“Your collection? What’s special about those pieces?” Vinny asked, curious enough to keep going. “Are the materials valuable, or are they antiques left behind by nobles and royalty from ancient times?”

“Young man, the fact that you can ask that proves you do not understand mirrors at all. Some mirrors cannot be measured by whether they are ‘worth money.’” The old man wiped the mirror beside his hand without even lifting his head.

“Cannot be measured by money?” Vinny was a little surprised. “Old sir, does that mean those pieces in your collection are like that too? The general public doesn’t recognize their value?”

“In the hands of someone who does not understand the craft, they are nothing more than pieces of old, broken glass,” the old man said to himself. “But here with me, they are peerless solitary treasures whose value cannot be measured in money.”

“Uh, really? They’re that amazing? Would it be convenient to let me see one of those mirrors in your collection?” Vinny’s curiosity was piqued. “Just one is fine. I’m purely curious what magic your mirrors have, Boss.”

“Young man, even if I show you, you won’t be able to see anything.” The old man glanced at Vinny. “You’ll only think it’s a piece of broken glass you could find anywhere.”

“Who says that? This young master understands artistic appreciation very well. Just show me and broaden my horizons, won’t you?” Vinny said.

The old man set down the mirror he had been wiping and fell silent for a moment. Then he took an exquisite dark-red little box out from beneath his desk cabinet. Delicate patterns were carved into it, and at a glance, one could tell the box itself was worth quite a bit. After that, he took two keys from his waist, inserted them into the two keyholes of the little box, and turned them in opposite directions.

There was a click, and the exquisite box opened.

Was it really that complicated??

Vinny stared, a little dumbfounded. Even opening the box required two keyholes and two different keys. That was way too complicated. Who knew what sort of treasure was locked inside? It even made Vinny a little nervous.

The old man opened the dark-red box. Vinny could not help leaning over to look, and discovered that lying on the soft cushion inside the box was a very old-looking shard of broken mirror. Its surface was covered in cracks and scratches, making it appear extremely aged.

“This... could it be??” Vinny frowned.

Although on the surface, this mirror looked like some broken shard from an old mirror that had been left behind when some household moved, accidentally dropped, and smashed on the ground, Vinny’s long experience told him that matters like this could not be judged by appearances.

Since it was a collection so carefully preserved by an old man who looked like an unparalleled expert, it had to be something extraordinary.

“Ah! I understand!” Vinny put on an expression as if he completely understood.

In reality, he understood nothing at all. But even if he did not understand, he still had to pretend he did.

“You understand? What do you understand?” the old man asked in confusion.

“I understand. This mirror shard is a masterpiece from a legendary mirror craftsman during the Tyrelis Ancient Empire period, right?? Mm. That craftsman must have had an extraordinary background too. The kind of artisan who specifically forged mirrors for the imperial family??” Vinny guessed with certainty.

“However, when the Tyrelis Ancient Empire fell, that complete mirror was smashed to pieces by demon race soldiers who charged into the city, and the fragments were divided among the demon race. This shard is one of the fragments from that complete mirror!” Vinny pointed at the mirror shard in great shock. “Only after changing hands several times did this mirror shard finally return to human hands. Ah, truly not easy!”

“You... what are you talking about?” The old man was silent for a long while before asking that soul-piercing question.

“Ah? It isn’t like that? Then could it be that this mirror shard is the masterpiece of some legendary enchantment master, and it’s a mirror with magical power??” Vinny rubbed his jaw and guessed again.

“Young man, this is why I said you do not understand mirrors at all. Can’t you tell this mirror was made less than ten years ago?” the old man said, his face odd.

“No, if it isn’t an antique, then what exactly is this mirror??” The old man’s words left Vinny completely at a loss.

Since it was being worshiped like a treasure, there had to be a reason, right??

“To tell you the truth, this mirror...” The old man leaned closer mysteriously, his wrinkled old face filled with gravity.

“Is there something special about this mirror?” Vinny grew nervous as well and asked hesitantly.

“That’s right.”

“That’s right??” Vinny frowned.

“That’s right. It is the mirror I accidentally broke at home while eating last week,” the old man said with a solemn expression, finally finishing his sentence.

“...”

Vinny fell silent for a while.

Bro, this old man is messing with you, isn’t he??

Vinny’s head was now filled with that single sentence, his expression as if his intelligence had been insulted.

“So you were messing with me??” Vinny looked thoroughly fooled and could not help speaking.

He really had not expected this old geezer to be such a childish old prankster.

“Old man, you’re seriously bored enough, aren’t you? Fine, you tricked me, but why use such an expensive box to hold a broken mirror shard, and even use two keys? Is that really necessary??” Vinny felt this old man might have something wrong with his head. He did not seem mentally normal.

“If a thief came to your shop and saw this box placed together with that broken mirror, he’d steal your box straightaway and still wouldn’t steal that mirror!” Vinny said irritably.

“Young people these days are too impetuous. You don’t understand artistic appreciation at all.” The old man glanced at Vinny. “Can’t you see what makes this broken mirror special?”

“What makes it special? That it’s especially old?” Vinny frowned.

“Young man, look at the pattern on this mirror. It wasn’t etched on, but formed by accident during the firing process.” The old man sighed. “A pattern like this is not something that can simply be carved on. You could say it is unique. You will never find a second mirror in the world with this exact pattern.”

“That’s it??”

After hearing all that, Vinny only wanted to say those two words.

Damn it. He had wasted all that effort guessing like a clown. After all that, he had thought the other party was standing on the fifth layer, only for the old man to tell him he was actually on level negative one.

It was a complete waste of expression.

“What more do you want? Do you not understand how unique this is? In the entire world, there may be only this one.”

“Old man, I just discovered something. There’s a torn rag on a roof beam at my place, left behind by the previous owner. The wrinkles on it are different from every other rag too, and it’s also unique. I guarantee there’s only one set of wrinkles like that in the whole world. Why don’t you consider it? I’ll give you a discount and sell it to you for one silver coin. Will you take it?” Vinny rolled his eyes at the old man.

“Young man, you simply don’t understand.” The old man shook his head. “A rag is merely a piece of torn cloth. Nothing more than a dead object.”

“A dead object? Isn’t a mirror also a dead object? Can mirrors be alive??” Vinny asked with both arms crossed.

“Of course. Every mirror has its own soul. Young man, the fact that you stopped in front of my shop at this time of year proves there is some fate between us in the unseen. I’ll tell you, then. Inside every mirror lives a mirror spirit. When they have not awakened, what they reflect is the appearance seen by human eyes. But when they awaken, what the mirror reflects back is the human being’s true appearance in the mirror spirit’s eyes,” the old man said as though it were perfectly serious.

“Old man, I can tell living by yourself is pretty boring. You’re messing with me again this time too, aren’t you? Do you need me to act a little more shocked?” Vinny crossed his arms and yawned.

“Sigh, fine, fine. If you won’t believe it, then forget it.”

“Ah, I remember now.” Vinny slapped his forehead. He remembered that when he had chatted with the card players before, they had mentioned there was an old man selling mirrors on the commercial street who was extremely strange. He would tell everyone bizarre things like “mirrors have souls” and “inside mirrors is another world.” It was strange to the extreme.

“Old man, I think my friends mentioned you before. Is your next sentence going to be that mirrors contain another world?” Vinny asked with an odd expression.

“It seems there is no need for me to say it.” The old man shook his head. “Believe it or not, another world truly exists inside mirrors. Or rather, mirrors are passages connecting to another world, and the world we inhabit is only one among many worlds.”

Sure enough, strange beyond strange.

Vinny felt it would be best not to keep talking to this rambling old man, lest his own mind start becoming abnormal too.

When he was about to leave the mirror shop, he saw someone walk in from outside.

Vinny glanced at the tall man and found the man’s attire very strange. The weather was not cold, yet the man wore a thick padded coat, wrapping himself up tightly. Only his eyes were visible.

“Buying a mirror?” Seeing the newcomer, the old man frowned, as if he had also sensed something was wrong.

Though as far as Vinny was concerned, there was not much to it. This person was strange, but that did not mean this old man was normal.

Still, was it his imagination? He kept feeling that when he brushed past this tall man, the man seemed to glance at him faintly, intentionally or otherwise.

“Buying a mirror.” The man stood before the counter and only spoke after a moment of silence.

“What type of mirror are you buying? Go inside and choose for yourself.” The old man gestured for the man to pick from the shelves, only to find that the man did not seem interested in the mirrors on the shelves at all. Instead, his gaze shifted to the broken mirror shard inside the old man’s box.

“The mirror I want is somewhat special,” the man said in a heavy, muffled voice.

Seeing that the situation was so interesting, Vinny did not rush to leave. He stood at the shop entrance and watched the interaction between the two.

“A special mirror? This shop has every kind of mirror, but they are all inside. Just go in and choose.” For some reason, the old man’s gaze toward the man carried a trace of wariness.

Vinny looked at the tall man with an odd expression. For some reason, he felt this man’s tone and word choice were somewhat familiar. He did not know whether that was only his imagination.

“Those mirrors are not the mirror I want.” The man did not follow the old man’s words or pay attention to the other mirrors in the shop.

“You haven’t even looked, and you say there isn’t one? Customer, you don’t seem like you’re here to buy a mirror. You seem like you’re here to cause trouble. I’m not doing business with you. Leave!” the old man said impatiently.

“Old sir, don’t be so hasty. I have plenty of money, as long as you can give me the goods I want.”

As he spoke, the man’s tall figure leaned slightly closer, looking down at the stooped old man.

“What I want is a treasured mirror connected to the gate of another world, capable of reflecting another person’s soul and true appearance.”

“Sir, I think you are simply here to cause trouble.” The old man snapped the box in front of him shut and put it away, not letting the man look any further. “You should leave at once. I don’t have what you want here.”

The old man’s tone now carried more than a little intent to drive him away.

“Is that true?” The man, however, was in no hurry. He simply watched the old man calmly. “Could you please let me see the mirror you had placed on the table earlier?”

“That was just a mirror my family accidentally broke while eating a few days ago. But the pattern was unique, so I kept it as part of my collection. Many people in this Academy know I have this sort of habit. What, are you interested in my family’s broken mirror?” the old man asked with a frown.

“What is wrong with that?” The man laughed in a low, heavy voice.

Vinny watched the scene in surprise.

This strange old man had been boasting every which way about that mirror shard earlier, saying it was one of a kind and had unique patterns and all that. Why was he starting to disparage it now??

Why did it feel like this guy’s actions were deliberately meant to tell everyone nearby, “I am someone who likes treating broken mirrors from my own home as treasures”??

“That mirror looked like it used rather good materials to me. I find it a pity that it broke. However, after taking a rough look at it earlier, I found there may still be a possibility of repairing it.”

“I think you aren’t here to buy a mirror at all. You’re here to cause trouble, aren’t you??” The old man’s tone became quite unfriendly. “Tch, what a killjoy. Running into a bunch of people who don’t understand mirrors. Leave. Both of you, leave! This shop is closed for today!”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect Carillian Academy to be full of such vulgar people??”

The old man stared at the man and especially emphasized the words “Carillian Academy.”

Vinny frowned from the side. Although he had been dragged into the old man’s scolding as well, he kept feeling the old man was targeting this man, and reminding him that this was Carillian Academy.

“Please don’t get worked up. I only saw that your shop had many mirrors and wanted to try my luck. If you don’t have it, then you don’t have it. I’ll leave now.”

After saying that, the man turned and left the mirror shop.

“Hey, what are you still standing there for? Didn’t you hear me say the shop is closed today?? Hurry up and get out!” Seeing the man leave, the old man loosened a little, then turned toward Vinny.

“Why are you suddenly so angry?” Vinny looked utterly baffled as he was driven out of the mirror shop.

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