Encounter

Huangyi, carrying the Forbidden Fruit Bestiary, soared into the sky with Origami.

In just a few minutes, they arrived outside the city library.

“Origami, connect the spatial passage at the coordinates you calculated.”

“Okay.” Having scouted the area earlier, Origami estimated the location of the fifth underground floor based on the depth of the third floor.

Estimates were just estimates. Given the countless years of repeated reinforcement and the extreme sealing of the library’s foundation, Origami alone couldn’t successfully establish a space wormhole. A key city site wouldn’t leave loopholes for users with spatial abilities.

Fortunately, now they had Huangyi.

The Eternal Moonlight extended along the spatial passage Origami had opened.

Soon, the Eternal Moonlight encountered some resistance.

“Break.” Huangyi’s right hand gripped the air as if pinching something from afar.

Silently, several layers of formations at the library’s foundation shattered like broken glass, torn into fragments.

With the formations broken, Origami’s passage was successfully established.

“Let’s go.”

Chen Mimi was the first to step into the spatial passage, followed by the paper figure and the winged book.

Meanwhile, at the library’s back office and the scholar academy’s central monitoring room, piercing alarms sounded.

“What’s going on? Enemy intrusion?” The scholar on duty today was Carpenter, one of the Six Scholars.

“Reporting to Lord Carpenter, someone on the library’s fourth underground floor has used spatial ability, broken the blockade, and forcibly invaded.”

“Fourth floor? Which area?”

“The area of Project Patient No. 3.”

Carpenter fell into thought. That neglected project was being forcibly breached?

At the library’s foundation.

Huangyi silently observed the surroundings, wondering if they’d come to the wrong place.

This place didn’t look like a library or a sealed land. It resembled a high-tech medical laboratory.

And it was a lab without any experimental personnel.

The Forbidden Fruit Bestiary looked around and concluded, “This isn’t the fifth floor—it should still be the fourth floor.”

“It seems this fourth floor is very tall, leaving space for two layers of depth.”

“If we want to avoid a direct confrontation, we’d better hurry. The scholar academy should already be mobilizing.”

“Origami, continue downward. Hmm? Who’s there?”

Huangyi looked toward a large box not far away.

The box was entirely black, clashing with the surrounding high-tech environment. At the edge of the box, a narrow gap revealed a pair of eyes peering outward.

Someone was hiding inside.

Not receiving a response, Huangyi walked over and opened the box.

Inside was a little girl with green hair.

Anyone who could appear here was no ordinary person, let alone a little girl.

The little girl’s eyes were full of vigilance. She glared with wide eyes, intentionally baring her little fangs, putting on a “I’m super fierce” expression.

“Little girl, who are you? Why are you here? Are you up to no good?”

“Impertinent! I am the great witch Chenpi!”

Huangyi immediately called her out: “You’re lying. None of the Seven Great Witches is named Chenpi.”

“Hmph, I’m not from this generation. I was active a long, long time ago.”

The little girl switched between “I” and “me” inconsistently.

“How long ago?”

“Annoying! A long time means suuuper long.”

“You slipped up, little girl. You can’t count beyond the number 100, can you?”

“How dare you belittle me!” The green-haired little girl was furious, her cheeks puffing up.

“Not at all. So, you’re aged Chenpi, huh? What are you doing here?”

Hearing this, the little girl immediately changed her expression. Hands on her hips, she looked smug.

“I’m the head and chief researcher of a top-secret project group.”

“You? What do you handle in the project group?”

“Haha, I’m mainly the one being researched.”

“Being researched? So you’re the test subject—kept here for slicing and bloodletting?”

“Hmph, shallow understanding. I founded the project group myself. I personally interviewed every researcher before they joined.”

“Alright then, continue your research.”

After figuring out the basics, Huangyi prepared to leave. Time was tight; slowing down meant clashing with the scholar academy.

Huangyi wasn’t afraid of the academy, but there was no need for such a conflict.

“Wait, you can’t go.” The little girl blocked the way.

“What’s wrong?”

“All the researchers have run away. Help me recruit a few.”

“Talk to the scholar academy—this is their responsibility.”

“I tried. No one is willing to come. They say I’m too special and don’t want to keep investing. Hmph, shortsighted.”

“How are you special?”

“Want to know? I won’t tell you unless you come study me yourself.”

“Like this—I’m busy today. If you can get out, we can chat properly next time.”

“Fine, a deal is a deal.”

The little girl unexpectedly agreed. Getting this half-serious “next time,” she didn’t fuss and made way.

Origami kept opening passages downward.

After five attempts, they still encountered only stone and soil.

“This fifth floor’s depth is ten times greater than the previous four. Just how deep underground are we?”

Origami had a good sense of distance: “We’re already at 80 meters.”

Finally, at a depth of 100 meters underground, building structures appeared again.

“We’re here.”

There was no need for Origami to point it out. The scene before them was unmistakable.

A massive book suspended in midair, its four corners connected to thick iron chains. The chains’ other ends were anchored on four large pillars nearby, their surfaces covered with mysterious runes.

The Forbidden Fruit Bestiary stepped forward and called out, “Withering Odes, I’ve come to find you.”

The chained book slowly lit up: “Oh, it’s you. Since you managed to get out, you should roam around more. Coming here means you’ll be sealed up again soon.”

“Do you want to get out? Truly and completely free?” Huangyi spoke, extending an offer.

“You? Yellow robe, yellow specks?” Withering Odes suddenly saw the face beneath Huangyi’s robe.

“Yes.”

“I… I’m sorry, Lord. I’m different from the Forbidden Fruit Bestiary. I have my peculiarities and can’t enjoy freedom at the moment.”

Huangyi didn’t insist. Dealing with book-type aberrations, he didn’t like using force.

“I respect your wishes. Today’s visit is to ask you something.”

“Please speak.”

Then Huangyi recounted the situation at Yixian and the small grove.

Withering Odes listened and slowly began to speak.

“Actually, leaf-type aberrations are extremely rare in this world.

Because leaves are inherently part of a tree—for a leaf to become an aberration, the whole tree would have to transform. A single leaf rarely gains intellect.

But among all things, there are always miraculous moments. Occasionally, a leaf seizes a fleeting opportunity.

Based on what you’ve described, there is only one type of aberration.

It is the Obscuring Leaf. It is very special and hasn’t appeared in tens of thousands of years.”

“How is it special?”

“It wasn’t nurtured by a tree. It was nurtured by a human.”