Chapter 38 Switch

The sun has already set when Eznho told the group that he would go out to do something. They did not ask about the details and told him to come back safely. Eznho talked with Budoy privately before setting out.

“Budoy, we need to start earning money so I entrust you to find information on how people like us who don’t have connections make money. Also, try to obtain more information about the city, now that we have access to the middle district, I believe you can gain more information. One last thing, avoid making contact with the merchant as much as possible, I know you have grudges but we don’t have the means to fight him right now, Understand?”

He warned Budoy to avoid unnecessary troubles.

“Yes big brother, I’ll do my best. Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid you know, where are you going by the way?”

Budoy grinned and could not help but satisfy his curiosity.

“I have to meet someone who could somehow help me in my cultivation path,”

Eznho answered vaguely.

“That is so cool, big brother, I wish I could cultivate too,”

Budoy let out a helpless sigh.

“I told you before, cultivation is not everything, but we also don’t what the future holds so who knows,”

Eznho ruffled Budoy’s hair and bid him farewell.

“I have to go now, see you later,”

“Take care, big brother,”

Budoy prayed that his big brother will come back safely while clenching his fist, his eyes were filled with determination. He wanted to be of help so, he promised to himself that he would do his best to assist Eznho.

.....

The chilly wind blew while the snow danced in the air, Eznho was wrapped in a fur coat while heading out to the outer district to meet Talong in Batawa Restaurant. He arrived there a couple of hours later. The same as last time, he found him at the third floor drinking alcohol beside the window. It was as if he did not move there since the last time they met.

“What took you so long? I thought you were gonna back out,” Talong looked at him with a lazy face.

“I’m sorry senior Talong, I hope I am not too late,” Eznho bowed in apology.

“Whatever, come sit, you are just in time,” Talong did not mind it and just waved his hand.

Eznho was about to sit when Talong looked out the window and snorted then his eyes became sharp for a moment making Eznho quiver inside.

“What is it senior?” He nervously asked.

“Ahhh, just some rats,” Talong grinned and gulped down his alcohol.

.....

A shadow has been waiting outside Eznho’s residence when they got back. It was lying there in wait the whole time and did not move an inch. After seeing that Eznho came out of the house, the shadow followed him all the way to the outer district.

It stopped in a dark alley and observed from afar, he was about to see who the boy was meeting when suddenly, a powerful intent came from nowhere shattering it to nothingness.

“Ahhhh!”

A pain-filled scream echoed throughout the basement of a house from the middle district. If not because of the formation, his scream would have startled his neighbors. An old man was soaked in sweat while panting and wiping the blood from his mouth, his shadow was obliterated without warning. It was deeply connected to him so he was heavily injured after it was destroyed.

“Damn! Who was that man?”

Fear was apparent in his eyes, a person like that was a true expert and he could not afford to provoke one. He tried to calm himself down and circulated his energy to stabilize himself then swallowed a pill when the crystal ball, the size of a basketball in front of him started to crack.

“Shit!” He was scared witless and tried to run but the crystal broke in pieces. The sharp shards did not scatter but floated instead and flew towards him.

“Noooo!”

He was unresigned and tried put up an energy barrier in front of him but it was no use. The shards penetrated it easily and his body became riddled with holes. His lifeless body fell down on the floor while blood flowed from his wounds, disbelief could be seen from his eyes.

.....

Eznho was, of course, unaware of the brief event so he did not pry further and sat down in front of Talong.

“Senior, may I know what sort of mission am I going to take?” He asked politely.

“Your performance is not bad after our meeting, you should maintain that attitude. Let me ask you one last time, are you sure about your decision?” Talong looked at him seriously.

“Yes senior,” Eznho answered without hesitation.

“Good!” Talong was delighted and gulped down another one.

“I happen to receive a mission but it is beneath me so I want you to do it,”

“Will it involve killing?” Eznho asked to prepare his mentality.

“Well, that would depend on you, I can see that you have your own principles so it would be up to you to decide. Besides, it is a rescue mission, killing would be optional.” Talong grinned and tried to be mysterious.

“Fine, I’ll take it, may I know the details,” Eznho already decided so it would be inappropriate if he declined.

“Good kid, as this is your first mission, I would assist you in the infiltration and escape. The background of the enemy is not something you can handle so I’ll help you clean up your mess afterward. Don’t misunderstand me, kid, I am only doing this because you are still wet behind the ears. In fact, if it were anybody else your age, they could do this mission without any help.”

Talong spoke with a hint of ridicule but Eznho did not mind, it was the truth after all.

“First thing first, the objective is to rescue a girl, her name is Blue. She was kidnapped and being held up in the middle district, the perpetrator is the city lord of Sin city, Butchog River. I assume you have heard of him?”

Is it her?

Eznho was taken by surprise, he did not expect the mission to be somewhat related to him. He could vividly remember the incident that brought them difficulties.

“Hmmm, I see, so you know him in some way,”

Talong guessed when he saw the boy’s reaction. He was not surprised because he knew the boy came from Sin city, although, he did not know how the two were related, he did not care as long as the mission will succeed.

“You could say that,” Eznho spoke in a vague manner.

This is my chance!

Deep inside, he was excited, he had been wanting to make the people who mistreated them pay and this would give him the opportunity to do so.

“You will infiltrate by acting as one of the young girls that would be offered to him,” Talong could not hide the disdain on his face.

“I have a formation that can change your physique and become a young girl, as for what happens after you enter the premises, that would be up to you. After rescuing the girl, I’ll be waiting outside to aid you in your escape. Any questions?”

“Won’t I be discovered?” Eznho was still a bit skeptical.

“Hmph! Are you looking down on me? Not even a Dao Formation Stage cultivator can detect my disguise,” Talong spoke with a proud tone while Eznho showed an apologetic smile.

“Anything else?” Talong questioned.

“When will we start?” Eznho asked in return.

“Thirty minutes from now, I’ll make you join the group of children and from that point on, you are on your own.” Talong casually answered.

“I’ll make the disguise now and you should get used to it, don’t move”

Talong instructed and formed hand seals, heavenly energy gathered towards him and a face mask made of formation lines formed in front of him. He willed it and the mask moved towards Eznho, overlapping with his face. His face lit up and after a second his body and face started to change.

The change brought a weird feeling to Eznho, his hand was smoother and whiter than before, he caressed his face and it felt soft. Talong in front of him was trying to hold his laughter inside. He formed another hand seal and a mirror formed in the middle of the room.

“Go check yourself in the mirror,”

Eznho stood up and went in front of the mirror. His physique was thinner and two small lumps formed on his chest. He was curious and touched it, then his face instantly became red.

“Bwahahahaha! Why don’t you also check ‘under’?”

Talong could not hold it anymore and burst out laughing. Eznho’s lips twitched but he did not comment, despite that, he subconsciously touched ‘under’ and his hand felt nothing.

“Hahaha, don’t worry it will ‘grow’ back,”

Talong was tearing up due to laughing while Eznho’s veins were popping on his temples. The only thing that resembled his old self, was his eyes, other than that, the person in front of the mirror was a girl version of himself. It took a while for him to adjust and act like a girl, the only thing amiss was his clothes.

Talong once again made a formation, this time it was a dress, Eznho was forced to wear an ordinary looking dress but it made Talong laugh once again. Eznho felt helpless about this, he even thought that Talong was just making fun of him.

“Alright, alright, its time to get serious,” Talong did his best to make a serious face but he was still chuckling.

“The formation has a time limit due to your inability to control and supply it with energy, so make the most out of it. One more thing, it also conceals your energy but once you circulate it, the formation will break. This would also serve as a test of your control over your emotions.” This was one of his weakness so Talong wanted to improve it as much as possible.

“How long?” Eznho asked.

“Maximum would be five hours,” Talong spoke casually.

“That short?” Eznho furrowed his brows.

“That is why make sure to finish the mission as fast as possible, okay, enough talk, time to go.”

Talong made another mask and used it to himself, his body started to morph and he became a stout middle-aged man with a protruding round belly. He looked like a typical merchant.

.....

The courtyard of Butchog was located in the inner parts of the middle district. His life here was full of leisure, maids were dressed in see-through clothing but he did not show much interest in them. He was enjoying their company in bed when a servant came knocking that displeased him.

“What is it? I told you not to disturb me during this time!” He shouted.

“I am sorry milord, but lord Killboy is here,” The servant answered in a fearful voice.

“Ah? Big brother is here?” Butchog’s mood turned one-eighty degrees and jumped out of his bed to change clothes.

“Tell him I’ll be there in a second,” He ordered.

“Yes milord,” The servant acknowledged.

.....

“Big brother! You should have told me in advance that you would come, I would have personally received you,” Butchog hurriedly walked into the main hall while his fatty body was bouncing.

“Haha, no need to fret about it, little brother, I came hear bearing good news,” A lean man in his late thirties wearing blue robes was standing in the hall. His name was Killboy, the successor of the River family.

Butchog’s eyes lit up upon hearing it and hugged his brother.

“Really? What good news?” He eagerly asked.

“Father has decided to let you stay here permanently until your banishment time is fulfilled,”

Killboy answered with a smile, he pampered his little brother despite knowing his fetish for young girls. He once persuaded him but it was all for naught.

“Is that real, Uncle?”

Before Butchog could speak, a slightly high pitched male voice echoed throughout the main hall. Taba heard that his uncle visited so he immediately rushed to meet him and overheard the conversation.

“Of course, little Taba, why would I lie about something like that?”

Killboy was full of smiles when he saw the boy. Taba ran to his uncle and gave him a hug upon confirming the good news, he treated his uncle like he was his father.

“That’s good then, we don’t have to go back to that filthy place anymore,”

He was truly happy, due to a mistake years ago, they were forced to live in Sin City for a period of time.

“Thank you, uncle.” He bowed while grinning.

“Haha, no biggie, how could I let the both of you live at a place like that,” Killboy spoke while ruffling Taba’s hair.

“Won’t ‘they’ cause trouble for us?” Butchog asked with worry.

“Don’t worry little brother, they live rather very far away from us and they don’t have much influence inside the city. Besides, grandfather is attempting to break through and this time, he has a very high chance of success,”

Killboy spoke with confidence but deep inside he truly feared the force behind his little brother’s banishment.

“Truly? That is great then,” Butchog felt at ease and was in a festive mood.

“Why don’t we drink in celebration?”

“Next time, little brother, I have to go back home and help in the preparation for grandfather’s breakthrough,” Killboy politely declined.

“That’s too bad then,” Butchog sighed helplessly.

“I have to go now, don’t go making trouble now, okay?” Killboy teased.

“Of course, big brother take care, please express my congratulations to grandfather,” Butchog answered with a grin.

.....

“So, how is your new toy?” Butchog asked Taba with a doting tone.

“She is rather sturdy father, I did not think she would last this long, I would have to enjoy myself tonight in celebration,” Taba answered with an innocent look.

“Good, of course, she has a muscle-head of a father after all, hahaha.”

The father and son duo laughed sinisterly at the same time.