Chapter 4079 — The Mask Remade
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Mm, the Life-Aspect Mushroom is very hard to find. I can only trouble you to make the trip, Brother Lin." The Rag King nodded, then suddenly said, "By the way, Brother Lin, on this trip of yours, are you going to conceal your identity?"
"Naturally. The North Island Cultivators' Guild is a mixed and motley crowd. I can't very well go there as a newcomer from Yingxin Pavilion. That would be far too conspicuous." Wei Zhao nodded.
"In that case, that Thousand-Silk Mask of yours won't do anymore. After all, plenty of people know it, and even wearing it, you can't be sure you won't be recognized. How about this — I'll remodel it for you!" the Rag King suggested.
"Remodel the Thousand-Silk Mask?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback, then recalled that the Rag King seemed to have mentioned last time that he could forge such masks as well.
"That's right. It takes a great deal of skill to forge one of these things from scratch, but if it's just a matter of remodeling it to change the appearance, that's quite simple." The Rag King took the Thousand-Silk Mask from Wei Zhao with one hand and asked casually, "By the way, Brother Lin, what do you want to look like?"
Wei Zhao thought for a moment. "In that case, I'll trouble you, Brother Wang, to make me into a rough-featured martial artist."
In the wider martial world, apart from formidable strength, appearance was often an extremely useful weapon in its own right. A rough-featured martial artist, for instance, would lead others to assume, from first impressions, that he was not very clever and was simple at heart, making him easier to trust — and, of course, easier for those with ulterior motives to underestimate, so that one could play the pig to eat the tiger.
In but a brief moment, the Thousand-Silk Mask had taken on an entirely new appearance in the Rag King's hands. Just as Wei Zhao had requested, the face was rugged and domineering — at a glance, a standard martial artist — yet on closer inspection it carried a touch of uncommon valor.
"Brother Wang, your craftsmanship is truly superb. I think you'd have more than enough skill to be a professional painter." Wei Zhao praised sincerely. A few simple strokes, and he had produced such a vivid, expressive face — a veritable divine skill.
The Rag King gave a rather smug chuckle. "In our line of work as forgers, the key to designing a forging plan lies in the drawing. Whether it's precise or not directly determines the success rate. Don't think I've never forged anything decent before — my fundamentals are by no means poor. And besides, I like to doodle when I've got nothing to do. I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself before you, Brother Lin."
Wei Zhao gave him a thumbs-up. Setting everything else aside, the Rag King's talent in forging alone was no exaggeration to call a rare genius.
The next day, Wei Zhao set out early. Wearing the brand-new Thousand-Silk Mask, he followed Hong Zhong's earlier directions and arrived at the North Island Cultivators' Guild.
The place was not far from the Threefold Pavilion — practically right beside it, less than ten li away. Though the hour was still early, the guild's great hall was already packed to overflowing.
Experts at the Foundation Establishment stage and above were as common as cabbages by the roadside, jostling shoulder to shoulder, the clamor and hubbub unending. This spectacle of experts cheap as dogs left Wei Zhao dumbstruck for quite a while. R1152