Knock, knock, knock!
A young newspaper boy rode his bicycle down the street, holding a loudspeaker that blared without pause.
"Extra! Extra! At noon today, Xuan Zi of the Sea God Pavilion will personally preside over a public trial to punish an Evil Soul Master!"
The Inspection Corps protects the people's peace and scores another triumph!"
"An Evil Soul Master? I heard they were from inside Shrek Academy."
A woman selling vegetables lowered her voice, disbelief in her eyes.
"Exactly!" A tea drinker beside her waved his palm-leaf fan, sounding faintly gleeful.
"An Evil Soul Master slipped into their own academy, and they collect all those Gold Soul Coins every year. What do they even spend them on?
I reckon that bunch might have been behind the Treasure Gathering Pavilion explosion!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. The commotion that night was so loud I could feel the tremors from my house, and I live miles away..."
Just as the newspaper boy cycled past the mouth of an alley, a figure in a black trench coat swept past him like a ghost.
Deep in the dark alley, a strange disturbance rippled through the air.
"Tree Bro, hurry up!" Illusion Bro urged, his hands never stopping as he put on the newspaper boy's clothes piece by piece and patted them straight.
Tree Bro, meanwhile, studied the boy's appearance closely.
He's fairly good-looking, but nowhere near us. A lump of resin appeared in Tree Bro's hand. He kneaded it repeatedly, then pressed it onto Illusion Bro's face.
"Remember your mission. Go to the newspaper office and get these drafts printed."
Tree Bro stuffed a roll of prepared handwritten pages into the Clone's clothes.
"It's simple. Same as last time. Don't give yourself away."
"Don't worry, Tree Bro. Acting is my specialty." The Clone