Chapter 70 [Chapter Order Adjusted]

It is said that when Ding Xiaolong was originally sent in for a checkup, multiple scans revealed nothing unusual in his abdomen.

It was not until a spectral figure appeared beside the doctor, extending an ash-gray, corpse-spotted hand to point at the screen, that they finally noticed the ancient copper coins inside Ding Xiaolong's stomach.

And that figure, even many years later, remained one of the enduring legends of that hospital.

*

At the exact moment Li Chen's phantom vanished, Yang Siguang reached out toward him almost instinctively.

He tried in vain to grasp the lingering, scattering illusion of the departed. However, as the illusion completely dissolved, the only thing he managed to catch was Li帛's sturdy and slightly rough hand.

"Siguang?! Are you alright—"

Li Bo stared at Yang Siguang with a nervous expression. It took quite a while for Yang Siguang to register what was happening—his cheeks were drenched, and he had long since broken down completely.

For an adult male, this display was somewhat humiliating, but Yang Siguang could no longer bring himself to care.

Like a drowning person clutching the final piece of driftwood, he clung desperately to Li Bo's arm, repeating the exact same sentence over and over again.

"I have to save him, I have to save him..."

The young man's teeth chattered loudly. Although the death curse had been lifted, his entire body felt as cold as ice when embraced.

Li Bo tightened his grip around him unconsciously, and then heard Yang Siguang continue, "...I have to kill the Mirror Deity."

The man's movements paused abruptly.

Yet Yang Siguang's voice gradually grew calm and resolute.

"That's right, I have to do this."

Otherwise, Li Chen would remain trapped in the depths of the mirror forever, tortured and abused by that malicious evil ghost, for all eternity, never to attain liberation.

...

This was the reason why, on that evening not long ago, the vehicle had ultimately crashed not into Yang Siguang, but into Li Chen—that was the price Li Chen had been forced to pay to ensure Yang Siguang's survival.

*

"Kill the ancient Mirror Deity? Rescue Li Chen? Are you two... are you out of your minds??"

However...

Obviously, as far as Aunt Qiao was concerned, Yang Siguang's decision had zero possibility of realization.

"Just in case, Aunt Qiao is going to make this clear to you both: I am a shamanic medium, not an actual immortal!"

The woman's cheeks, which had been slightly pale from finishing the altar ritual, were now as dark as if they had been smeared with soot.

With her hands on her hips and her eyes wide, she glared fiercely at Li Bo.

When she looked at Yang Siguang, her expression was equally foul.

"...You two wet-behind-the-ears brats have the nerve to spout such nonsense. Do you have any idea what the Li family's ancient Mirror Deity is? Since It dares to call itself an immortal, it naturally has its reasons. Generations of the Li family have worshipped this entity since the Qing Dynasty, sacrificing countless flesh and blood, weaving endless karmic ties, just to barely maintain such an immortal in their household."

"I dared to take the risk to lift the death curse for you, and that was already because I burned incense and prayed, countless good words spoken to my patron immortal just to barely pull it off. And I took a massive risk doing that! But what do I get? You two pull this stunt on me? Talking about destroying the ancient Mirror Deity... What is that lump growing on your shoulders? Is it wonton soup or are there roundworms in your brains?"

Aunt Qiao was furious.

As her anger peaked, she simply whirled around, tucked the ritual tools she had brought under her elbow, and strode directly toward the exit of the hospital ward, looking as though she intended to make a run for it right then and there.

Li Bo, who had previously been too ashamed to lift his head under Aunt Qiao's scolding, involuntarily cried out, "Aunt Qiao—"

Before he could continue, Aunt Qiao snapped her head around to cut him off.

"Don't call me Aunt Qiao, and don't bring up any damn payment. I have no intention of taking your blood money anyway. Your price is too high; it makes my stomach turn just hearing it."

Li Bo, however, shook his head.

"No, Aunt, I wasn't planning on naming a price for you. I know that helping us deal with the death curse was already out of the goodness of your heart... I just... I'm just begging you, think of my mother."

The man's voice was hoarse, his tone exceptionally dark as he brought up the past.

"Just consider it for my mother's sake and give us a hint. When the time comes to deal with the ancient Mirror Deity, we won't trouble you to take action; we'll handle it ourselves. Whatever blessings or disasters await us, we'll bear them ourselves."

Yang Siguang clearly realized the atmosphere had turned sour, especially feeling a jolt of alarm when Li Bo suddenly brought up his mother again.

"..."

Meanwhile, Aunt Qiao stood frozen in place, unmoving.

It was evident she was clenching her teeth so tightly that the muscles on her cheeks were twitching slightly.

"Li Bo, you ungrateful wretch—"

After a long pause, she cursed through gritted teeth.

The moment Li Bo's biological mother was mentioned, Aunt Qiao could no longer bring herself to leave.

Those two sisters who had once depended on each other for survival used to hold hands and whisper foolish promises of facing adversity together and sharing weal and woe.

Yet in the end, one of them went off to become a shaman, while the other became bewitched, married into a wealthy family, and then—despite all objections—bent over backwards to send her own child away to be raised as someone else's adopted son. And when that child was locked in a basement with his life hanging in the balance, the mother finally woke up, weeping as she went back to seek help from her old sister.

Li Bo had no idea what price his biological mother had ultimately paid to allow him to leave that basement unscathed. He only knew that not long after that incident, the woman passed away very mysteriously. As for Aunt Qiao, ever since that spiritual battle, she had kept a wide berth from the Li family, never daring to provoke them in the slightest.

She never spoke of it, but Li Bo knew that his mother's death was a lingering pain in Aunt Qiao's heart... No matter what, he shouldn't have used his mother's death as leverage, yet at this moment, he had no other choice.

"...Put that way, my mother must have been killed by the mirror ghost as well, right?"

Li Bo's voice was hoarse.

"Li Bo?"

Yang Siguang's expression froze.

He couldn't help but grip Li Bo's hand tightly. True, he desired to destroy the Mirror Deity and release Li Chen's soul more than anyone else, but Li Bo's reaction had far exceeded his expectations.

He had originally planned to beg Aunt Qiao himself if things didn't work out. He hadn't wanted to drag Li Bo into this, especially since it involved the other's past...

Li Bo merely tightened his grip in return.

Yet he did not respond to Yang Siguang's anxious gaze.

"I am not asking you this for Yang Siguang's sake," the man said.

"I just feel... feel that going on like this is utterly meaningless. Look, Li Chen is dead, and those two old monsters are starting to pressure me into getting married so I can have children to feed the evil ghosts they keep. If we back down again this time, my children's children, and even more of our blood relatives... will all be fed into that ghost nest of the Li family. I'm tired too, Aunt Qiao. Just consider it an act of mercy, and simply point us in the direction..."

Hearing this, Aunt Qiao drew a deep breath, her figure trembling slightly.

She stared straight at Li Bo, her expression exceptionally grave.

"You two are truly out of your minds," she muttered.

"You think no one ever thought of touching the Li family's guardian deity before? In the end, they couldn't even make it through the Li family gates; before they could do a thing, they all died one by one, dying in the most bizarre ways. Those who managed to leave behind an intact corpse already possessed profound cultivation. That entity is the ultimate dark and evil force. You want to destroy it? Ha, easier said than done. Ordinary altar rituals are useless. The only way is to destroy its physical vessel in the mortal world."

With that, her gaze swept back and forth between the two men before her.

"...Don't think this is that simple. In this world, any mirror could potentially be its vessel. How on earth do you expect to find it? As for the root of the death curse on little Yang, if other ghosts hadn't guided you, do you think you could have seen it... Keep dreaming!"

Finally, her gaze settled entirely on Yang Siguang.

"Aunt Qiao?"

"Aunt Qiao..."

Seeming to realize something, Li Bo and Yang Siguang spoke almost simultaneously, though one was frantic while the other was calm.

"That Mirror Deity... really likes little Yang quite a lot."

Ignoring the two men, Aunt Qiao muttered to herself.

"Given its usual dark, sinister, and vicious temper, when dealing with ordinary people, why would it ever use such roundabout methods? Yet when it came to little Yang, it rolled out illusions and nightmares one after another, and until it had no other choice, it actually hadn't really harmed him directly," Aunt Qiao said word by word. "I suppose when it seized the body of the child named Li Chen, it must have been influenced to some extent as well."

"What do you mean?"

Hearing this, a ripple stirred in Yang Siguang's heart. It was hard to tell whether panic, tension, or a trace of lingering joy surged up all at once.

In contrast, Li Bo's expression grew increasingly grim.

"You must go to its side," Aunt Qiao sighed softly.

"You have to let the Mirror Deity take you away, to the world beyond the mortal realm. When that time comes, I will prepare a sword for you. If you are lucky, you might actually destroy it. But I'll lay it out straight: the chances of this method succeeding are slim. That side of the mirror is its domain; even the officers of the underworld cannot reach it there, and in that place, it is no different from a true immortal. If you're unlucky and get discovered by the Mirror Deity before you can strike, your fate will likely be worse than death. Honestly, if you die, at least you have the chance of reincarnation. But if you fall into that thing's hands, you will never escape for all eternity. The people of the Li family, well, they at least enjoyed wealth and glory, so suffering that fate as part of the collective family karma can't be helped. But you, little Yang, you really have no need to wade into this muddy water—"

"That's right."

The one nodding nearby was Li Bo.

"Siguang, after this matter, it has nothing to do with you anymore. Don't worry about it anymore. As for Li Chen, I'll figure something out, I can go—"

"You go?"

Aunt Qiao rolled her eyes dramatically at Li Bo.

"What do you think you are? The premise of the method I mentioned is that the Mirror Deity fancies little Yang. As for you? The entity can't wait to eradicate you so it doesn't have to look at your annoying face."

"But..."

Yang Siguang raised a hand, resting it lightly on Li Bo's shoulder, and with a gentle shove, pushed the man slightly behind him.

He didn't give Li Bo a chance to continue.

"Aunt Qiao, if this method can work, see how we should arrange it. I can do it."