Lu Ah-Cang has been in this business for too long. She no longer remembers many details well, only recalling that her first client was a devastatingly beautiful woman surnamed Yang[1]. She became the woman's body double and was hanged in a place called Maweipo. Then, she was autopsied and buried. It was only after the excited group of officers and soldiers broke camp and left that she leisurely crawled out of the earth.
In an empty secret room with flickering candles, an extraordinary old man in luxurious attire kowtowed to her in gratitude. He thanked her for saving the love of his life. A whole box of priceless treasures was laid at her feet, sparkling with radiant light, tempting with wealth and prosperity.
However, she remained silent like a blockhead. Because she couldn't see or hear anything, she only knew that the old man sincerely thanking her in front of her was the emperor. At this moment, the reward seemed less important. What mattered was that Lu Ah-Cang firmly believed she had chosen the most correct path. Everything she had sacrificed before was worth it.
She is the most perfect substitute in history, able to replace not only appearances but also every inch of flesh and blood, and even DNA. Flawless; impeccable.
As a "formless" demon, Lu Ah-Cang can transform into any human in the world. During the contract period, she can complete all tasks on behalf of the other party, including death. This is her "business."
Over the years, she has "played" countless roles, from ancient to modern times, from the head of an empire to the grassroots citizens. She used her own body to fulfill one purpose after another for her employers, enjoying everything the identities of her employers brought to her in the process. She took to this kind of life like a fish in water.
This time, she replaced a French girl named Charlotte Beroul, who was kidnapped. The contract period was one month. This was not the first time she had acted as a hostage for her employer, except that her kidnapper this time was different - it was not a human who abducted her from the birthday party. She smelled a strong demon aura on the abductor's body, and from the shadow that was as chaotic as black mist but lightning-fast, she saw an icy blue light, sharp horns, and gleaming white fangs that couldn't possibly belong to any human.
Lu Ah-Cang's knowledge of physics was quite poor, only having heard that according to Einstein's theory of relativity, when the speed of an object equals the speed of light, time stands still. When this peculiar abductor took her away in plain view of everyone, she seemed to see everything around her freeze.
She had never seen a demon move at such an incredible speed; not even the vampires, who were known speed snobs, could match this creature's agility.
However, the one who kidnapped her was just an ordinary, and even somewhat foolish-looking, wild boar demon. Although it appeared in the form of a man and wore an ill-fitting T-shirt, it couldn't fully transform into a human. A curved horn protruded from its forehead, and beneath its thick lips, two tusks were exposed, with drool occasionally flowing down from these tusks.
Lu Ah-Cang had no idea where she had been taken. The wild boar's speed was too fast, and by the time her vision and consciousness returned to normal, she found herself in a room with silver-white walls made of some special alloy. The interior was extravagantly decorated, with Picasso paintings hanging on the walls. In the corner of the room, a large refrigerator was half filled with gourmet food and half filled with Saint Geron mineral water. Chopin's "Nocturne" soothingly overflowed from a high-quality sound system. Except for the fact that it lacked doors and windows, this room could rival any suite in a five-star hotel.
After throwing her in there, the wild boar demon turned around and left, passing through the wall as its body seamlessly merged with the alloy.
Lu Ah-Cang walked to the wall and knocked on it. A solid metallic sound echoed – an impenetrable metal solid. With her current human body, it was impossible to break through. This was the first time she had encountered a kidnapper treating his hostage so well.
"Welcome, dear Miss Charlotte." The graceful "Nocturne" suddenly stopped, and water-like ripples of light appeared on the wall opposite her. After a faint electric sound, a rectangular area of two-meters-square lit up. A man wearing a smiling face mask appeared in the center of the area, sitting smartly in a well-fitted suit. The camera was zoomed in closely, and an old-fashioned pocket watch conspicuously hung from the man's chest.
A deep, elderly voice echoed in the room. Following her past experiences, Lu Ah-Cang feigned a look of fear and shouted the classic lines at the wall, "Who are you? Where am I?"
"Don't be afraid. This place is safer and more beautiful than anywhere else," the man on the wall emitted an eerie laughter. "Miss Charlotte can rest here until I get what I want. Three days later, someone will take you to a place, and you just have to follow their instructions."
"Let me out!" Lu Ah-Cang rushed forward and fiercely pounded on the wall with great professionalism. "How much ransom do you want? My dad will give it to you, just let me go!"
"Hush!" The man extended his black-gloved right hand and made a shushing gesture. "Miss Charlotte, everyone has a different purpose. Other hostages are for ransom, but not you."
The image on the wall quickly shrank into a line and disappeared.
Business seems to be quite interesting this time. Lu Ah-Cang thought to herself as she leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, continuing to play the role of a helpless lamb. A kidnapper who didn't want ransom, what did he want her to do after three days? Surprisingly, she found herself looking forward to it.
[1] OMG! Given the mention of a place called "Maweipo," a devastatingly beautiful woman surnamed Yang, and an old man who was the emperor, the one Lu Ah-Cang saves is actually the famous Yang Guifei! [Yang Guifei was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years. She is known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. During the An Lushan Rebellion, as Emperor Xuanzong and his cortege were fleeing from the capital Chang'an to Chengdu, the emperor's guards demanded that he put Yang to death because they blamed the rebellion on her cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her family. The emperor capitulated and reluctantly ordered his attendant Gao Lishi to supervise her forced suicide. Source: Wikipedia.]
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