"So... so beautiful?"
When the other person turned her head, Ye Feng couldn't help but mutter.
Having explored and adventured extensively, Ye Feng had seen more than a few top beauties, yet the woman before him, clad in a sky-blue lace-trimmed long dress, still struck him with a sense of stunning grace.
The woman in the sky-blue dress wore a pink peach blossom in her dark, lustrous hair that cascaded down to her waist. She sat by the window, a worn book in her hands, exuding an elegant and serene aura.
"Hello... hello..."
As the woman in the sky-blue dress sized him up, Ye Feng greeted her.
"You... you broke through the rune formation at the stairwell to get up here?"
The woman in the sky-blue dress's voice held clear surprise and astonishment.
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded, feeling a mix of shock and wariness.
He couldn't accurately sense her strength level... which meant her power was likely beyond his own...
"It took quite some time... Uh... are you a student from Dawn Academy?"
After a pause, Ye Feng added.
"Quite some time?"
The woman's beautiful eyebrows curved slightly. She gazed at Ye Feng for a good while before slowly saying, "I'm not a student of Dawn Academy, I'm a teacher!"
"A teacher?"
Ye Feng was taken aback by this.
He had met many teachers from Dawn Academy before, and they were all quite elderly... yet this woman looked about his age...
"This is the ninth floor of the Dawn Academy library... She actually has such high clearance... A teacher, huh..."
Ye Feng frowned slightly and asked, "Since you're a teacher at Dawn Academy, may I ask you some questions?"
"Of course, go ahead!"
The woman in the sky-blue dress glanced towards the stairwell and nodded slightly.
"Oh, okay..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng immediately stepped forward and explained the difficulties he was encountering in his cultivation of arcane energy and arcane runes.
...
As evening approached,
"So that's how it is... You're truly amazing..."
After nearly a full day of discussion, Ye Feng was deeply impressed by the woman in the sky-blue dress.
She possessed profound insights into both arcane energy cultivation and arcane runes. Many of his confusions had been patiently and thoroughly addressed by her...
This was highly illuminating for Ye Feng, especially some of the cryptic passages in the "Seed of Fire Record"...
"By the way, do you know what kind of runes these are? They don't seem to be arcane runes!"
Saying this, Ye Feng manifested arcane energy in his hand and drew some of the mysterious runes recorded in the "Seed of Fire Record" that he couldn't understand in the air.
"This..."
This time, the woman in the sky-blue dress didn't answer immediately. She frowned, gazing at the mysterious runes Ye Feng had drawn in the air, and after a while, she spoke, "You don't know what these runes are... then how did you break through the rune formation on the stairwell between the eighth and ninth floors?"
"Uh... this... I just fiddled around randomly, and somehow managed to break it..."
Ye Feng scratched his head and chuckled dismissively.
"Then... do you know what these runes are?"
After a pause, Ye Feng spoke again, looking at the woman in the sky-blue dress with expectant eyes.
"Zzzt~ Big Brother..."
Before the woman in the sky-blue dress could answer, a voice crackled from the intercom on Ye Feng's shoulder, but he quickly muted it.
"Um... Teacher, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now~"
With that, Ye Feng turned and quickly walked towards the stairwell. The woman in the sky-blue dress made no move to stop him, only watching him with a gaze of confusion and curiosity.
"Xiao Xiao, what's wrong?"
Upon reaching the seventh floor and finding no one around, Ye Feng switched the intercom channel back and asked.
"Zzzt~"
"Big Brother, Jiang Shishan says he has urgent business with you! He's at Tingfang Garden right now!"
Accompanied by a burst of static, Xiao Xiao's crisp voice rang out.
"Okay~ I'm coming right over!"
...
"Old Senior, what are you looking for?"
As Ye Feng descended to the fifth floor, he saw the white-haired librarian frowning and searching for something. He casually asked.
"I'm looking for someone. A student went missing inexplicably after entering the library yesterday... We've searched for two days and a night, it's damned strange, no sign of the person, dead or alive..."
"Have you seen anyone? He was wearing a miner's uniform, very distinctive..."
The white-haired librarian continued searching without turning around, his tone revealing exhaustion and weariness.
"Oh, then you should try looking on the lower floors. Apart from me, no one wearing a miner's outfit is on the floors I've been to."
After speaking, Ye Feng's figure had already vanished at the stairwell.
"Is that so... Wait... Apart from you? And this voice..."
The white-haired librarian muttered to himself and then his expression changed drastically. He suddenly stood up and turned to look in the direction Ye Feng had gone, having recognized Ye Feng's voice.
"Young man, wait a moment..."
The white-haired librarian hurried down the stairs, but by the time he looked, Ye Feng was nowhere to be seen. Only the people he had called to help search on the fourth floor were present.
Meanwhile,
On the eighth floor of Dawn Academy,
"That person stayed here for a while... Strange, I didn't notice them when I passed through the eighth floor this morning..."
The woman in the sky-blue dress frowned slightly as she looked at the cola stains and bread crumbs left on the ground at Ye Feng's campsite.
...
Ye Feng's movements were swift. The sun had not yet completely set when he arrived at Tingfang Garden.
"Xiao Xiao, where's Shishan?"
Upon seeing Xiao Xiao, Ye Feng immediately inquired.
"Big Brother, Shishan went to order food, he'll be back soon!"
Xiao Xiao put down her paintbrush and turned to reply.
"Oh, okay~"
Ye Feng nodded and turned to enter the washroom.
He was accustomed to brushing his teeth and washing his face, and not having done so that morning felt rather off, so he began his routine.
A short while later, Jiang Shishan returned, carrying bags and packages. Following him was a middle-aged man wearing a chef's hat, holding a large ceramic box covered with a metal lid.
"Here, it's dinner time. Brother Guang's grilled fish! Very famous!"
As Jiang Shishan finished speaking, the middle-aged man in the chef's hat quickly stepped forward, placed the large ceramic box on the dining table, nodded respectfully to Jiang Shishan, and then departed.
At this moment, Jiang Shishan also placed the bags and packages on the dining table, which contained various stir-fried dishes and rice.
"Xiao Xiao, Qiao Ying, time to eat..."
Ye Feng, who had walked to the dining table, called out to the two women who were studying a rather messy drawing.
"Okay!~"
...
Soon, Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, Qiao Ying, and Jiang Shishan were enjoying fragrant spicy grilled fish, along with various side dishes, stews, and fruits.
...