MTLNOVEL Chapter 781: Dealing with the Thousand-Faced Master
Feng Qing nodded, then casually asked, "Has anything strange happened in town recently?"
The vendor's eyes flickered, and then he whispered, "Strange things? Well, a few nights ago, I saw some people dressed in black hurrying back from outside the town. They seemed very tense."
Feng Qing's heart stirred. He realized this clue might be related to the lead discovered by Luo Chen and Qing Shuang.
He decided to tell them this information.
Luo Chen, Qing Shuang, and Feng Qing met up in a teahouse in town to exchange the information they had discovered.
The three of them concluded that these people dressed in black were likely connected to the Thousand-Face Master and seemed to be engaging in some secret activity outside the town.
"It seems we need to investigate outside the town," Luo Chen said in a deep voice.
Qing Shuang nodded in agreement, "Yes, but we must act cautiously to avoid alerting them."
Feng Qing suggested, "We can slip out of the town under the cover of night; it won't be easy to get discovered this way."
The three decided to act on Feng Qing's suggestion.
As night fell, they quietly left the small town, heading toward the dense forest outside.
They carefully traversed through the forest, trying not to make any sound.
In the depths of the forest, they discovered an abandoned manor.
The buildings of the manor were all in disrepair, but there was a faint sense of ominous presence emanating from within.
"Something seems amiss here," Luo Chen said quietly.
Qing Shuang and Feng Qing also watched their surroundings vigilantly.
They knew that this could be the hiding place of the Thousand-Face Master's disciples.
The three cautiously approached the manor, trying to find a way in.
Suddenly, they heard low voices coming from within the manor.
Luo Chen motioned for Qing Shuang and Feng Qing to stop, then he quietly moved towards the source of the sound.
Through a broken window, he saw several people dressed in black sitting around a table, one of them speaking in a low voice.
"...We must speed up; the master can't wait any longer," one person in black said.
Another person in black nodded, "Yes, we have gathered enough materials to start the next phase of the plan."
Luo Chen was startled; he knew these people in black were plotting some kind of conspiracy.
He decided to return to Qing Shuang and Feng Qing to come up with a detailed action plan.
Upon returning to Qing Shuang and Feng Qing, Luo Chen relayed what he had overheard.
The three decided not to rush into action but first to uncover the layout of the manor and the exact number of people in black.
They spent the entire night cautiously observing every corner of the manor.
They discovered that inside the manor, there were not only people in black but also some townsfolk who were evidently being used by the people in black for some kind of experiment.
"We must rescue these townsfolk," Qing Shuang said firmly.
Luo Chen and Feng Qing also nodded in agreement.
They decided to wait until it was dark again before sneaking into the manor to carry out the rescue operation.
As night fell, Luo Chen, Qing Shuang, and Feng Qing quietly infiltrated the manor.
Using shadows and mist, they successfully evaded the patrols of the people in black.
They found the incarcerated townsfolk and carefully freed them.
In the process of rescuing them, they inevitably clashed with the people in black.
A battle broke out within the manor, and Luo Chen, Qing Shuang, and Feng Qing, with their tacit cooperation, engaged fiercely with the people in black.
In the battle, Luo Chen and Qing Shuang were like two streaks of lightning, weaving between the people in black. Their swordsmanship was sharp and precise, each swing accompanied by screams from the people in black.
Feng Qing assisted from the side, using talisman paper to create various spell effects, disrupting the movements of the people in black.
After a fierce fight, Luo Chen and Qing Shuang finally subdued all the people in black.
They rescued all the townsfolk and found some clues about the Thousand-Face Master within the manor.
"It seems the Thousand-Face Master's plan is even more grandiose than we imagined," Luo Chen said gravely, looking at the clues in his hand.
Qing Shuang nodded, "Yes, we must quickly take this information back to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and let the Elders make a decision."
Feng Qing also agreed, "Let's go back to town first, meet up with Elder He Tu, and then decide on our next action."
The three of them, with the rescued townsfolk and the clues they found, quietly left the manor under the cover of darkness.
After returning to town, they immediately found Elder He Tu and reported in detail what had happened in the manor and the clues they had found.
After hearing their report, Elder He Tu said gravely, "This information is very important. I will immediately send someone to deliver it to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. At the same time, I will strengthen the town's defenses to prevent the Thousand-Face Master's disciples from causing trouble again."
Luo Chen, Qing Shuang, and Feng Qing nodded. They knew that this struggle with the Thousand-Face Master and his disciples was far from over.
They needed more support and also more wisdom and courage to completely eradicate this evil presence.
In the days that followed, Luo Chen, Qing Shuang, and Feng Qing continued to help the townsfolk while awaiting further instructions from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the town, a mysterious figure was quietly observing everything.
His face was covered with a mask, painted with ever-changing patterns.
He was the Thousand-Face Master, a master of transformation in the Demonic Path.