Chapter 111 Ji Zhixiu's Repeated Visit
Chapter 111: Ji Zhixiu's Repeated Visit
This scent wasn't a result of being unable to wash away the blood of too many killings. Rather, it was a scent directly from the other party's body—The scent of 'sordid blood' unique only to hunters!
Through Vincent's 'Eyes of the Moon', the hunter seemed like a boiling furnace.
Blood bubbled aggressively within her, roaring and snaring menacingly as if she was a rabid beast in human form.
Danger! Danger! Danger!
Vincent's instincts were frantically warning him. He felt as if he was being watched by a predator in the shadows and his instinctive desire for survival was now on overdrive.
The priest stood rooted to the spot, unable to speak a word. He found it difficult to breathe and his head was spinning.
At that moment, he realized that the side effects of Holy Moon Essence which had been suppressed from shock had once again resurfaced and hit him much harder than before.
Along with his despair was an urge to cry.
He had left a little too hastily... and had left his holy emblem in the bookstore!
Vincent was a non-combat priest, now without any supplementary medium.
On top of that, the other being was one of those crazed hunters of a higher level than himself.
The outcome was already decided even before the battle began.
In his moment of fluster, Vincent suddenly realized that there was still an item in his hand that could act as a medium.
The book, Sun Scripture, which he had just gotten from the bookstore!
Although this wasn't an orthodox church medium, the fact that his holy emblem resonated with it was evidence that the two might have the same source, just that the emblem had displayed subservience, which was entirely feasible.
Vincent gritted his teeth, clutching the book in his hand, and prepared to invoke the divine power of the moon.
"Take it easy, Father."
The hunter chuckled and strode over. However, instead of looking at Vincent, she gazed at the bookstore.
"I mean you no harm," she said, "Just a little curious about the new customer. As fellow customers of the bookstore, we ought to get along nicely, otherwise Mr. Lin would be upset."
Customers... of the bookstore?
Other customers!
While in his state of momentary shock, the hunter had already passed him by. He vaguely saw two books and a box in her hand as she breezed past.
"That's a good book. Seems like Mr. Lin views you favorably."
Her parting sentence lingered in the wind.
When Vincent returned to his senses, he realized that he had already unconsciously infused his divine power into the book.
Within the vision of 'Eyes of the Moon', Sun Scripture was currently glowing with a luminescence that would be indiscernible to the naked eye.
Warm energy from his hand flowed into Vincent's body, once again subduing all the ill effects in his body and forming a white barrier of light around him.
For real?!
Vincent had a complicated look on his face. He withdrew his divine power and the book dimmed down while the barrier vanished.
This time, he truly used his own body to feel the connection within the two.
He paused for a moment, then looked around at the fuzzy silhouettes in the bookstore.
He hesitated for some time before finally deciding that it would be too humiliating to head back in and say that he had left the holy emblem behind.
Vincent hadn't thought of it previously, but this bookstore surely had a lot of other customers like himself.
There was a hunter now, so it wouldn't be strange if there were witches, knights, and others of various factions.
It would seem really easy if the bookstore owner ever wanted to stir up a fuss.
"Nevermind, I'll just retrieve it next time. Since there aren't any assignments besides this one recently, it's time to have a break."
Vincent consoled himself as he kept Sun Scripture into his priest robes.
He would have to head to Colin's audio-visual store first.
Ji Zhixiu wasn't really concerned with this minor encounter. She pushed open the door of the bookstore and went inside.
While she might have been a little curious regarding what the priest experienced in the bookstore, the difference in strength between the two of them was drastic and the priest had reacted like a frightened mouse at the sight of her.
Besides the book in his hand, he seemed just like any other priest from the Church of the Dome.
Therefore, she lost interest very quickly.
Perhaps the bookstore owner had a purpose for that priest, just like the initial Ji Zhixiu that had entered the bookstore.
But now, Ji Zhixiu was busy establishing her own force as quickly as possible and the Church of the Dome wouldn't be of much help to her, let alone a mere Abnormal-rank priest.
However, in this process, she seemed to experience what Wilde had probably felt when he first ran into her at the entrance of the bookstore. A weird sense of amusement.
They were all beings with no connection to one another, but now had a subtle link because each of them became a customer of the bookstore.
Having been through this before, it was difficult to not feel like a senior towards this newcomer.
Perhaps... we can be considered as 'book pals'?Mused Ji Zhixiu to herself.
Lin Jie had just picked up the holy emblem on the table when he noticed the familiar figure entering.
With a surprised smile, he greeted, "Oh? It's been a while, Young Miss Ji. Have you finished reading all the books?"
"Long time no see, Mr. Lin."
Ji Zhixiu bowed respectfully and handed over the two books—Blood & Beast as well as Steel Resolve.
"There's still a long way to go before I'll be able to master all these. At my current level, it is too difficult to completely understand everything. Moreover, the borrowing period of a month is nearly over, so I came here to return the books first."
Ji Zhixiu then probed cautiously, "Can I come and borrow these two books again at a later date?"
Would anyone in the right mind say no to a regular customer?
Lin Jie smiled and gave a nod. "Knowing to not bite off more than you can chew is a good thing. If you can master these two books and understand everything they contain, it will be a great advantage that will benefit you all your life. Some people read many books throughout their lives, but they actually don't understand anything at all."
Ji Zhixiu nodded her head in agreement.
Just a preliminary understanding of these two books had already gotten her close to Destructive-rank. Who knew the level she could achieve if she was to completely master them.
Ji Zhixiu observed the interior of the bookstore.
This was the first time she had been back after the entire saga with the Magic Ovum Mirror concluded.
The bookstore hadn't seemed to change, and the only difference was a young girl standing by Lin Jie's side now.
Lin Jie didn't make a record on the register after taking the books and instead handed it over to that young girl.
"Mu'en, my new assistant." He told Ji Zhixiu.
Assistant?
Ji Zhixiu narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the girl. There was a very peculiar scent... not like a human, but a cold steel or plastic instead.
She gave a nod to Mu'en. "Hello."
Mu'en returned with a nod as well. "Hello."
Ji Zhixiu's gaze returned back to Lin Jie. She placed the box she was carrying onto the counter and whispered, "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Lin. I have already gotten my revenge. But I still have some follow-up troubles to deal with... And wish to ask for your help in opening this box."
Lin Jie's eyes fell on that square brass box engraved with strange patterns.
Has she relied on her own resolve and gotten her revenge on the scumbag?
Is this box her follow-up troubles?
Could there be a token of love inside? Or some sort of photograph?
"Is this what he left behind?" asked Lin Jie as he shifted the box over for a closer look.