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墨書 Inktalez
As I was preparing to leave after achieving my goal, I ran into the tall, thin man I had encountered earlier in the Crystal Shop. He was carrying several bags from the shop, looking like he had bought a lot. Due to the lighting, I thought I saw something dark on his forehead when he entered; it was a sign of death energy, and such a presence must have been there for quite some time. Why hadn’t I noticed it before in the Crystal Shop?
“Anxin?” Li Nuan Nuan tapped me on the shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Huh? I’m fine, let’s go!”
I turned back to glance at the man again. The staff was directing him on where to place his items, and he was bowing slightly, nodding as if he were used to being instructed. There was nothing about him that resembled a photographer.
I felt puzzled, but finding that woman was my priority.
“I’m going back first. What about you?”
Li Nuan Nuan adjusted her glasses and focused on writing down the number from her phone before deleting it. Her pure black eyes, obscured by thick lenses, merely blinked without asking any further questions as she took back her phone.
I tucked the number away and then looked up at her. “Nuan Nuan, don’t you think it’s suspicious that I used this method to get a stranger’s number?”
“Everyone has their own motives; your business is none of my concern. There’s nothing strange about it.”
Li Nuan Nuan pushed her glasses up and put her phone away. Throughout our conversation, her expression hadn’t changed much; she rarely smiled, which gave her words a solemn tone. “Moreover, this Photography Studio is quite suspicious.”
“Really?”
I was taken aback, but Li Nuan Nuan waved her hand. “I’m leaving now. See you again.”
“Nuan Nuan?” I furrowed my brows as I watched her walk away, unsure of what she meant by her last statement. It was indeed true that the Photography Studio had issues for us; how did she know? Was her idea of ‘suspicious’ the same as ours?
Having been classmates for four years in college, I had never noticed anything particularly special about her aside from her studies. “Maybe I’m overthinking it!”
Next, I went to a mobile company and managed to obtain the name associated with the phone number under the pretense of recharging my account. With both the number and name in hand, finding someone’s residence would be much easier.
With the help of Taotie, I quickly found the woman known as Noble Lady; she was the secretary to the president of Su Group.
I looked at the address message and frowned. "Su Group?"
"Yes. She was suddenly recruited there yesterday."
Taotie showed me a photo of Noble Lady, and indeed it was that short-haired woman, looking vibrant and lively in her sunny attire.
I tightened my grip on the paper, recalling how Shi Qingqing had been with Mirror Demon yet ended up with Su Ziqian. With Su Ziqian's abilities, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the demonic energy surrounding Shi Qingqing. And then there was this Noble Lady, who was suddenly recruited by the Su Family after visiting that Photography Studio. It all seemed strange.
Just then, my phone rang. It was the Photography Studio calling me, asking me to come in for a photoshoot just a day after my last visit.
"So soon?" I asked suspiciously. The staff member on the other end chuckled, "A customer canceled their appointment. Since you mentioned you could make it and you're a friend of Miss Noble Lady, our owner decided to prioritize you. If your schedule doesn't allow it, we'll notify someone else."
"No, that's fine. When should I come?"
"Tomorrow after five o'clock."
"Five o'clock?" Jun Chong frowned when he heard I was going for a photoshoot at six in the evening. "That's around sunset; it's said to be the best time for encounters between humans and spirits, much like dawn." He slowly rubbed a bead on my clothing, as if contemplating. "Let's go and see."
"Alright."
"I'll accompany you."
To be safe, Jun Chong concealed all his spiritual power within a charm attached to my bag. At exactly five o'clock, I arrived at the Photography Studio. The same staff member from before greeted me. After settling the remaining payment, she led me to the shooting location behind the storefront. I realized there was quite a distance from the entrance to their shooting area, extending all the way to an abandoned alley behind the commercial street.
I still felt a bit uneasy about what had happened in that alley before. Returning now gave me chills. As I followed the staff upstairs, I suddenly asked, "Why did you place your studio so far away? It's quite inconvenient going back and forth! And it's getting dark soon."
"We can't help it; our Gold Medal Photographer has this quirk."
I paused in surprise. "Gold Medal Photographer?"
"Yes," the staff member smiled slightly. "Didn't the front desk notify you? Our Gold Medal Photographer saw your information and insisted on making an exception to take your photos. It's really wonderful!"
"Haha, yes."
I smiled happily on the surface, but inside I was anxious. No one gets chosen for no reason; there must be something unusual about why he suddenly took an interest in me.
"Let's just take it one step at a time," Jun Chong reminded me from behind. I nodded and made my way upstairs. The shooting room here was just like any other Photography Studio—just a single room.
The only difference was that the walls of the shooting room were adorned with many photographs taken by others—some of men, some of women, some old, some young. There were even some photos that had nothing but a background, empty and desolate, yet they were still stuck up there, not taken down, and some were even damaged and patched together.
These photos weren't framed; they were directly adhered to the wall. Among them were striking images of Shi Qingqing and Noble Lady.
"Miss Gu, please wait here for a moment while I inform the makeup room to prepare you," she said.
"Okay."
Once she left, I approached the photo wall, my brows furrowing slightly.
Many people nowadays enjoy having photo walls at home as decoration, which isn't strange in itself. What was odd was that these photos weren't placed randomly; they formed a circle with an empty space in the center.
Molin had mentioned to me before, "Generally, decorations aren't arranged in a Circle like this; circles often indicate formations, and there are usually many strange patterns involved. If you want to see them clearly, just stand far enough away."
I stepped back until I reached the opposite wall and discovered that it indeed formed a formation. In the center of the white wall were many lines of white that were slightly darker than the wall itself, intertwining to create peculiar patterns.
"It's a formation," Jun Chong's voice echoed in my mind, confirming my suspicion. I whispered, "What is this for?"
After a moment, Jun Chong replied, "I don't know yet, but take a closer look at those photos."
"Mm."
I approached the photos again, the surroundings eerily quiet. I stared at each picture, finding nothing of note. With a slight pout, I reached out to touch the photo of Shi Qingqing.
Suddenly, a wretched scream pierced through the silence, ringing in my ears and causing me to instinctively step back a few paces.
For some unknown reason, looking at those photos again revealed that the smooth surface of the paper resembled a mirror, yet it did not reflect my image.
The person in the photo was pressing against it, crying out in fear and despair, desperately pounding on the picture while shouting, "Let me out! Help! Let me out!"
The cries sent a shiver through my ears, and I could only cover them with my hands. "Jun Chong, what is happening?"
"They are trapped in the Mirror World, and these photos are merely disguises. If the photos are burned or damaged, they will never escape. Judging by their frantic pleas, they must have been locked away for only a short time. There must be another way to eliminate this Photography Studio."
"The Mirror Demon has been appearing in large numbers in the human world. Could it really be that something within the Mirror World terrifies them? Although I haven't seen Shi Qingqing these past few days, my Sister told me that aside from being a bit showy, she hasn't done anything else."
Jun Chong replied solemnly, "This further confirms that the Mirror Demon is hiding rather than seeking to harm the human world."
"Hiding from that monster?" As I spoke, I continued to gaze at the photos and suddenly noticed that only Noble Lady's photo remained still. Surprised, I said, "Look, only Noble Lady's photo isn't moving, but her expression is vacant."
"She must have started interacting with mirrors last night but hasn't been soul-captured yet. Since she's out now, we should investigate tonight. If we can find a breakthrough from her, we might discover what kind of monster resides in the mirror."
"Miss Gu, sorry to keep you waiting. Please come this way."
A staff member knocked and entered with an apologetic smile. I shook my head. "It's fine; these photos are truly beautiful."
"Thank you for your compliment. With your beauty, Miss Gu, you'll look even more stunning in photographs. Please introduce us to more business in the future."
"Of course."
I nodded with a smile. Just as I was leaving the photo wall, a sudden roar of a beast echoed in my ears with deafening intensity. The wretched cries grew louder, and among them were several desperate screams that faded into nothingness like a wisp of smoke.
As I turned my head to look, I suddenly noticed that the couple who had just been in the lower left corner of the photo had vanished without a trace. Instead, several cracks appeared on the surface of the picture, and the light source from the mirror faded away, as if it had shattered.
"Miss Gu, are you alright?"
The staff member noticed I had fallen behind and turned back to wait for me. I smiled apologetically and caught up, saying, "I'm fine." Yet in my mind echoed Jun Chongji's calm voice, which could not erase its serious tone: "It feels somewhat similar to the aura of a beast."
A beast?
I paused. Could it be that what frightened the Mirror Demon was something from the demon realm?
The staff member led me to the makeup room, but another staff member approached from outside and apologized to me. "Miss Gu, I'm really sorry. Our photographer has an urgent matter, so we can only reschedule for next time. The photographer promised to make it up to you during the next shoot. I'm truly sorry."
"What happened?" The staff member who brought me here whispered a few words to the other one and then turned back to me with even more apologies. "I’m really sorry. Our manager is already aware of this situation and will definitely compensate you."
"It's okay."
For me, taking photos wasn't the main goal; I had gained quite a bit today, so I didn’t linger and left.
However, as I was going downstairs, I caught sight of a very familiar figure walking out of the entrance of the Photography Studio below the window. My heart skipped a beat as I called out loudly, "Xiao You!"
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