By then, Xu Capital had already taken on a different appearance.
Every household had hung mirrors before its doors-bronze mirrors, mercury mirrors... all manner of mirrors. Facing the entrances, they reflected the streets and alleys, as well as everyone who came and went.
At thirty-six nodes within the city, a massive ancient mirror had been placed. Faint connections linked them, enveloping the entire city.
Few pedestrians walked the streets, and every one of them looked terrified. They dared not look at the mirrors, always feeling that their reflections were frighteningly unfamiliar. The notices declared that hanging mirrors was necessary to pray for blessings and ward off calamity; anyone who refused would be charged with treason.
Several factions that had resisted had already been executed down to the last member of their households, their bloody heads hung at the city gates for all to see.
Despite their extreme unease, no one dared damage the mirrors.
In their terror, some tried to leave the city. But clouds and mist shrouded the land outside. Anyone who stepped into the fog would eventually return to the city gates, no matter how long they walked. It was as though the city had become some abandoned realm.
High atop the city lord's residence, Chu Mo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, overlooking the entire city.
The Mistcloud Labyrinth Locking Formation works well enough, he thought.
He had specifically exchanged for this formation at his sect's Scripture Repository to isolate the city from the outside, ensuring that Xu Capital would undergo no changes and that the outside world would not discover the situation here too soon.
Zhao Shou hunched his back and cowered behind him, speaking in a trembling voice:
"My lord, all thirty-six nodes are in place, and every household in the city has