The villain, caught in a chaotic situation, only wants to boost his popularity.

The Sixth Holy Spirit Bureau, the Tower of the Holy Spirit.

A piercing alarm sounded.

"It's an attack alarm!" Xuehua murmured, waking up with a start.

She touched the ground with her toes.

He quickly grabbed the "Holy Judgment" from beside his pillow.

"Sacred Mark - Breakthrough!"

Suddenly, a pair of shimmering, iridescent wings unfurled behind him.

He shot towards the director's office at the top of the tower like an arrow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the Holy Spirit Bureau's agents were forming defensive circles, with their respective captains at the core.

The air was thick with the tense smell of gunpowder.

As she flew to the top of the tower, the woman in the classical maid dress was solemnly gazing at a dark mirror.

"Xiaoxue, you've arrived." The woman in the long dress noticed Xuehua's arrival and pushed open the glass. "The crack passage has already penetrated into the tower."

The biting wind whipped the hem of her classic maid's long dress into a fluttering motion.

Xuehua immediately rushed into the house and asked, "Chief, the rift passage? Which operator perished? What facilities were damaged? Where is the rift now?"

Sui Jiu shook his head, his tone grave: "Neither—Xue Li was trapped in the demonic realm formed by the twelve demonic artifacts in her room."

"Aunt?! How could it be her?" Xuehua's pupils suddenly contracted.

Sui Jiu continued, "I think her being trapped was a deliberate scheme by the devil!"

"Chief, why do you think that?"

"Sixty years ago, after the Six Sages of Exorcism sealed the passage to the Demon Realm with their lifespans, the world seemed to be free of conflict for a time. However, some descendants of exorcists began to stir, attempting to monopolize all the world's resources." Suddenly, Sui Jiu began to recount a past event.

"Just then, the psionicist appeared without warning."

"At first, the noble exorcists didn't care, after all, psionicists were not only weak, but they also had to pay a price."

"But unexpectedly, in just a few decades, psychics have spread throughout finance, transportation, agriculture... and have even formed associations."

"And the Holy Spirit Bureau is the product of a compromise between exorcists and psychics."

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the clouds outside the window: "The conflict between these two forces has been building for a long time, and if Xue Li, a mild-mannered young member of the three elite families, were to be killed now, the conflict would escalate completely!"

After a moment of contemplation, Xuehua said, "Shouldn't we unite now, fight against the demons, and slay them?"

Xuehua was still in school. Although she had heard about it, she did not know that the internal conflict had become so intense.

"Those stubborn old guys believe that it is impossible for the Demon Realm to break the seal in sixty years. They think that the 'Thousand-Legged' and 'Mirror Labyrinth' are just excuses for psionicists to seize power."

"That's why Xue Li came here specifically for this purpose. It's less about assisting and more about investigating!"

"Then why didn't you just go in and save your aunt?" Xuehua questioned.

"The Demon Realm is unstable. Rushing in will trigger the backlash of the demonic artifacts, and even Xue Li will be torn to shreds."

"Then what can we do?" Xuehua asked anxiously.

"I've already sent people to investigate why Xue Li fell into the Demon Realm and have attempted to infiltrate it." Sui Jiu pulled her hand away and pointed to the corner of the wall, "Xiao Xue, look..."

Xuehua followed her finger and saw a black-haired girl standing next to a frame with the mirror removed.

The girl's fingertips were swirling with pale purple psychic energy as she gently brushed across the mirror's surface.

"Her psychic ability is [Observation] – the ability to monitor the surrounding situation and project it. Prior to this, she had infused the VIP area with emergency preparedness psychic energy."

"At this moment, that spiritual energy followed Xue Li into the Demon Realm, and she is trying to see if she can observe the situation inside."

"Buzz—"

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark mirror suddenly lit up, with a faint purple glow emanating from its edges.

In the scene, Xue Li is in a banquet hall covered with a scarlet carpet.

At the end of the long table sat a silver candlestick, its flame glowing green.

The guests were dressed in gorgeous gowns, but their skin was as pale as wax figures, and they were surrounded by a faint black aura.

They sat mechanically in their chairs, their movements as stiff as marionettes.

Xuehua's gaze suddenly locked onto the figure across the long table: "Jing-kun? What's he doing in there?"

In the mirror, Mu Jing is sitting opposite Xue Li.

Suddenly, all the guests turned their heads toward Xue Li, their eyes glowing with an eerie red light, as if a switch had been flipped.

As Sui Jiu was pondering the reason for Mu Jing's appearance, he suddenly felt a chill all over his body.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Xuehua was trembling all over and her face was gloomy.

"Kyo-kun did this to save his aunt..." Xuehua's golden eyes dimmed slightly as she murmured to herself, "Kyo-kun did this to save his aunt..."

She remembered Mu Jing's usual gentleness and the attacks he had shielded for her.

But at that moment, his hand was holding his aunt's hand, and that image was like a thorn piercing her heart.

A mirrored image.

Mu Jing held Xue Li's trembling hands tightly and gazed at her with deep affection.

At that moment, the viewers in the [real-world comment section] burst out laughing when they saw this scene:

"A new couple has emerged, how can we stand still!"

Xuehua: Why am I surrounded by philanderers?!

Xue Li: Let Auntie teach him a lesson!

Xuehua: "Don't scold him anymore, I'm afraid you'll end up scolding him by his bedside."

"Xiaoxue, isn't this a bit too biased towards women? The prison's mirror is clearly designed to save both sides' lives!"

Of course, there are also staunch snow guards:

"Poor Xiaoxue, that scumbag Mu Jing!"

The situation reflected in the mirror also became tense.

"Don't move." Mu Jing's voice suddenly rang out, without panic or flattery, only a calm and resolute tone.

Without hesitation, he reached out and firmly grasped Xue Li's slightly trembling hand.

Xue Li subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter.

She looked up at him and found his gaze clear, without any hint of looking up to him or awe, nor any impure thoughts or desires.

She has met many people since she was a child, and those people have treated her with various attitudes, including flattery, awe, and ambition...

But what they saw as a reflection was not a person named "Xue Li," but rather the "snow" of the three starter families falling from the sky.

It had been a long time since anyone had treated her like this. She could clearly sense that Mu Jing was watching the individual named "Xue Li" at this moment.

—Moreover, he is Xiaoxue's lover and someone Xiaoxue trusts.

So she stopped resisting.

Feeling the warmth of my palm, it's like a barrier, keeping all malice out.

Fifteen minutes later...

The suffocating, piercing gaze finally dissipated.

The surrounding "guests" picked up their knives and forks again, stiffly cutting the food on their plates;

The waiters moved around the table like puppets, mechanically adding black meat to everyone's plates.

Mu Jing picked up the knife and fork, his fingertips steady without the slightest tremor.

He precisely cut off a square piece of black meat, about one centimeter in size, and without hesitation, put it directly into his mouth and swallowed it.

After doing all this, he looked up at Xue Li.

There was no extra emotion in his dark eyes, only an almost certain encouragement, as if saying, "Just do as I say."

Xue Li subconsciously glanced around the hall.

All the "people" were eating with their heads down, their pale faces expressionless, with only the faint sound of knives and forks clattering against plates.

She bit her lower lip, mimicked Mu Jing's movements, cut off a piece of black meat of the same size, closed her eyes, and swallowed it.

Contrary to expectations, there was no fishy or foul smell. Instead, there was a strong, sour, and rotten odor, like decaying leaves mixed with mold, which assaulted the nostrils.

"Smack..."

Suddenly, the sound of knives and forks clattering together in unison rang out.

All the "guests" put down their cutlery at the same time, their movements synchronized as if a single switch had been pressed.

The next second, the mournful music that had been filling the hall suddenly stopped.

Dead!

The air seemed to freeze.

Only the breathing of Xue Li and Mu Jing remained, exceptionally clear in the empty banquet hall.

Just then, the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly stopped flashing its white light.

Countless tiny points of light, as if drawn by an invisible force, frantically converged and compressed towards the center of the chandelier.

As the light continued to shrink, the surrounding light dimmed at a visible speed.

Only a blinding beam of white light shot out from the center of the chandelier, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, slicing through the darkness and condensing into a circle of light with a radius of two meters on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the aperture began to wobble.

It's like the muzzle of a hunter's gun, leaping and shifting among the countless tables in the banquet hall.

The speed increased and the frequency became more and more intense, as if it were patrolling for prey;

Suddenly, the pace slowed down abruptly, with each movement accompanied by a deliberate pause, as if "locking in" a certain direction.

Finally, the aperture suddenly stopped.

The blinding white light fell squarely on Xue Li and Mu Jing.

In the darkness, all the "guests'" eyes turned to Xue Li once again.

Their eyes glowed with an eerie red light, like lurking beasts that had finally found their prey, gleaming with a chilling light in the thick darkness.

…………