"!!"
"That's it!"
Just then, Jia Dairu, who had followed them in, saw the mirror and lunged forward two steps as if he had laid eyes on his sworn enemy. His old face flushed with rage as he pointed a withered finger at the ancient, double-sided bronze mirror and shouted hoarsely:
"That's the demon mirror!"
"It was the one that ruined my precious grandson!"
Pointing at the bronze mirror in the maid's hands, he continued his hysterical accusations. His finger and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. He was clearly beside himself with anger.
"A couple of days ago!"
"Somewhere or other, a crippled Taoist showed up. He claimed to be a messenger from the 'Land of Illusion' and forced this worthless thing on me, saying it would help my good-for-nothing grandson?"
"That's right!"
"He said this was called the 'Mirror of Romance and Illusion,' a magic treasure of the immortals?"
"He also said it could cure Rui's affliction of 'unruly thoughts'!"
"I believed him at the time..."
"But who could have known... who could have known this was a demon that would take his life?"
"Old me... my poor Rui--!!"
As he spoke, tears streamed down his face, and he reached for the mirror again, wanting to snatch it away and smash it, or stomp it to pieces.
"Hand it over!"
╭()
Fortunately, Annie was quick. She snatched the mirror from the little maid's hands first.
"What are you doing?"
(^)
"Go away!"
o(*｀ー)o
At the same time, she turned and fixed Jia Dairu with a hard glare from her seemingly innocent green eyes, which held an unmistakable, fearsome authority.
"!!"
Though there was no murderous intent in that look, it doused the agitated Jia Dairu like a bucket of cold water. He jolted and froze where he