Chapter 47: A Detective Novel

"Stuck…" Lin Lin slumped over the table, where a wooden desk was surrounded by a "tower" of hard-cover books stacked on both sides.

There are more magical books related to "life" than one might think.

Lin Lin looked up and saw Arthur flipping through books with a blank expression, while Sharon was focused on her work.

Is this the difference between someone who has been working for many years and a magician who has been studying?

No, wait, Arthur is flipping the pages way too fast!

"Arthur, did you really finish reading?" Lin Lin observed him as he quickly glanced at each page before turning to the next. He couldn’t have read everything!

Arthur did not respond.

That’s right, he can’t hear, so don’t touch him; when he is focused, he doesn’t react.

Lin Lin turned sideways and poked Arthur’s arm.

The young man lowered his head, shifting his gaze from the book and seriously looking at Lin Lin’s lips.

"Did you really finish it so quickly?" Lin Lin "said" again, just moving her lips without making a sound.

Arthur nodded, pointed to the content in the book, and tapped his head, indicating it all got in.

Lin Lin felt more complicated; maybe she should share a bit of her brainpower with her not-so-smart brother.

"None of it is about the disappearance of life," Sharon also freed herself from the book, "most of it teaches you how to live longer. There is even a book suggesting you should become an undead, once and for all!"

"That only talks about living longer and forever; it’s not really about a healthy life," Lin Lin complained.

"But all the books here are of this type," Lin Lin said, tapping a large pile of books with her knuckles. "Could this magic, which makes all life disappear, be too dark? Should we check the forbidden books?"

"The ones we are looking at are already forbidden books," Sharon reminded her.

"Alright, that’s true," Lin Lin said as she got up and went back to the bookshelf.

Books about life were hidden in the back of this room. Lin Lin glanced at the shelf that had already been emptied and looked in another direction.

The air was filled with dust and the smell of old books, suggesting that very few people came to visit or clean.

After all, not everyone can get a top-level certificate. Lin Lin shrugged, her attention drawn to a few books placed at the very bottom.

Lin Lin bent down to read the title on the spine, written in an ancient script. Though it was a bit tricky, she could somewhat understand its meaning.

Lin Lin silently thanked the convenience brought by the Demon King’s contract; at least she didn’t have to struggle to learn one language after another.

Pulling out one of the books, Lin Lin took a quick look and then closed it.

"Hey! Sharon!" Lin Lin shouted.

"What’s wrong?" The female mage, sitting at the long table and still flipping through her book, replied.

"What if," Lin Lin said, hugging the heavy books to her chest, "the main purpose of using this magic is not to ‘make living things die,’ but to ‘make living things live’?"

Lin Lin heard Sharon’s elongated tone, "That would be terrible; it is the most forbidden book of all."

Lin Lin, holding the thick books, approached the table, pushed the previous books aside, and placed the newly arrived books in the center for all three to see.

In sharp contrast to the large number of earlier books, there were only five books about "revival," all with pitch-black covers that looked very ominous.

Only Lin Lin among the three could read the ancient script.

Perhaps it is because so few people can understand ancient writing in this era that it is placed so openly on the shelf.

"You must already have someone in mind when you brought these books here," Sharon said.

Clearly, Sharon also thought of the City Lord who looked busy but was very kind and a bit sad.

As a father, he created a magical city for his daughter and placed her statue where he could always see it; how could he not try to bring his daughter back to life?

Compared to those things that are empty, his daughter was the true treasure he had lost.

As she opened the first book, Lin Lin softly hummed, "I really hate stories where, to prove someone innocent, you end up finding out their guilt instead."

Compared to the neater books they had seen before, this one’s pages were wrinkled, and the edges had a slight old yellow color.

Without finishing the first book, Lin Lin opened the next four books as well.

These books all looked wrinkled, clearly read over and over by someone.

By the time she reached the last book, Lin Lin’s fingertips brushed over the pages and found a few that had been torn out.

"This is the one," Lin Lin said.

Compared to other books, this one is just the right thickness. The earlier sections mostly encourage people to let go of the past and look to the future. If this was all the book had to say, Lin Lin would almost award it a "Gold Star for Positivity."

However, when she reached two-thirds of the way through, the book started saying, "What if you can’t get past this pain?"

What if you can’t get past this pain? Are you really willing to give everything for it?

Lin Lin’s breathing became slow.

The truly useful pages had been torn out, and Lin Lin had no doubt that those pages were being kept somewhere safe.

However, Lin Lin could piece together some suggestions about the location of the magic circle from the remaining information.

"Somewhere with few people, quiet, undisturbed by other creatures, with a long history, protected by magic, and not likely to draw attention." Lin Lin read the key words, "That’s great, it sounds like the magic circle is right next door."

"It shouldn’t even be next door, but right here with us," Sharon smiled, "After all, not every place requires a reservation before you enter."

Soon, both of them couldn’t laugh anymore.

"Damn it, we really have to take a look." Sharon picked up the magic wand, and as she moved it, a gentle warm light filled the air, flowing out in waves.

Lin Lin nudged Arthur with her elbow, asking him to help look for it.

"The City Lord doesn’t seem very magical," Lin Lin said, "I’m leaning more towards a mechanism."

"That’s true," Sharon admitted, "Besides people who are naturally magical, even drinking a magic potion here does very little."

Lin Lin walked to the bookshelf where she had taken the book, feeling along the nearest wall, "If this were a detective story, there should be a candelabra for me to turn."

Unlike Lin Lin’s theoretical approach, the experienced Arthur lightly tapped the wall with his knuckles, listening for details that a human couldn’t hear.

Then his slender fingers paused at a certain spot and pressed down.

The decor was quite simple; the light gray wall had a small indentation, revealing a crack that opened to a door just big enough for one person.

Arthur stepped inside.

Lin Lin and Sharon quickly followed.

The moment they entered the small door, the light became dim, and Sharon was the last one in as the narrow door closed by itself.

This room had no windows, and the only source of light was a white candle. It might not be quite right to call it a candle because, even though it had a flame, the candle did not seem to get shorter.

The ground had a painted magic circle, an old doll of a little girl, some broken gems, and empty potion bottles.

Sharon looked down and picked up a broken red gem, carefully examining it in the dim light. "I have never seen a magic stone with such high purity in the school exhibition."

"You actually have a school?" Lin Lin was surprised.

"Of course," Sharon replied, "Even though there are fewer people with magic, the number of humans is so large that it’s enough to have a school."

"Do you know who is worshipped on that small table?" Lin Lin pointed to the small table with two palm-sized statues.

Sharon stepped over the magic circle, squinted at the statues, and gently shook her head. "It’s not a common god; maybe it’s one of those underground deities that the surface races do not honor. If they are blessing spells like ‘rebirth,’ it would make sense."

"Okay," Lin Lin sighed.

"We should take this statue away and confront the City Lord about it," Sharon suggested.

"I sincerely suggest you talk less about strategies with Allen, Sandy, and the others," Lin Lin said kindly.

Sharon shrugged.

Lin Lin crouched down to look at the old doll on the magic circle.

"It looks like one I would pick up and start laughing at," Lin Lin joked.

"That’s just too scary," Sharon continued to study the statue by the small table.

The candles were placed in front of the statue, but there were candles on both sides of the statue, and only one was lit.

"Is it too dark? Do we need to light another candle?" Sharon asked.

"Please bring me light, followers of the God of Light," Lin Lin replied, as she picked up the doll, without the eerie laughter she had imagined.

Lin Lin felt a bit disappointed.

Arthur brought the empty potion bottle to his nose and sniffed it; he couldn’t tell what kind of potion it was either.

"Click."

A mechanical sound like a mechanism being turned on suddenly echoed.

Lin Lin turned around and saw Sharon, who had just lit another candle.

"Did you hear any sound?" Lin Lin asked.

"I heard it," Sharon replied.

The three of them looked around, but nothing had changed.

"I will go see if the door can be pushed open," Lin Lin said.

Arthur was closer to the door than her, and as Lin Lin stood up, he already reached out and pushed, easily opening the door.

Soft light shone into the secret room.

"The light is getting dim," Lin Lin frowned as she walked out of the secret room.

The bookshelves on both sides looked unchanged, and the open books on the long table were still the same.

Lin Lin looked up at the arched window that took up three-quarters of the tallest part of the library. Outside, it was dark.

Lin Lin clearly understood that they had not spent much time in the secret room, and before entering it, there was still a long time until evening, and it was quite bright out.

It was now nighttime.

She remembered what the librarian had emphasized to them again and again: to leave the room before nightfall.

Lin Lin raised her voice, "Sharon, can you put out the candle that just lit?"

There was a pause for a few seconds, as if she was trying hard.

Finally, Sharon’s disappointed voice came through, "The candle won’t go out. This is probably because this place is the ‘on button,’ and the ‘off button’ is somewhere else."

Sharon slowly walked out of the secret room, "Are we going to be stuck here until night? Is this some kind of time-shortening magic circle?"

Lin Lin still stared out at the dark window, looking up.

She overturned her previous guess.

Lin Lin’s voice sounded more shaky than usual, even though she tried hard to stay calm.

"It’s not night," Lin Lin answered Sharon, "we are at sea."

Sharon looked up and stared in the direction Lin Lin was gazing.

Outside the window, a huge humpback whale glided by, gently rolling its body, its dark back contrasting with its white belly underneath.

The two of them stared as the whale’s enormous tail fin gently swished past the window.

The whale’s call pierced the air, and its massive shape vanished into the endless darkness.