Chapter 575: Reading Books

Even Wu Jinliang, who was no stranger to self-serving acts, couldn't help but gasp. He truly hadn't expected the boss to be so ambitious, wanting to acquire even the 'Big Dipper Spirit-Repelling Array'.

He immediately put the red-robed woman out of his mind and gravely warned, "Chun, we all know the importance of the Soul-Returning Tree to the Phoenix clan. The 'Big Dipper Spirit-Repelling Array' is a crucial barrier for them to protect their sacred mountain. Without this grand array, to guard their mountain, the Phoenix clan's lair might even have to relocate there. Interfering with this barrier strikes at their very foundation; how could they possibly let it go?"

Shi Chun pointed at his head again. "You're mistaken about one thing," he said. "This isn't their barrier; it's ours. The original owner of the grand array was Jin Zhan. We have his will and the key he provided, so this array is effectively his gift to us. They are merely occupying it by force."

Wu Jinliang subconsciously stroked his chin and mumbled to himself, "So, the Phoenix clan is occupying our property? Now that you put it that way, I feel a little uncomfortable too..."

Shi Chun replied, "Just be aware. Don't dwell on it now; dwelling won't help. We need to take things one step at a time. Our priority now is to get our hands on that batch of Death-Repelling Incense. Other matters need to be put on hold for stability."

Wu Jinliang nodded slightly. "Then we'll have to wait at least a few more days."

Shi Chun said, "That gives us time to read."

Wu Jinliang looked startled. "Read?"

Shi Chun looked around. "Let's go. This isn't a good place to linger. We should find a safe spot to settle first."

He took out the Wind Scale, quickly unfurled it, and it enveloped them both, carrying them into the sky.

Away from that area, they found a desolate mountain peak. After checking the surroundings, Wu Jinliang used his earth-burrowing technique to open a cave on the mountainside. Once they had entered, he cast a spell to partially seal the entrance.

After several pieces of sandalwood gold were placed on the cave wall as lamps, Shi Chun shook out a large pile of books.

Wu Jinliang was a bit dumbfounded. "Chun, are you really going to read?"

While he believed reading was beneficial, the thought of truly immersing himself in books suddenly made life feel a bit heavy.

Shi Chun said, "Since we're dealing with the Underworld, how can we do it without understanding more about the situation there? These are all books I found at the library that are related to the Underworld. We should use this free time to learn about it thoroughly."

Given this practical approach, Wu Jinliang said no more. He sat down, cast a spell to reshape the ground into a lounge chair, and even brought out soft cushions. He lay there, picked up a book, and slowly began to flip through it.

Time passed differently for each person; some found it long, others found it too short.

At the Moonlit Pavilion, Li Hongjiu, who had initially intended to make a brief appearance, found his astonishment growing as he ascended the several floors of the library. The richness and vastness of its collection, spanning ancient and modern times, surpassed his previous experience. He felt that many of the books might even be unique copies.

This was likely the reason the library had been able to operate continuously.

On the second floor, he saw in Dong Liangyu the reason why the contents of ancient texts had not been lost. Whenever books were about to become old and decayed, Dong Liangyu, having nothing else to do, would personally transcribe them, creating new copies to replace the old ones.

She was gentle and quiet, and her handwriting was delicate and elegant.

Clearly, she wasn't the only one in her generation to do this.

Perhaps because they were re-transcribed, the appearance of each book seemed very ordinary, making it hard to realize the value of the collection at first glance.

What surprised him even more was that in such a vast and complex library, Dong Liangyu could actually remember the original location of every single book when she organized them.

This left him secretly amazed. Heaven had not given this woman a healthy body, but had given her a mind more intelligent than ordinary people.

Li Hongjiu met Fu Que several times in the library. He knew who Fu Que was and his reputation, but they did not engage in conversation. At most, they would simply exchange a slight nod of acknowledgment.

The red-robed woman behind the library counter still spent her days in a semi-conscious state, guarding from dawn till dusk. A few quick abacus calculations and some scribbles in the ledger, and her day's work was done.

At the dinner table, Li Hongjiu and the red-robed woman would eat together; she had wine, and he had a mouth to drink it.

When inviting someone to preach and teach, good wine naturally had to be provided in abundance.

Li Hongjiu also realized the issue, understanding that the abundant good wine had nothing to do with that scoundrel Shi Chun.

In this way, he coveted her wine, while Shi Chun coveted her person. Wasn't this a bit much?

The wine was not an issue. The red-robed woman occasionally clinked wine jars with him. After drinking, she returned to her room and immediately sent a telepathic message to A Lan, informing her of Shi Chun's location and instructing her to send someone to investigate the situation.

She had noticed Shi Chun was holed up in one place, not moving. Was he dead or something?

So, someone sneaked into that area at night. However, the actual situation was a bit tricky. It was a desolate wilderness, making it hard to pinpoint the target's exact location, and casting spells to investigate was not allowed because they were not supposed to tip off the target.

Finally, a void rift appeared out of thin air, and the red-robed woman's figure flashed out. After surveying the immediate environment, she lightly floated down onto the mountain peak.

Under the starry sky, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a while, quickly finding the target's precise location. But when she opened her eyes again, there was surprise in them, as if she feared she had made a mistake. She immediately closed her eyes and pondered for a long moment again. When she opened them once more, a murmur escaped her lips: "They're reading."

She looked around at the surroundings and found that whenever she encountered Shi Chun, she easily ran into things beyond her comprehension.

All day, they were hidden in such a place, completely still. These two found a remote and quiet spot just to read? Is the demonic path so peculiar now?

She really wanted to see what these two were reading.

Although her domain could perceive every subtle movement, she couldn't discern the writing on the pages.

So, she used a mother-child talisman to send a message to Shi Chun, saying she missed him again and asking where he was and what he was doing.

Shi Chun's reply was the same old routine, saying he missed her even more and that he was busy running around for her affairs.

Seeing the message, the red-robed woman was utterly amused and annoyed. The man was leisurely hiding in a cave right under her feet, yet he had the audacity to say he was running around for her.

If she couldn't now pinpoint his location, she would have almost believed his nonsense again.

She could imagine that he had probably tricked her similarly last time. She was a bit furious and felt a bit like grinding her teeth.

Despite her anger, she ultimately didn't tip them off and quietly withdrew. However, the hidden surveillance team, under her guidance, managed to find the target's precise location.

Time in the cave passed, unnoticed by those inside, who were unaware of the days and nights passing outside.

The next day, around noon, Wu Jinliang, who was holding a book, suddenly sat up and said, "Chun, look, the Underworld's Langdang River..."

Langdang River? Shi Chun was naturally familiar with this term. The last time he went to the Underworld, the dark-faced general named Miao Xi had introduced his domain as Langdang River.

He immediately got up and leaned in to look. Wu Jinliang pointed at the lines of text and read, "'Zhuyong Hall, the hub of the Soul Wheel, is established in Langdang River...'"

Even if they hadn't read these books about the Underworld, they knew what 'Zhuyong Hall' was: one of the ten halls that govern the Underworld.

However, the content in this particular book was precisely what they needed to understand. Shi Chun simply snatched the book and examined it carefully, while Wu Jinliang instead leaned over to watch.

This book detailed the destination of animal souls after death.

Upon closer inspection, they learned that after various animals died, their souls went to different categorized destinations. Humans had their place, birds had theirs; in total, there were ten categories, each managed by one of the ten halls of the Underworld.

And Zhuyong Hall was precisely where the souls of wolves, dogs, and similar animals went. The central hub for Zhuyong Hall to manage these souls was in Langdang River.

After reading the relevant records, both of them looked up and exchanged glances almost simultaneously. No wonder after they had killed the hyena before, they went directly to Langdang River.

Wu Jinliang said, appearing to have a sudden realization, "In other words, killing a person and using Death-Repelling Incense won't lead directly to Langdang River. It only works for animals like wolves and dogs."

Shi Chun flipped through the pages. After looking, he pointed and said, "We should make sure to remember the classified destinations of souls under these ten halls. It'll be useful."

"You finish taking notes, then I'll look," Wu Jinliang said, leaning back to lie down. He crossed his legs and casually picked up another book to read.

The sun set, and the starry sky reappeared. From within a rift that opened in the void, the red-robed woman reappeared on the mountain peak and once again closed her eyes to concentrate and sense.

Her subordinates reported that no one had come out, and they hadn't seen the target doing anything. She was a bit skeptical, so she came to investigate in person again.

The results proved her subordinates were correct; the two people in the cave were indeed still there, doing nothing else but flipping through and reading books.

She surmised there must be something fishy about those books, and she really wanted to know what they were reading.

The problem was, she wanted to hear what they were discussing but couldn't. Those two scoundrels were genuinely reading. She stood there waiting for a long time without hearing either of them utter a sound.

In reality, Shi Chun and the other man would occasionally talk, and if she had stayed there continuously, she would have heard them. The problem was, she couldn't personally stay there all the time.

Then she couldn't resist her urge and pulled out the mother-child talisman to send a message to Shi Chun, again saying she missed him and asking where he was and what he was doing.

As a result, she once again received a blatant deception, as expected, and ultimately had to feign ignorance, knowing full well. A sneer played on her lips as she left.

She returned to the library and found Sword Saint Fu Que, hoping he could personally help keep an eye on them. She wanted to use the sword-sense cultivated by Fu Que to discreetly learn what the two targets were saying without tipping them off.

"No," Fu Que replied. "I'm not your lackey."

Fu Que refused cleanly and decisively, leaving no room for negotiation. The red-robed woman could only roll her eyes and leave, unable to show any temper.

Days passed. On the evening of the third day, after receiving A Lan's report that the targets still hadn't done anything, the red-robed woman did not visit the scene in person again this time, nor did she send messages to annoy herself.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Shi Chun received a message from Yin Xu, the proprietress of Zhulang Pavilion. She said she had received a letter with a message for him: the "dishes" were ready and had been placed in the usual spot.

Shi Chun knew at a glance that the batch of Death-Repelling Incense was ready again. He let out a joyful chuckle. "Jinliang," he said, "Granny Qi wasn't slow this time. The items are ready; they've been placed in the usual spot."

Wu Jinliang got up, pulled out his mother-child talisman, and said, "Okay, I'll have Xiao Sheng go pick up the goods."

Shi Chun also got up and said, "We need to get to work too. Once we have the goods, the remaining materials can continue to be refined by her, and we can start our experiments with traveling to the Underworld."

He casually put away the piles of books on the ground. Before they left, he habitually activated his right eye's ability to scan the surroundings. It would have been better if he hadn't looked, but his expression instantly tightened as he did. He urgently called out to Wu Jinliang, who was about to use his earth-burrowing technique to lead the way, "Don't move! There's an ambush outside!"