I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 83 The Mirror Spirit Maze
Not far away, the dim yellow streetlights cast patches of light on the ground.

In the dappled light, a tabby cat sat there, looking serious, staring at the light in the guardhouse, and more importantly, at the shadow cast on the glass window by the light.

However, at this moment, the cat spoke in human language, saying, "Where did this person come from? They're courting death."

"I don't know," said the crow in the tree.

“Running around all night instead of sleeping, there must be something wrong with their brain,” the tabby cat said, then immediately added, “I wasn’t talking about us.”

The crow on the branch ignored the cat and simply said, "This person has something on him!"

"what?"

"Cat-like!" said the bird in the tree.

"What's wrong with your cat nature?" The cat on the ground was unhappy, its eyes wide open.

"Boring," the bird in the tree said indifferently.

Seeing that the birds in the tree hadn't noticed it, the tabby cat suddenly went into hunting mode and slithered towards the base of the tree. It scrambled up the tree and could hear the crows on the branches saying, "The committee didn't clear out this guardhouse because they wanted him to guard this Suspended Mirror Research Institute. Others also pity him. Over the years, anyone who has wandered in here by mistake has been persuaded to go back, and he never comes out."

"Only those who don't listen to advice will be invited into that room. If they have evil intentions, they won't be able to get out," the crow said to itself.

The tabby cat had already reached the tree. Suddenly, it leaped up and pounced on the crow from two or three meters away. The crow stomped on a branch and took flight.

At that moment, through the window, one could see that the person who had gone inside suddenly stood up. With a flick of his right hand, the reflection of his finger swept across the two figures looking down at them, which were reflected in the window.

His right hand, fingers pointed like a sword, swept across the two strange shadows on the window. The two shadows silently dispersed, then dissipated instantly, as if a water balloon had been punctured.

Immediately afterwards, the old man inside stood up again, and the young man opposite him pointed his sword and withdrew it.

He glanced outside and saw a cat leap up from under the leaves and pounce on the crow in mid-air.

The crow seemed to know what the tabby cat was going to do all along, but it pretended not to see it until the tabby cat leaped up. Only then did the crow take flight. However, the moment the crow took flight, it suddenly turned around. Seeing that it had missed its target, the tabby cat emitted a cloud of white smoke and flashed to another location.

But the crow seemed to have a premonition, changing its position repeatedly in the air, while the tabby cat's claws waved continuously, only managing to grab a single black feather before it drifted down. A gust of wind blew, and the black feather rose again, landing back on the cat's body like black snow, blending seamlessly with its own feathers.

It looked at the house again, but found that the lights inside had gone out.

The crow was stunned. It let out a cry, then flew up and approached the guardhouse. It looked through the window but couldn't see anything; the room was filled with smoke.

Where are the people inside?
The tabby cat leaped onto the windowsill and looked inside. Its cat eyes only saw mist and a chilling coldness coming through the window.

"What about people?"

"do not know."

The tabby cat suddenly crashed into the window, and a cloud of white smoke erupted from its body. When it reappeared, it was already inside the guardhouse.

Its eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and the cold mist could no longer obscure them. It saw several plates on the table, each containing something like rats, snakes, insects, earthworms, and toads.

Some of these things are fresh, and some are dried.

The old man in the gatekeeper's uniform was lying under the table. His face was bluish-black, his skin was dry, and a pair of sharp teeth were sticking out of his mouth. His thick coat was overturned to the side, and the pockets looked like they had been searched.

The tabby cat panicked a little. It leaped up again, crashed into the glass, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The crows outside saw a cat pounce through the glass and immediately asked, "How's it going inside?"

"died."

"Who died?"

"Grandpa Corpse, and the gloomy mist permeating the house is also the yin energy left by the death of a ghost."

"Where is that person?" the crow asked anxiously.

"I don't know," the tabby cat said.

"It's all your fault! That person must have gone in," the crow said angrily.

"You were the one who said that first! If you hadn't called me a bored cat, I wouldn't have bitten you," the tabby cat said indignantly. It couldn't bear the responsibility itself, and the way to avoid taking responsibility was to retaliate.

"What should we do now?" asked the crow.

"Let it be, he asked for it anyway, he can't blame anyone else," the tabby cat said angrily.

The crow didn't say anything more, and it was indeed true. This Suspended Mirror Research Institute had become a dangerous place, which was known in the extraordinary world of Hai City. The reason it was left standing, besides some well-known reasons, was that it could also serve as a point of access to other spirit mirrors. It would be a great pity to destroy it.

Professionals prefer to be left alone, or rather, the less they are managed, the better. In that case, they need to take responsibility for their own lives.

Pei Ju has already joined the Suspended Mirror Research Institute.

He entered through a window on the third floor. Luckily, there were no security bars on the windows; otherwise, it would have been difficult to prevent people like him from climbing over the wall and breaking into homes.

Upon entering, a faint smell of dust filled the air, the smell of someone who hadn't lived there for a long time.

This is a small room, a small office.

There was a table, a sofa, and a coffee table with tea sets on it. Pei Ju walked over and opened the teapot, which still contained dried tea leaves.

Pei Ju wasn't a criminal investigator; all he knew was that there were people there at the time, and then they left.

He found nothing of paper, so he went outside, opened the door, and there he was, inside the building.

This room still receives light from the streetlights outside, but it gets very dark once you go inside.

As soon as I stepped outside, there was a sign standing there in front of me. The sign was glowing in the dark and could be seen very clearly.

"This place has been transformed into a mirror spirit maze by Mr. Jing of the Suspended Mirror Research Institute. It can bewitch and bewitch the mind. If you want to enter it, please be careful. It is best to write your will in the room behind you."

The words on this sign are written very simply.

Pei Ju glanced around before heading in one direction. The path was clearly circular, and the walls were inlaid with mirrors. He reached out and touched one of the mirrors; it was cold and seemed as if water was seeping out of it.

After walking only a few steps, I looked back and could no longer see the sign behind me because the path was circular, obstructing my view.

Looking into the darkness ahead, his heart suddenly pounded, so he slowly backed away.

His sword mind was clear, and he sensed danger inside, so he didn't want to go any further. But after taking only a few steps back, he suddenly saw that a door was open to the side. Looking into the room from the outside, he could see that there was also an open window, and the light from a street lamp was shining in from outside.

He had retreated to his starting position, and the thought of going back in arose in his mind.

Looking back, all he could see was darkness. He couldn't find the small room he had come into at all. Everything indicated that this was the small room he had entered.

But Pei Ju's eyes narrowed, his gaze sharpened, and suddenly he pointed his fingers like a sword and swung them across the room, just like one of the swords he had wielded for more than three years in the cave in Xijiang.

In the darkness, there are always terrifying beings that make people's hearts pound. They are invisible and intangible, and occasionally there are strange noises that can make people feel uneasy and fearful, and they may even cause hallucinations.

He once saw Senior Sister Yu emerge from the depths of darkness, a mysterious smile on her face that filled him with uncontrollable fear.

When he sees and feels everything that seems strange to him, he only needs to do one thing: swing his sword.

The Demon-Slaying Sword-Drawing Style.

He used his left hand as a scabbard and his right hand as a sword finger, turned sideways, closed his eyes, drew the sword, swung it, opened his eyes, and shouted at the same time: "Kill!"

The small room with the door open in front of him suddenly swayed like a reflection in water after he directed his sword. Because it had been shattered by his hand, the light from the street lamp that had been shining through the window began to dissipate, and he could see clearly that it was a mirrored wall.

A light suddenly appeared in the mirror, as if someone had lit a lamp there.

A person was sitting in the shadows under the lamp, looking this way.

As Pei Ju looked over, the person under the lamp seemed to be guided and pulled closer, becoming clearer and clearer.

Pei Ju did not retreat. He was not frightened because he knew very well that if a person was frightened by a monster, his spirit would weaken. Once his mental will weakened, the monster would take the opportunity to seize him, or rather, his strength would be greatly reduced.

In particular, Pei Ju's Ghost-Slaying Sword Technique places great importance on willpower and mental fortitude.

Gradually, Pei Ju could see the scene in the mirror more clearly. It was a room, and in the room was a woman dressed in red. She was sitting at a low table, seemingly eating something, because there was a bowl of something on the table. He saw the person in the mirror pick up the lamp on the table and walk towards him step by step. The closer she got, the larger her face became.

It was as if she leaned down and moved closer to the mirror.

Pei Ju narrowed her eyes because she saw that the woman had her hair down, but was wearing a wedding dress, and her lips were covered in a bright red stain, as if stained with blood.

When she saw Pei Ju clearly, her crimson lips parted, revealing her bleeding teeth.

"Husband, why don't you come in? Come in, Rou Rou will treat you to her sweetheart."

The voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, drilling into his heart, and also seemed to be forming some kind of invisible reins, trying to bind Pei Ju.

The mirror began to ripple again, and in Pei Ju's eyes, it became a door once more. However, the room inside this door had transformed into a bridal chamber filled with red candles, where a woman sat at a table, secretly lifting a corner of her veil to look at him.

"Husband, come in."

"Today is my wedding day, why are you just standing at the door and not coming in?"

"Would I eat you?"

"Don't be afraid."

Pei Ju saw her swallow, and then he saw the blood at the corner of her mouth.

Even though everything was so terrifying and horrifying, his feet still wanted to go inside.

Pei Ju closed his eyes, but the woman's figure did not disappear because he closed his eyes; instead, it seemed to appear even more clearly in his mind.

However, Pei Ju was also waiting for this moment.

The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique.

The Demon-Slaying Sword-Drawing Style: A sword rises from the sea of ​​the heart, slaying both external demons and inner demons.

He closed his eyes, flicked his sword finger, and in the darkness, his sword finger seemed to have a faint light slicing across the side wall, instantly extinguishing the light on the mirrored surface of that wall.

Pei Ju opened his eyes again. Not far behind him, there was a sign that was glowing with light, pointing to a room.

Pei Ju arrived there and carefully looked at what was written on it: "...Mirror Spirit Maze, capable of bewitching and captivating the mind..."

"As expected, that's the case."

He looked at the small room he had entered, and the feeling of disorientation disappeared. He stepped inside, squeezed through the window, and leaped down in the direction indicated. Like a wild goose spreading its wings, he glided down, and after several steps, he landed on top of the street lamp, as if stepping on something in the air.

The crow and the tabby cat were already quite surprised to see him come out of the window, which was actually reserved for people who wanted to go in.

Some things, warnings are warnings, but since this place has been left open, it can't be completely blocked. So that window is for people who haven't obtained the necessary permits to enter.

At this moment, the crow and the tabby cat watched as Pei Ju landed on the street lamp. Because the street lamp was under his feet, the light radiated from his feet, making him appear dark on top, and people below could not see him clearly when they looked up.

"Who are you?" the crow asked.

It was a boy's voice, with a hint of questioning.

"And who are you?" Pei Ju asked in return.

"We're trainee night patrolmen, are you alright?" The crow flew up and circled above Pei Ju's head.

"It's nothing," Pei Ju replied.

"You didn't encounter any Mirror Spirits? I heard that there's a monster every three steps and a ghost every seven steps in there, and everyone who goes in gets targeted. Didn't you encounter any?"

“We ran into each other,” Pei Ju said calmly.

"Then how come you can still come out?" the crow asked again.

The tabby cat below also wanted to speak, but they were all so tall that it couldn't speak.

Pei Ju didn't want to answer such a silly, distrustful question from a child, so he asked instead, "Do you know where Mr. Jing went?"

"I know, I know," the tabby cat below suddenly shouted. It was a girl's voice.

"Where?" Pei Ju asked, looking down.

"It's in the mirror!" the tabby cat exclaimed.

(End of this chapter)