22

[Blood Value: 32]

Gritting his teeth, Lin Kai picked up two newly merged masks before putting them inside the screen in front of him. 

[Merge Cost: 5]

"Merge it." Without batting an eye, he clicked on the merge option to merge the two masks.

[Common Wooden Mask: A well-crafted wooden mask that can be worn to change your face.]

'Thump.' Lin Kai almost felt his heart beating faster than before while looking at the newly formed mask.

"This... This..." Narrowing his eyes, he carefully took out the mask before observing it.

Compared to before, the difference in its appearance was akin to heaven and earth. Not only the string behind it which was used to support the mask was now gone, but even the thickness of the mask has been greatly reduced.

Thinking for a moment, Lin Kai placed it on his face. And the moment he did it, Lin Kai felt a connection to it. He didn't know how to explain it, but at this moment, he felt that he could control it with his mere thoughts.

Rushing outside, Lin Kai filled up a wooden bucket near the well with water before bringing it back to his room.

In the dim light of the candle, he could barely see his own reflection in the water, and yet he squinted his eyes, trying to see as much as possible.

In the reflection at this moment, he could only see his face being covered up with a mask that didn't seem like wood. Instead, it was crafted so finely that one would mistake it for a cloth.

Lin Kai thought about Han Ji as the mask on his face began to squirm like worms before it disappeared completely. And in the reflection of the mirror was now the face of Han Ji.

"This is..." The more Lin Kai saw it, the more he felt at a loss. No matter from which angle he looked, he couldn't find a single flaw in the appearance that he had now. If not for the clothes and the body of a sixteen-year-old, others would have mistaken him for Han Ji.

Looking at the remaining two inferior wooden masks, Lin Kai merged them before grabbing another Common Wooden mask with the same properties as the previous one 

[Blood Value: 22]

With his blood value reduced to twenty-two, Lin Kai picked up the only two masks that he had before inserting them into the screen. If at common grade, he could change his appearance, then thinking about what he could do at the next grade was enough to fill him with expectations.

Looking at the two wooden masks placed inside the screen, he looked at the blood value once again before looking at the cost.

[Blood Value: 22]

[Merge Cost: 10]

Taking a deep breath, Lin Kai muttered softly.

"Merge."

As soon as he clicked on the merge, both masks disappeared before being replaced by the icon of another mask.

With great expectations, Lin Kai clicked on '!' above the icon to check its properties.

[Rare Mask: A finely crafted mask that can be worn to change the wearer's appearance.]

"It changed again?" 

Taking out the mask, Lin Kai was stunned to find that the appearance of the mask had now changed drastically. It was no longer a wooden mask. Instead, it seemed to be made out of a cloth. 

"Silk?" Touching the smooth surface and folding the mask like a cloth, Lin Kai couldn't understand what it was made of. It seemed to be silk yet at the same time, something completely different. 

If there were holes for the eyes in the previous mask, then at this moment even those holes disappeared. At that moment, it was just a normal cloth, like a handkerchief that would be inconspicuous no matter where you put it. 

"How do I wear it?" Looking at the cloth in his hand, Lin Kai didn't know whether to wear it or tie it up like a rope.

But this confusion didn't last long as Lin Kai tried to put it on his face. And the moment he did it, the cloth disappeared.

"This..." 

Lin Kai could feel an extra weight on his face. But looking at the reflection in the water, there seemed to be nothing. 

Without any hesitation, Lin Kai thought about Han Ji and the moment he did, his entire body changed at a speed visible to the naked eye. At this moment, the figure that was standing there was no longer that of a sixteen-year-old boy, but that of a man in his mid-twenties. 

"Interesting." 

If earlier it was only his face, then at this moment, his entire body has transformed into that of Han Ji. Even the clothes have now changed to the ones that Han Ji was wearing on the day of the bloodline transfer. 

Touching this newly transformed face, Lin Kai didn't get a weird feeling. Instead, it was like he was touching his own face. 

It was identical. So much so that even if the real Han Ji was placed beside him, no one would be able to tell a difference.

Lin Kai waved his hand, but to his disappointment, he could only copy the appearance and not the physical power. His body didn't transform into that of Han Ji, instead, it was more like an illusion that was applied to his body. 

An illusion that was like clothes that Lin Kai could take off at any moment. His body didn't change, so he could only exert power that he could exert by himself. 

But even with all these limitations, Lin Kai was more than happy with this mask. 

"Looks good." However, the moment Lin Kai opened his mouth to speak, he instantly understood one more problem that accompanied this transformation. 

His body has now the appearance of Han Ji, but his voice is still that of Lin Kai. 

Immediately thinking about dispersing this appearance, Lin Kai returned back to his original appearance. He thought about changing into Lin Mei but was disappointed to know that he could only transform into the appearance of a similar gender.

Lin Kai then tried to change into numerous things. He tried changing into trees, into wolves, into birds, and even stones. But to his disappointment, nothing happened. Only when he tried to change into another man did it work.

He kept on trying for hours until he was completely satisfied with it. Though there were some restrictions, it was much better than what he had initially imagined. 

Lin Kai would have never imagined that just a random thought of trying to see whether the wooden mask would merge or not would give him such a result.

But this also made him confused. Why was it that some items could be merged while others could not? Earlier he tried using stones, bowls, and even his cooking pot and plates which were delivered to him by the servants, but none of them could enter the screen in front of him. They just passed through it when he tried. 

He tried with his clothes too, but unfortunately, they too couldn't enter the screen, much less get merged.

Even after thinking for a long time, Lin Kai couldn't come up with an answer. There were still many things that he didn't know about. He still wasn't sure what this blood value was or how it increased. 

The more he thought about it, the more he found himself confused. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly. 

"It's late." Looking outside, Lin Kai saw the pitch-black darkness. Even the lanterns in the distance were now extinguished. The only thing he could hear was the sound of insects chirping in the night. 

Lin Kai was sure it was almost midnight. He had never once stayed this late in this world. Already feeling a bit tired after using up his blood value, Lin Kai was about to go to sleep when his eyes fell upon the wooden plate placed on the table.

This was the same small wooden plate that he got from working in the fields, back when he was still a servant. This thing had been with him for almost three weeks now, and Lin Kai would have forgotten it if it were not for the sudden movement in it.

"What the..." Narrowing his eyes, Lin Kai looked at the wooden plate which was vibrating. However, the scope of vibration was extremely small. If not for looking carefully, one would have ignored it. 

With some hesitation, Lin Kai arrived in front of it. From the day he found it, he had been studying it in his free time. But till now, there hasn't been a single response from it. But today out of the blue, he suddenly found it vibrating.

"Is it because of me becoming an Umbral or is it because of this mask?" 

Replaying the entire day in his mind, he couldn't come up with a definitive answer. If it was because of becoming Umbral then why didn't this wooden plate give an immediate reaction instead of waiting till now? And if it was because of the wooden mask...

Lin Kai found himself lost for words.

Carefully he walked in front of the palm-sized wooden plate before carefully picking it up. 

However, the moment his hands touched the wooden plate, it immediately stopped vibrating.

Narrowing his eyes, Lin Kai was ready to throw it out in case something happened. The only thought he had in his mind was perhaps this thing was some kind of inheritance that was left by a powerful person as he had read in the novels.

Lin Kai kept on looking at it, but nothing happened. And just when he was feeling lost he suddenly heard a voice like someone was whispering directly into his ears.

"Huh!? Why did it stop?" It was a pleasant voice. But from the sound, Lin Kai could already sense that it was a rather young woman.

Lin Kai reflectively covered himself in the gray fog as he kept on looking around. However, after looking for a while, he almost patted himself on the forehead before looking at the wooden plate in his hand.

"Eh! Did it fail again? 

But why did it stop suddenly?" 

The voice near his ear kept on speaking, as if unaware of his existence. 

Lin Kai finally decided to make his move. taking a deep breath, he brought the wooden plate close to his face before speaking calmly.

"Who is it?"

"....."

"....."

The sudden question by Lin Kai perhaps stunned the other party as there was a long silence. It wasn't until a few minutes passed that the voice near Lin Kai's ear suddenly screeched loudly.

"OH MY GOD! IT WORKS.

IT REALLY WORKS."