Lover's Tears: The End of Time | Chapter 26 | The Mirror of Truth | Novela.app

That day, while Fan Shaohuang was leading his line of corpses, he unexpectedly ran into Fan Shaojing, who had come to Chen Village to capture a demon. Fan Shaojing was a naturally kind-hearted man; thus, even though the demon had taken several lives, he still intended to capture it alive to see if he could perform a ritual of salvation to transcend its soul. Fan Shaohuang watched from the sidelines for a moment before letting out a cold snort. "Hypocrite!" After his snort, he plucked a single strand of his own hair and pointed his finger into the air. The strand flew from his fingertip; though invisible to ordinary eyes, the Green-Eyed Zombie could see it clearly—the hair shimmered with a purple luster as it shot rapidly into the demon’s body. The demon had already been at the end of its tether, but upon receiving this strand of hair, it became as revitalized as if it had been injected with chicken blood. Consequently, Fan Shaojing’s task became quite a bit more difficult. Fortunately, Shaojing was cautious by nature and well-prepared, so the situation remained under control. Seeing that his senior brother could still handle it, Fan Shaohuang drew more of his spiritual power, attached it to several more strands of hair, and flicked them over. Before long, Fan Shaojing realized his junior brother was making mischief. His voice was laced with helplessness. "Shaohuang, stop playing around!" However, Fan Shaohuang’s personality was naturally at odds with his brother's. He immediately flicked several more strands over. This time, Fan Shaojing began to struggle. Fan Shaohuang watched with leisurely composure as his brother fended off attacks from left and right. "For the old man to choose you as the Sect Leader of Cuiwei Mountain... Hmph, he must be suffering from senile dementia!" Having finished his mockery, Fan Shaohuang led the Green-Eyed Zombie and his line of corpses away with an air of nonchalance. In truth, this technique was not difficult to undo; after half an hour, the strands of hair would detach themselves, even carrying the demon’s primordial essence back to the caster. Fan Shaojing refused to let go of the demon only because if those strands were allowed to withdraw with the essence, the demon’s soul would inevitably scatter and vanish. For Fan Shaohuang, however, this was actually harmful rather than beneficial. No matter how resilient a human soul is, it has its limits, whereas most demons are spiritual beings of hundreds or thousands of years. The two cannot be spoken of in the same breath. Once that essence entered Fan Shaohuang’s body, while it wouldn't cause him heavy injury, he would certainly need a period of time to slowly neutralize the backlash. Therefore, Shaojing ignored his junior brother’s provocation and continued his benevolent task of subduing the demon. Meeting force with force resulted in mutual exhaustion, but though his raw power was not equal to Fan Shaohuang’s, his foundation was much more solid. He believed his recovery speed would be fast and didn't pay the matter much mind. When Fan Shaohuang only received his own strands of spiritual power back without the essence, he became even more annoyed. "Hypocritical! Simply too hypocritical!" Such was his evaluation of his eldest senior brother. Later that evening, after helping a local squire in Chen Village examine his Feng Shui, Fan Shaohuang noticed that a piece of ancestral jade owned by the squire was of exceptionally fine quality. He immediately adopted a sanctimonious air, pointing at the jade and claiming it was an ominous object that had accumulated Yin energy over a long period. He warned that keeping it would surely bring a great calamity upon the entire clan. As it was a family heirloom, the squire found it extremely difficult to part with. However, Fan Shaohuang was a preeminent figure in the Taoist world. After hesitating for a long time, the squire finally decided to endure the loss for the sake of his family, handing the precious jade over to him for "safekeeping." As they left the squire’s house, the Green-Eyed Zombie watched as Shaohuang naturally tucked the jade pendant into his own waist belt. It had only one thing to say: *Hypocritical. Truly, too hypocritical...* During the night, Fan Shaohuang continued to lead his corpses. On the road, a fierce storm broke out with rolling thunder. Shaohuang had always been particularly interested in treasures, and he immediately guessed that a supreme treasure might be emerging from the earth. Influenced by him, the Green-Eyed Zombie had also developed a great fondness for gold and silver. The man and the zombie left the corpse troupe at a mortuary and rushed into the depths of the mountain foothills amidst the heavy rain. The world was pitch black, save for the occasional bolt of lightning that tore through the heavy curtains of rain. In the distance, light burst forth. The beam was initially the size of a washbasin, but as they drew closer, it shrank to the size of a bronze mirror. With the Green-Eyed Zombie acting as his transport, Fan Shaohuang’s pace was naturally much faster. Unluckily, by the time the pair arrived, another Taoist had already reached the spot. He had also just arrived; though he was very close, the treasure was not yet in his hands. The beam of light remained intense and hollow, shooting straight into the night sky. The Green-Eyed Zombie set Fan Shaohuang down. The other Taoist had naturally sensed the zombie's high level of cultivation, but the zombie took a step back behind Fan Shaohuang, clearly signaling: *He’s the master. If you want to fight, fight him first!* Fan Shaohuang gave a cold snort but commanded it through a mental link: *Back up. Five paces away.* Only then did the Taoist’s gaze meet Fan Shaohuang’s. The light from the treasure on the ground grew stronger. Both understood that the appearance of such a treasure was a matter of destiny; any treasure with a modicum of spiritual intelligence would constantly shift its position. If they missed this brief window, it might not be found again for ten thousand generations. After a period of staring each other down, it was Fan Shaohuang who broke the silence. "Since ancient times, heavenly treasures belong to the virtuous and are kept by the capable. At any other time, you and I could certainly fight to see who is superior, but right now, time is pressing..." He paused, and as expected, the Taoist couldn't help but ask, "What do you propose?" Fan Shaohuang was very generous. "Why don't we both cast 'Drawing the Prison' simultaneously? Whoever breaks the other's formation first gets the treasure." This proposal was fair. The Taoist thought this was the only way, but he remained wary of Fan Shaohuang, fearing a sneak attack. Fan Shaohuang, however, had no intention of attacking. He was the first to move, encircling the Taoist. The Taoist likewise finished his spell and began using all his strength to break through Fan Shaohuang’s formation. Fan Shaohuang’s approach was even simpler—he jerked his chin at the Green-Eyed Zombie, signaling: *Go get it!* The "Drawing the Prison" technique consumed more spiritual power the larger the circle was. Because Fan Shaohuang had moved first, the Taoist was casting his spell from within a restriction and was indeed unable to simultaneously encircle the Green-Eyed Zombie, who stood five paces away! Having followed him for so long, the Green-Eyed Zombie had no trouble retrieving a treasure. It walked straight past the Taoist and performed a hand seal to take the object. Upon touching it, it turned out to be just an ancient, simple bronze mirror. Its luster was faded and old, with nothing extraordinary about it. The zombie took a brief glance at it and was instantly shocked. The image reflected in the bronze mirror was of a creature with a green face and protruding fangs, skin like weathered leather, and long, withered white hair hanging down—a hideous and terrifying visage. That was its true corpse form. What kind of treasure was this that could actually see through its illusion? It felt that this mirror definitely must not fall into Qiao’er’s hands. Meanwhile, the Taoist still struggling in the formation was furious. "You're despicable!" He was cursing Fan Shaohuang. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as too much deception in war. Fan Shaohuang didn't care. Anyone who could arrive here first wouldn't be weak; he knew that much. But relying on his corpse servant, he wasn't afraid. The most important thing was to get the treasure first; otherwise, the fight would be for nothing. The two Taoists broke through their respective formations almost simultaneously and began a magical duel in the mountain forest. The Green-Eyed Zombie held the bronze mirror, shining it around the forest with great interest. It didn't know what kind of treasure this was, but no matter how profound a demon's illusion technique was, they could not escape its light. It had seen Demon-Revealing Mirrors before, but an ordinary one couldn't break through its own illusion. The two Taoists fought back and forth around it, but the zombie didn't care—Fan Shaohuang was hiding at least sixty or seventy percent of his power; he wouldn't die. Then, it discovered an even more terrifying thing—besides being able to trace a demon back to its source, the mirror had a "see-through" effect regardless of who it was pointed at. In other words, everything before it was essentially "streaking." Thus, the Green-Eyed Zombie watched with a face full of tears as the two highly skilled Taoists used profound techniques before it, looking solemn and serious while being stark naked... Heavens and Earth! Who on earth invented such a lewd magical treasure?! As a zombie, it was left speechless and choked with emotion. It wondered if Fan Shaohuang would get sties in his eyes if he used this treasure to subdue demons and catch ghosts in the future... The thunderstorm stopped at some unknown point. A sudden silence fell over the mountains; even the soughing of the sparse branches in the forest lost its sound. A wave of fragrance slowly permeated the air. The two combatants stopped simultaneously. Fan Shaohuang’s expression turned grave. He turned and grabbed the Green-Eyed Zombie, intending to leave, but his speed was clearly not fast enough. A person—or more accurately, a humanoid entity—had already walked slowly toward them. For the first time in its life, the Green-Eyed Zombie hated its excellent eyesight. In truth, it should have been a beautiful scene: the rain had just ceased, the mountains were filled with fragrance, and a person was quietly treading over the withered branches and fallen leaves. Elegant skirt hems brushed over the leaves, jade ornaments tinkled, and the gait was graceful. The rainwater and mud seemed to instinctively avoid her. She stood silently in this rainy, desolate mountain night, untainted by a speck of dust. Unfortunately, the Green-Eyed Zombie’s vision was too good—good enough to see that this "beauty" walking through the night mist and rain had the height of a giant, a bald head, and a waist as thick as a water bucket... No, she actually didn't have a waist anymore; even if the belt was tightened, she was just a water bucket with a belt around it... She stopped five paces away from the three of them. Her gaze swept over them, and the Green-Eyed Zombie was startled to find it could no longer move even an inch. It was an instinctive fear felt by all evil things. It was afraid of her; it couldn't believe it was actually afraid of her! She seemed to take some interest in the Green-Eyed Zombie, her eyes rippling as she sized it up. With just one look, the Green-Eyed Zombie’s very fingertips trembled. It was like a mortal facing a deity; every pore in its body told it to prostrate and worship. Yet, in its thousands of years on this earth, it had never felt such terror. The woman’s eyes shifted again, seemingly exerting pressure, and the zombie’s knees finally buckled, causing it to kneel before her. Only then did she walk over with a smile, hooking its chin with one hand to examine it closely. The Green-Eyed Zombie felt it should resist, or at least refuse, but it couldn't even lift a finger, leaving it at her mercy. An unknown power held it firmly in check, yet the opponent hadn't even shown a hint of killing intent. Fortunately, she didn't look at it for long. A moment later, she turned her head. "Did you subdue it, Yinglong?" She was looking at Fan Shaohuang as she spoke, but Fan Shaohuang gave no reaction. Both Taoists looked at her with uncertainty and alarm. She tilted her head to look at the other Taoist and quickly realized the two were fighting. She walked toward Fan Shaohuang, and with a wave of her wide sleeve, the Taoist—who was equal in strength to Fan Shaohuang at forty percent power—suddenly turned black. He didn't even have time to react. He only smelled a burnt scent before his head fell into the muddy mountain night. Soon, his entire body turned to fly ash. Fan Shaohuang took a step back, eyeing her warily, his voice still cold. "Who are you?" As if suddenly remembering something, the woman stopped three paces in front of him, her voice intimate. "I am Ba. And you... what is your name in this life?" She had no intention of attacking, and Fan Shaohuang had no desire to entangle with her. He tried to bypass her to take the Green-Eyed Zombie away. In the midst of the chaos, the Green-Eyed Zombie used the bronze mirror to probe her, but the mirror showed only a blank void. At that moment, she discovered the existence of the bronze mirror, and a look of joy flashed in her eyes. "Oh, the Mirror of the World!" With a wave of her sleeve, she snatched the mirror from the Green-Eyed Zombie’s hand. Giggling, she held the mirror up to look at Fan Shaohuang. The powder on her face was too thick, her rouge too red, and combined with her twisting her bucket-like waist to act like a blushing young maiden, Fan Shaohuang felt rows of goosebumps erupt on his forehead. Yet she continued to hold the mirror, letting out a thunderous, coquettish laugh as she reflected him from eight different directions. Fan Shaohuang couldn't stop sneezing—the fragrance on her body was enough to suffocate an elephant. The Green-Eyed Zombie’s first thought was that she and Guiche would definitely get along. Its second thought was... fortunately, Fan Shaohuang surely didn't know what she was seeing... However, the truth cannot be hidden forever. Fan Shaohuang finally found out, because that "woman," while holding the Mirror of the World and shining it everywhere, was giggling and constantly praising: "Wow, so white! Wow, so..." When he finally saw the image in the mirror, he bristled with rage. Filled with grief and indignation, he drew his Shadow-Severing Sword, pointed it at the sky, and howled: "Yi Du Jun Hua! Am I just here for comic relief?!" *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 樊少景 | Fan Shaojing | Fan Shaohuang's senior brother. | | 翠微山 | Cuiwei Mountain | The name of the Taoist sect. | | 真元 | Primordial Essence | The core energy/spirit of a being. | | 画地为牢 | Drawing the Prison | A Taoist technique that traps someone within a drawn circle. | | 映世镜 | Mirror of the World | A magical treasure that reveals true forms and has see-through properties. | | 魃 | Ba | Also known as Nüba (女魃), the goddess of drought in Chinese mythology. | | 应龙 | Yinglong | Resonant Dragon; a powerful dragon in mythology, often associated with Ba. | | 一度君华 | Yi Du Jun Hua | The author of the novel (meta-reference). |