this changes everything. ⟲ wangxian

34. The Mirror

"Come on. We should be reaching it right about now."

The sun is beginning to dip beneath the treeline when Jingyi, Ah Yuan, and Jin Ling peel out of the thicket and emerge onto the glade in which Jingyi has led them. But instead of seeing the ancient, run-down hut Jingyi described, the trio gaze upon nothing but a wide empty field. The breeze sifts languidly through the tall grass, mocking them. They stand there for a long moment, silent.

"What?" murmurs Jingyi. He steps forward. "But how... that's impossible!"

"We are standing in the middle of nowhere, and miles away from Lanling," says Jin Ling.

"No. The hut was here, I swear it," protests Jingyi. "It was.. that's the fifth-last tree we needed to pass. And this stream leads directly to the hut. I swear, I had the route memorised."

"And yet we are lost."

"Jingyi, Jin Ling, hush!" scolds Ah Yuan. He sighs, and resumes observing the peaceful glade in silence. He finds his eyes wandering to the opposite end of the field, transfixing a narrowed stare on a gentle movement sploshing lightly beyond the tall grass—a stream.

A thought pops into Ah Yuan's head. He brightens.

"You guys," he exclaims. "Have you ever heard of a forest that reflects itself?"

"Sizhui. What are you talking about?" inquires Jingyi tiredly. "We're here searching for Sister Wen's hut, and you're talking about...hang on..." he stills. "Is it just me, or is that rock over there the exact size and shape of this one?"

"What?" exclaims Jin Ling. But after a long moment of contemplating, the Jin Clan Leader not only pales in revelation—his eyes brighten to match Jingyi's startled, wary gaze. "Crippling dragon dung... I-I think... a-and the stream on the other half of the field is flowing in the opposite direction... but how can it do that?"

Ah Yuan wanders to the middle of the glade, "Someone give me something to throw!"

Jin Ling tosses him his waterskin, and Ah Yuan catches it. He faces the rest of the open field, winds his arm back, the waterskin in hand... and releases.

The juniors watch as the receptacle sails through the air—and crashes into some unseen obstacle. It bounces off of the invisible force, and a mirror image of the waterskin glitches across from it as it descends down. It lands on the ground and rolls to a stop at their feet. The reflection disappears.

"Whoa!" exclaims Jin Ling.

"It's a mirror charm," confirms Ah Yuan. "A Level 7 spell. Only those with the purest of essence can perform such a spell for a long period of time, and over so great a surface."

Jingyi's eyes clear, "Of course."

"But who would cast a mirror charm here of all places?" Jin Ling ponders.

"Mirror charms are a valued and prestigious component of cultivation training in the Gusu Lan Clan," mumbles Jingyi, thinking out loud. "But like Ah Yuan said, only those who have studied intensively and for many years can master it. That includes Hanguang Jun, and—"

"Zewu Jun," Ah Yuan finishes. "I... I think I can remember the charmbreaker."

Ah Yuan moves his two fingers circularly, tracing a large blue symbol in the air in front of him, and then pushes the symbol towards the mirage with a shoving motion.

The cultivators watch with bated breath as the spell hits the invisible force and dissolves into the air. Then up front, tiny splinters start to form; thin translucent lines radiate out from where the charmbreaker hit. Slowly. But moving. Spreading. Reminding Ah Yuan of the time he had pressed his thumb against a crack in a windowpane and made it grow longer. The shudder comes first... then a cracking sound as high and piercing as a kestrel's shriek. Then the eruption. The entire transparent wall shatters, shards and chunks exploding out.

"Get down!" shouts Ah Yuan.

The juniors run, duck, shield their heads with their hands. They dive behind a massive tree as the remains of the mirror charm lurch, cracking itself into pieces. One shard embeds itself into the tree trunk. Ah Yuan covers his ears, drowning out the ear-splitting noise.

The last of the spell ruptures, and almost as quickly as it began... it's over. The juniors wait a few more breath-holding seconds. Hearing nothing, they cautiously peek out from behind the tree, fumbling. Fragments of the mirror charm litter the field, and a shabby old hut matching Jingyi's description looms ahead of them, along with the loosely-planked bridge arching over the stream and the mossy garden well.

"Oh my," Ah Yuan gasps.

"No way!" sulks Jin Ling.

"Ha! I told you!" exclaims Jingyi.

"Well... we know Zewu Jun is secretly meeting with Sister Wen, and Sister Wen's location is also coincidentally being hidden by a Lan Clan spell of all things."

The three juniors exchange glances.

"Lads," says Ah Yuan. "We need to find out what's going on, and fast."