Volume 3: High School Arc - Mirror Game
From the tall buildings that once stood, to the later neatly arranged single-storey houses, and then to the scattered ones, until now… there were hardly any houses visible by the roadside anymore.
Even the ones occasionally seen were in complete disrepair, with collapsed roofs, broken beams, partially standing courtyard walls, and other parts lying flat on the ground.
Wild grass swayed in the shadows with the night wind, sending chills down one’s spine.
“Not far ahead now, but kid, are you sure you really want to stop here?”
Looking around at such desolation, perhaps because of fear, the uncle’s voice carried a trace of urgency.
But that was understandable — no one would feel comfortable staying in a place like this for too long.
Even I, a real ghost, felt that way, let alone the uncle who was still alive.
“Yeah, thank you, uncle. Which way is the mirror factory?”
Watching the car gradually slow down, I could already tell we had nearly arrived.
Though many women tend to lack a strong sense of space, I was different — maybe it had to do with my soul.
I had a strong spatial awareness.
And I had found a way to deal with the body’s instinctive tremors caused by fear.
“It’s over there, see it? There’s a small path there — just follow it up, and you’ll reach the mirror factory.”
The uncle pointed toward a shadowed area on the left side of the road.
Hidden between weeds and tree trunks, there was a path.
Although the road had long been out of repair, you could still see the asphalt, even though it was now full of potholes and in bad shape.
It was still clearly a proper road.
“Thanks, uncle. Dropping me off here is enough.”
I knew the uncle was only being considerate.
Sometimes, people were like that — offering kindness to strangers.
Of course, there were those with antisocial tendencies or people in extremely bad moods who would gloat or lash out.
But I appreciated the uncle’s good intentions.
Still, I had to check it out today, no matter what.
“Uh… this place really isn’t that safe. How about this? I see you’re a young girl here all alone — won’t it be hard for you to get back? How about I wait here a bit? How long will you take?”
It was clear the uncle was curious why I returned here.
But he didn’t have the intention to go check it out himself.
Surprisingly, he seemed a bit timid.
“Thank you, uncle. If you’re willing to wait, that’d be great. If not, I won’t say anything. Of course… I’ll give you some extra money after.”
“Eh! What’s with young people these days? Always talking about money! If I were in it for the money, I would’ve left already! What you paid me is already enough for two round trips!”
The uncle looked genuinely heartbroken, which was kind of funny.
“Hehe, uncle, what’s paid for the trip here is for the trip here — going back is going back. Can’t mix the two.”
“You little girl, so young, yet you spend money like water. You didn’t steal from home, did you?”
“How could I? Look at what I’m wearing, uncle — all genuine leather. Do I look like someone who’d steal from home?”
The uncle joked and laughed,
“Well, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. Kids your age are exactly at the age to be reckless. I’m telling you, I’ll only wait an hour. After that, I’m driving off!”
“Alright! It’s a deal!”
I smiled, raised my hand, and the uncle chuckled wordlessly, then raised his hand and gave me a high five.
Then, I turned around, got out of the car, and walked across the street.
Because I was in Evil Spirit Form, I could see the night road to a certain extent.
What’s more, tonight the stars were shining bright, with no clouds in the sky.
Moonlight spilled onto the earth, giving this dark night a bit of life.
It wasn’t so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
After crossing the street, the sound of the car came from behind me.
I turned to look and saw the uncle had made a U-turn and parked on my side.
He lit a cigarette and waved at me.
It felt like he was saying, ‘Don’t worry, your uncle’s a man of his word.’
Receiving such kindness from a stranger still made me quite happy.
I turned back and stepped into the grass.
The tight leather pants were tucked into my Martin boots, preventing twigs and leaves from getting inside.
So walking in was fairly convenient.
For some of the taller, sharper branches, I casually pulled out the Damascus steel knife I carried with me and cut them one by one.
With experience from being a chef and from martial arts knowledge stored in my mind, I swung the blade with ease, generating a ‘shua-shua’ sound.
In the pitch-black silence of the night, that sound was sharp and clear.
After slashing a few dry branches, I stepped onto the inner road.
This road wasn’t narrow — about wide enough for two small trucks to pass side by side.
The space felt fairly open.
The asphalt was uneven, with patches of bumps and dips.
In some of the cracks, vigorous weeds had grown.
The soil was mottled, and the long road was deserted.
Occasional night winds blew from behind me, stirring up rustling noises, like something was moving through the dry branches and leaves.
The high heels on my Martin boots made it easier to walk without getting my shoes dirty in any muddy puddles.
Some of the low areas still held traces of water — probably from that light rain two days ago.
The further I walked, the fewer weeds there were around.
Though a few trees remained, they weren’t dense — scattered sparsely along the hillside.
Looking up from where I was, I could see a mottled white wall.
Inside, under the moonlight, the rooftops of several buildings sat quietly in place.
“So that’s the place…”
I frowned slightly.
Even though I knew it was useless, my hand still tightened around the Damascus steel knife.
Don’t be fooled by its small thirty-centimeter size — it wasn’t cheap.
It had cost me about five thousand yuan.
It was made from genuine Damascus steel, hand-forged.
I’d tested it before — it was not only sharp, but extremely durable and easy to handle.
Because I couldn’t spend too much money on things like this — every bit of my pocket money would be tracked.
I believed Gong Lianyu and Liu Wanqian wouldn’t let me spend freely.
Of course, as long as it wasn’t reckless spending, they wouldn’t interfere either.
So, I had bought this knife using my old ID.
I didn’t know why, after more than a year, that old ID should’ve been deactivated.
But somehow, it still worked.
At least for online shopping, it was still usable.
I flipped the knife in my hand, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
All the while, I kept alert to the surroundings, carefully watching for anything that might appear…
However, maybe that thing could only appear through reflections.
Even when I reached the outer courtyard, still nothing showed up.