The Mirror Master

"Madam, it’s done. It was a clean job. The Government Office won’t find anything if they investigate."

Within a gloomy, dimly lit room, a burly man was half-kneeling on the floor, his head bowed in reverence.

A terrifying, grim silence filled the room.

Sweat beaded on the burly man’s forehead, and he trembled slightly as he spoke again, "Madam, Carpenter Zhang’s death is suspicious. How could he have died by self-immolation for no reason?"

After a long moment, a woman’s voice finally sounded in the room, "Most likely, his Evil Suppression Technique was broken by someone, and he suffered the backlash."

The burly man was somewhat surprised. "Oh? There’s hardly anyone left in the Lu Residence. Could there still be an expert there capable of breaking such a technique?"

The woman replied, "Not necessarily an expert. With the continuous heavy rain a few days ago, perhaps that brick was discovered and the technique was broken by accident."

The burly man said, "The Zhang Family has just died. Madam, should I go over and perform rites for their souls, or feed their vital essence to..."

"CLATTER!"

A bizarre sound suddenly echoed through the room, like something striking a porcelain jar, as gusts of frigid wind swept through.

"Hungry..."

A voice, faint and wavering, drifted from within the room.

The burly man flinched, too terrified to finish his sentence.

"Heh heh."

The woman chuckled softly. "Ah Hao is getting excited again. You haven’t even absorbed and refined the last ones. Mother is afraid you’ll be overstuffed."

At the woman’s voice, the room fell silent once more.

The burly man breathed a sigh of relief.

The woman then said softly, "As for the souls of the Zhang Family, let them be. Within seven days, their souls will return to the Underworld. If their resentment is too strong and they refuse to enter the Underworld, their souls will naturally transform into Yin Souls and go cause trouble for that person."

The burly man hesitated for a moment before saying, "Madam, Carpenter Zhang died from the backlash, but the rest of his family died at my hands. Will those Yin Souls come after me?"

"Hmph!"

The woman sneered. "Those Yin Souls aren’t stupid. They know who they can provoke and who they can’t touch. With me here, they won’t dare to come."

"Thank you, Madam."

...

「Lu Residence.」

Lu Bai had just gotten home when he saw Wang Family and Uncle Fu rushing to leave.

"Young Master, you’re finally back! The madam was worried sick. We were just about to go looking for you, afraid something might have happened."

Seeing that Lu Bai was safe and sound, Uncle Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

"I woke up early, so I went out to buy some breakfast."

Lu Bai lifted the food he had bought on his way and asked, "Did Mother sleep well last night?"

"Quite well."

Wang Family said, "I don’t know if it was a coincidence or because that brick was burned last night, but my headache is gone. I actually slept soundly until dawn."

Uncle Fu said sheepishly, "I’m ashamed to say I dozed off a few times while watching over the master’s memorial."

Lu Bai handed over the breakfast and said with a smile, "You’ve worked hard, Uncle Fu. Eat something first. This will save you a trip to the kitchen."

"Alright, alright. Thank you, Young Master."

Uncle Fu nodded repeatedly, accepting it with both hands.

"By the way."

Lu Bai said, "I took a walk outside just now. I heard there was a fire at the home of a carpenter in town, surnamed Zhang. He and his family were burned to death last night."

"Sigh. These are troubled times."

Wang Family sighed.

"Carpenter Zhang? You mean the one in the northwest corner of town?"

Uncle Fu had just taken a bite of his food when he suddenly froze, as if he had thought of something.

"I think so."

Lu Bai replied noncommittally.

Uncle Fu looked shocked and suspicious. "Carpenter Zhang was one of the carpenters who renovated the master’s residence! That brick was just discovered last night, and now Carpenter Zhang is dead. That’s too much of a coincidence."

Wang Family frowned and asked, "Are you saying he’s the one who buried that brick? Did the master have a grudge against him?"

"Not that I’ve heard."

Uncle Fu shook his head.

After thinking for a moment, Uncle Fu put his food down and said suddenly, "Madam, Young Master, you stay here. I’m going out to ask around."

After Uncle Fu left, Lu Bai said to Wang Family, "Uncle Fu is getting old. I’ll follow him to have a look."

"Ah Bai, you two be careful."

Wang Family could only offer a word of caution.

Lu Bai left the residence a moment later, following Uncle Fu from a distance.

’His earlier words had been a test. Uncle Fu’s reaction had already dispelled most of his suspicions.’

’Lu Bai had deliberately concealed some information, mixing truth with lies.’

’The backlash from the Evil Suppression Technique, the annihilation of Carpenter Zhang’s family, the time of the carpenter’s death—Uncle Fu had shown no reaction, clearly ignorant of it all.’

After leaving the Lu Residence, Uncle Fu ran straight for Carpenter Zhang’s house.

Before long, he saw the Zhang Family’s home, which had been burned to a ruin.

Uncle Fu asked around the area for a while before turning to head back.

He hadn’t gone far when he saw Lu Bai walking toward him.

"Young Master, what are you doing here?"

Uncle Fu was taken aback.

Lu Bai didn’t answer, instead asking, "Uncle Fu, did you find anything?"

Uncle Fu hesitated for a moment before replying, "When I heard Carpenter Zhang had died, I thought I’d come find his family to ask some questions. I didn’t expect to be a step too late. The entire family was burned to death."

Lu Bai said, "If he was the one who buried the brick, then you could say he got what he deserved."

Uncle Fu looked at Lu Bai, sighed inwardly, and held his tongue.

’The young master is still too naive.’

’Carpenter Zhang’s entire family being wiped out makes this matter far more complicated.’

"What is it?"

Lu Bai feigned ignorance.

Uncle Fu said with a grave expression, "Young Master, if Carpenter Zhang was the one who buried that brick, we could have confronted him and asked him why he would commit such a malicious act."

"But now, his entire family is dead. What does that imply?"

Uncle Fu patiently guided him, step by step.

’Lu Bai is the only male heir left in the Lu Residence. I’m getting old; the Lu Family’s future will have to depend on him. It’s better for the boy to learn about this cruel world sooner rather than later.’

"What does it imply?"

Lu Bai asked.

Uncle Fu said, "It implies that Carpenter Zhang was likely just being used. Now that his whole family has been burned to death, it was most likely to silence them!

"In other words, the true culprit behind the Lu Family’s misfortune is someone else, and this person is most likely still hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike!"

Hearing this, all of Lu Bai’s doubts about Uncle Fu vanished. He asked, "Who do you think is behind all this, Uncle Fu?"

Uncle Fu hesitated, seeming to have some reservations.

Lu Bai smiled. "We’re just talking privately. I won’t tell anyone."

Uncle Fu stammered, "The most likely suspect... is, of course... First Master Lu’s family."

"Mm."

Lu Bai nodded. "With Father and my older brother dead, if I were to fall off a cliff and die, my uncle’s family could drive Mother out and would naturally stand to gain the most. So they are the prime suspects."

Uncle Fu’s eyes lit up, his old heart filled with gratification.

’The young master seems to have figured it out. He finally understands the key to all this.’

"Besides my uncle, are there any other possibilities?"

Lu Bai asked again.

"Well..."

Uncle Fu was momentarily stumped.

Lu Bai continued, "Is the Zhou Family a suspect?"

"The Zhou Family?"

Uncle Fu was stunned for a moment, not quite following.

Lu Bai said, "My cousin’s husband is from the Zhou Family. If my uncle took over my father’s estate, the Zhou Family would also get a share of the benefits."

Of course, the main reason Lu Bai suspected the Zhou Family was because the Peach Talisman he carried was a gift from his cousin, Lu Yao.

Uncle Fu hadn’t expected Lu Bai to think so far ahead. After a moment of thought, he said, "Of course, that’s also a possibility. It’s just that the Zhou Family and the Lu Family have a pretty good relationship, with no grudges between them."

"That Madam Zhou has been a devout vegetarian Buddhist for years and has a reputation for her kindness. When the Lu Family had its accident, it was Madam Zhou who came to help and performed the rites for the master and the first young master."

Lu Bai raised an eyebrow and fell silent, deep in thought.

After a moment, Lu Bai asked again, "Is the Luo Family a suspect?"

Uncle Fu jumped in surprise and shook his head repeatedly. "How is that possible? Miss Luo is forthright and carefree. She acts with integrity. Back then, she ignored her family’s objections and insisted on being with the first young master forever. How could she be involved in such a vicious and dark scheme?"

Lu Bai shook his head. "I’m not talking about Miss Luo. I’m talking about the Luo Family."

"Ah?"

Uncle Fu was stunned, not quite understanding.

Lu Bai said, "You just said it yourself. The Luo Family initially disapproved of the marriage between my older brother and Miss Luo. They only compromised because Miss Luo insisted.

"That being the case, couldn’t the Luo Family have gone behind Miss Luo’s back and used other means to sabotage the marriage?"

Uncle Fu was completely dumbfounded.

’Just a moment ago, I was thinking the young master was too naive. How did he become so cynical in the blink of an eye?’

’To even connect this to the Luo Family, all the way in Bluestone County...’

’But on second thought, what the young master said... actually seems to make some sense...’

’Following that line of reasoning, the Luo Family really is a suspect.’

"This... I... you..."

Uncle Fu’s thoughts were a mess, and he stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Originally, his line of thinking had been very clear. The master’s family had met with disaster, and Lu Ziyuan immediately came to seize the family property, making him the most obvious suspect.

But after Lu Bai’s analysis, he was completely baffled.

After a long moment, Uncle Fu finally said with a bitter smile, "Young Master, if it really was the Luo Family, with their power, we would never be able to get revenge.

The Luo Family alone has more Inner Family Masters than all of Liuxi Town, to say nothing of the Innate Master they have watching over them!"

Lu Bai asked again, "What about the Zhou Family? Do they have any Inner Family Masters?"

"They have one."

Uncle Fu replied, then sighed. "Besides, with Carpenter Zhang’s entire family dead, the trail has gone completely cold. There’s no way to investigate."

"Don’t worry about it. We were just talking. Let’s go home."

Lu Bai offered a comforting smile, and the two of them headed back toward the Lu Residence.

’The trail has gone cold?’

’Not necessarily.’

Lu Bai took the Peach Talisman from his robes and began toying with it in his hand.

’Exposing the person behind all this would be quite simple.’

’It’s just that his strength is still insufficient. It wouldn’t be wise to act rashly and alert the enemy.’

’Fortunately, he still had over forty days. There was no rush.’

With the crisis of the evil spirit averted, Lu Bai began to carefully examine the Peach Talisman.

And as he looked, he discovered something unusual.

The names ’Shen Tu’ and ’Yu Lei’ on the Peach Talisman were, according to legend, two of the Underworld’s Five Ghost Emperors, capable of subduing Evil Ghosts. They were considered the origin of the first Gate Gods.

But on the Peach Talisman in Lu Bai’s hand, both of these names were misspelled.

In ’Shen Tu,’ a character was missing a stroke, and in ’Yu Lei,’ a character had an extra one.

The previous owner of his body had fled the town in a panic, terrified. In that state, how could he have had the presence of mind to notice such a subtle mistake?

But once the characters were wrong, the Peach Talisman naturally lost its Magical Power to exorcise ghosts and ward off evil.

Toying with the Peach Talisman in his hand, an idea suddenly struck Lu Bai.

’Since the Ancient Mirror can display a Martial Arts Realm, can it also display information about items?’

Lu Bai tried placing the Peach Talisman against his chest and lightly stimulating the Ancient Mirror with his Blood Qi.

The mirror’s surface flashed, and three words appeared upon it—Locust Wood Talisman.

No wonder!

Lu Bai had a sudden realization.

Before this, he had been somewhat puzzled.

Legend had it that Peach Wood was a wood of ultimate yang, the ultimate counter to evil spirits and ghosts.

The two were fundamentally opposed, so how could an evil spirit possibly inhabit a Peach Talisman?

His confusion was only resolved when the Ancient Mirror displayed the item’s information.

There is a saying about the five great yin woods of the world, and Locust Wood is the most yin of them all, capable of gathering Yin Qi and housing Ghost Souls.

A ghost dwelling in wood is the very essence of the locust tree.

"Heh!"

Lu Bai sneered.

’What a scheme. What a scheme!’

’The Brick Mourning Evil Suppression Technique. The typos on the Peach Talisman. The Locust Wood disguised as Peach Wood, housing an evil spirit... All of it, a series of insidious plots designed to kill without a trace.’

’This was a plot to completely exterminate the Lu Family!’