People in the Imperial Music Bureau: The Storytelling Demon Child Nezha

He touched his chest; the gears of the star ring were beating in sync with his heart, and the birthmark left by the mirror image transformed into a golden line that spread along his arm to his fingertips.

"So who am I now?" he asked.

Zhao Kaishan picked up the manuscript of "Perfect World" from the ground, and the cover automatically changed to "Double-Sided Marionette": "Perhaps it should be said that you are a 'Cause Corrector'. You can fight in the world of books and also change your fate in reality—provided that you are willing to shoulder this responsibility."

Su Yuqing handed the Abyss Mirror to Li Qiye. The mirror reflected the array behind the three of them. It had now transformed into a vibrant tree-like structure with roots connecting the Book World and reality: "The soul fragments of the first priest are hidden in the mirror. His last words were: 'When light and darkness unite, the real story will just begin.'"

Suddenly, a loud ripping sound came from afar, like pages being torn apart.

Li Qiye saw in a corner of the city streets that the gray-clad man's black mist was reforming, and what he held in his hand was the remnant soul of the narrator who had escaped from the paperweight fragments.

Chapter 288 They Won't Give Up

“They won’t give up so easily.” Zhao Kaishan gripped his sword tightly. “Every story in Dafeng City may hold the tentacles of an abyss.”

The next day, a special listener arrived at Tingfeng Tower—Zhao Ling, a constable in a dark blue long robe, with the words "Suppress Evil" engraved on his sword at his waist. He slammed a leather-bound scroll on the table and lowered his voice: "Mr. Li, are you aware that the 'mass grave' in your book matches the terrain of the 'Third Watchman's Division,' which disappeared five years ago?"

Li Qiye opened the file, his pupils suddenly contracting. The yellowed drawings depicted twisted locust trees, a black moon, and abyssal fissures, with his own handwriting at the bottom: "On the day the Primordial Mirror shattered, all members of the Third Division were devoured, leaving only the Mirror Spirit Su Yueli."

“Five years ago, you were the deputy commander of the Third Division.” Zhao Ling pointed to the star ring on his left hand. “This ring is the ‘Night Watch’ token of the Night Watchmen’s Headquarters, which can see ‘narrative cracks’ that ordinary people cannot see.”

Before the words were finished, the man in gray burst through the window, his chain wrapped around Li Qiye's neck: "He can't remember! The secret of the Third Division will shatter the balance of Yin and Yang in the Great Feng Dynasty—"

The edge of the shard sliced ​​through his palm, and as blood dripped, the Star Ring suddenly lit up. Countless images flashed before Li Qiye's eyes: himself running through the ghost market wearing the night watchman's mask, Su Yueli standing before the Primordial Mirror chanting incantations, and on a stormy night, he personally sealed the mirror spirit into the shard.

"Su Yueli...is a Mirror Spirit?" he murmured. The woman's voice came again from the fragment: "Back then, to seal the Mirror Demon, you shattered your own soul and sealed your memories into a storybook. Now the Mirror Demon wants to be reborn through your story!"

The gray-clad man's chains suddenly loosened, and Li Qiye could then see that the scar behind his ear was oozing black mist—it wasn't flesh and blood, but an illusion formed from congealed ink.

"You are... a character from a storybook?" He was surprised to notice that the hem of the gray-clad man's clothes had frayed edges, like pages from a book.

“We are all of them.” The man in gray smiled bitterly, his body becoming transparent. “Dafeng City is an open book. When the storyteller puts pen to paper, the characters he writes gain souls. Five years ago, when you sealed the Mirror Demon, you accidentally wrote yourself as an ‘amnesiac storyteller’.”

Zhao Ling raised his sword and slashed at the black mist. The blade reflected the outline of the book pages behind the gray-clad man: "The Mirror Demon hides in the 'narrative loopholes' and survives by devouring stories. The more popular your storybook is now, the stronger it becomes."

Li Qiye looked at the manuscript and found that the handwriting of "Chen Jiujin" was turning into "Mirror Demon".

He suddenly remembered what the gray-clad man had said about "breaking the chain of cause and effect," and grabbed the fragments, pressing them onto the image of the mirror demon in the dossier.

A flash of golden light appeared, and the mirror demon in the portrait opened its eyes, its pupils reflecting the entirety of Tingfeng Tower. Su Yueli's vines pierced through the mirror's surface, wrapping around Li Qiye's wrist in reality: "Go to the former site of the Third Division! The fragments of the Primordial Mirror can awaken your memories!"

The locust trees in the mass grave swayed without wind, each leaf bearing the incantation of the night watchman. 940 Li Qiye walked forward on the broken mirror, his star ring suddenly pointing to a broken stele engraved with "Primordial Beginning"—buried beneath the stele was his sword "Broken Chapter," which had disappeared five years ago.

“A broken chapter can be drawn from its sheath and sever the narrative.” Zhao Ling’s voice was filled with respect. “Back then, you used this sword to cleave the illusion of the Mirror Demon.”

The moment Li Qiye grasped the hilt of the sword, a splitting headache struck him. Memories flooded back: the night the entire Third Division was possessed by the Mirror Demon, Su Yueli sacrificed herself to become a Mirror Spirit to protect him; when he swung his sword to slash the mirror, he inadvertently cracked the boundary between reality and the story; and that gray-clad man was actually the "Guardian Spirit" he created from the fragments of the broken mirror.

Chapter 289 Mirror Demon

"Where is the Mirror Demon?" He gripped the broken chapter tightly, the blade reflecting three worlds: the mass grave before him, the ghost market in the storybook, and the "mirror world" hidden between the pages.

“In your latest storybook.” Su Yueli’s vines swirled around a locust leaf, on which lay a passage he had just written that morning: “Chen Jiujin picked up the ancient mirror on the ground. The reflection in the mirror was not himself, but… himself from another world.”

Before he could finish speaking, the manuscript suddenly burst into flames, and the phantom of the Mirror Demon emerged from the ashes—a human figure made up of countless pages, each page inscribed with a fragment of the "Records of Mountains and Rivers".

"Li Qiye, do you think you can escape by rewriting the story?" The Mirror Demon's voice mingled with the sound of paper rubbing together. "Your pen is my anchor. With every word you write, I become stronger."

The Star Ring suddenly trembled violently, and Li Qiye saw that the "Mirror World" behind the Mirror Demon was devouring reality: the ghosts of the Ghost Market took to the streets, the night watchman's soul-suppressing lamp turned into a white paper lantern, and the words "Listen to the Wind" on the signboard of Listening Wind Pavilion were turning into "Mirror Seal".

"The key to breaking the deadlock lies in the Primordial Mirror." Su Yueli's vines wrapped around the Mirror Demon's ankle. "Use the fragments to sever the narrative chain, and then use the Star Ring to connect the three worlds!"

Just then, the sound of bells from a golden imperial carriage suddenly came from outside Tingfeng Tower. Twelve bronze cranes carrying candles led the way, and the Primordial Mirror pattern embroidered on the bright yellow curtains gleamed coldly in the twilight—Empress Huaiqing's entourage had, for the first time ever, stopped in front of this bustling teahouse.

"Your Majesty has arrived——"

As the shrill voice pierced through the window paper, the Mirror Demon's pages suddenly trembled violently. Su Yueli's vines abruptly retracted into the mirror, and Zhao Ling subconsciously put the Demon-Suppressing Blade into his sleeve. Only Li Qiye noticed that the faint light of the Star Ring condensed into an arrow shape as the Empress's carriage passed by, pointing directly into the depths of the carriage.

Huaiqing, dressed in a black dragon-patterned casual robe, looked somewhat haggard on her unadorned face. Her fingertips traced the wooden couplets on the Listening Wind Pavilion, where the red lacquer had peeled away, revealing half a line of small characters: "The mirror shatters when people return, the mountains and rivers return to their former glory"—a soul-suppressing incantation that Li Qiye had personally carved five years ago, before he lost his memory.

"Mr. Li is indeed here." Her voice was as light as a feather, yet it made the air in the entire teahouse freeze. "I originally wanted to wait until you finished writing your new chapter before we reminisced, but I didn't expect... the wind from the mass grave still blew to Tingfeng Tower."

Li Qiye knelt on one knee, the star ring casting faint ripples on his knee. Only then did he realize that the double fish jade pendant hanging at Huaiqing's waist was actually the yin and yang of the pattern on Su Yueli's fragment—it was the "National Guardian Mirror Heart" specially made for the royal family by the Third Division back then.

"How did Your Majesty know I was here?" He looked up and caught a glimpse of pain in Huaiqing's eyes.

The Empress's fingertips brushed against the birthmark at the corner of his left eye, the movement extremely light, yet carrying an unforgettable familiarity: "Five years ago, you shielded me from the Mirror Demon's corrosive curse. This wound... should have been on my heart." She suddenly took out a roll of yellow silk from her sleeve (noma), stamped with the sealing wax seal of the Imperial Study. "Open it and take a look."

The moment the scroll was unfurled, Li Qiye's blood nearly froze. It was his long-lost order to become a night watchman, dated the very night the Primordial Mirror shattered, with Huaiqing's small handwriting prominently displayed in red ink: "Granted. I hope you will return soon."

"Didn't you say... the entire Third Division was devoured?" He turned to look at Zhao Ling, only to find the constable's expression equally shocked.

Chapter 290 Mirror Demon Mark

Huaiqing lightly tapped the yellow silk scroll with his fingertips, and the sealing wax seal suddenly emitted golden light, projecting a complete phantom image of the Primordial Mirror onto the ground.

Only then did Li Qiye notice that the reflection in the mirror was not of the crowd, but of the Third Watchman from five years ago—he was wearing the official robes of a deputy commander and was pressing a jade pendant in the shape of two fish into the center of the mirror.

"The Primordial Mirror was originally a national treasure, but its core is divided into two halves." Huaiqing's voice mingled with the hum of the mirror. "You hold the 'Mirror Soul' to protect the mortal realm, while I use the 'Mirror Core' to suppress the yin veins of the royal family."

Five years ago, when the Mirror Demon invaded, you infused a fragment of the Mirror Soul into my jade pendant, and then fell off a cliff with the broken mirror.

Suddenly, the Star Ring resonated with the jade pendant, and fragmented images flashed through Li Qiye's mind: the Primordial Mirror Palace on a rainy night, Huaiqing stuffing the blood-stained jade pendant into his hands, the Mirror Demon's tentacles piercing through her sleeves, leaving the same black pattern on her wrist as the corner of his left eye.

"Your Majesty's injury..." He subconsciously grasped Huaiqing's wrist, but touched something icy cold—it wasn't flesh and blood, but the smooth texture unique to a mirror.

Zhao Ling suddenly drew his sword, and the runes on the demon-suppressing sword revealed the shadow behind Huai Qing: the hem of her skirt was frayed like pages from a book, and the golden hair ornament in her hair was actually ink patterns formed from the tentacles of a mirror demon.

"You are not the real His Majesty!" Li Qiye took a half step back, and the Broken Chapter Blade automatically unsheathed. The blade reflected Huai Qing's gradually transparent human figure, and hidden beneath it were fragments of the "Records of Mountains and Rivers".

“Clever.” The false empress let out a piercing laugh, the jade pendant cracked open to reveal the core of the mirror demon. “Back then, you sealed me in the heart of the mirror, but you forgot that every empress of the royal family must wear the Pisces Jade Pendant—over the past hundred years, I have long been integrated with the dynasty’s destiny.”

The Mirror Demon's core erupted with intense light, and the locust trees in the mass grave suddenly snapped in unison, their trunks transforming into a giant cage of pages that trapped the three of them in the center. Su Yueli's vines pierced the mirror's surface, only to be shredded by the serrated edges of the pages.

"Did you see clearly, Li Qiye?" The Mirror Demon's phantom expanded outside the cage. "Every decree and legend of the Great Feng Dynasty is a narrative web woven by me. You think breaking the book world will grant you freedom? No, the entire dynasty itself is a giant storybook!"

Huaiqing's face was distorted by the power of the mirror demon, eventually turning into the gray-clad man's face that Li Qiye was familiar with—the guardian spirit he had created with the broken mirror.

"Back then, to prevent the Mirror Demon from possessing you, you sealed some of your memories into your guardian spirit," the gray-clad man said with a bitter smile. "But I was corrupted by the Mirror Demon and became his spy. Now... it's time to put an end to this."

He suddenly ripped open his clothes, revealing the Mirror Demon Mark on his chest, where half a fragment of the Primordial Mirror was embedded. The four characters "Zhenguo Jingxin" on the fragment were covered with blood ink.

Li Qiye gripped the broken chapter tightly, and the Soul-Suppressing Incantation he hadn't finished writing five years ago suddenly appeared on the blade. The Star Ring and the jade pendant fragments flew up simultaneously, piecing together the complete Primordial Mirror above the Mirror Demon's core.

"The Mirror Heart returns to its place, and all things become clear!" He swung his sword at the Mirror Demon Mark, the fragmented sword light intertwining with the golden light of the Star Ring, forming a sharp blade capable of severing narratives.

The Mirror Demon let out a shriek, and the cage of book pages began to crumble.

The gray-clad man's body transformed into specks of light and merged into the Primordial Mirror. Before his death, he handed Li Qiye a blood-stained silk handkerchief embroidered with the Soul-Suppressing Totem of the Third Division, with Huaiqing's small words in the corner: "The Mirror Heart is in the secret compartment of the Imperial Study. Do not believe the inscription on the stele."

The moment the cage shattered, Li Qiye saw that the real Tingfeng Tower was shrouded in black mist, and the people, holding burning copies of the "Records of Mountains and Rivers," with black mist seeping from the cracks between their brows, were marching in unison towards the palace.

Zhao Ling picked up the fragments of the Primordial Mirror left behind by the gray-clad man. The fragments reflected the scene in the Imperial Study: the real Empress Huaiqing lay on the dragon throne, the black lines on her wrists had spread to her heart, and she tightly held half of a double-fish jade pendant in her hand. Underneath the pendant was a yellowed scroll of "The Secret History of the Great Feng Dynasty", with the sealing wax stamp "Written by the First Priest" clearly printed on the cover.

Chapter 291 The Secret Compartment of the Imperial Study

“Go to the palace.” Li Qiye put the broken chapter knife into his sleeve, and the gears of the star ring began to rotate in reverse. “The Mirror Demon wants to use the royal bloodline to complete its final possession, and the secret of the first priest... may be hidden in the secret compartment of the imperial study.”

Su Yueli's vines suddenly pierced through the ground of the mass grave, bringing with them a piece of paper stained with ambergris. It was a fragment torn from the "Secret History of the Great Feng Dynasty," on which was written in mirror script: "When the mirror heart and mirror soul resonate, the writer will see the other side of the world—not nothingness, but a grander narrative."

Before the words were finished, the sound of bells from the direction of the imperial palace came from afar. After twelve loud rings, time seemed to stand still throughout the entire city of Dafeng.

Li Qiye looked down at the Star Ring and found that the patterns on the gears matched perfectly with the Huaiqing Jade Pendant and the fragments of the Primordial Mirror. When the three were pieced together, they formed a complete map of Dafeng City. The imperial palace in the center of the map was marked with the words "Narrative Core".

The mirror-like patterns on Huaiqing's fingertips suddenly spread to her neck. She staggered and steadied herself against the illusory image of the Primordial Mirror. The image reflected in her pupils was no longer Li Qiye, but rather herself from five years ago, wearing the mask of a night watchman. "The Mirror Demon has been nurtured for a hundred years using the royal Yin veins... My blood is the key to unlocking the core of the narrative." She coughed up black blood, and the Pisces Jade Pendant slipped from her neck, shattering into four pieces on the ground.

Li Qiye caught the falling empress and found her body as light as a sheet of paper—this body was indeed an illusion woven by the Mirror Demon using narrative.

The star ring burned in his palm, its gear-like patterns resonating with the jade pendant fragments, forming a temporary seal on Huaiqing's wrist. "Zhao Ling, take His Majesty back to Tingfeng Tower!" He tossed the broken-edged sword to the constable. "Use the demon-suppressing blade to carve a soul-suppressing incantation, delaying the Mirror Demon's invasion!"

Before he finished speaking, the roots of the locust tree in the mass grave suddenly burst out of the ground and wrapped around Huaiqing's ankle.

Li Qiye swung his sword to sever the vines, only to see golden-red sap seeping from the cut surface of the tree roots—it was the mournful cry of the remnant soul of the Primordial Mirror.

Su Yueli's voice came from the mirror: "Go to the secret compartment in the Imperial Study! The First Priest's Mirror Heart Notes... contain the way to break this deadlock!"

The armor of the palace guards gleamed with a dark, shimmering light. When Li Qiye climbed over the wall and touched their skin, it felt like touching still-wet ink—these guards were already puppets of the Mirror Demon.

The copper lock in the Imperial Study opened automatically, revealing a hidden compartment containing an ancient book with a cover covered in vines. The three characters "Mirror Heart Record" on the cover were written in mirror script, each stroke seemingly oozing blood.

0 ······Requesting flowers 0 ····

He had just turned the first page when the candlelight suddenly turned a ghostly blue, and the writing implements on the desk floated up. The wolf-hair brush wrote in the air: "The Mirror Demon is the narrator, and the narrator is the world itself." Before the ink was dry, it turned into black mist, gathering in the corner to form the afterimage of a gray-clad man.

...... .... 0

“This is the High Priest’s dying warning.” The afterimage raised his hand, revealing the same star-shaped tooth tire mark as Li Qiye. “Back then, he discovered that Dafeng City was a story written by a higher-dimensional being. He tried to sever the narrative chain with the Primordial Mirror, but was instead devoured by the Mirror Demon.”

The ancient book suddenly flipped its pages automatically, revealing a self-portrait of the first priest—the black flame birthmark at the corner of his left eye was identical to that of the Abyss King. Li Qiye felt a chill run down his spine, finally understanding why the Mirror Demon always said, "We were originally one."

Inside the Listening Wind Pavilion, Zhao Ling was inscribing incantations on Huai Qing's wrist with the Demon-Suppressing Blade. With each stroke, the lines of pages seeped from beneath the Empress's skin. "Her body is disintegrating!" The constable looked up, his gaze meeting the *Mirror Heart Record* in Li Qiye's hand. "What's written on it?"

Chapter 292 Was it all a setup?

“If the Mirror Demon is the narrator, then isn’t everything we’ve done just part of its story?” His voice was filled with suppressed anger, his gaze fixed on the fading words on the pages.

The afterimage emitted a piercing laugh, like fingernails scraping against a bronze mirror: "The fragments of the Primordial Mirror are merely props deliberately scattered by the Mirror Demon. You all think you're breaking the deadlock, but in reality, you're just pawns on the chessboard. The High Priest thought he'd found a way to sever the narrative chain of '940,' but in the end, he himself became nourishment for the story."

"Impossible!" Zhao Ling suddenly burst in from outside, the Demon-Suppressing Blade still dripping with Huaiqing's blood. "If everything is just the Mirror Demon's tale, then why does it need royal blood? Why nurture a hundred-year-old Yin vein?"

The afterimage swayed slightly, revealing a sinister smile: "Because the narrative needs a climax, sacrifices, and seemingly plausible plot twists. Empress Huaiqing's bloodline is merely a seasoning to make the story more exciting. When the Mirror Heart and Mirror Soul resonate, the so-called game-changer doesn't see the truth, but rather another story the Mirror Demon wants you to see."

Li Qiye suddenly slammed the *Mirror Heart Record* onto the table, causing the floating writing implements to fall to the ground. "Even if it's just a storybook," he said, "I'll tear it to shreds! It records the High Priest's final attempt; he left his own blood in the Mirror Heart Record as a backup plan." He turned the pages, revealing a half-broken bronze mirror tucked inside. The mirror's surface was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, yet it faintly gleamed with golden light.

Su Yueli's voice suddenly came from the bronze mirror, carrying an electric-like crackling sound: "Be careful! The Mirror Demon has noticed your movements, the Imperial Guard is gathering, and what's even more terrifying is..." Before she could finish speaking, dense mirror runes suddenly appeared on the surface of the bronze mirror, transforming into chains that bound Li Qiye's wrists.

"It's here!" The afterimage vanished abruptly, and the air in the entire imperial study froze instantly. Outside the window, imperial guards in dark armor surged in like a tide, their pupils swirling with patterns like pages of a book, the long swords in their hands gleaming with an eerie black light in the moonlight.

Huaiqing appeared at the doorway unnoticed. Her body was semi-transparent, fragments of the Pisces Jade Pendant floating around her, piecing together a distorted mirror array. "Li Qiye, don't waste your energy." Her voice was no longer the familiar coldness, but carried the double echo unique to mirror demons. "What do you think the High Priest's backup plan can change? He knew he would fail, which is why he left these clues for you to think you can turn the tables..."

Zhao Ling raised his sword to block Li Qiye, the Soul-Suppressing Incantation on the blade shining brightly: "Your Majesty! Wake up! The Mirror Demon is controlling you!"

"Your Majesty?" Huaiqing let out a shrill laugh. "Just a character in a story. From the moment I ascended the throne, my fate was written in the Mirror Demon's tale. And you, Li Qiye, you think you're the one who breaks the rules, but isn't the Star Ring you wear also a prop bestowed by the Mirror Demon?"

Li Qiye suddenly ripped off the Mirror Rune 0.4 chain wrapped around his wrist, and blood dripped from the wound: "Even if it's just a prop, I'll use it to pierce the heart of the Mirror Demon! The High Priest used his own life to set a trap, and we are the bait."

He raised the broken mirror, its reflection showing the densely packed Imperial Guards behind Huaiqing. Suddenly, a scene from elsewhere flashed before his eyes—a burning bamboo forest, and a mysterious figure in a bamboo hat forging the Primordial Mirror.

Chapter 293 Possessed

"Look!"

Su Yueli's voice rang out again, this time with surprise, "When the High Priest was forging the Primordial Mirror, he secretly incorporated his own soul into it."

The Mirror Demon thought it had devoured him, unaware that it harbored a time bomb within its body.

"If we can awaken the remnant soul of the Primordial Mirror, we can dismantle the Mirror Demon from within!"

The mirror array surrounding Huaiqing suddenly trembled violently, and she clutched her head in anguish: "No...it's impossible! I won't let you succeed!"

As she roared, the 07 Imperial Guards launched an attack simultaneously, their dark swords slicing through the air with a sharp, tearing sound.

Just as he was struggling to parry, a black iron chain suddenly tore through the air, wrapped around the neck of the front-ranking imperial guard, and violently yanked him backward!

"Seventh Brother, is dealing with paper dolls this difficult?" A hoarse voice, tinged with mockery, rang out as a one-eyed old man emerged from the shadows of the eaves. He wore a dark cloak befitting a night watchman, and the copper bells at his waist jingled with each step, causing faint, soul-suppressing runes to appear on the ground.

"Senior Zhong!" Zhao Ling's pupils constricted sharply. "Weren't you in seclusion at the Demon Suppression Division?"

The one-eyed old man, Zhong Yue, casually snapped the chains, tossing the Imperial Guard's corpse to the ground. The body instantly transformed into a stack of yellow paper covered in mirror script: "The Mirror Demon has caused such a commotion. If I continue my seclusion, I'll truly become a useless old fool." He glanced at the twin-fish jade pendant fragments floating around Huai Qing, a ghostly light flashing in his one eye. "The Empress is possessed by the Mirror Demon; it seems that beast will have to close the net sooner rather than later."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Qiye retreated to Zhong Yue's side, the Star Ring burning in his palm: "Senior, do you know the whereabouts of the remnant soul of the Primordial Mirror? The High Priest left a clue in the 'Mirror Heart Record,' and as long as the remnant soul is awakened, it can..."

"So you can turn the tables and kill the Mirror Demon?" Zhong Yue suddenly sneered, his one eye fixed on the corner of the imperial study, where a humanoid black mist had somehow materialized. "Young man, how could the Mirror Demon not know about the High Priest's contingency plan?"

A familiar laugh echoed from the black mist, and the grey-clad figure materialized once more, this time wielding a longbow woven from mirror patterns: "As expected of the Great Feng's number one night watchman. Back when you suppressed the Abyss Rift, I knew you'd be a problem."

"So it was you!" Zhong Yue's pupils contracted sharply, and the copper bell at his waist trembled violently. "The masked man who stole the 'Mirror Codex' from the Demon Suppression Division twenty years ago!"

A blur of motion appeared as he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, the arrowhead gleaming with a chilling aura: "Good memory. Back then, the High Priest hid his soul in the Primordial Mirror, and I seized a wisp of his remnant soul when the Mirror Demon devoured him." He raised his hand to aim at Huaiqing, but the arrow suddenly turned towards Li Qiye. "Too bad, in the Mirror Demon's tales, you all must die."

At the critical moment, a crimson sword light shot in from outside the window, precisely severing the arrow! Su Yueli, stepping on vines, burst through the window, her glass sword reflecting countless afterimages of herself: "Want to kill him? You'll have to get past me first!"

"A flower demon?" The afterimage sneered, and the Mirror-Patterned Longbow instantly transformed into a giant python, lunging at Su Yueli. "You think you can change anything with your meager strength?"

Zhong Yue suddenly swung out a black iron chain that bound the giant python, his single eye bursting with dazzling golden light: "Mirror Demon's minions, cease your insolence! Zhao Ling, take the Empress to the ruins of the Primordial Mirror! A barrier set up by the High Priest remains there; perhaps it can suppress the Mirror Demon's corruption!"

Zhao Ling nodded, slashing his sword through the surging imperial guards, only to see Huai Qing's mirror array blaze with light, the fragments of the Pisces jade pendant beginning to reassemble in reverse: "Trying to leave? Too late!"