The Mirror Master

As dusk fell, a cold wind suddenly rose.

The two white lanterns at the entrance of the Lu Residence swayed back and forth, their flames flickering. In the wavering candlelight, the pitch-black character for ’Mourning’ painted on them seemed all the more sinister.

Passersby gave the residence a wide berth, unconsciously quickening their steps.

"Strange things have been happening at the Lu Residence all month. Seven or eight people have died, one after another, and though the Government Office investigated several times, they found nothing."

"Second Master Lu’s family is so unlucky. I don’t know what kind of bad luck they’ve hit. First, the eldest young master died suddenly from a cultivation accident, and the marriage arrangement with the Luo Family of Bluestone City was called off."

"When Second Master Lu heard the terrible news, he fell gravely ill and never recovered, passing away a few days ago. Of the servants, some died and the rest scattered. Now, all that’s left of his line is Madam Lu and Young Master Lu Bai, a widow and her son. It doesn’t look like they’ll be able to hold on to their vast family fortune."

"I heard Young Master Lu Bai left the city to escape the troubles, but he suddenly went mad, fell off a cliff, and died."

"Young Master Lu Bai was such a kind soul. I thought he’d be able to avoid this calamity, but who would have thought... Sigh."

"So you’re saying Second Master Lu’s entire line has been wiped out!"

"It’s just karma. I heard that over a decade ago, Lu Er came into some ill-gotten wealth. That’s how he built this fortune. Now, it’s just payback."

"Rumor has it an Evil Ghost is claiming lives and has targeted the Lu Family..."

As they gossiped, they saw a slender young man walking toward them.

The young man was about seventeen or eighteen, with refined features and an unusually pale complexion. Despite this, his gaze was gentle. A scrawny black dog followed at his side.

"Y-Young Master Lu Bai?"

One of them stared wide-eyed, his face ashen, and his voice trembled.

"B-but... didn’t you fall to your death?"

"A ghost!"

Another man shrieked and bolted.

The others were terrified and scattered in every direction, not daring to linger for a moment.

Lu Bai watched the crowd flee, his expression calm. Without a word, he paused for a moment before continuing toward the Lu Residence.

As he reached the front gate, he heard the sounds of an argument from inside.

"Madam Lu, I call you sister-in-law out of respect for my second brother, but at the end of the day, you’re an outsider. You have no say over the Lu Family’s property."

The speaker was Lu Bai’s paternal uncle, Lu Ziyuan.

In the Martial World, the demand for all kinds of medicinal ingredients is immense. Lu Bai’s father, Lu Ziheng, ran a few apothecaries in Liuxi Town, and his business was doing well, making him a minor celebrity in the area.

They were brothers, after all, so Lu Ziheng had given his older brother’s family one of the apothecaries to manage, ensuring they lived a prosperous life.

Someone inside coughed softly and said slowly, "First Master Lu, your words are rather inappropriate. It was because of the master’s years of hard work that the Lu Family was able to leave a remote place like Shiniu Village and establish a foothold in Liuxi Town. This has nothing to do with you, First Master Lu. The apothecary your family runs was given to you because the master, in consideration of his brother..."

"Fusheng! You’re a servant! It’s not your place to meddle in the Lu Family’s affairs. Get lost!"

Lu Ziyuan cut Fusheng off before he could finish, his tone hostile.

Madam Lu spoke up, "Big Brother, my husband is barely cold in his grave, and we don’t even know if Ah Bai is alive or dead. For you to be here in front of his memorial hall, causing a scene about splitting the family assets... it’s utterly heartless!"

"Lu Bai fell off a cliff. Your own two guards saw it with their own eyes. That Black Tiger Stream is bottomless. He was surely smashed to pieces. You should give up hope, Madam Lu."

The speaker was Madam Li, Lu Ziyuan’s wife.

"You..."

Madam Lu was so furious she was speechless.

Madam Li sneered. "The way I see it, Lu the Second and his son were jinxed to death by a woman like you! Who’s talking about splitting the family assets? We came here today to throw you out of the Lu Family!"

’Preying on a family with no male heir.’

Listening to the argument, Lu Bai stood before the gate, his eyes glinting as he mulled it over in silence.

’This kind of thing wasn’t unheard of in the old world.’

’When the men of the family passed away, relatives would often drive the widow and young children out to seize the inheritance, especially if the widow’s own family was weak. Even more so when only the matriarch was left.’

’It was also highly possible they would find some pretext to eliminate them completely.’

CREAK. The main gate of the Lu Residence was pushed open.

Everyone around the memorial canopy in the hall turned to look. Upon seeing the slender figure in the doorway, the clamor came to an abrupt halt.

The courtyard fell silent. The hairs on the back of Lu Ziyuan’s and the others’ necks stood up, and their pupils constricted.

"Ah Bai!"

Madam Lu, however, didn’t hesitate. She staggered forward, tightly gripping Lu Bai’s hands and looking him over from head to toe. Her expression was emotional, her eyes were red, and she murmured through her tears, "Ah Bai is alive. Ah Bai is alive."

Lu Bai looked at the woman before him, who, despite being in her forties, had hair that was already half-white. He sighed inwardly.

’The original Lu Bai had indeed fallen off the cliff and died. If not for that, I wouldn’t be here.’

’Although he had inherited the original owner’s memories, this Madam Lu before him still felt somewhat unfamiliar.’

But Lu Bai could clearly and truly feel her motherly care and concern.

"Young Master, are... are you all right?"

An old man in a grey shirt hurried forward, both shocked and overjoyed.

"Mother, Uncle Fu, I’m fine. When I fell off the cliff that night, I was fortunate enough to be caught by a tree branch, which saved my life."

Lu Bai had already prepared this story on his way back.

A wave of fear washed over Madam Lu as she asked, "Why on earth did you go over to Black Tiger Stream?"

Uncle Fu seemed to realize something. He glared at the two guards standing behind Lu Ziyuan and asked, "Was it Wang Shouzhong and the other one? Was it their doing?"

"That wasn’t it."

"I had a nightmare that night," Lu Bai explained. "I was in a daze and wandered out, I’m not sure how. It had nothing to do with Brother Wang and his men."

"The Master is watching over you from Heaven," Uncle Fu said. "The young master is truly a blessed person, destined for great fortune."

Lu Bai’s gaze swept over the people standing to one side.

There was his uncle, Lu Ziyuan; his aunt, Madam Li; his older cousin, Lu Yao; and Lu Yao’s husband, Zhou Yu.

’His predecessor had met them a few times but didn’t have a strong impression of them.’

The other two, the guards Wang Shouzhong and Zheng Ke, had originally been his family’s men. They had escorted him out of the city just yesterday.

’But now they stood behind his uncle, Lu Ziyuan, and the others. It seemed they had switched allegiances.’

"Is... is he a person or a ghost?"

Madam Li swallowed, her expression a mixture of terror and suspicion. Her earlier arrogance was gone.

The sun was setting. Lu Ziyuan glanced at the long shadow Lu Bai cast on the ground. His mind raced for a moment, then he said in a low voice, "He has a shadow. He’s human."

Hearing this, the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

’As long as he was human, it was fine.’

’Especially since he was a kind, weak-willed person, easy to bully.’

Uncle Fu was the first to recover. He looked at Lu Ziyuan’s group and said, "First Master Lu, only the young master can make decisions about the master’s property in Liuxi Town. Please see yourselves out."

Lu Ziyuan walked up to Lu Bai, an air of authority about him. He said in a deep voice, "Ah Bai, you are still young and have no experience managing apothecaries. As your uncle, I’m taking over the four apothecaries in Liuxi Town. I’m doing this for your father, to protect this fortune for our Lu Family. I will return it to you in the future."

Lu Bai smiled. "Uncle, you are so considerate. You must be doing this for my own good."

’Such nonsense,’ Lu Ziyuan thought to himself. ’Even I don’t believe it. It could only fool a simpleton like Lu Bai.’

Hearing this, Uncle Fu frowned deeply and couldn’t help but interject, "Young Master..."

Lu Ziyuan reacted instantly. The moment Uncle Fu spoke, he shot the old man a glare, cutting him off. "Ah Bai," he said in a low voice, "remember, your surname is Lu. We are your family! Don’t listen to outsiders and let them drive a wedge between blood relatives."

"Of course."

Lu Bai nodded. "Uncle and Aunt have always been truly good to me. You always buy me gifts for holidays and festivals, and my cousin always played with me when we were children. Besides my mother and father, you are my closest relatives."

"See? Ah Bai understands."

Madam Li beamed.

His cousin, Lu Yao, lowered her head slightly, her thoughts unreadable.

Zhou Yu pursed his lips and sneered.

Hearing Lu Bai say this, Lu Ziyuan actually felt his face flush with a bit of shame.

’Coming from anyone else, those words would have been pure sarcasm.’

’But Lu Bai had always been a simple, sincere boy, without an ounce of cunning. His words had to be heartfelt.’

Madam Lu simply held onto Lu Bai, weeping with joy and saying nothing. Uncle Fu could only sigh helplessly and shake his head in secret.

’If only the Eldest Young Master were still alive.’

’The young master was simply too naive. He didn’t understand the cynicism of the world or the wickedness of the human heart.’

Madam Li said, "Since Ah Bai is being so sensible, let’s settle this today. I’ll draw up a contract, you can just add your handprint, and the four apothecaries will be handed over to your uncle to manage. Then you can just relax and be a carefree young master."

Lu Ziyuan added, "Don’t worry, Ah Bai. We’re family. Your uncle won’t mistreat you and your mother."

"That would be for the best. I trust you, Uncle and Aunt. It saves me from worrying about it myself."

Lu Bai smiled, nodded, and agreed without hesitation.

Then, Lu Bai hesitated, glancing at his father’s memorial tablet. "But those four apothecaries were my father’s life’s work. To sign them away when his body is barely cold... I fear his spirit in heaven will not be able to rest peacefully."

"What? Are you going back on your word?"

Madam Li’s expression darkened, and her voice rose unconsciously.

Lu Bai shook his head. "Not at all. I just want to wait until after the forty-nine-day mourning period. After I’ve taken off my mourning clothes and can wear regular attire again, then I will transfer the four apothecaries to Uncle."

Madam Li was getting impatient. "What a hassle," she muttered. "We have to wait over forty days for that."

"Ah Bai has a point," Lu Ziyuan said. "As his elders, we should allow him to show his filial piety."

Lu Ziyuan didn’t want to push him too hard.

’Good things come to those who wait. It wasn’t like Madam Lu and her son could stir up any trouble anyway.’

’Besides, living in this residence, it wasn’t even certain the pair of them would survive the next forty-odd days.’

The sky was growing dark. Lu Ziyuan glanced at the memorial canopies around them, a hint of fear in his eyes. Unwilling to stay any longer, he said, "Ah Bai, you’ve had a scare. You should rest early. We’ll be going now."

Without waiting for a response, Lu Ziyuan led his group out.

"Take care, Uncle and Aunt. Goodbye, Cousin."

Lu Bai smiled and waved.

Lu Yao glanced back at Lu Bai, her expression somewhat unnatural. She forced a smile before turning to leave.

As Wang Shouzhong and Zheng Ke walked past Lu Bai, Wang Shouzhong stopped. "Young Master Bai," he said, "you have always treated us brothers well and have never been stingy with rewards. But we have to find a way to live. If we cause you any offense in the future, we hope you will forgive us."

"I understand."

Lu Bai smiled.

Seeing Lu Ziyuan’s family off, Lu Bai felt a slight sense of relief.

’My predecessor’s body was too weak. His Martial Arts Cultivation hadn’t even reached the First Level of the foundational Root Bone Stage. He only knew a few crude moves of the Five-Step Fist and Basic Swordsmanship.’

’His family was dwindling. Neither Madam Lu nor Uncle Fu knew any Martial Arts. If he had a direct confrontation with Lu Ziyuan’s family right then and there, he would have no chance of winning.’

’Those two guards, Wang Shouzhong and Zheng Ke, could restrain him with a single hand.’

’Besides, he had already died mysteriously once. By playing along for now, he had bought himself at least forty-odd days.’

’Having just arrived, he still needed to familiarize himself with this world and process all this new information.’

’He could use this time to make a plan.’

Once inside the Lu Residence, the scrawny black dog began sniffing all over. It came to a corner and started digging at the dirt, making a SCRAPING sound.

While everyone was talking, the sound had gone unnoticed. But now, in the sudden silence, it seemed exceptionally eerie.

The sky was dark. A sinister wind whipped up, making the white mourning cloths inside the Lu Residence flutter. Around the memorial canopy, the candle flames flickered, threatening to go out.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!