Change in terms:
“Water mirror” → “Viewing mirror” water mirror just seemed awkward. I’m pretty sure the water part is just to denote the reflection quality of the mirror.
“student” → depending on context “candidate” or “children” Some of them never went to school so to call them students didn’t feel like a good fit.
“swordsman/swordsmen/swordman etc...” → “swordmaster(s)” I hesitated calling them swordmasters before because they were still in the process of learning but as I got further into the story it makes more sense to use swordmaster, especially since I had used beastmaster for the beast division. Plus it’s also more gender neutral.
[Translator/Editor: otwentyfirst]
[Host: justreads.net]
[Oct. 3rd, 2018]
Now that she was at the library Ai Lin wasn’t sure how to find the clues she needed. The library had so many books. After some thought she decided to look at the books on local customs and geography. Her experience from playing games told her that important clues were often found in books that appeared unimportant. She sat down at a table to read after gathering a few books.
Feng Wu only gave Ai Lin a quick glance before returning her attention to the task at hand - organizing the books.
Ai Lin read for over an hour before getting tired. She got up and stretched; it was then that she saw Feng Wu on a ladder. It was obvious the other girl was sorting the books. Ai Lin gathered her wits after a few seconds and raised her voice to ask, “Feng Wu, how long have you been here?”
Feng Wu heard the question and turned around to find Ai Lin staring at her in amazement. “I came here two hours ago.” After saying so continued she with her ch.o.r.es, meticulously wiping clean the book in her hand before putting it back on the shelf.
“Then you were here before me!” Ai Lin thought she was the only visitor in the library. She’s been here for so long yet she didn’t say anything? What does she mean to do? I don’t understand.
“Yes, I was here before you.” Feng Wu nodded honestly.
Ai Lin made a constipated face at the simple and apparently unsarcastic answer. What the h.e.l.l is with your repeated answer?! Ai Lin laughed and said, “Why didn’t you call out to me? The city is so big and yet we still ran into each other. Our meeting must be fated.”
“Why would I call out to you?” Feng Wu stopped wiping the book in her hand and looked at Ai Lin curiously.
Huh? What...what is this girl’s problem? Is she doing it on purpose? Ai Lin suspected Feng Wu was pretending to be stupid, but her serious look confused Ai Lin. She seems serious… not like she’s lying… but maybe she’s just... a really good actress? She deserves an Emmy. Whatever. When in doubt just laugh.
“Haha... “ Ai Lin didn’t answer Feng Wu’s question but alternated her gaze between the rag in Feng Wu’s hand and Feng Wu herself. “Why are you cleaning the books?” Ai Lin asked, not because she was trying to change the topic but because she was genuinely curious.
“I have to. I work here.” Feng Wu put one book down and focused on the next one in line.
“You work here?” Ai Lin’s voice went up in pitch out of surprise. Feng Wu works here? Really? Shouldn’t she be out trying to find her treasure? Wait, maybe it’s a secret mission. And as long as she completes it she’ll get a treasure map. Yeah. That must be it.
Feng Wu nodded in answer. Was it really that strange to work here? Blinking blinking, Feng Wu could only blink in incomprehension.
Ai Lin decided to test Feng Wu by asking her directly. “Feng Wu, did you get a side quest to help out in the library? Will you be rewarded with a treasure map?”
Her only reply was another series of blinks from Feng Wu. Feng Wu didn’t know how to reply because she didn’t understand the question.
Originally Ai Lin wanted to see if Feng Wu was another transmigrator or reincarnated person so she had specifically used the term “side quest.” If Feng Wu was a fellow transmigrator then she would likely react to the term, but if she wasn’t, if she was only a native person of the world, then she wouldn’t understand. Did I guess wrong? Maybe she’s not a transmigrator or reincarnated person.
“I don’t know what a “side quest” is. I only know that I can read books for free if I work here.” Feng Wu wondered if it was some kind of mythical beast.
“You can read books for free?” Ai Lin didn’t believe Feng Wu at all, sure that the other party had to be lying. She understood though. It would be foolish to share that kind of information with other people, certainly if she encountered a side quest she wouldn’t volunteer information either.
Feng Wu nodded her head again.
Ai Lin definitely did not believe Feng Wu, but what could she do? It would be awkward for her to ask again. The conversation died after that as each was immersed in their own work - Feng Wu cleaned up the books while Ai Lin busied herself reading.
Two hours pa.s.sed by like this. Eventually Ai Lin hit jackpot and found a promising clue. A travel note made mention of a cave near a mountain that had an unusual luminescent light. The author of the note suspected that there was some kind of treasure hidden inside. He was regretful he couldn’t find it himself.
This was it, exactly what she was looking for. Ai Lin hurriedly left after finding her clue.
Meanwhile Feng Wu continued to tidy up the library, helping the old man organize the books. Although the position didn’t offer a wage it did come with lodgings in the form of a small utility room to sleep in. After Feng Wu finished tidying up for the day she gathered some books and read by candlelight before finally turning in for the night. This process of cleaning by day and reading by night soon became her routine.
After several days of this the old man became curious. He had checked her out before giving her the job and had concluded she really wasn’t that strong looking, yet here she was day after day moving the books around. He knew how heavy some of the books were, yet she never complained or slowed down. What really shocked him was her reading speed. During his nighttime patrols he would see her sitting next to a candle going through the books, swapping one t.i.tle for another after only a few minutes. Because she flipped through them so fast, he thought she was just skimming through them and not really reading.
He decided to test her one sleepless night. He looked through the book she finished and asked her a question about it. The result was shocking. She not only answered the question correctly, she even gave him the page number the answer was on! This kind of formidable memory left the librarian speechless.