Chapter 88: Strange Things, Strange Happenings
Yu Sheng leaned closer to the Mirror, examining it more intently. The faint trace of a “second reflection” within the glass gave him a sensation akin to staring out a nighttime window—where the scenery beyond mingled with reflections in the glass. A dark cavern, snow swirling at its entrance, seemed to lie not just within the Mirror, but on the far side of it, elusive and overlapping.
Irene scurried nimbly up Yu Sheng’s shoulder, clutching his head while peering at the wall-mounted Mirror. After a moment of silence, she muttered, “Are those snowflakes… blowing through from the other side of the Mirror?”
“You can see it too?” Yu Sheng turned to her, surprised.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I’m not blind,” Irene replied with a confused frown.
Before Yu Sheng could say more, Foxy nodded from the side. “Benefactor, I can see it too.”
“Er,” Yu Sheng scratched his head awkwardly. “I’ve been dealing with Little Red Riding Hood and Li Lin a lot lately. It’s made me paranoid—like maybe I’m seeing things others can’t.”
Even as he spoke, he quickly weighed his options, then cautiously reached out to touch the surface of the Mirror.
He still remembered what had happened the last time—how the Mirror had revealed a ruined wasteland, where a shattered Doll and a monstrous shadowy Entity perished together in the debris. What might happen this time?
Irene immediately gripped his hair tighter, nerves bristling. “Hey, be careful. What if—”
“Ow, ow, ow! Let go first!”
“Oh! Sorry. I got nervous and did it instinctively.”
The little doll released her fingers belatedly, just as Yu Sheng’s fingertip touched the Mirror.
It was freezing cold, like ice. Aside from the unnatural chill, however, nothing changed in the Mirror. The scene within remained as it was.
“Seems… nothing happened?” Irene, emboldened, reached out to touch it too. “Just cold.”
Yu Sheng nodded, pulling back his hand, brows furrowed as he stared at the Mirror. Then he noticed something—
The overlapping image inside the Mirror began to fade. Within a few breaths, the snowy cave scene vanished entirely, leaving only their own room reflected.
He hesitated, reached out to touch the Mirror again, and found the surface had returned to a normal temperature.
“Benefactor,” Foxy said, having observed silently until now, “was this Mirror always like this?”
“It’s always been off,” Yu Sheng said gravely. “Sometimes it shows strange places… but never like today. This time, snow actually appeared in the room, and some weird iron lump dropped onto the floor.”
He glanced at the strange metal device he’d retrieved from under the table.
The snow by the corner had melted, leaving wet traces on the wooden floor. The dark, clunky metal object was still in his hand. Though the Mirror’s phantom scene had vanished, these… things—things that seemed to come from the Mirror—remained real.
As Irene often said: truly cursed by the Door.
“I’m sleeping in your room tonight!” Irene declared, squeezing Yu Sheng’s head tightly. Her little frame was visibly tense. “I’ll sleep on the chair, the desk, anything—but I’m not staying in that room!”
“You don’t need to say it—I wasn’t planning on letting anyone stay in there again,” Yu Sheng said, prying her hands off his head. “That room’s too bizarre. From now on, unless I’m present, don’t open the Door in there.”
Both Irene and Foxy nodded earnestly.
“Also,” Yu Sheng added as he plucked Irene off his shoulder, fixing her with a stern look, “even if you don’t stay in that room, you could bunk with Foxy. Why cling to my room?”
“The Tail Monster whips people with her tail while sleeping!” the little doll wailed mid-air, flailing her limbs. “If you kick me off the bed, I just fall to the floor. But she smacks me into the wall! Didn’t you see?!”
What followed was an endless stream of complaints. About not having her own room, being ignored for her small size, not having her own bed, being shuffled around at night—she didn’t even pause to breathe. As a Doll, she didn’t need to.
Yu Sheng actually considered shoving her into Foxy’s tail, but knowing the chaos she’d raise afterward, he wisely kept it to himself.
Yu Sheng carried the incessantly beeping little doll, left the eerie chamber with Miss Foxy, and then turned back to carefully lock the Door. He even pushed it several times to make sure it was truly sealed.
“Benefactor, shall I guard this Door tonight?” Miss Foxy asked in a hushed tone, noticing how unsettled Yu Sheng looked. “If anything stirs within, I can call for you.”
Yu Sheng envisioned the Nine Tailed Fox crouched in the hallway watching the Door and immediately shook his head. “No need. That cursed Door’s been around for more than just a day or two.”
As he spoke, something seemed to strike him. He set Irene down and pulled out the new mobile device he had just received from the Special Affairs Bureau.
Irene finally ceased her beeping, her curiosity piqued. “What are you doing?”
“When dealing with cursed Doors, better ask a cursed Door expert. I’m going to post on the ‘Border Communication Platform.’ Maybe someone recognizes this thing,” Yu Sheng said, fiddling with the software. “There must be an image upload feature… yeah, found it. Those adventurers and Investigators who explore all sorts of bizarre places would definitely use this.”
He held the device in one hand and the strange metal obelisk in the other, snapping several photos from various angles before uploading them to the public message wall.
After a bit of deliberation, he browsed through the preset channel list and located two potentially relevant ones: “Discussion of Strange Objects” and “Unusual Phenomena Forum.” He posted the photos there too, writing a concise note modeled after other users’ posts:
“Unknown item. Metallic in composition. No signs of corrosion or life. Found inside a room, which appeared to have experienced snowfall. Possibly connected to a Mirror that reflects distant landscapes.”
Originally, Yu Sheng wanted to write “found at home,” but deleted it upon reflection. Ordinary homes typically don’t house such things or accumulate snow indoors. Wutong Road No. 66 was a special place, and its secrets were not to be carelessly revealed.
Yu Sheng considered himself reasonably grounded in common sense.
“Think anyone will reply?” Irene had climbed nimbly onto his shoulder and peered at the screen. “Just these photos? Your description’s pathetic. I’ve seen posts with hundreds of words, some even include videos…”
“I don’t have much more to say,” Yu Sheng sighed. “The surroundings? Just a room. As for unusual properties, it doesn’t feel like anything when you hold it.”
“True that…”
The little doll mumbled.
Yu Sheng returned to the living room, keeping Miss Foxy and Irene company while watching TV and monitoring the ‘Border Communication Platform’ for replies. He waited until evening before finally receiving a notification.
He opened it to find a user named “Three Thousand Wicked Disciples” had responded in the “Discussion of Strange Objects” channel:
“Can you describe the surrounding environment in detail? Was this within the Otherworld? If so, what type of Otherworld? Any sentient beings present or traces thereof?”
Yu Sheng stared blankly at the barrage of questions. Still, this was the first time someone had acknowledged his post. It was also his first contact with a stranger on this platform as a Spirit Realm Detective. Fueled by cautious enthusiasm, he quickly began typing:
“Otherworld. A private residence. Environment is that of a typical modern home,” he typed, glancing around. “Pretty peaceful. No spawning entities. As for sentient beings—”
He paused, his expression turning peculiar as he glanced at Irene on his lap and Miss Foxy grooming her tail nearby.
“Yes, there are sentient beings.”
Irene leaned over, peeking at his screen. “You really think someone can answer your question? Even the Special Affairs Bureau didn’t know about Wutong Road No. 66 until a few days ago, and here you are chatting seriously with some random stranger.”
“I know. But asking doesn’t cost anything, does it? Who knows,” Yu Sheng replied. “Besides, maybe nobody knows about Wutong Road No. 66, but this thing that suddenly dropped into our house could be from ‘outside.’ Someone might recognize it.”
Irene thought it over, gave a soft “Oh,” and turned back to the television.
Soon, Yu Sheng’s device vibrated again.
Another message from “Three Thousand Wicked Disciples”: “I have never heard of such an Otherworld. Your description is indeed peculiar… but the item is intriguing. It seems man-made, yet the inscriptions in its corners are extremely bizarre. Perhaps an Eminent One at the Academy might take interest.”