Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 627 - Chapter 627 Chapter 13 Mingzha

Chapter 627: Chapter 13: Mingzha Chapter 627: Chapter 13: Mingzha The masked woman’s face turned pale with shock as she pulled out a palm-sized, red-and-black facial mask cutout from her waist and hurled it towards Li Yan’s face. “Shuaizhong” reacted extremely fast, throwing a white Hua Dan cutout at Li Yan as well. One red and one white, the two streams of light were so ferocious they made one’s head spin and eyes dazzle.

“United against outsiders. No idle talk, very good.”

Li Yan smiled, and as his voice faded, he had already vanished from sight. The two mask cutouts, losing their target, spun aimlessly in place.

Shuaizhong’s vision darkened as his whole body felt like it was struck by a large truck, making his bones feel as if they were falling apart. He flew backward three to four meters and fell unconscious before he had a chance to use any of his skills.

The masked lady made a split-second decision to abandon Shuaizhong and turned to escape through the window.

At the same moment, the two facial mask cutouts locked onto Li Yan once more, shooting at his face like arrows leaving their bows and forcing Li Yan to shift his body backward to dodge.

Taking advantage of the situation, the masked woman broke through the window and, after rolling twice on the road, sprinted away.

No matter how cold the midnight chill was, it couldn’t compare to the coldness in the masked woman’s heart. She had only just breathed a sigh of relief when a bead of blood from mid-air embedded itself in her hair. The woman felt a pain as if a steel needle had pierced through her skull, and before she could let out a scream, she fell face up.

Inside the warehouse, the two facial mask cutouts orbited Li Yan as if alive. Suddenly, a golden key flew in from outside the door, piercing through both cutouts at once before flying back into Ren Ni’s hand.

Ren Ni pulled the two cutouts off the golden key, twirling them in his fingers with a look of interest.

[Jinmen Wuhualian]

Category: Yin Item

Category: Rare

One of the eight Mingzha Masks cherished by generations of the Jinmen, the person who is tagged by the Wuhualian will lose personal consciousness and get strengthened, obeying the commands of Jin Zhong people while shortening their lifespan.

[Jinmen Daomadan]

Category: Yin Item

One of the eight Mingzha Masks cherished by generations of the Jinmen, the person who is tagged by the Daomadan will lose personal consciousness and get strengthened, obeying the commands of Jin Zhong people while shortening their lifespan.

Note: With few people in Jinmen, the descendants who leave home often use Mingzha Masks for protection.

——————————–

Jin Lu’s eyelashes fluttered, and a glaring light caused her eyelids to throb with pain. She instinctively tried to raise her arm, only to find her hands handcuffed.

Ren Yi smiled amiably, setting down the flashlight: “Let’s make this easy. I ask, you answer. Then everyone can be at ease.”

Perhaps Ren Yi’s beautiful face offered Jin Lu a bit of comfort. She weakly asked, “Where is my brother?”

“Is it you asking me, or me asking you?”

Jin Lu bit her lower lip and kept silent.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Jin Lu. My brother’s name is Jin Zhong. He’s used to being unruly at home, acting high and mighty with his meager kung fu skills, unaware of his limitations. I followed him because I saw him acting suspiciously, but little did I know he intended to steal your auction items. On his behalf, I apologize to Zhongxing Baode. My grandfather, Jin Boqing, is the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Taoist Association. His phone number is 8xx-6xxxxxx.”

Ren Yi crossed her arms and cocked her head without saying a word.

Jin Lu was as frank as pouring beans out of a bamboo tube, and her attitude was very humble: “We are willing to compensate for all losses and are open to negotiation on any terms. Of course, if Zhongxing Baode insists on involving the police, we will comply.”

“Young lady, you’re quite sensible. How did you end up with such a brother?”

Jin Lu gave a pale, wry smile. Her ears were still buzzing, her vision slightly doubled, and a throbbing pain in her temples was unrelenting. She truly had no energy to argue.

“Have a cup of coffee, it might make you feel better.”

Ren Yi handed Jin Lu a paper cup with a friendly gesture.

“Thank you.”

Clasping the warm cup, Jin Lu barely managed to gather some energy: “Where’s the person who caught me?”

“Upstairs playing video games. Do you need to see him for something?”

Jin Lu swallowed hard and shook her head, “No need.”

Ren Yi nodded, “Alright, you should rest a bit.”

She draped a thick woolen blanket over Jin Lu and was about to leave the room.

Just then, Jin Lu suddenly turned and blurted out, “My younger brother has a terrible personality. I hope you all won’t take his behavior to heart.”

Ren Yi gave her a gentle smile, “We just want to clear things up as quickly as possible, without any misunderstandings.”

After speaking, she closed the door from the outside, plunging the room into darkness.

——————————–

Meanwhile, Jin Zhong was also being questioned.

“This is Hong Kong. You have no right to interrogate me on your own. The most you could do is call the police.”

Jin Zhong licked his lips nervously but held his head high, feigning indifference.

Ren Yi pushed the door open and asked, “How’s it going?”

The security officer in charge of the interrogation stood up and sighed, “He won’t say anything. He insists on waiting until the police arrive before speaking.”

“Fair enough, we should wait for the police. How are the guards he knocked out?”

“The guy was somewhat measured in his assault. The guards just passed out from the impact of his negative energy. However, one of them, named Lai Zhisheng, had a history of heart disease. It hadn’t flared up for a long time, but the shock from the negative energy triggered his heart condition. We couldn’t resuscitate him, and he died.”

Hearing someone had died, Jin Zhong became panicked, “Hey! It wasn’t my fault. You said it yourself, he had a history of heart disease. My Mingzha has no resentment; it can’t kill anyone.”

On learning of the death, Ren Yi’s face didn’t show any emotion, “He’s been complaining about his body odor for a while now. He has a good excuse this time; he’d be happier, if anything,”

The man looked at Ren Yi in surprise and then glanced down at Jin Zhong without saying a word.

“I’ll handle this. You can go.”

“Yes.”

The man left the room.

“I didn’t kill anyone. You should investigate properly. I want a lawyer.”

Jin Zhong argued loudly at Ren Yi, who sat across from him.

Without a word, Ren Yi’s intoxicating almond-shaped eyes stared directly at Jin Zhong’s face. She then pulled a compact mirror from her pocket and pointed it at him.

“What… what are you doing?”

Jin Zhong hadn’t finished speaking, but he discovered with horror that the person in the mirror wasn’t himself but a strange middle-aged face. Then, like ripples in water, that face began to blur, and as the ripples calmed, the face had changed to look exactly like Jin Zhong’s.

“…”

Jin Zhong’s expression suddenly became somber.

Ren Yi snapped the compact mirror shut and asked, “Who instructed you to steal from Zhongxing Baode’s auction items?”

Jin Zhong steadied himself, a far cry from his former demeanor, “No one did; it was indeed my own idea. Among the three major associations, Chen Lang from the Prosperity Union has always wanted to build relations with the mainland and was very keen on the auctions. This time, Jinmen wanted to make some money from the auction as well. They sold some family assets, which displeased some descendants, hence the incident.”

“So it was just an accident?”

“You could say that.”

Ren Yi smiled, “How do you feel now?”

“Youth is still preferable.”

Jin Zhong’s face was half in light, half in shadow.