Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lin felt goosebumps all over his body.

He had no interest in being anyone's "master." Perhaps three years ago, when he first crossed over, he might have been interested; back then, he was still quite immature and spent a long time looking for a cheat code after realizing he had crossed over. Being treated as a god would only make him think, "My grand adventure in this new world has begun!"

But it had already been three years since he crossed over. Even according to the laws before he crossed over, he was now an adult.

He knew how exhausting it was to be carried forward by others and how heavy the burden of another's life could feel.

However, Bai Li seemed to lack this awareness. She was likely someone who was used to having others make decisions for her. Even though she couldn't feel fear anymore, her fundamental personality, shaped by her past, remained unchanged.

The Pomeranian person, who had suffered countless injuries, once again easily entrusted her faith and life to someone else.

This was actually beneficial to Lin's goal, but he still clicked his tongue in displeasure.

The instinct of a judge made him want to take this lady into the lecture room and give her a lesson. Unfortunately, Lin was no longer a judge; he was a malevolent deity.

Lin took a deep breath, not letting his mood affect his tone. He said, "What can you offer me? Like your husband did, with your newborn daughter?"

The feigning unconsciousness Bai Li was stunned.

She didn't feel fear, but her mind went blank.

Bai Li suddenly woke up. The powerful evil entity she wanted to rely on had turned her into a cultist like her husband. And what a cultist would do was clear from her husband's actions.

Daughter... daughter... No!

Her head, which had been feverish since killing her husband and gaining power, finally cooled down a bit. Bai Li, forgetting she was acting, tried to open her eyes to look at the mirror.

Before she could open her eyes, a strong force lifted her and held her in its arms.

A pair of rough hands wiped away the brain matter and blood on Bai Li's face, and the owner of the hands shouted, "Doctor, doctor! Please come and see her!"

Another female judge, also a Hisike canine person, picked up Bai Li. Her thick eyebrows, a racial trait, were tightly furrowed as she wanted to take Bai Li directly to another ward.

But as the only judge in this chaotic scene, she couldn't leave the bodies of the cultists and monsters, fearing accidents or contamination.

The female judge, clearly a novice, stood there until two nurses ran in.

"There are too many injured civilians in the hall; the doctors are still outside helping... Wow!"

"What is that, so disgusting."

"What happened to her? Is she injured?"

"Let go, let us take a look."

The female judge confirmed that these two nurses were ones she had seen before and let them take Bai Li. When the nurses said, "No wounds? Did she faint out of fright?" she suddenly realized she had other spells besides Exorcism.

"Dispel!" She clenched her fist, and an invisible but warm force spread out from her center, purifying the pollen lingering in the ward.

You only react now? The senior judge observing in the mirror sighed and rubbed his forehead.

The two nurses who had inhaled the pollen almost lost their grip on Bai Li and glared at her.

The female judge smiled awkwardly, looking foolish. Fortunately, the busy nurses had no time to criticize her. After confirming that Bai Li had no new wounds, they closed the door, cleaned her body and hair with a wet towel, and changed her into a new patient gown.

"Why are there mirror shards here?" asked the bird person nurse with ear wings, trying to remove the mirror shards from Bai Li's hand.

Lin initially wanted to step back but reconsidered after a moment and stayed still.

The nurse's gaze lingered on the mirror shards. She reached out to them, seemingly completely unaware of Lin in the mirror.

"Don't touch it," another nurse stopped her. "When this patient was brought in, several people tried to make her drop the mirror shards, but she wouldn't let go. Poor thing, it must be some kind of spiritual support. Don't move it."

"But this way, she could easily hurt herself," the bird person nurse said. "I'll wrap it in gauze for her."

She tried to take the mirror shards again, attempting to pull them out gently, but failed.

As if sensing something, the "unconscious" patient gripped them tighter.

"Oh..." The bird person nurse tried twice more but found she couldn't remove the mirror shards without injuring Bai Li, so she gave up.

During this time, Lin, who had greeted the nurse, confirmed that she indeed couldn't see him.

Indeed, looking outward from different mirrors was a recurring dream Lin had had since crossing over. Although it wasn't frequent, happening only once or twice a month, if such dreams were real, someone must have seen him and reported him to the tribunal. Then Lin would have found himself in the Judge Academy's *Monster Compendium*.

No, better pray he doesn't end up in the *Monster Compendium*. Otherwise, he'd always worry about the Chief Judge coming to kill him one day.

Lin dispelled the image of Hui Cui Dover's gentle face from his mind and started thinking again.

If not everyone could see him in the mirror, what caused Bai Li to see him?

What was special about this Pomeranian person that made her the only one?

Lin quickly calculated a series of possible variables in his mind and decided to experiment if given the chance.

As for Bai Li...

Lin had already spoken those words to her, yet she still refused to let go of the mirror.

Lin didn't believe he was more important to Bai Li than her daughter, but she had made a choice.

More likely, she remembered that he had told her to save her daughter and believed he wouldn't really ask her to harm her own child.

Lin wouldn't do that, but such naivety from a "believer" would make things difficult in the future.

He needed to find a way to train her, he thought.

As for the other experiments, under the watchful eye of the inquisitor, nothing could be done; it was best to set them aside for now.

Two mourners from the Bell-Ringing Church arrived, the most common extraordinary profession under the command of Bell-Ringing Frost Crow. All mourners wore face-concealing black cloaks, making it impossible to discern their gender or race. They communicated only through sign language with the living and never spoke aloud.

They collected the bodies of the cultists and monsters in the ward, cleaned up the bloodstains, and took away the soiled bedding and curtains.

The female inquisitor turned on the ventilation switch in the ward, while two nurses moved Bai Li to another bed and drew the curtains around it.

"Has her daughter's examination been completed?" they whispered to each other.

"The poor child was used as a sacrifice. Even if the examination shows no contamination, she still has to stay in the purification room for a day... She woke up crying earlier, but there's nothing we can do."

The sound of the nurses' footsteps faded away.

On the bed, Bai Li opened her eyes.

She stared at the ceiling for a moment before raising the mirror fragment in her hand once more.

"My Lord," she prayed silently to Lin, regaining some clarity after the fervor of power had subsided, "how should I... how should I address you?"

Lin understood that she wanted to determine which evil deity he was, to gauge his style of action.

Although Lin was none of them, the question of how to address him was indeed a problem.

"What do you see me as?" Lin asked, probing further.

Bai Li was momentarily dazed. As before, even though she was looking into the mirror, she couldn't describe what the entity helping her looked like.

The only clear description—

"Silver eyes... the silver eyes in the mirror."

Lin's eyes were not silver.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Then call me this way—call me—

"'The Eye in the Mirror.'"

As the words fell, Lin heard again the distant voice from his dreams.

"You have proclaimed your name to the sun and rain; from now on, the rain will fall upon you."

Who was speaking?

Lin wouldn't make the same mistake as Bai Li. He remained composed, memorizing the words while pretending not to hear them.

Bai Li didn't hear the voice; her expression was utterly bewildered.

Was she too ignorant? Even though the Inquisition Bureau had been confiscating all records related to evil deities, names of such deities always circulated in whispers following the repeated attacks by cultists.

Even Bai Li knew of the Silver Moon Maiden and the Black Sun, but the name 'The Eye in the Mirror' was entirely unfamiliar to her.

The novice evil deity said, "There's no need to trace the past of this name; you won't find any traces related to it. I am merely a shadow in the mirror, rarely interfering with reality."

Did that mean The Eye in the Mirror's followers wouldn't carry out terrorist attacks or bloody sacrifices to proclaim their master's existence?

Just as Bai Li began to feel relieved, she heard The Eye in the Mirror say, "But you sought my power, and you must pay an equal price."

Even without feeling fear, Bai Li's heart skipped a beat at these words.

"What can you offer?" The Eye in the Mirror asked.

"I..."

"Other than yourself and your daughter, you have nothing," The Eye in the Mirror said coldly. "You don't even have money."

"Huh... What?"

The latter part left Bai Li momentarily confused.

But it was true that Bai Li had no money. She was a housewife, completely dependent on her husband for support. With her husband's resignation, she had been living off the savings she had accumulated, eating only one meal a day.

Their apartment and furniture were rented, and the lease was about to expire. A week ago, she had mentioned renewing the lease to her husband, only to be beaten again.

Now she realized that her husband had probably planned to gain the extraordinary profession of a Beastman through a ritual. Once transformed, he would no longer be able to control his wild nature and would leave the city, thus not renewing the lease.

And she... he would certainly not take her along, a burden. The moment he succeeded in gaining his profession, it would be her end.

Even planning to kill his wife, Tanbi Graydan had squandered all their money.

Bai Li wasn't just penniless; with the court ruling that Tanbi Graydan, as a cultist, was no longer protected by any law, all personal contracts were nullified, including her marriage to Bai Li Pomay, leaving her responsible for her husband's debts.

How was she supposed to live now?

Finally, Bai Li's thoughts returned to reality.

And her Lord had already declared her fate:

"Lady, after leaving the hospital, find a job."