Chapter 030: Potential

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Yao Qian stood beside the door, his eyes fixed intently on the Bagua Mirror above his head.

This Bagua Mirror was slightly larger than a palm, jet-black in color. In the center lay a round mirror, its circumference adorned with intricate patterns, the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches arranged around it. Carved upon the mirror's surface was the image of a trident, and beneath it, a deity riding a tiger, brandishing a divine weapon with an imposing air.

His expression gradually grew somber.

Ever since he learned that this world might harbor sinister forces and uncanny murders, he had paid special attention to matters of gods and spirits, poring over many ancient texts on the subject.

He was not unfamiliar with the Bagua Mirror. According to local beliefs, a mirror is the essence of metal and water—bright within, dark without. An ancient mirror, like an ancient sword, is as sacred as a deity and can ward off evil.

This was even truer for the Bagua Mirror, typically crafted from peachwood. In legend, peachwood is a celestial wood, dragon-subduing wood, and ghost-frightening wood, able to protect homes, ward off evil, and attract good fortune.

Among the five sacred woods, peachwood is said to possess the power to suppress malevolent forces. Its spirit is born at the Gate of Ghosts and commands a hundred spirits. Placed at the threshold, it wards off evil.

As he pondered, a wisp of black smoke seemed to rise from the Bagua Mirror, transforming into a skull that stared at him with hollow eyes. The sinister aura suddenly grew intense, sending a numbing chill through his body, as if that cold force sought to burrow into his very blood.

He snapped awake and looked up at the mirror. The shadow vanished in an instant, as if everything he had just seen was nothing but a hallucination.

“What’s happening? Am I overthinking things?”

He gazed again at the trident and the tiger-riding deity on the mirror. That was where he had sensed something was amiss.

Normally, these two motifs would not be out of place on an object meant to ward off evil. But on a Bagua Mirror, their presence was glaringly unprofessional. The trident, being sharp and aggressive, was meant to disperse energy, and the tiger-riding deity likewise—white tigers carried a fierce aura that encouraged evil rather than suppressed it.

This Bagua Mirror, rather than warding off evil, seemed designed to foster it.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in a matter of heartbeats. In the blink of an eye, Yao Qian felt as though his blood, soul, and will were all frozen in place.

It seemed the Bagua Mirror had sensed his hostility and was intent on destroying him.

Crack! Crack!

Yao Qian gritted his teeth, eyes wide, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as he clung to the last shred of consciousness. With a swift motion, he brought down his bloodstained blade. With a snap, the red string suspending the Bagua Mirror broke, and the mirror tumbled down, caught deftly in his hand.

The moment he grasped the mirror, a shudder ran through his body. That chilling aura, like a floodgate thrown open, surged up his arm, threatening to invade his body. Instantly, his mind went blank—devoid of thought or feeling.

He was in the utmost danger.

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Yet in that critical moment, the “Blue Star” beneath his eyelid suddenly trembled. An immense suction force appeared out of nowhere, and the sinister aura seemed to find its source, vanishing into the Blue Star, leaving not a trace behind.

Clarity returned to his gaze. Cold sweat poured from him, soaking his back as though he’d been pulled from a river. He gasped for breath.

“Huff… huff…”

“Incredible. This thing is even more sinister than the black pearl I found before—I nearly underestimated it.”

Thinking back, Yao Qian felt a lingering fear. In that instant, he had truly sensed the approach of death, a suffocating premonition impossible to resist. It had pressed down upon his will, threatened to crush his spirit, leaving only an empty shell behind—a senseless death.

Fortunately, in the crucial moment, the Blue Star had not failed him.

“I must be even more careful next time. These sinister relics are far more dangerous than I imagined.”

He reflected on his earlier carelessness. The black pearl had once plunged him into powerful illusions, ensnaring the mind so deeply one could not escape. The Bagua Mirror, on the other hand, seemed to carry only a chill. Who could have known that a moment’s negligence would nearly cost him his life?

Looking down at his hand, he saw the Bagua Mirror had changed completely. The round mirror was now webbed with cracks like a spider’s web, and the surrounding peachwood had crumbled to black ash. He opened his palm, and a breeze carried the ash away with a puff, dispersing it into nothingness.

He glanced again at the Blue Star beneath his eyelid—sure enough, it had changed.

Potential: 21

It had increased by fifteen points in an instant, confirming that this relic was indeed more sinister and malevolent than the black pearl.

Yao Qian surmised that this might be tied to the high death toll in the Lu residence. Otherwise, the Bagua Mirror could not have possessed such formidable and perverse power.

With the matter resolved, Yao Qian finally relaxed.

At that moment, a voice spoke behind him.

“Young master, what are you doing here? You were told not to wander the residence.”

The young master of the Lu family, face pale, pointed at him, appearing genuinely angry.

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Yao Qian understood his concerns—he simply didn’t want any more incidents in the household. If there were another death, this young master might truly be reduced to a beggar.

Yao Qian smiled. “Young Master Lu, you seem to be in better spirits. I saw you were resting, and feeling a little stifled, I went for a walk. Don’t worry; in broad daylight, beneath the open sky, what evil could possibly appear? Besides, do you really doubt the sharpness of my sword?”

He patted the bloodstained blade in his hand, left behind a meaningful smile, and brushed past, returning to the library.

Young Master Lu looked back at his retreating figure and let out a long, relieved breath. It was as though a mountain had been lifted off his shoulders, leaving him so relaxed he almost wanted to sigh aloud.

In the Lu family’s library, Yao Qian felt at ease, occasionally pulling a book from the shelves for a glance. He had to admit, the Lu family’s collection was truly vast—astronomy and geography, the sweep of history, classics and philosophy, myth and legend, medicine and the art of war—everything was there.

If he were to read them all, his understanding of the world would surely deepen to a new level.

With that thought, he grew a little covetous. After all, these books weren’t expensive—why not collect them for himself?

“Young Master Lu, how much silver would it take to buy all the books in this library?”

Rarely had Yao Qian played the role of a wealthy, high-born gentleman. Seeing the look of stunned astonishment on Young Master Lu’s face, he felt a secret thrill.

“You wish to buy them all?” Young Master Lu, thinking he must have misheard, asked again. Seeing Yao Qian nod, he froze for a moment before continuing, “I can tell you are a lover of books. Let’s say, one hundred taels for the entire collection—you may take them all.”

“Very well, one hundred taels. I’ll have someone pick them up later today.”

He took twenty taels from his purse and placed them on the table. “Here’s the deposit. When my men come to collect the books, you’ll receive the rest. Is that agreeable?”

Young Master Lu readily agreed. As the son of a wealthy merchant, twenty taels—or even a hundred—was not a significant sum. Were he not in such dire straits, he would never part with his family’s library.

With the deal struck, Yao Qian did not linger, but left the Lu residence and returned home.