In a haze of unconsciousness, it seemed someone softly asked in Jiang Luo’s ear, “Do you know where the line between good and evil lies?”
Wha…?
Sensing his confusion, the voice paused, then grew gentler, “Do you wish to destroy evil?”
Destroy… evil?
Jiang Luo’s thoughts slowed to a crawl. A hand brushed across his forehead—tender, yet cold as snow.
“Even if a malicious ghost retains some humanity, its inherent filth and malice can only create more sin and bloodshed.”
“Only his death will bring peace.”
The voice drifted, sometimes near, sometimes far, blurred and unclear. “Kill the malicious ghost, and you can leave.”
Kill the malicious ghost, and they could leave?
So they really had entered the mirror world?
Jiang Luo’s breath grew heavier.
Who was speaking?
Who are you?
The malicious ghost… was that referring to Chi You?
“Wake up,” the hand passed in front of Jiang Luo’s eyes, “and see what evil looked like at its beginning.”
***
Jiang Luo was woken by a noisy clamor.
He forced his eyes open, his eyelids heavy as if weighed down with lead. Just opening them took him a full minute or two.
In that time, the noise outside grew louder. The sound of drums and gongs was festive, like the music at a rural wedding… the blare of suona horns… old and young voices mingling.
“Jiang Pingcheng! How can you do this to the child!” A woman’s voice cried out, her scolding turning feeble halfway through, eventually trembling and pleading, “How could you marry Luoluo off to the Chi family?”
There was a lot to unpack in that one sentence, but Jiang Luo had no time to think. His mind was completely occupied by the woman’s voice.
He had heard that voice for over ten years. It belonged to the most familiar woman in his life—his real-life mother, Xiao Yan.
Jiang Luo’s eyes snapped open.
In the dim, narrow space, inside a sedan chair glowing faintly red, he looked down and saw he was wearing a bright red wedding outfit—standard male wedding clothes.
Outside the sedan chair, a man spoke in an impatient tone, “He’s a guy. What do you mean ‘marry’? He’s just going to the Chi family to keep their young master company for a few years, then he’ll come back and live a life of luxury. It’s a happy day—stop making a fuss. I’ll give you a bag of silver later, go buy yourself some clothes, all right?”
The woman continued to sob, lost and helpless, “No, this isn’t right. We can’t do this to the child…”
The man shouted, “Then you go in his place?!”
The woman fell silent, weeping softly.
Jiang Luo kept his head down, his expression flat.
The familiar voices of his parents, the all-too-familiar personalities—they confirmed it without a doubt: this world he was now in was a false one, a world inside the mirror.
But in this false world… why were there shadows of his real parents?
Jiang Luo clenched his fists.
Who was the one who spoke to him while he was unconscious?
But whoever it was… he was thoroughly irritated now. Of all things, why dig up the two people he had buried deepest in his memory?
Face dark, Jiang Luo felt the bridal sedan suddenly lurch—it had been lifted.
He suppressed his emotions and tried to lift the curtain to look outside. Unexpectedly, the red curtain was nailed shut to the window frame.
Who nails shut the window of a bridal sedan at a wedding?
Jiang Luo felt something was off. He stopped trying to look outside and instead checked over himself.
This body still seemed to be his—familiar features unchanged. He rolled up his right sleeve—the Yin-Yang hoop was gone. He sighed, but it made sense; he must have entered the mirror world with only his consciousness or spirit.
He was just about to lower his sleeve when he suddenly noticed his left hand. He froze. The red mole on the back of his hand was gone.
Right—if this was his soul, then his soul should appear as his true self…
He and the “Jiang Luo” in the book looked almost exactly alike, except for the red mole and long hair—those were the only differences.
Jiang Luo turned his head and saw long black hair trailing down his back, nearly the same length as his physical body’s hair.
He tugged on a lock of it thoughtfully.
Was his soul gradually aligning with his body? Or were his soul and body slowly merging, with the soul growing alongside the body—so the short-haired soul was now growing long hair?
Outside, street cries rang out.
“Hot dumplings! Tofu soup! Fresh flatbreads!”
“Newspapers! Three copper coins a sheet!”
Jiang Luo listened quietly for a while. This mirror world seemed to be set in a near-modern era.
Then he recalled the woman’s earlier words.
“Marrying into the Chi family”?
…
His eyelid twitched. Could it be that Chi family—Chi You’s?
The bridal curtain was suddenly lifted. An old woman, face stern, handed him a cup of tea. “Young Master Jiang, we’re almost at the Chi family. Please have a sip to rinse your mouth.”
Jiang Luo accepted the cup and, under her watchful gaze, took a sip and spat it out. Only then did she show a sliver of a smile, take back the cup, and let the curtain fall.
But Jiang Luo’s head started spinning. He rubbed his temples, his mind suddenly sluggish and foggy.
Once they reached the Chi estate, Jiang Luo was led out to step over a fire basin. “Led” was generous—he was practically carried. Not fully lucid, he was walked through the entire wedding process. No one seemed the least bit surprised at his state. After the rites concluded, he was escorted into the bridal chamber.
The bed was cold. Jiang Luo sat on the edge and moved his hand slowly, then pinched his thigh hard.
“Ow—Young Master Jiang, please don’t do that!”
An older maid cried out and poured clean water to his lips. “Once you finish this glass, you’ll feel better.”
Sure enough, after drinking the water, Jiang Luo gradually regained his senses. He rubbed his temples and looked around. He was in a finely decorated room, covered in red double-happiness symbols.
Red bedding, red bed canopy—everything was oppressively red.
Inside the room stood one older woman and two young maids. The maids kept their heads bowed. The older woman smiled gently and wore a jade Buddha pendant on her neck. “Young Master Jiang, we’ll leave you now. The young master will arrive shortly. If you need anything, just call for us.”
She signaled to the two maids to leave. As the last maid exited, she stepped on Jiang Luo’s foot. Jiang Luo looked up—she looked just like Lian Xue.
She dropped a note on the floor and hurried out.
Jiang Luo stepped on the paper without a word. Once the room emptied, he bent down and picked it up. The note, scribbled hastily, read: “We’ve probably entered the mirror world. Lian Qiang and I are servants here. Haven’t seen the others yet. Protect yourself. When there’s an opportunity, we’ll talk more when we meet.”
So they’d all been pulled in.
Likely, everyone who was reflected in the mirror had been dragged into this world.
But had Chi You come in as well?
Jiang Luo frowned. His head still throbbed—a side effect of the drug hadn’t worn off.
What kind of tiger’s den was this Chi family? They were at the door, and they still had to drug him to feel secure sending him through the wedding?
Jiang Luo stood and looked around the room. It was dimly lit, with only a few flickering red candles. Aside from some basic furniture and antique vases, there wasn’t much worth seeing.
He burned the note from Lian Xue and returned to sit on the bed. About half an hour later, greetings came from outside.
“Young master.”
Jiang Luo stared at the door. A figure moved past the paper window and approached the entrance. “You may leave.”
It was a man.
No—boy might be more accurate. His voice had that in-between quality of youth approaching adulthood, slightly husky, and it made Jiang Luo’s skin crawl with a strange sense of familiarity.
“Yes,” said the old maid.
The others left in a line, leaving behind only that tall, slender silhouette. The door creaked open, revealing his true appearance.
It was indeed a teenage boy.
His features hadn’t fully matured yet, but he was strikingly handsome—high-bridged nose, smooth forehead. His complexion was pale, lips almost bloodless, but he smiled as he entered, with eyes dark as ink, already wearing the faint, unreadable mask of someone used to hiding behind smiles.
He looked about sixteen years old. Jiang Luo stared at him, and for a moment, it felt as though he were looking at a young Chi You. He froze slightly in disbelief.
It really was Chi You. They had actually married in the mirror world?
…Sh*t.
Jiang Luo’s chest tightened for a second, then he returned to his usual calm. He scrutinized Chi You openly, trying to find some sign of who he really was beneath that face.
He and Lian Xue hadn’t changed appearances at all. So why did Chi You show up as a teenager?
Or was this just a fake Chi You?
Chi You turned and closed the door. When he looked back, he met the gaze of the “bride” scrutinizing him. His expression remained unchanged as he smiled and approached, sitting beside Jiang Luo with the casual air of an old friend ready for a heart-to-heart. “Young Master Jiang, you probably don’t know me yet. I’m Chi You—your husband from now on.”
“Husband?” Jiang Luo couldn’t hold back a snort. Just looking at Chi You reminded him of his annoying personality after growing up. He couldn’t resist taking a jab. “You’re just a little brat and you already want to be someone’s husband?”
Chi You smiled gently, his manner indulgent. “I already am your husband.”
Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow, thinking: I’m already an adult who’s slept with people—how could I not handle a little brat like you? He gave a soft laugh and suddenly slung an arm around Chi You’s shoulders. “Then do you know what it means to be a husband?”
Chi You turned his head, narrowing his eyes at the hand resting on his shoulder, and said mildly, “Willing to hear your guidance.”
Jiang Luo was about to speak but suddenly thought of something and asked tentatively, “Are you even eighteen yet?”
Chi You smiled. “I had a serious illness these past few years—it kept dragging on without getting better. I may look young, but I actually turned eighteen earlier this year.”
Sick?
Jiang Luo’s parents in this world were identical to those in the real world, so it stood to reason that Chi You’s childhood should also mirror the real Chi You’s experiences.
Jiang Luo had a deep-seated interest in digging up Chi You’s secrets. He was extremely curious about what kind of environment could breed a monster like him. He had sworn he would uncover Chi You’s greatest secrets—like the truth behind his death at thirty, or the reason for his frailty—and throw them in Chi You’s face with triumphant arrogance.
“What kind of illness?” Jiang Luo’s expression shifted to concern. “It hasn’t improved after all these years?”
Chi You sighed. “My body has always been weak. That’s why they had to trouble you to marry into the family to bring some good fortune.”
