Upon entering the room, the Fatty was lying on a solid wood bed, his hands and feet bound, his face filled with fear.
When he saw me, the Fatty shouted, "Master Xiang! Save me!!"
The Fatty's voice was so loud it made my ears ring.
I walked over and told him to stop yelling, then proceeded to untie the ropes binding his hands and feet.
The moment I finished, the Fatty threw his arms around me, weeping miserably, "Master Xiang... you absolutely must save me..."
He wiped all his tears and snot all over me. I pushed him away and said, "Can you be a bit more of a man? It's such a small thing, why are you crying like this."
"I..." The Fatty looked at me with an aggrieved expression.
I glanced at Gai Hongkuang beside me and asked, "Can I speak with him alone?"
Gai Hongkuang nodded, "Sure. I'll be outside. If you need anything, just call me immediately."
After Gai Hongkuang left, I stood up, closed the door, sat on a nearby chair, and looked at the Fatty, saying, "What exactly happened?"
The Fatty wiped his tears and looked at me with utter despair, after a long pause, he managed to utter four words, "I'm going to die..."
"Die your ass! Aren't you living just fine right now?"
"I'm alive now, but I'm going to die soon."
I let out a sigh, "Tell me properly, what's going on."
The Fatty sniffled, "It's that mirror... I was eaten by that mirror..."
This guy was talking incoherently, and I couldn't understand him at all.
Seeing his mental state wasn't great, I didn't want to pressure him, so I could only offer some comforting words, "Don't worry, with me here, you can't die even if you want to."
He looked up at me, "Master Xiang, are you serious?"
"Nonsense!" I said testily, "I'm putting it out there today, no matter who wants to kill you, they'll have to step over my dead body first."
Hearing this, the Fatty finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Master Xiang, I haven't befriended you, the Fatty, in vain..."
"Alright, get to the point, what happened?" I said, "If you don't explain clearly, how can I save you?"
The Fatty sighed and then recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.
After I left Yan Jing, the Fatty, as instructed, went to keep an eye on Bi Zhengxiang and also asked people to inquire about Bi Zhengxiang's background.
"This Bi Zhengxiang is no ordinary person. He has two sons, both of whom are wealthy merchants, and among the top ones in the country. They have no shortage of money..."
As soon as money was mentioned, the Fatty's eyes lit up.
Seeing his demeanor, I found it a bit amusing. This guy was just crying and shouting about dying, and now he's acting like nothing happened.
"Alright, what does it matter to us if they have money or not? Tell me about your situation." I said.
The Fatty pursed his lips, "Following your instructions, I've been watching Bi Zhengxiang every day. I found that he hardly goes out and his routine is very regular. Except for going to the park to practice Tai Chi in the morning and taking a stroll in the evening, he basically stays at home..."
"During the time I've been watching him, he's been like this, and I haven't seen him interact with anyone."
I nodded and asked, "Then why did you suddenly go crazy at his place yesterday?"
When I asked him this, the Fatty looked back at me with lingering fear, "Master Xiang, you've been in tombs before, haven't you encountered any strange or bizarre things?"
"Of course, I have. If I told you those things, I'm afraid you'd die of fright." I said.
The Fatty gave a wry smile, "Then what's the strangest thing you've encountered?"
From the Fatty's tone, it seemed like he had encountered something strange, but I couldn't guess what it was.
"What exactly did you encounter?"
The Fatty sighed, "Sigh... you won't believe it if I tell you..."
I was getting impatient. This damned Fatty was dawdling. If it weren't for his unstable mental state, I would have lost my patience long ago.
"Have you looked in a mirror?" the Fatty suddenly asked.
I patiently replied, "Isn't that obvious? Who hasn't looked in a mirror?"
"Then, if one day, you couldn't see yourself in the mirror, what would you do?"
"Couldn't see myself?"
The Fatty nodded with a serious expression. Seeing him like this, I finally understood why this guy had gone crazy.
Could it be because he couldn't see himself in the mirror?
Thinking of this, I immediately got goosebumps.
A scene quickly formed in my mind: if one day I stood in front of a mirror and couldn't see my own reflection, that would be more terrifying than seeing anything else!
"Are you saying you couldn't see yourself in the mirror?" I asked.
The Fatty nodded vigorously.
"Are you sure?"
He nodded again.
I gasped, still finding it hard to accept.
This matter was too bizarre. I felt it was best to see for myself, so I looked around, but found no mirror or anything reflective in the room.
The Fatty seemed to guess my thoughts and said with a look of terror, "Master Xiang, what do you want to do?"
I stated directly, "I want to see it with my own eyes."
"Ah?!" The Fatty was startled.
I said, "If I don't see this for myself, how can I help you solve it?"
Hearing this, the Fatty wilted like a frosted eggplant, instantly deflated.
I walked to the door, opened it, and asked Gai Hongkuang to find a mirror. He was also a little taken aback by my request: "A mirror?"
"Yes, just a normal mirror." I said.
Gai Hongkuang hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Mr. Xiang, please wait a moment."
After a few minutes, Gai Hongkuang returned with a square, palm-sized folding mirror.
I took the mirror, thanked him, and went back into the room, closing the door.
When the Fatty saw the mirror in my hand, he curled up at the foot of the bed.
"Fatty, it's okay," I said.
He shook his head, "Master Xiang, perhaps we should forget it? The moment I see a mirror now, I... I get scared..."
Seeing his cowardly demeanor, I said, "Are you really taking yourself for Zhu Bajie?"
He asked with a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"
"'Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror, neither human nor ghost'," I said irritably, "This isn't a monster-revealing mirror. Are you going to be captured just by looking at you? Hurry up, stop dawdling."
"But..."
I couldn't be bothered to argue with him, so I walked over with the mirror. I really wanted to see for myself.
To be honest, I was also very nervous.
What would happen if I really couldn't see the Fatty in the mirror?
I didn't dare to think further. Regardless, I had to verify if this was true or not.
I refuse to believe that there could be such a strange thing in this world!
Arriving beside the Fatty, I sat on the edge of the bed, pulled him over, took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and raised the mirror in my hand.
The moment I raised the mirror and looked at the reflection, I couldn't help but freeze...