11: Chapter 11: A hopeless case, and a library card from the abyss.

The spring rain fell like silk, its bone-chilling dampness permeating the entire Scripture Pavilion.

The flame of an oil lamp struggled in the wind, its light and shadow flickering unsteadily.

Li Mo lay prone on the dusty counter, holding the brush left behind by Great Scholar Su in his hand.

It was a fine brush, yet at this moment, he was using it to scratch his feet.

He hummed an out-of-tune folk ditty, his posture unrefined to the extreme.

He was keeping accounts.

This divine object, transformed from a single bristle of the "spring and autumn brush," carried an inherent Vast Righteous Qi; even if the characters written with it looked like ghost talismans, they naturally possessed an upright character.

However, that character was currently suffering a devastating blow.

On the ledger, lines of chicken-scratch handwriting were practically a public execution of the brush:

“March 3rd, rain. The braised chicken legs made by Old Man Wang in the kitchen smell delicious; swiped one. Was caught, ten copper coins deducted from wages. This grudge must be avenged.”

“March 4th, sunny. Found a copper coin by the roadside, bit it with my teeth, it's real. Hidden under the third brick beneath the bed, do not forget.”

“March 5th, nothing happened. Neighboring Rustic Name was washing clothes, her waist is really thin, just a bit wasteful with the fabric...”

Ten thousand miles away, in the Central State, at the Jixia Academy.

Inside an elegant study, Great Scholar Su, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly twitched his eyelids and snapped his eyes open.

His face contorted, and his eyes held an irrepressible disgust.

That wisp of Divine Thought attached to the brush was originally meant to observe the words, deeds, and Heart-Nature of a "suspected Sage."

In his expectations, even if living in a humble room, the person should have the contentment in poverty of Yan Hui living in a narrow alley.

The result...

What did he see?!

Petty theft!

Greedy for money as if it were his life!

No ambition, mind full of filth!

How is this a seed of a Sage? This is clearly a stone from a latrine—foul-smelling and stubborn!

“The compass... is it truly broken?”

Veins bulged on Great Scholar Su's forehead, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to sever the connection.

No, a Great Scholar must have self-restraint.

I'll watch for one more day!

I'll treat it as... experiencing the hardships of the common people.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion.

Li Mo finished the last stroke and flicked his wrist, seemingly shaking off ink droplets, but his peripheral vision accurately caught the faint light flowing on the brush barrel dimming slightly.

“Old fellow, you've got quite the poker face; you can even endure this?”

Li Mo sneered in his heart.

This move of "self-defilement" had always been foolproof against these scholars who valued their reputation more than their lives.

“Fine, since you won't leave, I'll bring out the main course.”

Li Mo put down the brush and began rummaging through a pile of spoils from the Overlord Blade Sect.

First, he pulled out a gaudily covered copy of "The Golden Lotus (Illustrated Collector's Edition)."

Then, he skillfully tucked a Demonic Technique Secret Manual emitting a pungent, bloody stench—the "Blood-Refining Demonic Technique"—seamlessly inside it.

“System, multi-threaded reading.”

Li Mo sat back at the counter, holding the "forbidden book" in one hand, reading with great interest, occasionally letting out a few lewd "hehe" sounds from his throat.

From the perspective of Great Scholar Su's Divine Thought, this brat was currently making a fool of himself over unsightly images.

But in Li Mo's Sea of Consciousness, it was a different scene entirely.

【Analyzing "Blood-Refining Demonic Technique"... Filtering out Demonic Path hostility... Retaining core Cultivation Technique...】

【Congratulations Host, you have obtained a blue trait: Blood Manipulation!】

【Trait Effect: Can control the flow rate and extracorporeal form of your own blood. Combined with [Evil Qi Mastery], blood can be transformed into lethal blood needles.】

After finishing one book, Li Mo smacked his lips as if wanting more and switched to another.

This time it was the "Five Poisons True Scripture" tucked inside "Spring Mud Strikes the Wild Mandarins."

Time passed.

The "spring and autumn brush" stuck in the brush holder began to tremble violently.

As a Confucian holy object, it possessed spirituality; it could feel the increasingly dense Devilish Qi around it, and even more so, it could feel the user's vulgar "taste."

It was being driven mad.

Far away in the Jixia Academy, Great Scholar Su's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

What was he seeing?

It was Li Mo laughing like a pig while looking at erotic illustrations!

Around him, wisps of turbid, sinister, and nauseating auras were rising!

“You brat! You are beyond teaching!!”

Great Scholar Su could no longer maintain his composure and violently flicked his sleeve.

“Rotten wood! Sludge!!”

That wisp of Divine Thought spanning ten thousand miles was personally and furiously severed by him!

“Crack!”

In the brush holder of the Scripture Pavilion, that brush emitted a crisp wail of grief.

The last trace of shimmering white light on the brush barrel completely dissipated, turning it into an ordinary old brush covered in cracks.

【Ding!】

【Detected that the surveillance-type Divine Thought has been disconnected.】

【Congratulations Host, you have successfully driven away a contemporary Great Scholar through "mental pollution" tactics.】

【Obtained achievement reward: Master of Disguise (Mask Upgrade Component)!】

The lewd smile on Li Mo's face vanished instantly, his eyes returning to a calm, cold clarity like an ancient well.

He closed the book, his expression indifferent.

“Finally gone.”

The feeling of being voyeuristically watched by an old man twenty-four-seven was truly sickening.

He casually threw the pile of gaudy novels used for disguise into the junk pile.

“Squeak.”

On the roof beam, the little mouse Squeak poked its head out. Only after confirming that the aura making its fur stand on end had disappeared did it slide down with a whoosh.

It jumped onto the table, pointed at the ruined brush, and made a face at Li Mo, as if mocking his acting just now.

“Was it too much?” Li Mo rubbed its little head. “Can't be helped, forced by life. If your skin isn't thick, you won't live long.”

He stood up and pushed open the window.

The rain had stopped.

The night was as thick as ink, with no moon or stars; the entire world was as silent as death.

Li Mo glanced at the System interface.

The blood-red countdown had only ten breaths left.

【10... 9... 8...】

“It's coming.”

Li Mo closed the window and lit all the oil lamps in the pavilion, dispelling every inch of shadow.

He straightened his robes, sat back behind the counter, and picked up a brand-new "Sect Visitor Registry."

Since it couldn't be avoided.

Then open the door and welcome the guest.

【3... 2... 1...】

【Countdown finished.】

【Special Event Triggered: Visitor from the Abyss.】

“Thump... Thump... Thump.”

The sound of knocking echoed.

That sound was slow and heavy; it didn't seem to be knocking on the wooden door, but rather hammering directly on a person's heart.

With every thump, the temperature inside the pavilion plummeted by a degree.

The shadows in the corners seemed to come alive, silently writhing and growing.

Squeak's fur instantly puffed out, and it dived into Li Mo's bosom with a whoosh, leaving only a pair of terrified beady eyes staring fixedly at the door.

Li Mo's expression was calm, his brush soaked in thick ink. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly outside.

“The Scripture Pavilion closes at the Hour of the Pig; we do not see guests.”

The knocking outside stopped.

A cold, viscous voice, seemingly squeezed from the throat of a drowned person, seeped in through the door crack.

“I... am not borrowing a book.”

“I... am here... to return one.”

Return a book?

Li Mo's eyebrows twitched slightly.

The books in the Scripture Pavilion were never lent out.

“If it is to return a book, just leave it at the door.”

“No...” The voice suddenly became urgent, and the door panels groaned under an unbearable weight, as if some massive, slimy soft-bodied creature was pressing hard against the outside. “This book... must, be, hand, delivered, to you.”

The word "must" carried an irresistible, icy power of rules.

Li Mo glanced at the System.

【Warning: Detected a high-risk Rule-type entity attempting to enter!】

【Suggestion: Refusal will lead to a rule conflict; opening the door will lead to...】

While the System was still analyzing, Li Mo had already stood up.

He walked to the door, his hand not on the latch, but instead asked in a flat voice through the door panel:

“By the rules of the Heavenly River Sword Sect, those entering the pavilion must register. State your name, your sect, and... what book are you returning?”

Outside the door, there was a moment of dead silence.

A thick, ink-like black liquid gurgled in through the door crack, converging on the floor into several twisted, frantic characters:

【No sect. The returner... is Unspeakable.】

The moment these characters formed, the "song of righteousness" in Li Mo's bosom automatically erupted with a searing golden light!

The shadow beneath his feet writhed frantically, like a dying black snake trying to break free from his body and escape into the darkness outside!

The [Void Walker] trait was sounding a lethal alarm!

This thing was more terrifying than the Demon Abyss.

It was not a biological creature.

It was some kind of... rule itself.

“Good name.”

Li Mo smiled instead, the fanaticism named "Scholar" deep in his eyes instantly ignited.

“A visitor is a guest.”

He suddenly pulled open the door!

Outside the door, there was nothing.

No monsters, no evil ghosts, only a patch of pure darkness that could swallow all light.

In the center of that darkness, a book hovered.

A book... the size of a palm, sewn from unknown human skin.

On the cover of the book, there was a vivid, bloodshot eye.

That eye swiveled around, and finally, locked onto Li Mo.

“Your book... was dropped.”

A crack opened on the cover of the human-skin book, emitting that viscous, cold voice.

Li Mo's gaze fell upon the book.

【Name: Records of Abyss Sightings (Living)】

【Grade: ???】

【Description: The Abyss thinks you are an interesting Soul; this is a "friend request" it sent to you. Warning: It needs to be periodically fed "knowledge," otherwise, it will choose to eat the host's brain as a substitute.】

“Interesting.”

Li Mo did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed the human-skin book that was about to pounce.

The touch was slippery and cold, like grabbing a hibernating venomous snake.

The human-skin book struggled frantically in his hand, the eye on the cover bulging wide, seemingly unable to believe that this insignificant human dared to touch it directly!

“Slap!!”

A crisp, loud sound.

Li Mo backhanded a fierce slap across the cover of the book!

“What are you making a racket for?”

“Once you enter my study, you must follow my rules.”

On Li Mo's body, the [Scholar's Backbone] golden light surged, and the pressure of [Evil Qi Mastery] bore down like a mountain, instantly suppressing the struggling human-skin book until it could not move.

“Be quiet and let me read!”

The human-skin book froze.

It trembled violently, and a trace of emotion akin to "aggrievement" actually appeared in the eye on the cover; then it slowly closed, turning into an ordinary, tattered old book.

Li Mo nodded in satisfaction, turned back into the pavilion, and slammed the door shut behind him.

The darkness was completely shut out.

“Squeak, stop hiding, get to work.”

“Clear out the best bookshelf for our new ‘friend’ here.”

“Also, help me grind a bowl of ink.”

“Tonight, we're pulling an all-nighter.”

The night wind blew, and the line of black characters on the steps before the door quietly dissipated.

The lights of the Scripture Pavilion remained bright and warm.

But no one noticed that on the tightly closed vermilion door, a faint pattern resembling an eye had silently appeared.