I quietly stared at Black Moon. He seemed to know a lot, but now he had fallen silent again. Jade Zeng was still lost in the past, her eyes sorrowful and her face heavy with emotion. She stood in front of the mirror, gazing out at the cluttered storeroom, looking desperate to escape.
Although I could leave, Black Moon was right—if I went out and couldn’t come back in, things would get complicated.
“What did you mean just now when you said that a black mole in the palm means destiny is already sealed?”
Black Moon stared at Jade Zeng for a long moment before finally speaking.
“Those with a black mole in their palm are either destined for lifelong power and wealth, or a life of bitter suffering. It’s a strange fate. I’ve seen many with such a mark—either they become rich and powerful, or, like this young lady, their lives just keep getting worse.”
“Can you take me out, Miss Rachel Lan? I really want to leave. Please help me, will you?”
Watching Jade Zeng beg over and over, I glanced at the mirror, then reached out my hand and easily passed it through the surface.
“Afterwards, did you kill your husband’s entire family?”
I asked, and Jade Zeng shook her head.
“Even if I hadn’t done anything, their family’s luck had run out. For generations, they exploited and oppressed others. In the end, their whole family was executed and their clan wiped out. My revenge was already complete. Miss Rachel Lan, please take me out. I really want to leave.”
Black Moon quietly stared at the mirror for a long while before sighing.
“Why not give it a try—see if you can come back in after going out?”
I decided to try as well. I nodded, and Jade Zeng immediately came closer, delighted. She had to possess my body to get out, Black Moon said with a smile.
“You’d better not get any bad ideas, or else...”
“I know. I just want to leave—I’ve had enough of this place.”
I nodded and began to focus, drawing my power inward. Jade Zeng drifted over, but still couldn’t enter my body. Helpless, I took out the Black Sphere Kane had given me and handed it to Black Moon. He quickly moved away with the sphere, since when I had it on me, any approaching Yin energy would be absorbed.
A chill crept over me, growing colder and colder. Jade Zeng had entered my body. For an instant, a wickedly grinning face appeared in the mirror. My body began to move, passing through the mirror bit by bit.
Sure enough, I passed through the mirror, with Jade Zeng still inside me. It was a cluttered storeroom that looked like it was underground.
“You can come out now.”
I said, but Jade Zeng controlled my body, turned around, and struck a seductive pose in front of the mirror, then burst into giggles.
“Such a good body—I want to stay here and never come out.”
Instantly, I was furious, but Jade Zeng quickly threatened me.
“Miss Rachel Lan, I advise you not to do that. If you use your power, you’ll get hurt...”
“No way.”
I glared, furious, and with a surge of heat, the chill inside me was instantly dispelled. With a wailing cry, Jade Zeng was forced out of my body. I unsparingly stabbed at her with Belle in my hand.
With a wail, Jade Zeng clutched her chest in agony, gradually turning to ashes and disappearing.
I looked around. This place probably wasn’t the Living World either, but the Mirror World. I opened the storeroom door and found a long corridor, with a huge mirror at the end. I couldn’t see the room in the mirror anymore. When I tried to go back, I found I couldn’t pass through the mirror. I smashed it, but there was nothing behind.
“Black Moon.”
I called out, but helplessly took out the scroll. It showed I was still in the room Jade Zeng had brought me to. But Jade Zeng was probably still alive—she never really dies. I’d killed her two or three times already, but she always came back. The first half of the story she told me was probably true, the rest made up. Only a fool would believe it.
I was pondering a question: what is the structure of this world, really? The ghosts in the Mirror World seem impossible to kill. When they die, they turn to ashes, but after a while, they reappear.
My connection with Black Moon was completely severed now. I didn’t plan to leave this place recklessly. The long corridor outside led somewhere unknown. I was in the room at the end, with rooms on either side every two meters, each with an iron door. Directly opposite, I could see a large mirror, identical to the one I’d just smashed.
After what happened at Snowstorm River, I was no longer confused by these interlinked, chaotic spaces. After some hesitation, I left the room and entered the long corridor, opening random rooms along the way. Each was small, with beds, tables, and chairs arranged the same way.
I reached the mirror. To the left was a staircase leading up, a folded floor structure. This had to be a basement—there were no windows. I kept going up, found the stairs, and continued onward.
But soon I stopped, because no matter how I walked, it was always the same. There seemed to be endless floors. I quickly opened the scroll and saw that the path I’d taken was folded. I kept climbing, watching the scroll mark out a twisted route—I was still going up.
Suddenly, I saw a hall filled with round tables and wooden chairs, all identical. The floor was paved with diamond-shaped mirrors, but they still didn’t reflect my image. I wandered the hall for a while, then kept climbing. After another ten floors, I found another hall.
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I counted the folds—sure enough, I’d come up ten floors. My confusion deepened, but I kept climbing. I didn’t know how much time passed; fatigue set in. I’d gone through ten halls and climbed over a hundred floors.
Finally, I seemed to reach the top. I saw a door and hurried over. The moment I opened it, a rush of wind swept past me. Instantly alert, I drew Belle and stepped outside.
All around was endless darkness—nothing at all. I’d reached the edge, facing a bizarre, windowless building shrouded in black. I looked down, hoping to catch a clue, but sensed nothing.
I stood quietly at the edge of the rooftop for a long time. Black Moon’s presence was gone—I couldn’t sense him at all. He probably couldn’t sense me either. I took out the scroll and studied it. Every path I’d walked was marked, but aside from the hundred floors I’d climbed, there was nowhere else to go.
Just as I was at a loss, a faint breeze brushed my face. I quietly watched as a cloud of black mist appeared before me, waves of chill pressing in. Jade Zeng materialized bit by bit in front of me. I pointed Belle straight at her.
“What were you really trying to do earlier?”
I demanded sharply. Jade Zeng smiled, but her smile was tinged with bitterness.
“I was just testing you.”
“What do you mean?”
I asked Jade Zeng, confused, but she only shook her head.
“You don’t need to know. Even if you did, it wouldn’t matter.”
I wanted to press further but held back. I stared at Jade Zeng—her expression was far more complicated than before, her face troubled, looking deeply worried.
“What does that even mean?”
I demanded harshly. Jade Zeng quietly stared back, then began to smile.
“Don’t you already know everything?”
I stared at Jade Zeng, more confused than ever. I had no idea what she was hinting at—she was just a swirl of black mist. Sensing her presence, I reached out and pulled her back.
“What exactly did you mean by what you said just now?”
I demanded again, but Jade Zeng only stared at me in confusion.
“Didn’t I already tell you clearly before?”
Dazed, I stared at Jade Zeng, but my mind was blank. A familiar aura drifted past me. I clutched my head, completely at a loss.
I started to tremble slightly. I let go of Jade Zeng, but this time she didn’t leave—she just sat quietly in front of me.
“My fate was decided long ago. My existence as a weapon was written from the start.”
“What do you mean?”
I asked, and Jade Zeng started to smile again, but her smile was tinged with bitterness.
“You really are forgetful, Miss Rachel Lan.”
I looked at Jade Zeng in confusion, unable to remember what was going on at all.
“Tell me what’s really going on?”
I asked, and Jade Zeng replied.
“You already told me everything before. Did you forget?”
I stared at Jade Zeng in surprise. Forgetting was one thing—I wasn’t even sure what I’d experienced.
“Your subordinate Black Moon told me before: I was born into suffering because I was chosen by Hell, destined to exist as a weapon.”
“What do you mean?”
I stared wide-eyed, startled, when suddenly my head began to feel dizzy.
In a daze, I snapped back to awareness.
“Are you alright, Rachel Lan?”
Black Moon stood before me. I stared quietly at him for a long time, then nodded.
“Looks like we’ve found a pretty good place.”
As Black Moon spoke, I looked around at the surrounding darkness.