Chapter 455 - 234: Darkness Disaster Prevention Bureau

Chapter 455: Chapter 234: Darkness Disaster Prevention Bureau

The Red King’s smirking face appeared in the mirror.

The Red King’s laughter came from outside the door.

Feng Bei glanced from the mirror to the door, dumbfounded.

The next second, the "Red King" on the mirror’s surface glowed with a faint red light. An illusory radiance coalesced above the mirror, reconstructing a strikingly lifelike face.

"Hello, hello, hello? Can you hear me?"

The voice came from outside first.

Then, the "face" in the mirror spoke, a beat behind.

Zheng Xiu stood outside the door. After he spoke, he heard the voice echo back from inside.

There was a slight difference between the two.

"There’s a bit of ’lag’."

The "image" stroked its chin in frustration, muttering to itself, ’To have gotten this far is already pretty good.’

Feng Bei held the mirror, while Little Feng Miao perched on her head, eyes wide, watching the miraculous scene. After a moment, Feng Bei, awestruck by Zheng Xiu’s Magic, asked the image, "How did you do this?"

"It’s nothing," Zheng Xiu’s image chuckled. "Don’t forget who I am in the World in the Painting."

Hearing this, a flicker of sorrow, hidden beneath nostalgia, entered Feng Bei’s calm eyes.

Zheng Xiu said, "Gongsun Mo used his Ability to create a ’world’ indistinguishable from reality. I’ve just used a little trick to draw a ’Portrait of the Human Soul’ in the mirror."

"Portrait of the Human Soul?"

The term was entirely new to Feng Bei.

The Zheng Xiu on the mirror’s surface nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It’s hard to explain exactly how I did it. After all, you aren’t a ’Painter.’ It’s one of those minor Skills that’s hard to grasp if you’re not on the Path. But to put it simply, I personally experienced the century Gongsun Mo spent creating the ’Cannibal Painting.’ I’ve gone down a Deep Path and come to understand something."

Zheng Xiu paused, then continued, "Gongsun Mo didn’t paint ’them’ in a literal sense. He painted ’longing’ into the canvas."

"Longing?"

Feng Bei mulled over the word.

"Yes, longing. Someone once told me that longing is a ’power’ of unimaginable strength. It can even create a complete ’Human’ from scratch. I’ve only written a part of my ’impression’ of myself, just enough to synchronously transmit my thoughts. That’s all."

After a moment, Feng Bei realized what Zheng Xiu was planning. She asked in surprise, "Are you planning to use this mirror to replace Zhu’s Ravens?"

"As expected of our Madam, so sharp-witted."

Since it was just an "image" in the mirror, Zheng Xiu shamelessly paid her the compliment. Feng Bei blushed slightly, then suppressed a smile and put on a stern face. "Stop your sweet-talking. But if you want to give everyone a ’mirror,’ won’t you have to bleed a lot?"

’I’ve already coughed up a huge mouthful,’ Zheng Xiu griped internally. He had already "tampered" with this batch of mirrors last night, but not wanting to worry Feng Bei, he shook his head. "No need. Just put a drop of your blood on the mirror."

Feng Bei obediently bit her finger and squeezed out a drop.

The blood spread across the mirror’s surface and was absorbed in the blink of an eye.

Feng Bei immediately felt a faint, almost imperceptible connection to the Phoenix Head Mirror.

"My ’longing’ is the rule, and your blood is the ’medium.’ As for the Restriction... hehe, only after truly trying to tinker with a ’Portrait of the Human Soul’ did I understand how terrifying Mystics are. In the Miracle Technique reaction chain of ’rule, medium, Restriction,’ a Deceitful Object is like a catalyst that ’breaks the rules.’ It can amplify the reaction chain and ignore many of the rules and Restrictions. So, when it comes to binding it to each person, I don’t need everyone to achieve a state of ’longing.’ I just need to look at their faces and paint them into the mirror."

As a [Prisoner], Zheng Xiu didn’t quite get it, but as a [Painter] Deceitful Object, he had genuinely spent a hundred years under Gongsun Mo’s "guidance" to create a Cannibal Painting. He painted all the facets of human life, a century of time, joy and sorrow, and through it, opened a Passage to the Darkness.

In the end, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible for the current Zheng Xiu to recreate that "Cannibal Painting".

Feng Bei nodded at his words. Thinking of her own hands, she knew exactly what he meant.

It was just that unreasonable.

Mystics, after all.

Just then, Little Feng Miao, who had been staring at the two of them chatting remotely, suddenly reached out a furry paw and swatted the "image." Perhaps it was out of amusement, or perhaps jealousy.

The image shattered.

Alarmed and furious, Zheng Xiu burst through the door. ’Fuck... the Orange Cat really did smash it.’ The image dissolved into motes of light that scattered around the room.

Having accomplished this trivial little task, the Orange Cat’s whiskers twitched, the corners of its mouth turned up, and it leaped smugly out the window.

"MEOW!"

[Trash.]

Feng Bei knew Zheng Xiu could understand the Orange Cat, so she asked curiously, "What did Little Feng Miao say?"

"...It said the drawing is wonderful."

"I see."

Feng Bei nodded, believing him.

’I’ll get you back for this one day.’

Finally, Feng Bei took the mirror engraved with the Phoenix pattern and tucked it away close to her body, treating it like a precious treasure.

This was a gift from Zheng Xiu’s own hands—the first real small gift she had received from him after ten years of married life in the real world.

"This mirror, does it have a name?"

"Uh... a ’hand-held’?"

"A ’hand... hen’?"

Feng Bei narrowed her eyes. She thought of the Phoenix pattern on the back, and her long hair began to float as "Ding Wei" started to turn.

"Just kidding." Zheng Xiu’s eyes darted about. After a moment’s thought, he smiled and said:

"Since that guy calls his crows ’Ravens,’ I can’t lose to him on this front. My name has to be more impressive than his."

"Let’s call it... the Eternal World Painting."

After settling on an "impressive name" for the mirror, Zheng Xiu quickly bid Feng Bei farewell and returned to the main courtyard.

He secretly tucked a mirror into the Orange Cat’s emperor-style nest.