Ah, the general used to dress casually when in the circus. In that case, does it mean that only when there's a possibility of battle does the Ghost General wear her armor and war robes? Hmm, is it that dressing like she did in life gives her some kind of power boost?
Mu Anqi wasn't quite sure, and she didn't dare to ask rashly. She quickly walked through the city gates and stopped in front of the Ghost General. So… the Nirvana Space said the inviter was called "Ji Huaichu," then this Ghost General must be General Ji. Mu Anqi stood up straight and bowed to the general. "Greetings, General Ji!"
"Mm." Ji Huaichu nodded and walked into the city. After the trial game ended, she hadn't rushed back to the city. After all, the players would need some time to rest once the game concluded.
Ji Huaichu's title of General wasn't something she gained after coming to the Shattered Mirror Continent. She had been a general in her previous life—not just a general, but a founding general who had rendered meritorious service in aiding the rise of a new emperor.
It was just that… she had disguised herself as a man.
Ji Huaichu held military power in her hands. After the new emperor ascended the throne and consolidated his rule, he grew extremely wary of her. Upon discovering that she was a woman, he attempted to take her into the harem as a concubine and simultaneously revoke her military command. After Ji Huaichu refused, the new emperor flew into a rage, pressured the Ji family, and slandered her with severe crimes.
Ji Huaichu had no intention of rebelling; she believed all this to be the work of treacherous ministers at court, and that the emperor had merely been temporarily misled. On a rainy night, she removed her armor and entered the palace to seek audience with the emperor, even drinking poisoned wine to prove her loyalty. But after she drank the poison, the emperor revealed the truth. There were no treacherous ministers manipulating things—it was simply that the emperor could not tolerate a great general with overwhelming military merit and command, could not accept Ji Huaichu's refusal to become his concubine, and could not endure the renown of General Ji spreading far and wide, winning the hearts of the people.
After Ji Huaichu's death, the new emperor charged her with attempted regicide and exterminated the entire Ji clan.
Ji Huaichu became a ghost. She had lived a life of integrity and earned countless merits, yet suffered such a fate—naturally, her resentment was immense. What the new emperor did after her death only fueled her fury further, driving her to become a ghost general and bathe the imperial palace in blood. But no matter what, the emperor was still the Son of Heaven, bearing the true dragon's fortune. After Ji Huaichu slew the emperor, a heavenly tribulation descended immediately. Just as she was about to be struck into complete annihilation, she was pulled into the black mirror vortex and entered the Shattered Mirror Continent.
At the beginning, Ji Huaichu was consumed by hatred. Though she retained consciousness, her desire for slaughter took over. The black mirror vortex that formed around her became a hell-mode instance in the Shattered Mirror Continent—a pure pursuit-and-kill mode. The first group of players to explore the black mirror vortex were torn apart by Ji Huaichu before they could do anything or learn any information. After two full-party wipes during exploration, the monsters and ghosts of the Shattered Mirror Continent began to take it seriously.
After absorbing the souls of many players, the black mirror vortex grew even stronger, but Ji Huaichu gradually began to calm down. She resented the new emperor, and also those hypocritical officials. Once she figured out how the black mirror vortex worked, her instance turned into a "Daily Bloodbath in the Imperial Palace" instance. Any player who entered the instance had to reenact Ji Huaichu's scene of slaying the emperor as a ghost. Only after the player killed the emperor would Ji Huaichu let them go.
It wasn't until Ji Huaichu grew bored of this little game that she accepted the invitation of the ghosts and monsters of the Shattered Mirror Continent, shattered the black mirror vortex, and established her residence there. In life, she had never been bloodthirsty—everything she did was for her country and people. But after becoming a ghost, her temperament changed drastically, becoming moody and unpredictable. In the early days, if any unknown ghost so much as looked at her twice, Ji Huaichu would beat them up on the spot. Later, after understanding more about the black mirror vortex, she became obsessed with cleansing them. She especially loved those vortexes formed from pure resentment—no need to think about anything upon entering, just kill.
Just like that, Ji Huaichu grew stronger by the day, even attracting a large group of ghosts and monsters to follow her. She began expanding her residence, and later built a city. Ji Huaichu was stuck in the Barrier-Breaking stage for a long time. She thought that to break through it, she had to let go of her obsessions, be forgiving, and grant pardon…
But Ji Huaichu simply couldn't do it. If failing to pass the Barrier-Breaking stage meant being struck dead by heavenly lightning again, Ji Huaichu would still say, "Then strike me dead."
So how did she break through?
Ji Huaichu changed her line of thinking.
If she had been a madwoman from the very beginning, if the new emperor feared her military power and killed her on charges of deceiving the monarch, then she should have led her army to surround the palace and replaced the emperor with someone more obedient.
He deceived her, humiliated her, betrayed her? Then just kill him.
Once she figured that out, Ji Huaichu broke through.
After the breakthrough, she appeared to be much gentler, her sharpness subdued. But in some ways, Ji Huaichu had become even crazier.
So, after Mu Anqi's trial ended, Ji Huaichu waited for a while at the entrance of the black mirror vortex and eventually saw the peony demon Zuo Xiaohong—and beat her up. Since the bamboo demon Zuo Zhuqing came out together with the peony demon, Ji Huaichu "took care" of Zuo Zhuqing as well.
The black mirror vortex in the City of Seven-Day Samsara had actually existed for quite a while and had tested many players. The success and failure rate among those who attempted the trial was roughly fifty-fifty, so the vortex's energy remained balanced—neither growing stronger nor weakening—always staying within a controllable range.
So, after settling her "personal grudge," Ji Huaichu reentered Samsara City and went to that fake "Goddess of Beauty," the true incarnation of Delusion, to request a white paper resident who habitually held an apple.
After handling all this, she returned to the main district of the Thirteen Cities of the Taiyin and sent an invitation to the player.
General Ji looked at the newly arrived money tree and gave an exceptionally gentle smile: "The faction a player joins in the Shattered Mirror Continent can be changed. You're the first player I've recruited, so there are some things I need to say upfront."
"If someone else tries to recruit you in the future, I hope you'll think it through carefully before accepting—consider whether you can bear the cost of betraying me. Okay?"
It was the first time Mu Anqi had seen the Ghost General smile so gently, so beautifully. She hadn't expected the mighty Ghost King to actually use a beauty trap when recruiting players! That softly spoken "okay?" was so tender it went straight to her bones—Mu Anqi blushed on the spot, thinking, "Who could resist this?! Who wouldn't want to shout 'Sister, I'm yours'?" Never mind recruitment—she'd give her life if asked!
The naïve Mu Anqi didn't hear the danger and threat hidden in those words. She nodded obediently, "Is there something you need me to do?" Just from that face and voice alone, all the irritation from being woken up at five in the morning had been completely redirected toward Nirvana Space. Who could stay angry at such a gentle and powerful ghost queen?
"Clear out black mirror vortexes," Ji Huaichu said, her smile fading. "After each game, provide me with 1,000 guan coins."
"…What if I don't draw enough guan from the game?" Mu Anqi opened her mouth, feeling the demand was a bit outrageous—though on the other hand, she was thankful her skill had been upgraded.
General Ji: "Figure it out yourself."
Ah—Mu Anqi didn't dare protest anymore. After all, it seemed this Ghost General had taken a liking to her ability to earn guan; if she showed too little value…
"In your next game, follow Xia Fenghua into a black mirror vortex. She'll ensure your safety." Ji Huaichu stopped in front of a grand residence.
"The General's Mansion." Mu Anqi looked at the three large characters on the plaque and followed her inside.
She and General Ji were both dressed in very modern clothing, yet all the buildings here were in traditional ancient style. For some reason, Mu Anqi kept feeling as if she were sightseeing in a tourist spot.
"General!" a very childish voice rang out, and Mu Anqi saw a tiny figure dart out from the corner. It was a little girl around eight or nine years old, clutching a tattered old doll in her arms. Upon closer inspection, the doll's eyes were nothing but two black holes—at first glance, it gave off an unspeakably eerie and chilling vibe.
"Xia Fenghua, take her with you into the next black mirror vortex," Ji Huaichu said calmly. "The player I've recruited, Mu Anqi."
"Ah, is this the player the General mentioned last time?" The little girl's eyes were extremely bright and lively. She tilted her head and gave a sweet smile, and two tiny adorable dimples appeared on her cheeks. "Hello~ You can call me Xiaohua!~ You're so pretty, I really like you."
Mu Anqi felt her girlish heart take a direct hit. She couldn't help but show an "auntie smile" and had just crouched down to greet the little girl when Ji Huaichu warned coldly:
"No attacking your own people."
Immediately after, Mu Anqi saw the sweetly smiling little girl from a second ago suddenly put on a disappointed, wronged expression.
"But the doll is all broken…"
"…," Mu Anqi belatedly broke out in a cold sweat. She glanced at the tattered old doll and really didn't want to know where it might have come from. Just then, something occurred to her. She hurriedly opened her backpack and pulled out the doll she had drawn last time.
[Exquisite Doll]: A finely crafted doll, quite popular with children.
"It's our first time meeting—very nice to meet you! This is a gift I prepared for you. I hope we can get along well from now on!" Mu Anqi offered the doll with both hands, very solemnly. "Including the trial, I've only been through three games so far. So… if I make any mistakes or don't understand something in the future, I hope you'll be patient with me!"
"Mm." Xia Fenghua blinked, looking at the doll Mu Anqi offered to her. She glanced at Ji Huaichu, and when she saw that the general didn't object, she beamed and cheerfully accepted the doll. "Thank you! I really like this gift~ From now on, we're good friends!"
Only then did Mu Anqi breathe a sigh of relief and smile as well.
Becoming good friends with a ghost from the Shattered Mirror Continent… this experience might actually be pretty novel?
Ji Huaichu took Mu Anqi on a tour around the General's Mansion. There weren't any ghosts serving as attendants—perhaps because ghosts didn't need to be served? However, Mu Anqi did see quite a few ghosts dressed as "soldiers." When these ghost soldiers saw Ji Huaichu, they acted just like starstruck fans from her past life. The only difference was that they didn't dare scream. They simply looked at Ji Huaichu with silent excitement and admiration, then stood at attention, saluted, and shouted loudly, "Greetings, General Ji!"
This Ghost General Ji Huaichu… seemed pretty popular in the Shattered Mirror Continent?