Ita Era

Chapter 184 The Thousand-Faced Mask
Ding Shi turned around and saw a black mist rising into the air from Cui Fu's body. He immediately threw down half of Huang You and ran away.

Black mist filled the air, forming the hateful face of Cui's father. The face opened its mouth wide and blew out a breath, followed by an incredibly strong gale that blew Ding Shi four meters into the air, slamming him hard against the wall of a house.

A huge mouth spewed out a column of black smoke, which shot towards Ding Shi, who was running for his life. Ding Shi immediately accelerated, his entire body exploding with primal force, and his two long legs flew out in afterimages.

Black smoke hit the ground, causing it to tremble and a shockwave to rise and spread. Ding Shi, who had escaped thirty meters away, was swept away by the shockwave and flew directly out of the village, crashing into a rock. Fortunately, protected by the Force, Ding Shi only coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.

The giant face floated towards Ding Shi, opening its massive mouth and spewing out another plume of black smoke. Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, Ding Shi darted into the woods. The black smoke struck the trees, and after a violent explosion, the entire forest was leveled.

The giant face floated above the now flattened forest, its eyes darting around, searching for traces of its enemy.

Ding Shi's left leg was a bloody mess, and he lay quietly by the edge of the woods, his body covered with layers of wood chips and leaves, with only his eyes showing.

Big Face was looking for him, while he was observing Big Face. For a moment, he felt that he and Big Face made eye contact, but Big Face did not take any further action.

After searching for several minutes without success, the large face loomed close to the mountainside, like a dark cloud covering the entire mountain. The strange celestial phenomenon caused the animals in the mountains to run around in all directions. Suddenly, a plume of black smoke flew towards the mountainside, and Ding Shi could see clearly that it was a group of monkeys, using the trees to move quickly.

Black smoke exploded among the monkeys, and after one blast, the forest and the monkeys disappeared, leaving only a large crater.

Big Face seemed to think it had eliminated Ding Shi, so it began to rise, flew to the top of Cui Fu's head, and finally returned to Cui Fu's body.

Cui's father walked step by step, his eyes cold and filled with murderous intent. He picked up Huang You's limbs piece by piece, one by one, one by one, one by one, one by one, and one by one. The black mist carried the pieced-together Huang You's corpse toward the Jinshi's mansion, where he placed Huang You into the divine wood coffin.

As Huang You was buried, the demonic energy around Cui's father's body swelled even more, rising uncontrollably and forming a dark cloud a hundred meters above his head. The cloud slowly expanded. Within this cloud were dozens of pairs of will-o'-the-wisps with scarlet eyes, blinking and looking left and right.

After burying Huang You, Cui's father left the Jinshi's residence. A pair of eyes fell from the dark clouds—an enhanced version of the Nine-Refined Ghost Fire. The ghost fire burned the pillars of the three-courtyard house, and soon the three-courtyard house collapsed, burying Huang You's grave. Having completed its task, the ghost fire, as if summoned, flew back into the dark clouds.

……

Ding Shi, dragging his nearly crippled left leg and writhing in pain, returned to the temporary camp and found the village chief. The village chief was the only doctor in Tianmen Village; all the doctors in Ita were legendary healers, and all the medicines in Ita were miraculous remedies.

After taking the two yellow pills he bought for $20, Ding Shi felt extremely tired. He found a place to lean back and rest, and his wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At 5 p.m., Cao Ying and Sha Bi sneaked back to the camp. Ding Shi waved to signal the two of them to come over.

Ding Shi was still very tired. He sat back and asked, "Where are you going?"

Cao Ying said, "It's none of your business how I date."

Sha Bi contradicted him, saying, "I don't want a woman that Ding Shi doesn't want." There are bottom lines to being a person.

Cao Ying was speechless and said, "I am not his woman."

"That's basically what it means," Sha Bi said impatiently.

Ding Shi looked at the two of them for a while and asked, "You two went tomb raiding?"

Sha Bi wasn't embarrassed at all: "Well, we dug up Cuihua's father's grave, but unfortunately there was only a pile of bones."

Ding Shi caught a glimpse of cunning in Cao Ying's eyes and thought to himself: You saw a pile of bones, but the girl next to you definitely saw more than just a pile of bones.

I wasn't wicked enough; why didn't I think of digging up the graves of some masters?
Ding Shi struggled to his feet: "Time to eat."

Several villagers cooked a pot of cured pork rice, and Ding Shi went over and bought a bowl of it.

How were the villagers' emotions? It must be said that Ita World did a good job. The villagers were fearful and panicked, but the village chief did his best to calm them down. The village chief told the villagers that a truck from the county town would come to pick them up the day after tomorrow, and if Tianmen Village was still in this situation by then, the villagers could go to the county town to make a living.

(Similar to the feudal era, less important NPC interactions are basically ignored, but this does not mean that players did not pay attention to NPCs.)
Cao Ying bought a tofu rice dish, while Sha Bi bought a white rice dish and a plate of pheasant meat.

The three of them sat in front of the fire to eat, and the firewood for the fire was also purchased.

During the meal, Ding Shi glanced at Cao Ying intentionally or unintentionally. Cao Ying gently turned her head, showing Ding Shi her most beautiful profile.

After finishing their meal, Ding Shi returned the bowls and chopsticks to the villagers, walked up to Cao Ying, and said, "Come on, let's go for a walk in the woods."

Cao Ying refused: "What's so interesting about wandering around in this dark woods? What do you want to do?"

Ding Shi squatted down, leering at Cao Ying, and lifted her chin with one hand: "What do you think?"

Cao Ying slapped Ding Shi's hand away, but Ding Shi grabbed her. Cao Ying tried to struggle, but she was completely helpless and couldn't possibly fight back. Ding Shi said sinisterly, "I advise you not to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Let me have some fun, and everyone will be happy." After saying that, he took half a step forward, picked up Cao Ying, and left.

Cao Ying tried to bite, slap, and yell, but to no avail. After a few leaps, Ding Shi and Cao Ying disappeared into the night.

"You beast." Sha Bi picked up a piece of pheasant meat and put it in his mouth. He didn't care about such things, and he was glad that Ding Shi was a morally corrupt person.

Morally corrupt? Yes, Ding Shi isn't a good person, but in his six years with the Dragon Gang, he has never forcibly abducted a woman. He couldn't resist taking advantage of a girl over a meal?

Sha Bi said, "Give me a bowl of cured pork rice."

After eating half a bowl of cured pork rice, Sha Bi fell into deep thought: he felt like he had been tricked.

Five hundred meters from the temporary camp, in the roadside bushes, Ding Shi pressed one hand against Cao Ying's neck.

Cao Ying had given up struggling; her physical and verbal attacks couldn't break Ding Shi's defenses. She coldly said, "If you're going to do it, hurry up, and I'll cooperate." She could refuse to cooperate, but Ding Shi was capable of killing her. However, Cao Ying could still file a complaint claiming she was coerced. Cao Ying's statement of cooperation represented her stance; if Ding Shi continued his erratic behavior, there wouldn't be any problems.

Ding Shi grinned: "You could have chosen not to cooperate, but you did. First possibility: you love me to death. Second possibility: you'd rather sleep with me than do anything else. Do you love me?"

Cao Ying's eyes darted around, and she said plaintively, "You're my first man, do you say I love you?"

Ding Shi said, "It seems you're quite something to condescend to say such a thing. Don't beat around the bush. I know myself very well. I'm handsome and rich, but I'm definitely not a good match. I'm only suitable as a partner in bed."

Cao Ying retorted rudely, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? If you're not going to do it, then let me go."

Ding Shi said, "Hand over the items."

Cao Ying: "There's nothing there."

Ding Shi asked, "Don't force me to search you."

Cao Ying spread her arms wide: "Come on."

Ding Shi narrowed his eyes. So arrogant? Judging from Cao Ying's tone, he couldn't possibly find anything on her. Had she lost it on the way? It was dark, and there were no obvious landmarks; how could he be sure he could retrieve it?
Or rather, she would rather lose it than keep it for herself?
The worst part is, I don't know the size of this thing. Is it a bottle? A book? A note? Or something else?
Ding Shi still conducted a body search, a very formal one, avoiding Cao Ying's privacy, which made Cao Ying laugh: "Even after all this, you still want to maintain a persona for yourself?" Ding Shi took off Cao Ying's shoes: "Ah... ugh..." and immediately put them back on.

Cao Ying's face instantly turned red: "I stepped in dirty water this morning and haven't changed it since. It doesn't usually smell this bad."

Ding Shi released Cao Ying, sat on a mound of earth, and quietly looked at the reclining beauty so close to him, asking, "Where is the thing?"

Cao Ying retorted, "How do you know I have something? What did I say I had?"

Ding Shi said, "I'm sure you're hiding something."

Cao Ying said, "I'm here, and I agree to cooperate with you. You can do whatever you want."

Damn it, where could the thing be? Ding Shi knew Cao Ying was a very proud person; she wouldn't sleep with him to steal the ledger unless forced to. The fact that Cao Ying was willing to sleep with him meant she had ulterior motives.

The only possibility now seems to be that Cao Ying left her things on the road.

During a drinking session with Ding Shi, Wang Meng discussed Cao Ying, suggesting that she had a strong desire for control. He felt that someone with this personality was unlikely to leave important things lying around somewhere they couldn't find.

If all other possibilities have been ruled out, then there is only one possibility.

Ding Shi looked into Cao Ying's eyes and said, "You have an inventory."

Cao Ying's instance is a resurrection quest. Because the resurrection quest failed, she traded all her possessions for a slim chance of resurrection. From this, we can infer that Cao Ying has absolutely no connection with Tianmen Village, a fact that Cao Ying herself has confirmed; she has no connection to the Divine Tree quest.

Cao Ying was terrified. How did this bastard figure it out? But she maintained her composure and said, "I don't have an inventory."

Ding Shi said, "This is the reward for the 13th visitor. This visitor has an inventory slot that other visitors don't have, so he can leave the instance with supplies."

Cao Ying sighed: "Don't you understand? I don't have an inventory. Even if I did have something, I have an inventory, and the item is already there, so how are you going to take it?"

Ding Shi's reply was simple and brutal: "Give me the thing, or I'll kill you."

Cao Ying was somewhat incredulous: "I know there are no feelings between us, but we've at least been intimate. How could you say such cold words?"

Ding Shi touched Cao Ying's neck with his right hand: "Life or death!" He wouldn't be led by the nose.

Cao Ying didn't speak, but Ding Shi burned the back of his hand. Damn, this woman is crying. She has no sportsmanship.

Cao Ying looked at Ding Shi with her big, watery eyes, seemingly suppressing immense grievances: "I have nothing, I have no props, I don't know if I love you or not, I only know I don't hate you. The reason I'm willing to cooperate is that I hope I can hate you afterwards. You men wouldn't understand, if a girl is willing to give you her virginity, at least she won't hate you, because she will remember you for the rest of her life."

Tears soaked Ding Shi's hand. He withdrew his hand, wiped it clean on Cao Ying's clothes, examined her closely for a while, and said, "I'll count to three. If you don't hand over the item, you die."

"3, 2, 1..."

"Fool, the moment your hand left my neck, I knew you couldn't bring yourself to kill me." Thinking this, Cao Ying turned her head away, remaining silent as tears streamed down her face.

Ding Shi sighed, "Let's go."

Cao Ying said angrily, her voice nasal, "I'm not leaving."

Ding Shi said, "Then I'm leaving."

"Hmph." Cao Ying knew that many men could read the meaning behind that hum, but Ding Shi was not one of them. It wasn't that Ding Shi couldn't understand it, but rather that he wouldn't spend his time and energy trying to figure out what women were thinking.

It was precisely because of Ding Shi's weakness that Cao Ying successfully misled him and preserved the treasures obtained from Cui Fu's tomb.

Ding Shi was right; Cao Ying could freely use the item inventory.

Cao Ying was right; Ding Shi abandoned her and left alone.

Cao Ying glanced at her inventory: the Thousand Faces Mask. It could transform her into anyone she had ever seen, and its validity and cooldown time both refreshed at 0:00, and could not be manually interrupted.

Furthermore, if Cao Ying transforms into Ding Shi and encounters Ding Shi, she will be reverted to her original form, and the mask will not be usable again in this instance.

As Cao Ying walked back to the temporary camp, she pondered which profession she should choose to maximize the versatility of her abilities.

Ding returned to the temporary camp, sat down in his spot, and recalled the details of Cao Ying's face and expressions.

Sha Bi was not happy to see Ding Shi and started making sarcastic remarks: "So fast? Not counting the distance, half an hour?"

Ding Shi closed his eyes and said, "According to unofficial statistics, 80% of men last between 5 and 15 minutes."

Silly Bike said smugly, "Sorry, my average time is 45 minutes."

Ding Shi continued, "Excluding rest and medication, anything exceeding half an hour will cause physical ailments. Generally speaking, anything exceeding 20 minutes will cause problems."

Foolish Dagger: "You made this up?"

Ding Shi: "Made of shrimp."

Sha Bi turned his head to look outside. Cao Ying limped back, leaning on a tree branch, and went to find the village chief to pay for bandages.

Cao Ying walked back to the campfire where the three of them had been, and glared at Ding Shi fiercely: "You took advantage of me and then left? Are you even human?"

Ding asked in confusion, "What did I eat?"

Cao Ying: "Eating tofu."

Sha Bi's eyes lit up. Taking advantage of someone? Nothing else? Could it be that Cao Ying's secret of the three thousand cuts is that Ding Shi is incapable? No wonder, he knows those obscure facts; he probably secretly searched for them online at night when he felt inferior.

Cao Ying sat down next to Ding Shi and asked, "Tomorrow is the last day, what are your plans?"

Ding Shi replied, "I have no plans. Cui Fu is too strong. One shot from him is comparable to an aerial bomb, which is simply beyond human resistance. No wonder Ita is imperfect; how could they create such an invincible BOSS?"

Foolish Bone said, "To be honest, don't you have any idea how this BOSS came to be?"

Ding Shi became interested and asked, "How did you get out?"

(End of this chapter)