Knowing that it was a dream mirror, I still had a twitch in my heart.

The scene in front of him suddenly changed, the panicked Guan Qing was grabbed by an unknown creature at the bottom of the sea, and the sticky tentacles made him unable to break free, isn't this in the Black Sea... No, this monster is even more terrifying than the Black Sea one, it has a bloody mouth, and it is about to swallow Guan Qing.

At this time, You Zhen also appeared in the picture, and its face was full of tears and begged the monster to let go of the switch.

"Let him go, okay, you trade another human for him. The monster's laughter was eerie, "You choose one?" ”

Guan Qing became pale and panting... Tianbei.

"What are you going to do?" You Zhen disappeared and was replaced by Zong An, who calmly looked at the monster in front of him, "Make a choice." ”

I had two more things in my hand, a charm, and an eye patch.

"If you're never willing to hurt a youkai, then the people who matter to you will have to bear the consequences for you, and of course, you can turn a blind eye. Zong An said, "Or, put the charm on that monster, it's very simple and easy, with your demon power, that disgusting big guy will turn to ashes in an instant." ”

"Trade me for it. I said, "If it's because I brought these youkai in, then trade me for them." ”

"Are you crazy?" Zong An still said calmly, "This is a dream, not just a dream, you better be responsible for your choice." ”

The monster disappeared, Tian Bei also disappeared, and the only remaining Zong An looked at me puzzled.

"Even if it wasn't a dream, I would have chosen it that way. I looked at Zong An with a smile, "If it were you, you would also exchange yourself for someone else's life, didn't you do the same before?"

Zong An's face began to blur, but this time he did not disappear, but changed into a different face.

I'm all too familiar with the person in front of me.

In front of me, it became me.

"As a ghostwriter, you're reluctant, aren't you?" I asked illusory.

"I don't want to talk about it, but I'm a little overwhelmed. I said, "I never thought that ghostwriters were more than just writing letters." ”

"Humans or youkai, what are you going to choose?" I asked coldly, "If youkai really hurt someone important to you, would you hate it? Will you blame yourself? If you really take the initiative to attack youkai, will you hesitate? Will you be soft-hearted?"

"Yes, I will hate, I will blame myself, I will hesitate, and I will be soft-hearted. I replied, "After all, I'm just an ordinary and weak human being." ”

"You're really useless, you don't have a position at all. "The other side of me seems to be much more assertive than I am.

"Well, I think I'm pretty useless," I said, "but it doesn't matter what position I am, I'm just greedy, humans and youkai, I want to choose." ”

"Where is such a choice, whimsical!" the other me was a little annoyed, "only humans, or youkai, there is no third answer." ”

"In the past, I thought the same way, and even thought that if there was really no way to get the best of both worlds, then I would not be a ghostwriter, or let myself be the one who sacrificed. I said, "I used to think that youkai and humans are two races that shouldn't intersect, don't interfere with each other, and there will be no mutual exclusion, and it's good for everyone to be in your own safe zone." ”

"Isn't that quite clear to you?"

"Later, I realized that I didn't have that much power, and not only me, but no one else had such power to go against the laws of nature and forcibly separate humans from youkai. I said, "As I met new companions and traveled to meet more people and demons, I felt more and more that monsters are not so evil, most people misunderstand them, and humans are not so weak, which is also a misunderstanding of human beings." ”

“... What do you mean?"

"I used to think that ghostwriters should mainly solve the problem of monsters, and then I thought that maybe we should solve the problem of people and demons, and finally I found that the root of ghostwriters is still in human beings. I said, "Indeed, ghostwriters should find ways to dispel all kinds of misunderstandings between humans and demons, but how to do and how to do it is what the humans around me have taught me." ”

"You mean to say that the people around you tell you how to be a writer, how is it possible!"

"It's not about that," I said, "the people around me are gradually telling me that human beings are weak, but when human beings face the world with tolerance and love, and face all problems with hard work and unity, then human beings will no longer be weak." In other words, my biggest fear didn't exist – I had been avoiding my responsibilities as a ghostwriter for fear of hurting my peers, and they had told me more than once that I needed to solve the problem by facing it head-on, not by running away from it. ”

"So what?"

"So, I want to give it a try, with my friends around me, whether it's a human or a monster, I want to give it a try, there must be some way to balance the two, I don't know if this is the right one, but how do you know if you don't try? The answer must not be black and white, the ghostwriter chooses, there can't be only one stubborn correct answer. ”

With a "click" sound, another of my masks cracked.

What appeared in front of me was the empress who had turned into a fungus? It seems that the empress was still a child? And it is... In front of it stood a very similar fungus man, I don't know what it said, the older fungus man had locked the young empress in a room, which had no windows, like a cage.

"The Empress... Are you alright?"

"I'm not good...", or the empress as a child, wiping her tears, squatting in the corner of a big house, "Why me? Why am I the empress?"

"Uh... I can't answer if you ask me that..."

"They won't let me leave this room, learning endless lessons every day, and I won't have anything to eat if I slack off..."

“... Locked you up? Why?"

"Since I was a child, I was able to dive into the human mind, and my mother, who was also an empress, was very happy, and it told me that I had the ability to take on the pocket country, and that I would be the next empress, and at that time I was very proud and thought that the empress was a particularly dazzling position. "I have the best teachers, the most beautiful house, the most travel, the outside world is so beautiful, I am curious about everything, I think the world has endless possibilities." ”

"Well," I said, "the world is full of possibilities. ”

"But when I told my mother about the trip and told her that anything is possible and that there is no absolute answer, she slapped me in the face. "I don't understand, I don't understand why it says that, is it wrong for a mother to hunt animals in order to find food for a starving child?" Is it wrong for a detective who seeks evidence to punish the murderer, but is hated by the murderer's family? But to the murderer's family, the detective is the enemy. ”

"Doesn't your mother think so?" I said when the sight disappeared.

"Are you taking revenge on me?" This time standing in front of me was the Empress of reality, and I was standing in the hollow of the tree, already out of the dream mirror.

"I don't see what you mean?"

"Because I kept tempting you with your weaknesses, you took control of my dream mirror in turn. It said.

“... How could I possibly control your Dream Mirror, it was Dream Mirror itself that became like this. ”

Your answer distracted me from my childhood. The Empress said, "A human being has invaded her mind in turn... It's a shame. ”

"Your mother, don't agree with you?" I asked again.

The Empress looked at me. He hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Not only it, but the empress of the fungus people of all generations has been educated like this, black and white, either right or wrong," it said, "Mother no longer allows me to leave here, it trains me almost harshly every day, telling me that there is always only one right choice, the empress does not need to think from the perspective of others, the empress is the authority." When I took office, I was strict and harsh with my people, who adored and feared me, and I realized my mother's good intentions. ”

“... Why?"

"Because the fungus is the closest to the original form of life of the monster, the empress of the fungus has the power to perceive the world, can magnify the dark side of human beings, if nature is a balance, the left and right of the balance are humans and monsters, except for the demon and the ghostwriter is the weight of the balance of the scale, then the empress of the fungus is the scale in the middle of the scale, always monitoring whether the weight is appropriate. It is the responsibility of the Empress of Fungi to judge whether the demon killer and the ghostwriter are competent. ”

"What does this have to do with choice?"

"Every judgment is also a test for the empress herself, and the fungus man is the monster who should not have feelings, and feelings will affect the judgment. The Empress said, "Once you have joined feelings that you shouldn't have, it will be difficult to test you with your weaknesses, because feelings will make me think from different angles, and it will be difficult to have a single answer." ”

"What happens if the verdict is unsatisfactory?"

"It will deprive the loser of his power," said the Empress, "and he who chooses the wrong one is not entitled to continue to use it." You... What are you laughing at?"

"So, you're still open to me?" I said, "Otherwise, my answer to the question of choosing between humans and youkai must be wrong." ”

“......”

"On the surface, she looks tense, but in fact she is still that kind and smart little girl," I said, "thank you for helping me find what I was afraid of and clear my mind." ”

"Let's go. The Empress looked tired, "I don't want to see you anymore, and you'd better not talk about today's events." ”

“... I thought I could hear more about the singing of this golden valley. ”

"This song will make people slack off, and it is better to listen less. The Empress handed me a golden seed, "Flowers will bloom in a month, pollen is a precious yeast, and it can make a hundred times more refreshed wine, but only those who can see the yokai can see this yeast." It said, "Think of it as hush money that I used to keep secret." ”

"Thank you," I carefully put away the seed, "I want to ask one more question, do you really think that there is only one correct answer to all questions?"

"Of course," it said, "the Empress of the Fungus Man, it must be." ”

"That's... Putting aside the position of the Empress, that little girl thinks so too?"

“... That kid was just an ignorant fungus. The Empress turned and walked away, just as I had seen it for the first time.

It's really hard to judge the role, I thought to myself.

"There are endless possibilities in the world, and there is no right answer. The Empress suddenly stopped, turned her head, and said, "That ignorant little girl should think so." ”