Being able to get a Relic Bookmark again was already remarkable, last ti he’d only earned one by completing a trial from another Librarian projection.
This ti, it was effectively double rewards for a single trial.
[You took out the Invasion Bookmark and handed it back to the Librarian.]
[He accepted it, but instead of turning on you with fresh curses as you’d imagined, he simply let out a long sigh, looking thoroughly exhausted.]
[He began chanting a lengthy incantation, preparing to depart…]
Lin Xun’s eyes flickered.
The Invasion Bookmark was returned, and the trial rewards had been delivered, but this Librarian seed to have forgotten sothing.
[You reached out and stopped him, interrupting his spell.]
[The Librarian’s eyes widened in anger. He was just about to explode, but you raised a finger and pointed at the monocle on his face.]
[He fell silent for a long mont, then finally tore off the monocle and threw it to you.]
[You have obtained Librarian’s Monocle (Rare Item)!]
[You accepted the monocle but still didn’t let the Librarian leave.]
[Under his helpless gaze, you slowly spoke, “though returning the Invasion Bookmark had erased his second offense, he shouldn’t forget that your extra gains from the illusion were still his dereliction of duty. If he simply left, he would still face punishnt.”]
[You smiled faintly and asked whether he wished to avoid that penalty.]
[He blurted out imdiately, “Of course I do!”]
[As soon as he said it, the Librarian eyed you suspiciously, thinking you were about to use this as leverage for another round of extortion.]
[But you shook your head and explained that, according to what he’d said earlier, there were other locations in this chapter where you could learn the precise position of Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama.]
[You offered to let him erase the information you’d acquired, thereby nullifying the grounds for his punishnt.]
[However, he had to tell you where to find clues hidden like those for Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama, and how to obtain them.]
In the ga, learning a specific location was like unlocking a route map for a new area.
Without that knowledge, you could only wander aimlessly and pray for luck to stumble onto the place by chance.
For example, in the previous chapter’s Shamara’s Astrologer Tower, Lin Xun hadn’t obtained a route map but had simply run into the hidden map by sheer good fortune in the mists.
But places like Hidden Canyon were another story, without a clear map, you could explore your entire life and never find them.
Having the Librarian tell him where the route map lay didn’t count as a material reward; it would help the Librarian erase his punishnt while also benefiting Lin Xun, a win-win outco.
Exactly. Rather than heading straight to Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama, taking this extra step to first seek out the route map would bring Lin Xun even greater gains!
So many years had passed since the God War between the Chaotic Origin Dragon and Ancient Heavenly Enma had ended, no one knew how long.
The illusions in this realm were rely shadows drawn from the river of ti and couldn’t change the tiline. Whatever history had been, it remained.
Judging by Shuten Doji’s unyielding nature, the Shuten clan was likely wiped out in the God War.
Even if Shuten Doji really had hidden his kin in Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama, so much ti had passed that it was quite possible the place would now be deserted.
anwhile, the site where the Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama route map was hidden might hold other clues, maybe even the lair maps of other yokai clans, like the Nine-Tailed Fox or the Great Tengu…
Adding one more step would unlock more possibilities. Why not?
[The Librarian was montarily stunned. He couldn’t understand why, after all the hostility and your ravenous greed, you would suddenly be so ‘helpful.’]
[You spread your hands, saying he could believe it or not, as for who would be punished, it wouldn’t be you.]
[The Librarian frowned in thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke, he could not tell you the exact location of that place, nor how to acquire the clues.]
[But he could tell you a segnt of this world’s history.]
[Before you could respond, the Librarian began to speak in a calm, asured voice…]
[Ancient Heavenly Enma’s victory in the God War also ant that humanity had triumphed over the yokai race.]
[Therefore, most books recording information about the yokai were destroyed in the war, with few surviving to the present.]
[However, the books chronicling the history of the God War were preserved and treasured by the victors, passed down to this day, and among them are ancient tos containing astonishing secrets.]
[Today, these historical volus are kept within the Imperial Palace of Kyoto in Sakura Falls.]
[Since you are an Apostle of the Chaotic Origin Dragon’s Oath faction, you might as well go there to study history.]
[“As the saying goes, ‘Reading history brings wisdom; knowing the past illuminates the present.’ I am certain you will learn much ‘useful’ history.”]
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up.
“Good grief, claims he can’t reveal anything, but he practically just sold the family silver!”
[The Librarian stopped speaking then. He looked at you and gestured for you to relax your mind, just as you had when entering the illusion, and not to resist.]
Lin Xun understood, this was the Librarian preparing to erase his knowledge of Great Kyo-no-Ōeyama’s exact location.
Once the Librarian removed it, he would no longer be able to travel straight there, essentially losing the route map. Apart from rembering the na, he would have no other useful clues.
Just like knowing the na No-Illusions Shrine, Lin Xun still had to search painstakingly and only after finding the precise location could he go there.
[A vast psychic force surged toward you. Do you wish to resist?]
Lin Xun wasn’t afraid of the Librarian turning hostile. Unless an Apostle attacked first, the Librarian could not retaliate.
This was knowledge many Apostles had earned through hard-won experience, trading soul strength for it on the Apostle Forum.
Though few had ever managed to kill the Librarian, plenty of reckless Apostles had tried, perhaps that was simply the nature of the players…
[You relaxed your mind and let the force sweep through your body…]
[After a mont, the Librarian withdrew his psychic power.]
[He fixed you with a long, searching look, as if trying to morize your face, then began murmuring an incantation. His figure vanished.]
[An aged voice echoed atop the tower…]
[“Clever Apostle…I look forward to eting you in the next chapter, if luck favors both of us…”]
Lin Xun opened his panel and inventory and found everything in order. The Librarian hadn’t tampered with anything.
He grinned. “What’s this? Even looking forward to seeing again… Is this Librarian projection so kind of masochist?”
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