In the mirror, Yu Daochen quickly transformed into a disheveled female ghost in a red dress, her face obscured.
"Since you've come out, you're not going back." As soon as Yu Daochen spoke, a hand reached into the mirror and seized the female ghost by the throat.
The red-dressed female ghost struggled, revealing a face covered in bloodshot, colorless cheeks.
"Come out!" Yu Daochen stomped his foot back forcefully, and the red-dressed woman's entire head was pulled out of the mirror by Yu Daochen.
The red-dressed woman thrashed, her hair coming alive and transforming into sharp thorns, stabbing towards Yu Daochen's head.
Seeing this, Yu Daochen had no choice but to release his grip on the red-dressed female ghost's throat and retreat.
The red-dressed female ghost did not continue her attack and retreated back into the mirror.
"Trying to escape?" Yu Daochen formed a hand seal, inhaled deeply, and prepared to spray flames into the mirror.
*Whoosh!*
As Yu Daochen's gaze shifted backward, his body followed, and a leg swept out horizontally.
*Bang~*
A figure blocked Yu Daochen's sweeping leg with both hands, staggering back two steps.
"Oh, this mirror ghost is indeed raised by someone from the underworld." Yu Daochen squinted, observing the person under the moonlight filtering through the window.
The newcomer had bloodstains on their face, and their hair covered most of it. They appeared to be in their early thirties.
"As expected of the renowned Master Yu, who has risen to fame this year. You've got some skills." The figure said, pushing away Yu Daochen's leg.
Yu Daochen shook the leg he had just kicked out: "Judging by your appearance, you're no unknown figure. State your name."
The figure remained silent, clenched their fists, and lunged at Yu Daochen, their fist, large as a sandbag, smashing towards Yu Daochen's head.
Yu Daochen's lips curled upwards. He adopted a defensive stance, his hand steadying the incoming fist, while his other hand formed a tiger's claw and locked onto the figure's throat.
Seeing this, the figure grabbed Yu Daochen's arm, the one reaching for their throat, with their free hand.
They exchanged a glance and then pushed their feet out, meeting in a forceful kick.
Their soles collided, and both retreated simultaneously. Yu Daochen retreated to the bronze mirror, steadying himself. Just as he was about to attack again, the mirror ghost in the mirror extended two long arms and grabbed Yu Daochen.
Yu Daochen's expression changed. If he were pulled into the mirror by this ghost, it would be truly difficult to deal with.
Mirror ghosts were not inherently powerful, but they ranked alongside spirits like the pen spirit among folk malevolent entities, relying on their unpredictable nature within mirrors.
Yu Daochen channeled all his energy into the soles of his feet. No matter how hard the mirror ghost pulled, Yu Daochen remained unmoved.
Seeing this, the figure took out a small glass bottle, opened the cap, and a small ghost, the size of a head, floated out.
Upon seeing the small ghost released by the figure, Yu Daochen understood the figure's origin: "So it's a family of ghost raisers. One of their people."
Yu Daochen withdrew the energy from his soles. In comparison, being bitten by that little thing would be more troublesome than killing ten mirror ghosts.
As Yu Daochen withdrew the energy from his soles, he was immediately pulled into the mirror.
The environment inside the mirror was also a studio, but it had no doors. The only exit was the one connecting to reality.
*Eek~ eek~ eek~*
Yu Daochen looked up at the ceiling, following the sound. Countless strands of hair were intertwined, and the mirror ghost clung to a corner like a gecko.
Without a word, Yu Daochen drew the Kanglong Rod from his back. He didn't know what mischief the person outside might cause after being left alone for too long.
The moment the mirror ghost saw the Kanglong Rod, it instinctively flinched backward, controlling the hair on the ceiling to stab towards Yu Daochen.
Yu Daochen dodged the stabbing hair, formed a hand seal, and inhaled deeply, spewing out a stream of flames.
The sharp hair was like white paper before the flames, unable to withstand them.
The hair on the ceiling was rapidly burned away. Yu Daochen looked at the trembling mirror ghost, tightened his grip on the Kanglong Rod, and struck.
Seeing this, the mirror ghost suddenly conjured a door beside it and then slipped inside.
Yu Daochen chased after it. Passing through the door, he arrived in an unfamiliar environment.
Yu Daochen looked at the exit connecting to reality, which appeared to be a classroom.
Just as Yu Daochen was about to walk out to settle the score with the figure, the mirror ghost hiding in the corner controlled the hair to stab at Yu Daochen again.
Yu Daochen dodged the attacking hair and let out a soft scoff: "Oh, really? I let you live, and you're testing my temper."
After speaking, Yu Daochen gripped the Kanglong Rod and struck at the mirror ghost.
The mirror ghost knew it was no match for Yu Daochen, so every time its sneak attack failed, it would conjure a door and slip inside.
Yu Daochen pursued. This time, Yu Daochen had become smarter. The moment he entered, he immediately flung the Kanglong Rod in his hand.
The mirror ghost had not anticipated Yu Daochen throwing the Kanglong Rod. By chance, it struck the area below the mirror ghost's shoulder.
*Agh~ agh~*
The mirror ghost cried out in pain. Its entire arm rapidly turned into black mist and dissipated into the air. The Kanglong Rod then fell to the ground. The mirror ghost conjured a door and fled inside.
Yu Daochen grinned. This blow would cripple her, if not kill her, and she would never be able to harm anyone again.
Yu Daochen showed no mercy, striking while the iron was hot – this was his usual style of operation.
Yu Daochen ran over, grabbed the Kanglong Rod, and charged into the door.
The moment Yu Daochen rushed through the door, he began to fall rapidly.
"Holy cow!!"
Yu Daochen reacted with lightning speed, grabbing the railing. His heart pounded. Looking down, he realized he was hanging from the railing on the fifth floor, his entire body outside.
"Damn it, good thing I reacted quickly. Otherwise, I would have been splattered into a pulp."
After marveling at his own agility, Yu Daochen put away the Kanglong Rod and used both hands to pull himself back over.
Yu Daochen hadn't expected the mirror ghost to play such a dirty trick, setting the door outside the railing. If he hadn't been an old hand, he might have been killed.
Thinking of the figure, Yu Daochen headed towards the fourth floor again. The mirror ghost no longer had the ability to come out and harm people. The crucial matter now was to see what that person was up to.