I had stayed up all night and was planning to get some sleep.
But Liu Sandao grabbed me and pulled me outside.
"Let's go, let's go! It's too late! We were supposed to go yesterday, but we're already a day late. If we don't leave now, something bad might happen!"
I yawned and, seeing his flustered look, quickly asked him what was wrong.
"I told you I'd take you on a blind date, don't keep the girl waiting!"
Without saying a word, Liu Sandao hailed a taxi.
Before I could even settle into my seat, I heard him quickly say to the driver, "Sir, the bus station!"
...
I traveled by car for six hours.
It was fine at first, as we were on the highway, but after changing to the second bus, we were on the national highway, and the bumpy ride almost made me throw up several times.
All the way there, I wanted to ask him what he was going to do, but Liu Sandao was on the phone or sending messages, and I didn't even have time to interrupt.
What's worse is that this guy was speaking some kind of dialect, which I couldn't understand at all.
When the car finally stopped at a mountain, I couldn't hold it in any longer and started vomiting.
"Hey bro, you're really something! You're throwing up so badly!"
Liu Sandao came over and patted me on the back.
I wiped the stain from the corner of my mouth and glared at him irritably.
"Brother Dao, what exactly are we here for?"
"Didn't I say? I brought you here for a blind date!" Liu Sandao was taken aback.
I looked around at the mountains and saw only a small village in the distance. This was hardly a matchmaking trip.
If I didn't trust him, I would suspect that he had conspired with someone to kidnap me and cut off my kidneys.
"Brother, are you sure you brought me here for a blind date? Or are you bringing me here to have my kidneys cut off?" I looked at him warily.
"Relax, relax, I won't cut your kidneys, at most I'll cut off your face!" Liu Sandao chuckled and patted my shoulder heavily.
"Shave your face?" I was taken aback.
"Um!"
Liu Sandao hummed in agreement and gestured across my face with his hand: "Just a quick swipe, and your skin's gone!"
Seeing his serious expression, I realized he wasn't joking, and I couldn't help but shiver.
"You...you said you'd bring me here for a blind date, didn't you?"
"yes!"
Liu Sandao lit a cigarette, took out his phone and called someone, saying a few words before putting the phone back in his pocket and speaking.
"What's the conflict between blind dates and getting facial shaving? Anyway, don't worry, since you call me Brother Dao, I won't lie to you. Your wife is beautiful, but she might have a bad temper. She just likes getting facial shaving! Just bear with it."
What kind of talk is that?
I stared at his face, my temples throbbing: "Brother Dao, your joke is more sinister than the road to the underworld."
Seeing this, he chuckled and reached out to brush off non-existent dust from my shoulder.
"Alright, alright, I was just kidding. I brought you here to do something, but I might need your help to find a wife."
Seeing that I was cold and didn't respond, he suddenly shoved the still-smoking cigarette butt into my mouth.
"Are you still angry? To tell you the truth, there's a female ghost in my relative's village who specializes in cutting off the groom's face. Weddings and funerals in the surrounding villages have all come to a standstill. You're going to dress up as the groom and act as bait, understand?"
I took a half step back to avoid the smoke, my nostrils filled with the smell of sulfur: "So you tricked me here, what's the difference between this and someone being tricked into going to northern Myanmar to have their kidneys cut off? If you want to be the bait, you go ahead and do it yourself!"
Liu Sandao exaggeratedly patted his round belly and then touched his pockmarked face.
"Oh my, look at how good we look! Wouldn't a female ghost throw herself into your arms if she saw you?"
I twitched the corners of my mouth, revealing a cold smile that was more like a grimace, and my withered fingers traced the deep wrinkles on my face.
"Brother Dao, look at my sagging skin and sparse white hair. To put it bluntly, the grass on my grave could grow up to my chin."
"Looking like I'm in my seventies or eighties, what makes me think I can compete with you in terms of looks? Let's see whose wrinkles can trap a fly?"
Liu Sandao suddenly leaned closer, his suit sleeve brushing against my shoulder, his low voice carrying a seductive undertone.
"Are you content to live your whole life with this body, like an old ghost on the verge of death?"
He paused, staring intently at me: "Would you like to go back to your youthful self? Fair-skinned, beautiful, and full of vigor, making all those who looked down on you look like they've been completely shocked?"
These words were like a thorn stuck in my heart.
I stared at the deep wrinkles on my palm, my Adam's apple bobbing, but I remained silent.
Liu Sandao loosened his crooked tie and pulled out a brocade pouch embroidered with gold cloud patterns from the inside pocket of his suit.
The edges of the fabric were worn white, but the gold thread still shone faintly, and the seal script character "θΏ”" (return) could be vaguely seen embroidered on the bag opening.
He shook the brocade pouch and poured out a handful of powder the size of sand grains, which shimmered with a mother-of-pearl iridescence in the sunlight.
If you sniff it closely, you'll find a strange aroma that's a mixture of sandalwood and rust.
"Watch closely!"
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and pressed his left thumb against the tips of his other four fingers in turn, forming a strange hand seal.
He made a sword-finger gesture with his right hand and drew talismans in the air while chanting incantations.
"Heaven has three treasures: the sun, the moon, and the stars; Earth has three treasures: water, fire, and wind; Man has three treasures: essence, energy, and spirit! So be it!"
As the last syllable fell to the ground, the powder suddenly floated up and gathered in the air into a swirling stream of light.
The tiny specks of light flickered like fireflies, but suddenly accelerated as they approached my brow.
It seeps into the skin like being sucked into an invisible vortex.
I immediately felt a sharp, needle-like pain in my forehead, as if countless tiny hooks were twisting between my skin and flesh.
The tingling sensation spread from between my eyebrows to my entire face, even making my teeth ache.
"Hold on!"
Liu Sandao shouted loudly, and the gold chain jingled crisply as he moved.
He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood that transformed into a blood talisman in the air, colliding violently with the suspended powder.
The intense stinging pain reached its peak instantly.
A burst of white light exploded before my eyes, and my nostrils were filled with the acrid smell of burnt hair.
As the pain subsided slightly, I subconsciously touched my cheek. My fingertips no longer touched loose wrinkles, but firm, plump skin, with a jawline as clear as if carved by a knife.
Liu Sandao slumped onto the stone stool next to him, his tie completely askew, and pulled out a crumpled handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
"It's done!"
His voice was weak, and there was still blood on the corner of his mouth: "This 'Youth-Preserving Powder' needs to be used in conjunction with the 'Reverse Life Technique.' It took me ten years to save up even this small bag..."
"That's it?"
I touched my smooth, firm jawline, my gaze fixed intently on Liu Sandao.
He leaned against the tree trunk, grinning to reveal his cigar-stained canine teeth: "Don't believe me? See for yourself!"
I pulled out my phone with trembling hands.
The moment the screen lit up, Liu Sandao's smug face was the first thing seen in the camera lens.
As I frantically flipped the camera around, a cold white light shone on my face.
An unfamiliar face suddenly appeared on the screen.
Her once droopy eyes lifted up again, her sunken cheeks regained their fullness, and even the few gray hairs at her temples turned as black as ink.
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