Chapter 52

Chapter 52: It’s Covered in White Fur, So It’s Called Little Red

Bi Ke finally remembered why she came back.

“I suddenly remembered that besides you and Mirror String, one other person borrowed and read this book.”

She shook the small booklet in her hand:

“I specially went to find the borrowing register from that year, and sure enough, I wasn’t wrong.”

Sang Nian’s spirits lifted: “Who?”

Bi Ke pointed at a name on the register.

She looked closely.

It read -[Yan Yuan]

Sang Nian was taken aback.

Bi Ke said:

“Didn’t you say you found this book strange?  Just go ask your Master. Maybe he can explain it to you.”

…

It was already too late today, so Sang Nian decided to skip academy altogether.

She found an excuse on the Spirit Stone and informed Gu Bai, then flew towards Guzhu Peak on her sword.

Yan Yuan was nowhere to be found. She searched the entire mountain but couldn’t find him, so she went back to her room.

She sat at her desk and took out the ancient book to examine it closely.

Besides herself and Mirror String, Yan Yuan had also read this book.

So, did he know what the restriction on it was all about?

Or, was the restriction placed by him in the first place?

It could be confirmed that when Mirror String read the book, there was no restriction on it, otherwise, she wouldn’t have said anything about it in her annotations.

Sang Nian was lost in thought when the half-closed door creaked open, and a gray, fluffy thing waddled in, leaping into the air towards Liu Liu.

Liu Liu screeched:

“Help! Someone’s going to eat the chick!!!”

Sang Nian reacted quickly, scooping it into her arms, and with a flick of her toes, flew out the door.

The gray thing followed closely behind.

It was about to pounce again, but Sang Nian turned around and caught it with a swift movement.

This was – “A cat?” Sang Nian was surprised.

Liu Liu, still shaken, flapped its wings and patted its chest:

“It’s just a cat.”

“Wait, a cat?!!!”

It realized, its feathers instantly bristling, its cry shrill:

“Help! There’s a cat eating the soft, fragrant chick! Help! Help!”

Sang Nian vaguely remembered that Su Xueyin had mentioned that Yan Yuan kept a cat.

Could this be it?

She called Liu Liu back into her consciousness:

“You can’t be kept with a cat. You’ll have to stay inside when it’s around.”

Liu Liu was stubborn: “I’m not an ordinary bird.”

Sang Nian said:

“It’s not an ordinary cat either. Even I almost couldn’t catch it. With your small frame, it could swallow you whole in two bites.”

Liu Liu didn’t dare speak.

After calming Liu Liu down, Sang Nian held the dirty little cat in her arms and casually stroked its head.

The cat purred and rubbed against her hand.

A flash of sword light, and Yan Yuan descended from the sky.

Seeing the cat in Sang Nian’s arms, he breathed a sigh of relief:

“So it’s back.”

Sang Nian curiously asked: “Master, is this yours?”

“Yes,” Yan Yuan walked over, wanting to take the cat from her arms, “Give it to me, I’ll take it to wash.”

The next moment, the cat bared its claws at him, hissing fiercely, every hair on its body rejecting him.

He had to give up.

“It was previously caught by Chu Yao…”

Yan Yuan paused, coughed lightly, and continued:

“After that, it started throwing a tantrum and ran away from home. I only found it today.”

Oh, so this is the little eunuch who was caught and castrated by Chu Yao.

Sang Nian put down the cat, “What’s its name?”

Yan Yuan: “I found it in the snow, and since its fur is as white as snow, I called it Little Red.”

Sang Nian: “…”

Wow, what a bizarre logic.

“I’ll give Little…Little Red a bath later,” she said, “Master, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Yan Yuan shook his head:

“It’s hostile to everyone except me. I’m worried it might hurt you.”

Sang Nian looked at the cat that was twisting into a pretzel at her feet, frantically exposing its belly:

“Well…it’s not very hostile.”

Yan Yuan wanted to hug Little Red, but Little Red immediately scratched his hand with a fierce claw, arched its back and hissed at him.

He said to Sang Nian:

“See, it’s being friendly to me.”

Sang Nian: “…” Master, wake up.

It’s trying to bite you to death.

Little Red went off to chase butterflies, and Sang Nian organized her thoughts, finally getting to the point:

“Master, I have something I want to ask you.”

Yan Yuan casually wiped the claw marks on the back of his right hand, the wound disappearing instantly. He asked:

“Did you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation? I heard that you skipped academy today without any reason.”

Sang Nian was slightly surprised: “How did you know?”

Yan Yuan calmly said:

“Fourth Elder sent me a long-distance voice transmission that lasted for half an hour.”

Sang Nian wiped her sweat: “Haha, he’s really energetic.”

Then, worried that Yan Yuan would misunderstand, she explained a few more things:

“I stayed in the library all night, and I lost track of time.”

“Later, I thought that since it was so late, I wouldn’t be able to listen to much of the lecture anyway, so I just came back.”

Yan Yuan: “I know, I told him the same thing.”

Sang Nian: “Then he?”

Yan Yuan: “He sent another long-distance voice transmission that lasted for half an hour.”

Sang Nian couldn’t laugh anymore.

She could already foresee what the scene would be like when she went to academy tomorrow.

Yan Yuan comforted her:

“Fourth Elder is tough-mouthed but soft-hearted. He won’t really do anything to you.”

Sang Nian looked dejected: “He’s not soft-hearted at all.”

Out of all the elders, this little old man is the one who loves to target her.

He calls on her every day in class, and whenever she makes even the slightest mistake, he will suddenly appear from some corner, and give her a tongue-lashing.

She’s almost got PTSD from him, she’s scared of him.

“You said you encountered difficulties?” Yan Yuan said as he walked towards the study, “Tell me about it.”

Sang Nian followed him at a quick pace, and after entering the study, she carefully closed the door.

Seeing her actions, Yan Yuan’s expression also became serious:

“What’s wrong?”

Sang Nian walked to the desk and asked:

“Master, have you ever heard of the Zhuyu tribe?”

Yan Yuan pondered for a moment:

“This seems to be a foreign tribe that went extinct five hundred years ago. They were human-like but demon-like, living in the Little Xiaohua Mountain area.”

Sang Nian took out the ancient book:

“Take a look at this first.”

Yan Yuan took it and quickly noticed something amiss.

“There’s a restriction on this.”

He placed his palm on the book, carefully sensing the aura, and slowly said:

“There are two layers of restrictions, one obvious and one hidden. The spell is very complex, and only the caster can probably unlock it.”

“Where did you get this book?”

Sang Nian curiously asked: “You haven’t seen this book?”

Yan Yuan said confidently: “Never.”

“But your name is on the library’s borrowing register.” Sang Nian spoke quickly, “That’s why I came to ask you what’s going on.”

Yan Yuan shook his head:

“It’s probably someone impersonating me. There are so many disciples coming and going to borrow books from the library every day, it’s easy to get away with it.”

Things had reached a point where there was no progress, and instead, the situation became even more shrouded in mystery.

Sang Nian was almost certain.

The person who impersonated Yan Yuan must have seen something incredible, so they placed a restriction and hid the book.

Double restrictions…

Perhaps –

Sang Nian’s palms clenched, and a ridiculous guess came to mind.

Perhaps the content she saw on the back page was wrong.

The real text is hidden beneath those ink blots.

Qianzhi’s words echoed in her ears again and again.

They are the descendants of the gods who lived on Little Xiaohua Mountain. There are no beings in the world more compassionate and kind than them…

Her heart beat faster and faster.

The Zhuyu tribe…

Are they really the man-eating demons as the legends say?

Why did the 100,000 cultivators who died in that war die?

Could Mirror String’s death be related to this?

Maybe, because she knew something she shouldn’t have…

Suddenly, Sang Nian felt a chill down her spine, and goosebumps rose on her arms.

She raised her eyes in fear towards a certain spot in the void, her chest heaving rapidly.

Someone.

Someone is watching her.

In some corner she doesn’t know, someone is watching her through the void, inch by inch –

(means to spy on, to watch secretly)