445: 8.45 Third Clue

8.45 Third Clue

They had to find the third clue as soon as possible, but now that Ellie had vanished, how could they ever find the last clue amidst thousands of books in this giant library? It was just like searching for a needle in a haystack!  1

Lu Yizhou knew that nothing good would come out from losing his cool, especially at a crucial moment like this but he couldn't help it. Ellie's pale face and her translucent figure kept flashing in his mind. He was not kidding when he said that he would burn the whole house and confront those on the third floor. Just one more little push… as long as he found out that harm had come to her way, Lu Yizhou would truly snap and drag everything down with him!

Ji Yan blinked a few times before he recovered and hastily caught up to Lu Yizhou whose steps were so long that he had to jog. "W–Wait." He stammered out. "The second clue… It's you who has found the second clue, is it?"

Lu Yizhou held the hardcover fairytale book tighter. "Mn," was all he managed to say amidst all the concern and apprehension that was plaguing his mind.

"May I…" Ji Yan tried to match his steps. They were walking between two tall shelves now and Ji Yan had to hold onto one for support as he tried to meet Lu Yizhou's eyes. "May I take a little—woah!" In the next second, he lost his balance and swayed backward, hand grabbing onto whatever that could support him which turned out to be an extremely thick book. 

Lu Yizhou only had time to meet Ji Yan's wide, surprised eyes before the man crashed to the floor, taking a bunch of books with him. Fortunately, Ji Yan had learned from prior experience and held the thick book over his head as a cover. His arms might hurt from being smashed by the merciless rain of books but at least, his head was okay! 

The shelf was swaying unsteadily due to Ji Yan's fall and Lu Yizhou stretched out a hand to hold it firm, sighing. His temples throbbed at the haphazard mess of books on the floor. No wonder that Olivia was choking Ji Yan when he entered earlier. Lu Yizhou, too, found the urge to strangle him right at the moment. He hoped Baines and Luca wouldn't mind that Ji Yan almost ransacked the library upside down otherwise Lu Yizhou suspected that they would choose Ji Yan as the next victim — after Lu Yizhou, of course.

"I–I'm sorry!" Ji Yan exclaimed, flustered. "It wasn't on purpose. I swear!" His brown curls became even more messy as he crawled on all four to climb out of the pile of books. "Ugh, this is the worst. I can't believe—" 

[[Side quest(6/?): Obtain more clues about the mystery of the Knox Family in the library. Number of clues: 3/3]]

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In an instant, Ji Yan's expression became gobsmacked as his eyes landed on his right hand. Coincidentally, he was just using this book as a leverage to come out… Who knew that… Slowly, he lifted his head and gave Lu Yizhou an awkward laugh. "Do you believe it if I say that I didn't do it on purpose?"

Lu Yizhou stared at him, speechless. This was the first time he had seen the protagonist's heaven-defying luck doing its job. Truly, it was both… reassuring and infuriating at the same time. 

From afar, Olivia shrieked angrily, "Ji Yan!!! It's you again, isn't it?!!"

Ji Yan grimaced as he plopped his butt down on the ground with his legs crossed and grabbed the book. He blinked in shock when he saw what the title was. "This was… bible?" The third clue they needed to find was indeed a thick small bible. Ji Yan frowned as he flipped through the pages carelessly. "Holy shit, what kind of clue can we find from a bible?! It's so thick! Does it mean that we have to read it page by page?!"

Lu Yizhou did not have the answer to that. But at least, they already found all of the clues. Having the protagonist in his team was truly advantageous. If it was any other person instead, Lu Yizhou was certain they wouldn't be able to find the last clue even until the day ended. 

"Let's gather with everyone," he suggested and offered a hand to Ji Yan. That was the basic courtesy he could offer to the man who had spared them the headache of scouring the entire library all day, even though his method was kinda… annoying, to be honest.

"Oh! We should!" Ji Yan accepted his hand and Lu Yizhou pulled him up easily, earning him another 'woah' from the other, this time in a breathless awe. "Miss Irene, you're really strong. That's so cool…"

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched and he chose not to comment anything about that in the end. He spun on his heels and strode back to their gathering point — the large table in front of the floor to ceiling window. Olivia and Ailín were already waiting for them there. Ailín, flipping through the soul swapping ritual guide and Olivia, pacing back and forth with a scowl on her face. As soon as she caught sight of Lu Yizhou and Ji Yan, she directly marched forward and her sharp gaze landed on Ji Yan, accusing. "You fell again, didn't you?"

Ji Yan could not rebuke because it was the truth. He merely rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Aiyah, don't look too much into that. I told you, I am just a bit more lucky at something like this. Look at the bright side! At least we have found all of the clues!" To escape from Olivia's ire, he put the bible on the table and gestured for Lu Yizhou to come close. "Let's see what we have found!"

"I am not talking about that!" Olivia stomped her feet angrily and then grabbed Ji Yan's arm — the arm that had taken the brunt of the fall earlier. Immediately, Ji Yan let out a hiss. "See?" Olivia grumbled under her breath. She let go of Ji Yan in lieu of rolling his sleeves up to reveal the bruises beneath. Even though her words were crude, her movement was very careful and gentle. "You're so stupid… How can you get hurt so easily like this?!"

"Wha—" Ji Yan sputtered in shock, speechless. Olivia was… worried about him? Had the sun come out from the west today?

Lu Yizhou: "..." Goodness, the romance was starting already. 

Speechless, he turned away and placed his own clue on the table, unable to look even a second more.

It was a beautiful fairy tale book that was dominated by the scenery of the bright blue ocean. Colorful reefs and swaying seaweed were drawn on the corners. The ocean was illustrated so vividly that Lu Yizhou felt as if he could see the waves moving in front of his eyes. But what drew his attention was the lone figure in the middle.

It was a girl with long, fiery red hair. At least her upper body was a human girl. Instead of a pair of human legs, she had a sleek azure fish tail that sparkled beautifully when it was hit by the ray of sunlight that filtered in from above. Her expression was melancholic, almost sad as she stretched out one hand to the air as though reaching for something only she could see. Lu Yizhou tilted his head in confusion. What was this half-fish creature?

"Oh, it's Ariel!" Ji Yan remarked excitedly from where he was being treated by Olivia who had pulled out a box of bandaids out of nowhere. In return, both Olivia and Ailín's faces also showed recognition. 

Ariel…? Lu Yizhou frowned deeply. Who in the world was that and why was he the only one who did not know?

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