Guan Si stole a glance at Qi Dengzui beside him.
Qi Dengzui’s hair was slightly longer than the three of theirs, tied back with a red cord at the moment. The ends didn’t stick up but lay neatly against the back of his head, adding a hint of restrained allure.
After fixing their hairstyles, Sister Lan brought them clothes. Compared to the somewhat refined hairstyles, the clothing style of Shanyin Village was extremely wild.
The right half of Qi Dengzui’s body was almost bare, with the muscles of his arm and chest exposed to the air, extremely conspicuous.
The left half, however, was wrapped in a large piece of clothing made from animal fur, secured only by a cinching belt at the waist. If one wasn’t careful, the clothing on his left shoulder would slip down.
Guan Si slowly averted his gaze, awkwardly tugging at the clothing on his left shoulder, feeling as if ants were crawling all over him.
To be fair, Guan Si also had a thin layer of muscle, but compared to Qi Dengzui, it carried a bit more refinement and youthful vitality, while Qi Dengzui exuded a sense of steadiness and composure.
After changing clothes, the group followed Sister Lan out the door.
The library wasn’t far from the elder’s home, but avoiding everyone along the way wasn’t easy. Sister Lan led them in fits and starts, dodging and hiding, and indeed managed to perfectly avoid the others.
The library was three full stories, each floor packed with books. One glance and anyone with claustrophobia would feel overwhelmed.
Guan Si asked, “Sister Lan, do you have a rough idea where the forbidden book is?”
Sister Lan shook her head and said, “I saw it when I was a child. A few years ago, the library collapsed, and after the whole building fell, it was rebuilt and the books were reorganized. I don’t know if that forbidden book was destroyed or where it was placed.”
“But I remember that the first page of the forbidden book had a black eye drawn on it, with a blood-red pupil.”
“Alright.”
The four exchanged glances, silently understanding each other, and each went to a different floor, quickly starting to search through the books.
They moved fast, but even so, a full two hours passed. Sister Lan glanced at the sky outside and said, “Sirs, we need to hurry, or we won’t make it in time.”
Qi Dengzui nodded and said, “Only two hundred books left.”
If all the books in the library had titles, it would be much easier to find them, but most of the books in this building only had a cover with no text on it, so they could only be identified by their contents.
Moreover, the books were arranged with no pattern at all everything from cooking, farming, and raising gu worms, searching was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Right at the three-hour mark, Qi Dengzui finally found the forbidden book. The cover was carved with eerie patterns, and when he opened the first page, there was a black eye with a red pupil engraved in the center, matching Sister Lan’s description. It clearly wasn’t a good book.
Sister Lan said, “Did you find it, sir? Time’s almost up; we need to leave quickly.”
Qi Dengzui said, “Found it. Let’s go.”
Just then, a commotion came from the entrance of the library. Outside, the elder laughed heartily, “Village chief, looking for something? Need my help?”
The village chief chuckled and said, “Looking for a recipe book. Come on, help me search.”
Sister Lan frowned slightly, turned back, and whispered, “Not good, the village chief is here. Hide quickly!”
The four acted with remarkable speed, using their three hours of familiarity with the library to find suitable hiding spots.
The door opened, and the village chief walked in, surveying the area before saying, “Elder, how about you take the first floor, and I’ll check the second and third?”
The elder stopped his hand, his voice perfectly natural, “Village chief, I know the second and third floors like the back of my hand. Tell me what book you need, and I’ll find it for you. You just handle the first floor.”
The first floor had only one person: Qi Dengzui.
The village chief stroked his beard, hesitating, “But…”
The elder patted his hand: “Don’t worry, village chief. Use me as much as you like, don’t treat me like an outsider.”
Only then did the village chief say, “Alright, I’ll take the first floor.”
He walked into the first floor of the library, stepping slowly along the bookshelves. The entire library was eerily quiet, leaving only the sound of footsteps.
Qi Dengzui was in a dead corner of the bookshelves. To hide, he had curled his entire body into the dark corner, his limbs locked in a hugging position, stiff and numb.
Step. Step.
The village chief’s footsteps grew closer and closer, now less than three meters away.
The elder’s voice came down from the second floor: “Village chief, did you find it?”
The village chief paused his steps and said, “Not yet.”
At that moment, in front of the elder stood Pei Su and He Zhu, hidden behind the bookshelf.
Pei Su met the elder’s gaze, pointed in Qi Dengzui’s direction, and held up one finger.
The elder immediately understood his meaning and nodded in acknowledgment.
The village chief continued forward, closing the distance with Qi Dengzui even further.
Qi Dengzui’s hiding spot wasn’t particularly obvious, but once the distance closed, discovery was inevitable.
As the village chief paced about, Qi Dengzui held his breath, not daring to let out even a single exhale.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
Qi Dengzui remained frozen in place.
Just one more step and the village chief would see him, would see the single eye peeking out from the dead corner ahead.
Directly in front was a book that looked similar to a cookbook. The village chief lifted his foot, leaning forward to reach for it.
“Village Chief!” the elder suddenly called out.
The village chief paused mid-motion, withdrew his foot, and asked, “What is it?”
“I found the cookbook!” the elder said. “I told you I know these two floors well.”
He came down from the second floor, walked over to the village chief, and casually positioned himself in Qi Dengzui’s direction, perfectly blocking the village chief’s line of sight and covering the only sliver of Qi Dengzui’s hiding spot that was exposed.
“Here you go, Village Chief.”
The village chief took the book, glanced over it briefly, then patted the elder’s shoulder twice with weight, saying with hidden meaning, “Elder, thank you very much. Head back early don’t stay too long in the library.”
The elder didn’t know whether the village chief had spotted Qi Dengzui or not, but at least the surface peace hadn’t been shattered yet.
He forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and said, “You flatter me. The village chief’s matters are my matters no need for thanks. I’ll be heading back now. Village Chief, next time you need to find a book, be sure to call on me.”
The last two words were bitten off with extreme force, both men’s words glinting with cold steel, each laced with barbs.
“Of course. There are still matters in the village I’ll be going now.” The village chief took the book, veins bulging on his hands, and left without further pleasantries.
Behind him, the elder said, “Village Chief, take care!”
After waiting for a good while, confirming the village chief hadn’t turned back, the elder finally said, “Come out.”
Qi Dengzui pushed aside the books in front of him and climbed up stiffly, feeling like his limbs were no longer his own.
He asked, “Why would the village chief come here?”
The elder shook his head. “I went to intercept him on the road. At this hour, he’d normally be at Sister Lan’s house, discussing matters with her father. But today he suddenly came to the library truly strange. I sensed something was off and rushed over, but I was still a step too slow.”
Sister Lan brushed the dust off her clothes and crawled out from her hiding spot, saying, “It’s alright, Elder. The adults have already found the forbidden book we can go back now.”
“Good,” the elder said. “Here’s the plan: you two head back to my place first.”
The elder took the main road back, while Qi Dengzui and the others followed the route Sister Lan had provided on her way in. The entire library excursion could be considered a close call, but ultimately uneventful.
They opened the forbidden book, and the first page was something about the art of human skin, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.
The first several pages of the forbidden book were mostly various evil witchcraft arts at their least harmful, they took lives; at their worst, they brought calamity upon the world. The materials required were anything and everything. It was baffling why such a forbidden book had been left in the library rather than burned.
And on the very last page of the forbidden book were written a few words:
The Sacrifice of the Calamity’s Undead.