pertwk Chapter 2 Nighttime Visit to the Library
Chapter 2 Nighttime Visit to the Library
Three days later, at dusk, Li Shancheng stood at the entrance of Qingyun Alley, dragging his suitcase.
He took a deep breath, pulled out the warm business card, and whispered, "Qingyun Paves the Way."
The space before him rippled like water, the modern commercial street gradually fading away, and the cobblestone alleys emerging in the twilight. This time, Li Shancheng felt no surprise as he had upon first seeing it, only a strange sense of belonging.
The black wooden door was ajar, and he pushed it open and entered. In the courtyard, the leaves of the purple dragon tree swayed gently in the evening breeze, making a rustling sound, like whispers. The two-headed blue phoenix was not in the tree, and the courtyard was empty.
"Is anyone there?" Li Shancheng called out.
"You're here!" Xu Qingqing poked her head out from the west wing, holding a thick ancient book in her hand. "Oh, you really came. Did you bring your luggage? The dormitory is in the back, I'll take you there first."
She led Li Shancheng through the courtyard to a row of bungalows at the back of the yard. The architectural style here was the same as the traditional courtyard house in front, but the interior decoration was very modern. Xu Qingqing opened one of the doors: "This one is yours, I live next door. The bathroom is shared, and the kitchen is at the east end. The Wi-Fi password is posted on the wall."
The room wasn't large, about fifteen square meters, but it was clean and tidy. There was a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a small bookshelf. From the window, you could see part of the crown of a purple dragon tree.
"Thank you." Li Shancheng put down his suitcase.
"Don't rush to pack, Editor-in-Chief Qin is waiting for us." Xu Qingqing leaned against the doorframe. "We have a mission tonight. Remember the ghost video in the library I told you about?"
Li Shancheng nodded.
"We're going to conduct an on-site investigation tonight. Change into darker clothes; it'll be easier to move around in." Xu Qingqing glanced at her watch. "See you in the yard in twenty minutes."
After she left, Li Shancheng quickly opened his suitcase, took out a dark gray hoodie and black sweatpants, and changed into them. He left his necessities in the room and only took a backpack containing a notebook, a flashlight, a power bank, and a pack of energy bars he bought from a convenience store.
When they stepped out of the room, it was completely dark. Several antique-style lanterns were lit in the courtyard, emitting a warm yellow glow. Editor-in-Chief Qin and Xu Qingqing were already waiting under the purple dragon tree, both dressed in dark clothes that allowed for easy movement.
"This is your temporary work pass." Editor-in-Chief Qin handed Li Shancheng a silver badge with intricate patterns and the character "玄" (Xuan) in the center. "Keep it with you. It can activate a protective function when you encounter danger—press your thumb on the center and concentrate on imagining a shield."
Li Shancheng took the badge; it was slightly cool to the touch and lighter than it looked.
"Although our magazine mainly focuses on recording and research, we inevitably encounter dangers when conducting field investigations," Editor-in-Chief Qin continued. "Kyoto City appears calm on the surface, but there are many unstable factors lurking beneath. Especially recently, there have been signs of abnormal energy fluctuations at all the major energy array points."
"Could the library incident be related to a certain key point in the formation?" Li Shancheng asked.
"Brilliant." Editor-in-Chief Qin nodded approvingly. "Right below the Kyoto City Library is precisely the location of the 'Literary Pivot Array Eye.' This array eye is responsible for the transmission of knowledge and culture. If an anomaly occurs, places like libraries and museums will be the first to be affected."
Xu Qingqing handed over a tablet: "Watch that video first."
A night-vision surveillance video plays on the screen. The time is 2:17 AM, in the ancient book reading area of the Kyoto City Library. The bookshelves stand still, and the tables and chairs are neatly arranged. Suddenly, the books on the third shelf begin to vibrate slightly, and then a thread-bound ancient book floats out on its own, hovering in mid-air.
Then came the second, the third... In less than a minute, more than twenty books arranged themselves into a complex circular pattern in the air. The pattern lasted for about thirty seconds before the books flew back to the bookshelf one by one, and everything returned to normal.
"We analyzed the pattern, and it's an ancient indexing rune used for locating specific categories of books," Xu Qingqing said, pointing to the circular pattern frozen in the image. "But the problem is, this rune has been lost for at least three hundred years, and modern libraries use electronic retrieval systems."
"So it's some kind of spirit organizing the books according to ancient methods?" Li Shancheng guessed.
"It could be a 'Book Spirit,' or it could be an automatic reaction caused by the leakage of energy from the array's core," said Editor-in-Chief Qin. "Your task is to conduct an on-site investigation, collect samples of residual energy, and if a Book Spirit appears, try to communicate with it, but don't force it."
He took out two small glass bottles from his pocket, each containing a clear liquid: "This is 'Developer's Liquid,' which can temporarily enhance your spiritual perception, allowing you to see energy pathways that ordinary people cannot see. One bottle for each person, use when necessary."
Li Shancheng took the bottle and carefully placed it into the side pocket of his backpack.
"The library closes at 10 p.m., and we've already obtained a nighttime investigation permit through connections." Editor-in-Chief Qin checked the time. "It's 7:30 now. You can familiarize yourselves with the surroundings. Remember, safety first. If you encounter anything unusual, retreat immediately. Don't be reckless."
"Understood," Li Shancheng and Xu Qingqing replied in unison.
The two walked out of Qingyun Alley and returned to the bustling city night. Kyoto City Library is located in the cultural district, surrounded by several universities and research institutions, and is bustling with people even at night.
They took the subway to the library. Inside the carriage, Li Shancheng couldn't help but ask, "Xu Qingqing, your eyes... sometimes have a golden tint. Is that a result of cultivation?"
Xu Qingqing paused for a moment, then smiled: "You're quite observant. That's right, I cultivate the 'Golden Eye Technique,' a method to enhance visual perception. Editor-in-Chief Qin said I have this talent, so I've focused on this area."
"How long have you been cultivating?"
"My grandfather was a cultivator from a young age," Xu Qingqing said, gazing at the tunnel lights rushing past the car window. "But I only started learning systematically after joining the magazine. Editor-in-Chief Qin knew many ancient cultivation methods, but he emphasized recording and researching them rather than pursuing personal power."
Are the other people in the magazine also cultivators?
"Most of them are, but to varying degrees," Xu Qingqing said. "Our line of work requires a certain level of self-protection, but even more important are observation, analytical, and judgment skills. Sometimes, knowing too much can cause you to miss details."
The subway arrived at the station. They stepped out of the carriage and followed the flow of people to the surface. The Kyoto City Library was a modern building, its glass curtain walls reflecting the city lights in the night, but Li Shancheng noticed that the base of the building adopted an antique design, with patterns carved with symbols similar to those on the purple dragonwood in Qingyun Lane.
"Those are reinforcement runes." Xu Qingqing noticed his gaze. "Large public buildings are designed with the assistance of cultivators to install protective measures. This is especially important for places like libraries that store a large number of ancient books."
They walked around the library. Li Shancheng tried to concentrate and indeed sensed a faint fluctuation, like an undercurrent beneath a calm surface. He recalled Editor-in-Chief Qin's mention of "spiritual intuition," and perhaps he really did have some talent in this area.
At 9:40, the library began clearing out. Xu Qingqing showed a special ID, and the security guard nodded, allowing them to enter through the staff entrance.
The lights inside the library were mostly dimmed, with only the emergency lighting still on. Their footsteps were particularly clear in the empty hall. The rare book reading area was on the third floor, and the elevator was closed, so they had to take the stairs.
"Did you feel anything?" Xu Qingqing suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Li Shancheng listened intently. Besides the low hum of the air conditioning system, there seemed to be... the sound of turning pages? It was very faint, like someone rapidly flipping through pages in the distance.
"The sound of turning pages?" he said softly.
Xu Qingqing looked at him in surprise: "Your intuition is more sensitive than I thought. I can barely hear a little, but you're so sure... Let's go take a look."
They quickened their pace and arrived at the third-floor rare book reading area. It was darker here than the other areas, with only a few small lights in the display cases providing a faint glow. The bookshelves stood like silent giants in the darkness, and the air was filled with the distinctive smell of old paper and ink.
Xu Qingqing took out a palm-sized instrument from her backpack. It looked like a modified electromagnetic field detector, but the dial was engraved with some strange symbols instead of conventional units.
"The energy reading is 37% higher than normal," she said, looking at the pointer. "And the fluctuations are unstable, like something is breathing."
Li Shancheng took out the developing solution, hesitated for a moment, and then dripped a drop into his left palm. The liquid quickly seeped into his skin, and a cool sensation spread along his arm. When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him made him gasp.
The entire reading area was enveloped in a soft blue halo, with countless tiny specks of light floating between the bookshelves, like stardust. Some of the ancient books emitted a gentle white light, while others glowed with a faint red or blue light. Most striking was the center of the room, where a complex pattern made of golden rays was slowly rotating—the very circular rune formed by the books in the video.
"See that?" Xu Qingqing also used the spiritual liquid, and her eyes turned completely golden at this moment.
Li Shancheng nodded, speechless. The scene was both beautiful and eerie, as if he had stumbled into another dimension.
Suddenly, a bookshelf near the window began to vibrate. A heavy, ancient book with a sheepskin cover slid out on its own and floated in mid-air. The pages turned rapidly without any wind.
"What is it searching for?" Xu Qingqing said softly, "It's recording this scene."
Li Shancheng quickly took out his phone and turned on video recording. Through the phone screen, he was surprised to find that the halos and runes could also be captured, although they were a bit blurrier than what he could see with the naked eye.
More books began to move. They flew out from the various bookshelves and rearranged themselves in the air, but this time they did not form a circular pattern, but a symbol that Li Shancheng had never seen before.
"That's the ancient form of the character '封,' meaning to seal or seal away." Xu Qingqing's expression was grave. "It's issuing a warning."
"What warning?"
Before Xu Qingqing could answer, all the lights in the library suddenly went out, even the emergency lights. True darkness instantly engulfed everything.
Li Shancheng felt a chill rise up his spine; it wasn't a change in temperature, but a more fundamental coldness. He instinctively activated his work badge, pressing his thumb to the center, imagining a shield of light in his mind.