She turned around to see a wrinkled old face underneath a straw hat. On that shriveled face of his, which was doing its best to force a warm smile, there were two massive dark circles underneath his eyes.

But the distance between her face and his, which was less than an inch, was more than enough to scare her to death.

​​

Mu Zixi was so frightened that she was unable to even make a sound. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her body stiffened before she fell backward onto the ground like a log.

Thump.

The old man pulled his hat down and watched her fall to the ground, his face deadpan.

"Hmph, you've caused enough trouble, rascal. I bet you would've started digging at the walls next if I'd let you keep you doing this."

He took the books from her hand, dusted them a bit, then put them back on the shelves.

He then kicked the girl, who was lying on the ground, to the side. He moved to get ready to take care of the next one, but then frowned all of a sudden.

He squatted down and lifted one of her hands.

"What the hell?" he muttered in shock.

"Such massive lifeforce…"

The old man was frightened, as he sensed that the lifeforce in her was so dense that it had almost concealed the presence of her wood elemental traits.

Furthermore, he also sensed that not only was the suppressed wood elemental powers not dying, but it was also gobbling up that lifeforce as best it could to strengthen itself. This was what shocked him the most.

"What kind of a physique is this?"

"Wood element capable of absorbing lifeforce to strengthen itself?"

His eyes glittered, as if he'd come across some rare treasure.

Yet, he turned his gaze to the shelf and then back again, obviously struggling inwardly.

However, the struggle only lasted for a brief moment before a determined look came back into his eyes.

"It's a pity…" He sighed. "If you'd appeared before me earlier, I might have just picked you instead."

After coming to this decision, the old man no longer hesitated, and he kicked the girl aside.

He lifted his head and squatted beside Zhou Tianshen. Then, he looked at the parchment, and his face twisted.

"He's stunned?

"How did something like this get out here?

"Man, are these few fellows rats or something?"

The stout kid beside him seemed to move, and the old man put his face closer.

Zhou Tianshen finally snapped out of the trance he'd fallen under from reading the parchment. His eyes were filled with an excitement so intense that his hands, which were holding the image, couldn't stop shaking.

"So, you've learned quite a bit, eh?" a hallowed voice seemed to say in his mind, and Zhou Tianshen nodded furiously.

"I've learned a lot indeed!

"What Xu Xiaoshou said was true. So long as I keep practicing this blade technique, I'll be able to get to Innate-level blade will in no time!"

"Mu Zi…"

His mind was completely occupied by that image, and he was about to wave to Mu Zixi, just to tell her to come to take a look, before he realized that he'd grabbed hold of something.

That thing was warm, soft, yet rough.

Zhou Tianshen turned around, a suspicious look on his face.

An old face!

An old face right before his very eyes!

He saw a pair of sunken, dark eyes peering at him through his fingers, making him feel as if the reaper himself were staring at him.

"Holy sh**!"

Zhou Tianshen's eyes lost focus. The shout had barely left his lips before he passed out from this utterly frightening scene.

He stiffened, fell backward, knocked again the wall, then dropped to the ground with a thump.

"Tsk!"

The old man wiped his face and kicked the kid to a corner. "One more left!"

…

Swoop, swoop, swoop.

Swoop, swoop, swoop.

Xu Xiaoshou was doing two things at one time to be more efficient. He was shaking a book in one hand while holding a jade scroll in the other.

His movements slowed for a brief moment, yet he didn't stop altogether.

The jabs from those other two in the Information Bar in his mind had been gone for a long time, yet another new information line popped up.

Being watched, Passive Point +1.

That information made his skin crawl, and a shiver immediately ran down his spine, causing him to almost whip his hand at whatever was watching him.

Yet, he held back the urge instead.

He then kept telling himself not to act on impulse. Turning around would definitely be the end of him.

"Who's watching me?" he thought.

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly frightened, yet he continued doing what he was doing with his hands as he yelled deep down.

He noted that his Sense hadn't told him there was anyone around him.

"No, wait," he thought.

"What happened to the spiritual energy fluctuations from those two?"

"Why are they gone too?"

He tried hard to shift his focus to the two's last location, and then saw the both of them passed out on the ground.

"Sh**!

"Someone got rid of them?

"Is the caretaker here?"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart thumped furiously in his chest. If the person would just appear before him, he wouldn't feel so frightened.

But the other person was watching him, while he was unable to see them.

The fear of the unknown is the most torturous.

Xu Xiaoshou carefully blew on the book, then put it back again, pretending to mumble without a care in the world.

"Man, I wonder just how many years it's been since someone last cleaned this place. What's with all the dust? Can't help it. Just have to shake all that dust away."

He stretched backward without turning his head around. "I've done enough charity on the first floor. Time to look for my own spiritual technique on the second floor, then."

He rested his hand on the shelf, then moved his legs. That was when he realized he was no longer in control of his own body.

"Sh**!" he thought.

"Move, d*mn it!"

Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned glum all of a sudden, but he quickly adjusted himself and clapped at his legs.

"H*ll, legs got numbed from standing for so long. It's tiring work indeed.

"It sure is tough being a caretaker of this place and having to take care of so many books every day. I have to say, I'm impressed."

He was finally able to move his leg, and took a step up. Overjoyed, he rested his hand on the shelf, about to leave.

"Heh, you could actually detect my presence. Some progress right there," a jeering voice came from behind him.

"D*mn."

Xu Xiaoshou immediately covered his ears. "I'm getting so tired that I'm hearing things now…"

With his legs becoming mobile again, he immediately strode forward, yet he couldn't shake the feeling of being choked by fate itself.

"Quit pretending already.

"Turn around, now!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked desolate, as he was forced to turn around. He then saw an old man in a straw hat with dark circles under his eyes.

"It's you!"

His fear was immediately dispelled and replaced with shock instead.

"Isn't that the old man who forced me to swallow that Infernal Fire Seed back then?" he thought to himself.

"What's his name again…"

"Elder Sang!"

He immediately became furious as he recalled all the pain he'd experienced that day. He was so furious he almost completely forgot the old man's status.

He'd sworn before that if he ever ran into that old man again, he would cut him into pieces. How could he forget him?

He took one step backward and pulled Hiding Pain from his chest, then pointed it at the old man.

"One's gotta live hard and fast, no?" he thought.

Whatever was left of Elder Sang's eyebrows raised when he saw that sword. He looked at the tip and traced the sword all the way back to Xu Xiaoshou without an ounce of emotion.

"Eh?"

He could only gasp before feeling as if he'd been thrown into an icy hell for a moment, and his body felt cold all of a sudden.

"My gosh!" he thought.

"What am I doing?

"Why am I pointing a sword at the caretaker??

"Am I crazy or what? He got rid of those two without making a sound! Am I trying to get myself killed?"

He then slowly lifted the sword, twirling it about in the air for a moment before putting it back into the ring and flashing a beaming smile at the old man.

"Hehe, I've been looking at the technique for so long that I've found it kind of easy to pick up a thing or two from it. I just feel like I have to play with it for a bit with my sword…"

"Hehe, hehe…"

"Sword techniques?" Elder Sang took off his straw hat and took the book he'd just put back. "You mean this 12 Punches of the Great Barren Lands?"

Gulp. The smile on Xu Xiaoshou's face immediately froze.

…