I looked at Black Moon, puzzled.
"How did you know?"
Black Moon's two crescent eyes lifted.
"I guessed."
I withdrew my outstretched hand. Beside me, Jade Zeng was sprawled on the mirror surface, looking at me expectantly.
"Rachel Lan, can you take me out? I can't stand it anymore—I've been here for so many years."
The Jade Zeng before me should be the Mirror Ghost Ji Yun'er mentioned earlier. I asked her:
"How exactly did you end up in here?"
I asked. Jade Zeng let out a long sigh. Black Moon also lay down on the mirror, unable to leave. I tried again, stepping forward and poking a finger through the mirror—it felt as if my finger had dipped into water, strangely uncanny.
"Take me out, Rachel Lan. Let me possess you, and you carry me out. I'm begging you."
Jade Zeng started to kneel, but I stopped her.
"Can you tell me about yourself?"
Jade Zeng lowered her head in silence. After a long while, she finally nodded.
Long ago, Jade Zeng was born into a prominent official family. She was adored by all, a cherished young lady. Even as a child, she was betrothed to the son of another official family. When Jade Zeng turned eighteen, she was married off—she had never met her husband before, but the families were closely connected, exchanging frequent letters though rarely meeting in person.
It was only after the wedding that Jade Zeng saw her husband for the first time—a refined scholar, whom she quickly grew fond of. Though strangers at first, they soon came together as a couple.
With her marriage, Jade Zeng brought along the Redwood Mirror. She loved this mirror, using it every morning to dress herself. Her husband's family treated her well, and her husband was equally kind. Yet, this blissful life began to change after her husband took up a new official post.
Her husband was assigned to a border region. Jade Zeng followed him, but the climate made her ill. Her husband searched everywhere for doctors, but Jade Zeng's sickness only worsened.
As Jade Zeng's condition deteriorated, her husband could only bring her home. Yet nothing helped—her health declined day by day. He sought renowned physicians, but none could cure her. Eventually, he turned to spiritual practitioners, but their efforts failed too. Jade Zeng grew more and more haggard, her beauty withering away.
Each time she looked in the mirror, Jade Zeng was tormented. She had someone cover the mirror, but her fear grew. Afflicted by a strange disease that aged her body without killing her, Jade Zeng could no longer bear it. She tried to drown herself in a well, but her family saved her. Her husband resigned his post and took her everywhere, seeking help from scholars and healers.
Finally, in one place, they heard of a Taoist named Zachary Justice. After a long search, they found him. With one look, Zachary Justice recognized that Jade Zeng was cursed and insisted on visiting her home first.
After Zachary Justice arrived at Jade Zeng's home, he immediately found the source—the mirror. He told the couple that the mirror was likely made with human blood and sorcery, and asked Jade Zeng where it had been acquired.
But Jade Zeng didn't know, nor did her family. The mirror had long been in her father's office and, finding it beautiful, he gave it to Jade Zeng. The family was anxious, but Zachary Justice reassured them: the mirror had absorbed Jade Zeng's vitality. If he could restore it, she would be fine.
Zachary Justice did return Jade Zeng's vitality, and she quickly recovered her health and beauty. The family wanted him to destroy the mirror, but Zachary Justice explained he could not—the mirror was now linked to Jade Zeng's soul. If the mirror was damaged, she would be hurt as well. He chipped off a small piece of the mirror, and Jade Zeng's arm bled as if a piece of flesh had been cut away.
The whole family was terrified. Zachary Justice warned them never to destroy the mirror, but to wait until the mirror absorbed Jade Zeng's vitality again, then call him for help. He also admonished both families to do good deeds, warning that further wrongdoing would mean the end of their line.
It turned out both Jade Zeng's and her husband's families had abused their power for years, even scheming for more money. Though the couple was loving, they remained childless, and the families never changed their ways.
Three years after Zachary Justice left, Jade Zeng fell ill again. The family searched everywhere for him, but couldn't find him. In the fifth year, Zachary Justice finally returned, but upon seeing the two families' unchanged ways, he shook his head and confronted them for ignoring his warnings.
With Zachary Justice's help, Jade Zeng recovered once more. But this time, he warned it would be the last—if the families refused to change, he would be powerless to help next time.
Hearing this, I understood—the mirror exploited Jade Zeng's evil thoughts. Cursed from the start, it drained the vitality of those with malice, eventually killing them.
"What happened next?"
I asked. Jade Zeng lowered her head, her face twisted with a bitter smile.
To continue her husband's family line, her husband took a second wife.
With the second wife's arrival, Jade Zeng's life became increasingly hopeless. She didn't understand why the mirror targeted her and not anyone else in the family. Her husband grew colder toward her, especially after the second wife became pregnant.
Gradually, Jade Zeng was treated like an outcast. The year the second wife gave birth, Jade Zeng fell ill again. The family continued their misdeeds, ignored her, and made her move out, leaving only servants to attend her. Her husband said to wait for Zachary Justice to return.
But this time, Zachary Justice did not come as promised. The appointed years passed, and Jade Zeng knew she was dying. She aged rapidly, and after moving out, her husband never visited her again.
In the end, consumed by sorrow, Jade Zeng met Zachary Justice once more.
Zachary Justice told Jade Zeng there was nothing more he could do. He advised her to devote herself to prayer and let go of worldly attachments. But Jade Zeng's heart was filled with anger and resentment. Zachary Justice explained that the mirror only targeted those with deep evil thoughts—she was simply unlucky, born into such a family and being the youngest, which is why the mirror clung to her.
If both families had done good deeds, their fortune and vitality would have gradually returned, and only that could break the curse. But they did nothing, and the mirror's draining grew ever more frequent as their corruption continued, leaving Zachary Justice powerless.
Zachary Justice left Jade Zeng a gourd, telling her to blow into it every day for some relief. Two years after he left, Jade Zeng died.
After death, Jade Zeng awoke to find herself inside the mirror. She was filled with hatred and resentment, but could only watch as the mirror was sold and bought again and again. She tried to influence the outside world, but nothing she did made any difference.
Eventually, the mirror grew old, but its wood was still good, so buyers repainted it to look new. Over more than ten years, the mirror passed through many hands. Jade Zeng saw countless women grooming themselves before it, crying out for someone to hear her. One day, she saw the second wife in the mirror—the mirror had come full circle and returned home. Consumed by hatred, Jade Zeng wept before the mirror every day.
Jade Zeng's husband saw the mirror, now looking new, and felt uneasy and disgusted by it. He told the second wife to throw it away, but she liked it and insisted on keeping it. The family was doing well now, especially since they had children.
Zachary Justice had told both families that Jade Zeng suffered to shield them from disaster. Yet, her family ignored her, telling outsiders she died of a strange illness.
Every day in the mirror, Jade Zeng watched the second wife dress and grow more furious, jealous, and hateful—especially seeing her husband and the second wife happy together with their three lively children. Jade Zeng wished death upon the whole family. One day, her angry shouts startled the second wife, leaving her pale with fear.
Jade Zeng realized the second wife could hear her. She changed her approach, spoke gently, and revealed many family secrets, including those about her husband's family. The second wife believed everything Jade Zeng said, and Jade Zeng claimed to be a spirit in the mirror.
Jade Zeng discovered that if the second wife dripped fresh blood onto the mirror, she could come out. She first helped the second wife with things that made her happy, earning her trust. Then Jade Zeng planned to destroy the whole family.
"If I hadn't done that, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way."
Before me, Jade Zeng clutched her head in pain, while Black Moon began to laugh.
"Even if you hadn't done it, the outcome would have been the same."
I looked at Black Moon, annoyed. Black Moon spoke up.
"Miss Jade Zeng, did you have a large black mole in your palm as a child? About the size of a broad bean, and no one else could see it?"
Jade Zeng nodded in surprise.
"That's it—your fate was sealed from the start!"