The Mirror Master

Chen Martial Arts Hall.

Madam Chen watched Chen Tieshan writhing on the floor in agony, feeling completely helpless and frantic with worry.

"Xiaofeng, Qianqian, quickly, think of something!"

Madam Chen urged.

Chen Qianqian was also burning with anxiety. "Brother, what do we do? What’s happening?"

"I don’t know."

Chen Xiaofeng had never encountered a situation like this. His mind was in complete chaos.

"It hurts! It’s killing me!"

Another agonizing scream escaped Chen Tieshan’s lips as he gasped for breath.

The three of them surrounded Chen Tieshan, who looked like he’d be better off dead. They were all at a complete loss, with no one able to take charge.

In the end, it was Chen Xiaofeng who made a decision. "How about... how about I go find a doctor first."

Chen Qianqian’s brows furrowed deeply.

’It’s the middle of the night. Even if I break down the door and drag the doctor out of bed, who knows how long it will take to go and come back. It’s uncertain if Father can even last that long.’

Just then, Chen Tieshan’s struggles gradually ceased, and he finally lay motionless.

"Father, Father..."

Chen Qianqian tried calling out softly twice but received no response. Her heart trembled.

"My husband!"

Madam Chen cried out, her body swaying as she nearly collapsed.

’He’s not breathing?’

Chen Xiaofeng threw himself forward, shaking Chen Tieshan’s shoulders with all his might. "Father, you can’t die!"

Chen Tieshan managed to force his eyes open and stared intently at Chen Xiaofeng.

’If he keeps shaking me like this, I really am going to die.’

"Aaaah!"

Chen Xiaofeng shuddered in fright, thinking Chen Tieshan’s corpse had reanimated. In his terror, he almost flung him away.

No one knows a son better than his father. Seeing his son scared into such a pathetic state, Chen Tieshan guessed his reaction and quickly said, "I’m not dead."

"My husband!"

"Father!"

Madam Chen and Chen Qianqian snapped back to reality and rushed over, helping Chen Tieshan to the side of the bed to sit down.

"Father, are you still in pain? What just happened? Did you suffer a cultivation deviation while practicing?"

Chen Qianqian fired off a series of questions.

Chen Tieshan didn’t have the strength to speak and just shook his head.

The sudden, excruciating pain from just a moment ago had made him wish for death.

Although it hadn’t been life-threatening, it had still left him half-dead.

Strangely, the intense pain had come on suddenly, but it also faded just as quickly.

That incredibly intense, bone-deep agony rapidly dissipated.

However, after that ordeal, he was drenched in sweat, his Heart and Spirit were exhausted, and he felt more tired than if he had fought an opponent for three hundred rounds.

Chen Tieshan rested for a while before he began to circulate his Inner Power Heart Method to inspect his body’s condition.

An hour later, he had completed a full cycle. His body showed no abnormalities, and he had recovered some of his strength.

But the memory of that pain, which had struck without warning, still left him with lingering fear.

He didn’t know when that feeling might strike again.

"Xiaofeng, go get Lu Bai."

Chen Tieshan ordered.

’This bizarre method is exactly like the ancient Evil Technique Lu Bai spoke of! Didn’t Lu Bai already resolve this during the day? How could something like this crop up again at night?’

"It was his doing!"

Chen Xiaofeng’s eyes widened, his face filled with anger.

Chen Qianqian chimed in, "During the day, I saw him acting all mysterious, smearing Black Dog Blood and scattering Cinnabar everywhere. It didn’t look like he was up to any good."

"Don’t talk nonsense!"

Chen Tieshan frowned. "I’m telling you to invite him over so we can ask him to his face."

Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps came from outside the door.

"Master, Lord Liu, the County Captain, has arrived."

The steward hesitated for a moment before adding, "Lord Liu also brought several constables, and more than half of the Government Office’s constables are with them. They don’t look like they’ve come with good intentions."

"Father, we’re in trouble!"

With a guilty conscience and a lack of experience, Chen Xiaofeng’s heart sank. He said, "It must be that last night’s incident was exposed. That’s why the Government Office is at our door!"

"I knew the Government Office wouldn’t be so easy to fool! Lu Bai thought he was being clever, but he just dragged us down with him!"

When Chen Xiaofeng said this, everyone around him was baffled.

’What happened last night? Wasn’t it just that the Lu Family’s house caught fire, and we took in Lu Bai and his mother? Could there be some hidden story behind it?’

"Shut your mouth! Stop spouting nonsense!"

Chen Tieshan shot Chen Xiaofeng a glare, cursing him inwardly as an idiot for causing panic.

’If our secret was truly out, according to the laws of the Wu Dynasty, the Government Office would have just barged in to arrest us. Why would they bother having the steward announce them? It’s most likely something else. I just don’t know what could be so important as to mobilize so many people from the Government Office in the middle of the night.’

"Let’s go out and see."

Chen Tieshan said, quickly changing his clothes. After a slight hesitation, he still took the sword from his side and held it in his hand.

Although he judged that the Government Office wasn’t here to arrest them, he still felt uneasy.

-----------------

"Lord Liu, what brings you to our humble martial arts hall today? Please, come inside and have a seat."

Chen Tieshan arrived in the front courtyard and, seeing County Captain Liu Feng from a distance, greeted him with a smile.

"Hall Master Chen, my apologies for disturbing you by visiting in the middle of the night."

Liu Feng said with a chuckle, then suddenly asked, "Hall Master Chen, did you happen to feel any physical discomfort just now?"

Chen Tieshan’s expression changed.

Seeing Liu Feng’s meaningful smile, Chen Tieshan quickly stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Just now, I was suddenly struck by an excruciating pain that made me wish for death. I nearly lost my life. I ask for Lord Liu’s guidance."

"Heh heh."

Liu Feng said, "It was the work of that madam from the Zhou Family."

’It really was that venomous woman!’

Chen Tieshan cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he showed a confused expression and said, "Madam Zhou, she..."

"Heh!"

Liu Feng laughed. "Hall Master Chen, you’re an old hand in the Jianghu, but I bet you didn’t expect this. That Madam Zhou normally observes a vegetarian diet, prays to Buddha, and lives a secluded life. She even occasionally helps the local villagers perform religious rites. But in reality, she was secretly raising Ghostly Creatures and other evil spirits."

"According to the survivors from the Zhou Family, it seems Madam Zhou refined her own son, Zhou Hao, into a Ghostly Creature!"

Chen Xiaofeng, Chen Qianqian, and the others turned pale upon hearing this.

Chen Tieshan also revealed a look of shock.

’Last night at the Lu Family’s home, I learned from Zhou Yu that this Madam Zhou did indeed know some bizarre techniques. Zhou Yu even said his mother had gone mad. I never expected she was *that* mad!’

"Survivors from the Zhou Family?"

Chen Tieshan quickly caught on and asked, "What happened to the Zhou Family?"

"It was haunted."

Liu Feng said, "The Ghostly Creature that Madam Zhou was raising killed over a hundred people in the Zhou Family residence."

"HISS!"

The members of the Chen Family all drew in a sharp, cold breath.

Chen Tieshan quickly asked, "What about Madam Zhou?"

Liu Feng replied, "Dead. Decapitated."

Chen Tieshan asked, "It was a Ghostly Creature raised by Madam Zhou, so how could it suddenly..."

"That’s hard to say."

Liu Feng said, "Perhaps she exhausted too much energy casting her spell last night, causing her to lose control of the evil spirit and suffer a backlash..."

At this point, Liu Feng seemed to have more to say but stopped.

’Looking at the state of Madam Zhou’s corpse, it’s different from the others killed by the Ghostly Creature. It looks more like her head was severed by a longsword. Perhaps it was internal strife within the Zhou Family, or maybe an old enemy came looking for revenge and killed her. Initially, when I arrived at the scene, my first suspect was Chen Tieshan. After all, the Zhou Family and the Chen Martial Arts Hall had a conflict during the day. The Zhou Family’s guards were crippled, so it would have been the perfect opportunity for Chen Tieshan to press his advantage and come to their door to kill them. But when I saw that blood-stained doll on the bed, I knew Chen Tieshan could barely protect himself, let alone run over to the Zhou Family’s residence to kill someone. Compared to the haunting at the Zhou residence, these are just minor details. No matter who killed her, Madam Zhou got what she deserved! Raising Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits is a capital crime in the Wu Dynasty, punishable by the execution of the entire family. It is also a major taboo. What’s more, that blood-stained doll on the bed has already exposed Madam Zhou’s origins! For him, this was a great merit.’

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