Xin Ma tapped his finger on the counter, waiting for anyone to come by today. While most others were worried about the war, he wasn't too concerned. A big reason was that the outer library wouldn't function without him.

"Hey, did you hear about the recent rumors?" called a voice from the front doors. Shan Sha, the old man with missing teeth and a goat-like beard, liked to hang around here.

"There are always some rumors in the Sect. Most of them are false," Xin Ma said.

Despite his dismissive tone, he was interested in the rumors. After all, he didn't have much else going on.

"Well, there are some rumors that our Liu Feng is somehow entangled with Song Song…" the old man smiled suggestively.

"No," Xin Ma refuted immediately. "Liu Feng is not unintelligent enough to be manipulated like that. Even Song Song wouldn't be able to get him to do something he didn't want."

"Perhaps he isn't faking it. Young love does strange things to people," Shan Sha wiggled his eyebrows.

"What? Are we even talking about the same thing here? Are you suggesting Song Song is involved with Liu Feng... romantically?" Xin Ma could barely say the last word. The thought of someone like Song Song getting her clutches on him worried him. She was a dangerous young woman, too dangerous. "The Inner Sect is filled with ruthless cutthroats. Liu Feng understands that, and there is no way the young man I know would fall for something like that."

"Well, you might know him as a person. But even the most logical man has certain instincts," Shan Sha ran his fingers through his goat-like beard with a knowing smirk. But when he noticed no one was taking the bait, he relented. "True, I can't see Liu Feng falling for a honey trap either."

But the old man was not done so soon and continued his charade, "Liu Feng's weakness is his curiosity. Usually, he is quite cautious, to the point of cowardice in some cases. But he can get quite reckless when testing a new technique or seeing a new one from his opponent. Liu Feng is a young man of logical passion!"

At this point, Xin Ma was sure the old goat was making things up. Shan Sha only saw the worst parts and picked and chose the context of things.

Sure, Liu Feng was a complicated young man. Like everyone else, he was not a one-dimensional person. But the kid was not some logical machine that would go berserk at the thought of new knowledge. He was a kind young man who would never look away from someone who was hurt.

By the old goat's smirk, Xin Ma knew that Shan Sha had gotten what he wanted. He just wanted to get a rise out of him. Without Liu Feng around, the old goat was bored.

"We shouldn't be talking about things we know nothing about," Xin Ma said. "Whatever is happening in the Inner Sect, Liu Feng is a resourceful kid."

"True," Shan Sha shrugged. "He also wouldn't have gotten so emotional so fast. He was a challenge; that made bantering with him fun."

'Banter? Don't you mean: bother?' Xin Ma thought but kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't have Liu Feng's patience to deal with the old man.

The library fell into a quiet trance after that, and both the librarian and the old man were lost in thought.

"That's an interesting conversation," a voice came from the middle of the bookshelves.

Xin Ma was startled as his arrays hadn't sensed anyone else there. But as his eyes landed on the figure who spoke, he went from startled to downright terrified.

How long had he been around?

The newcomer was a young-looking man holding a book, not even glancing up as he spoke. He had olive skin and wore a red robe embroidered with golden writing.

What was the Sect Leader doing here?

No wonder the arrays didn't pick him up. The difference in power was just too vast. Arrays at this level were mere tricks compared to a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

The Sect Leader closed the book and turned toward them. Immediately, both Shan Sha and Xin Ma dropped to one knee.

"We greet the Honorable Sect Leader!" they said in unison.

"No need for the theatrics," the Sect Leader said, though his gaze lingered on Shan Sha a bit longer.

Xin Ma had a rough idea of who Shan Sha was; it was just a theory he had questioned all along, but the Sect Leader's reaction confirmed it. Some nobody mortal would never be able to get a cushy job like the old goat had out of nowhere.

Of course, Xin Ma knew better than to mention certain things. Some things were better buried, and some wounds were better forgotten.

"Anyway," the Sect Leader waved his hand, and Xin Ma felt an invisible force pushing him up. There was no chance to resist. "What do any of you know about a young man named Hu Jin?"

"Hu Jin?" Xin Ma frowned, recalling the red-haired young man who had stolen a book from him.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I have this wild theory," the Sect Leader smiled and picked up another book to read. His actions were nonchalant as if he were just on another stroll. "You remember that Core Formation monstrous beast that attacked the newcomers? The four-eyed white snake said something about a target. I feel that I know who the target was… and I think our little friend, Liu Feng, does too. How does he know?... Well, that's a mystery to me as well."

Xin Ma's heart shook at the words. He didn't know what Liu Feng had gotten involved in, but it couldn't have been good if the Sect Leader had gotten involved. This man had lived for hundreds of years, and that golden throne seemed to have only sharpened his mind.

"I also have another wild theory about our friend, Liu Feng," the Sect Leader said, with the same nonchalant tone as before. "But that is for another time. I'm more worried about that thing on the third floor. Did it make contact with our friend, Liu Feng?"

"Thing on the third floor?" Xin Ma asked, confused.

Nothing was on the third floor; it was empty, as it had always been.

"This is an interesting development," the Sect Leader said, looking at a new book in his hands, and one would think he was talking about it. But his brown eyes turned toward Xin Ma and inquired, "Tell me, do you think Liu Feng ever saw a ghost? A humanoid owl-looking ghost."

"No," the librarian shook his head. "Liu Feng never mentioned anything like that."

He never recalled anything like that while Liu Feng passed the illusionary array leading to the third floor. He had handled it well.

"Huh, isn't that neat," the Sect Leader nodded and returned to reading the book in his hands. "Well, the Blazing Sun Sect has a lot of ghosts. Some like wandering around in secret places, while others like acting as servants. Make sure not to wander onto the third floor from now on. Or do... It would make for an interesting show."

The Sect Leader put the book he was reading back and began walking out of the library. His steps were intentionally loud for someone of his cultivation. But before he could leave, Xin Ma gathered his courage and asked.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Sect Leader. But I was wondering if I could ask how Liu Feng is doing. We hear many things in the outer Sect, but we know nothing about which things are true," Xin Ma said.

The Sect Leader stopped and turned toward the librarian and the old man. Shan Sha had said nothing this whole time and seemed more like a quiet ghost compared to his usual self. Though he was staring at the Sect Leader more intently than he did at anyone else.

"Oh, I think he is flourishing. The kid has guts," the Sect Leader said with what could be counted as amusement. This was the most emotion he had shown so far. "Liu Feng is finding himself in the darkness of the inner Sect. I also think he and Song Song complement each other quite well. They're changing each other for the worse and for the better."

After saying that, he just walked away, humming some kind of song that Xin Ma was unfamiliar with. Considering the Sect Leader's age, he likely knew many songs that were lost to time for most people.

Xin Ma didn't know how to feel about the news. There was nothing to worry about for someone at the Sect Leader's power. Even if certain elders were scheming against him, the only reason such schemes would be allowed to continue was if the Sect Leader wanted them to. He could end all the schemes in the Sect with a swipe of his hand.

Nobody could solve the puzzle of why the Sect Leader allowed these schemes to continue. His motives remained hidden, like the depths of the ocean.

********

I fixed my gaze on Song San; the tension between him and Song Song was palpable. As I rose to my feet, I brushed off the imaginary dust from my clothes, my eyes never leaving him.

"Hey, what is with all the hostility here?" Song San asked. "I'm just here to tell you that a Core Formation monstrous beast was defeated by Zun Gon, the Core Elder. After some investigation, it was discovered that a monstrous beast army was lurking around some town. So the Sect secretly sent two elders."

Was this the same town I had told the Sect Leader about? If it was, it seemed like he had "forgotten" to mention my name in the whole thing. I was okay with that as long as he kept his part of the deal.

"Okay, you already told us the news. You can leave now," Song Song waved him off.

"Hey, why am I being treated so badly?" Song San looked confused. "I came here to deliver good news, and you are so aggressive, sister."

He acted like the numerous times he had poisoned Song Song when she was a child were nothing. Also, she was not the only one cautious. After all, this was still the guy who explicitly said he would never do anything without some benefit involved. So he was definitely gaining something out of this.

"I'm like the tragic older brother who tries to help his sister but is never appreciated for his work," Song San sighed and shook his head.

This guy…

"It will also be really tragic when the street sweepers find your corpse on the road among chicken bones, broken teacups, and other trash," Song Song stated.

"I'm almost hurt by those words, dear sister," Song San said without a care in the world. Even a blind man could tell he was not hurt by his sister's words. The guy was even smiling as he said that. "Anyway, I'm happy you're out of that prison now."

"You mean the same prison where your mother ended up. Did you ever visit her when she was there? She died there, right?" Song Song asked with an almost friendly smile.

But in contrast, Song San's smile slipped off his face, and he glared at her. It was the first genuine emotion I had seen in this guy. He actually seemed angry.

"It wasn't like your mother died a better death," Song San said as his glare disappeared and he returned to normal. "I wonder what her last thoughts could have been. It was probably something along the lines of: 'Oh no, why is my husband killing me?'"

Fuck, okay. This was getting out of hand! I had to do something fast before these two got their emotions hurt and did something stupid.

Unexpectedly, Song Song seemed calm, and she shrugged. "Probably. I never really talked to her when she was dying."

"But I heard you were there to see it, right? Rumors say that many things happened that day," Song San said.

"I think we should stop this before anyone gets hurt," I intervened. "We should just leave things here and separate before they get ugly."

Things had already gotten way beyond ugly. But I wasn't here to play semantics with these two about to kill each other.

These two, Song San and Song Song, were the product of a violent environment, something that could erupt at any second.

"You're right," Song San shrugged. "Sorry, sister. I went too far there."

Song Song, on the other hand, didn't apologize and just stared him down. Likely because everyone here knew his apology wasn't sincere.

He then turned around and, without saying a word, walked out of the doorway.

Once he was gone, I turned to Song Song and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" She turned toward me with a questioning brow.

"Sorry…" I said and decided to drop the conversation there.

"If you're worried about how I might feel about my mother, you don't need to feel sorry. I don't need your pity. That woman never cared about me either," Song Song stated calmly.

She really didn't seem affected by her mother's death. But she knew how to hide her emotions when she wanted to.

Not even her mother cared about her. That was sad…