Chapter 293

Chapter 293

How could anyone possibly reach into a mirror?

An ordinary person might hesitate here, but Qianxin extended his hand without a second thought.

His palm pressed against the mirror’s surface, and he stared at it with a mix of tension and anticipation, waiting for the outcome. Unexpectedly, the hand in the reflection suddenly changed form, transforming from a clean, neatly trimmed hand, rough and scarred as it was, into one covered in mud, with festering wounds and ragged nails.

This transformation instinctively made Qianxin want to pull back his hand, but just as he lifted it, a crack sounded, and the mirror before him shattered.

As the mirror shattered, the past version of himself, the slave, disappeared along with the broken glass.

Qianxin was shocked, but not because of the disappearance of his reflection. He didn’t feel any ill omen from that. His shock was solely due to the damage to the mirror.

A mirror isn’t cheap! The intern priest, who had been learning accounting from Panlu, thought to himself.

Then he looked up and realized he was no longer where he had been. Lady Panlu, who was conducting the ceremony, and Mr. Tadansa were nowhere to be seen.

He found himself standing on an endless expanse of water, able to walk on its surface without sinking. He looked down and saw his reflection staring back at him from the mirror-like water. When he looked up, he was awed and terrified by the vast, deep dome above him.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, with a seamless transition from dark blue to light blue, dotted with colorful specks of light that formed ribbons, reflecting hues of red and green. But it was also terrifying, far beyond anything Qianxin had ever known. He almost felt as if he were in the presence of a deity, his pupils trembling uncontrollably, his eyes quickly welling up with tears, nearly causing him to kneel.

But he did not kneel.

Instead, his fear triggered a surge of defiance. He remembered the night they escaped from the Dark Sea Cave, how they struggled to run while the footsteps behind them grew closer.

The iron rake in his hand felt so heavy; he could barely hold onto it.

Someone fell behind and let out a scream. Who was it? Dai Shan or Tie Shandie?

No matter who it was, they were surely dead. Now, the pursuers’ footsteps were almost at his heels, and he too would die.

Dropping the iron rake might help him run faster.

That’s what Qianxin thought at the time. He even resented Tadansa for hiding these farming tools before the escape and then giving them to them, assigning the heavy iron rake to him.

He thought this, but when the sound of something slicing through the air came from behind, he did not drop the rake.

Instead, he turned around, facing the skeletal undead with its claws outstretched, and swung the rake, smashing it over its head.

Bang!

The loud thud of the iron rake hitting the undead skeleton echoed in Qianxin’s ears, just as it had in the past.

The beautiful yet terrifying dome above him seemed to tear apart, but the impact also shook the water beneath his feet, causing massive waves that swallowed Qianxin.

Plunging into the sea, Qianxin choked on the water, feeling it enter his lungs, making him cough uncontrollably and inhale more water.

In just a few seconds, Qianxin felt his lungs about to burst. He flailed wildly, his hands splashing frantically, and suddenly, something grabbed him.

It was a hand! Someone reached down from the surface and grabbed him!

Though still choking on water, Qianxin felt a surge of confidence and instinctively swam upward. Just then, he heard another splash.

Amid the bubbles, Qianxin forced his eyes open and saw another person in the water.

Another person… dressed in tattered rags, clearly a slave.

The competition among slaves in the Dark Sea Cave was often brutal. Of course, Tadansa’s initial group of companions were chosen for their ability to cooperate, meaning they had some moral standards.

But even so, Qianxin had watched another slave starve to death without sharing his food.

After Tadansa took charge of their room, Qianxin stopped doing that, as Tadansa ensured that no one in the room suffered severe injuries and distributed food to prevent starvation.

But all that was thanks to Tadansa. Qianxin knew that without him, if someone were to starve to death in front of him again, he might—

Qianxin extended his hand.

—He didn’t know what he would do.

Qianxin tried to grab the other person in the water, but the person was struggling, and he missed twice. Hesitation crept into his mind, and just as he hesitated, the other person’s struggle suddenly ceased, and fewer bubbles floated up as they sank deeper.

Qianxin’s mind went blank, and he followed, trying to reach the person. At that moment, he felt the person on the surface loosening their grip on him due to his struggle.

No!

He thought, and then he pulled his hand back, diving down forcefully.

I know which direction the surface is in. I’m not too far from it. I should be able to save him.

Qianxin wasn’t sure if he was convincing himself or truly believed it. Reflecting on it, perhaps it was because he had survived, made it to the mainland, and found his future, that he had changed. Now, he dared to do this, daring to reach out a third time to a stranger, unafraid of dying here.

“Splash!”

He helped the person surface and dragged them onto a beach that had appeared out of nowhere. He knelt on the sand, vomiting water.

Feeling better after expelling some water, he crawled over to check on the other person. Using the knowledge Lady Panlu had recently taught him, he opened the person’s mouth, cleared the mud and sand from their throat, and prepared to perform CPR.

Worried that he might not do it correctly, Qianxin was fortunate. After clearing the mud and sand from the person’s mouth, they began to vomit water and breathe on their own.

Coughing, the person opened their eyes.

Qianxin met their gaze and noticed how familiar their face was—it was identical to his own. The drowning slave was himself!

Suddenly, everything around him brightened. Shocked, Qianxin blinked and found himself standing in front of the mirror once again.

The mirror was intact, and his reflection stared back at him, holding an iron rake, surrounded by the villagers of Youzhan Village. In the distance, more figures, hunched and seemingly in pain, were visible but indistinct.

Qian Xin lowered his hand from the mirror and stared at the scene until it faded away.

"Any results?" Tadansa asked, having only seen Qian Xin press his hand against the mirror and stand in a daze.

"Hmm..." Pan Lu sensed the feedback from the ritual, "The Heart Blade and Dreamer both show some inclination."

"Dreamer, huh?" Tadansa compared himself to Qian Xin but didn't find them similar.

But thinking back to the once quiet and reserved Qian Xin, who had been working hard on improving his oratory skills to lead the Mass recently, he felt that being such a Dreamer wasn't bad at all.

"Does one become a Dreamer because they have dreams?" Pan Lu, unsure about this profession, asked.

Tadansa pondered, "I think understanding that your dream is also everyone's dream makes you a Dreamer?"

A Dreamer's dream is never something they can achieve alone; to realize their dream, a Dreamer must seek more support. With each additional person, they get closer to achieving their dream. That's what a Dreamer is.

"So, Qian Xin's dream is..." Pan Lu was puzzled, "to spread the faith?"

"I want to..." The young man who had been silently watching the mirror was now in tears, "just like I received help, to bring the Lord's aid to more people."

"So, he's a Dreamer then?" Tadansa, finding the dream somewhat vague, thought aloud, "There's also an inclination towards the Heart Blade, but other churches say it's not advisable to take on a secondary profession until the primary one reaches the intermediate level, right?"

"That's the general consensus..." Pan Lu was about to agree when Qian Xin, who had been looking at the mirror, turned around and interrupted her.

"I want to become a Heart Blade!" he shouted, "Please!"

***

"Can the 'blade' of a Heart Blade be a rake?"

"Uh, the 'blade' here refers to a weapon. If the weapon in the mind of someone taking the role is a rake, then of course they can draw out a rake from their mind..."

"You sound uncertain."

"I'm just thinking about the image of a Heart Blade among the Inquisitors..."

Imagining Heart Blades with various weapons, Hui Cui's lips curled slightly.

It was already past eleven, almost midnight. Everyone was on leave, but the Chief Inquisitor couldn't take time off casually. Hui Cui, as one of the representatives of the Church of Contradictory Twins, had finished his work for the day and was invited to Oil Lamp Village.

A group of alchemists had arrived earlier and spent several hours expanding the dock.

In this era, docks and ports require complex water intake and drainage systems, so small docks can usually accommodate only two or three diving ships.

Oil Lamp Village's dock was such a small dock, but today, alchemists and engineers had transformed it, creating a harbor prototype that would typically belong to a city.

Using the latest technology, they expanded the port into the sea with high-strength alchemical glass.

At first glance, Oil Lamp Village... or Pearl Town, really looked like a pearl embedded in the cliff face, partially exposed and shimmering faintly in the seawater.

Then the engineers filled this pearl with water, as if filling a bubble, creating a calm sea surface.

The Temple of Mirror Eyes was built on the water, with its semi-circular underground part now submerged.

Believers could reach the underwater section via spherical diving chambers, and the diving ships moving underwater would resemble pearls rolling around.

The above-water part resembled a crystal palace, with alchemists using sand to create thick crystal pillars to support the sacred dome.

The altar design deviated from the original plan, becoming two massive spheres: one mirrored sphere floating on the water and another mirrored pearl symmetrically floating underwater.

Light illuminated this transparent building, making it look otherworldly against the backdrop of the sea, mesmerizing those invited to witness the ceremony.

But what disturbed Hui Cui's mind was something others couldn't see—a silver-eyed deity appearing only beside him.

On the reflective surface of the crystal pillar, Lin, the newly appointed professional with the rake-shaped mental blade, paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

The young emperor placed his hand on his chest and then pulled outward.

This was the standard gesture for a Heart Blade to draw out their mental blade, and Hui Cui knew this.

He also knew that mental blades were usually invisible.

But Lin drew out a flowing silver light from his chest, which twisted in his hands.

Lin's smile grew brighter, and he gazed at Hui Cui, slowly opening his hands.

Swish! The silver light unfolded its wings!

The silver dove, essentially a mental blade, flew out of the mirror, over the heads of the crowd, circling the church a few times, and sprinkling silver-glowing feathers.

Hui Cui, eyes wide open, watched the silver dove fly away and then return.

Dover, the snow-haired Dover Birdman, realized something and extended his hands forward.

The silver dove returned, carrying a warmth like a heart and a pulse like a heart, and gently landed in his palms.