The Mirror

Chapter 19: Mirror

"That much of a contradiction?"

Wen Li's words sparked a sliver of interest in Fu Qian.

Her appearance, her demeanor, her speech.

From any angle, she was the picture of a refined young lady from a prominent family.

It was hard to imagine her saying something like slapping someone.

Heh!

Wen Li gave a weak smile and sighed.

"It's not really a direct contradiction, but he has caused me quite a bit of trouble, and he's also quite unlikeable."

Trouble?

Fu Qian recalled the vast array of books he had read.

"An arranged marriage?"

"Mr. Fu, you're truly clever, you guessed it right away."

Wen Li glanced at Fu Qian with surprise, a look of admiration on her face.

Anyone else might have puffed up with pride if praised like this by a beautiful woman.

Unfortunately, Fu Qian was completely unmoved.

Having dealt with Young Master Qin for so many years, he knew very well that for these second-generation rich kids, a commercialized expression was practically a natural talent; the sincerity of their surprise or flattery was questionable.

"Yes, I know many people envy my background, but being born into such a family, I truly have no control over many things. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe. Can you understand, Mr. Fu?"

"I can imagine."

Fu Qian nodded.

"But I usually attribute that feeling to having too much free time."

Wen Li's face froze.

"You were born into a wealthy family, not a divine one. Do you expect to have no troubles at all? Think of the bright side: at least you don't have to sell large amounts of time, energy, or even your body, working yourself to death just for a meal."

"You can even eat your fill and then occasionally pretend to be profound."

Uh...

Wen Li remained silent for a long time before speaking.

"Mr. Fu, you truly see through things. Your carefree and calm demeanor is enviable."

"No need to envy. Carefreeness stems from strength."

"Indeed, I survived today entirely thanks to you. This is the first time I've seen someone who can fight Mr. Ji without being at a disadvantage."

"Oh?"

Fu Qian's interest was piqued.

"What Order is that Mr. Ji?"

"This... shouldn't you know better than I do?"

Wen Li looked puzzled.

"From what I understand, Mr. Ji was already a Sixth Order Transcendent five years ago, and his strength is now unfathomable."

That middle-aged man surnamed Ji was already Sixth Order?

Fu Qian frowned.

After a few encounters, he was confident that Old Ji was no match for him. By that logic, wasn't he at least a Sixth Order Transcendent himself?

The thugs are terrifyingly strong!

After his sigh, Fu Qian turned to look at Wen Li.

"Speaking of which, this makes me want to ask, you're a Transcendent too, aren't you? And according to outside rumors, you're on the verge of Sixth Order. How can you be so fragile?"

"That's the helplessness of the mental type."

Wen Li gave a wry smile.

"The outside rumors are actually correct; I am indeed close to Sixth Order. But compared to you physically strong types, the mental type is too weak. Transcendent beings are divided into nine Orders, with Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth being early stages, and Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth being middle stages. Before reaching the middle stages, the improvement in life intensity for the mental type is quite insignificant. Moreover, my ability is quite special, almost the least offensive type among the mental ones, so..."

"No need to envy. Weakling warriors have always been a man's romance. By the way, what exactly is your ability?"

This was the first time Fu Qian had heard someone describe the world's Transcendent system so completely, so he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to learn more.

"Mirror. You can think of it that way."

Wen Li made no attempt to hide her secret.

"I can sense the emotions of those around me – joy, anger, sadness, hatred, desire, and so on.

These emotions from others project onto me like a mirror. The stronger the emotion and the closer the distance, the clearer the projection."

"On one hand, it makes me quite perceptive and not easily deceived. But at the same time, for a very long time, this ability caused me a great deal of distress.

I was forced to constantly feel the emotions of others, to the point where my mind was on the verge of collapse."

"Actually, this is also why I dislike Ye Yang. When I'm even a little close to him, the things I sense are quite unpleasant!"

"Mr. Fu is different. Although his strength is too great for me to sense much, I can confirm at least one thing: you truly bear no ill will."

"I see. It seems you just had a conversation with your father?"

Fu Qian said, finding this ability quite novel.

"Of course. Otherwise, how would my father feel at ease leaving?"

"In fact, as my abilities have improved over the years, my perception has become increasingly acute, and I've even been able to subtly influence others' emotions. So—"

Wen Li flashed a playful smile.

"It's quite difficult to defy my will now."

"I understand the general idea."

In a sense, mental abilities did have their advantages, capable of delivering far greater value than physical ones in specific situations.

However, based on what she could currently do, Wen Li's title as a quasi-Sixth Order felt rather hollow.

"Sometimes, I truly wish I didn't have this talent. It causes trouble, and I can't even protect my own family."

Wen Li sighed, once again transforming into a Versailles girl.

"Always look on the bright side. Without this ability, Young Master Ye might not have taken such an interest in you."

Fu Qian's ability to comfort people was always at a hellish level.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wen Li's face.

"You know that too!

It's true that before I became like this, although we had some business dealings, they rarely gave me a second glance, let alone offered such proactive help. But my quasi-Sixth Order status is really just for show, they might be disappointed."

"Don't underestimate yourself. The reproductive genes of just one intermediate Transcendent are quite valuable."

"...Thank you for your affirmation."

"It's a shame I never wanted to owe this person a favor. Otherwise, things would be completely irreversible. So..."

Wen Li's expression was more serious than ever.

"Whether your help was a spur-of-the-moment decision or has some hidden reason, I sincerely implore you to lend me your assistance during this upcoming period."

So earnest!

But you probably don't know that someone has already asked on your behalf, forcing me to do this job I hate the most.

"As I said before, it's my duty, and I won't shirk it."

Fu Qian said slowly, telling Miss Wen not to get too excited.

"Speaking of which, even if the Wen Family isn't some powerful noble clan, they still have more money than they can spend. How can they not have a Transcendent bodyguard?"

There were paid assassins, so there must be bodyguards for hire. Fu Qian didn't believe all Transcendent beings had such integrity.

"You're right. There's a hidden reason behind it."

Wen Li's expression was a bit awkward.

"We did hire a Transcendent bodyguard with a hefty sum, someone whose strength was not much weaker than Mr. Ji's. Unfortunately, there was an accident not long ago."

"What kind of accident?"

"He was arrested by the Night Watchers."

There's such a thing?

"How can you be capitalists and not do background checks when hiring people?"

"The situation was urgent. The first thing we prioritized was strength, even though we knew he was on the Night Watchers' wanted list.

We didn't expect something like this to happen, and it's hard to find another one in the short term..."

"It seems your relationship with the Night Watchers isn't great."

"The family business has a wide scope, with some operations in the gray areas. Our reputation with the Night Watchers might not be very good."

Wen Li admitted honestly.

"That's obvious. If the relationship were any better, they probably wouldn't have done something so underhanded."

Fu Qian sighed, finally understanding why the old Wen family was in such a predicament.

Captain Gu, the seasoned veteran, had previously speculated about the presence of Night Watchers. Thinking back, that was far too optimistic.

"So when you took action today, I truly couldn't suppress the joy in my heart. In short, thank you very much."

Miss Wen said her solemn thanks for the third time.

"Also, regarding the content of our conversation today, please keep it confidential. I don't want the Ye Family to have too many negative impressions before my advancement."

"Don't worry, I've always been tight-lipped."

Fu Qian readily agreed, then lowered his voice.

"The problem is, have you considered that our current conversation is already being overheard by your admirer?"

What!

Wen Li was startled and immediately looked around sharply.

"No need to look, they're clinging to the outside wall."

Fu Qian continued to speak in a low voice, then kicked the long chair Wen Li was sitting on.

With a scream, Wen Li flew out, chair and all.

At the same time, Fu Qian stood up and shouted.

"Watch out, there's an assassin!"

As soon as he said this, the person clinging to the outside wall like a gecko in his perception was first stunned, then began to move frantically.

In fact, Fu Qian had discovered someone on the outside wall not long after he sat down.

He didn't know if it was the effect of increased Inspiration, but his senses were now extremely sharp.

The eavesdropper had been quite careful, moving silently and even using special techniques to lie flat against the wall.

Even so, in Fu Qian's perception, it was as clear as an X-ray.

He even knew who it was—the Little Wolf Girl he had kicked flying the first time he entered here.

Speaking of which, the Wen Family was quite pathetic. Not only was their main base riddled with holes by opponents, but they were even under surveillance by their quasi-in-laws.

With the intention of seeing what the intruder intended, Fu Qian didn't expose them immediately.

Now was about the time to beat the grass and startle the snake!

After shouting, a barrage of alarms sounded, and Fu Qian grabbed something from the table.

It was a metal paperweight, exquisitely made and quite large, clearly not cheap.

He felt its weight in his hand like a brick, and the next moment, Fu Qian hurled it towards the wall.

BOOM!

The Wen Family's mansion suffered damage once again.

Empowered by terrifying force, the paperweight shot out like a cannonball, easily tearing through the wall opposite.

Countless bricks and stones struck the rapidly moving figure behind the wall.

A desperate scream echoed, and a shadow fell heavily from the wall.

If he remembered correctly, this seemed to be the fourth floor?

At this moment, Wen Xiuxian rushed over. Seeing the hole in the wall and his daughter on the ground, his expression was quite remarkable.

What a familiar sight! No matter how grand the mansion, it couldn't withstand this kind of destruction!

Don't worry, your expression will be even uglier when you see the person on the ground.

At this point, Wen Li, who was accustomed to being kicked, had once again bravely stood up. She looked at Fu Qian with a complicated expression while quietly comforting her father.

As the few of them went downstairs together, the infiltrator who had fallen to the ground was already surrounded.

However, it seemed pointless to surround them; the person on the ground was motionless, a bloody mess.

Hit in a vital spot with almost no protection, and then falling from the fourth floor, this person was as dead as could be.

Young Master Ye and his entourage, who had gone to rest earlier, had already arrived. They were now staring intently at the corpse on the ground, their faces as dark as... well, you know.

"The assassin has been apprehended."

Fu Qian completely ignored his expression and pointed at the ground with a serious face, claiming credit.

"Someone else invaded just now and attempted a sneak attack. Fortunately, I discovered them."

Regardless of anything else, he had to establish the assassin's identity first.

Wen Xiuxian's expression was a kaleidoscope of emotions.

He wasn't stupid; how could he not see the abnormality?

And with a little attention, he could notice that one of Young Master Ye's followers was missing.

Who was the person on the ground? Did it even need to be said?

But the person was indeed knocked off the wall from the outside, so calling them an assassin was absolutely no problem.

Wen Xiuxian also felt a bit annoyed.

Just having been assassinated during the day, and now being monitored on his own turf.

No matter how much he could endure humiliation, it was hard for him to put on a good face at this moment.

"Thank you, Mr. Fu. If it weren't for you, Little Li would have been in danger again."

After much deliberation, Wen Xiuxian finally chose to express his gratitude.

"I didn't expect these people to be so patient, coming back after leaving. It's truly impossible to guard against!"

He then let out a long sigh and turned to Young Master Ye and the others.

"I apologize for disturbing everyone because of this."

"It's fine..."

He must have eaten something too salty for dinner, as Young Master Ye's voice was a bit hoarse.

"We heard the alarm and came out to check because we were worried something had happened. It's good that everything is fine."

Old Brother Ji was clearly much more experienced, explaining to Wen Xiuxian with a serious expression.

"It's no disturbance at all. We came here to help, and we naturally did our best."

"Thank you for your hard work!"

Wen Xiuxian exchanged pleasantries with him, and it seemed no one noticed the striking red and blue hair on the corpse.

It was obvious that she had died in vain.

Fu Qian didn't harbor any particular hatred for the Little Wolf Girl.

She was 100% instructed by Young Master Ye to eavesdrop.

After all, books say that people who are embarrassed will try a different approach.

For example, they might try to figure out your background, confirm you have no connections, and then confidently find new experts to gang up on you.

This was a common sentiment among rich young masters.

However, resorting to such petty tricks directly within the Wen Family showed that they didn't really take Wen Xiuxian's words to heart.

In such a situation, if the content of his conversation with Wen Li were to reach their ears, their subsequent reactions would be an unstable factor.

And instability was the last thing you wanted in a mission like this.

Therefore, considering all aspects, he had to make a deterrent move.

Of course, if he hadn't considered that it might attract the Night Watchers and cause him to lose his job, killing them all would have been a good option.