2:00 AM. The rain had lightened, but the streets were still slick with reflections.
Lu Feng sat quietly in the bureau van, his face pale and cold sweat on his brow. Fang Keqing's final whisper haunted him:
"I don't want to be alone."
Beside him, Kai Lin reviewed a new case file as if nothing had happened.
"You summoned the Soul-Bound Chain on instinct," she said without looking up.
Lu Feng didn't respond.
"It's a soul technique thought lost. The last person who could use it—your predecessor—died twenty years ago."
"My predecessor?"
Kai Lin looked at him finally. "You're not just some kid who can see ghosts. You're a reincarnated spirit binder."
Before he could respond, the next case alert flashed on his communicator.
> **Case X-019**
> **Location: Silver Hua Building, Floor 9**
> **Incident: Employees report seeing extra faces in mirrors. Some report the reflections move independently. Three cases of psychotic breaks followed.**
> **Suspected: Mirror-type ghost entity.**
Kai Lin closed the file.
"Let's go. Time to meet a dead reflection."
---
They arrived at the ninth floor. The office was deserted, dimly lit.
"The reports mention people seeing themselves smiling when they weren't," Kai Lin murmured.
"Sounds like a mirror ghost."
"Technically, it's an 'Echoing Spirit.' A reflection spirit formed from self-hatred and insecurity."
She led him into the women's locker room, pointing to a long mirror.
"That's the source."
The glass looked normal—too normal. Lu Feng stepped forward.
His reflection was smiling.
He wasn't.
"Back away," Kai Lin warned.
The mirror rippled.
Lu Feng's reflection moved on its own, raised its hand, and tapped the glass three times.
"Tap… tap… tap…"
"You feel it now," Kai Lin said. "It's already synced with your mind."
The reflection stepped out.
Lu Feng found himself face-to-face with… himself.
But this version's eyes were hollow, its grin twisted.
> "I am what you hide. The part you hate. The one who never gets chosen."
Kai Lin flung a sealing charm. The false Lu Feng dodged, laughing.
Lu Feng fell back, the spirit's words cutting deep. "You're not enough. Never were. Not for Kai Lin. Not for anyone."
Kai Lin launched a seal.
"He's tapping into your insecurities. You have to reject him—or he replaces you!"
Lu Feng gritted his teeth. His hand glowed.
"I'm done with doubts."
The Soul-Bound Chain burst forth, lashing into the false image. It screamed, collapsing into shards of light.
Kai Lin nodded slowly. "You resisted a complete takeover."
Lu Feng knelt, exhausted.
"Is this what being a spirit detective is?"
"No," she said, helping him up. "This is what being *you* is."
He looked at her, her hand still on his arm.
In that moment, something fragile but undeniable sparked between them.