Anti-Japanese War Espionage: I Have an Omniscient Perspective

Lin Rui wanted to personally investigate the territory controlled by the Tongfu Society, but Fang Dongcheng was still alive, and it would be troublesome if he were recognized.

The basic concealment techniques he learned at the Qingpu training camp were no longer sufficient; he had to learn more professional disguise, impersonation, and alteration skills.

After much deliberation, Lin Rui secretly met with Huang Dazhu and instructed him:

"You have a wide network of connections now. Help me secretly find an expert in disguise, impersonation, and transformation. The skill must be excellent, and the person must be tight-lipped and not ask any questions."

"Boss, why are you looking for someone like this?" Huang Dazhu asked.

"I'm going to learn some disguise techniques."

"Don't worry, boss. I'll arrange this personally. It'll be absolutely safe."

Upon returning, he immediately instructed his trusted subordinates to secretly inquire about the matter.

The person was found within three days.

Huang Dazhu reported back to Lin Rui that very night:

"Boss, we've found him. He's a seasoned scoundrel, but his skills are top-notch, and he's tight-lipped. There aren't many people on the surface who know his identity."

"What's the specific situation with this person?" Lin Rui asked.

Huang Dazhu explained in detail.

This man was an old Peking opera singer who had drifted to Shanghai.

In his early years, he made a living in Beijing. He was skilled in disguise, impersonation, and voice alteration. His face-changing makeup skills were superb, able to transform a young man into an old man or a strong man into a sickly one.

Later, he was caught swindling people and his face was slashed, hence the nickname "Rotten-faced Zhang".

After the fall of Beiping, he fled south and took in a few pickpockets in the foreign concessions. He made a living by teaching the children to disguise themselves and avoid trouble, and by eating their gifts.

This person is little known in the concession, yet he understands the rules of the underworld, making him the most suitable person to be a master.

........

The following afternoon, Huang Dazhu sent a message, and Lin Rui went out to a small courtyard in the back alley of Beile Street.

Huang Dazhu arrived early and waited outside the courtyard. He led Lin Rui inside.

Sitting in the courtyard was an old man with a hunched back, his face covered with crisscrossing scars of varying depths, making it almost impossible to see his original appearance. Only his eyes remained sharp.

"Manager Chen, this is Zhang with the rotten face."

Lin Rui nodded: "Thank you, you can go now, I'll talk to him."

After Huang Dazhu left, Lin Rui talked with Zhang Lanlian.

"I've heard you're incredibly skilled at disguise. I'd like to learn from you. Name your price."

Zhang, his voice hoarse and thick with a Beijing accent, said, "I don't ask names or backgrounds, I only teach the craft. Money's on the table, and I guarantee you'll learn." He paused, his gaze falling on Lin Rui. "You want to learn disguise? To hide from people? Or to find someone?"

Lin Rui nodded frankly, his tone concise: "I'm hiding from people, and I'm also looking for people. I just want to change my appearance so that acquaintances won't recognize me, and I can blend into some places without attracting attention."

The man with the rotten face twitched his lips, revealing a barely perceptible smile. His scars contorted with the movement, appearing somewhat ferocious. "What a coincidence," he said, "this is exactly what I'm good at. My skill belongs to the ninth-rate miscellaneous arts. I don't do magic tricks or anything fake. It's all real skill for navigating the world and escaping for your life. The core of it all boils down to three words: 'can't recognize.'"

As he spoke, he opened the tattered cloth bag in his hand, poured out its contents, and laid them out one by one on the wooden board in front of him, introducing them as follows: "This is a bag containing seven items: a ash packet, powder compact, eyebrow gel, nose putty, wig, and leather glue. There's also a small mirror. With these, you can completely transform yourself, and even acquaintances won't recognize you."

He paused for a moment, then added, "If you want to learn the whole set, it'll cost 50 legal tender, but you have to follow my rules."

"What rules do you want me to name?" Lin Rui asked.

"My face-changing skills have three rules and three prohibitions, you must remember them first." Zhang's voice deepened, his pace slowed, and he said word by word, "Changing skin, changing shape, changing personality, that's skill; not making full-face masks, not changing into someone else's appearance, not taking over someone else's place, these are my rules. If you break the rules, I won't do anything to you, but God will help me pay for this karma."

Old-fashioned people are very particular.

Lin Rui felt he could abide by the other party's rules, as long as he didn't use his skills to steal other people's property; he wouldn't do such a despicable thing.

But is this disguise technique really that amazing?

He replied, "I'll abide by these rules. You demonstrate first, and I'll see how you do it."

Zhang, the man with the rotten face, nodded, picked up the ash packet and powder from the wooden board, and began to demonstrate: "Let's learn how to alter skin first, it's the most basic and also the most practical. This ash packet is made of soot from the bottom of a pot mixed with incense ash, it will turn you black when you apply it, and you can look like a laborer or a beggar in seconds; this powder is made of lead powder mixed with rice paste, it can cover scars and whiten skin, and you can look like a scholar or a sick man with just a swipe."

As he spoke, he picked up a clean strip of cloth, dipped it in some ash, and quickly smeared it on his cheeks and neck. His originally pale face instantly turned dark and rough. Then, with his back slightly hunched, he raised his hand and wiped his face. In an instant, he transformed from a down-and-out old man into a laborer who had been working away from home for many years. His expression and demeanor changed completely.

"Let's look at the reshaping." Zhang, the rotten-faced man, picked up eyebrow gel and nose oil again. "Eyebrows are the essence of the face. If you shave them off and redraw them, your temperament will change. With nose oil, you can adjust the height of the bridge of your nose and change the shape of your face."

As he spoke, he carefully drew two thick, messy eyebrows with eyebrow gel, then took a small piece of nose oil putty, softened it in his palm, and carefully applied it to the bridge of his nose, gently pressing and shaping it. His originally somewhat sunken nose bridge instantly became more upright. After adding a wisp of goatee, his entire appearance transformed into that of a shrewd little merchant, completely different from the laborer and old man he had just been.

Finally, he stood up, deliberately slowing his pace, his steps unsteady. He coughed twice, his eyes becoming cloudy, and his voice lowered, hoarse and tinged with age.

"This is the transformation, and it's the most crucial step. If your face changes, but your gait, voice, and eyes don't, you'll still give yourself away. To play an old man, you need to be slow, trembling, and have a vacant look in your eyes; to play a laborer, you need to be steady, composed, and have a dull look in your eyes; to play a merchant, you need to be lively, cunning, and have bright eyes."

Lin Rui watched intently, secretly marveling at the skill of the Face-Changing Sect. It was indeed well-deserved of its reputation. There were no fancy techniques, only practical skills that fit the lives of the lower classes. It was just right for his current situation. He didn't need to become another person. He only needed to make himself unrecognizable to Fang Dongcheng so that he could sneak into the Tongfu Society's territory without anyone noticing.

"Do you understand now?" Zhang the Rotten-Faced stopped what he was doing, raised his hand to wipe off the makeup on his face, restoring his original appearance. His tone was flat. "Disguise is not about changing your face. It's about hiding your own features and becoming an 'ordinary passerby,' so that people can see you once and forget you as soon as they turn their heads. That's the most skillful thing to do."

"What about the full-face mask?" Lin Rui asked.

"I can't teach this, no amount of money can change that," Zhang with the rotten face replied decisively.

In other words, he also possesses an even more sophisticated method of disguise.

Lin Rui wasn't in a hurry to learn those miraculous techniques; what he needed more were the skills that Zhang with the rotten face had just demonstrated.

He took out a deposit: "Then you can teach me these skills."