74hy

Han Fei and the elder held the black umbrella each as they moved to the dance studio.

“Didn’t you express an interest in gardening? Why do you suddenly want to learn dance?” The elder fiddled with the lock of the studio for a long time before opening it.

“I said I loved gardening because the gardener was there. If I didn’t say anything, she would have shoved me into the pot.” Han Fei was afraid of the gardener. The monster with the old lady’s voice was very mysterious.

“You better find your real hobby. Life is only so long. Don’t let it slip away from you.” Han Fei and the blind elder entered the dance studio. “The gardener hasn’t returned since you left, so you don’t need to worry about running into her. You can practice your dance here. Dance can vent one’s negative emotions.”

“The gardener will not be back for the time being?” Han Fei sighed in relief. “Sir, actually other than the dance, I want to ask you something.”

“I knew you didn’t come here for something so simple. What is it?”

“I’ve discovered a mirror inside a mirror factory. The mirror will reflect one’s death when one stands before it. It can also show the souls one has killed.” Han Fei sneaked a glance at the elder. When the elder didn’t react in any way, he continued, “The mirror appears to be related to the clubhouses. I want to ask, do the mirrors in our dance studio have the same effect?”

“I think so, but I can’t remember which mirror it is.” The elder pointed at his eyes. “I can’t see, so you have to find it yourself.”

“How do I do that? Look at the mirror one by one? I remember you have to chant something to activate the mirror.”

“There’s no need.” The elder shook his head. “Normal mirrors will have dead souls. Only that special one hides your ugliest self. You only need to look.” The elder placed the broken radio on the ground and took the stage. “I’ll teach you a simple method. In the dark, dance will help you see the real you.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to trick me into learning how to dance.” Han Fei sat in the audience seat and studied the elder’s every move. Slowly his soul was being pulled along, and he was fully immersed in the dance. Every move seemed to hide a memory. The elder had choreographed his life into a dance. In the past, he danced alone in the dark, but now, he had one audience. “Life blooms like a flower and then wilts at its most beautiful moment before returning to dust…”

Endless souls surfaced in the mirrors. They approached in the dark. They wept and laughed with the dance. Han Fei didn’t even know when the dance ended. He recovered after a long time. By then, the elder had collapsed on stage, and the front of his chest was red.

“Sir!” Han Fei jumped on stage.

“It’s okay. I won’t die yet.” The blind elder coughed violently. His neck and mouth were filled with blood. “I’m just too old.”

“You better rest. If you have any regrets, you can tell me. I’ll have you complete them.” Han Fei had been interacting with ghosts, so he was used to helping ghosts with their regrets. He forgot that the elder was not a ghost.

“I do have many regrets.” The elder sat up with difficulty. “You have bad talent in dance, but you are a quick learner. You can remember every move after one glance. I want to teach you every dance I know so that you can dance for the gardener after I’m gone.”

“Is she your wife?”

“What right do I have to be her family after what I did to her?” The elder slowly edged to the side of the stage. “The dance earlier is called Me. Practice it, and you should be able to find the most unique mirror here.”

“Okay.” Han Fei took the stage and tried to mimic the elder. He had just started moving when the elder said, “Dancing is not copying every move. You have to involve your own understanding.” The elder couldn’t see Han Fei, but he said seriously. Han Fei stopped and waved his hands before the elder’s eyes. The man was indeed blind.

“If you want to find the most unique mirror here, then you have to face your real self.” The old man lifted his head. He stared behind Han Fei. “He is always behind you, leaning on you, munching on your blood, and squeezing your soul.”

“Can you not make it sound so scary?” Han Fei turned back to look and there was only a mirror behind him.

“Do you wish to understand him or kill him? Or does he want to kill you? Or does he want to get something from you? Once one of you makes the wrong choice, despair will consume both of you.” The elder still stared behind Han Fei. “The gardener once said that the owner of the garden has been searching for a twinflower. When both flowers bloom, the dark clouds will part.”

“But only one bud of the twinflower will bloom at a time.” Han Fei’s first movie was Twin Flower. When he was at his end, he attempted a horror film.

“Indeed. One of the flowers will absorb the nutrients from the other flower and bloom on its own.” The elder touched his radio and pressed a button. A strange melody came out of the radio. “Therefore, I hope you can learn my dance and see your real self so you wouldn’t make the wrong choice.”

A song Han Fei had never heard before echoed in the studio. He thought about what the elder said and started to dance again. ‘I can fully copy the elder’s moves, but how come our dances are so different?’ Han Fei added the skill points he earned to dance until he reached the maximum level for it. To break through to a masterful level, he needed a mission.

“You improve very fast, but you are at most just a dance actor. You’re still a ways away from being a real dancer.” The elder touched the stage and stared behind Han Fei. “The dance’s name is Me. It describes the person’s life from the first moment to the last. It contains many emotions. They can’t be expressed through techniques.” Han Fei had memorized all the moves, but he felt like he had been shackled by them. The moves he learned were the elder’s past but not his. ‘How am I supposed to express my past?’ His past was empty, his future was covered in despair, and Han Fei was standing in the middle. “Perhaps I need to have a good chat with Mad Laughter.” After leaving the theme park altar, Han Fei chatted with all the survivors but Mad Laughter. He could face everyone easily, but he felt it hard to face himself.

The dance became part of his muscle memory. Han Fei slowly closed his eyes. He gave up finding the special mirror but sank deep into his subconscious. In Fu Sheng’s altar, Han Fei personally unleashed the locks on Mad Laughter. At Shou Xi Mirror Factory, the murderer’s clubhouse mirror woke up Mad Laughter in real life. The distance between them couldn’t be closer. Han Fei’s consciousness appeared at the door of the Red Orphanage. He could see the person inside, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t open the orphanage door.

“I’ve been thinking. What’s the difference between us? You can’t stop laughing but I can’t even smile; you remember all the pain from the past but I only remember nothingness; you have the healing persona and were experimented on by the brothers from Immortal Pharma, but I don’t even know what kind of persona I have.

“Everyone sees you as crazy and taboo, but I know that if you’re not that to shoulder the pain of the past, I’ll be the crazy one.

“You once asked me, would I be willing to be you.

“I would, but can you tell me why a child with the healing persona would kill 30 orphans when he was young?

“What happened on that bloody night?

“I’ve encountered several people with healing persona, and they wouldn’t do what you did!”

Han Fei was slammed to the side by a heavy blow. The bell in the orphanage chimed. The figure standing inside the classroom paused.