I couldn't hold back any longer—I wanted to rush out. But at that moment, I forced myself to stay put. Cao Wanzhi held the European-style sword in his right hand, and in his left, he raised a brown paper bag, waving it in the air.
"Do you know, Ethan Zhang? If these photographic negatives are destroyed, that little girl will truly never be able to return to her human form. If you think I'm lying, suit yourself."
I didn't know how many seconds were left, but I couldn't wait any longer. The moment I stepped out, I had to find a way to slip underground, so the camera couldn't capture me. After that, I feared Cao Wanzhi wouldn't give me any chance to breathe. In an instant, he'd restrain me, and I'd have no opportunity to fight back.
"Twenty seconds left, Ethan Zhang. Are you coming out or not?"
Cao Wanzhi shouted again, then began to count down.
"Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four..."
In an instant, I slipped through the wall, and immediately heard the click of a camera shutter.
"Reflection..."
I shouted, and instantly, I couldn't see anything. My shadow and I had successfully switched places. Yet in that moment, I realized that the place I was now in was surrounded by darkness—I couldn't see or sense anything.
I immediately floated upward, but after a while, I was still trapped in this black space.
"What is going on?" I muttered, and gradually, I began to sense everything here—my instincts started reacting to my surroundings. Yet I still couldn't make sense of what was happening.
Inside, I felt a deep urge to merge with the surrounding darkness. My instincts kept urging me to do so. I calmed my mind and slowly began to blend into the darkness around me.
Gradually, I sensed something. I opened my eyes in shock—around me was a bustling city, and all the passersby wore long robes. I was standing on an ancient street.
At that moment, I suddenly realized this must be Cao Wanzhi's memory. I looked around in amazement at the crowd, all dressed in elegant robes, busy with something. I hurried to follow them.
A large group of people rushed anxiously along the street, as if hurrying to do something. Then I saw, near a small pavilion, a camera covered with black cloth. A man dressed in Western fashion was fiddling with the camera.
"Could that be Cao Wanzhi?" I muttered, but as I approached, it wasn't him at all. The photographer had a round, slightly chubby face—nothing like the Cao Wanzhi I had seen.
"I hear this thing called a camera is magical—it can suck your whole self right inside it."
I saw a crowd of local gentry in front of the pavilion, tidying their clothes. Then I noticed a child being led by an old servant.
"Sir, I've brought the young master."
"Wanzhi, what now? Off playing again? You never behave. Just look at yourself—your nose is filthy. Uncle Li, take the young master to get cleaned up."
I looked at the young Cao Wanzhi. His father, sporting a mustache and a ruddy complexion, was a well-known local gentryman with many businesses. This was Luye, a small town in the Jiangnan water region. The Cao family was one of the wealthiest households, mainly dealing in salt, with a large salt mine nearby under their name.
Listening to their chatter, I learned that the photographer was someone who had studied abroad and brought a camera back with him. Most people here had heard of photos and seen them, but it was their first time seeing a camera, so everyone was curious. The photographer was a member of the Cao family, named William Cao.
He was Cao Wanzhi's cousin. The young Cao Wanzhi had just been brought back, and many people gathered, nervously eyeing the camera. But I noticed that young Cao Wanzhi seemed particularly drawn to it.
"Relax, everyone."
William Cao smiled, and then—click—the camera suddenly emitted thick black smoke, startling everyone. Some ran, while others fell to the ground in fright.
"Don't panic, everyone."
William Cao explained for quite a while, but the local gentry still didn't fully understand. At that moment, Cao Wanzhi ran up.
"Cousin, can I play with this thing?"
"Wanzhi, come to my house later. I'll show you something interesting."
Though still young, Cao Wanzhi was already fourteen at this time.
That afternoon, Cao Wanzhi went to William Cao's house, clearly fascinated by the camera. William Cao took him to develop photos and told him many things. Then he led Cao Wanzhi into a room and locked the door behind them, acting very secretive.
I awkwardly watched the two cousins as William Cao produced a stack of Western photographs of women—most of them unclothed. The young Cao Wanzhi was completely entranced.
"Heh, cousin, impressive, right? This is what a camera can do—it can store beautiful things forever. They'll never fade or change. Isn't that amazing?"
After that, Cao Wanzhi would visit William Cao's house almost every day. But after a month, William Cao had to leave. Though he'd taught Cao Wanzhi a lot, it was far from enough.
Eventually, young Cao Wanzhi decided to study abroad. As a gentryman, his father agreed and even hired a foreign-educated tutor from the provincial capital to teach him at home.
Cao Wanzhi became deeply interested in Western things. Time passed, and after three years of learning the basics of the language, he set out to study overseas.
At twenty-one, Cao Wanzhi returned from abroad, bringing back the latest camera. His appearance was exactly as I had seen before.
By then, the political situation in the country was becoming unstable. The West often clashed with the imperial court, and rumors spread everywhere that foreign devils were about to invade.
There were occasional incidents at home, but in Cao Wanzhi's hometown, things remained stable—the area was still prosperous.
If not for the need to inherit the family business, Cao Wanzhi wouldn't have returned. He wanted to travel the world with his camera, capturing all kinds of people in his photos.
In just a few years, Cao Wanzhi had amassed a huge collection of photographs—people, landscapes, animals and plants—all packed into a large box and shipped home with him.
After his return, Cao Wanzhi's father began planning his wedding. The bride was a young woman from another prominent family. As soon as Cao Wanzhi arrived, his father wanted him to marry and have children.
Cao Wanzhi, who had studied abroad, was deeply resistant to all this. In the West, he’d discovered the freedom to fall in love, and most marriages were born of romance. He was very dissatisfied with everything his father had arranged for him back home.
But as the sole heir of the Cao family, he had no choice but to accept his responsibilities and prepare for marriage.
Photography was becoming popular, and his bride’s photo was sent over. She was quiet and beautiful, a true lady of her class. But Cao Wanzhi barely glanced at the photo before tossing it aside, apparently displeased by how she looked in it.
On the wedding night, when Cao Wanzhi entered the bridal chamber, he finally saw his bride. She was indeed beautiful, with the traditional grace of a woman—shy and reserved, gazing coyly at him.
Cao Wanzhi had his camera ready, wanting to capture his bride’s most beautiful moment. With her permission, he began taking photos and developing them, so much so that he never consummated the marriage that night.
He kept at it until morning before finally going to sleep. I noticed a light in Cao Wanzhi’s eyes—a feverish excitement, a passion bordering on obsession, radiating from his gaze.
For three days straight, Cao Wanzhi didn’t consummate the marriage, and even told his wife not to undress, as he could never take a photo that satisfied him. In those days, he destroyed many photos and negatives.
On the fourth day, his bride finally broke down, crying her eyes out. Though Cao Wanzhi tried to console her, she couldn’t understand, and began to question if something was wrong with her.
Word reached Cao Wanzhi’s father, who came over and slapped him hard, then smashed his camera.
In that instant, Cao Wanzhi seemed utterly lost. His father, believing his son was wasting his life, forbade him from leaving the house for three months.
Disheartened, Cao Wanzhi spent days with his wife, but remained gloomy. His wife didn’t understand him, and rumors spread that his soul had been stolen by the camera.
As the rumors grew, his father became worried, convinced his son was possessed. He called in a Taoist priest, but the man turned out to be a fraud.