Library Director

Fengshuguan was a bustling city.

Whether in terms of economy, scientific research, academia, or the number of mystics, it ranked among the top of all human cities.

Within the upper structure of this city, academic struggles never ceased, but there was almost no major political infighting, and internal losses of strength were minimal.

This was because the Practical faction held control over resource allocation, enjoying an absolute dominance for many eras. Yet no one ever thought of touching the two guaranteed seats of the Theoretical faction.

After all, the scholars of the Practical faction were still scholars; none of them failed to understand the fact that "practice needs a theoretical foundation." If they eliminated the Theoretical faction entirely, they would have to do the tedious theoretical research themselves.

Chen Miemie strolled leisurely along the road to the city library.

He had originally planned to tease Chenpi, that legal loli, and then find a few locked-up anomalies to play with. But as soon as he stepped into the city library's entrance, a male and female security guard stopped him.

"You're Mr. Chen Miemie, right? The curator requests your presence."

"Curator?"

"Yes, the curator of our city library, the great Silence."

This was a name Chen Miemie had never heard before. Still, he figured he'd be visiting this city library frequently from now on, so it was probably a good idea to meet the person in charge and say hello.

"Please lead the way."

"Follow me."

The curator's office wasn't in the underground area but on the very top floor.

Starting from the 20th floor, it was closed to the public.

The top floor was the 23rd.

At the stairwell entrance sat a massive, ornate door.

"The curator is inside." The woman leading the way had no intention of entering with him.

"Okay." Chen Miemie pushed open the heavy door.

The light inside the room wasn't bright; a few scattered faint sources emitted dim, yellowish glows.

As soon as Chen Miemie stepped inside, the door closed automatically.

"This room isn't normal." Chen Miemie frowned slightly.

The abnormality lay in the fact that neither the closing of the door nor his footsteps made any sound. It was as if some invisible force swallowed all noise, leaving the room eerily silent.

Without external sounds, one could almost hear the thumping of their own heartbeat and the faint trickle of blood flowing through their veins.

This didn't feel like an office. The room was empty, not even a single chair in sight.

The room's owner stood deep inside, back to the door, half-hidden in shadow. Sensing Chen Miemie's arrival, she slowly turned around.

The moment Chen Miemie saw her, he recognized her identity.

She was 100% a witch.

The reason was simple: this woman had the same vibe as Amber.

Black clothes, white hair, adorned with all sorts of dazzling gemstones, her purple eyes glowed with an eerie light in the darkness.

This was the third witch Chen Miemie had ever met in person, and his mind inexplicably began to wander:

Looks kind of sinister, huh... Does that mean Amber specially prettied herself up when she met me? Chenpi's style is different from theirs, no shiny gems on her—could it be that she got swindled?

The purple-eyed witch, her smile brimming with mischief, didn't wait in place. She took a few steps closer to Chen Miemie.

She spoke first: "My name is Silence. Welcome to Fengshuguan, Young Master Chen Miemie."

As she spoke, she performed a peculiar bow.

This opening caught Chen Miemie off guard: "I'm Chen Miemie, but 'young master' is a title I'm hearing for the first time. I hope there's been no mistake."

"Fengshuguan is a city under the jurisdiction of the Third Seat. Here, you are naturally the young master."

Chen Miemie groaned internally: I was careless. I didn't see that coming. Turns out this city belongs to Chen Miaomiao's turf.

"Just call me by my name. 'Young master' doesn't sit well with me. And you are?"

"I am under the command of the Third Seat, responsible for witch-related affairs in this city and occasionally for witch matters across all of humanity."

Chen Miemie immediately sized her up: Wow, a bigshot. Turns out her job as city library curator is just a side gig.

Silence waved her hand.

A tea set drifted out from the darkness.

She pointed a finger into the air, and the floating teapot poured a red liquid into a cup. Once it was about half full, the cup floated steadily toward Chen Miemie, stopping in front of him.

"My place is sparse, no tables or chairs. I apologize for the poor hospitality."

Chen Miemie took the cup. The liquid inside was warm and red like blood.

He sniffed it. It didn't smell like black tea.

Without asking, he downed it in one gulp.

"Not sweet, not fishy. Neither good nor bad to drink," he commented.

Silence fell quiet. She had clearly seen that the cup was unusual, but before she could introduce it, he'd already polished it off.

"Chen Miemie, were you always this reckless? Drinking a stranger's water the first time you meet."

"...". Chen Miemie felt a tickle in his throat, unable to say what he wanted.

"Don't worry, it's not poison. This is my brew, Silence Water. People love to babble nonsense, and too much nonsense dulls the mind. Silence Water purifies speech and lightens the thoughts. It'll pass in a moment."

If it were poison, Chen Miemie wouldn't have been afraid—pure water would have neutralized it. The fact that the Silence Water worked was precisely because it was beneficial.

After just over ten seconds, Chen Miemie could speak again.

It felt fantastic, like waking up from a full, restful sleep.

"This water is impressive. Your own specialty?"

"Yes. I collect and categorize different kinds of silence—the silence of anger, the silence of sorrow, the silence of anticipation—and then blend them into water, letting the emotions ferment and mature. Ten years can brew just this one small cup."

"Very precious. Why is it red in the end?"

"It's actually deep purple. It's brewed from my tears."

Having received a favor, Chen Miemie felt obliged.

"Thank you for the treat. Did you call me here for something?"

Silence offered a faint smile, likely her friendliest expression, yet it still carried a hint of slyness.

"Normally, given our witches' preference for solitude, without instructions from the Third Seat, I would only quietly observe you unless you came seeking help on your own. But I've discovered that someone is investigating you in secret."

"Just investigating?"

"No. The underworld has put out a mission with the highest reward. The task is to kill you."

"The underworld and the highest reward." Chen Miemie felt like he'd stumbled upon an entirely new world.

"The underworld isn't that high-end. It started off as some supply channels secretly set up by the Mist Church, and over time, it branched into intelligence trading. It has no armed forces of its own."

"So assassins are coming for me?" Chen Miemie rubbed his hands together eagerly, finally waiting for some action.

"Not for now."

"Why not? Where are the assassins?" Chen Miemie grew impatient.

"You're a mystic. Ordinary assassins wouldn't dare take the job. Only high-rank mystics and large mystic organizations are qualified."

"Then who's taken the mission now?"

"I have." Silence flashed a malicious grin.

"You can take it too?"

"Of course. I'm very capable. Killing a Mystic 5 would be easy for me."

"It's not a question of how skilled I am. What are you going to do next?"

[Silence] with a hint of smugness: "I took the contract, so no one else can take it. After taking it, I won't lay a hand on you. You'll be safe until the deadline."

Chen Miemie: ...

You're quite the little clever one, aren't you.

Chen Miemie tried to persuade her to drop the contract: "No, everyone knows you're under the Third Seat. How could you possibly assassinate your own faction's descendant? Doing this is just blatant sabotage."

"So what if they know? Without the strength to back it up, all they can do is watch. Do you think anyone would pick a fight with us witches over some sewer rat who issued the contract?"

Chen Miemie made one last attempt: "What about the contract platform? Are they just going to let the rules be bent like this?"

[Silence] thought for a moment, letting her young master in on a little secret: "In the underground world, besides the Mist Church, we witches are the second-largest shareholder."