The girl seemed to be controlled by the woman in the mirror. She widened her eyes and bared her teeth at us.

Li Mazi rolled his sleeves up. “Let me handle this little girl first…”

I shook my head. “The mirror is the key. What if it escapes while we’re dealing with the girl? That would be really troublesome.”

Li Mazi asked me with unease, “What should we do then?”

I thought for a moment, and an idea flashed in my mind. “Do you still have your pocket mirror with you?”

“Of course,” Li Mazi answered. “I’m a man who cares about his appearance. I have to be ready to fix my hair anytime, anywhere.”

He took out his pocket mirror while he spoke.

I told Li Mazi and Zhao Wuyang, “You two grab a hold of the girl. I’m going to deal with the mirror.”

Li Mazi nodded and ran toward the little girl together with Zhao Wuyang.

The girl raised the mirror to fend them off. I took this chance to aim Li Mazi’s pocket mirror at the bronze mirror.

The picture in the bronze mirror was reflected in the pocket mirror. Xia Yingchun saw herself in the mirror. Her own image was a shock to her.

She screamed and said, “Who… Who is that! It’s not me! It’s not me!”

The bronze mirror stopped shining and became dark. Xia Yingchun was scared away by her own image.

Zhao Wuyang carried the little girl on his back, while Li Mazi and I carried the bronze mirror as we walked back to Wuyan Village. We arrived at dawn, and everybody was exhausted after running around throughout the night.

However, we had to deal with the mirror as soon as possible.

I asked the Village Elder, “Prepare an altar and ask your people to make four wooden dummies and four mud dummies. The uglier the better.”

The Village Elder hurried to notify the local folks to prepare the items. Afterwards, I secretly pulled him aside to mutter something in his ear. The Village Elder didn’t agree at first, but I didn’t relent. He was still reluctant, but he eventually gave me a nod.

The sacrificial altar was set up in Uncle Wang’s courtyard.

Noon time was the time when the sun had the strongest Yang energy. I placed the bronze mirror on the altar, carefully wrapped in red fabric.

In addition to the chicken, duck, pork, and fish we used as offerings, there were four wooden dummies and four mud dummies on the altar. They were all disgustingly ugly.

I decided to help Xia Yingchun ascend, but I wasn’t going to lead the ceremony. Xiao Mei, the Village Elder’s daughter, would do the honors.

Everyone was shocked and surprised when Xiao Mei appeared in Uncle Wang’s house.

“Oh my God, is that Xiao Mei? She was a beautiful little girl. How could she become like this?”

“How could they let an ugly girl like her come out here? She will scare people!”

The Village Elder blushed, seemingly embarrassed as he led Xiao Mei to me.

Although Xiao Mei was a little dull, she paid close attention to everything I said. In the beginning, she offered three tumblers of rice wine, then poured the chicken blood around the altar.

The wrapped bronze mirror started to vibrate. All the things on the altar were shaking and clanging.

The people present in the courtyard quieted down as they watched the scene in amazement!

I walked behind the mirror, quickly pulling the red fabric away. The mirror reflected a dazzling light while under the scorching sun.

The mirror quieted down when it reflected Xiao Mei’s skinned face. Xiao Mei was flustered. She pointed at her image in the mirror and couldn’t believe her eyes.

She didn’t know she had turned into this after not having looked at her reflection for years. She used to be a lovely girl.

Since she didn’t talk, she waved her hands worriedly.

The Village Elder cried, then moved closer and hugged his daughter. He comforted her and supported her back. “It’s okay, my good girl. Don’t be scared. I’m right here. Father’s here. I’ll always be here for you!”

Xiao Mei cried.

The villagers were saddened by this exchange.

I took one step forward, raising my voice. “What happened to Xiao Mei is very unfortunate. Today, she could have chosen not to come here, but she came! She does this for the welfare of the entire Wuyan Village. She came to help the soul in the mirror to ascend! I hope that nobody shuns her because of her appearance. She’s still the same girl, your lovely Xiao Mei.”

As they listened, some soft-hearted aunties began to cry. “She’s Xiao Mei, the little girl I saw grow up…”

“Village Elder, please don’t hide Xiao Mei in the room anymore. Just let her go out. Perhaps she will talk again!”

The villagers clamored, showing their affection toward the Village Elder and his daughter Xiao Mei. The father and daughter hugged each other, crying.

I turned and checked the bronze mirror.

I wanted to tell Xia Yingchun that although there is darkness, cruelty, and degeneration in this world, we can also find hope, love, and a future…

You can’t just skin people’s faces because your face had such a fate!

Even if you peeled off Xiao Mei’s face, she still has the people who love her and care about her.

You are not Xiao Mei, and Xiao Mei isn’t you.

What you had to go through will never happen to Xiao Mei!

Perhaps Xia Yingchun was touched by this.

Right before everyone’s eyes, the bright bronze mirror slowly turned black.

It became dull with a patina layer, unable to reflect light anymore.

I knew she had left…

At night time, everyone in Wuyan Village gathered at Uncle Wang’s house. They prepared a few tables to drink and cheer. The occasion looked even more joyous than a wedding.

The resentful atmosphere that pervaded over Wuyan Village had disappeared.

Perhaps I drank too much that evening as I only woke up at around noon the next day. I shook Li Mazi to wake him up, but Zhao Wuyang was nowhere to be seen; his bag had also disappeared. I went out to ask around, and they told me that he had left early this morning, alone.

He told Uncle Wang that he wanted to travel and admire the sights around the area. Afterward, he would return to his city to work.

I felt happy for him. That fella had finally gained some courage. He could travel alone now.

The madwoman didn’t seem pleased when Li Mazi and I were about to leave. She looked at Li Mazi and made some sounds, but we couldn’t figure out what she was trying to say.

Li Mazi flinched as he thought of something. He then gave her his pocket mirror.

Uncle Wang and the Village Elder took us to the village entrance. I was a little worried, so I had to tell them, “Just bury that mirror back in the tomb. Later, at various special holidays, you have to send some people to burn incense and take offerings to show your respect to her.”

The Village Elder nodded and thanked me. “We will. Thank you.”

I resumed my dull life once I returned to the city. One night, I found a horror comic. It was the story of a mirror that skinned people’s faces. The story was bizarre and bloody, but the drawings weren’t really scary.

I read the comic to the end and found that Zhang Qinghai was the author.

I was surprised that the man had drawn this short comic. He had published it on NetEase’s comic section.

The comic had many comments.

Some people said that they had grown up ugly, so they especially hated the people who had been born beautiful.

Some said that modern plastic surgery was really developed. If you didn’t like your face, you could just go to South Korea to get a new look.

However, to me, one’s appearance was a gift.

Whether one was beautiful or ugly, the most important thing was to live happily.

Living a happy life was more important than anything else.

If you paid too much attention to your beauty, you’d miss out on a lot of fun in this life.

I stretched my back as I looked at the glow in the sky, right at the break of dawn. A new day had arrived!