Chapter 37: Echoes in the Mirror Hall
The Mirror Hall was one of the oldest buildings in the estate, long abandoned, its lacquered panels cracked and its bronze mirrors dimmed by time. Now, strange lights flickered between them—silver pulses that moved like breathing.
Mei Xiao stared at her reflection in one of the mirrors. For a split second, she didn't see herself.
She saw wings. Flame. And eyes glowing like a dying star.
"Okay, no more midnight snacks before bed," she muttered, stepping back. "That tofu really was cursed."
Murong Jing He moved beside her, his presence steady. "This hall was used to test spiritual resonance. Only those with divine lineage can activate the mirrors."
"Well," she said, still staring at her now-normal reflection, "guess I've got divine drama."
He looked at her sideways. "You always make light of danger."
"It's a survival technique," she said. "That, and sarcasm. Which, by the way, is clearly lacking in this century."
He actually smiled this time. "Come. We need to see if the mirror recognizes the shard."
As Mei placed the Phoenix shard against the mirror, it pulsed—once, then again. Then the glass rippled like water, revealing a vision.
A younger woman—regal, terrifyingly beautiful—floated in a sky of flame, her robes shifting like phoenix feathers. She turned... and looked directly at Mei Xiao.
"Find the others…" the voice echoed from within the mirror. "Before the obsidian burns it all."
Mei staggered back. "She looked like me. No—like Mei Lin, but not just her. That was—"
"The Phoenix Queen," Jing He confirmed grimly.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled.
---
[Scene cut — Parallel Scene: Yin Luo]
Yin Luo knelt in the quiet shadows of the East Pavilion, clutching a scroll she had stolen from the elders' archive. Her breath was shallow.
The scroll detailed the Seventh Fragment—the one never spoken of.
"The Heart Mirror," she whispered. "It reflects not power... but desire."
A cold voice interrupted her.
"You shouldn't be reading that."
She froze. From behind a pillar, a figure stepped out—cloaked in obsidian robes, face hidden.
"I thought I left your kind in the desert," Yin Luo spat.
The figure chuckled. "You left the sand, but not the storm. And soon, your phoenix will burn."
---
[Back to Mei Xiao and Jing He]
The mirror shattered with a piercing scream, shards flying everywhere—but none touched Mei. A golden flame circled around her like a shield.
Jing He stared. "You've awakened more than just memories."
"I didn't mean to," she whispered. "It just... happened."
A long pause.
"Then we must find the next fragment," Jing He said softly, "before someone else does."
She nodded. "And maybe some new shoes too. These embroidered slippers are not made for world-saving."