newbobooks Chapter 109 The Library
Chapter 109 The Library
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. A gentle breeze stirred, and the flowers and plants swayed gracefully, as if encouraging the action that was about to begin.
Xu Xiaoxiao's bright eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation. She clapped her hands lightly and called out in a clear voice, "First and second year of junior high, come here."
Upon hearing the call, the two little doll girls immediately hopped and skipped to her side like cheerful little birds, standing obediently with their eyes full of curiosity and liveliness.
Xu Xiaoxiao bent down slightly, placed her hands on Chu Yi and Chu Er's shoulders, and said seriously, "Senior Brother asked you to go to the library to find ancient books about the method of refining the Nine Yang Divine Furnace. This is a major event that concerns whether Second Senior Brother can succeed in refining pills, so we must be careful."
The first and second-year students exchanged a glance, nodded vigorously, and replied in unison, "Don't worry, Master, we will do our best!"
After saying that, Xu Xiaoxiao straightened up and led Chu Yi and Chu Er towards the library.
Along the way, she would sometimes look up at the scenery around her, and sometimes look down to give instructions to the two little dolls.
When they reached a winding path, Xu Xiaoxiao lightly jumped over a protruding stone, turned around and smiled at the first and second graders, saying, "Follow me, don't get lost."
Before long, the ancient and solemn library came into view.
Xu Xiaoxiao stood in front of the pavilion, looking up with eyes full of awe.
She took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and then led the first and second graders up the steps.
Upon entering the library, a faint fragrance of books filled the air.
Xu Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, her eyes scanning the rows of tall bookshelves around her. She whispered, "There are so many books here, we need to hurry." The first and second-year students didn't say much and immediately split up to search among the bookshelves.
Xu Xiaoxiao walked slowly along the bookshelf, her fingers gently brushing the spines of the ancient books, her eyes eager and serious.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, as if she had discovered some clue. She quickly tiptoed and reached for a book placed on a high shelf.
Just as she was about to get it, the book seemed to be playing a joke on her, shrinking back a little.
Xu Xiaoxiao gave a soft hum, jumped up slightly, and finally got the book in her hands.
She eagerly opened the book, quickly browsing its contents, her face sometimes showing delight, and sometimes shaking her head slightly.
Meanwhile, the first and second year students moved nimbly among the bookshelves.
Chu Yi's eyes widened, not missing a single book that might be useful, her hands rapidly turning the pages; Chu Er, on the other hand, was more meticulous, pausing from time to time to carefully examine the cover and table of contents of the ancient book in her hands, muttering to herself, "Nine Yang Divine Furnace, Nine Yang Divine Furnace..."
Time passed slowly, and the library was quiet except for the rustling of pages turning.
Xu Xiaoxiao and the first and second graders were both immersed in the task of finding ancient books, not daring to slack off at all. Their eyes revealed determination and persistence, as if they would never give up until they found the relevant ancient books.
The library was quiet in the afternoon, with sunlight streaming through the windows and casting patches of light on the floor.
Xu Xiaoxiao was intently flipping through an ancient book, her brows furrowed and a hint of anxiety in her eyes.
The first and second-year students were on the other side of the bookshelf, carefully checking each book.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by footsteps.
A woman dressed in fine clothes, accompanied by two followers, appeared. Her eyes were haughty, and the corners of her mouth were slightly downturned. Upon seeing Xu Xiaoxiao and the others, she deliberately raised her voice and said, "Oh, isn't this Xu Xiaoxiao? What brings you to this library? You think you can read these profound ancient books?" As she spoke, she disdainfully flicked the handkerchief in her hand.
Xu Xiaoxiao raised her head, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes, but she still responded politely, "Senior Sister, we are here to find ancient books that can help Second Senior Brother with his alchemy. It is a very important matter, so please do not disturb us." After saying that, she lowered her head and continued reading.
The woman, however, was relentless. She walked straight up to Xu Xiaoxiao, snatched the book from her hand, and sneered, "Hmph, what useful things do you think you can find? These precious ancient books in the library are not for someone like you to touch."
Her henchmen echoed her sentiments, their faces showing mocking smiles.
Upon seeing this, the first and second-year students rushed over and stood in front of Xu Xiaoxiao.
Chu Yi said angrily, "How could you bully our master like this!"
The second-year junior high student clenched his little fists and glared at the woman.
Xu Xiaoxiao stood up and gently patted the shoulders of the first and second-year students, signaling them not to act impulsively.
She took a deep breath, looked at the woman with a firm gaze, and said, "Senior sister, we have no ill intentions. We just want to do our part for the sect. Please do us a favor."
However, the woman merely sneered, threw the book on the ground, turned to leave, and said, "I think you're just wasting your time. How could you possibly find such a confidential ancient book?"
Xu Xiaoxiao looked at the books on the ground, biting her lower lip tightly, her eyes revealing a hint of stubbornness.
She bent down to pick up the book, dusted it off, and whispered to the first and second-year students, "Let's keep looking, don't let her distract us."
After saying that, he led the first and second graders to the deeper bookshelves, his figure appearing even more determined in the dappled sunlight.
But after a short while, the woman returned, crossed her arms, and blocked the middle of the aisle, looking at them with a mocking gaze: "I've changed my mind. This library isn't a place you can just rummage through. If any precious books are lost, can you take responsibility?"
Chu Yi retorted angrily, "We wouldn't lose anything, don't make false accusations!"
"Hmph, you little brat, how dare you talk back!" A hint of anger flashed across the woman's face, and she raised her hand as if to strike Chu Yi.
The second-year junior high student reacted quickly, grabbing the woman's wrist and shouting, "You can't hit people!"
The girl forcefully broke free from the second-year junior high student's hand, took a step back, and showed a hint of surprise on her face, seemingly not expecting the first and second-year junior high students to resist.
But she quickly reverted to her arrogant demeanor, shouting, "You've gone too far! You two little monsters, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
Xu Xiaoxiao quickly stepped forward, shielding Chu Yi and Chu Er behind her, and said seriously, "Senior Sister, we have always respected you, but isn't it too much for you to be so unreasonable today? We are just doing things that are beneficial to the sect, why are you making things difficult for us at every turn?"
The woman snorted coldly: "I'm making things difficult for you? I think you're overestimating yourselves, thinking you can just casually find precious alchemy methods? This is a problem that even the elders are struggling with, and you little minions want to meddle?"
Xu Xiaoxiao clenched her fists tightly, trying to suppress the anger in her heart: "Senior sister, although we are not very talented, we know that trying is always better than sitting and waiting for death."
The woman curled her lip in disdain: "You? That's utterly ridiculous. This library has a vast collection of ancient books. How long would it take you to find them? You might even make a complete mess of the place."
At this moment, Chu Yi suddenly had a bright idea and said loudly, "We will look through it carefully, and we can write down all the places we have searched so that we won't get confused. Senior sister, if you really care about the library, you should help us search, instead of stopping us here."
The girl was speechless at Chu Yi's words, her face turning pale and then red.
Seeing this, her follower quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Senior sister, why don't we just ignore them? They won't be able to find them anyway."
The woman glared at the other woman, seemingly feeling that leaving like this would be too embarrassing, so she came up with another excuse: "No, I'm in charge of guarding this library. I can't let you do whatever you want here unless... you can answer one question for me. If you answer it correctly, I'll let you continue your search."
A hint of doubt flashed in Xu Xiaoxiao's eyes, but she still nodded: "Okay, Senior Sister, you can ask."
The woman thought for a moment and said, "In the history of our sect, there was once a master alchemist who successfully refined a pill that could cure all poisons. Do you know the name of this pill?"
Xu Xiaoxiao and the first and second year students exchanged a glance. Although they had learned a lot about sect knowledge on a regular basis, this question was somewhat obscure.
Xu Xiaoxiao frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "Senior sister, we don't know."
The woman laughed smugly: "Hmph, you can't even answer such a simple question, yet you want to find precious alchemy methods? I think you should give up that idea as soon as possible."
The second-year student retorted, "You're deliberately making things difficult for us. This question isn't simple at all; many people probably don't even know the answer."
The woman snorted coldly: "I don't care, these are my conditions. If you can't answer them, then you'd better leave."
Xu Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and said, "Senior sister, although we don't know the answer to this question, we can look it up. Please give us some time, and we will definitely find it."
The woman said impatiently, "I don't have that much time to wait for you. Either answer now or leave."
Just as the two sides were at an impasse, the door to the library suddenly opened, and a gentle voice came out: "What's all this noise about?"
Everyone turned to look and saw an elderly man with white hair walk in, his eyes revealing a hint of authority and displeasure.
Upon seeing the old man, the woman's expression changed slightly. She immediately dropped her arrogant demeanor and bowed respectfully: "Fifth Elder, I... I just saw them rummaging through the library and was afraid they would damage the ancient books, so I wanted them to leave."
The old man glanced at Xu Xiaoxiao and the others, then at the woman, and frowned slightly: "It is wrong to rummage through ancient books, but you shouldn't make things difficult for your fellow disciples like this."
After saying that, he turned to Xu Xiaoxiao, his tone softening somewhat: "What brings you to the library?"
Xu Xiaoxiao quickly explained her search for the method to forge the Nine Yang Divine Furnace. After listening, the old man nodded slightly: "Your intentions are good, but the method to forge the Nine Yang Divine Furnace is indeed not easy to find. Here's what I'll do: I can give you an hour to search in this library, but you must be careful when you look through the books and not damage any of the ancient texts."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoxiao and the others showed joy on their faces and quickly thanked the old man.
Seeing this, the woman was dissatisfied but dared not say anything more. She could only glare at Xu Xiaoxiao and leave with her followers.
Xu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and said to the first and second year students, "We need to hurry up."
After saying that, the three of them quickly threw themselves into the tense search, leaving no corner unchecked that might hold clues...
An hour passed quickly. Although Xu Xiaoxiao and the others found some ancient books related to alchemy furnaces and divine artifacts, they still had no clue about how to refine the Nine Yang Divine Furnace.
They left the library with a sense of disappointment and resentment, but their eyes still shone with determination. They decided to continue searching for ways to help their second senior brother refine pills through other means and would never give up easily.