"Is this it?" Qin Moyu took down the wooden slip the girl was pointing to. The girl nodded and thanked him.
"No need, no need, it's just a small favor." Qin Moyu quickly waved her hand, but then asked with some confusion, "This position isn't high, why do you need my help?"
Qin Moyu regretted it as soon as he said it. He felt like he was very unwilling, but honestly, he was just asking out of curiosity.
"Ah! I'm sorry! That's not what I meant!"
The girl paused for a second, then covered her mouth and chuckled, "I know you didn't mean it that way, but thank you anyway."
Qin Moyu was a little embarrassed. Before he could speak, he heard the girl say, "My name is Yi Liu. I just entered Guanlan Sect through the disciple recruitment ceremony. Only formal disciples of Guanlan Sect can take out the wooden slips on this floor to read."
"I see." Qin Moyu suddenly realized. He touched his pocket—luckily, he hadn't put the jade token that Master Xuanjing had given him in his storage bag—he must have had this to be able to take out these wooden slips.
"My name is Qin Moyu." Qin Moyu introduced herself in a polite manner.
Yi Liu chuckled lightly: "I know."
"Huh? Am I that famous?"
"You almost caused a death because of your jealousy before you even entered the sect, and you refused to become Master Xuanjing's disciple twice. It's hard not to know that." Yi Liu winked at Qin Moyu.
"..."
Qin Moyu coughed lightly, trying to change the subject: "By the way, do you have any other pieces of wood you're looking for? I'll get them for you."
"Really?" Yi Liu's eyes lit up.
"Of course, but what do you want to do with all this? Aren't they just gossip and strange tales?" Qin Moyu asked, puzzled. Yi Liu had an extraordinary composure, even a deathly loneliness, which didn't seem like someone who was keen on gossip at all.
“Of course not.” Yi Liu shook his head. “All the wooden slips here record things that are verifiable and real.”
Qin Moyu was stunned.
"Do you know why there are no guards in the library? Because the entire library is the best guard."
Yi Liu recounted what he knew in detail: "A long time ago, Guanlan Sect was an unknown little sect, but unexpectedly a master of formations emerged. He set up countless formations of all sizes for the entire sect, which allowed Guanlan Sect to stubbornly weather the storms after his disappearance."
"Actually, there weren't that many wooden slips on the third floor of the library at the beginning. There were only five. It's not that no one questioned the wooden slips on the third floor, but they were left behind out of respect for our ancestors. We just added a lot of other wooden slips to help the sect's disciples understand the forces outside. But soon, everyone discovered that many people and events written on those five wooden slips would correspond one by one in later generations, just like the one you just saw... Although we don't know whose story it is, it should match up."
"Because of this incident, several powerful figures came to Guanlan Sect to try to retrieve the wooden slip. In the end, for some unknown reason, the matter was dropped, which instead made Guanlan Sect famous. If it weren't for the fact that everyone was in danger during the Four Continents War, and that True Person Xuanjing broke through after the war, Guanlan Sect would probably be in danger."
Qin Moyu suddenly remembered that in the original novel, the male protagonist Nan Xun originally wanted to use the name "Fen Tian" at Tengwang Pavilion. The reason why Fen Tian was so arrogant was because the Fen family had a powerful ancestor who had passed the Tribulation stage. And wasn't the male protagonist in the wooden slip she had just read named Fen Qi?
Qin Moyu realized that he had underestimated the world from the very beginning.
If other people's stories can be written in advance, then could the story of "Nanxun" that he saw also be written in advance by someone else?
Could the author of the novel featuring "Nan Xun" that he read in his past life be the same person as the missing "fellow villager"?
To put it another way, is the world he imagines in the book really only comprised of the people and events in the story? What else is there that he doesn't know about, beyond what the plot reveals?
All sorts of speculation and assumptions sent a chill down Qin Moyu's spine.
Qin Moyu took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing those chaotic thoughts, and barely mustered her spirits to get Yi Liu all the wooden slips she wanted, only to find that they were all related to someone named Yun Qilou.
"Yunqi Tower..." Qin Moyu pondered for a moment, then remembered this organization.
If Tengwang Pavilion is the largest chamber of commerce in the Eastern Continent, then Yunqi Tower is a gray force spanning the Southwest and Eastern Continents, known for its mystery and power.
Qin Moyu keenly noticed that when Yi Liu was examining one of the wooden slips, the hatred in his eyes ran deep into his bones, and the hand holding the wooden slip was so tight that it even turned slightly white.
"Yi Liu? Are you alright?" Qin Moyu asked cautiously.
"...I'm fine." Yi Liu breathed a sigh of relief, carefully put away the wooden slip, and bowed deeply to Qin Moyu in gratitude.
Qin Moyu was startled and quickly stepped aside, saying, "No need for such a formality, it was just a small favor."
Yi Liu shook his head and said solemnly, "It may be just a small favor for you, but it means a lot to me. You deserve this courtesy."
Yi Liu's attitude was resolute, showing a stubbornness that she would continue to worship Qin Moyu if he did not accept her.
Qin Moyu had no choice but to accept it.
Yi Liu got what he wanted and left the library after saying goodbye to Qin Moyu, leaving Qin Moyu to continue searching for information about the extreme cold.
And in doing so, he actually found something.
Qin Moyu found the paper book among a pile of wooden slips. Taking it down, she discovered it was a handwritten note, hastily recording the author's anecdotes, including one incident:
Before the war between the four continents broke out, a person from the north, dressed in clothing of different styles from the four continents—which, according to research, were styles from a long time ago—released a red lotus flame.
But at the moment the Red Lotus Karmic Fire burst forth, this person vanished from everyone's sight.
—That's right, disappeared.
That person was like a grain of sand blown away by the wind, forcibly erased from this world. Before dying, he still looked north with endless longing and yearning in his eyes.
There were no wails, no cries, only silent slumber.
—But it was more powerful than any shout.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Obsession Everyone has a dark past...
Qin Moyu imagined the scene, then snapped the wooden slip back, looked left and right to make sure no one was there, and quietly placed a red lotus karmic fire in her palm.