[Forbidden Fruit Compendium]

It was daytime, and Chen Miemie wouldn’t rush over to any weird creature he saw.

Back when he faced the [Rebellious Broom], he dared to confront it directly because the creatures on him all agreed they could handle it.

But the [Forbidden Fruit Codex] in front of him today was clearly a much higher level of danger—rated as one of those "risky, better not to take it on unless you have to" kinds of threats.

Chen Miemie quietly stepped back, putting some distance between them.

"[Forbidden Fruit Codex], right? I can see you’re a high-class book. Name your terms—let’s settle this fair and square."

"Straight to the point, huh. Fine. Just flip through me once, and I’ll let you go."

"That’s not fair. If you win, you can do whatever you want. If I win, all I get is to leave—nothing to gain."

The [Forbidden Fruit Codex] burst out laughing. "Fairness? In this world? When you run into a creature like me, just getting out alive is a rare stroke of luck."

Chen Miemie sighed and put on a pained expression.

"I thought a creature born from books would have some class. But no—you’re just as savage as those wildcats and stray dogs. How disappointing."

The [Forbidden Fruit Codex] stopped laughing instantly. The little wings on its cover flapped frantically, as if it was losing its cool.

"How dare you, human! Talking nonsense like that. I was helping write the laws before you were even born."

Chen Miemie piled it on. "Talk all you want. You’re just scared you won’t hold up your end if you lose."

Just as Chen Miemie thought the [Forbidden Fruit Codex] would take the bait—

"Heh heh." The [Forbidden Fruit Codex] let out a mocking laugh. "Think I’d fall for that? Our book tribe doesn’t have emotions. Books are rational. I’m just messing with you. If you want fairness, you’ve got to earn it. Otherwise, no deal."

"Fine. Bring it, then. If you lose, I’ll take whatever spoils I want."

"Come on. Open the first page."

The [Forbidden Fruit Codex] appeared right in front of Chen Miemie in an instant.

Its golden clasp snapped open, waiting to be read.

A delicate hand reached out and picked up the book.

It was Loop, who had suddenly appeared.

Loop opened the book directly. "You know, I really like illustrated guides. Pictures and text together—it’s an easy read."

Flip by flip, Loop read faster and faster.

In less than five minutes, she reached the halfway point of the book.

"This is a powerful ability. Horrifying, really. I can’t resist it," Loop said as she slit her own throat with a small knife.

"Ahhh!!!"

A scream rang out.

But it wasn’t Loop screaming—it was the [Forbidden Fruit Codex].

"Just read the book! Why did you have to get blood all over me? I’m filthy now!"

"Sorry. I’ll be careful this time," promised another Loop who had just appeared.

Seeing Loop reach for it again, the [Forbidden Fruit Codex] flew away immediately. "Stay away from me! You’re a creature disguised as a human. How sneaky."

Loop shot back instantly, "Creatures have the right to read books too."

"Hmph, I’m done playing with you." The [Forbidden Fruit Codex] darted straight into a nearby thicket.

Seconds later, its voice rang out from among the trees. "Where did all these spiderwebs come from?!"

Chen Miemie and the others followed the sound.

Above their heads, slightly at an angle, the [Forbidden Fruit Codex] was wrapped up tight, unable to move.

A group of tiny spiders delivered the bundled-up [Forbidden Fruit Codex] into Loop’s hands.

Chen Miemie declared triumphantly, "You're under arrest."

"Oh." The Forbidden Fruit Codex showed no awareness of its predicament as a prisoner.

"Spill it. What's your ability?"

"Haven't the lady already experienced it? Every illustration inside me is vivid and lifelike, depicting all sorts of tempting yet lethal fantasy fruits. Readers develop an uncontrollable urge to seek out or 'create' the fruits from the codex in reality. Once they try, it often leads to catastrophic reality distortion or self-alienation."

"So you're saying, if I don't open it and look, I'll be fine?"

"Heh, curiosity is human nature. As long as the book circulates, it will be read. The more you resist, the more you'll crave it in the end."

"Funny, I wasn't interested before, but now you mention it, I kinda want to take a look. By the way, aren't you scared now that you're caught?"

"Not really. First, fear is useless—it won't solve anything. Second, what's here isn't my true self. The true forms of us books are all sealed in the city; the occasional chance to roam is just as avatars. Otherwise, this spiderweb wouldn't be nearly strong enough to hold me."

Chen Miemie picked up on the new term and regarded it with newfound respect: "You even have the ability to create avatars? That means your true self must be super powerful."

The Forbidden Fruit Codex didn't take the compliment:

"It's not that I'm impressive—almost all book-type anomalies have this ability. We're printed, which inherently produces countless copies. As long as I attach my consciousness to a printed version, I can have as many avatars as I want."

Chen Miemie pondered this: "So you're saying, what you fear is someone finding your original copy."

"Exactly."

Chen Miemie waved a hand: "Take down the net, let it go."

After all, it was just an avatar; there was no way to deal with it.

To his surprise, after being freed, the Forbidden Fruit Codex didn't leave but floated behind Chen Miemie.

"What are you doing? Why are you following us?"

"Where are you headed?"

"We're a detective agency, heading to investigate a highly mysterious case."

"Really? Can I join?"

"You? No way." Chen Miemie refused. "My team doesn't take freeloaders. You're just a codex with fruit illustrations, not some mystery novel—pretty useless."

The Forbidden Fruit Codex knew this itself, yet it desperately wanted to join the detective agency.

Curiosity wasn't exclusive to humans; books had it too, and even more intensely.

"Take me with you, okay? I'll just watch and won't cause any trouble. If you ever need to identify some magical fruit, just ask me. I'll recognize it for you."

Chen Miemie thought it over and nodded: "Deal."

Bringing the Forbidden Fruit Codex along might not serve a direct purpose, but having a book-type anomaly around could go a long way in deterring other anomalies from attacking.

They walked while searching.

After more than an hour, they found the small grove that Yixian had mentioned.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting bright and radiant shadows on the ground.

Chen Miemie also found the tree that Yixian had hugged when she went blind, which bore a mark left by her.

After looping through the grove multiple times, he gave his conclusion: "There's no anomaly here. Even if there once was, it's probably already left."

With just his naked eyes, Chen Miemie couldn't see anything suspicious, but he wasn't willing to give up just yet.

"Turn this entire grove into porcelain," he said.

The moment his voice fell, the entire forest around him instantly transformed into porcelain.

Every inch of the place was converted—except for a small cluster of leaves diagonally above.

Those leaves were nothing special, yet they lingered for a few more seconds before surrendering to the porcelain transformation.

Those few seconds did not go unnoticed.

Qinghua’s voice rang out from his chest:

“There was an eerie power there before. A faint trace still lingers. Inside that cluster of leaves, there’s an empty gap—by the shape, it looks like a leaf might have fallen?”

A leaf falling from a tree was normal enough. But a place tough enough to resist porcelain corrosion for several seconds was something far more resilient. If even such a spot had lost a leaf, it warranted closer scrutiny.

The Forbidden Fruit Codex, which had been following in silence all the while, now spoke with a hint of hesitation:

“I know quite a few strange plant-type entities. Given what you’ve said about the little girl along the way… this scene might be related to a leaf-type entity.”

“Forbidden Fruit Codex, you recognize it?”

“No. I specialize in fruits; I’m not an expert on purely leaf-based things. But I know someone who is.”

“Who?”

“My good friend, Withered Poetry.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s far more dangerous than me. It’s sealed away at the very bottom of the city library.”