Chapter 192

Lu Mian looked at the shattered mirror in Fu Lanka's hand and said with a mix of relief and confusion:

"But I didn't feel like I was attacked at all."

His "Dance of Summoning" could have lasted another five or six seconds, and it was only terminated early when Fu Lanka grabbed his wrist.

Fu Lanka cleared her throat and assumed the posture of a teacher:

"Some occult methods won't let you notice them at all. The moment you feel you've been attacked is the moment you die."

Could it be that the monster secretly exerted influence during the one or two-second gap between stopping the "Dance of Summoning" and actually diving into the mirror? Lu Mian nodded thoughtfully:

"Hmm, the bleeding phenomenon we experienced in that space was also without warning; I don't know how to stop it."

As he spoke, he looked at Fu Lanka's face and found her skin smooth, without a single scar; one couldn't tell at all that blood had been seeping from multiple places just moments ago.

Fu Lanka raised her hand to touch her face and deliberated:

"It really is bizarre.

"But we really did lose some blood. As a 'Witch,' I have an occult sense of the total volume of my own blood.

"In other words, the injuries we sustained in that special Mirror World weren't fake; they just didn't leave any wounds.

"Damn, I didn't take out my carbide lamp!"

As she spoke, she turned and began rummaging through a pile of rubble on the side of the dim tunnel.

Lu Mian hadn't had time to bring his own carbide lamp either, so he could only observe Fu Lanka's every move with the help of the little light penetrating from afar.

In less than ten seconds, Fu Lanka pulled a mirror from the rubble pile.

The mirror seemed to be crafted from pure silver, with patterns on both sides that were mysterious and carried a hint of evil, while its surface was dull and lusterless, as if eroded by time.

"Sure enough, there's a corresponding mirror in reality." Fu Lanka tried her best to avoid her reflection being caught by the classically styled silver mirror and took the opportunity to teach Lu Mian: "In unsafe places, or when encountering something bizarre, don't look in a mirror if you don't have to. Otherwise, something quite terrifying might happen. And you must absolutely never touch one of unknown origin that is mysterious and evil!"

Lu Mian, who didn't tell Fu Lanka that he couldn't look in a mirror after using the "Spectator's Glasses" for a disguise, nodded:

"I can understand that the exit is a mirror. What I can't figure out now is how we walked into that space without noticing anything. We didn't encounter anything on the way."

"I'm also confused." Fu Lanka covered the surface of the classical silver mirror with a handkerchief and stood up. "This thing seems to have a very close connection to the 'Witch' pathway. How about you give it to me? I'll find something valuable to compensate you later."

"No problem." Lu Mian laughed. "You actually don't need to ask me; I couldn't snatch it from you anyway."

Fu Lanka clicked her tongue and said:

"No, spoils of war must be distributed reasonably, otherwise there will definitely be conflict within the team. In the past, I... I was often taken advantage of like this. If it weren't for my good personality and lack of grudges, I would have wanted to retaliate against them long ago."

Lady, I suspect you are scolding me... Lu Mian muttered silently.

If his spoils were snatched and he was taken advantage of without reason, and his strength was inferior to the other party, he wouldn't say anything on the spot, but he would definitely find a way to retaliate afterward; it would be absolutely impossible to "forgive" just like that.

Putting away the classical silver mirror, Fu Lanka pointed to where the light was coming through:

"Let's go over there and take a look. We might run into quarry police or other smugglers and can just ask for directions.

"Getting lost in underground Trier and not being able to find a way out might be even more dangerous than being trapped in that special Mirror World just now."

That's true... Lu Mian agreed deeply.

If it weren't for that, the Monsouri ghosts would have been cleared out by official Beyonders long ago.

The two walked forward along the tunnel, which had only a little light, each prepared for a potential attack.

Not long after, they saw a quarry cavern, and in the middle of the cavern stood a figure wearing a felt hat; the light was emitted from the carbide lamp in his hand.

"Uh..." Fu Lanka identified him for a moment and called out, "Fernandez!"

She discovered that the figure was indeed Fernandez, the smuggler who had been responsible for leading the way.

And this seemed to be the very quarry cavern where they had asked the other party to wait.

Fernandez turned around with a *whoosh*, asking in surprise and joy:

"How did you come from this side?

"I waited for nearly half an hour and never saw you. I even went specifically to the place where the footprints disappeared to look for you, but I didn't know where you had gone."

Lu Mian and Fu Lanka looked at each other and nodded.

They had indeed spent nearly half an hour in that special Mirror World.

Fu Lanka walked toward Fernandez and explained casually:

"We discovered some clues and followed them, but ended up circling back here. We were even attacked on the way and lost our carbide lamp."

"What clues?" Fernandez was quite surprised.

Fu Lanka smiled:

"We will tell Christo directly."

Fernandez the smuggler knew his place and didn't ask further, leading the two back along the original route.

They climbed the auxiliary shaft, turned into the underground part corresponding to the Honest Man Market District, and arrived at the exit of the Disorderly Street.

Only when the hawking vendors, the children picking up fruit peels, the homeless people huddled in corners, and the passing pedestrians simultaneously entered Lu Mian and Fu Lanka's eyes did they truly feel they had escaped that bizarre space and returned to the real world.

After sitting on the carriage sent by "Rat" Christo that was waiting nearby, Lu Mian cast his gaze toward Fu Lanka and asked in a low voice:

"What should we say later?"

—Fernandez knew the coachman and sat next to him, not inside the carriage.

Fu Lanka chuckled:

"Just say we entered an unknown space, found some traces, and then relied on my mirror magic to escape.

"Other matters have nothing to do with Christo."

Having agreed on the story, Lu Mian didn't speak again, half-closing his eyes to recall the various encounters in that special Mirror World.

The four-wheeled carriage soon turned into Market Avenue, ran all the way to the place near the Suhit Steam Train Station, and turned toward the street leading to the yard.

"Rat" Christo was waiting in a warehouse nearby.

Not long after, Lu Mian and Fu Lanka saw the smuggling merchant who resembled a rat.

Christo came up to greet them, smiling broadly:

"Steam be praised, thank you! Elken and the others have returned!"

Elken... Fu Lanka's gaze froze, and she blurted out:

"The missing caravan has returned?"

Elken was Christo's younger brother, responsible for managing that smuggling caravan, and had also gone missing before. Fu Lanka still had his handkerchief on her for divination.

Now he was back?

What the hell was going on?

Christo nodded with a smile:

"Yes, that batch of goods is back too!

"They returned more than an hour ago."

More than an hour ago? Wasn't that the time when we found the place where the footprints disappeared and entered that special Mirror World? Lu Mian frowned slightly, and one question after another arose in his heart.

It was only because he had experienced even more inconceivable things like time loops and real dreams that he didn't lose his composure a bit like Fu Lanka.

Seeing that both Fu Lanka and Charles were full of surprise and confusion, Christo laughed:

"I'll let Elken tell you himself."

He then turned around, walked a few steps toward the warehouse entrance, and shouted loudly:

"Elken, come out for a moment!"

Taking this opportunity, Fu Lanka tilted her head slightly, leaned toward Lu Mian's head, and whispered:

"This is very strange..."

Lu Mian curled his lips and said in a low voice:

"I'm even wondering if 'Rat' and the others teamed up to set a trap for us, using the disappearance of the goods to lure us underground and make us step into that dangerous space voluntarily."

Fu Lanka looked him up and down and said amusingly:

"Are you too distrustful of others?"

Lu Mian stated flatly:

"The dancers' base salary makes both 'Giant' and Baron Brignier hate you, and I took over the Breeze Dance Hall that they both wanted.

"So it's only 'Rat' who has no conflict of interest with us, which is why he came forward."

Fu Lanka fell into deep thought, seriously considering the possibility of being plotted against.

At this moment, Lu Mian smiled:

"This is just a guess; it can't explain the footprints and other traces in the Mirror World."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man under thirty walked out of the warehouse.

He was also not tall, about 1.6 meters, and except for not having a rat-like mustache, he was the spitting image of another Christo.

"It really is Elken." Fu Lanka introduced him to Lu Mian in a low voice.

Then, she looked at Christo and Elken, who had come over together, and said:

"Elken, what exactly happened?"

Elken's dark blue eyes revealed a look of lingering fear mixed with joy:

"We walked into a strange world in a tunnel and couldn't get out no matter what. By the afternoon, when we were exploring for a path everywhere, we suddenly walked back to the original route."

Did our entry give them the opportunity to leave? Fu Lanka had a guess.

Lu Mian, however, looked at Elken without a shred of emotion, as if he were sizing up an enemy who might bring disaster upon himself.

In his mind, he saw the drops of blood left on the ground in the Mirror World, which had gradually become dense from being sparse, eventually dyeing an entire area red.

Could a person who had lost so much blood really still be alive?

Fu Lanka clearly thought of this too and looked at Elken:

"Did you encounter anything there?"

Elken couldn't help but tremble a few times:

"We started bleeding for no reason. By the end, many people were almost dead.

"Steam be praised, we found the exit in time, and as soon as we came out, we recovered."

Is that so? Seeing that Elken, who wore the triangular holy emblem, said everything that could be matched and explained, Fu Lanka had to temporarily put aside the doubts in her heart.

"Rat" Christo, who was next to them, glanced at them and invited them with a smile:

"Regardless, I need to thank you.

"Would you like to taste the most authentic Sava roast chicken?"

"Alright." Lu Mian answered on behalf of Fu Lanka.

Christo then took out a bunch of keys and threw them to his younger brother Elken:

"Go to my office and bring all the spices inside to the kitchen."

"Alright." Elken took the keys, climbed the iron stairs embedded in the outer wall of the warehouse to the top floor, inserted one of the keys into the door of Christo's office with his left hand, and turned it to open it.

Fu Lanka was stunned for a moment and said to herself:

"I remember Elken is used to using his right hand..."

Without holding anything else, why would he use his left hand to open the door so awkwardly?

Hearing Fu Lanka's words, Christo nodded and responded:

"Yes, he is right-handed."

(End of Chapter)