Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 34.3

Chapter 34.3
That face was similar to the one he remembered —

Cui Heng patted her shoulder to comfort her, then left. Luo Wanqing didn’t look at him as he left; only when he was gone did she turn her head, glancing at the door. She laid back down, closed her eyes, and stayed up nearly all night. The following day, Zhu Si came to call her early. After she freshened up, she was led out by Zhu Si to Xie Heng’s courtyard. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Xie Heng drinking tea with an old man. The older man was past his prime, with his hair half-white, but he was in high spirits. He was lamenting toward Xie Heng: “I’ve long since told Bai Li to quit. She’s so old. Which woman is still working as a scout like her? She just can’t rest assured that you…”

“Young Master.” Zhu Si interrupted the old man and respectfully said, “Agent Liu is here.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng, while carrying the tea, turned his head along with the old man, who looked her up and down before looking at Xie Heng: “That’s her?”

“En.” Xie Heng answered, turning back to look at the teacup on the tea table.

The old man walked down the courtyard from the long corridor, squatted down, stared at Luo Wanqing, and thoughtfully said, “It’s a burn scar; the skin and flesh are dead.” The older man touched the bones on Luo Wanqing’s face. While touching her face, he continued to comment, “Top-notch bones. You should have been a beauty before. How did it get like this? But it’s not difficult.” The old man turned back and looked at Xie Heng, “What are you planning to make her into?”

“Zhu Que.” Xie Heng called out. Next to him, Zhu Que immediately answered and stepped forward, respectfully saying, “Elder Zhong, this woman.” Zhu Que opened a scroll, and everyone looked towards it and saw a woman in prison uniform running barefoot on the painting.

The painting was newly made, and the ink was very bright. Although the woman in the painting was distressed, she was born exquisite; this part of the distress only made her look pathetic, increasing people’s pity.

Luo Wanqing froze and looked at the painting. This scene should be the first time she met Xie Heng.

“Give her a face according to this girl’s appearance.” Xie Heng sat aside and sipped his tea, his voice slightly cold: “Ten days, can you do it?”

“Ten days?” Elder Zhong turned back in surprise, “So urgent?”

“We couldn’t find Bai Li’s body, only some traces. Li Guiyu’s people should have taken him away in advance.” Xie Heng tapped on the desk, calmly gave his analysis to Elder Zhong, and faintly said, “I need to confirm the weight of this woman in Li Guiyu’s place so that I can plan the next step. Ten days is my limit; the faster, the better.”

“This …… is not impossible. It’s just a bit of powerful medicine to heal the wound faster.” Elder Zhong pondered, then turned his head to look at Luo Wanqing, “You’ve become an agent. You shouldn’t be afraid of pain, right?”

“I’ll listen to Elder Zhong’s arrangement.” Luo Wanqing spoke out respectfully.

Elder Zhong nodded before asking confusedly, “Why change your face? It’s so troublesome. Wouldn’t it be better to use a mask?”

“How do you think the previous scout died?” Xie Heng glanced at Elder Zhong and said faintly, “If the mask could cover it, why did Li Guiyu kill Bai Li?”

Elder Zhong choked, then nodded, “That’s true. Then, Miss,” Elder Zhong turned his head towards Luo Wanqing, “Let’s go?”

Luo Wanqing nodded her head and bowed towards Xie Heng. Then, with Zhu Que, who was holding the painting, she followed Elder Zhong towards the inner room. As Elder Zhong walked, he introduced himself: “Miss, you don’t recognize me, do you? My name is Zhong Lingshu. I am a doctor. I like to study strange and weird things, and I am the only one in the world who can change faces. I am very good at it. Don’t worry.”

Luo Wanqing listened, not daring to make a sound. Zhong Lingshu’s name, even pronouncing it in the medical field, was an offense. He was a divine doctor with countless apprentices, the most admired existence of all those who studied medicine in Daxia. But her identity was only a salt peddler. She did not dare open her mouth rashly and followed Zhong Lingshu to the room that had been prepared long ago. In the room stood the medicine boy. Zhong Lingshu cleaned his hands and pointed to a half-recumbent bed, saying toward Luo Wanqing: “Miss, please lie on it. Zhu Que,” Zhong Lingshu commanded Zhu Que, “Hang the painting there so I can look while operating her.”

Zhu Que hurriedly answered and hung the painting in the direction Luo Wanqing was facing.

Luo Wanqing looked at herself in the painting, somewhat crying and laughing. She didn’t expect to go around in circles and had to use her face in the end.

Zhong Lingshu was commanding the medicine boy at the side, preparing the knives. After a while, he sat down in the direction of Luo Wanqing’s head, looked up at the painting, looked at Luo Wanqing, and suddenly voiced out, “Strange.”

Luo Wanqing realized something. Her heart tightened, and she spoke, “What did Elder Zhong mean by strange?”

“This bone of yours. It doesn’t need to move at all, huh?” Elder Zhong looked up at the painting and then down at Luo Wanqing, hesitating. “You originally looked similar?”

Luo Wanqing’s palms were sweaty. Zhong Lao hovered the knife at Luo Wanqing’s face, seemingly unable to put his hands down. He pondered, “It seems just like a skin repair. What kind of destiny is this?”

”Elder Zhong,” Luo Wanqing spoke deliberately, ”Even though there is a similarity in the bone phase, whether it can be similar depends on Elder Zhong’s craftsmanship.”

Hearing Luo Wanqing’s secret praise, Zhong Lingshu was somewhat happy. He nodded his head and said, “You’re right.” Saying this, Zhong Lingshu took a bowl of anesthetic from the side and gave it to Luo Wanqing to drink, comforting her: “Sleep for a while. After waking up, you’ll feel pain for a few days, and then you’ll be fine. How you heal still depends on your physique, but don’t worry. No matter what, it’s still better looking than you are now.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything and obediently drank the anesthetic. Actually, it wouldn’t hurt to be ugly. As for the result, it was unpredictable.

As Zhong Lingshu said, even though bones were important, skin appearance was the final presentation. How she recovers depends on her physique. After drinking the anesthetic, she soon fell unconscious. When she woke up, her head was full of bandages, and her face was on fire. Next to her was the sound of clanking pots. Zhong Lingshu saw her eyes open and turned her head to look at her, “Miss, are you awake?”

Luo Wanqing couldn’t speak. While cleaning his hands, Zhong Lingshu said, “I didn’t do much work. I just adjusted your eyes a bit. That girl’s eyes are almond eyes, slightly childish compared to you. After all, you are an Agent. It is better to be cooler; it’s more suitable for your temperament.”

Luo Wanqing quietly listened, unable to speak; Zhong Lingshu stood up and checked her before saying, “I gave you some powerful medicine. After you return, you must meditate daily. You’ll recover quickly with the help of medicine. Probably, five days at most.”

“Many thanks to Elder Zhong.” She tried for a long time before hoarsely speaking.

Zhong Lingshu looked at Luo Wanqing with pity like an elder and sighed, “You kids, you’ve suffered.”