I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 103 The Man in the Mirror

Bookshelves, recliners, windows, doors.

The bookshelves were lined with rows of books, and a person was lying on a recliner.

Light shone through the window, falling on the bookshelf and onto a person, revealing him dressed in all black—a long black robe, a black round hat covering his face, and a book he held open to his chest.

His hair was black and white, all combed back.

Looking out through the window light, I could vaguely see a woman sitting under the lamp removing her makeup. She was dressed fashionably and looked like she had just come back from outside.

The light was from the lamp in front of her dressing mirror, shining on her and the mirror, and reflecting into the room, creating a scene like natural light shining through a window.

In the mirror world, he is He Hong, a deacon of the Suspended Mirror Research Institute.

If the light in this window goes out, he will naturally open another window.

He had been wanted since he acted in that temple five years ago, but since he could walk and stay in the mirror world, he didn't take the warrant to heart.

In his view, being able to walk in a mirror means that he can find a place to live anywhere in the world, unless there are no more mirrors in the world.

However, he later realized that he had underestimated Haishi. One of the seven committee members of Haishi actually came to find him in person, which surprised him. He also discovered that there were people who were no less capable than the Suspended Mirror Research Institute in their research on the mirror world.

He might even have studied some areas more deeply than the institute, so he became more cautious in his actions, often staying overnight in the mirror, and even when he appeared outside, it was only for a short time.

On several occasions, he felt that as soon as he left a place, someone found him there, but the mirror he left behind could not reflect that person's image. However, he knew that as soon as that person arrived there, his image in the mirror was erased.

He could understand that, but there was one thing he couldn't understand: how did the other party find him?

Recently, he used a mirror to reflect on his inner state and sense danger. He did not see any danger, but he always had a vague sense of insecurity.

This insecurity made him hesitant to act rashly, yet he couldn't find any glimmer of inspiration.

He was reading a book, the Daoist classic "Laozi's Classic of Constant Purity and Tranquility." He was increasingly finding that the research and development of modern professions often neglected the cultivation of one's mind. Because the cultivation of one's mind cannot bring about intuitive abilities, it is often overlooked. And when people want to pay attention to it, it is often because their mindset has become problematic.

At that time, it would be necessary to find some Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist classics to read and study.

He didn't know if there was something wrong with his mind, but he still kept reading lately.

In his youth, he yearned for all sorts of mysterious abilities. Later, he gradually realized that the mind that controls these abilities is very important. If you can't control them, those abilities will become a mountain on your back, eventually crushing you.

Everyone knows the principle, but when the time comes, it's too late.

He Hong did not feel that he could not recite it, because he had read various classics and often recited the "Laozi's Classic of Purity and Tranquility" when he was young. However, his recitation was in stages.

I only read it when I'm in a bad mood.

"Thump! Thump thump!"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

He Hong's expression changed, and he immediately sat up.

This wasn't the mortal world, nor was it a room in a city; it was inside a mirror. He had occupied a mirror spirit's dwelling, and yet someone was knocking on the door. This surprised him greatly, and the vague sense of danger he had felt before suddenly became incredibly clear.

Who could possibly knock on the door of my room in the mirror world?
Unbeknownst to him, after sitting up, he stood up again, gently put down the book in his hand, and then tried to leave through the window, which led to the exit of a spirit realm.

However, at that moment, the mirror outside the window seemed to suddenly raise its hand, and the light on the window instantly disappeared.

He Hong knew that the light from the mirror's exit was only dimmer, not gone. But now it was completely gone, which meant the mirror had been defiled by someone outside. The most common way to defile a mirror was to splash ink on it, so the person in the mirror would have no way to get out from there.

He immediately wanted to open another aperture.

The door had already been pushed open, and he immediately turned around to see a woman standing there, radiating a faint light.

The woman looked to be in her thirties or forties, with a long, ruddy face, curly hair, and a dark red cheongsam. The moment He Hong saw her, he noticed that a box in her hand had been opened, and the box shone with a brilliant light.

He Hong flipped his hand, and a mirror appeared in his hand as well. The mirror light was just as bright, but the light in his hand was quickly extinguished under the suppression of the other person's mirror light.

The moment the light in his hand went out, the light from the other side enveloped him. His body shrank rapidly within the light, like a fly being sucked into the other's mirror box.

The mirror shine disappeared when the lid was closed.

The middle-aged woman turned and walked into the darkness, step by step. She reached out and made a pulling motion in the darkness, as if a door had been opened and a ray of light shone through. She stepped out of the door, and the door closed naturally.

In an outside room.

A woman in a cheongsam sat there. In front of her, a mirror was splattered with ink, and the light shining on it could not reflect anything.

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman appeared in a full-length mirror next to her. The woman glanced outside, reached out as if opening an invisible door, and then stepped out of the mirror.

At that moment, the woman in the cheongsam saw the woman in the mirror, and her face changed rapidly, instantly becoming the same as the woman in the mirror, and then she walked towards her.

A light shone overhead, illuminating them. The woman in the cheongsam glowed and quickly became ethereal, disappearing as she approached the woman in front of her.

The middle-aged woman opened the door to the room once more, and a beam of light entered and enveloped her. She then went outside.

In the city, the revolving doors of a large shopping mall on a street are bathed in sunlight, creating a play of light and shadow as people come and go.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the glass door of a revolving door. It was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark red cheongsam and a black and red plaid shawl. She walked out of the revolving door naturally, and no one noticed that she came out from the mirror on the door.

Sunlight shone on her, revealing a rouge box in her hand and high heels on her feet. She walked to a convenience store and said, "I'll take a bag of Peony perfume."

"Good Le!"

She took it, tore it open, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag as if she hadn't smoked in a long time, tilted her head back slightly, squinted at the sun in the sky, and slowly exhaled.

At this moment, she exuded an incredibly languid and alluring charm.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, he walked step by step to the side of the street, hailed a rickshaw, got on, and the rickshaw sped off towards the end of the street.

(End of this chapter)