The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Seeing his alarmed expression, Tang Xixue couldn't help but smile slightly.

She simply turned around to face him, crossed her arms, and a mischievous smile appeared in her starry eyes.

"Is my senior brother afraid of me? I'm not some monster, why is he keeping his distance?"

"no."

Jiu Fangzhi immediately denied it.

He carefully considered his words.

"How could I, as your elder brother, be afraid of my junior sister?"

How could he possibly be afraid of her?

He was afraid that if he got too close, he wouldn't be able to hide things that she shouldn't see.

"Then come over here."

Tang Xixue was both annoyed and amused to see him say he wasn't afraid, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot.

She took two steps forward, instantly reducing the distance between them by more than half.

Jiu Fangzhi instinctively wanted to back away, but when he saw her open and honest starry eyes looking at him, his feet seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move.

"Weren't you quite decisive, Senior Brother, inside the great formation earlier?"

Tang Xixue tilted her head slightly to look at him, her smile undiminished.

"Why are you becoming so reserved now that we're in a safe place?"

"At that time... things were urgent, and I couldn't think of anything else."

Jiu Fangzhi explained, his voice unusually clumsy.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her face before quickly looking away.

The light landed on a teacup on the counter of a teahouse not far away, as if the teacup were some extremely important antique that needed to be studied immediately.

"I see."

Tang Xixue nodded thoughtfully, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

"I thought you didn't want to be with me, Senior Brother."

"I had no such intention."

Jiu Fangzhi turned around abruptly and met the smile in her eyes, only then realizing that his reaction just now was indeed too nervous.

He paused for a moment, his expression softening slightly, and said in a low voice.

"I was just afraid of being too forward with my junior sister, after all, there is a difference between men and women."

"Oh, I see."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue blinked.

"Um."

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the sound of the flowing water.

His image was perfectly reflected in her eyes.

But it was precisely this frankness that left him at a loss for what to do.

"Senior brother, there's no need to be so formal."

Tang Xixue smiled slightly and waved to him.

"I'm not going to eat you. Come here."

Jiu Fangzhi looked at her hands, which were slender and fair, with a warm, subtle glow at the fingertips.

"Let's go further in and see if we can find any clues."

"Okay."

Jiu Fangzhi followed beside her, still maintaining his calm and composed demeanor.

This time, however, he did not deliberately distance himself, but walked alongside her at a leisurely pace.

Deep within the ancient city, the water ripples silently.

The branches of the ancient tree on the street corner swayed gently in the water, scattering shimmering light across the street.

Tang Xixue suddenly turned her head to look at him, her gaze lingering on his profile for a moment.

"Senior brother, do you wear a mask because you don't want people to see your face?"

Jiu Fangzhi remained silent for a moment, without denying it.

Why?

"I'm used to it. Besides, nobody needs to see it."

He answered casually, though he was actually incredibly nervous inside; his mask held a deeper meaning.

"Now I see it."

Tangxi Xue's voice was soft.

"You can't possibly be wary of me too, can you?"

Jiu Fangzhi paused in his steps.

He turned his head and met her gaze.

His fingertips, hidden in his sleeve, curled slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed gently.

"...I didn't guard against you, so look if you want."

If he was on guard, how could she have so easily removed his mask?

He felt comfortable getting close to her because she was by his side.

No one else had a chance to stand next to him, let alone at such a close distance.

"But my senior brother looks like he's facing a formidable enemy."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue's eyebrows curved slightly, and a smile spread from the depths of her eyes.

I continued walking, my steps becoming lighter.

"Junior sister, don't overthink it. I'm just like this by nature; I'm not exactly an interesting person."

Jiu Fangzhi spoke slowly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

The pearly light fell on her hair, and her clothes fluttered slowly in the water, like a fish swimming across his heart.

"What's wrong with my senior brother? I think he's very special."

Tang Xixue spoke up.

"Hmm? What's so special about it?"

Jiu Fangzhi was a little curious about what kind of person he was in his junior sister's eyes.

"It's very mysterious."

Tang Xixue replied that among all the senior brothers and sisters, only Jiu Fangzhi was the most mysterious.

"So, what's the real name of Doctor Ghost? You're not going to hide it from me, are you?"

"My elder brother's surname is Jiufang (九方), and his given name is Zhi (知). His courtesy name is Suixing (岁刑)."

Jiu Fangzhi spoke to her earnestly, as if making a vow.

"Seven years of punishment".

Tang Xixue recited softly, her gentle and sweet voice was extremely pleasant to hear.

"Yes, I'm here."

Jiu Fangzhi let out a soft breath. Just hearing his junior sister recite his words made his heart soften.

His junior sister is really cute.

Their sleeves brushed against each other occasionally, so lightly that it was almost imperceptible, yet neither of them moved away.

Suddenly, Tang Xixue caught a glimpse of a figure, which vanished in a flash.

The shadow was extremely faint, like a wisp of smoke drifting across the water, disappearing in an instant behind the ancient tree at the street corner.

"Senior brother, there are people over there."

Tang Xixue stopped in her tracks, her voice low and heavy.

"Yes, I saw it too."

Jiu Fangzhi confirmed her words. His gaze remained fixed on the direction where the figure had disappeared, his eyes beneath the mask sharp as a knife.

It's not a hallucination.

Since both of them saw it, it couldn't have been an illusion.

They exchanged a glance, then silently slowed their pace, passing through the pearly alleyway and chasing after the direction in which the figure had disappeared.

The moment she stepped out of the alley, Tang Xixue suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Before us was an extremely spacious square.

A huge fountain stands in the center of the square, with water pouring down from the palm of a tall white jade statue, yet no sound can be heard.

Because what flows in that fountain is not water, but a spiritual essence that shimmers with a starlight-like silver glow.

The spiritual essence fell into the pool, splashing not water droplets, but countless tiny starlight points that drifted in all directions, enveloping the entire plaza in a flowing galaxy.

There were people in the square.

It's not just one or two people, it's many people.

Men, women, young and old, dressed in simple clothes, and looked no different from ordinary people.

They either stood by the fountain carrying bamboo baskets, or sat in small groups on the stone steps chatting quietly, or strolled slowly across the square hand in hand with their children.

A flower vendor carrying a basket walked past them, the bouquets still glistening with water droplets, the petals swaying gently in the water.

A little girl with her hair in two buns ran over from the fountain, holding a newly bought flower in her hand. Her silvery laughter pierced through the water and reached their ears.

As she ran past Tang Xixue, a flower branch gently brushed against the corner of Tang Xixue's sleeve.

The touch was real.

Tang Xixue looked down at the corner of her sleeve, then looked up at the small figure that had already run far away.

These people are real.

They live in this ancient city that has been submerged underwater for millions of years.

"Senior brother..."

Her voice carried a hint of disbelief and shock.

Jiu Fangzhi did not answer.

His gaze slowly swept across the entire square, his fingers curling slightly inside his sleeve.

"Where exactly are we?"

Are they dead or alive?