Xu Bai: Basic Operation, Everyone Sit Down

As soon as Xu Bai finished speaking, Yun Zihai took out a brush and a book. The two looked at each other and then stepped out of the carriage.

Outside the carriage was an endless night. Because Xu Baiyun and Hai were sitting inside the carriage, they were unaware that the carriage was traveling through a dense forest and had just stopped, surrounded by towering trees.

Because of the foliage blocking the light, the moonlight shone sparsely, creating a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the ground.

There was no one around, and it was completely quiet, except for the occasional chirping of insects or birds.

If someone were to pass by, the timid might even feel a chill run down their spine.

Aside from the tranquil night and the occasional sounds around them, strange things were constantly happening in the pitch-black sky.

The weather is nice at this time of year. Although it gets a little chilly at night, wearing two layers of clothing is enough to keep you warm.

If the moon were a little fuller tonight, with two jugs of old wine and some side dishes, it would be the perfect time to admire the moon.

Moon gazing was a common activity in the Great Chu Kingdom, enjoyed by both refined scholars and ordinary people.

But at this moment, besides the bright moon, there were also yellowish-orange things floating in the sky.

Due to the influence of gravity, these yellow-orange objects fell from a height and slowly landed on the ground.

With rounded edges and holes in the middle, each piece of paper money was a shocking sight.

The paper money was spread on the ground, densely packed, while more paper money continued to fall from the sky with the wind.

It's strange that something like this would happen out of nowhere.

"Brother Xu, I once heard a folk tale that tells this very story." Yun Zihai looked up at the sky and slowly recounted everything he knew.

In summary, it can be summed up in one sentence.

If paper money falls from the sky, it signifies a great misfortune.

Paper money is used to commemorate the deceased, and it is most widely used during ceremonies.

The living world has its own currency, and the underworld has its own paper money; the two do not conflict with each other.

In many cases, at specific times, people commemorate their deceased ancestors by using paper Qian Lai to express their respect; this is an established custom.

But customs are customs, and if this situation occurs on an ordinary day, even the most normal custom can turn into unwarranted terror.

Legend has it that in an unknown county town, there once lived a scholar who, after failing the imperial examination, studied diligently in his own courtyard, intending to try again the following year.

It happened to be the time for a memorial service, and the scholar, who was quite particular about these customs, bought paper money and went to the desolate countryside to pay respects to his deceased ancestors.

On the way back, they encountered a heavy rain and happened to come across an abandoned, dilapidated temple, where the scholar took shelter from the rain.

After the heavy rain gradually subsided and eventually disappeared, they continued their journey home.

Unexpectedly, the rain continued until the middle of the night before gradually stopping, and the scholar had no choice but to hurry home under the moonlight.

Having traveled halfway, an unexpected incident occurred while passing through a side road.

Suddenly, paper money appeared on the path, densely covering the entire road.

No one knows what happened that day, but the scholar's body was found on that path the very next day.

From then on, a legend has been passed down among the people and has never faded away.

The road paved with paper money is the road to sending wealth, and this so-called sending of wealth is actually sending wealth from the underworld.

Only through this path can paper money reach those in need, and once a person walks this path, they will enter the world of the dead.

If you encounter this situation while returning home at night, you must immediately turn back, retrace your steps, find a place to stay, and wait until dawn before returning.

If a living person encounters a dark path, turn around and don't look back.

Upon hearing Yun Zihai's account, Xu Bai stroked his chin thoughtfully.

The ground was covered with paper money, densely packed together. Combined with the eerie trees on both sides and the shadows cast by the moonlight, the feeling was nothing but coldness and dread.

"Turn around?" Xu Bai asked.

Yun Zihai shook his head and said, "What I said is indeed a legend, and it has been circulating among the people for a long time. But this legend has a basis and is not unfounded."

"So, the scholar really encountered this situation and really died?" Xu Bai asked.

The unofficial version is naturally different from the official version. The official information is definitely more reliable. Now, after hearing what Yun Zihai said, Xu Bai guessed that there was indeed something strange happening, but it was not some so-called ghost road.

"That is the Mirror World." Yun Zihai said solemnly, "After the birth of the Mirror Dead, this Mirror World also appeared. That day, the scholar walked along this road and finally entered the Mirror World, where he died."

Xu Bai immediately became interested. "So, we might encounter the strange event that killed the prefect?"

This was unexpected; he had encountered the Mirror Dead so soon. He had originally thought he would deal with it in Yunlai Prefecture.

"Turning around won't do any good. Once you've embarked on this path, there's no turning back. You can only keep moving forward and see what's in it," Yun Zihai.

After discussing it for a while, the two got off the carriage.

Liu Er looked bewildered, but in the end he followed behind Xu Bai, drawing his long sword from his waist and keeping a watchful eye on the dark surroundings.

He panicked, especially when he saw the paper money everywhere.

Xu Bai and Yun Zihai are both seasoned veterans of many battles, while Liu Er is only a ninth-rank martial artist who has never encountered such a situation before, so it is normal for him to be flustered.

As soon as he stepped down, with his feet on the paper money on the ground, Xu Bai felt something different, as if he were stepping on soft mud.

A cold wind blew by, Xu Bai looked ahead along the road.

At the end of the road, it was pitch black and blurry, and the specific situation was unclear.

"Brother Yun, what method did the person who previously broke into the Mirror World and killed the strange creature use?" Xu Bai asked as he walked along the road.

Yun Zihai stared seriously into the distance. Hearing Xu Bai's voice, he turned his head and said, "As far as I know, the Mirror Dead can only replicate a person's strength, but not their abilities. He was a Ninth Rank Martial Artist who barged in with a weapon that was good at attacking and used the weapon to kill the Mirror Dead."

"I see." Xu Bai suddenly realized, "No wonder you weren't in a hurry at all, it seems there's something special about you."

Thinking about it this way, the flaws in the Mirror Dead are quite significant.

You can only copy strength, not ability, including weapons and various treasures.

"Yes," Yun Zihai, "I estimate that the murdered prefect was likely attacked suddenly, and... to put it bluntly, that prefect probably didn't have any treasures."

Before coming, Yun Zihai had already learned everything at Shadow Courier Station.

The prefect of Yunlai Prefecture himself climbed up from the very bottom. His background was indeed incomparable to that of the Azure Cloud Academy. The Academy where the prefect was located was also mediocre, or even very bad, in Nanhua Dao.

In that case, it is indeed possible that he died at the hands of the Mirror Dead.

Xu Bai stopped talking and focused on moving forward.

He has no treasures.

But he has real strength.

The Mirror Dead can replicate a person's rank, but this ability is useless to him.

He was at most an eighth-rank cultivator, which allowed the Mirror Dead to copy him. As for what happened after that, he could only be easily crushed by him.

The True Yuan Power brought by the Strengthening Kidney Method is a full grade six.

With so many tier-four skills, any one of them wouldn't be enough to defeat him.

Actually, compared to rubbing the Mirror Dead on the ground, he is more curious about something else now.

All of this is too much of a coincidence.

Why did they suddenly encounter the Mirror Dead on their way here, and why was the Prefect also killed by the Mirror Dead before?

Xu Bai pondered carefully, feeling that a net was closing in on them.

However, all of this can be put aside for now, and we can deal with the immediate issues first.

The two walked faster and faster, and the paper money on the ground became thicker and thicker.

The only one who was nervous was Liu Er.

After all, it was my first time experiencing these things, so it would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.

The road ahead was completely dark, but as they walked, suddenly a glimmer of light appeared in the darkness.

Xu Bai drew his Ghost-Head Saber, a slight smile playing on his lips.

As they drew closer, the light grew brighter and brighter, until they reached its zenith and discovered it was an enormous mirror.

The mirror is three meters high and three meters wide, and its placement in the middle makes it appear extremely out of place.

The moonlight from the sky shone on the mirror, and the reflected light was slightly conspicuous.

However, the thing in the mirror is very abnormal.

Three people were reflected in the mirror— Xu Bai and his two companions, of course—but their expressions in the mirror were different from their original expressions.

The people in the mirror wore eerie smiles, smiles that seemed to mock those outside the mirror.

Xu Bai glanced at it, as if to ask, "How do we get in?"

"You can enter by turning your back to the mirror." Yun Zihai turned around, keeping his back to the mirror, and said, "This was discovered by the person who went in that day. It was a coincidence. As for the principle behind it, I don't know."

As he spoke, countless characters rose from Yun Zihai's body, enveloping him completely.

Xu Bai stroked his chin, then turned around, his entire body enveloped in a dark light.

Liu Er: "..."

So these two have ways to protect what's behind them, but we don't.

Of course, despite his complaints, Liu Er turned around, but placed his long sword behind his back for protection.

He wasn't stupid; he knew it was more dangerous for him to be outside alone. It was better to go in with him. Besides, he was determined to become Xu Bai's lackey.

Xu Bai backed away, and when he touched the mirror, he felt something enveloping him from behind, along with a faint suction force.

He did not resist and fell into it with the suction force.

A cloud-like mist appeared in front of me, obscuring my vision, but I felt no weight on my feet; I was still standing on flat ground.

When the clouds and mist cleared, Xu Bai found himself still in that dark forest.

Soon, Yun Zihai and Liu Er also came in, looking around at the darkness just like Xu Bai.

"This is already Mirror World. What we need to do is lure it out. As for how to lure it out, we just need to destroy it," Yun Zihai said familiarly.

"Every Mirror World is only in the area reflected by the mirror. The mirror we just saw was very large, but it was only limited to that part of the forest."

In the Mirror World, each piece is interconnected, but if it exists alone, it is merely in the position reflected in the mirror.

And destruction is the simplest and most direct method.

Yun Zihai patiently explained.

Otherwise, how could it be said that it comes from famous scholars? Azure Cloud Academy's teaching in this regard is quite perfect, at least it has given them a lot of knowledge.

If the prefect of Yunlai Prefecture had possessed these things, he wouldn't have met such a tragic end there.

"I know this well," Xu Bai said with a smile, holding the Ghost-Head Saber.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Bai reached into his money bag and threw out a handful of copper coins, which were wrapped in a dark light.

The copper coins rained down, so densely packed that not a breath of air could get through.

After being blessed by the dark light, the copper coins no longer had any characteristics of hidden weapons. Each one was extremely powerful, sweeping across the forest in front of them, leaving only a pile of debris.

"Brother Xu, your Maple Leaves Like Rain, much taller than those of the Yun Family." When Yun Zihai was kicked out, he was still considered a member of the Yun Family, so of course he knew this skill. However, when he became a scholar, he had forgotten it.

Seeing Xu Bai make a move, he didn't follow suit.

One by one, the characters soared into the air, sweeping outwards, and the forest was being destroyed at a visible speed.

Liu Er: "Another day of sucking up to powerful figures."

He was just a Ninth Rank Martial Artist with little destructive power; he could only engage in close combat and chop down trees. But now it seems there's no need for him to do so at all.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings had become desolate.

At this moment, Xu Bai also noticed the difference in his surroundings.

Logically, the forest should have become more spacious after it was destroyed, but the Mirror World is different. There are invisible mirrors all around, reflecting them into the mirror.

At this moment, Xu Bai sensed that something was wrong.

His strength is constantly weakening; in the blink of an eye, it has been reduced by half.

"The characteristics of the Mirror Dead seem more like a rule," Xu Bai thought to himself.

As I was thinking this, things started to change around me.

Before Xu Bai's eyes, at the end of the road, a figure was approaching them.

A cold wind began to blow around them, and it grew stronger as the figure approached with its footsteps.

When Xu Bai saw the Mirror Dead, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He turned his head, stared at Yun Zihai, and said, "You didn't tell me about this characteristic."

"Brother Xu, this is the first time I've seen this either. Perhaps it has evolved over the years." Yun Zihai was speechless.

Not far away, the figure gradually became clearer, and then its true appearance was revealed.

It has three heads, six arms, and six legs.

The three heads resembled Xu Bai, Yun Zihai, and Liu Er, but each head wore a smile that was unsettling to look at.

The Mirror Dead is like a combination of three people, resulting in a bizarre situation.

"Brother Xu, I will kill it with my brush in a moment," Yun Zihai said, raising the brush in his hand.

This calligraphy brush naturally came from the Azure Cloud Academy. He was considered a highly regarded prodigy at the Azure Cloud Academy, so it was quite normal for him to acquire such a treasure, just like Liu Xu.

Yun Zihai was well aware of the special circumstances surrounding the Mirror Dead.

The moment he stepped into the Mirror World, his strength had already been reduced by half.

Xu Bai is probably in the same situation as him now, so he can only rely on the brush in his hand to deal with it.

"I have a feeling that the Mirror Dead is stronger than you," Xu Bai said, stroking his chin.

This statement is not meant to be derogatory; it simply states a fact.

The Mirror Dead in front of me is around the sixth rank, but he is much stronger than the average sixth rank person.

As Xu Bai said this, the Mirror Dead underwent another change.

The head that looked exactly like Liu Er disappeared, and then the strength of the Mirror Dead increased even more.

"It's merging?" Yun Zihai asked in surprise, noticing the signs.

"It seems you don't know much about the Mirror Dead," Xu Bai said. "Entering the Mirror World together only makes it stronger and allows it to continue to merge with other entities. This is not a good sign."

The more people come in, the stronger they become. If a large number of people really come in, wouldn't the Mirror Dead be able to grow indefinitely?

However, judging from this, it seems that integration will take time.

Thinking of this, Xu Bai took a step forward, used the Strengthening Kidney Method, and poured the True Yuan Power from his two kidneys back into him. Then, enveloped in dark light, he crashed into the body of the Mirror Dead.

The next moment, the Mirror Dead turned into ashes filling the sky.

Yun Zihai: "..."

He looked down at the calligraphy brush in his hand, feeling speechless and utterly helpless.

"To be honest, Brother Xu, are you one of those old monsters who were reincarnated as a human through special methods?"

Although the statement was meant as a joke, as Yun Zihai spoke it, he actually began to believe it, looking at Xu Bai with a mixture of doubt and skepticism.

He knew that Xu Bai possessed abilities beyond his current level, but now, having entered this Mirror World, Xu Bai's strength had been weakened by half. Could he still unleash those abilities beyond his current level?

He had been certain that Xu Bai couldn't perform to his full potential, but now it seems he was wrong.

Even with half their strength reduced, they can still use methods beyond their current level without showing any weakness.

Even Yun Zihai, a top student of the Azure Cloud Academy, was extremely envious of such abilities.

Looking at the calligraphy brush in his hand, Yun Zihai suddenly lost interest.

"The escort is mighty!" Liu Er flattered him.

Xu Bai coughed and said, "It's just basic operation, don't be surprised."

Yun Zihai: "(╯‵□′)╯┻━┻"

If this is considered a basic operation, then there are very few people in the world who can actually perform such a basic operation.

It's so painful.

As the group chatted, the surrounding scenery gradually changed as the Mirror Dead died.

Not far away, cracks began to appear on the mirror-like barrier, which then spread like a spider web, and the surrounding area quickly turned into fragments that fell to the ground.

When the mirror fell to the ground and shattered, everything around them disappeared, and they returned to the woods.

The paper money on the ground was gone; this time they had truly returned to reality and were no longer in the Mirror World.

"Brother Xu, let's get going." Yun Zihai gathered his chaotic thoughts and said, "The Mirror Dead is gone, and it will be a very long time before it reappears."

But before he could finish speaking, he saw Xu Bai lower his head in deep thought, not saying a word, as if he was thinking about something.

It was very quiet around, with only the sound of Yun Zihai.

Liu Er stood respectfully to the side, not disturbing Xu Bai's thoughts, showing great understanding.

"Brother Xu, what's wrong?" Yun Zihai asked, slightly puzzled.

Now that the Mirror Dead has been resolved, they can set off for Yunlai Prefecture. He was somewhat puzzled as to why Xu Bai was thinking about something here again.

Xu Bai slowly snapped out of his reverie, glanced up at Yun Zihai, then swept his gaze across the surrounding woods, and said, "Don't you think this was a premeditated ambush?"

He had been thinking about this question for a while: why, by sheer coincidence, on their way to Yunlai Prefecture, did they suddenly encounter the strange event that killed the former prefect?

If we were to meet in Yunlai Prefecture, that would be normal, but to meet on the road is a bit unusual. It's too much of a coincidence, and sometimes, too much coincidence can be a problem.

The more coincidental the event, the more likely something bad will happen.

"You mean to say that the strange phenomenon was deliberately brought here?" Yun Zihai was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and said, "But the strange phenomenon has no consciousness, and no one has been able to control it from beginning to end. How could it have been so cleverly arranged on this path?"

It is bizarre and cruel, harbors an inexplicable hatred for the living, and lacks any human consciousness; it is completely chaotic and uncontrollable.

If the goal is truly to deal with them, how could they be precisely positioned on this route? Yun Zihai felt slightly puzzled.

"What if we place mirrors all around?" Xu Bai asked. "You said before that the Mirror Dead come out of the mirror to harm people. So if we place many mirrors in one place, wouldn't the probability of triggering this be even higher?"

Yun Zihai froze, then suddenly turned his head to look around, raised the brush in his hand, and began to write in the air.

One character after another appeared in mid-air as he wrote, then swept outwards, accompanied by the whistling wind.

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding trees collapsed, revealing the truth behind the woods.

The mirrors, gleaming with light, reflected a faint glow under the moonlight.

This path is lined with mirrors, dozens of them, and each mirror is over three meters tall.

Because of the dense forest providing cover, and because they didn't find anything in the carriage, they basically followed the road with the mirror the whole way.

Now that things had come to this, Yun Zihai finally understood why they had inexplicably encountered the Mirror Dead.

"I think... we must speed things up further," Yun Zihai said, smashing the mirror to pieces with his brush.

While it's impossible to control the supernatural, it's possible to increase the likelihood of its appearance and the location of its occurrence, which is a bit tricky.

Based on all the known clues, it seems that a net has been cast to ensnare them.

"Brother Yun, it seems you've offended quite a few people in the past," Xu Bai teased.

Yun Zihai boarded the carriage first and said, "If you want to stop me from going to Yunlai Prefecture, then I'll just have to take over as the prefect. I'd like to see who dares to make a fuss in my territory."

Xu Bai also boarded the carriage, sat in the corner, and stroked the Pottery Jar he had obtained earlier at the Shadow Courier Station: "Liu Er, drive the carriage."

"Yes!"

Liu Er sat in the carriage, driving the horse, and headed towards Yunlai Prefecture.

The carriage sped up, kicking up clouds of dust as it drove further and further away.

The next day.

Yunlai Prefecture.

A carriage sped past and arrived at the location of the Prefectural Office.

In front of the Prefectural Office, two yamen runners were guarding the gate. When they saw the carriage, they looked at each other, and then one of them stepped forward to speak.

Before he could speak, Liu Er glared at him.

"The new magistrate has arrived! Step aside!"

The words were spoken abruptly, startling the arriving constables. After pondering their meaning, they quickly retreated.

The new prefectural magistrate? The yamen runners behaved very respectfully.

After all, they worked in the Prefectural Office; who wouldn't know that?

It is said that this newly arrived prefect is highly regarded by His Majesty the Emperor and is the first prefect to implement self-governance.

This is no small matter; they dare not offend the pioneers in the slightest.

Still curious, one of the constables secretly looked up and peeked at the scene.

Before long, a scholar-like man stepped down from the carriage. He was pale and coughed as he got off.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" The constables quickly bowed their heads in greeting.

Yun Zihai waved his hand, signaling them to stand up.

The constables became even more curious.

This new official looked very frail, and his scholarly air was amplified by his weak physique.

However, judging people by their appearance these days is not a good thing, so everyone knows that some people may look gentle, but they are actually very fierce inside.

The constables thought they could immediately take the new official inside, but to their surprise, the new official turned around and shouted at the carriage.

"Brother Xu, I've never seen you like Pottery Jar so much before. I don't think there's anything good about them. If you like them, I'll send you a whole bunch later."

"There's someone else?" The two constables were stunned.

Before long, a handsome young man carrying Pottery Jar stepped down from the carriage.

The young man was incredibly handsome, with a Ghost-Head Saber hanging at his waist, and he exuded a strange, menacing aura.

The two constables shivered and dared not look up at the young man.

Xu Bai held the Pottery Jar and looked the two constables up and down, a slight smile playing on his lips, "As expected of Yunlai Prefecture, both of these gatekeepers are high-ranking officials."

This Prefectural Office is far superior to the County Office.

Even the two gatekeepers were high-ranking officials.

"I wouldn't dare, sir, you are the real expert," a constable said, his eyes darting around.

In officialdom, one naturally needs to be skillful; this flattery went very smoothly.

Liu Er's eyes widened, feeling a great shock.

These days, even flattering someone requires competing with them?

Indeed, competition is fierce in every industry.

Look, even in the industry of flattery, you have to show some competitiveness, otherwise you never know when someone else will beat you to it.

Thinking of this, Liu Er quickly took a learning attitude and wrote down what had just happened.

Yun Zihai waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities. Take me inside and let me see how Lord Wu is doing."

The constables exchanged glances, knowing that this new official was about to get things done, so they didn't dare say anything more and quickly opened the door, leading Yun Zihai and the others inside.

The Prefectural Office was much larger than the County Office, but when Xu Bai went inside, he didn't see many people.

After the explanations from the yamen runners along the way, he finally understood that this time, it wasn't just a prefectural Prefectural Office who had died.

The family members of the prefect, as well as those who remained on duty at the Prefectural Office that night, were all dead.

This matter caused quite a stir, and it spread like wildfire throughout Yunlai Prefecture, with the people all aware of it.

Because they had been in the carriage the whole way, they hadn't had time to observe the unusual behavior of the people.

The bailiff led Yun Zihai to the prison cell of the Prefectural Office and said, "The body from that day is kept here. Fortunately, the weather has turned cool, so we have used special methods to preserve the body."

Ahead, there was a large house with its doors tightly closed, and a chilly aura emanated from it as one approached.

Yun Zihai arrived at the door, pushed it open, and a voice came from inside.

"Didn't I tell you? When I come here to do my work every day, please don't disturb me."

The voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Xu Bai looked in the direction of the voice and saw an ordinary-looking young man sitting in the center.

Around the perimeter were more than a dozen corpses.

The young man was covered in a layer of white frost. The cold air traveled through the frost to the corpse, keeping it at a low temperature and preventing it from rotting and smelling bad.

"Sir, this is the Shadow Coroner," the constable explained.

Xu Bai didn't understand what Shadow Coroner was, but the word "coroner" in the title clearly indicated that it was a special profession.

Yun Zihai understood perfectly well, but he didn't reply and walked towards the pile of corpses.

When the young man heard the constable address him as "Sir," he understood what was going on, quickly stood up, and bowed, saying, "Zheng Jin greets the Prefect."

Yun Zihai nodded, just about to say something.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Jin reacted quickly, took out a notebook from his bag and handed it to Yun Zihai.

"My lord, this is the autopsy report I have prepared recently. Please take a look."

Yun Zihai saw what he wanted and took it without saying anything.

"You all go down first, I want to take another look."

"Yes!"

Zheng Jin and the two constables knew exactly what was going on, so they quickly said goodbye and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Zheng Jin glanced at Xu Bai, and when he saw the Ghost-Head Saber at Xu Bai's waist, he quickly turned his head away and left.

Xu Bai gave Liu Er a wink.

Liu Er was very sensible and turned to leave as well.

Once everyone had left, Xu Bai approached and looked Yun Zihai up and down.

"Brother Yun, it seems this matter is quite troublesome."

The surrounding corpses emanated a chilling aura. As Xu Bai spoke, he casually closed the door.

After the door was closed, the light dimmed slightly, making the room feel rather gloomy.

Yun Zihai walked up to a corpse, casually tossed the autopsy report onto it, and said, "The biggest problem is the lack of clues."

With his scholarly background, he finished reading the autopsy report in a short time, and found it utterly uninteresting.

It was useless; it was all just ordinary records. Apart from knowing that he died in the mirror, there were no other clues.

These are not the most important things. The most important thing is that Yun Zihai found himself in a very troublesome situation after arriving in Yunlai Prefecture, and it was extremely difficult to handle.