In which our favorite cannon fodders are back. Be prepared for lots of names. Names that sound a lot alike.
[Translator/Editor: otwentyfirst]
[Host: justreads.net]
[Oct. 9th, 3018]
Feng Wu read everything she could about swordsmanship and, even though she didn’t have innate magical talent, magic. Her interest was piqued after meeting Jier and witnessing how he was able to engulf his body in flames. Her interest only grew when saw how how Ai Lin used magic to heal her former teammates.
She wanted to find out what magic was and with so many books at her disposal, it was easy for her to do. She spent half a month entrenched in the library just reading books, not leaving for a single day. She was completely immersed in an ocean of books.
Her reading speed and comprehension was truly astounding. In addition to the old man the three proctors were also amazed and continual surprised by her ability.
“This child’s memory is truly terrifying! She is destined to do great things. It’s a shame she doesn’t any affinity for magic.” The female magician spoke aloud.
“Even if she has no innate magical talent, she is an extraordinary swordmaster. Don’t you think so James?”
The ever serious James glanced at his colleague but didn’t answer.
It had been half a month since the assessments started. In that time the mood of the students went up and down like a rollercoaster. The joy of finding a treasure lifted them high, but their mood quickly fell at the realization that the treasure they found was not one they had an affinity for. Ultimately they were right back where they started.
Those who were clever tried to trade their mismatched treasures with each other in the city. Those with no treasures to trade could only scowl in envy and hatred as the resolution to do better burned in their hearts.
It took Feng Wu half a month to finish organizing the library for the old man. Once she completed the work she couldn’t stay and read for free. After all her reading the conclusion she came to was that a treasure map... was basically a map, a map drawn as a reminder to show where a treasure was placed.
She also made another interesting discovery while reading. She found a map drawn on a sheet of old parchment wedged in one of the books. Anyone else who found such a thing would have kept it and used it to try to find the treasure. Feng Wu didn’t hide it in her storage bag, instead she brought it over to the librarian.
It took the old man some time to recall where he had seen the map before. “Oh! This is a map the Third Librarian found when he went out on one of his travels. He painstakingly studied the map and managed to find the location. But alas, in the end he couldn’t find the treasure. Several generations of librarians after that also tried to find the treasure but they also had no luck. In the end it was the consensus that the map was a prank and it was tossed in a corner somewhere. I’m surprised you found it.” He gave the map to Feng Wu since she seemed to be interested in it.
Feng Wu put the map in her storage bag after thanking him. Before leaving the library she asked the old man, “Can you tell me the place where the treasure in this map is?”
After getting her answer she thanked him again and bade him goodbye. Feng Wu left the library and walked around the city thinking about what to do next. Ultimately she decided to go to the mountain and the location the librarian said the treasure was supposed to be, but first she had to visit the meat bun seller.
Because of her fierce bulk buying power, Li gave her a free red bean bun.
“Mmm!” Feng Wu bit into one and found the flavor to be really sweet. She liked it quite a bit. “One hundred of these please!”
Li was so happy he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. When Feng Wu asked for directions to get to the mountain he gave it right away. “You can take a transport over for cheap, it’s only two silver coins.”
Feng Wu still had five coins left so the cost was no problem for her.
Because he was so fond of her, Li told Jie to take her to the transport station. This time the boy didn’t haggle, probably because he was properly straightened out by his father when he got home last time.
Jie easily led her to the station and after depositing her at the entrance waved goodbye. Feng Wu found a beast car heading to the mountains the librarian mentioned. She handed over two silver coins and boarded the carriage. As she did so a shrill scream burst out.
Feng Wu wasn’t the only passenger. Aside from her there were also several other people in the carriage, most notable were Ai Li[notes] from An Lou city, Alan Duo with her three cronies,[notes] and Alan Duo’s two admirers.[notes]
All seven people in the carriage had a large amount of animosity towards Feng Wu. At the scream, she glanced up. They were people she’d seen before… but who were they? She couldn’t remember. She could clearly feel their hostility though. Not being a talkative person she only said a short greeting before moving around and settling in a spot farthest from them. However it was a small carriage so she couldn’t get far.
“Ai Li, you know this girl too?” Alan Duo asked her cousin in surprise.
Although Ai Li’s father was a businessman, he still had a certain amount of prestige because of his position as president of Ai Ma, the biggest business association in the country.