In the end, Xu Zhihan still went to West City Old Street.
Lu Wenchuan drove.
Xu Mingji was still unconscious when the Seventh Team took him away, Red Talisman Marks lingering on his wrists. The Xu Family's servants were badly frightened, and no one dared stop Xu Zhihan.
Xu Chengyuan was not home.
That saved Xu Zhihan quite a bit of trouble.
As they drove out of the Xu Residence, Lu Wenchuan glanced at the rearview mirror. "The team will keep an eye on Xu Mingji."
Xu Zhihan leaned back in the passenger seat, holding the half-torn talisman, his face a little paler than usual.
"Mm."
"He probably doesn't know much."
"Mm."
Lu Wenchuan turned to look at him. "Are you about to fall asleep?"
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes. "Your talking puts me to sleep."
Lu Wenchuan was momentarily stumped, then laughed. "All right. My fault."
The car fell silent for a few seconds.
Then Lu Wenchuan said, "You didn't just let that thing eat Xu Mingji back there."
Xu Zhihan looked out the window, his tone indifferent. "It was filthy."
"Just because it was filthy?"
Xu Zhihan turned to him. "What else?"
Lu Wenchuan smiled without calling him out.
Xu Zhihan could have watched coldly as Xu Mingji suffered the consequences of his own actions. Xu Mingji had taken the talisman himself, and his intent to harm others had been real. But in the end, Xu Zhihan had still intervened.
He called it interrogating the talisman.
But he had saved someone, too.
The man was so consistently stubborn about admitting anything that Lu Wenchuan no longer bothered exposing him on the spot.
Xu Zhihan saw what he was thinking and frowned. "Are you bad-mouthing me in your head again?"
Lu Wenchuan raised an eyebrow. "You can tell even that?"
"Your smile is annoying."
Lu Wenchuan suppressed his smile. "How about now?"
"Still annoying."
"Nothing I can do, then. I was born this way."
Xu Zhihan did not want to deal with him anymore.
They soon reached West City Old Street.
The street was even more deserted than the reports suggested. Several streetlights were broken, and most shops had their shutters down. Old advertisements covered the walls, their paper corners fluttering lightly in the wind.
The Photo Studio stood at the end of the street.
Its door was half-open.
There were no lights inside, only a faint smell of dampness seeping through the gap.
After parking, Lu Wenchuan sent his location to the team first.
"Seventh Team, remnants of the Old Gods Society found at the Photo Studio on West City Old Street. Seal off the perimeter. Don't enter without my orders."
A teammate answered through his earpiece. "Roger."
Xu Zhihan was already out of the car.
Lu Wenchuan looked at him. "Can't you wait two seconds for me?"
Xu Zhihan said, "No."
"Why?"
"You talk too much."
Lu Wenchuan sighed. "Fine."
The two entered the Photo Studio.
The shop was very dark.
Picture frames covered the walls, most turned backward, exposing only grayish-white backing boards. Dust coated the floor, but fresh footprints ran through the middle. They belonged to more than one person: Xu Mingji and someone else.
Lu Wenchuan crouched to examine them. "Xu Mingji was here. The other person was cautious. They obscured their shoeprints, leaving only a few edges."
Xu Zhihan walked to the counter and lightly touched its surface with his fingertips.
A trace of black energy remained on it.
It was the same as the energy on the talisman earlier.
"They're gone."
Lu Wenchuan stood. "They left a Mirror Gate?"
Xu Zhihan looked toward the back of the shop.
A full-length mirror stood there.
Dust covered its surface, making it look very old. Its frame was dark red, carved with tiny patterns. An ordinary person would only find the decorations strange. But Xu Zhihan could see that every pattern had been carved with Soul Threads.
The mirror did not reflect them.
A black corridor appeared within its surface.
Faint crying came from the end of the corridor.
Lu Wenchuan stepped beside Xu Zhihan and saw the anomaly in the mirror as well. He tightened his grip on his short blade, his smile fading.
"Where does this thing lead?"
Xu Zhihan stared at the mirror.
That presence was familiar.
It was neither the Xu Family's basement nor the night bus.
It felt more like something seeping through a crack in his previous life.
Very cold.
And very old.
Xu Zhihan's fingertips twitched slightly.
He heard a voice.
It did not come from outside.
It came from deep within the mirror.
"Come back."
Noticing the change in his expression, Lu Wenchuan immediately turned to him. "Xu Zhihan?"
Xu Zhihan did not answer.
The black corridor in the mirror began to sharpen. A raised platform faintly appeared at its far end. An empty chair stood upon it.
That was no chair.
It was the Divine Throne.
The warmth in Xu Zhihan's eyes ebbed away little by little.
Watching him, Lu Wenchuan suddenly felt his heart sink.
This was not Xu Zhihan's usual aloofness.
He seemed to be retreating somewhere farther away, somewhere emptier.
Lu Wenchuan immediately reached out and caught his wrist.
"Snap out of it."
Xu Zhihan lowered his eyes to Lu Wenchuan's hand.
"Let go."
His voice was very soft.
And very cold.
Lu Wenchuan did not let go.
"It was affecting you just now."
Xu Zhihan raised his eyes, his gaze briefly unfamiliar.
Lu Wenchuan tightened his fingers.
For that instant, he truly felt that the person before him was not Xu Zhihan.
Not the Xu Zhihan who hated noise, had a sharp tongue, avoided trouble, and complained that even candy was too sweet.
But some being seated high above in a distant place, regarding everything as dust.
Lu Wenchuan said in a low voice, "Xu Zhihan."
Only when his name rang out did the hollow chill in Xu Zhihan's eyes slowly recede a little.
He closed his eyes briefly, as if suppressing something.
"I'm fine."
Lu Wenchuan stared at him. "You didn't look fine just now."
Xu Zhihan pulled his wrist free. "You saw wrong."
Lu Wenchuan glanced down at his now-empty hand.
"All right. I saw wrong."
Despite his words, he held his blade across his side, blocking Xu Zhihan from moving closer to the mirror.
Xu Zhihan frowned. "Move."
Lu Wenchuan smiled, but there was no amusement in his eyes.
"Not this time."
Xu Zhihan looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan's tone was level. "You're not in the right state. If you're going in, I go first."
Xu Zhihan said coldly, "You'll die."
"I don't have long to live anyway."
"You're very self-aware."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"I'll take it as one."
They remained at an impasse for several seconds.
A soft laugh suddenly came from the mirror.
The voice seemed to come from far away, impossible to identify as male or female.
"Gatekeeper."
Lu Wenchuan's expression changed.
Deep within the black corridor, a masked person slowly emerged.
Black clothes, a white mask, and an unlit lamp held in both hands.
The figure stood inside the mirror, looking at Lu Wenchuan.
"Your life thread is about to snap."
Lu Wenchuan laughed.
"Get in line. Plenty of people have told me that lately."
The masked man ignored his provocation and turned his gaze to Xu Zhihan.
The next moment, he bowed.
His posture was respectful, yet unsettling.
"My god, you have finally awakened."
Dead silence filled the Photo Studio.
Lu Wenchuan's grip on his blade tightened slightly.
Xu Zhihan watched the man in the mirror, his expression icy.
"You have the wrong person."
The masked man chuckled.
"Your divine spark is searching for you, and the Divine Throne awaits you. Sooner or later, you will remember."
Xu Zhihan raised a hand.
Cracks instantly appeared across the mirror.
The masked man did not dodge. He merely laughed softly. "Don't rush. We will meet again soon."
The cracks spread.
The corridor within the mirror began to warp.
Just as the mirror was about to shatter, the masked man suddenly raised his head.
"The Xu Family is only the first gate."
Xu Zhihan's gaze turned cold.
The masked man continued, "You weren't the only one Lin Wan wanted to take away back then."
The mirror shattered with a crash.
Shards scattered across the floor.
Most of the black energy in the Photo Studio dispersed with it.
Lu Wenchuan immediately looked at Xu Zhihan.
Xu Zhihan stood where he was, his face pale and his lips pressed tight.
He did not cough up blood.
He didn't fall, either.
But Lu Wenchuan knew something had stirred inside him.
Xu Zhihan lowered his head and looked at the shattered mirror fragments on the floor.
A fleeting afterimage of the Divine Throne lingered in the shards.
A lofty dais, a long flight of steps, countless beings prostrate before it.
And a snowflake resting on the Divine Throne.
Xu Zhihan briefly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he had already suppressed that trace of unfamiliar coldness.
Lu Wenchuan asked, "What did that mean just now?"
Xu Zhihan's voice was flat.
"I don't know."
Lu Wenchuan looked at him.
Xu Zhihan turned his head. "You don't believe me?"
"Only halfway."
"Suit yourself."
Xu Zhihan headed outside.
Lu Wenchuan followed him. "Where are you going?"
"The Xu Family Old Residence."
"Now?"
"The person in the mirror said I wasn't the only thing Lin Wan wanted to take away."
Lu Wenchuan frowned. "So you think there are answers in the study at the old residence?"
Xu Zhihan didn't look back.
"Yes."
Lu Wenchuan sighed.
"You really won't rest for even a moment."
Xu Zhihan paused and looked back at him.
"You don't have to come."
Lu Wenchuan looked at his pale face, then glanced at the shattered mirror on the floor.
Finally, he slid his short blade back into its sheath.
"Nice try."