"The Taboo ACE-005... you had already given it to ?" Qing Chen's voice carried a mix of three parts doubt and seven parts surprise.
If such an important item as the Taboo had been given to him, how could he not have noticed?
However, Uncle Li Dong had never deceived Qing Chen.
At this mont, the hover car had already flown over Prison No. 18, lightly landing in the wilderness.
Uncle Li Dong, with Qing Chen following on foot, headed toward the secret entrance leading to the prison's cold storage, the two of them walking one after the other in the narrow corridor, which was lined with tritium lamps.
If nothing went wrong, those tritium lamps could last for 20 years or even longer.
Uncle Li Dong, walking ahead, said to himself, "I really did give Ace-005 to you, and I had been waiting for you to ask for it so I could surprise you, but you were just too stubborn to ask. So, in a strict sense, I'm the first elder to give you a Taboo, and next ti you go to Taboo Land 002, rember to let those old fellows know, lest they always think I'm stingy."
Qing Chen followed blankly, thinking to himself, do they also compete over things like this?
As he walked behind Uncle Li Dong, he searched through his mories, trying to list all the items Uncle Li Dong had given him and then determine which one could be the Taboo ACE-005.
The corridor was sowhat dim, and Qing Chen quietly reminisced.
anwhile, Uncle Li Dong laughed ahead, "Don't think too much; it's not ti for guessing gas. When you beat at chess before, I said that winning a ga could grant you a request, and then you chose the Genetic Potion from Liu Dezhu. Later, you brought the sheet music for classical music, and I said I owed you another request. Actually, I was waiting to see if you would ask for the Taboo; if you had, I would have given it to you."
Qing Chen paused montarily.
Uncle Li Dong chuckled, "I didn't expect you to be so stubborn, keeping that opportunity unused until now."
Qing Chen spoke softly, "Of course I also wanted to have a Taboo, like other Ti Travelers, which can transfer between the two worlds and is indeed very beneficial for the Outer World. But that was your item, Master, and I never really thought about asking for it. Plus, I now have the Puppeteer, which is quite good. Of course... if you insist on giving it to , I wouldn't mind."
Uncle Li Dong expressed his sentints, "I've been busy trying to help you regain your youthful heart; it seems my efforts weren't in vain."
As he spoke, Uncle Li Dong turned back to look at Qing Chen.
But in the dim corridor, Qing Chen saw a strange cat mask with red patterns on his master's face.
All the answers beca clear, and he asked, "Master, is the Taboo ACE-005 that big cat by your side? So, Master, your ability to change your appearance at will, is it because of it?"
So it turned out, the Taboo ACE-005 was that big cat!
Qing Chen clearly rembered that ever since the cat mask appeared, the big cat that often dozed off on the table had suddenly disappeared; the two had never appeared simultaneously.
A living creature that had turned into a mask; such a thing could only be done by a Taboo of the Inner World.
Moreover, Uncle Li Dong had indeed once given him this item, but later he had returned the mask!
Qing Chen felt complex emotions realizing he had once possessed a Taboo long, long ago.
"Master, how did you get this Taboo?" Qing Chen asked.
"A friend gave it to ," Uncle Li Dong naturally replied.
"A female friend?" Qing Chen questioned.
"Why are you so nosy too," Uncle Li Dong puzzled.
"Like master, like disciple," Qing Chen calmly responded, "I can't see anyone being so generous with a Taboo other than you, Master, and the will of the forebears in Taboo Land 002."
Uncle Li Dong proudly laughed, "ACE-005 is most suitable for a Knight, so it's only natural to give it to a Knight. The Knight's Breathing Technique changes the voice, and Taboo ACE-005 changes the face, so it's a Taboo that naturally should be possessed by us Knights. And most crucially, it's very cute when it turns into a big cat."
After hesitating for two seconds, Qing Chen asked, "Is that last reason serious?"
"Of course it's serious," Uncle Li Dong said, "Maine Coon Cats are known as gentle giants, very clingy, and a Taboo won't shed fur! You've definitely never raised a cat, so you don't know how rare it is to have a cat that doesn't shed!"
"Alright," Qing Chen said, "You're the boss."
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At that mont, Uncle Li Dong took off the cat mask and placed it in Qing Chen's hands, "From now on, it's yours."
Qing Chen silently looked at the cat mask in his hand, "Master, how many years was it with you?"
"18 years," Uncle Li Dong said sowhat sentintally, "Back then, your master did a lot of unscrupulous things with it, but honestly, being able to change into soone else's face at any mont is really thrilling, perfect for framing others, a must-have divine artifact for ho and travel."
Qing Chen was speechless; he could even imagine the things his master had done using the Taboo ACE-005!
"Master, what are the conditions for containing it?" Qing Chen asked.
"The first step is a blood drop," Uncle Li Dong took Qing Chen's wrist, then plucked two hairs from his head with his other hand.
True Qi infused between the strands of hair, and the two strands, originally soft, imdiately straightened like needles.
"Master, why pluck two strands?" Qing Chen asked in confusion.
Uncle Li Dong calmly replied, "Your hair is too thick, I plucked too many."
Qing Chen: "..."
As he spoke, he threw one hair away, keeping only one strand, which he then lightly slashed across Qing Chen's wrist. Deep red blood flowed from the wrist onto the mask, seeping into it bit by bit.
"Second step, call its na," Uncle Li Dong said with a smile. "Do you rember what it's called?"
Qing Chen frowned, as he rapidly searched his mory only to realize that he had never known the large cat's na from beginning to end!
If it were soone else, they might think their mory was flawed, considering how often the large cat appeared; it was improbable that no one ever called it by its na.
However, Qing Chen was certain: neither Xiao Xiao nor Ye Wan had ever ntioned the large cat's na, perhaps they also didn't know what it was called.
"Master, what is its na?" Qing Chen asked.
"Da Fu," Uncle Li Dong said with a smile. "Those who know its na can beco its master. This is the containnt condition for 005. Now that the mask has your blood in it, you only need to call out its na to beco its master."
"Da Fu..." Qing Chen murmured. "Who nad it such a down-to-earth na?"
The next mont, as if sensing Qing Chen's call, the Cat Face Mask transford into a large Maine Coon Cat over a ter long, lying confused on Qing Chen's arms.
It shook its fluffy fur and owed at Uncle Li, and Qing Chen surprisingly understood its aning in his mind: "You old man, you gave to your disciple?!"
Uncle Li Dong smiled and said to Qing Chen, "Put on the mask, we need to return to the prison. Rember, don't tell anyone its na, that way even if others get their hands on it, it will be useless."
Qing Chen asked, "Does no one in this world know its na anymore?"
"Hmm, I've deleted the records," Uncle Li Dong said. "Those who knew have also been deleted."
Qing Chen thought this was the first ti he felt the word 'delete' had such a fierce implication. With a thought, Da Fu shrank back into a Cat Face Mask.
This ti when Qing Chen wore it on his face, the Cat Face Mask was no longer a piece of stiff, cold tal.
Uncle Li Dong said, "Try changing your appearance, it might be difficult the first ti... go ahead and give it a try."
He was about to say that the difficulty of first-ti use was because, although you know the appearance you want to change into, you may not rember all the details of the other person's face.
So most of the ti, changing faces needs to be done by comparing with photos bit by bit until achieving about ninety percent accuracy.
However, Uncle Li Dong knew his student was a bit different; a mory expert didn't need to compare with photographs, everything was already morized in their mind.
Qing Chen pondered whom he should change into. First, he transford into Xiao Xiao's appearance, even imitating her voice with the Breathing Technique, saying, "Master, is this right?"
"This Taboo Item, ACE-005, really suits you," Uncle Li Dong remarked. "Every ti I change faces, I have to compare with a photo for half an hour. With you, it changes in a breath, even I can't tell it's fake."
Qing Chen then changed into Ye Wan's face, but although his face could change, his body was not as burly or tall as Ye Wan, so it looked rather odd.
It seed that in the future, he needed to find soone with a similar build when changing faces.
"By the way, Master, what level is this Taboo Item ACE-005?" Qing Chen asked. "Does it have a second-stage form?"
"Strictly speaking, it should be A-Class, as the Transcendent who derived it is A-Class," Uncle Li Dong said. "But I have not yet figured out what its second-stage form is like. In fact, within forbidden items, those that require sacrifices are easier to explore, like Da Fu, whose containnt conditions are sowhat bizarre, can make one feel confused because you don't know which direction to start with."
At that mont, Qing Chen suddenly thought of sothing, "Master, how many people are in the Spades Organization?"
"The ones with numbers, from Spades A to Spades 2, total 13 people," Uncle Li Dong replied. "These are the core mbers of Spades, with hundreds of peripheral mbers, but the real Transcendents should be these 13, with varying strengths."
"Is there a Spade mber who has a similar build to mine?"
"There is indeed one."
Now, Qing Chen knew what appearance he needed to adopt: "Do you have a photo of this person?"
"I do," Uncle Li Dong said with a mysterious smile. "Xiao Xiao will give it to you when we get back to prison number 18."
The two continued walking deeper into the corridor. Qing Chen asked, "Master, will there be any danger to those students protesting?"
"No," Uncle Li Dong replied, "Soone will be there to escort them."
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