Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 559 Taking Charge of the Master

On the third floor, among rows of bookshelves, there is a solitary lamp with a sandalwood flame.

As Shi Chun flipped through the book in his hand, he was filled with worries, so he was somewhat absent-minded while reading. How to escape safely from here was still the question he kept facing.

That powerful demonic cultivator escaped. Could he be hiding nearby, waiting for him? This is something I can't gamble on, and I dare not gamble on.

If the distance is too far, his right eye ability cannot clearly see the demonic energy inside a person, and with so many people around, it is difficult to make an effective observation.

Furthermore, Wu Shanshan possesses the Demon Eye, and so did the previous expert. Are they the only two in the demonic path with this ability? I dare not gamble on it either.

The previous encirclement and suppression against him was clearly premeditated, and now who knows how many demonic cultivators have come to his side.

After receiving the news, Wu Jinliang came to the city to make preparations for the meeting. However, the problem was how he could get out of the city. With such a powerful expert from the Demonic Path stationed there, it was basically impossible for him to use the Earth Escape Technique to sneak out undetected. He dared not take the gamble.

Without the ability to burrow underground, it would be difficult to disguise oneself or sneak out in a box.

As a result, under the threat of the Demon Eye, even how to get out of this library is a problem.

The fact that the demonic path could field such a lineup to deal with him shows their determination to defeat him. How could he not be extremely cautious?

It's a pity the city guards also want to arrest me, otherwise I could have used them to my advantage.

We haven't had a chance to try the method of escaping through the underworld yet, and we don't have the conditions to test it now.

If he could persuade the scholar in blue downstairs to take him away, it would be a good idea. However, he didn't know anything about the other party's identity or background and couldn't find a way to approach him. How could he be so reckless as to mess with such a master? He might be even more dangerous than the demonic path. At least the demonic path wouldn't be in a hurry to kill him.

If all else fails, and it involves the demonic path, the only option is to send a message to Xiang Lan'er's side, asking someone from another branch of the demonic path to come to the rescue.

Actually, he didn't really want to use this method, because once the other faction got deeply involved, he would be at a disadvantage.

After much thought, this seems to be the safest approach at the moment.

He considered whether to send members of the Mingshan Sect near Xunmen out through Xunmen to deliver messages, but he was also worried that the messenger might be recognized and in danger.

As he was considering whether to spend money to send a message to Xiang Lan'er, his right eye ability caught sight of someone approaching the entrance to the third-floor staircase. He immediately extinguished the sandalwood flames, plunging the scene into darkness again, with a faint light from outside filtering through the window.

This is why he was distracted while reading, trying to figure out a way to escape while also using his right eye's special ability to observe his surroundings.

He was familiar with the area, so he quickly tiptoed through the air and slipped into a small, dark corner at the top of a bookshelf to hide in—a place where miscellaneous items were occasionally placed.

Through the observation of his right eye's special ability, he could tell who the person was. There were only a few people in the library, and only one demon cultivator.

The woman in red also took out her sandalwood flame lamp for illumination and climbed step by step to the third floor. Holding the flame lamp, she wandered among the rows of bookshelves, pausing occasionally to reach out and pull out a book that was just beginning to pop out to look at it.

I didn't figure anything out.

It wasn't until she flipped through several books that she gradually began to see a clue, realizing that the books she had drawn all seemed to be related to the underworld.

After checking a few more copies, I finally got confirmation, but my brows furrowed with doubt. I couldn't figure it out.

After putting the book back and ceasing her search, she continued to wander among the bookshelves on the third floor, using her sandalwood flame aura to search through the rows of bookshelves.

It was unclear what she was looking for, but as she searched, she made Shi Chun feel quite uncomfortable.

Nothing else, his right eye's special ability detected the woman in red walking towards him.

The problem is that the other person neither went too far nor turned ahead of time. The direction they turned into the alleyway happened to be right at the blind spot where he was hiding. Now it's difficult for him to move to another place to avoid them, and he can't show his face. If he does, he'll be discovered.

Shi Chun could only hide behind the corner and secretly hope that he wouldn't come over. As long as he didn't go all the way to the end, he still wouldn't be able to see him.

Reason told him that no one would come to this corner so late at night; calm down, calm down, it's okay.

The woman in red, who was almost at the corner, seemed not to have noticed that there was a corner space at the end. She held up the sandalwood flame and searched the bookshelf from top to bottom, muttering to herself, "How come I can't find it?"

Shi Chun didn't know what she was looking for. The feeling of being so close to being discovered was a little unsettling. He was already thinking about how to keep her quiet or prevent her from shouting and yelling if he stumbled upon her.

If we disturb that family, things will get complicated. That stubborn old man, Dong Wenshu, isn't as easy to talk to as Dong Liangyu.

He no longer dared to entertain the idea of ​​silencing them; the expert downstairs clearly knew Dong Wenshu, wasn't that exciting enough?

To his relief, the woman in red, having found nothing, turned and left, muttering something.

Shi Chun waited silently for him to leave.

Unexpectedly, the woman in red went around to the front row of bookshelves and continued searching. She could see this side even through the gaps between the shelves, so Shi Chun remained stubbornly at the corner, not daring to move.

A short while later, the woman in red, who seemed to still not have found it, turned and left, muttering to herself.

Shi Chun breathed a sigh of relief once again.

He thought the other party would give up and leave this time, but what he didn't want to happen was exactly what happened. The woman in red actually circled back to this passageway and searched along the bookshelf aisle again. Shi Chun's lips moved, silently cursing her ancestors.

Something felt off. If the other party's cultivation level weren't so low that they wouldn't have the right to cause trouble, he would have suspected that the other party was doing it on purpose.

Soon, the flames flickered to the corner again, forcing him to hold his breath.

The woman in red muttered again, "The second young lady said the person was up there, how could they be gone..."

"..." Shi Chun was completely bewildered. Looking for someone? Not looking for something? Looking for me?
He really wanted to ask the other person, "If you're looking for someone, then look for someone, why are you looking on the bookshelf? I thought you were looking for books. Do you think I'm going to lie down on the bookshelf?"
Just as I thought it was all a false alarm, the muttering voice and the light and shadow clearly turned and disappeared.

It seems they went to another row and searched back and forth.

Should he still hide? Shi Chun thought for a moment. Since it was Dong Liangyu who sent people to find him, there was no need to hide anymore. He immediately slipped out quietly and went to the front of the place they were looking for. He quickly sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

As you can imagine, the woman in red, who was brought in later, saw it all clearly.

Shi Chun, who had just opened his eyes, was about to greet her when the woman in red blurted out, "Hey, who are you? If you're closed, why are you still in the library?"

"..." Shi Chun was speechless for a moment, then quickly got up and reminded the other party, "I know your second young lady."

The woman in red touched the red flower at her temple and glanced at her coldly, saying, "Don't give me that. Our second young lady has no male friends."

"No," Shi Chun quickly retorted, "Didn't your second young lady send you to find me?"

The woman in red said disdainfully, "Our second young lady sent me to the library to find Mr. Fu. Who do you think you are? Confess honestly, are you here to steal something?"

"..." Shi Chundun's face showed a wonderful expression. Mr. Fu? So the person the second young lady was talking about wasn't him.

Could it be the person downstairs? No, my right eye could see before that the other person and the person downstairs weren't far apart. Judging from the distance, it seemed like there weren't even two rows of bookshelves between them. How could they not see each other even though they were so close? Did that scholar in the blue robe not turn on a lamp while reading?
However, there seems to be no sign of any communication. So what's the point of me jumping out and walking right into their trap?

He was instantly drunk. The other person had already passed by, and if he had just stayed at the corner for a little longer, he would have been fine. But of all things, he had actually jumped out and moved closer. This was the first time in his life he had done something so stupid.

Now was not the time for regrets, so he quickly explained, "I am the second young lady's friend."

The woman in red said, "Shouldn't we ask the second young lady? Let's go and verify this with the master."

Shi Chun couldn't possibly go see Dong Wenshu, so he hurriedly said, "You can just ask the Second Miss."

Woman in red: "If I leave, will you be able to run away? Let me tell you, if you don't come with me, I'll call for help."

Shi Chun grinned. If he hadn't been too afraid to escape for the time being, he would have really been ready to kill. Fortunately, the person who came to his rescue arrived. He could see someone quickly walking up to the library with his right eye. He could recognize Dong Liangyu from his appearance.

He quickly replied, "Okay, okay, I'll go with you."

First, calm the other person down and make them shut up.

At the other party's waving signal, he obediently walked ahead to be supervised.

Dong Liangyu had come here because she was afraid that Shi Chun would be discovered by the woman in red. As it turned out, what she feared came true. She had just reached the third-floor stairwell with the lantern when she blocked Shi Chun and the other woman coming down from upstairs. She was immediately flustered and wondered what was wrong with Shi Chun and how he had been discovered so quickly.

Shi Chun leaned against the handrail and gestured to the two people going up and down the stairs, "Second Miss, tell her, am I a thief? Did you allow me to stay up all night reading?"

The woman in red asked, "Is that so?"

Dong Liangyu nodded repeatedly, "Sister Jun, he's not a thief. He just likes reading, so he was allowed to stay up all night."

The woman in red raised an eyebrow and sized up the two of them, flicking the red flower in her hair with her fingertips. She slowly said, "Second Miss, something feels off. When did you get a male friend?"

Just as Dong Liangyu was about to explain, the woman in red beckoned to Shi Chun, who was neither up nor down the stairs, with her finger. "Second Miss, you've been cooped up in the library for so long that you don't know how unpredictable people can be. You might have been deceived by bad people. I need to question you first."

"No need, cough cough..." Dong Liangyu hurriedly waved his hand, coughing repeatedly in his haste.

The woman in red said, "Then I'll call the owner. Otherwise, I can't take responsibility if something happens."

Shi Chun hurriedly said, "Second Miss, let them question us. We haven't done anything wrong."

As he spoke, he winked at Dong Liangyu below, but his feet were already climbing upstairs.

With a nervous expression, Dong Liangyu bit her lip and watched as the two people upstairs disappeared at the top of the stairs.

When Shi Chun, who was wearing a red dress, walked to the top of the stairs to the fourth floor, he was a little stunned. He found that this woman was not very powerful, but she was quite bold. She dared to lead a stranger to a secluded place. She was really not afraid of being silenced.

As he followed her upstairs, he was also curious. The problem stemmed from earlier. Dong Liangyu was, after all, one of the owners of the bookstore, but this woman in red didn't seem to have the demeanor of a servant at all. Instead, she was acting like she was in charge of the owners. So he immediately tried to ask, "Sister Jun, why does it seem like the Second Miss is a little afraid of you, the bookstore's servant?"

The woman in red, swaying her hips as she went upstairs, said "Oh," and casually added, "My cousin is a trusted subordinate of the Empress."

(End of this chapter)