and you can't tell who it's targeting. Sometimes that's even more troublesome because the malice is an indiscriminate attack.

Then he saw a group of people spontaneously part to the side, revealing a person lying on the ground.

Coincidentally, the woman lying on the ground was the one whose skirt Yu Xing had "accidentally" stepped on. The once vibrant woman, devoid of any hostility, was now lying face down, blood gushing from the waist of her pale yellow cake dress and quickly spreading outwards.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes and noticed that the oil lamp that the woman was tightly clutching in her hand had been extinguished. The bottom of the lamp had obviously been opened by someone, and the tube containing the lamp oil was gone.

"They're here again! Who is it?" someone asked in a panic.

"That market killer! How many more will he kill tonight?"

The fear in their words seemed genuine, like that of an ordinary person who had witnessed a murder on the street.

The mouth beneath Calodi's mask moved slightly, and he whispered in Yu Xing's ear, "Don't panic, but don't be too calm either. The one who's killing is the Mask Face."

Everyone here is wearing a mask.

However, when it comes to "Mask Face," Yu Xing can still recognize that this is the jealous guest at the hotel!

"He looks for us every day, so don't let him recognize us," Calodi said.

This statement... actually reveals a lot of information.

This negates the possibility that the Mask Face was targeting Yu Xing, although... the Mask Face really shouldn't have known that Yu Xing replaced Daisy tonight.

In other words... every night, the Mask Face is looking for Daisy and Calodi, wanting to kill them?

Is the Mask Face going to kill Daisy?

Several possibilities flashed through Yu Xing's mind in an instant, and he vaguely grasped at some Spiritual Sense, but he wanted to see how things went further, so he nodded slightly. "I understand."

At the same time, Yu Xing silently released his senses and disappeared into the market to search for the malice that had only appeared for a moment before vanishing.

The crowd became somewhat agitated.

Malice resurfaced.

Yu Xing's lips curled into a smile, and in an instant, she locked onto the target, never letting it escape her senses again.

He asked, "Why did the Mask Face kill people in the market? Was it because he couldn't get anything from us, so he attacked randomly, hoping for a lucky break?"

"You're very smart," Calodi didn't deny it.

"Every day?"

"As long as... he's not sleeping in Daisy's room, then every day is."

Yu Xing: "So he's never been caught? So many people, and they couldn't do anything to Mask Face? Is he that powerful?"

"... We can't catch him." Calodi tapped Yu Xing's mask symbolically with his hand. "Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear... If we could catch him at night, we'd kill him on the spot. The problem is, he's too good at hiding; he's a born killer."

"It sounds like Daisy has her reasons for sleeping with him," Yu Xing suddenly chuckled. "I think I understand a lot now... She seems to be a woman who says one thing and means another."

Calodi frowned. "Don't mention her name. Do you want to be discovered?"

"It's alright, Calodi." Yu Xing tilted her head, grabbed the oil lamp, and suddenly walked to the side. "What if I catch him?"