Money and Debt Settled, Face-Changing Skill

"Young Master, this is the foundation the Chu Family has built over so many years. Although we've been losing money these past two years, are we really going to sell it all like this?"

Inside the inn room, Steward Fu looked at the many land deeds Chu Ge had taken out, his eyes moist and filled with reluctance.

He had worked alongside Chu Ge's parents, and these land deeds were a testament to those past years, incredibly precious in his eyes.

Chu Ge could understand the old man's feelings, but he needed wealth to develop outside Linyuan City soon.

Furthermore, clearing out some underperforming assets and replacing them with quality assets in the Prefectural City was a good investment and industrial upgrade. He had already made up his mind.

"Steward Fu, Linyuan City is too small. I have to leave eventually. By selling off some of our losing assets, I can re-establish myself in the Prefectural City in the future. Don't worry, the ancestral home and the inn will not be sold!"

He had already decided in his heart that when he left, he would leave the inn to Steward Fu to manage for his retirement, enough for the old man to live comfortably as a wealthy gentleman in Linyuan City, as a reward for his loyalty and affection.

The Wang Family's butler chuckled, "Old Fu, don't worry. My master isn't letting your young master suffer a loss. My master was originally prepared to pay twenty-five thousand taels of silver for these assets.

But when my young lady spoke up, he added another five thousand taels, making it a round thirty thousand taels. This is far above market price."

Chu Ge hadn't expected this.

A few kind words from the young lady were worth five thousand taels.

Thinking of Wang Xiuyun's kind reminder last time, and knowing the past affection between her and his former self, he still had some regard for her.

He nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Butler Zhang, please thank your young lady for me. Let's be straightforward now. Money for deeds. Do we need to go to the Wang Family's place?"

Although he still had nearly twenty thousand taels in Silver Notes on him, over ten thousand of which were ill-gotten gains, he needed money for cultivation in too many areas, so he naturally wouldn't dislike having more.

Butler Zhang laughed heartily, "Good! Thirty thousand taels in Silver Notes isn't much for my master. I've already brought it.

After all, my master's proposed plan was successful last time, and the caravan will be leaving the city in three days."

"Oh? So soon?"

Although Chu Ge had been diligently cultivating these past two days, he had heard some rumors and knew that Wang Youcai's escort team had been successfully assembled.

He just hadn't expected they would be escorting a large batch of goods out so soon.

It seemed Wang Youcai was very confident.

However, leaving the city during such a sensitive and anxious period, if successful, the Wang Family's escort team would become famous, and subsequent wealth would flow in endlessly. It was truly a case of seeking riches amidst danger.

Chu Ge thought about how he had annihilated the Thirteen Golden Spear Bandits, which indirectly helped the Wang Family.

As long as the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult's stronghold didn't make a move, the Wang Family's trip would likely succeed.

And since the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult's stronghold was being watched by the City Guard Captain Tian Youji, it was unlikely Wang Youcai would have left the city without receiving a tip-off from the constables. This might have been a result of prior negotiations among all parties.

At this point, the two parties stopped being polite and quickly completed the transaction.

The trading of land deeds in this world was not complicated.

It only required the buyer and seller to write down a transaction agreement and affix their handprints, and the transaction would be considered complete.

Soon, Chu Ge received three ten-thousand-tael Silver Notes, each bearing the red seal of the Great Zhou Bank.

"Good, money and deeds are settled! Young Master Chu, I will return to finalize the handover after you've dealt with the accounts for these properties."

Butler Zhang smiled, satisfied, and accepted the land deeds, leaving Chu Ge some time to handle the paperwork. Both parties were pleased.

Looking at the thirty thousand taels in Silver Notes in his hand, Chu Ge felt a mix of emotions.

Would these thirty thousand taels, plus the more than ten thousand he already had, be enough when he left Linyuan City for the Prefectural City in the future?

"Steward Fu, it's been quite chaotic outside the city lately, and the business environment isn't good. Some people might be short on cash. Go and ask those who had old items before if they're willing to sell them to me."

Chu Ge took out a thousand tael Silver Note from his embrace and handed it to Steward Fu, giving him instructions.

Now that he had more money, the business environment outside had become chaotic again, and some people might not be living comfortably.

Those old items they were unwilling to sell before might be willing to sell now.

Steward Fu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and gave a thumbs-up, "Young Master indeed has a talent for business."

This was indeed a good time to acquire old items.

"Also, have Hei Gouzi check the fishing pond. See if he can get lucky and acquire some Spirit Fish."

"Alright!"

After watching Steward Fu leave, Chu Ge stood by the window. Suddenly, he smelled a foul odor and frowned slightly. He followed the scent to the corridor outside the room.

He saw that the outhouse in the inn's courtyard was reeking, and a night-soil collector was loading his buckets onto a cart.

This was to deliver fertilizer to the nearby tenant farmers.

The tenant farmers, in turn, would often send fruits and vegetables to the inn as payment.

Looking at the night-soil collector, who, despite the stench, had a cheerful smile, Chu Ge realized that there were all sorts of people, all kinds of professions, each with their own way of life and their own faces.

The myriad aspects of life were already being displayed in this small Linyuan City.

Suddenly, Chu Ge had an epiphany, feeling that a difficulty in a certain skill that had been bothering him was resolved.

He returned to his desk, spread out a piece of white sheepskin, opened his special box of colored dyes, and quickly began to sketch and draw.

Soon, a vividly depicted face, primarily yellow, appeared on the paper. It bore a striking resemblance to the face of the night-soil collector downstairs.

This was the depiction of a face mask from the Mysterious Left Path Arts, specifically the Skin Shadow Play Face Changing technique.

Face Changing face patterns generally use those of unknown individuals, including chivalrous figures, ghosts, and the like.

Chu Ge had mastered this skill before his transmigration.

However, after transmigrating, he had tried to depict face patterns no matter how he tried, but the depicted patterns never changed. They were simply unable to bear Exotic Power, appearing as ordinary mortal objects, lacking the true essence.

Conversely, the faces he quickly sketched with his brush now seemed to come alive, full of vitality and possessing a different charm.

Chu Ge realized that he had achieved enlightenment. His skill in depicting face patterns had greatly improved, and he had truly created a Shadow Puppet Face Pattern of a common person, which could be imbued with Exotic Power like Shadow Puppets.

He didn't operate it immediately. Instead, he first offered the drawn Shadow Puppet Face Pattern into the Dragon Bell for its appraisal.

"Shadow Puppet Face Pattern - Porter: Introduction: (A Shadow Puppet Face Pattern depicted based on an ordinary commoner porter, usable for Face Changing. Face Changing requires a certain amount of Exotic Power to maintain. After Face Changing, one's appearance will be altered and they will gain the porter's excellent qualities of resilience, contentment, and optimism, with a certain resistance to negative emotions and external temptations.)"

"Very good!"

A smile appeared on Chu Ge's face. He took the depicted Shadow Puppet Face Pattern out again and then went to the mirror in his room, placing the pattern on his own face.

Initially, the reflection in the mirror showed him wearing a yellow opera mask.

As a wisp of Exotic Power was channeled into the Dragon Bell, the face pattern immediately melded perfectly with his own face, becoming lifelike.

Chu Ge felt a stirring in his face.

In the blink of an eye, the person in front of the mirror had transformed into a porter. His weathered face was crisscrossed with wrinkles, as if etched with the hardships of life.

Yet, he still looked vigorous, his face ruddy, filled with contentment and optimism for life.

This was a more realistic Face Changing than any so-called human skin mask.

Empowered by Exotic Power, Chu Ge seemed to have become a different person. Within his heart, he felt a sense of optimism and peace, as if no hardship or tribulation could make him yield, and no external temptation could shake his resolve.

"Porter. If I can achieve this kind of divine inspiration to draw more face patterns in the future, I should be able to skillfully perform the art of Face Changing. From then on, I will have multiple different identities for disguise, ever-changing and difficult to see through."

"More importantly, the mental state buffs granted by these face pattern identities will allow me to cope with different environments and crises."

Chu Ge raised his sleeve and wiped his face. The face pattern disappeared and retracted into his sleeve. He returned to his original appearance, his eyebrows soaring, his eyes like stars.

He felt joy in his heart, truly believing the Five Mao Mountain Marvelous Skill to be profound and extensive.

In his previous world, he had only scratched the surface. Now, in this Martial Arts world, Exotic Power had breathed new life into these skills.

He eagerly anticipated uncovering more in the future, even combining it with the knowledge of this world to complete the incomplete parts.

"I wonder if this counts as forging a unique unorthodox path for myself, using this path to assist me in my Martial Arts journey and go further."

Chu Ge's persistence in Martial Arts remained unchanged. After all, it was a path that could unlock the limits of the human body's potential. Perhaps in the future, he could soar through the skies, burrow through the earth, and achieve eternal life...

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