Chapter 19: The Glowing Book

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Glowing Book

Xi Yunxui sat at the large wooden table in the center of the library.

The damaged ancient book lay open before her.

She carefully examined the pages.

Some of the paper had been eaten away by insects, leaving irregular holes along the edges. The binding had also loosened, and several pages were beginning to separate from one another.

To someone unfamiliar with ancient books, it might have looked beyond repair.

But to Xi Yunxui, it was merely delicate work.

She gently brushed away the loose dust before examining the binding.

"Fortunately, the damage isn’t too serious."

Huo Jingchen stood several steps away.

He had originally intended to leave after showing her the book.

But for some reason, he hadn’t.

Instead, he was now standing before one of the shelves, casually looking through the old books.

Every now and then, he glanced toward Xi Yunxui.

She worked quietly.

Her movements were careful and precise.

She didn’t rush.

She first separated the damaged pages, then carefully aligned them before working on the weakened binding.

Huo Jingchen picked up another old book.

He flipped through a few pages.

The library was unusually quiet.

Only the faint sound of paper turning could be heard.

Xi Yunxui was completely absorbed in her work.

She had always liked repairing things.

In her previous life, she had often repaired clothing, household items, books and anything else her younger siblings managed to damage.

Compared to raising three troublesome siblings...

A damaged book was practically a vacation.

She carefully pressed one of the pages flat.

"Almost done."

Huo Jingchen looked over.

"You’re quite skilled."

Xi Yunxui smiled.

"I had a lot of practice."

He nodded and returned his attention to the shelf.

Neither of them noticed the faint change occurring beneath Xi Yunxui’s hands.

The ancient book suddenly trembled.

Very slightly.

Xi Yunxui frowned.

Did I move it?

She placed her hand on the table.

The trembling stopped.

She continued working.

Then—

A faint golden glow appeared between the pages.

Xi Yunxui froze.

Her hand stopped.

"...What?"

The light grew brighter.

Huo Jingchen immediately looked over.

"What happened?"

Xi Yunxui didn’t answer.

She stared at the book.

Golden light was slowly spreading across the pages.

Ancient characters that had previously been almost impossible to read began appearing on the paper.

One.

Then another.

Then dozens.

They weren’t ordinary words.

They resembled strange symbols, almost like ancient runes.

The characters began glowing brighter.

Huo Jingchen’s expression changed.

"Step back."

Xi Yunxui immediately stood.

"What is happening?"

"I don’t know."

The golden light suddenly intensified.

Whoosh!

Several glowing characters lifted from the pages.

They floated into the air.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

"It’s... flying?"

Huo Jingchen stared silently.

The characters circled above the book.

One after another, more symbols emerged.

They formed a strange pattern in the air, slowly rotating above the table.

The entire library began to tremble faintly.

Xi Yunxui instinctively took a step backward.

This is cultivation!

She didn’t know much about cultivation.

But even she knew that an ordinary book shouldn’t be doing this!

"Young Master!"

"Cover your eyes!"

The golden light suddenly exploded.

Xi Yunxui immediately raised both hands over her eyes.

Huo Jingchen did the same.

A dazzling brilliance filled the entire library.

For several seconds, neither of them could see anything.

The floating characters continued to move.

They slowly merged together.

The golden light became brighter and brighter.

Then—

Everything suddenly became quiet.

The trembling stopped.

The light gradually faded.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three.

Finally...

Nothing.

The library returned to normal.

Xi Yunxui cautiously lowered her hands.

"...Is it over?"

There was no response.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Huo Jingchen did the same.

Both of them stared at the table.

The ancient book was still there.

But...

Xi Yunxui’s mouth slowly fell open.

The damaged pages were gone.

The holes caused by insects had completely disappeared.

The broken binding was perfectly restored.

Even the yellowed pages had become clean and smooth.

The book looked as though it had just been created.

Huo Jingchen walked toward it.

He picked it up carefully.

He flipped through the pages.

Every single page was intact.

There wasn’t even a trace of the previous damage.

Xi Yunxui stared.

"..."

Huo Jingchen stared.

"..."

The two looked at each other.

Xi Yunxui slowly pointed at the book.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes."

"The characters flew."

"Yes."

"And the book repaired itself."

"Yes."

Xi Yunxui swallowed.

"Then..."

She hesitated.

"Was that normal?"

Huo Jingchen looked at her as though she had asked the strangest question imaginable.

"No."

Xi Yunxui nodded seriously.

"That’s good."

Huo Jingchen raised an eyebrow.

"Good?"

She smiled awkwardly.

"I was worried that perhaps I was the only one seeing it."

For the first time that evening, Huo Jingchen didn’t know how to respond.

His gaze returned to the completely restored ancient book.

Something had clearly happened.

Something neither of them could explain.

And neither of them noticed the faint golden symbol that remained hidden for just a moment on the book’s cover...

before quietly disappearing.

---

Far from the bustling city, hidden deep within the mountains, stood an ancient temple.

Once, it had probably been magnificent.

Now, however, time had taken its toll.

The wooden pillars were weathered, several roof tiles were missing, and vines had crawled up the walls. The courtyard was covered with fallen leaves, while the old stone steps had become uneven from years of neglect.

It looked almost abandoned.

Yet deep within the temple, the faint sound of chanting could still occasionally be heard.

Inside a small hall sat an elderly monk.

His robes were faded from years of wear, and his long gray beard reached his chest.

He sat cross-legged before a small wooden table.

On the table was a simple bowl of congee.

The old monk calmly ate his meal with a wooden spoon.

Slurp.

He slowly swallowed another mouthful.

Then—

Footsteps hurried toward the hall.

A young monk entered.

He was probably in his early twenties, dressed in simple brown robes.

His breathing was slightly hurried.

He looked around before quickly approaching the elderly monk.

"Master."

The elderly monk continued eating.

"What is it?"

The young disciple lowered his voice.

"Something has happened."

The elderly monk lifted another spoonful of congee.

"What happened?"

"The spiritual energy in the eastern region suddenly fluctuated."

The spoon stopped halfway to the monk’s mouth.

For several seconds, there was complete silence.

The young disciple swallowed.

"There was also a golden phenomenon."

The elderly monk slowly lowered the spoon.

"A golden phenomenon?"

"Yes, Master."

The disciple nodded.

"It appeared for only a short time, but the spiritual energy was unmistakable."

The elderly monk’s expression changed.

The wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen as his eyes slowly closed.

He remained silent.

The young disciple waited respectfully.

Then—

The elderly monk suddenly opened his eyes.

A strange brilliance flashed through them.

"The eastern region..."

He slowly stood.

His gaze seemed to penetrate through the walls of the dilapidated temple and toward the distant horizon.

"The golden phenomenon."

The young disciple nodded.

"Yes, Master."

The elderly monk’s hand tightened around his wooden spoon.

For decades, he had waited.

For decades, he had searched.

And now...

That familiar feeling had finally returned.

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"The phoenix has finally returned."

The young disciple’s eyes widened.

"Phoenix?"

The elderly monk didn’t answer.

He simply stared toward the distant horizon.

A faint smile appeared on his weathered face.

"It has been asleep for far too long."

He slowly turned.

"Prepare yourself."

The young disciple immediately became serious.

"Where are we going, Master?"

The elderly monk looked toward the eastern sky.

"To find the one who has awakened it."

Outside the temple, the wind suddenly swept through the courtyard.

The ancient bell hanging beneath the temple roof moved gently.

Dong...

The sound echoed through the mountains.

And far away, in a modern city completely unaware of what had just begun...

Xi Yunxui was still staring at a mysterious ancient book.