Each Sticks to Their Own Story

Chen Miemie looked at President Yu across from him, feeling a headache coming on.

Bringing up the matter of assassinating another senior scholar so directly meant this President Yu was giving him no chance to refuse.

Chen Miemie wasn't afraid of President Yu, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of trouble.

"President Yu, I'm not sure I follow."

"I know this is sudden, but you're the only one who can freely access the fourth basement level of the library. You have both the clearance and the capability—you're the best fit."

"I wouldn't say Xiumu and I are close friends, but we've crossed paths enough to be familiar. No grudges, no grievances. Why would I help you kill her?"

"No grudges? What if I told you that Li Liang, the one who put out the assassination contract on you in the underground world, is one of Xiumu's people?"

"Her? Do you have proof? She didn't even know me before—why would she want me dead?"

"I'm no Stone Speaker. Gathering intelligence isn't like solving a case; I don't have evidence. But now that you know the outcome, you can look into it yourself. Just a matter of confirmation—shouldn't be hard for you."

"Fine, I'll verify it myself. But you still haven't told me why she wanted me dead."

"Because you're a descendant of witches. Anyone connected to witches, she might go after. My daughter died at her hands."

After just a few exchanges, Chen Miemie's head was full of questions.

This President Yu had already looked into her daughter's cause of death and confirmed the culprit was Xiumu?

Chen Miemie didn't keep pressing. With no intention of agreeing to help with a murder, it wouldn't be right to keep prying.

Fortunately, President Yu understood his confusion and offered some clarification:

"Xiumu is insane. She carries the title of senior scholar in the theoretical school, but in truth, she's under house arrest on the negative fourth floor of the library. She despises humans, and she despises witches. She has a strong killing instinct."

Since President Yu opened the door herself, Chen Miemie took the cue to follow up:

"A senior scholar who spends all her time in a lab doing research—where does a killing instinct come from?"

"Because she's a failed product of witch conversion. Normally, failing to convert into a witch results in immediate death, but she managed to survive through a special Mystic power. Humans and witches are both among the eight major races, but her kind—she can neither return to a human state nor become a witch. Strictly speaking, she's also an anomaly that the world refuses to recognize.

And anomalies carry killing instincts. On top of that, neither humans nor witches accept her, so she's filled with resentment.

You might wonder—how is it that someone like her hasn't been eliminated or driven out of the city?

The reason is simple: before the failed conversion, she was already a high-tier mystic and a senior scholar, with a wealth of theoretical achievements. Her academic standing is extremely high.

She herself is one of the city's supreme power holders. In that situation, as long as her misdeeds aren't caught in the act, no one can touch her."

President Yu stopped there.

The room fell silent.

After a long pause, Chen Miemie gave his answer: "I can't fully trust what you've said. I need to verify it myself."

"Alright, I'll give you three days. I'll wait for your answer."

The moment Chen Miemie stepped out of the Union of Societies building, he headed straight for the city library and went directly to Silence's office on the top floor.

Before he could even speak.

Silence spoke first, in a low voice: "What, President Yu called you in to get you to kill Xiumu?"

Chen Miemie: ...

Wait, your intelligence network is this good? I just did something, and you already know about it.

"Don't be surprised. We have eyes inside the Union of Societies, just like they have people inside this city library. The moment she contacted you, I could guess."

"You knew she wanted to kill Xiumu?"

"It's not just me—every senior figure in the Sealed Books Library knows. She never tried to hide it. She's even put out bounties in the underground world."

"She said her daughter's death was Xiumu's doing."

"Right, that's what she believes."

Chen Miemie sensed there was more to it: "What do you mean?"

"According to our investigation, her daughter died in an accident. If we'd confirmed that Xiumu had killed a high-tier witch, Xiumu wouldn't be sitting comfortably in the library—she'd have been refined into a potion long ago.

President Yu has gone mad over this. It's pure delusion on her part. When we asked her for the process and reasoning, she had no evidence to back it up."

"Xiumu's been staying at the bottom of the library for a long time. Should I take it that the witches are protecting her now?"

Silence hesitated: "Sort of. More precisely, it's not the witch clan protecting her—it's Elder Chenpi protecting her personally. Both Xiumu and Cicada were once students of Elder Chenpi."

"Today, President Yu told me that Li Liang is one of Xiumu's people."

"That's the same as the case with her daughter—there's no solid proof. Li Liang and Xiumu used to be lovers, but they broke up later.

Because of that connection, President Yu has always insisted Li Liang belongs to Xiumu's camp. In her obsession to avenge her daughter, she doesn't care about collateral damage—if there's any connection at all, she'd rather kill a hundred by mistake than let one go."

Face to face with Silence was entirely different from facing President Yu. Chen Miemie didn't hold back at all, turning straight into a machine gun of questions.

"What happened with Xiumu's failed witch conversion? Do the witches recognize her?"

"A failed conversion should have meant death, but her Mystic had a one-time skill called 'Dead Wood Springs in Spring,' and she barely survived. Since she never actually became a witch, the witches naturally don't acknowledge her."

"And she can't go back to being human either, so she started hating the world?"

"Saying 'hatred' is a stretch. With her senior scholar status and high-tier mystic strength, what did race matter? Plenty of those above Mystic 7 aren't considered human anymore—who ever saw them getting excluded?

But she did constantly get talked about behind her back, faced all kinds of suspicion—that couldn't have felt good. That was around the time she and Li Liang split. It was her decision to end it."

"So is Xiumu currently under house arrest in the library?"

"That's definitely President Yu's framing. She's been hunting Xiumu all over the world with assassins. The library is the one protecting her—how would it be a place of imprisonment?"

"With no evidence, just speculation, a senior scholar openly calling for the death of another—that's a bit of a violation of the rules, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's undoubtedly a huge provocation to the city's order.

But President Yu has too much power in her hands, and with the pain of losing her daughter as motivation, she's taking an all-or-nothing stance. Most people are angry but dare not speak up. Only the Stone Speaker, who oversees law, has been trying hard to rein her in.

So, Chen Miemie—do you believe what President Yu said?"

Chen Miemie shook his head: "I've dealt with Xiumu myself. I'll make my own judgment."

Before going to see Xiumu in person, Chen Miemie first sought out Xiumu's teacher, Chenpi.

"Chenpi, you're in trouble." Following his usual habit, Chen Miemie reached out for a head pat.

Chenpi deftly swatted his hand away: "Out with it, out with it—stop pawing at me. Can't you maintain some social distance?"

Chen Miemie went straight for the bluff. "Your student Xiumu hired Li Liang to put out a kill order on me. The evidence is solid. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Chenpi rolled his eyes.

"Chen Miemie, even a nine-year-old like me knows that putting out a contract in the underworld run by witches couldn't possibly kill you. Chances are nobody would even dare take the job. So here's a thought—what if someone is using this to tip you off indirectly, telling you that you're being watched, so you'd stay alert, keep your guard up, and be more careful?"