Chapter 38 The Mirror

"Crack!"

In the sound of the jade amulet shattering, a wisp of black light expanded from the small round hand, covering the items in the room with a layer of dark veil.

The scenery in the room began to distort. Desks, chairs, benches, fine wine, and delicacies all disappeared. Simple stone bricks replaced the carpet, and a caisson ceiling painted with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas replaced the original. Bright candlelight burned quietly.

They had arrived in a spacious, bright, and quaint Buddhist hall.

Almost subconsciously, everyone looked at the Buddha statue that reached the caisson ceiling. It held a flower and lowered its brows, clad in gold. At first glance, it seemed kind and benevolent, but in reality, a fierce glint was hidden in its half-closed eyes.

No change… Everyone muttered silently, then turned their attention to the blue-robed figure sitting cross-legged beneath the Buddha statue.

It seems everyone is as afraid as I am that Master Wuhen will lose control. Entering the hall, they must first look at the Buddha statue… Zhang Yuanqing noticed that there were many more prayer cushions in the hall, just enough for everyone present.

And in the front left, stood a full-length mirror with a bronze-carved frame.

The mirror's surface was blurred.

"Amitabha!" Master Wuhen's low voice, filled with suppressed pain, echoed, "Please stand before the mirror, everyone, clarify your minds, see your true nature, and illuminate yourselves."

"Yes, Master!"

Xiao Yuan put her hands together, bowed, and was the first to walk towards the full-length mirror.

As she stood in front of the mirror, the blurred surface suddenly cleared, reflecting Xiao Yuan's appearance.

Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, and a gentle light was hidden in her bright eyes. The corners of her mouth were curved in a smile, as if full of expectation for the future.

The others looked at each other, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, surprise, and, of course, heartfelt relief.

"Excellent!"

Master Wuhen murmured with satisfaction.

Xiao Yuan calmly stepped back, glancing almost imperceptibly at Zhang Yuanqing, then bowed to the others with her hands together.

The others returned the bow.

"Ba Wang Bie Ji," whose self-perception was that of a woman, swayed her thick waist as she came forward, excitedly hugging Xiao Yuan. "Last year, when I saw you in the mirror, you were cold and aloof, unapproachable. This year, you've suddenly become so adorable, sister. Congratulations! What has dissipated the resentment in your heart?"

Congratulations are congratulations, but don't hug my Xiao Yuan, even if you think you're a woman… Zhang Yuanqing protested silently in his heart.

To be honest, he didn't really want to interact with this "sister" too much, because she was always giving him the eye. Maybe, this "sister" was hugging Xiao Yuan while thinking about him.

"The stench of love…" Kou Beiyue muttered.

"What did you say?" Head Instructor Lin Chong patted his shoulder.

Kou Beiyue slumped his shoulders and shook his head repeatedly. "Nothing, nothing."

While the two were talking, the junior high school girl whose Lingjing ID was Zhao Xintong walked to the full-length mirror.

She was a pretty and cute little girl, fair-skinned and tender, with shallow dimples. She didn't smile much, but she seemed docile. However, the mirror reflected a little girl with a gloomy expression and a strange, cold smile on her lips.

A layer of light gray-black stained the smooth mirror surface, as if it had been polluted.

"Why is Xiaotong even fiercer than last year?" Old Yang, with his gray hair, frowned. "There are only teachers and classmates at school. Could they be intensifying your hostility?"

The junior high school girl silently left the mirror, her voice cold. "Are teachers all good people? Are classmates all good people?"

"As teachers, how can they not be good people? Your classmates are just like you, still children. Don't talk like that," Old Yang said unhappily.

"You've been a teacher your whole life, Old Yang. Don't you know that children are the real demons?" Zhao Xintong retorted and silently sat down on a prayer cushion.

Next was Old Yang. Old Yang's image in the mirror was that of an old man shedding tears, his eyes revealing loneliness and desolation, his hands quickly stained with blood.

A layer of bloody light stained the mirror surface.

Head Instructor Lin Chong's mirror image was a ferocious, evil-eyed figure, combative, brutal, like a lone wolf in the forest, glaring fiercely at everyone.

Then came "Ba Wang Bie Ji." The mirror reflected a bewitching and beautiful woman, her features somewhat similar to Ba Wang Bie Ji's, but more feminine.

However, the flirtatious and seductive woman revealed not charm, but malice and hatred.

A faint layer of blood also stained the mirror surface.

One by one, you all have big problems. It seems that Zhao Xintong's nature is the lightest… Zhang Yuanqing commented in his heart.

The sixteen members came to the mirror one by one. Kou Beiyue had already untied his knots and had no worries. His image in the mirror was a grumpy, rebellious little wolfdog, but that was all.

However, the mirror images of three people surprised Zhang Yuanqing.

One was a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses, with an honest appearance. He looked like a gentle math teacher or a mediocre office worker, but the mirror reflected a crazy, laughing villainous figure.

A layer of rich blood stained the mirror, indicating that this person had a strong bloodlust.

One was Aunt Fang, who had a gloomy aura. The mirror reflected her as an expressionless, gloomy old woman, her wrinkled, gaunt face reminding Zhang Yuanqing of the professional ghost grandmothers in old horror movies.

A layer of deep darkness condensed on the mirror surface, a sign of deep-seated hostility.

The last one was "Liang Chen Ze Zhu Er Shi" (A Good Official Chooses a Lord to Kill). Unexpectedly, this highly talented Dream Weaver's image in the mirror was a cowardly, timid, and fat man.

His cautious, looking-around appearance was like a timid mouse.

Timid and weak, his hobby is finding a boss… Zhang Yuanqing looked at the little fat man's dejected round face as he hurriedly left the full-length mirror, lost in thought.

After looking in the mirror, the members commented on each other's "selves," congratulating those whose mental states had improved and gently advising those whose "conditions" had worsened.

It had become a support group meeting.

"Why are you such a wimp?" Kou Beiyue whispered his dissatisfaction.

The little fat man looked embarrassed and forced a smile, changing the subject. "The Master is about to lecture. Boss, let's take our seats."

Kou Beiyue nodded. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly remembered that Yuan Shi Tian Zun hadn't looked in the mirror yet. "Yuan Shi Tian Zun, you're the only one left."

Hearing this, everyone looked at Zhang Yuanqing.

Yuan Shi Tian Zun was not a team member in the strict sense, so of course there was no reason for him to take the lead in this team-exclusive process. Only after the main members were done could it be his turn to experience it.

"A person favored by the Demon Eye Heavenly King must be a shining angel."

"Maybe a Ba La La Little Fairy."

"Perhaps there's a crescent mark on his forehead."

Lin Chong and Sweetheart Red Devil joked a few times.

I haven't had any extreme thoughts for a long time. Since I got the ghost mirror, I've been peaceful every day, full of beautiful yearnings for life… Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and strode towards the full-length mirror with the bronze-carved frame.

Everyone's eyes turned to the mirror.

In the mirror, a fragmented person was reflected…

A person split in two, the left side stiff and wooden, the right side evilly smiling.

This evil personality was fierce, rebellious, unruly, dangerous…

And between the two completely different "people" were exaggerated cracks, like glass covered with cracks.

A rich, deep darkness stained the mirror, darker than Aunt Fang's just now.

Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at the genius heavily promoted by the official, at the moral model regarded as a comrade by the Demon Eye.

Was he actually… more evil than them?

Such a perverse person was actually an Orderly professional. What had Yuan Shi Tian Zun encountered?

And such a bitter and resentful person actually disguised himself with smiles and sunshine, warming others…

Aunt Fang's eyes showed surprise, Red Devil and Sister Ji looked stunned, Old Yang narrowed his eyes, Zhao Xintong showed a frightened expression, and the middle-aged man pushed up his glasses and curled his lips.

Kou Beiyue and the little fat man were stunned. The latter murmured, "Who is the evil professional?"

Is this

me? Is this the real me… Zhang Yuanqing stood blankly in front of the mirror.

So this is what I look like.

Perverse, extreme, riddled with holes, schizophrenic, is this me?

A person with more hostility than an evil professional?

"Amitabha, please be seated." Master Wuhen's voice broke the silence.

Everyone broke free from their strange emotions and silently walked towards the prayer cushions.

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath in front of the mirror and walked towards the last prayer cushion.

"That's not your seat!" Everyone said in unison.

Lin Chong led Zhang Yuanqing to the prayer cushion closest to Master Wuhen with a face full of sorrow. "This is your seat."

The others cast sympathetic glances at Yuan Shi Tian Zun.

Yuan Shi Tian Zun was already family.

No wonder he agreed with Master Wuhen's ideas so much, no wonder Master Wuhen allowed Orderly professionals to become peripheral members of the team. It turned out that Yuan Shi Tian Zun, like them, was a pitiful person trekking on the path of redemption.

Zhang Yuanqing: Everyone's thoughts surged. Only Master Wuhen did not express his opinion. He sat quietly like a Buddha statue, indifferently watching the joys and sorrows of the world.

After everyone was seated, the Master's low voice, filled with suppressed pain, began to chant: "When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara practices the profound Prajna Paramita, he illuminates the five skandhas as empty and transcends all suffering and distress…"

Zhang Yuanqing had flipped through a few Buddhist scriptures last night and immediately recognized that this was the famous Heart Sutra. The core idea was that self-nature is inherently empty, believing that Prajna can overcome all suffering, attain ultimate Nirvana, and attain the Yingti fruit.

It was reasonable to recite this scripture to this group of self-redeeming people, but Zhang Yuanqing did not understand Buddhism and listened in a daze. He thought to himself that his disciple was dull, greedy for wealth and lust, and could not understand the profoundness of Buddhism at all.

But gradually, Zhang Yuanqing felt a strange power like a spring breeze brushing over his heart, taking away his irritability and depression, and his mood suddenly became cheerful and his thoughts clear.

Master Wuhen's low voice also seemed to become majestic and sacred.

He understood at once that the Buddhist scriptures were not the point, the Master was the point.

The Void (Heart Demon) could stimulate the dead knots in people's hearts and could also rely on its own abilities to soothe everyone's emotions and resolve the obsessions in their hearts.

The sound of chanting echoed in layers, drilling into the ears of every member present, resonating with their hearts. At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing also felt a sense of spiritual cleansing.

It seemed that he had forgotten the troubles of reality and was no longer worried about the various problems around him.

The shadow of the Demon Lord, the shroud of the Dark Night Rose, Elder Cai's revenge, the headquarters' displeasure, and the handle in the hands of the Soldiers of God Sect… all were forgotten.

Thus I have heard, the four elements are empty.

Unconsciously, the sound of chanting stopped. Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes and had the illusion of a hundred years passing in a dream.

He looked around blankly and calmly, finding tears on the faces of most people, but their expressions were extremely relaxed.

Master Wuhen, with his back to the crowd, said slowly, "You may repent on your own."

In that instant, a strong "desire to confide" welled up in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. He wanted to spit out all the secrets that were squeezed in his heart. Once they were spat out, he would feel relaxed, just like a fat man squeezing out two hundred pounds of oil from his body.

Just then, with a "woof" sound, the little fat man burst into tears, wailing, "Master, I want to repent, I want to repent… I shouldn't have followed the gangsters, I shouldn't have bullied my classmates with the gangsters, I should have studied hard and given back to society…"

Even now, with a peaceful and calm state of mind, Zhang Yuanqing still had a string of question marks flashing in his mind when he heard this.

He thought to himself, which of the people present didn't have a life on their hands? Which one didn't have a past they couldn't bear to look back on?

Everyone was a pitiful person with great bitterness and deep hatred, but you are here repenting that you didn't study hard in your student days. Isn't that too disrespectful?

"I, I was especially cowardly in middle school, and because I was fat, I was psychologically inferior, so I was often bullied by the school bullies. At first, they scammed me out of my pocket money. When they saw that I didn't dare to tell the teacher, they became more and more aggressive and started hitting me. At first, they hit me in the dormitory, and then in the classroom."

"Later, they upgraded to making fun of me, forcing me to confess to beautiful girls in the school, making a fool of me in public, and forcing me to make a date with the English teacher. When I didn't agree, they would hit me."

"I had to bring them hot water every day, deliver lunch boxes, and wash their clothes. I didn't want to be beaten, so I tried my best to please them, but I was still beaten for no reason. They made tormenting me their entertainment. Once, I was beaten so badly that the wounds hadn't healed when I went home on the weekend, and my parents saw them."

"My parents went to the school and made a big scene. They threatened me, saying that if I dared to say anything, they would kill me. But the teacher, under the pressure of my parents, told me that I could boldly and confidently tell them, and the school would take care of it for me."

"I believed the teacher and told them who bullied me. The teacher was very pleased and solemnly assured my parents that they would handle the matter well. But the school's handling was just to call the other party's parents for a verbal education and then issue a circular criticizing those bad students."

"I was miserable. Afterwards, the school bullies came to me and told me that I had to stand straight when I was beaten. They came up one by one and slapped me in the face, slapped my mouth, and burned my stomach with cigarette butts."

"They told me triumphantly that it was useless to tell my parents and teachers, the school couldn't do anything to them. They also said that I had to give them five hundred yuan to forgive me, or they would burn me with cigarette butts every day."

"I had no choice. Adults can protect themselves with the law when they are hurt, but even if I was beaten to death by them… really, there was nothing I could do."

"Until one day, I met a group of idlers in an arcade. Because I was good at playing video games, I was appreciated by Brother Dao, who was the boss of the gang, also a gangster, but in my eyes, he was a big shot. Brother Dao said that he would let me follow him in the future, but I had to pay him one hundred yuan every month."

"I told Brother Dao that the money had been taken away by the school bullies. Brother Dao was also very loyal. When school was over on the weekend, he brought people to block those school bullies and dragged them to the school playground for a beating, beating them into the hospital."

"From then on, the school bullies would walk around me when they saw me. Heh, it turned out that they were just paper tigers, only good at showing off their power in school."

"I began to hang out with gangsters outside of school, going in and out of arcades and internet cafes, learning to smoke and drink. When I didn't have enough money, I would ask my parents for it. I also became a bad student in the eyes of teachers and classmates, but I was no longer bullied."

From then on, he regarded himself as a gangster, taking pleasure in bullying others, and believing in evil, and had done many unforgivable things.

He tried hard to forget the past, but the experiences of his youth were like an ugly, unhealable scar, still bloody when recalled.

"I must have a boss. Once I don't have a boss, that cowardly and inferior me will climb out from the depths of my soul, like an undead that can't be killed or erased. With a boss, I don't panic. No matter how powerful the enemy is, I dare to risk my life with him."

The little fat man prostrated himself on the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Master Wuhen, I want to kill that cowardly self, I want to be a good student…"

Master Wuhen put his hands together and said slowly, "Amitabha! Recognizing your true self is the first step to reconciling with the past. Congratulations, Benefactor."

The others put their hands together and said in an envious and gratified tone, "Congratulations, Benefactor."

After a while, seeing that no one else was "repenting," Master Wuhen said in a deep voice, "Let's end here. I hope everyone next year…"

A voice interrupted him, "Master, you have profound Buddhist teachings and a clear understanding of your nature. Don't you have anything to repent? If you want to repent, I can give you a chance."

The hall suddenly became silent.

Everyone looked at the speaker—Yuan Shi Tian Zun—with a "you're crazy" expression.

Could it be that the Master's soothing not only failed to heal the wounds in his heart but also exacerbated his "condition"?

Xiao Yuan looked at him blankly, not understanding what the hell this guy was thinking.

Master Wuhen was not angry, his voice echoing in the hall, "What do you mean by this, Benefactor!"

Zhang Yuanqing stared at the back of the blue-robed figure and said word by word, "Burning Sun and Dark Shadow!" As soon as he finished speaking, the condescending golden Buddha suddenly opened its eyes, its face fierce!

PS: I never expected that this chapter would be so watery. I can't suffer alone; you can't escape either…