Chapter 218 - Night’s Curtain
Before leaving the inn, Leo took a quick detour to the bathroom. After changing into a set of blue robes that he asked the inn's servant to procure, he untied his hair before staring into the mirror.
Converging Internal Energy into his hand, Leo covered his face with the scarlet light. Faint smoke arose from his face, his lips curling into a smile that wasn't his.
'This should do.'
The skin altering technique was another bonus that he had gained from the Heavenly Demon's library. As a body reforming technique that was on the same level as 'Bone Shrinking', it still wasn't something that Leo could efficiently use as a 1st rate Martial Artist. However, just being able to change his facial features for a limited amount of time was more than enough.
Marching out of the inn with a new look, Leo kept his perception at its lowest. His disguise was something that any real master could see-through, so he had to do his best to not appear suspicious.
'Let's hope they didn't get changed for a reckless one.'
While this was something that Leo had to do for the future, he wasn't one to risk everything in uncertainty. It was only now that he reached Unnam that he dared to go ahead with his plans!
Although it wasn't exactly the Mount Hua Sect's intention, Unnam had long become a part of their identity. Even if they weren't announcing it, half of the sect's masters laid in wait around the city for the sake of protection and observation. Unless they were reckless enough, not caring about attracting hostility to the society, the watcher sent by the Heavenly Strength Society had to restrict his Internal Energy Perception.
As long as he didn't make too much of a ruckus or take too long, Leo could easily avoid their eyes through a small trick like this. Of course, that also meant that they wouldn't be able to save him if his life was in critical danger, but he wasn't exactly worried about that either.
If the entirety of murim was standing at its toes because of the event, Unnam was directly at the center of all of that tension. Too many powerhouses were present for anyone to start a conflict with him… As long as he didn't expose his true identity just yet.
'I would have brought Yeon, but…'
At this point in time, Leo felt like he could trust Yeon enough to show her something that could never be seen by someone from their society. However, leaving the inn as a pair would attract the attention that he was trying to avoid.
Most importantly, he was just about to do something that couldn't be explained without explaining his role as a 'Reader', which Leo didn't think Yeon was ready for. She might have accepted his change as Baekho, but if she were to know more unpreparedly, Yeon was likely to suspect something like a 'soul possession'.
'I'm not ready for that yet.'
Still being unsure of what they were, Leo chose to trust Yeon with the knowledge that he was leaving to do something important rather than have her go through it with him. Even with all the precautions he took, there was still a chance he would run into danger, in which case it would be better to be alone.
'The Night's Curtain.'
After wandering through Unnam, Leo finally came to a stop in front of a relatively quiet bar. He didn't have a precise description of the place's location, but he was at least certain of its name.
"I would like a Night Star."
Walking in, Leo nonchalantly put an order. He could easily see a chance of expression using his 'observation' ability.
"Here you go."
If there was anything that Leo needed to stay away from, it was precisely alcohol, but he grabbed the glass full of black liquid that was put in front of him and immediately downed it!
'Yup, this is definitely it.'
Feeling the disgusting fishiness that penetrated his nose, Leo confirmed that he didn't come to the wrong place. He barely held back his frown as he smiled at the bartender.
"It's great as always, how much do I owe you?"
This bar was just a front for something much bigger, a business that had the weirdest 'testing' procedure. As long as someone used the code word, they would be given a cup full of squid ink!
Although some gourmets loved it and some people had it as an acquired taste when added to certain types of food, Leo found the taste of pure ink to be horrible. However, that was precisely why it worked in filtering those who actually knew what they ordered from those trying their luck based on some half-words.
"Hahaha! Good taste! That will be on the house."
The bartender exploded into laughter as if he found it too funny, but Leo didn't miss how he skillfully slipped a piece of paper under the blackened cup.
Bam!
"Pour me another then while I take a leak!"
Acting like a good old friend of the guy, Leo slapped the counter before shakingly walking to the bathroom, everything was going according to plan so far!
'3rd booth.'
Leo followed the note's direction to the middle booth of the bathroom, he wasn't exactly sure how they kept others from approaching it, but…
'That makes sense…'
The smell of that booth was especially nasty in comparison to the others, though the booth itself only had a door inside of it. The road to Leo's target was really full of nauseating deterrents.
Creakkkk…
As soon as Leo went through the door, the horrendous smell vanished, clearly presenting him with another flight of stairs.
"Hello, dear customer."
Descending the short stairs was only a matter of seconds, he had finally found what he was looking for.
"Are you looking to buy or sell?"
A veiled person with a gender-neutral voice stood in front of a small table, their hand was put together, fingers interlocked.
"I'm looking to sell…"
"Hm?"
"I'm looking to sell martial arts."