Chapter 2297 — A Visitor to the Library Pavilion

Admittedly, Wei Zhao's plan was a good one: go and pretend to deliver a warning, then slip away like the golden cicada shedding its shell. Though it did mean helping Wei Zhao, once the Twelfth Elder and the Second and Third Protectors returned, Wei Zhao would already be gone, ready to make his escape.

"Since that is so, I will release your acupoints for you," Wei Zhao said. After Lazi stopped the car, he unblocked them.

"Many thanks, Mr. Zhang!" Lazi said gratefully. "Over there is the Library Pavilion. You must be careful, Mr. Zhang!"

Wei Zhao waved a hand, pushed open the door and got out. With a flicker of movement, he vanished in the direction of the Library Pavilion...

"So fast... worthy of a mid-stage Earth Rank master..." Lazi clicked his tongue in amazement.

The Tagan clan's Library Pavilion was, frankly, not very large. It was a standalone two-story building, but once inside it became clear that the space was big and the shelves were few! Perhaps this was a common failing of such families; they lacked the deep reserves of those ancient sects and ancient clans.

This Library Pavilion was much bigger than the Hidden Han family's, but still not as big as Wei Zhao had expected...

Seeing this, Wei Zhao grew somewhat puzzled. What exactly was the relationship between those Heaven Rank masters and the Tagan clan? Earlier, Wei Zhao's thinking had been constrained; being in danger, he had had no time to consider it carefully. But now, weighing and pondering it at leisure, he began to have doubts.

What virtue or ability did the Tagan clan possess that it could command so many Heaven Rank masters? Yet judging by appearances, these Heaven Rank masters did not seem to be the Tagan clan's own forces. Perhaps the Tagan clan was merely a subordinate power of theirs, much like the relationship between certain hidden families and ancient sects. Or perhaps it was also because Tagan Long was a disciple of that great sect, and so these Heaven Rank masters looked after the Tagan clan with particular care?

As for the books here, one glance was enough to disappoint Wei Zhao. There was nothing too remarkable—just ordinary mental cultivation formulas and martial techniques; from their names alone one could tell they were not superior methods or skills. And yet, some things could not be judged by their names alone.

But this time Wei Zhao's visit was pressed for time. He had no leisure to leaf through them one by one, nor could he possibly carry all these books away. Taking a single manual on forging the spirit-essence necklace would probably go unnoticed by the Tagan clan, but take too many and they would likely hunt him down in a frenzy—the loss would outweigh the gain.

At this moment the Library Pavilion was very quiet, utterly deserted. At this hour, probably no Tagan clan disciple would come here. Wei Zhao swiftly searched the shelves for the secret manual on forging the spirit-essence necklace.

There were not many books in the Library Pavilion, so with Wei Zhao's keen eyes, his gaze quickly fell upon the spine of a book on the topmost level of the leftmost shelf—"Methods for Forging the Spirit-Essence Necklace"!

This was the very book. Wei Zhao swiftly pulled it out and, holding it in his hands, leafed roughly through it by moonlight. It was a thread-bound handwritten copy, the characters written large, so that even under the moonlight they were legible. Sure enough, among the required materials, the first item was the spirit-essence inner core of a spirit beast!

Having confirmed this was what he sought, Wei Zhao read no further but quickly tucked it into his robes. Just as he was about to leave the Library Pavilion and go make trouble for Tagan Long, his steps suddenly halted. He sensed a nameless danger—a cultivator was walking toward the Library Pavilion. Judging by the fluctuation of true qi in the man's body, he should be an early-stage Profound Rank master!

Wei Zhao's purpose in coming was to steal the book and then go make trouble for Tagan Long; he did not want complications. If possible, it would be best not to make an enemy of whoever was coming to the Library Pavilion. Who knew what this early-stage Profound Rank master was here for? If he had truly been sent by the Tagan clan head, Tagan Hao, or by that old ancestor in seclusion, and Wei Zhao killed him, then when the man failed to return, they would surely come looking. Wei Zhao would have no time to deal with Tagan Long then—he would have to flee first!

So Wei Zhao's first instinct was to hide! There were only two bookshelves in the Library Pavilion, but there were also some wooden tables and chairs, presumably for readers' convenience—and beneath one of those tables was a perfect place for Wei Zhao to conceal himself!

Footsteps sounded outside the Library Pavilion. So the man was indeed coming here. Wei Zhao's figure accordingly slipped beneath the table. An early-stage Profound Rank master was easy enough for Wei Zhao to kill, but Wei Zhao still wanted to deal with Tagan Long, and naturally did not want unnecessary trouble. He would simply wait for this fellow to fetch what he came for and then leave quickly.

"Click..." The lights in the Library Pavilion came on, and the whole place was suddenly bright. Earlier Wei Zhao had not turned on the lights, relying entirely on the moonlight and the perception of the jade pendant's space to distinguish the books here. This man, clearly, had no need for such measures.

The newcomer had no idea that someone was still hidden in the Library Pavilion. After turning on the lights, he strode openly to the shelf on the left—the one where Wei Zhao had been standing. But after searching for a moment, he suddenly gave a startled "Eh?" and then muttered in some puzzlement: "Wasn't it supposed to be placed here? Why is it gone?"

Though Wei Zhao was under the table, he paid close attention to the newcomer's movements. Seeing him walk to the shelf where Wei Zhao had been, Wei Zhao's heart sank slightly, afraid the man would notice a book was missing. But to Wei Zhao's surprise, the man, by sheer coincidence, said exactly those words!

If Wei Zhao's guess was right, then what this man was looking for was probably the very "Methods for Forging the Spirit-Essence Necklace" now in his hands. He was looking for this book? Wei Zhao frowned. Just as he was thinking of a countermeasure, the newcomer had already pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it: "Young Master Tagan, I'm at the Library Pavilion, but I don't see the book you wanted?"

"You don't see it? It's on the top level of the left shelf—I placed it there myself!" Tagan Long's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"I've searched carefully. It's really not here!" the man said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Wait for me, I'm coming over now!" Tagan Long, suspecting nothing, simply assumed his subordinate had failed to find it.

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