"This is..."
Liu Zheng looked into the mirror, and his pupils immediately contracted.
Curled up in the reflection was a featherless gosling, its pink flesh covered in wounds from pecking.
Its head had been pecked beyond recognition, and one of its eyes had even been gouged out.
"Ugly?"
Big White Goose asked flatly.
"Ugly."
Liu Zheng answered honestly.
"This is what I really look like. The version you saw was made up. Now do you understand why I'm so good at makeup?"
Big White Goose said.
"I do."
He nodded.
"The Ugly Duckling Clan secretly lays its eggs in other birds' nests, then chooses the most outstanding hatchling, steals its appearance and talents, and alters the adult bird's memories."
"So I'm the real Black Swan, while that thing is nothing more than an ugly duckling."
Big White Goose said coldly.
"It stole everything that belonged to me. It relied on my talent to get into art school, then entered the grand theater and stepped onto the stage that was supposed to be mine, enjoying applause that should have been for me."
"Becoming a makeup artist was merely for survival. Becoming a dancer was my dream."
It rose onto its tiptoes as if it wanted to dance, but after seeing itself in the mirror, it dejectedly gave up.
"Anyway, kill it and bring me its corpse. Then I'll pretend I know nothing about what you've been doing in secret."
Big White Goose said.
"Big Brother Goose, you know me. It's hard for me to leave a corpse intact when I kill someone."
Liu Zheng said awkwardly.
"Then bring me its feet. If that's impossible, a duck neck will do."
Big White Goose said.
"I'll do my best. I'll bring back whatever's left. If nothing else, I'll bring back all its feathers.