Published at 22nd of March 2023 7:52 pm

Chapter 408: Monument Of Fire, Wedge of Life

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"Haa, Norzin's industrial pollution is really getting worse…"

As usual, Lin Jie woke up early and opened the bookstore door, feeling slightly giddy as he saw the thick fog outside.

The sun hadn't been visible for a few days in a row, but Lin Jie didn't mind. He had been an otaku for more than 20 years in the 21st century. After coming to Norzin, he could use the heavy smog as an excuse to stay at home.

However, the fog today was really too thick, reaching the point where it would be impossible to distinguish the gender of a person standing three meters away.

The rising fog moved slowly along the ground like the hems of a flowing white dress, making it seem as if it were alive.

Lin Jie looked out through the open door of the shop, the thick fog reminded him of Earth's 'City of Fog.' (T/L note: Most likely referring to London)

The bookstore was empty and quiet. Mu'en had already gone to the branch in the Central District, and Joseph had gone to get material and tools needed for the new store. Only Lin Jie was left alone in the empty bookstore.

Lin Jie had been very curious about Joseph's display of extraordinary power previously. Unfortunately, both Mu'en and Joseph had been very busy, so he couldn't sit down and talk to them.

Once Mu'en fully sets up the branch in the Central District, Joseph, who has retired, would be my new assistant in the old bookstore. I should have lots of time to ask him then... Lin Jie thought to himself before picking up a book from the bookshelf and flipping through it.

However, to his surprise, he had actually read this book before.

"Strange… Books taken from the bookshelves at random shouldn't be repeated. This is the whole Earth's entire library."

Lin Jie didn't believe it and drew a few more books from the shelves, but found that this was the same case.

He had read each of these books and knew what would appear on the next page.

A scary but reasonable thought came into his mind. Could it be that the books aren't repeating, but it's because I've already read all the books?

That's impossible!

It's supposed to be all the books of Earth. How could I have finished reading all of it in three years. Surely, Blackie has made a mistake.

"Mm... Looks like I have to make time and ask Blackie, otherwise the days ahead would be so boring." Lin Jie nodded and put the books back.

Then Lin Jie frowned as he realized that the sun wasn't out yet despite it being early morning. The fog hadn't yet gone away and had instead gotten even thicker. It even wafted into the bookstore through the open door.

At this moment, when he gazed outside again, the fog was like a thick gray barrier which he could barely see past.

Sigh... It seems like I won't be able to open shop today... Lin Jie put down the book and walked to the newly installed shutter gate. He reached out and pulled the gate down hard, causing it to rattle.

Then—

A black gloved hand, slightly larger than a normal person's, reached out just as the shutter gate was almost closed and halted it from closing fully. He was so strong that Lin Jie had to stop in case an accident happened.

The shutter gate was opened once more.

Lin Jie then saw a bulky figure in a black cloak standing at the door.

His entire face was completely shrouded by darkness, and not a single feature could be seen. There was some wet mist on his cloak, and he held a box in his hand.

He was also a head taller than Lin Jie, and his large muscles were vaguely discernible beneath the cloak. This person had unusually thick hands, and his frame seemed even bulkier than Joseph's.

However, his hands were trembling slightly, and he actually seemed somewhat nervous and polite.

"It's so foggy today," Lin Jie was a little surprised and said, "I thought I wouldn't have any customers today, but then you came. Are you here to take a look at some books?"

The robed man shook his head and said, "I apologize for keeping you waiting. It's impolite for us to come to you today."

The robed man's physique was unbelievably strong. Just a few days ago, he had crushed a living person with his bare hands, but now, he was standing meekly beside Lin Jie like a primary school student.

After he came up from the Lower District and obtained the book after killing Humphrey, he had returned to the Lower District to offer it up to the higher-ups of his faith. At that moment, they reckoned that this was the beginning of beginnings, master of all things, originator of chaos and order that they were waiting for, and the source of it all was the master of this book.

Thus, he came back to the surface and found his way to the bookstore owner.

"Oh?" Lin Jie raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm assuming that you've heard of me? And you came specially for me?"

He then continued jokingly, "Actually, it's not that long. Time always flies when I'm reading. Come on in."

…Indeed, perhaps the change of eras is as simple as flipping the page of a book to this being.

Fortunately, after many thousands of years, ever since the First Era, where humans didn't even exist, they had finally found the master that they had been waiting to serve.

Evidently, the robed man didn't dare disobey Lin Jie's orders and entered the bookstore at once. Despite being big and scary-looking, he seemed rather uneasy.

Lin Jie closed the shutter gate and noticed the details on the black robe—a gray sigil, consisting of a withered tree and two crossed swords.

"The Church of Pestilence?"

"Yes." The man in black robes nodded.

Lin Jie returned behind the counter and crossed his arms. With a strange expression, he learned forward. "It seems like you made a rather determined effort, seeing that you've come looking for me."

Lin Jie had been researching the Lower District and the Church of Pestilence, but he had never obtained much accurate information.

The reason was that the Upper and Lower District were separated completely, and moving between the two was prohibited.

Yet, this mysterious man in black robes was actually from the Church of Pestilence.

In other words, he had actually crossed the barrier between the Upper and Lower Districts! It had to be said that this was simply astonishing… In a way, it made sense for him to be in such a black robe that concealed his identity.

The man in black robes trembled with excitement when he heard this.

That's right. After receiving the Lord's guidance, he had made two very dangerous back and forth trips from the Lower District to the Upper District. It was also due to a few days worth of effort from his people and the higher-ups of the church to cast a spell that released such a huge amount of fog from the original passageway to stop transcendent beings from investigating. All of this had been done just so he could reach Boss Lin's bookstore safely.

At this moment, he really wanted to tell everyone from the church in the Lower District that all their efforts weren't in vain.

Boss Lin was all-knowing!

"I came here solely because of your guidance," the robed man said nervously. Then, he drew out a book from within his black robes.

Lin Jie glanced at it. The title read Myths & Legends.

“Eh?" Isn't this the book I gave to Ji Bonong?

Lin Jie had given Ji Bonong five books, and one of them, Myths & Legends, was his own work.

Speaking of which, it was embarrassing to think that he had shamelessly mixed in such a book that no one might like in which might affect Ji Bonong's sales. Lin Jie actually felt slightly bad about it.

However, he never expected that a reader would actually obtain this book and seek him out for a discussion.

The main contents of the book, Myths & Legends, was a rather dry discussion that originated from ancient mythological human civilizations. It could be considered an archaeological book, so could the robed man before him be an archaeologist? So, that's why he was interested?

The robed man caressed the book carefully. In the shadows of his hood that Lin Jie couldn't see, he revealed a sinister and crazed smile as the tentacles on his chin wriggled. The title on the book he held read Dream of Chaos.

Lin Jie couldn't help but smile. "You got this book from Ji Bonong's auction! Looks like you really like this book and have unique insight."

"It's more than just liking… This is a book that only a true god can write!" The robed man's hoarse voice was slightly fanatical as he clutched the book tightly in his arms.

"Hahaha, this praise is too exaggerated."

…But I like it very much. Praise it more, praise me more.

While the books he recommended or gave were the works of others, this was the first time someone had come to discuss Lin Jie's book with him. Moreover, this was a compliment from a fellow academic and made it even more precious.

"Speaking of which, I've always been interested in the opinions of others." Lin Jie folded his arms and smiled. "What do you think of this book?"

The robed man answered in a shaky voice, "Beautiful, dreamy, and unbelievable. The contents are difficult to comprehend, but it intoxicates the reader. It's like seeing another unbelievable world that transcends the limits of space and time!"

His burning gaze was faintly discernible under the black robe. "It isn't just me. Everyone in the church Iooks forward to it!"

Lin Jie nodded in understanding. It seemed like this was indeed a fellow academic. "Your church? Looks like you all had a good discussion on this book, heh."

"Yes, yes, it means a lot to us." The robed man nodded vigorously. "That's why my church members asked me to bring gifts as gratitude when I came to visit."

With that, he slowly pushed the box in his hand across the counter to Lin Jie.

"Ahh, your visit is more than enough. There's no need for such formalities! How can an academic discussion warrant all these..."

Although Lin Jie spoke modestly, he had already opened the box. What was inside made the look on his face change. His eyes narrowed, and he immediately switched from business mode to work mode.

The thing inside wasn't gold nor jewels but a fragment instead.

This fragment appeared very familiar to Lin Jie because he had one that was identical.

Back when Ji Zhixiu had come to propose a partnership, amongst the gifts she had presented was one fragment. A relic unearthed from the Lower District.

And now, this visitor had actually brought him a second piece!

The Church of Pestilence isn't just interested in mythology and literature, but they are also rather capable at archeology in the Lower District...

Lin Jie was certain that the robed man was in a job that involved archeology.

Perhaps he heard that Lin Jie was researching this and came to discuss it?

"Do you know the origin of this fragment?" Lin Jie frowned slightly as he asked. At the same time, he took out the other fragment and put the two pieces together.

Finally, those broken and indecipherable characters could be slightly made out.

The robed man immediately lowered his head and said deferentially, "I'm not very sure. We can't understand the words on it, but this fragment contains an ancient soul."

"An ancient soul? That's indeed the case. Time carries the spirit of all things that have existed. These items that have come from ancient times naturally carry the air of that ancient time."

Lin Jie fiddled with the fragments and picked it up. "The characters on it mean 'Monument of Fire, Wedge of Life.'"

Narrowing his eyes, he continued, "Perhaps you don't understand. In other words, this is a token of a witch named 'Life.'"

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