This time, Le Gui reacted quickly. “Wait… death? Your body? You used to be human?”

“Yeah.” The ghost girl didn’t deny it.

Le Gui was stunned. “Then how did you become a mirror?”

“My master put me inside the Seer Mirror. Over time, I gradually fused with it and became its spirit.”

The ghost girl spoke about her past with a calm expression. But she still remembered the first time she met Di Jiang. He had been dressed in red, exuding an air of bloodthirsty authority, looking at her as though she were an interesting new toy.

“Oh, a little ghost with a particularly strong resentment,” he had commented in his usual indifferent tone before stuffing her into the mirror and taking her away.

Watching the ghost girl lost in thought, Le Gui secretly reached out a hand. She had expected her fingers to pass right through the girl’s body, but the next second, her fingertip actually touched the edge of the blood hole.

Le Gui shivered from the icy chill and looked up, meeting the ghost girl’s empty sockets.

“You… have a physical form?” Le Gui was astonished.

The ghost girl scoffed. “What, you think I’ve been around for all these years for nothing?”

Le Gui: “…”

[Alright, I underestimated you.]

The room fell into a brief silence again. Le Gui hesitated about whether to ask how she had died, but the ghost girl suddenly spoke first. “The people I’m looking for are my parents.”

“Your parents?” Le Gui was surprised.

“Do you have parents?” the ghost girl asked.

“Of course I do. I didn’t just pop out of a rock,” Le Gui replied, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought of her parents. “But I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“How long?” the ghost girl asked.

“At least five or six months.”

“Oh,” the ghost girl responded flatly. “I haven’t seen mine in five or six thousand years.”

Le Gui: “…My bad.”

Thanks to the ghost girl’s habit of killing the mood, they once again fell into an awkward silence.

After a long pause, Le Gui cleared her throat. “So… you’ve been searching for them all these years?”

“Yes,” the ghost girl admitted.

Le Gui looked at her frail figure and suddenly thought of the children in the real world who had been kidnapped and abused. Many of them were around the ghost girl’s age. A deep sorrow filled her heart.

“Have you ever considered that after all these years, people grow old, get sick, and die? It is just a natural part of life. Have you thought about the possibility that you might never find them?”

“They won’t,” the little ghost girl cut her off without hesitation, knowing exactly what Le Gui was implying.

Le Gui thought to herself, “It has been several thousand years. How can you be so sure?” But then she reminded herself that this was a fantasy world. Judging by the situation, her parents were probably cultivators too, so living for five or six thousand years might not be unusual.

“Well, now you do not have to worry. You will be seeing them soon,” Le Gui patted the little ghost girl’s arm reassuringly.

The little ghost girl was silent for a moment before revealing a genuine smile. Even though her smile made her look even more terrifying, Le Gui could tell that she was truly happy.

Le Gui was happy for her as well. After chatting for a while longer, the little ghost girl returned to the Seer Mirror, intending to sleep.

“Wait a moment,” Le Gui suddenly remembered something. “I recall you mentioning during the competition that His Lordship’s cultivation was damaged. What did you mean by that?”

“What else could it mean? Exactly what it sounds like,” the mirror replied impatiently, as if their friendly conversation had officially ended.

Le Gui frowned. “What do you mean by ‘exactly what it sounds like’? Explain it to me. He seems perfectly fine to me.”

“Go ask him yourself,” the mirror responded, pretending to be lifeless.

Le Gui was exasperated. “If I dared to ask him, would I be asking you?!”

The mirror remained silent.

“Fine, then at least tell me why he wants me to participate in the Trial Tournament!”

Still no response.

“Alright, if you won’t answer that either, then at least tell me your name,” Le Gui demanded.

The mirror hesitated for a moment before finally answering, “…Ah Hua.”

“What?” Le Gui was caught off guard.

“Ah Hua! Ah Hua! Ah Hua!” The mirror sounded irritated. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“No,” Le Gui looked up at the ceiling.

After a long pause, she poked the mirror lightly. “What were your parents thinking when they named you that?”

“…So you also think it sounds bad?” Instead of getting angry at the question, the mirror seemed oddly resigned.

Le Gui was surprised. “Also?”

The little ghost girl’s figure emerged faintly in the mirror, silently staring at her.

“…Even if it sounds bad, it is still a name given with love,” Le Gui complimented against her better judgment.

The mirror went completely silent. Not just for today, but for the next two days as well.

Le Gui visited the old man again to confirm that the couple would not arrive at Miaomang Mountain before the third trial. Once she had her answer, she did not bother going back. Every time she stepped outside, the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect would scold her, so she decided to stay in her room. She was so bored that she suddenly had the urge to capture a few Youning and make them sing for her, or perhaps find a theater troupe to put on a play.

Realizing that these thoughts were getting out of control, she was startled—this was exactly the kind of behavior that lunatic Di Jiang would have!

The night before the trial, Le Gui tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Eventually, she could not resist disturbing the mirror, which had been silent for days.

At first, the mirror ignored her. But after she repeatedly chanted, “Ah Hua, Ah Hua, Ah Hua,” like a demonic whisper, the mirror finally snapped. “What do you want?!”

“What else? I just want to confirm again—tomorrow, you will do everything in your power to help me take first place, right?” Le Gui asked.

“Yes!” the mirror responded impatiently.

“You sound so sure,” Le Gui was skeptical. “But the competitors are all elite disciples from various sects. Some of them are even close to breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. You are just a mirror. Can you really defeat them all?”

“I may have only been the spirit of the Seer Mirror for five thousand years, but the mirror itself has existed for over ten thousand years. It is one of the few ancient divine artifacts in the Three Realms,” the mirror stated flatly.

Le Gui was unimpressed. “So what? You cannot even beat me.”

“…That is because I do not bother to compete with you! Do you really think I have been idling away for all these years?” The mirror was so frustrated that it repeated the same words it had used days ago. “I have made countless deals and absorbed an immense amount of spiritual energy. And with the cultivation that my master recently bestowed upon me under the peach blossom tree, do you really think I cannot handle a group of late-stage Golden Core cultivators?”

Le Gui finally understood. “That does make sense. Alright, I will leave it to you.”

“Go to sleep!” The mirror threw out those final words before turning back into an ordinary reflection.

Le Gui had no choice but to crawl back into bed. As she lay there, still restless, she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of cold, indifferent eyes in the darkness. Her heart nearly stopped, and when she finally regained her senses, her limbs felt weak.

“Your Lordship… why are you here all of a sudden?” She clutched her chest and sat up.

Di Jiang sat casually on her bed, sweeping his long sleeves aside. “Did you do something bad?”

“I—I did not!” Le Gui lowered her head and helped him straighten his sleeves. “You startled me, that is all. Your Lordship, why have you come at this hour?”

“It is nothing serious. I am just here to transfer some spiritual energy to you, so you do not embarrass yourself too much tomorrow,” Di Jiang said while watching her hands fold his sleeves.

When she finished one sleeve, he held out the other. Le Gui found it amusing and glanced at him. “There is no need. Ah Hua will help me.”

“Ah Hua?” Di Jiang raised an eyebrow.

Le Gui met his gaze and realized he might not know the mirror’s real name. She quickly corrected herself. “I mean the mirror. She promised to help me win first place.”

Di Jiang glanced at the mirror on the table with a half-smile. “That is certainly unexpected.”

The mirror pretended to be lifeless.

“We are good friends now, so she is willing to help me,” Le Gui explained, feeling a little awkward about the situation.

Di Jiang looked up at her.

Under his gaze, Le Gui felt a little guilty. She grinned and scooted closer. “Your Lordship, after I win tomorrow, I will officially become your queen.”

“Mm.” Di Jiang responded absentmindedly, showing no sign of breaking their agreement.

Le Gui blinked. “Since I will not need your help tomorrow, shouldn’t you give me a reward in advance?”

Di Jiang glanced at her, then reluctantly cupped her chin and kissed her. “Is that enough?”

Le Gui: “…”

[All I wanted was to ask for a few sets of enchanted robes that are impervious to weapons and self-cleaning. Why did he kiss me instead?!]

Di Jiang: “…”