# 723
Chapter 724: Yata Mirror
With this in mind, Amemiya Haruki's master's death could also be explained.
Since it was Amemiya Haruki's master and Yuzuri Kurotetsu who had entered the ruins together back then, they probably discovered this "Origin" as well. Under the Origin's instinctive temptation toward living beings, they touched that silver orb. However, Amemiya Haruki's master wasn't compatible with this "Origin." Within three months of returning outside the ruins, the power within him rejected him, and he died on the spot.
Lin Qiye took a step forward, walking toward the stone statue inside the black temple, wanting to get a closer look at that silver orb.
But the moment he took two steps, the Knight and Wu Xiangnan blocked his path. Wu Xiangnan extended a hand to stop him, saying seriously, "That thing can bewitch people's hearts. Don't let it draw you in."
Lin Qiye paused, then smiled. "Don't worry, Vice-Captain. It can't tempt me."
The temptation of the "Origin" toward living beings was extremely hard to resist, but Lin Qiye was different. He already had a piece of the Darkness Origin within him. The "Origin" before him now was impure and didn't match him anyway, so it couldn't possibly have any tempting effect on him.
Seeing Lin Qiye's composure, Wu Xiangnan felt a hint of surprise. As someone who had personally experienced the temptation of the "Origin," he knew just how terrifying that thing truly was...
Why could Lin Qiye walk over so calmly?
Come to think of it... Jialan hadn't shown any reaction to the "Origin" either, had she?
Wu Xiangnan watched Lin Qiye and Jialan walking side by side, his confusion deepening.
Lin Qiye walked up to the silver orb, studying it carefully for a moment before shifting his gaze to the statue of the black Amaterasu. The statue held the silver orb in one hand while the other hand hung empty, which seemed rather odd.
"Isn't this other hand missing something?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled.
"A divine artifact is missing—the Yata Mirror." Wu Xiangnan walked over to stand beside him, explaining calmly.
"The Yata Mirror?"
"There are three most powerful divine artifacts in Japanese mythology: the Yata Mirror, the Yasakani Magatama, and the Kusanagi Sword. Judging from how the hand is positioned, this Amaterasu statue should have been holding the Yata Mirror, one of the Three Sacred Treasures."
"Then why is the hand empty? Where's the Yata Mirror?"
The Knight walked slowly to the front of the temple and spoke. "The Yata Mirror lies beneath our feet."
Lin Qiye was stunned.
"Japan's 'Human Enclosure' exists within a divine artifact—and that artifact is the Yata Mirror." The Knight connected the clues from their journey, analyzing, "When we infiltrated from Japan's coastal waters into the deep sea, we discovered a massive bronze mirror covering all of Japan on the ocean floor. If I had to guess, that was the Yata Mirror's true form.
When the mist descended a hundred years ago, the gods of Takamagahara placed the Yata Mirror at the bottom of the deep sea. Using the mirror's reflection, they replicated an identical Japan within the Yata Mirror. This nation existing within the mirror image is Japan's 'Human Enclosure.'"
Lin Qiye pondered this. "So that means we're actually inside the mirror image of misty Japan, an inverted reflection of the real Japan?"
"Exactly." The Knight nodded. "Many divine realms in the world possess divine artifacts, but few can perfectly replicate an entire nation—perhaps only Japan's Yata Mirror can do that. Therefore, Japan's 'Human Enclosure' must be vastly larger than all other divine realms' 'Human Enclosures.' This is determined by the nature of the divine artifact itself.
And the place we're in now is a crack in the Yata Mirror.
This flaw is like a small hole in the mirror's surface, connecting the mirror world to the real world. As long as one passes through here, they can freely travel between the mist and the 'Human Enclosure.'"
Lin Qiye's eyes brightened. "From here, we can really return to Great Xia?"
"Of course. That's where we came from." Wu Xiangnan nodded.
A joyful expression appeared on Lin Qiye's face.
He never expected that accompanying Amemiya Haruki to explore these ruins would lead him to a way to leave this place and return to Great Xia.
Now Lin Qiye had contacted Shen Qingzhu and found Baili Pangpang and Jialan. As long as they could locate An Qingyu, Jiang Er, and Cao Yuan, they could immediately leave this place and return to Great Xia to report.
He just didn't know... where exactly were those three?
"By the way." Lin Qiye seemed to recall something. "How long has it been since we disappeared?"
Jialan paused briefly. "Two years and some change."
Two years?
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. The situation was basically as he had predicted. Each team member had entered the 'Human Enclosure' at slightly different times, with intervals ranging from about three months to half a year. Calculating it this way, the timing matched perfectly.
It had already been over two years in Great Xia... He wondered what Great Xia looked like now.
To this day, the [Nightfall] squad had never formally returned to Shangjing City to check in and report. He hoped he could find the other team members soon and return to Great Xia to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
Lin Qiye, along with Jialan and the others, passed through the torii wall and moved toward the outer edge of the ruins. Finally, they arrived at the cave where he and Amemiya Haruki had entered.
Along the way, he had also asked Jialan about her experiences over these two years, but she had only briefly mentioned some of the drifting incidents. She didn't tell Lin Qiye how painful and difficult those two years had been. Those hardships no longer mattered to her now. She didn't want to burden Lin Qiye with such things.
Reunion should be a happy occasion.
When the four of them arrived, Amemiya Haruki and Wei Dong had already been waiting for some time.
Amemiya Haruki watched Lin Qiye walking over with a group of people, his expression somewhat dazed.
Wasn't this supposed to be his and Lin Qiye's ruins exploration trip? Where had all these people come from? Had Lin Qiye formed a family tour group inside the ruins?
When Wei Dong and the Knight saw each other, they recognized each other immediately. Wei Dong smiled apologetically, bowed slightly, and said respectfully:
"Oath Society's 'Paratrooper' Wei Dong, pays respects to the Sixth Special Envoy. Something unexpected happened and I wasn't able to greet the Envoy. I truly apologize..."
The Knight raised an eyebrow and patted Wei Dong's shoulder, smiling as he said, "It's fine. Lin Qiye told me along the way. You've done well. Thank you for your efforts."
On the other side, Lin Qiye brought Wu Xiangnan and Jialan to meet Amemiya Haruki, introducing them to each other.
Wu Xiangnan extended his hand and spoke in flawless Japanese: "Hello, I'm Wu Xiangnan of the Great Xia Night Watch and Lin Qiye's companion."
Amemiya Haruki nodded and shook his hand, answering in Japanese as well: "Hello, I'm Amemiya Haruki..."
Before he could finish, he turned around and, pointing at Lin Qiye, said seriously:
"He is Ashiban of Osaka Dotonbori, the Black Wutong Club's Ashiuto, the Hidden Dragon of the Host Industry, the Most Brilliant Rising Star Host, the Friend of Mature Women—Mr. Qiya!"