"Henry, here with me, I can see myself, and I can see you too."

Olivia saw Henry Carter ponder for a moment, his expression relaxing, a determined gleam flashing in his eyes.

She asked uncertainly, "Do you know what 'it' is now?"

The water curtain in front of Olivia trembled, ripples quivering, the image becoming a bit blurry.

Olivia Sullivan secretly laughed to herself—old monster, someone is smarter than you, must be driving you mad, right?

A smile appeared in Henry's eyes. His face, usually as calm as an exiled immortal, suddenly burst forth with a hint of proud vitality. He took out the Ninefold Demon-Subduing Pagoda from his robe and placed it in his right palm, while his left hand swiftly drew a few talismanic symbols in the air.

Olivia Sullivan stared unblinkingly at the pagoda—so the protagonist's golden finger was actually this small, a palm-sized wooden pagoda, seven stories in total, barely over ten centimeters tall, like a craft made by a child piecing together wooden slats.

Could this thing really capture such a mysterious demon?

Henry Carter rapidly chanted a string of incantations, low and fast, indistinct, only the last two words suddenly rang out loud and clear: "...Water Mirror!"

Ah, Henry Carter, blessed with protagonist's aura, really is exceptionally clever!

This old demon was indeed a mirror.

The newlyweds in Taicang County had their lives taken by this very mirror.

According to the original book, this water mirror was once used by an ancient demon king, and after being steeped in demonic energy for ages, it gained sentience and the ability to move through space.

It never took on human form, but it had inner demons, needing to constantly devour mortals to satisfy its desires.

A hundred years ago, it disguised itself as a dressing mirror and devoured the women who used it, until a passing Taoist sealed it away.

The Taoist who sealed it was a bit of a charlatan, unable to completely destroy this harmful mirror, so he racked his brains and set a seal.

The Taoist was a conceited man, fond of studying mathematical problems and proud of it. He fought the demon mirror for half a day, and finally came up with this convoluted rule: unless someone steps through the mirror from nine feet away in a single stride and then looks into the mirror, only then could they be devoured.

The Taoist felt quite pleased with himself: who in their right mind would take a nine-foot stride? No matter how capable the water mirror was, it was still a single-sided mirror—once you pass through, you're behind it and can't see your reflection, so how could you be devoured?

"Double insurance, I'm simply a genius," he thought, smugly riding off on his donkey.

Olivia Sullivan finished reading this passage, impressed by the author's twisted logic. She immediately thought, as long as the water mirror bends itself into a double-sided mirror and lures someone through, wouldn't that solve everything?

She only dared to think this silently. After all, when it comes to hardworking novelists, readers should be a bit more forgiving. The main point of this book is emotional entanglements—just enjoy the highlights and don't sweat the details.

Olivia Sullivan continued reading.

The Taoist thought he had set an unsolvable problem. But he never imagined that the water mirror, obsessed with math problems, would, after a hundred years of diligent study, actually find the optimal solution:

It chose couples about to enter the bridal chamber, and when the two were nine feet apart, it instantly shifted the space, creating the illusion that they were face to face, while it hid itself in the crevice between spaces.

Just like what happened earlier with her and Henry—stepping nine feet through the mirror in a single stride was no dream at all.

After passing through the mirror, the water mirror would quickly restore the twisted space. The boundary of space is a marvelous thing—ambiguous, belonging to both sides.

As long as the water mirror twisted back to the unoccupied side, something magical happened—the mirror surface would once again face the couple!

At this point, the one who had just passed through and looked into the mirror would be sucked in, and the other, rushing to save their lover, would have the space twisted again by the water mirror, shrinking nine feet into a single step, and would also pass through the mirror in one stride.

So, the rescuer wouldn't escape either.

Olivia Sullivan thought it over carefully and realized that as long as the two weren't standing face to face nine feet apart, all of the above would hold true.

For a low-level creature, the water mirror had come up with such a clever solution—it truly made Olivia Sullivan feel a sense of respect. This might be the most intelligent demon in the whole book; she almost felt reluctant to see it destroyed.

The wooden pagoda suddenly flew out of Henry's palm, rapidly enlarging, casting a huge shadow over their heads. Olivia Sullivan worried it might crash into the palace ceiling.

The next moment, the water mirror in front of Olivia shattered, instantly turning into a whirlwind of glass-like shards, rushing out the door with the wooden pagoda in hot pursuit.

The twisted space returned to normal, and she saw Henry Carter's figure—sure enough, he was about three meters away from her, with his back turned. Henry Carter turned around, meeting her gaze, a hint of amazement in his eyes: "Olivia."

"You're much smarter and braver than I imagined," he praised sincerely.

"Not at all," Olivia considered how Ethan Sullivan might react, and, following the original character's temperament, lowered her head, replying shyly and demurely, "Big Brother Carter, you flatter me."

Henry Carter was slightly taken aback, then smiled indulgently. "Are you hurt at all?"

Olivia bashfully shook her head, casting him a coquettish glance, leaving Henry Carter momentarily speechless.