On the street in the city, a figure wearing a gray robe and a gauze hat walked past Bai's Rice Shop. He glanced at the shop's sign but did not stop, continuing to a fork in the road where he paused, lowering his hat brim with both hands to adjust the eye covering.

Behind the gauze, his eyes flashed with a blood-red glow once again. He looked around, determined his direction, and the blood color vanished from his eyes as he turned the corner and left…

On the third floor of the Book Collection Pavilion, a beam of light fell upon Dong Liangyu's wrist, revealing the clear veins beneath his fair skin.

Shi Chun watched the money in their hand, his heart skipped a beat, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, startled, thinking he'd been recognized.

But upon reflection, it seemed unlikely. He should indeed have given them seven coins, surely he didn't miscount this small amount.

He slightly bowed his head, actually starting to visually count the stack of money in the other's palm.

Unbeknownst to him, Dong Liangyu was using the opportunity to carefully observe him at close range.

Eye expressions and subtle habitual small movements, including the shape of the earlobes, are details that may deceive a man but are hard to hide from a diligent woman, especially from one who keeps a mental note of you, remembering the exact positions of specks in your eyes.

In just one glance, Dong Liangyu didn't discern the mastery behind the disguise, yet easily recognized who he was.

Having counted the coins, Shi Chun couldn't resist scratching his chin. Indeed, it was six coins, one short. But he distinctly remembered giving seven, raising his suspicious gaze.

Facing Dong Liangyu's candid gaze, he immediately dismissed his doubts, for he was quite familiar with this family, particularly this woman's integrity. She absolutely wasn't the type to covet a small gain of a single coin. He could bet his head on it; if it weren't for differing paths, she would truly make an excellent wife.

He began to doubt himself, wondering if he'd truly made a mistake and miscounted when he handed over the coins.

Crucially, he couldn't verify his suspicion. He didn't even know how much loose change he had in total—it didn't matter since he was now quite wealthy and hadn't kept track of small amounts for a while.

Well then, if one coin is missing, let's make it up.

Without saying much, he pretended to reach into his sleeve, pulled out another coin, and gently placed it into the other's palm.

He thought that was finally settled, but the other continued to stare candidly at him, so he mumbled apologetically, nodding, "Sorry, I got it wrong, it wasn't intentional."

Dong Liangyu, however, kept staring as she spoke, "You should know that most people paying to read on the second floor do so to save a bit of money. In such situations, they at least mention that they remember paying enough."

Shi Chun paused and immediately sensed something was off, but he replied nonetheless, "Young lady's elegance is remarkable, and she's exceptional, clearly a noblewoman. Naturally, you wouldn't trouble me over a coin. Surely I miscounted. Besides, not everyone reading upstairs lacks a bit of money; some merely enjoy the peace and prefer not to be disturbed."

To prove his words, he reached into his sleeve and drew out a money bag, and upon opening it, a pile of Sandal Gold Flame Energy emerged.

Showing he was wealthy, and wouldn't fuss over a coin, he then put the purse away.

Dong Liangyu lowered her hand holding the money and said, "Ahem, my family was implicated and captured because of you; my father suffered torture, nearly losing his life. Who exactly are you?"

"…"

Shi Chun was stunned. With things spoken so plainly, there was no point in pretending to misunderstand.

In his silence, he quickly activated his right eye superpower to scan around. The third floor was empty, as was the floor above; though someone reading in a corner on the floor below was visible, indicating there really wasn't an ambush.

At this hour, the lack of visitors made sense.

He glanced at Dong Liangyu again, feeling exasperated. He couldn't fathom how she recognized him or the speed with which she did, beyond what he imagined.

The most crucial part was revealing his identity blatantly like this, weren't they afraid he'd kill to silence?

Clearly, he was mistaken. This family's beliefs also included following the law.

Moreover, this family was quite reasonable.

Alright then, let's be reasonable.

He finally sighed and reverted to his original voice, saying, "Did I implicate your family? I truly didn't know. I never intended for your family to suffer because of me. Leaving your home was to avoid implicating you. I didn't expect my departure wouldn't spare you from trouble. Second miss, please believe me, I've never intended any harm toward your family."

Indeed, he considered silencing her, thinking once she's dealt with, no one would know he came here.

But he hoped reason could prevail, given the library's frequent visitors, an empty upper floor would be easily noticed; a commotion would mean his trip here was in vain and would affect his ongoing investigation for Bai Qiru's whereabouts in the city.

Dong Liangyu said, "I believe you, that's why I didn't quietly report to the City Guard. I just want to know who you really are, which isn't too much to ask, right?"

Shi Chun responded, "Second miss, I mean no harm. Some things are better left unknown; the less you know, the safer you are."

Dong Liangyu retorted, "Nonsense! Ahem ahem…"

Shi Chun explained, "Knowing my identity—unless I silence you—others might assume they can leverage your family against me, truly bringing harm to your family."

Dong Liangyu fell silent for a long moment before asking, "Since you already left, why did you come back?"

Shi Chun replied, "Some habits are hard to change. I'm a person who loves reading; at heart, I'm just a scholar. If not, I wouldn't have ended up doing odd jobs at your library back then. I feel restless if I don't read for three days. The Chao Yue Hall's collection is so vast, encompassing everything, endless as the sea. I didn't get enough of it back then, couldn't resist coming back."

Under the light reflecting on the profile of Dong Liangyu, she pursed her lips with wandering gaze and asked again, "Is there no other reason?"

Shi Chun sighed, "Your family has neither money, power, nor influence. Besides reading in the Book Collection Pavilion, what else could I be doing? It's truly a scholar's interest alone."

He then tried adding, "Second miss, I'll quietly read here and leave quietly. Considering our past acquaintance, pretend you didn't recognize me, there'll be no issues, and no suspicion of any kind. Is that okay?"

If she doesn't oblige, he would truly have no choice but to resort to desperate measures.

Dong Liangyu opened her hand to count the money, like performing a magic trick, surprisingly finding eight coins, picking one out, and gently placing it on a nearby shelf, "It was I who miscounted."

Shi Chun didn't take advantage of the offer, turned and left directly.

He went straight downstairs, to his designated spot, sat down, and picked up a scroll to continue reading. Though appearing calm and peaceful, he occasionally coughed just the same.

However, Shi Chun still harbored suspicions, trusting Dong Liangyu's character while continuing to search for the desired book on the shelf, intermittently using his Right Eye Superpower to check if Dong Liangyu remained in place.

His actions and thoughts were extremely contradictory, leaving him rather exhausted. Recently, he had been using the Right Eye Superpower too frequently, severely depleting his energy, with no chance to replenish it.

In the downstairs hall, the Red-clothed Woman pretending to sleep, paused the tapping of her fingers on the ledger slightly. On the third-floor bookshelf, the book Shi Chun had looked through and put back stealthily slid out a bit.

Outside the bookstore, stood a figure in gray with a straw hat.

The gray-clothed man looked up at the sign and muttered, "Chao Yue Hall..."

He seemed somewhat surprised.

He raised his hand to remove the straw hat, revealing an ordinary sallow face, and walked into the bookstore filled with the fragrance of wine and the sound of disputes and discussions.

He took stock of the scene inside. As he walked past the counter, he noticed the Red-clothed Woman behind it half asleep, who pointed at a notice on the counter. He paused to read its content and roughly understood the circumstances of reading books here.

But he wasn't here to read; he was looking for someone. Yet, he hadn't seen the person himself. With many people in the hall, he didn't know which one was the target.

He dared not publicly open his Demon Eye to observe.

The critical problem was not knowing whether the person was in the crowd. If he was, even if exposed, he could grab him and swiftly leave without worry.

If he were to reveal himself first and create a commotion without finding the person, then he'd have to wager that Dazhi City did not house a master capable of opposing him.

Of course, the chance of encountering such a master was small, but if he could quietly capture the person, he could maximize the target's value.

At this moment, Dongliang Ying, seeing his evident unfamiliarity with the place, approached with a friendly reminder, "The books are on the second floor; you need to go up to get them."

The gray-clothed man nodded slightly in acknowledgment, going along with the suggestion, providing him a chance to slowly observe under the guise of searching.

Reaching the corner and avoiding others' eyes and ears, seeing no one on the stairs, his eyes once again transformed into a pair of blood pupils, ready to take advantage of the corner's cover to observe the people in the hall.

To his surprise, upon deploying the Demon Eye, he shockedly found the elusive clue right before him, not needing to peek towards the hall.

His blood-red eyes followed the clue upwards and discovered that the target had gone upstairs. He then leisurely proceeded upstairs.

Detecting someone not far from the stair entrance, he quickly suppressed his blood-red eyes and soon saw Dong Liangyu stationed there.

Seeing a visitor, the seated Dong Liangyu slightly nodded in acknowledgment.

The gray-clothed man also nodded, walking directly past Dong Liangyu toward the densely packed bookshelves. After sweeping his gaze and confirming no one was around, his blood-red eyes re-emerged, and he once again locked onto the target's clue, following it immediately.

A clatter was heard again as the sliding door opened, Dong Liangyu was momentarily stunned, turning his head to look, unexpectedly another stranger directly found the sliding hidden door.

The gray-clothed man was already on a relentless path upstairs, his footsteps landing without the slightest sound.

By coincidence, due to Dong Liangyu's earlier commotion, Shi Chun was intermittently using his Right Eye Superpower to check if Dong Liangyu was still present. Thus, despite the subtle footsteps, they couldn't escape his Right Eye's line of sight.

Initially, Shi Chun merely noticed another person had come up to the Book Collection Pavilion, taking it as another individual looking for a book, which was quite normal.

Certainly, distance played a role.

But as the distance grew closer, things changed. Up close, Shi Chun's Right Eye felt as if pierced, his eyelids twitching vigorously, his heartstrings tightening abruptly.

Unable to avoid instinctively becoming alert, he saw the visitor's Demon Essence within their body, which he was far too familiar with, unlikely to be mistaken.

Moreover, the visitor's Demon Essence was astoundingly rich, having never encountered a Demon Cultivator with such vigorous Demon Essence.

Demon Path visiting a bookstore?

It was entirely plausible. Who decreed that those on the Demon Path couldn't come to read?

But he quickly realized something was off. The other's behavior contained no intention of searching for books, instead gradually approaching him. More worrisome, having heightened his senses, he couldn't discern the slightest footstep from the other.

This wasn't the typical reaction of someone reading.

A strong sense of crisis swiftly made his heart pound like a drum.

Couldn't help but feel nervous, knowing he might be facing an unprecedented master on the Demon Path.

He dared not put down the book in his hand, fearing to make even the slightest noise, beginning to move stealthily himself.

It's not just masters who can tread soundlessly; his pair of Cloud Stepping Boots wasn't ornamental, practically allowing him to walk without touching the ground.

Like a thief, crouched, using his familiarity with the Book Collection Pavilion, quietly moving, slipping, and weaving around the bookshelves unnoticed.

Not daring to breathe deeply.

Fortunately, the other had not cast any spells to probe, which was curious to him. If magic could be used to find someone, why use the cumbersome method?

Behind the counter, the Red-clothed Woman, pretending to sleep, slowly paused her finger tapping on the ledger, her drooping eyelids showing glimpses of brilliance seeping through.

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