Chapter 1337 - 1333: Money Makes the Mare Go
The news heard from the tavern made Xuan Chu’s heart relax slightly; at least, the history line had only deviated slightly and hadn’t completely changed.
At this rate, Yun Ran, although entangled in a consequential fate, still has a glimmer of hope.
Stepping out of the tavern, Xuan Chu decided to turn around and find a bookstore.
To fully understand the history line, reading books is also a shortcut.
Xuan Chu quickly found some history books about Moonlight City, though most were more of the informal history category.
Unlike the original Moonlight City, this new Moonlight City seemed unconcerned about outsiders knowing matters of the City Lord Mansion.
Upon finishing the first book, Xuan Chu couldn’t help but mutter, "The history line has indeed deviated. I distinctly remember that the first City Lord of the original Moonlight City emerged from the Divine Hall."
But this book records that the first City Lord of Moonlight City was surnamed Ma and was originally a coachman.
Perhaps due to the first City Lord’s not particularly high status, the overall tone of Moonlight City no longer stands aloof.
Consequently, the subsequent developments naturally experienced a vast difference.
Xuan Chu glanced at the street outside the window; today’s Moonlight City is much more prosperous than it used to be.
Such a place is considered a juicy prey in the eyes of any power.
But this new Moonlight City impressively remained stable throughout a thousand years of history without experiencing turmoil disrupting its legacy.
Even Moonlight City’s related history is continuous.
Moreover, during that time, the Divine Hall was in its peak period, the Xuan Sect was flourishing, and even many members of the Royal Family joined the Xuan Sect.
With so many clever people around, for Moonlight City to pass through smoothly, there must be an absolutely ruthless person like Zhen keeping the peace.
These facts suggest the coachman surnamed Ma was likely just a tool persona pushed to the frontline.
Almost instinctively, Xuan Chu could be certain that the true master of Moonlight City was definitely related to Yun Ran.
To find evidence for this suspicion, Xuan Chu started searching for books recording informal histories.
He simply didn’t believe that having altered the history line, Yun Ran would leave no trace whatsoever.
Xuan Chu nearly flipped through all the books in the shop related to Moonlight, or having the character Yun, or connected to Qingfeng Temple.
Still, he found no useful clues; the sky was about to turn dark.
The shopkeeper finally couldn’t bear it anymore.
Though there had been others who stayed to read for free, he had never seen someone like Xuan Chu.
Just flipping through and putting the book back, as if he knew there were gold leaves hidden in the books, searching deliberately.
Seeing that half the cabinet of books had been flipped through, yet Xuan Chu had no intention to buy even a bit.
"Dear customer, may I ask what book exactly you are looking for? Our shop can’t claim to have every book, but it is one of the most comprehensive in Moonlight City.
If you can’t find it here, you may have to go to the Book Collection Towers of the major families, not readily available on the market."
These words sounded like thoughtful advice for Xuan Chu not to waste time looking here.
In truth, it was a definite way to usher him out.
Upon hearing the bookstore owner’s words, Xuan Chu realized he had been so focused on clue-finding that he almost forgot he was in a bookstore.
At once, he took out a lustrous pearl and placed it on the bookshelf.
"My apologies to the owner, I meant to find an ancient book recording history from a millennium ago; I forgot the time. This pearl is for the fee of reading books."
Seeing the natural pearl from Xuan Chu, the shopkeeper’s eyes widened.
Never had he imagined someone would be willing to pay with such a quality pearl.
The shopkeeper’s attitude underwent a dramatic change: "Dear customer, please wait a moment. There are some ancient books in the backyard yet to be repaired. I’ll bring them to you to have a look."
Seeing Xuan Chu would give a pearl just by flipping through books, it surely would be more valuable once he found the desired ancient book?
Watching the shopkeeper happily heading towards the backyard, the saying about money making the world go round felt vividly embodied.
Xuan Chu looked down at his counterfeit space, barely over one cubic meter, filled with a large bag of pearls.
He couldn’t help but recall when Dragon Spirit gave Yun Ran and Ginsengfruit the highest quality pearls.
Then left these scraps of pearls to him, claiming they might come in handy someday.
Unexpectedly, they indeed came in handy.
As for the high-purity gold bars stored inside his space, which can’t be refined in the current era, he spared himself from further trouble.
After waiting for a good while, the sky darkened completely.
The shopkeeper finally emerged with a hint of excitement in his smile: "Dear customer, these are various ancient books collected by our ancestors. Please see if any fit your search."
Xuan Chu looked at the pile of books in the shopkeeper’s hands, emitting a faint moldy smell and dilapidated.
The kind that even the finest restoration experts couldn’t repair.
Probably had been deemed useless, the shopkeeper only couldn’t bear to discard them altogether, hence hid them in an inconspicuous place for self-consolation.
Xuan Chu couldn’t help but twitch his mouth; this shopkeeper was indeed a ’smart person’, daring to offer any junk for sale.
But in his quest to find clues, he wasn’t too picky.
"Alright, let me take a look. If I find what I need, I’ll certainly pay a good price for it."
The shopkeeper grinned ear to ear, as if the next second he could sell these tattered books for a high price.
As soon as Xuan Chu’s fingers touched the books, he could feel the paper was incredibly fragile, ready to fall apart at the slightest exertion.
He could only carefully spread them and search for traces.
Only one book left, and the shopkeeper’s expression had turned very strained from initial delight.
What the shopkeeper said earlier wasn’t entirely false, these ancient books were indeed the most comprehensive in all of Moonlight City.
Thinking that he might not earn this man’s money made the shopkeeper feel uneasy all over.
Then, Xuan Chu’s hand flipping the book paused, and his gaze shifted.
[Heavenly Book shatters, Divine Dragon dies, Moonlight appears]
These nine characters hit Xuan Chu like a huge stone, a total shock.
Wasn’t the purpose of their party’s appearance in this spatial rift world to accompany Yun Ran in finding the Heavenly Book?
But now, what does the shattering of the Heavenly Book mean? And the Divine Dragon, isn’t it likely referring to Dragon Spirit...