Cold, hard, round, and flat.

Liao Tingyan snapped her fingers, creating a ball of light for illumination, and took out the object for a careful look. It turned out to be a face-sized mirror with exquisite patterns around the edges, full of antique charm and appearing quite valuable.

She held the mirror up to her face and found that both sides had reflective surfaces, though both were equally blurry. Not quite understanding how to use this treasure, Liao Tingyan humbly consulted Sima Jiao.

“How do you use this?” It probably wasn’t just a simple mirror.

Sima Jiao’s fingers were long and white, quite beautiful. He took the mirror and somehow, with a few quick movements, split it into two pieces. It turned out to be a detachable set.

“As long as there’s spiritual energy, even if these two mirrors are ten thousand miles apart, you can see what’s happening on the other side,” Sima Jiao said.

Liao Tingyan maintained a completely calm expression. To be honest, although the fantasy world had impressive features like people flying solo and casually summoning wind and rain, modern technology was also impressive. For instance, this object couldn’t compare to a smartphone. With electricity and internet, a phone could also show what was happening ten thousand miles away, and with more diverse and convenient functions. She glanced at the mirror surface—hmm, a phone would have better image quality too.

Sima Jiao keenly noticed that Liao Tingyan didn’t particularly like this item, so he held the two mirrors and directly snapped one of them in half.

Liao Tingyan: “???” What are you doing?

She quickly put the remaining piece aside to prevent this temperamental ancestor from crushing it as well.

“If you don’t like it, break it,” Sima Jiao said.

Liao Tingyan hurriedly replied: “I like it, I like it!” She couldn’t let this wasteful ancestor continue his lawless behavior. Having finally received a clear “gift” from him, only to have him damage part of it himself—what kind of elementary school-level gift-giving approach was this?

Sima Jiao didn’t quite believe her answer. He wasn’t very happy and stared at her eyes with a solemn face, asking again with his truth-compelling buff, “Do you like this thing?”

Liao Tingyan: “I like it.” While saying she liked it, her mind was flooded with question marks. What’s wrong with you, ancestor? Why use your truth buff for such a small matter? Before, when you used your truth buff, you always had a murderous expression if someone said the wrong thing, but just now it was an expression of anger if someone said the wrong thing. When did you get downgraded?

The situation seemed a bit off as if they couldn’t escape the rule that transmigrator must inevitably fall in love. Liao Tingyan steadied herself imperceptibly. It’s okay, romance requires two people; he couldn’t pursue it alone. As long as she remained steady.

Just as she was thinking this, Sima Jiao pulled her head closer and bent down to kiss her lips. He suckled on her upper lip, their noses rubbing together, in a gesture both lingering and intimate.

Liao Tingyan: “…” Stay, stay steady, I can hold on for another second.

Sima Jiao’s breath intertwined with hers. He lowered those eyes that usually looked unfriendly when regarding others, his lips slightly curling upward. His mood seemed to have improved again.

His cold fingers supported her chin and the back of her ear, while his other hand caressed the back of her head, pressing on her hair. He seemed to enjoy holding the back of her neck—a posture that didn’t allow others to retreat.

Liao Tingyan felt a tingling at the back of her head, unsure whether it was due to instinctive tension from having a vulnerable spot held, or because Sima Jiao kept gently sucking on her lips like a kissing fish.

His expression and movements were too natural, as natural as if they were meant to be this intimate as if she was someone who could naturally be close to him and kiss him.

He carried the scent of dew, the faint fragrance of flowers from outside the courtyard, and a barely perceptible hint of blood. This man sitting beside her and kissing her had killed someone not long ago or had passed through some blood-soaked place. She should have felt afraid, but at this moment, she only felt her heart trembling severely—not from fear, but from a strange sense of excitement.

And also a bit of… well, that impulse.

Have I become a pervert? Liao Tingyan thought. Has my alignment finally shifted from chaotic neutral to chaotic evil?

What happened afterward was obvious. In short, they engaged in soul communion again. If the previous time was her saving someone in confusion and inexplicably doing that, this time it was being bewitched—the ghost being Sima Jiao, like a water ghost that entangles people underwater with no escape.

Soul communion was extremely pleasurable, not just physically, but also in terms of the soul and even thoughts. That sense of satisfaction and exhilaration was like an endless blue sky with white clouds, without any worries, flying among the clouds, completely free.

Even after it ended, this feeling would linger, bringing a sense of calm and security.

Although she had defined her sudden transmigration as a vacation, she inevitably harbored some wandering bewilderment and loneliness of being alone in a vast world. But at times like this, that loneliness dissipated because another man, more lonely and more irritable, merged with her.

She seemed to be in an extremely safe place, able to sleep sweetly without worrying about waking up alone, without wondering where to go tomorrow or where to return to.

Liao Tingyan discovered that soul communion was a very fair method of exchange. If it were a physical relationship, men’s and women’s bodies naturally be divided into top and bottom, but with soul communion, all feelings were mutual. At one point, she felt Sima Jiao’s mood and sensations washing over her like warm water, engulfing her.

This person, even in his soft moments, carried a sharpness that could hurt others. His soul was too powerful, and when Liao Tingyan couldn’t quite handle it, his cold fingers at the back of her head would gently massage for a while, as if to soothe her. That was a consideration completely different from his usual arrogant and annoying self.

It could probably even be called doting.

Liao Tingyan slept until late morning, waking up refreshed, lying in bed reflecting on herself. Had Sima Jiao used some kind of lust-inducing spell last night? How had she been so unable to control herself?

Thinking about last night’s events, she wished she could forget them. How had they gone from talking to starting that? She recalled how, halfway through, because it felt so good, she had clung to his neck, making indistinct sounds.

At that time, Sima Jiao’s eye corners were slightly red, his lips also very red, making his skin appear even whiter and his eyes darker, like a beautiful ghost as he held her and made a few sounds—the kind of “mm” sounds one makes when soothing a baby. Hearing it made one’s heart melt.

Face to face, ears rubbing against noses…

Liao Tingyan covered her face, deciding not to continue recalling. Can’t think about it—thinking about it would be like early dating.

Sima Jiao slept beside her, probably awake but too lazy to open his eyes. He had stolen her pillow to make a nest, and within that nest, he had given her a nice spot for her head, forcing her to sleep against him in a standard couple’s position.

Men, even men like Sima Jiao, appeared much more relaxed at times like this, harmlessly and comfortably sprawled there like a cat basking in sunlight, making one want to go over and rub his belly.

Liao Tingyan slapped herself awake. Rub what? He doesn’t even have fur. What rubbing?

Perhaps because her thoughts were too chaotic and her emotions too fluctuating, she finally forced the pretending-to-sleep boss beside her to open his eyes.

He reached out to her, but Liao Tingyan rolled to the side, just barely avoiding his hand. However, her head knocked against something hard with a clunk. It was the mirror she had received last night. The surviving mirror should have been the protagonist last night, but it had been forgotten in a corner, only now being brought out again.

“If it’s useless, throw it away,” said Sima Jiao, the ancestor who knew nothing of worldly hardships.

Liao Tingyan: “It’s a pity one was broken; otherwise, it would still be useful.”

She thought for a moment—if this mirror had multiple pieces that could be placed in various locations, with all images concentrated on the piece in hand, wouldn’t that be like a livestream? Placing one mirror in Gengchen Immortal Sect’s main square would show disciples fighting; placing one in the bustling market streets would show the many facets of life and the city; placing one among mountain forests and flowers would even show wildlife recordings. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Liao Tingyan jumbled these thoughts together and casually mentioned them. Sima Jiao showed a contemplative expression and after a moment said, “Not bad.” Then he took the intact mirror and traced the extremely complex patterns on it.

When they went to class, Sima Jiao was still playing with that mirror.

Liao Tingyan didn’t understand why this person, who didn’t need to attend classes, would also waste time going with her, but she could never comprehend what he wanted to do, so she just let him be.

Sima Jiao pondered over that mirror for about half a month, then left for three days, and upon returning, gave the mirror back to Liao Tingyan.

“Look.”

Liao Tingyan took the mirror, giving Sima Jiao a puzzled expression. Sima Jiao sprawled beside her and tapped the mirror surface with his finger. The mirror surface rippled before showing the appearance of Three Saints Mountain.

The Three Saints Mountain in the mirror was different from when they left. The tall tower had been rebuilt, and the adjacent palaces were also being reconstructed. Some seemingly powerful masters stood there, discussing something with serious expressions.

Sima Jiao tapped the mirror again, and the scene changed to the blue flower tree at the foot of White Deer Cliff.

Liao Tingyan understood. She took control and dragged the view sideways, discovering that it could rotate with a 360-degree field of vision. She saw the mist-shrouded palaces of White Deer Cliff and also the nearby cultivators on patrol, all looking tense and vigilant.

Imitating Sima Jiao’s mirror tapping, the scene showed no response, only the people in the mirror continuing to talk and move about. The sound was a bit faint, and not very clear.

Sima Jiao: “Spiritual energy.”

Liao Tingyan silently applied spiritual energy and found that the scene changed to a charred mountain. This mountain looked as if it had experienced a volcanic eruption; the entire mountain had exploded from its core, leaving only grotesque, charred rocks jutting toward the sky. There wasn’t a single living thing. The scene didn’t change for a long time, making Liao Tingyan wonder if the network had frozen.

She guessed these were all scenes Sima Jiao had created and places he had selected, but what was special about this charred mountain?

She switched to another location—an unfamiliar marketplace, but quite lively. The vendors’ loud calls and the street’s noisy sounds all came through together.

There was also a view of a small lake with a waterfall in the mountains. When Liao Tingyan switched to this view, she saw horned, white, fluffy spiritual beasts drinking by the lake. Snow-white birds skimmed across the lake surface, standing on the docile, fluffy spiritual beasts. The scene was peaceful and beautiful.

The next scene was a shop with many beautiful men and women chatting, playing music, and laughing with customers. There was also a stage where people were performing. Liao Tingyan watched a complete flying dance and thought the group of dancing ladies was stunning. She was reluctant to switch for a long time.

Sima Jiao urged her: “Next one.”

Liao Tingyan changed channels. The scene switched to a mirror-like lake, but this camera was too shaky, skimming over the lake’s surface before flying up into the sky, showing the mountains and rivers below. Soon after, the view dropped into a grove of trees.

It appeared to be the view from a bird. No good, it made her dizzy with the 3D effect.

Continuing to switch perspectives, she switched to a majestic divine statue. Beneath the statue, someone was preaching, with a group of disciples quietly listening below. “Seeking the Dao Origin” was carved on the large stone beneath the statue. Liao Tingyan had heard of this place—it was where high-level masters in Gengchen Immortal Sect’s inner court gave extra, advanced lessons to outstanding disciples.

The next perspective was a kitchen, though she didn’t know which kitchen. It was very large, with various ingredients neatly arranged. More than twenty chefs were busy making various foods. Some were steaming cakes, some filleting fish, some mixing meat fillings, and others making pastries—a scene of bustling activity.

…

After viewing all the live stream channels, Liao Tingyan looked at Sima Jiao with slight emotion. The ancestor understands me!

Sima Jiao: “This is what you wanted?”

Liao Tingyan: “That’s right. Watching this kind of live stream is the easiest way to pass time, and it’s hypnotic too.”

Sima Jiao remained noncommittal, watching various oily dishes come out of the work in the mirror, and asked, “What else? What else do you want?”

Liao Tingyan: “…” Oh no, seeing the ancestor’s tyrannical emperor-like demeanor of being able to get whatever she wanted, they were going to follow the “Domineering Ancestor and His Little Demon Consort” script.