Chapter 75: She isn’t a man disguised, is she?
Huang Qi, from a poor background, entered the HongHua Sect at the age of nine and was expelled at twenty-five. He then struggled in the secular world for three years, so his hands looked no different from an ordinary farmer’s.
But the hand in front of him, let alone a farmer’s, didn’t even resemble a man’s. It was small, fragrant, incredibly delicate, with slender jade fingers, like tender bamboo shoots that seemed to drip with water. The pink fingernails, set against the fair skin, revealed a unique allure.
“When did my hand become like this?”
Huang Qi clenched his fist in disbelief. The small shape was so pitiful he could have swallowed it whole. It was no exaggeration to call it a little fist.
“It must be that damned Feminization Mask!”
Huang Qi quickly reacted, then quickly reached out his left hand to observe. He found it was still in its original state, with large knuckles and rough skin. It was clear that only his right hand had been affected by the feminization.
Huang Qi placed his two hands together for comparison. The stark contrast was unbearable, as if it were a father and daughter.
To figure out how much skin the human-skin mask had devoured, Huang Qi quickly rolled up his right sleeve. He then discovered that his entire arm was fair and pale. The snow-like skin was so tender that not only were there no fine hairs, but not even a pore could be seen. The surface seemed to shimmer with a radiant glow. More exaggeratedly, even his bones had become very slender, shrinking by at least a third compared to before.
“Dog mask, if you’re going to feminize, do it all at once! Now you’ve turned my hands into a man and a woman, one big and one small. How am I supposed to go out and see people? People will think I’m some kind of deformed child!”
Huang Qi complained with a sense of despair. He really couldn’t understand why everything was normal when he went to sleep last night, but he had become like this after waking up.
“This feminization must have been completed after I fell asleep.”
Huang Qi quickly confirmed this, because after his Adam’s apple had disappeared yesterday, he had been constantly observing his neck and was certain that the human-skin mask had not spread even an inch further down in the hours before sleep.
Huang Qi recalled further. His Adam’s apple was fine when he left the county town yesterday, but it mysteriously disappeared after he got home. He had indeed slept for a while on the road during this time.
“Could it be that this feminization happens while I’m sleeping?”
Huang Qi made a bold guess.
“What’s the use of me thinking here? Isn’t it simple to verify this? Just sleep again.”
Huang Qi acted on his thoughts, thinking that he might have to pay the price of another hand at most. Anyway, since it had already become like this, having both become feminine would be better than being a deformed person?
Huang Qi thought he was brilliant, so he pulled the quilt and wanted to sleep again. But as soon as he lay down, he suddenly sat up again because he suddenly realized he had overlooked a very important factor: “Oh my God! I almost doomed myself! Who knows if this damn mask will play by the usual rules? What if the next thing to be feminized is more than just an arm?”
A layer of cold sweat had broken out on Huang Qi’s forehead. He thought luckily his mind was quick. He knew that the human-skin mask had already spread to his chest. What if it got out of control? He had no room for error now.
Huang Qi didn’t dare to verify it further. He could only plan not to sleep anymore in the future. As for whether he could do it…
“If I can’t do it, I have to! Otherwise, I, the distinguished Young Master Huang, will become Miss Huang.”
Huang Qi shook his head helplessly, then lazily got up to continue pretending to be his fiancée. However, he hesitated for a moment when putting on the veil at the end.
“Everyone in the family is someone I trust, and they’re unlikely to know an immortal from the HongHua Sect. Do I still need to cover my face?”
Huang Qi asked himself in his heart.
“No, I still need to wear it. Because neighbors often visit each other. If outsiders see it, even if they don’t recognize this face, this beauty will definitely cause a sensation, followed by endless trouble.”
Huang Qi then realized this, so he dutifully put on the veil.
Huang Qi’s caution was by no means an overreaction. It should be known that women in the secular world were already scarce, and beautiful ones were even rarer. Each one would attract the covetous eyes of countless people. Given the current situation of the Huang family, it was impossible to protect such a “daughter-in-law.”
After Huang Qi put on the veil, the next problem he had to face was his hands. One big and one small, one dark and one white. Putting aside whether they were beautiful or not, being seen would be inexplicable, as everyone had seen them yesterday. Therefore, they had to be covered first.
Huang Qi searched the room and quickly found an old pair of gloves to put on. As for why he wore a pair instead of just one, it was because wearing just one was too strange, and it was difficult to find a reason.
After completing his disguise, Huang Qi went out to fetch water to wash up. His parents were long gone from home, apparently to work. There was no room for the lazy to survive in this world, especially for farmers.
After washing up, Huang Qi walked out the door. Looking around, the entire village came into view. The houses of dozens of families were nestled together, as if people in the snow were huddling together for warmth.
The truth was that after the outbreak of terror, there were ghosts and spirits everywhere. Ordinary people couldn’t afford many protective charms, so they could only gather together to resist with their yang energy. Thus, the ancestors of Huatian Village moved their houses closer together. In fact, it wasn’t like this before.
Huang Qi knew where his family’s fields were, so he prepared to help his parents. However, when he got close, he heard the elders talking.
“Huang Kairong, stop dawdling and put some effort into it, will you?”
Li Fen said impatiently.
“Why are you rushing? It’s just that one piece of land, and the crops grow slowly. What’s the point of being faster?”
Huang Kairong said impatiently. The fact was as he said. Since the outbreak of terror, they dared not plant farther lands, only farming the few plots near the village. Moreover, due to the spread of yin energy, the temperature was too low, and the crops grew exceptionally slowly. So, no matter how they worked, it was useless.
“Don’t find excuses. Look at our daughter-in-law. Not only is she good-looking, but she’s also from a wealthy family. Who knows how much betrothal gift will be needed? What if we can’t afford it then? You don’t want your son to resent you because of the betrothal gift, do you?”
Li Fen reminded him seriously.
“Ah? I hadn’t thought about this. You mentioning it really makes it quite tricky.”
Huang Kairong suddenly woke up. He hesitated for a moment, then said, “My dear, why don’t you find an opportunity to probe our daughter-in-law’s thoughts? She has seen the family’s situation. Whatever she wants, she can take it; I won’t even blink an eye. As for anything else, I, her father-in-law, have limited abilities and can do nothing more.”
“Alright, but we can’t let them feel too wronged. We should try to give them what’s deserved, so let’s work hard.”
Li Fen responded.
“Betrothal gift?”
Hearing his parents’ conversation, Huang Qi felt extremely awkward. He didn’t dare to interfere further and quickly fled home.
…
It was already late morning, but Huang Kaiyou’s family hadn’t gone out yet. After yesterday’s incident, they were too embarrassed to face anyone.
“I just don’t understand. How could such a wealthy young lady take a liking to my unremarkable nephew?”
Huang Kaiyou said, unable to suppress his resentment.
“Who knows? But since she’s a rich young lady, she must have stayed in her chambers since childhood. It’s possible she was deceived by your nephew’s sweet talk!”
His wife, Zhou Fang, speculated.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mother! That’s absolutely impossible. If my elder brother had such eloquence, why would he still be single?”
Huang Long immediately retorted to his mother.
“Yes, Mother! A person who couldn’t find a companion even when going to an immortal sect, how much eloquence can you expect him to have?”
Huang Bo also said dismissively.
“And judging by the woman’s performance yesterday, she definitely doesn’t seem like an ignorant young girl.”
Huang Bo’s girlfriend, Qu Zhen, also shared her opinion.
“What’s the point of pursuing the reason now? That Huang Qi has found a companion, and their yard will be ours in the future. What will you brothers do after marrying wives and having children?”
Huang Kaiyou interrupted everyone’s discussion, headaches. He had two sons but only one yard, so he had been coveting his elder brother’s property all along.
“That’s your business. I’ve said it before, if your family doesn’t solve the housing problem, then I won’t marry in.”
Qu Zhen expressed her attitude unceremoniously. This was why she and Huang Bo had been dating for three years without getting married.
Hearing this, Huang Kaiyou’s face turned extremely unpleasant. Even in times of peace, it was difficult for them to build a new house, let alone in the current environment. They had no money and no materials, which was a fool’s dream.
“What do you think, Sister Mei!”
Qu Zhen casually asked Xie Mei next to her.
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
Xie Mei, who had been silent, finally spoke: “Why does that woman look so strange?”
“What’s strange? You mean the veil? Didn’t ‘she’ say she had a toothache and her face was swollen?”
Qu Zhen asked doubtfully.
“It’s not just the veil. I observed carefully yesterday and found that ‘her’ hands were unusually rough, and her knuckles were large. They didn’t look like a girl’s hands at all.”
Xie Mei paused at this point, then carefully said, “You don’t think ‘she’ might be a man disguised as a woman, do you?”
