Return to Wen County

"Whoosh~"

Inside a hotel room in the French Concession in Shanghai, Liu Daimei stared nervously at the motionless Bronze Mirror on the sofa. Another burst of dazzling white light flashed, and she narrowed her eyes while fighting back tears. The moment she saw Gu Sheng reappear, she rushed straight at him.

"Husband! Don’t leave me!"

Liu Daimei hugged Gu Sheng tightly and refused to let go. She had truly been terrified just now.

"It’s fine! It’s fine! It’s all fine now!"

With a beautiful woman in his arms and the Octagonal Bronze Mirror subdued, Gu Sheng was in an excellent mood. He hugged Liu Daimei and lay down on the sofa, quietly holding her without thinking about anything else.

"Husband, what exactly is this mirror? Why did it suck you inside just now?"

Liu Daimei pressed her cheek against Gu Sheng’s chest, feeling reassured as she listened to his heartbeat. Even while lying quietly, she still wasn’t idle. Pointing at the Bronze Mirror—the "culprit" that had worried her—she asked her question.

"As I just said, it’s a Mystic Item—a Mystic Item specifically meant to capture demons!"

Gu Sheng stroked Liu Daimei’s hair, inhaled her pleasant fragrance, and gently explained, "I found some information earlier. Great Tang Dynasty Master, Bai Liuli, apparently once befriended a monk named Wu Xin.

"I instinctively felt that this matter was related to the mission, so I kept searching for information about Bai Liuli. This once-famous and illustrious master later fell into ruin, and many of his treasures ended up scattered outside.

"The porcelain pillow belonging to the Su family was actually specially made by the Su family’s ancestor to conceal this mirror obtained from Great Tang Dynasty Master, Bai Liuli.

"This mirror isn’t an ordinary Mystic Item. It originally came as a pair: one for capturing demons and one for treating demons. They could also refine demons and evil beings and assist with cultivation, increasing the user’s magical power.

"The one I have is the demon-capturing mirror. The other one was given by Great Tang Dynasty Master, Bai Liuli, to a Sorcerer from the Shirakawa Clan in Dongying more than a thousand years ago. That Sorcerer then passed it down through the family as their clan’s treasured heirloom.

"For thousands of years, the Shirakawa Clan made full use of that Bronze Mirror. It was originally a divine tool specifically meant to treat demons. The Shirakawa Clan used it to seal demonic creatures. Those that obeyed were treated and subdued, while the unruly ones were all sealed inside, becoming stepping stones for the Shirakawa Clan to increase its magical power!"

"So powerful!"

Liu Daimei looked at the Bronze Mirror in Gu Sheng’s hand in utter disbelief. This tiny object could actually connect to an entire courtyard and had so many uses.

"Look!"

Gu Sheng released one arm slightly, then called toward the inside of his trench coat, "Azure Spirit, come out. I’m going to give you a new place to stay!"

"Hiss, hiss~"

Glittering with a bright azure light beneath the sun, the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling slowly slithered out. The moment it appeared, Liu Daimei instinctively shrank back and gripped Gu Sheng’s hands even more tightly.

"Come on! Don’t resist!"

Gu Sheng smiled at Qing Ling, then turned the mirror toward it and slowly sent Inner Force into it. A flash of white light passed, and the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling disappeared from where it had been.

"What is this~"

Liu Daimei leaned over to take a look. She saw a tiny snake circling back and forth on the small Bronze Mirror in Gu Sheng’s palm.

Gu Sheng had already become the mirror’s master, so he could naturally grant it permissions. With a thought, half of the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling’s head emerged. It moved around joyfully, as if swimming.

"This is pretty interesting!"

Watching the adorable Qing Ling constantly swim around in Gu Sheng’s palm, Liu Daimei gradually let go of her fear of creatures like it and began interacting with Gu Sheng and the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling.

"Woo~ woo~ woo~"

At Wen County Railway Station, a train whistled as it pulled into the station. A man and a woman walked out from the locomotive’s passenger compartment.

"Chief of Staff!"

The soldiers who had been waiting for a long time hurried over. Several sharp-eyed soldiers carefully took the luggage from Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei’s hands.

An officer who appeared to be a secretary walked over and said, "Chief of Staff, the carriage is ready. Commander Gu has also reserved a banquet at the restaurant. He’s just waiting for you to come over so he can welcome you and wash away the dust!"

"Let’s go!"

Gu Sheng nodded. He followed the officer to a carriage, helped Liu Daimei into it first, then climbed in with one step and sat down with the beauty in his arms.

"Giddy-up~ giddy-up~ giddy-up~"

The carriage slowly set off, swaying as it headed toward the center of Wen County. Cars were still rare in this era, and Wen County was no metropolis like Shanghai, so there were no cars. People either traveled by carriage or on horseback.

"Whoa~~"

At the coachman’s cry, the carriage came to a steady stop in front of the restaurant. Neatly dressed guards stood watch all around it. The restaurant entrance, which was normally crowded with people coming and going, was now practically deserted. To welcome them, Gu Mengmeng had rented out the entire restaurant.

"Hey! Old Zhang, you really made me wait! You’re finally back!"

At the seat of honor in the main dining hall, Gu Xuanwu rose directly to welcome Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei. When he saw Xiao Chunzi—Liu Daimei’s host body and Gu Xuanwu’s childhood sweetheart—whose bearing had changed drastically, his heart sank. This was the hardest thing to accept: she was his brother’s woman. He couldn’t touch her!

"Look! Good tobacco and good liquor. I brought plenty for you!"

Gu Sheng smiled and presented the gifts he had prepared. Although he didn’t smoke and rarely drank of his own accord, he knew a thing or two about social etiquette.

"You’re something else! You didn’t forget about me. My help managing the unit wasn’t wasted!"

Gu Xuanwu happily accepted the foreign cigarettes, liquor, and souvenirs Gu Sheng had brought. He was quite pleased after looking them over, but then he asked in confusion, "That’s quite a lot of stuff. You gave it all to me, so what will you do? I remember your smoking and drinking habits were even worse than mine!"

Gu Sheng smiled. "I quit. Daimei doesn’t like it, and I no longer need to force a smile like I used to. If I don’t like something, I don’t like it. I actually dislike both cigarettes and liquor quite a bit. Using them too much can easily kill you!"

"Hey! Don’t be so vicious!"

Gu Xuanwu grumbled, "You’re planning to quit, but I haven’t quit yet! Put that way, doesn’t it sound like you’re saying I’m going to die young?"

"I’ve said my piece. Whether you listen is up to you!"

Gu Sheng had no interest in arguing with Gu Xuanwu over the matter. With an old chain-smoker and a Drunkard, even if you put the facts in front of him and told him that smoking and excessive drinking were harmful to his health,

he could still come up with a whole pile of sophistry to argue back. Gu Sheng simply couldn’t be bothered to fight with Gu Xuanwu about it.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? What do you mean, whether I listen is up to me?"

Gu Xuanwu refused to let it go. He opened his mouth and shouted at Gu Sheng, "I think your way of thinking is seriously flawed. What do you mean, you’ve said your piece? If you’re going to say it, then you should say something correct!

"Smoking isn’t opium. What harm could it do? And as for drinking, if a man doesn’t drink, is he still a man?"