Your Face Fell Off

Late at night, Ye Manor.

The bright moon hung high, the stars glittered, and amid the tranquil stillness, Gu Mo was meditating when he suddenly heard footsteps. With his senses, he could tell that the person approaching was Ye Jinglan.

Gu Mo immediately rose, draped his outer robe over himself, and went to open the courtyard gate. Ye Jinglan had just arrived outside, preparing to knock.

Ye Jinglan was not surprised by the coincidence, because he knew Gu Mo must have sensed his approach and opened the door. He said directly, "Brother Gu, I just received news. Ye Chen is in trouble!"

Gu Mo froze slightly and asked, "He isn't dead, is he? He's as hard to kill as a cockroach. Even when Bad Luck was hanging over his head, he crawled out of Ghost City alive. His luck is with him now, too."

Ye Jinglan waved a hand. "He's not dead. But he's been arrested and thrown into prison. He's currently at Jingzhao Prefecture."

"What's the charge?"

"Murder," Ye Jinglan said. "He killed a woman from a brothel."

"He didn't run?"

"No," Ye Jinglan said. "With his martial arts, if he wanted to flee, Jingzhao Prefecture could never catch him in a short time. But after he was taken to prison, they should have notified the Chu Country Delegation to identify him and negotiate. Instead, in prison, he gave them your name and said you were his big brother!"

Gu Mo: "..."

Ye Jinglan chuckled. "Come on. You still need to protect this little brother you just took in."

Gu Mo nodded slightly. "This evening, he said he was going to a brothel to test whether his luck had returned. Now he's been arrested after something happened at a brothel. There's probably more to this."

"You mean his strange luck, half Bad Luck and half good fortune, has acted up?"

"Most likely."

Not long after,

Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture.

Given their identities, Jingzhao Prefecture naturally did not dare slight them. Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture Mei Wensheng personally came to receive them.

Mei Wensheng's status as Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture meant little in their eyes, but he had another identity—he was Su Ziyou's teacher. Out of consideration for Su Ziyou, Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan were naturally rather courteous to Mei Wensheng.

But Mei Wensheng was a sensible man. He would not dare put on airs as an elder before them merely because Su Ziyou associated with Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan. Instead, their courtesy made him even more respectful.

Very soon,

Led by Mei Wensheng, they arrived in the underground prison and saw Ye Chen in one of the cells.

However, Ye Chen was in terrible condition. His face was deathly pale, sweat covered his entire body, and he looked extremely weak.

"Hey, Ye Chen, why do you look like your Yang Qi has been sucked dry? Did you run into a ghost?" Ye Jinglan teased.

Hearing Ye Jinglan's voice, Ye Chen abruptly turned his head.

When he saw Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan, he hurried to the cell door, gripped the iron bars tightly with both hands, and said in a deep voice, "You both know already? I really did run into a damn ghost!"

The teasing smile on Ye Jinglan's face instantly froze. "I was joking. What did you do to run into a ghost?"

Ye Chen patted his chest and said, "I, Ye Chen, am a Chosen One, right? Who doesn't know my luck is insanely good? This evening, I casually walked into a brothel, and that courtesan begged me to be her guest of honor.

"If this happened to anyone else, there would definitely be something fishy about it. But for me, Ye Chen, it was perfectly reasonable, right? Who doesn't know that whenever I visit a brothel, I never pay and always sleep with the courtesan, right?"

Ye Jinglan said with a speechless expression, "Enough. Stop showing off and get to the serious business!"

Ye Chen took a deep breath and slowly said, "When that courtesan and I were in the room, about to engage in some deep exchange, I suddenly noticed something on her neck..."

Afterward,

Ye Chen recounted what had happened to him at the brothel.

"Can you imagine how terrified I was? I was just one step away, just one little step... I was about to go in! I almost became a man thrusting while holding a pile of sewer sludge! Sob, sob, sob... You can't imagine how disgusting that was! Earthworms, maggots... Urgh..."

Ye Chen squatted in a corner and dry-heaved for quite a while before slowly standing again. He looked so aggrieved he was nearly crying. Hugging the iron bars with both hands, he wailed sorrowfully, "Big Brother... my life is so bitter! That was too horrifying! I think I'll never be able to look directly at any woman again, sob, sob, sob... What am I supposed to do? I'm only twenty-five! I still need to carry on the family line... But I feel like I'll never escape that shadow for the rest of my life..."

After hearing Ye Chen's account,

Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan both felt a chill run down their spines and deeply sympathized with Ye Chen.

They were both men, so they could empathize completely. Putting themselves in his shoes, if they had encountered such a thing, the psychological trauma would not have been any less than Ye Chen's.

However,

Now was not the time for sympathy. Having learned the course of events from Ye Chen, they still needed to understand the prefecture's investigation of the scene.

Ye Jinglan immediately asked Mei Wensheng, "Prefect Mei, what did Jingzhao Prefecture's investigation uncover?"

Mei Wensheng said gravely, "Lord Ye, according to our investigation, the scene indeed matched this Young Master Ye's description. But it is simply too absurd. You are a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Justice, so you should know that when we investigate cases, we have always had to rule out Ghost Gods."

Ye Jinglan nodded slightly and asked, "Setting Ghost Gods aside, how can the scene be reconstructed?"

Mei Wensheng shook his head. "It is somewhat far-fetched. If we rule out Ghost Gods, there are only two possibilities. First, Young Master Ye used his formidable martial arts to kill Yu Niangzi, strip all the flesh from her body until only a skeleton remained, then dug up the sludge from a foul drainage ditch to fabricate the scene.

"But this inference defies common sense. There was no blood or flesh at the scene. Moreover, there was flesh and blood on those bones, yet there were no signs that it had been stripped away. Instead, it looked as though it was growing."

Ye Jinglan asked in confusion, "What do you mean, growing?"

Mei Wensheng said, "The bones were growing flesh and blood. Of course, it merely appeared that way; we have no concrete proof. That is the first possible reconstruction of the scene, but it is far too forced.

"Then there is the second inference."

Mei Wensheng looked at Ye Chen and said, "From our investigation, we learned that the reason Young Master Ye caught Yu Niangzi's favor was that she had been forced into selling herself. Left with no choice, she made a wager with someone, and Young Master Ye happened to appear and help her.

"Therefore, there is reason to suspect that Young Master Ye and Yu Niangzi staged this Ghost God affair in order to help Yu Niangzi escape her sea of suffering, allowing her to use it to get away. At this moment, Yu Niangzi may still be alive and hiding somewhere.

"But this inference is also far-fetched. Young Master Ye has spent money like dirt in Chang'an City recently. If he truly fancied Yu Niangzi, he could simply have paid to redeem her. There was no need for such complications. As for that young master who forced Yu Niangzi, he did not possess the power to do anything to Ye Chen, the Chu Kingdom's Third Master!

"So for now, our prefecture has no further leads. We will need to investigate slowly."

Ye Jinglan nodded, looked toward Gu Mo, and asked, "Brother Gu, what do you think?"

Gu Mo said in a deep voice, "There is nothing wrong with ruling out Ghost Gods first when investigating a case. But the martial world is vast, and all sorts of strange things exist. Many cunning tactics, people, and objects may not be Ghost Gods, but are no less terrifying than Ghost Gods. Brother Ye should understand this deeply."

Ye Jinglan naturally understood it deeply. After all, the source of his martial arts was very much tied to Ghost Gods.

"Brother Gu, are you saying it is a taboo?"

"It may be related to the Cycle of Reincarnation Mirror."

Gu Mo explained briefly, then looked toward Ye Chen. "From what you just described, from your time with Yu Niangzi until she turned into a pile of rotten mud, Yu Niangzi displayed no abnormalities. From beginning to end, she firmly believed she was Yu Niangzi? She had thoughts and awareness, and was not a puppet?"

Ye Chen nodded. "Right, she wasn't a puppet. Every reaction she had was that of a normal person. It was more like someone had used some method on her without her knowing."

Gu Mo recalled the Fake Dabie monk who had been imprisoned beneath the Star Plucking Tower of the Directorate of Astronomy for twenty years.

Gu Mo could confirm that monk Dabie was fake, yet the man himself did not know he was fake. Furthermore, all his behavior, cognition, and memories belonged to Dabie.

It was very similar to Yu Niangzi's situation.

The only difference was that Yu Niangzi's body contained a pile of rotten mud, while Fake Dabie was a real person.

At that thought,

Gu Mo suddenly recalled what Mei Wensheng had just said: the flesh and blood on Yu Niangzi's skeleton did not appear to have been stripped down until only a little remained. Rather, it looked as though it was growing.

"Fake Dabie... may once have been a pile of rotten mud too, and later slowly grew flesh and blood..."

At that thought,

Gu Mo asked Mei Wensheng, "Prefect Mei, can I take a look at that skeleton?"

Mei Wensheng hurriedly said, "If Great Hero Gu wishes to see it, of course you may. Shall we go now?"

Gu Mo nodded.

Mei Wensheng immediately led the way, and Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan followed him out.

Ye Chen hurriedly shouted, "Big Brother, Big Brother, what about me? What about me? Don't just leave me behind!"

Gu Mo looked toward Mei Wensheng and asked, "Prefect Mei, can he be released?"

Mei Wensheng cupped his hands. "Young Master Ye is a suspect, and as a Chu Kingdom citizen at such a sensitive time, theoretically, he cannot be released from prison. However, if Great Hero Gu wishes to take him away, Young Master Ye may leave immediately.

"His Majesty and the court ministers have long established a principle in the Imperial Court: so long as it is not treason, all local authorities shall unconditionally comply with Great Hero Gu's will."

Ye Jinglan said softly, "Brother Gu, in the current situation, your existence holds the same significance for our Gan Country as Su Qianqiu's status in Southern Jin. You need do nothing at all. Simply acknowledging your identity as a citizen of Gan Country brings us more help than hundreds of thousands of soldiers. That is why His Majesty and those old foxes among the court ministers have all come to the same conclusion—they want to put you on an altar!"

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said nothing more. He merely told Mei Wensheng, "Then let Ye Chen out."

Mei Wensheng immediately ordered the jailers to open the cell door.

That cell door alone could never have confined Ye Chen. But what the door represented was the will of Gan Country's laws. That was what could truly confine a Great Grandmaster like Ye Chen.

Ye Chen quickly ran out of the cell and came to Gu Mo's side. Giving him a thumbs-up, he praised, "Big Brother, your status in Gan Country is really high!"

Gu Mo chuckled, then circulated energy to examine Ye Chen's "fortune aura" and "Bad Luck aura." To his surprise, both clusters of aura had grown considerably stronger.

But Gu Mo said nothing more and led Ye Chen away.

Very soon,

The group arrived at a morgue and saw the skeleton. It was indeed as Mei Wensheng had said: there was flesh and blood on the bones, but it was peculiar. It did not look as though only a tiny bit of flesh had remained after stripping; rather, it resembled tentacles.

Gu Mo immediately closed his eyes slightly and circulated energy, sensing the laws of heaven and earth.

When he opened his eyes once more,

He saw threads of special aura winding around the skeleton, clinging to the bones. The faint flesh and blood possessed an almost imperceptible vitality, like mold growing on spoiled food.

Gu Mo gently raised a hand and pulled out that strand of vitality.

At that very instant,

The skeleton began to blacken and rot. Within only a few breaths, a skeleton turned into a pile of rotten mud, giving off a nauseating fishy stench.

"This is it..."

Ye Chen pointed at the rotten mud and said, "Yu Niangzi's body was filled with this exact kind of rotten mud... This skeleton was rotten mud too..."

Mei Wensheng was stunned by the sudden sight. Looking at Gu Mo, he cupped his hands and asked, "Great Hero Gu, what... what exactly is going on?"

A cold glint flashed through Gu Mo's eyes. "I roughly understand now. What lies behind this is not Ghost Gods, yet is no less than Ghost Gods. It is a mysterious power that can turn clay figurines into real people, replace real people, and become real people!"

Mei Wensheng said gravely, "I suddenly remembered something. My disciple Su Ziyou has been investigating the Flesh-Eating Ghost Case lately. Twice, he surrounded the murderer, yet the murderer vanished without a trace in the end.

"Both encirclements took place in Civilian Residences, and both had drainage ditches. Since Yu Niangzi could turn into rotten mud, could the reason those two Murderers vanished without a trace be that they turned into rotten mud as well?"

"Investigate!"

Ye Jinglan made the decision without hesitation. "Prefect Mei, immediately mobilize Jingzhao Prefecture's personnel to investigate where in the Capital City there are large amounts of rotten mud, as well as places that make clay figurines, including Ghost City... Hmm, leave Ghost City to our Ministry of Justice!"

Mei Wensheng said, "It would be faster to begin with Yu Niangzi's experiences. Since Yu Niangzi was a clay figurine, it could not have happened for no reason. There must have been contact or some connection!"

Ye Jinglan nodded.

Mei Wensheng immediately left the morgue.

Ye Jinglan looked at Gu Mo and said, "Brother Gu, I will go to the Ministry of Justice now. Please return to my home first and wait for my news."

Gu Mo waved a hand. "I need to visit Princess Chengyang's Mansion first. I remember that when I first entered the capital a few days ago, Princess Chengyang mentioned that she had a clay figurine that looked exactly like a real person!"

Ye Jinglan said in surprise, "It can't be such a coincidence..."

"We'll only know after we take a look!"

Immediately,

Gu Mo and the others left Jingzhao Prefecture.

Ye Jinglan rushed to the Ministry of Justice, while Gu Mo and Ye Chen headed for Princess Chengyang's Mansion.

In the depths of the night, the Princess Mansion was exceedingly quiet, making the knocking sound especially heavy.

Very soon, the Gatekeeper opened the door. Upon seeing Gu Mo, he immediately bowed in salute.

Gu Mo asked, "Is the Princess and my sister here?"

The Gatekeeper hurriedly replied, "The Princess and Miss Gu are both here. They returned this afternoon. Great Hero Gu, do you wish to see Her Highness the Princess or Miss Gu?"

"Both."

"This humble one will report it at once."

The Gatekeeper promptly hurried away to report their arrival.

Before long, Li Li, Gu Chundong, and Red Clothes came to the main hall.

"Brother!" Gu Chundong quickly ran to Gu Mo's side and asked, "Why did you come so late at night?" She looked toward Ye Chen beside Gu Mo and asked, "And this is?"

Ye Chen hurriedly cupped his hands. "Heroine Gu, my name is Ye Chen. I'm your brother's newly recruited little brother!"

Gu Chundong: "??"

Li Li entered last, yawning repeatedly. She said irritably, "Oh, Great Hero Gu, do you know how much damage waking up a young maiden in the bloom of youth in the middle of the night does to her skin? If I become ugly and can't get married, you'll have to take responsibility for me!"

Gu Mo curled his lips helplessly. But he had no time to trade banter with Li Li, so he asked, "I came to see your clay figurine."

Li Li asked in confusion, "Why do you want to see the clay figurine?"

"To investigate a case," Gu Mo said. "Don't ask so much. Take me to see your clay figurine first."

Li Li waved a hand. "You came too late. I already sent the clay figurine back."

Gu Mo asked in confusion, "Why?"

Li Li said, "Wasn't it because of your sister? That clay figurine looked too real, and she found it creepy. What could I do? Although I liked that clay figurine very much, my beloved Chudong spoke, so I could only get rid of it. But I couldn't bear to destroy it outright, so I sent it back to that Clay Figurine Master. I thought I could go see it anytime if I wanted to in the future."

"Where is that Clay Figurine Master?" Gu Mo asked.

"In Tingyu Town in the eastern district," Li Li said. "The fourth Clay Figurine Shop in Niwa Alley. The owner's surname is Song."

"Brother, are you going there?" Gu Chundong asked. "I'll go with you!"

"No." Gu Mo waved a hand. "Just stay at the Princess Mansion." He then looked at Li Li and said, "Arrange for someone who has been there to guide me."

"All right!"

Li Li immediately got up and walked outside.

Just then, Gu Mo's pupils suddenly contracted. He had seen a strand of Nascent Soul Power flash across Li Li's body.

"Li Li, wait!" Gu Mo called out.

Li Li turned around in confusion, about to ask what was wrong. Yet before she could open her mouth, she saw Gu Mo standing before her, extending a hand to stroke her cheeks.

At that instant,

Li Li's heart leaped into her throat. Her disobedient heart began pounding thump-thump, and her little face instantly flushed scarlet.

She liked Gu Chundong, so she always joked about becoming Gu Chundong's sister-in-law. But after saying such jokes too often, she would sometimes inexplicably begin seriously imagining it. Moreover, Gu Mo was Number One Under Heaven, with peerless looks and bearing. As a woman, it was impossible for her not to be moved. It was simply that Gu Mo now stood at too lofty a level, so she only dared joke around him and never dared take it seriously.

Therefore,

Faced with Gu Mo's sudden intimacy, she could not suppress the excitement and unease in her heart. Her cheeks burned, and her heartbeat accelerated.

Then she gently closed her eyes, quietly waiting for Gu Mo's touch.

However,

After keeping her eyes closed for quite some time without feeling fingers touch her, she opened them in confusion—and heard Gu Mo say, "Your face... fell off!"

Then she saw Gu Mo lightly tug at the side of her face.

Then, a layer of skin fell to the floor.

It was unmistakably her face!