Chapter 2739: Chapter 2740: Shadow in the Mirror
As everyone was filled with doubt, they suddenly heard Doxâs "hmm" sound.
"Look, doesnât this look like a shadow figure?" Dox pointed to a black mark on the shattered mirror and said.
Earlier, everyone only noticed how blurry the mirror was and didnât pay attention to the marks on it. Now that Dox mentioned it, they focused on the black mark on the mirror.
Admittedly, at first glance, it really looked like a shadow figure, and moreover...
"Why does it look somewhat familiar to me?" said Vay, who also thought the black mark looked like a shadow figure, and he felt like heâd seen it somewhere before.
As he spoke, Vay also moved closer to Dox, stretching his neck for a closer look at the mirror, almost pressing his face against it.
Just then, the mirror suddenly reflected a light, which flashed across Vayâs eyes.
Vay instinctively took a step back and closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he found the surroundings quiet. Looking around, he saw everyone staring at the mirror with astonished expressions.
Vay rubbed his sore eyes and stepped forward to scrutinize the mirror.
When he looked at the mirror again, Vay, like everyone else, wore a look of surprise and doubt.
"How, how has it... changed color?"
The black shadow mark remained, but now, the blurry mirror had turned entirely blood red, as if a blood-like glow was circulating on its surface.
Not only was everyone surprised, but even Angel was taken aback. He had previously focused on the shadow mark, but now he was bewildered by the flowing blood glow.
Clearly, he had sensed this mirror before and found nothing unusual. If there was an anomaly, it was likely within the mirrorâs space. But now, the mirror surface had changed unexpectedly. Was the inner mirror space affecting the outer Material Realm?
Angel directed his gaze upwards towards the Wise Sovereign, attempting to get an answer from him.
However, the Wise Sovereign didnât reply but instead focused his gaze on the gray merchant.
Since Dox mentioned the figure in the mirror, the group with the gray merchant hadnât spoken, silently standing aside. It wasnât until the mirror turned blood red that they exchanged quick glances, yet still remained silent.
Now, with the Wise Sovereign fixing his gaze on the gray merchant, even without an authoritative air, the gray merchant felt a heavy atmosphere.
The gray merchant understood the Wise Sovereignâs intent: he wanted him to explain the cause of the mirrorâs anomaly.
The gray merchant hesitated whether to speak, as speaking might offend that person. But if he didnât speak... he would offend the Noah Clan.
Offending the Mirror Bearer would likely mean losing his memory, but offending the Noah Clan could mean losing everything.
Weighing the options, the gray merchant chose to confess.
"The reason this mirror turned red is because itâs tainted with the âtargetâsâ pheromone."
Dox: "Targetâs pheromone?"
The gray merchant nodded, briefly explaining the cause and effect.
Actually, halfway through his explanation, everyone mostly understood the hidden details. The Sageâs reference to "her" seeking out the gray merchant was certain, otherwise there wouldnât be their current duel.
After she sought out the gray merchant, she handed them this broken mirror and said that once it came into contact with the targetâs pheromone, it would turn blood red.
Their task was to find the target and, if possible, obstruct or even intercept and kill the target.
The mirror had come into contact with Angelâs pheromone and had also been stained with Doxâs pheromone, without any change. But when Vayâs pheromone touched the mirror, it glowed with blood light. Without a doubt, Vay was the target the Mirror Bearer was looking for.
Or rather... one of the targets.
At this point, both the gray merchant and Angelâs group understood the truth, realizing "her" target was actually the Noah Clan. Among the Noah Clan present, besides Vay, there was another personâBlack Earl!
If before this, the gray merchant had discovered Vay was the target, he might have dared to act. But now, knowing Black Earl was nearby, he had no desire to make any move.
At worst, it would mean losing his memory, which was better than losing his life.
"Being able to pinpoint through pheromone tracking," Dox chuckled, patting Vayâs shoulder, "Looks like many of your ancestors died at her hands."
This type of tracking clearly relied on bloodline connections. Since itâs a bloodline connection, she must have the bloodline of Noah ancestors.
However, Doxâs statement was slightly exaggerated; itâs not necessarily that Noahâs ancestors died at her hands, she might have obtained the Noah bloodline in other ways.
Nevertheless, Vay didnât refute Doxâs claim, because considering how she tasked the gray merchant to "intercept and kill" Noahâs descendants, it was possible that Noahâs ancestors did indeed die by her hands.
"Hmph, we will definitely root out the internal conflict," Vay said angrily.
In Vayâs view, the legacy site was left by Noahâs ancestors for their descendants, meaning it belonged to their Noah Clan, and the intelligent beings inside should respect the Noah descendants, even if they only obeyed Noahâs ancestors. If they failed to do so, that was betrayal, thatâs an internal conflict!
Since itâs an internal conflict, it must be quelled. And the best way to quell internal conflict is to eradicate, making it final!
After saying this, Vay turned to Angel with an expectant tone, "Sir, we can definitely do it, right?"
Before Angel could reply, Dox interjected with a jest, "What good is asking him? He didnât make the mirror red."
Vay was momentarily silenced, as he really didnât know how to refute Dox this time. His question was purely instinctive, forgetting Angelâs actual identity.
While Vay was momentarily stunned, Angel hinted, "Perhaps we donât necessarily have to eradicate; we might be able to cooperate?"
Upon hearing Angelâs suggestion, Vay didnât argue but internally disagreed. With tensions this high, how could they possibly cooperate? At this moment, Vay had a realization, understanding that even the words of the Lighthouse werenât always advisable.
Others likely thought the same as Vay; only the gray merchant across the room felt Angelâs words were suggesting... a softer approach to achieve their goal, or in other words, agreeing to trade?
However, their interpretations were all off the mark. Angelâs mention of cooperation wasnât about Adanis but the male voice he had previously conversed with.
Although his identity wasnât yet confirmed, it was very likely to be the male figure in the Mirror Demon Godâs emblem. His benevolence was apparent, and cooperating with him might enable the Noah descendants to better achieve their objectives, and perhaps even influence Adanisâs perception?
At this moment, Angel was indeed considering things from the perspective of the Noah descendants.
But, thereâs one thing that Angel is very puzzled about. Why do Adanis and the man with the kind voice focus on him?
Heâs clearly an outsider, supposed to be an audience member watching from the sidelines. Why does the spotlight shine on him, making the stage seem to gravitate toward his feet?
It must be an illusion, after all, Adanis specifically targeted the Noah descendants... Plus, that manâs voice might not have contacted only him; maybe the Black Earl received information earlier?
Thinking of this, Angel temporarily suppressed his doubts.
He turned back to the Gray Merchant; the mirror needs to be resolved.
The situation previously described by the Gray Merchant was very detailed, without hiding any details. Everyone now understands why the reactions of the Wicked Woman and others are so strong, and why the Gray Merchant values the mirror so highly.
The blame for everything falls on the Mirror Bearer. Because she sealed the Gray Merchantâs most crucial memory in the mirror.
Why this memory is important, the Gray Merchant did not explain, but from the reactions of the Wicked Woman and others, it is clear that this memory might be related to the Gray Merchantâs secret, or even secrets of the Merchant Organization.
Thus, the Gray Merchant has no reason not to retrieve the mirror, and the Wicked Womanâs forceful snatching is based on this.
The reason the Gray Merchant suddenly chose to yield now, achieving his goal through negotiation and even being willing to give it up, is actually not difficult to understand. From the Gray Merchantâs clear attitude of fear toward the Black Earl, he has surely recognized the Black Earlâs identity.
People from the Wizardsâ Realm are mostly aware of current affairs, and the Gray Merchant is no exception.
"This mirror..." Angel just started to speak, then paused to ponder. This made the Gray Merchantâs heart rise high, unable to settle.
Angel wasnât pausing deliberately; he was genuinely thinking about how to handle this mirror.
He took the mirror for research purposes, while the Gray Merchant wanted his sealed memories.
Thinking closely, their aims do not conflict; they can reach a consensus.
And to reach a consensus, they only need to solve one problem: liberating the Gray Merchantâs memories sealed in the mirror by Adanis.
As long as the Gray Merchantâs memory can be unsealed, the mirror has no value for him. When Angel takes it, there will be no dispute. But the question now is... how should the unsealing happen?
While Angel pondered, the Gray Merchantâs mood grew increasingly restless. Until now, he couldnât fathom the thoughts of the Red-haired, golden-eyed Wizard opposite him.
If he doesnât want to trade, he can simply refuse. But he hasnât outright rejected it, seemingly inclined to trade; yet why say half the words and then remain silent?
Is he considering what to trade, or is he still pondering whether to trade?
After a while, even Dox couldnât help but wave a hand in front of Angel to test if he was still lost in thought. Angel finally raised his eyes.
Angel seemed to have regained his senses, but instead of picking up where he left off, he controlled his spirit tentacle to envelop the broken mirror and lifted it from his palm.
The levitating mirror allowed everyone to see the image on it more clearly.
The red light remained, and the silhouette in the mirror carved out in the crimson hue was increasingly distinct. From the outline, itâs apparent the Gray Merchant didnât lie; the figure inside is indeed identical to him.
As the Gray Merchant looked complexly at the figure in the mirror, Angelâs subsequent actions stunned the group.
Angel raised his hand, reaching toward the broken mirror. According to conventional thinking, his hand should be stopped by the mirror.
In reality, Angelâs hand encountered no obstacle, directly penetrating the mirror.
Angel seemed to reach into the mirror, but thatâs not the case. The broken mirror itself isnât large enough, not even as big as his hand.
Itâs merely a medium; realistically, Angelâs hand caused space ripples before touching the mirror. His hand didnât physically touch the mirror yet delved into its interior.
This operation from Angel seemed normal to the Black Earl and others, since Angel previously showcased his hand probe into the painting in the Hanging Jail Stairway to them.
But to the Gray Merchant and his group, it was startling.
After the Mirror Bearer sealed the Gray Merchantâs memory, they tried various ways to test the mirror with no result. In their eyes, itâs a common broken and fragile mirror.
Too much force might shatter it.
So, after repeated failures, they chose to admit defeat and give up.
Because of their attempts, they understand the mirrorâs fragility and commonplace nature, making Angelâs success in doing what they couldnât so astonishing.
...
Though Angelâs hand-reaching move was abrupt, people present werenât foolish. A bit of thinking combined with the Gray Merchantâs prior explanations, most could guess Angel intended to try unsealing the mirror.
After their initial shock, the Gray Merchant and others realized this.
They forgot their prior conflicts, gazing at Angel with hopeful eyes. Even the Wicked Woman changed her expression, intently staring at the hand reaching into the mirror.
From the slight movements of Angelâs arm, they could tell his hand was searching back and forth inside the mirror.
Whether he found anything, only Angel knew.
Moments later, Angel withdrew his hand, empty-handed. The silhouette remained unchanged on the mirror.
The Gray Merchant and others looked slightly disappointed but didnât lose all hope. Since Angel could reach inside, the memory unsealing is possible.
Perhaps itâs just out of reach, unable to access the Gray Merchantâs sealed memory.
Or maybe Angel already touched the Gray Merchantâs memory, just preparing to negotiate terms before unsealing?
They gazed eagerly at Angel, wishing for an explanation, but they were too embarrassed to ask.
The only one unconcerned with stance or occasion, yelling without restraint, is Pink Mo. And Pink Mo... was hushed by the Gray Merchant.
While they debated whether to secretly loosen Pink Moâs constraint to stir some atmosphere, someone spoke first and asked what loomed in their minds.
"Is there anything good in the mirror?"
The questioning style revealed the speaker was undoubtedly Dox.
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