第19章 阿哈的读者

Ning Rongrong came to Heaven Dou City this time on a fit of temper.

Her father asked her to go to the academy to study, but what could the academy possibly have to teach her?

She did not talk back out loud, but a hundred times she was unwilling inside.

She was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. From birth, people paved the way for her, and even two Titled Douluo were willing to crouch down and tie her cloak. She did not need anyone else to teach her.

So she ran to Heaven Dou City.

She had been to Heaven Dou City many times. Every time she came, someone arranged everything properly.

This time there was no one. She only brought Xiaomei, took an inconspicuous gray-canopied carriage, entered the city, found the most expensive inn, and asked for the best room.

"Miss, when are we going to the academy?" Xiaomei asked.

"What's the rush?"

Ning Rongrong pushed open the window. The wind of Heaven Dou City rushed in, carrying sweet fragrance and the scent of powder and rouge. "I want to look around first."

Main streets, tall pavilions, jewelry shops, powder shops—she bought a bunch of things she couldn't use and even tipped a few flower sellers.

She was generous with her money, and those peddlers all swarmed around her, calling out "Miss" with every breath, sweeter than honey.

Ning Rongrong enjoyed it very much.

Yet she soon discovered that Heaven Dou City had been a bit unusual lately.

No matter where she went, people were whispering about a book.

That book had no name, or rather, when the name was spoken, it always sounded as if someone were laughing.

"Written by Aha."

"Really? Those two?"

"Shh—don't say it in the street. But it really is written so... like that..."

Even the storytelling scholars in the teahouses began to strike the gavel with, To know what happens next, please see the next chapter.

The people in the hall listened and laughed at the same time, laughing both cryptically and audaciously.

Ning Rongrong had a bit of interest stirred up in her.

How was it that everyone in this whole city seemed as if they were bewitched?

"Go buy me a copy." She stood by the railing on the third floor of a restaurant and said to Xiaomei.

Xiaomei went for half a day and came back saying, "Miss, it can't be bought. Only in the southern district, and those shops all say they're out."

Ning Rongrong frowned.

Yet the harder it was to buy, the more she wanted to see it.

Just what kind of thing could make so many people in Heaven Dou City pass it around?

"Prepare the carriage." She turned and went downstairs.

Xiaomei chased after her. "Miss, that kind of place in the southern district..."

Ning Rongrong did not even look back. I refuse to believe a book can grow legs.

The southern district was indeed different from the main street. The roads were narrower, the people more mixed, and the air was blended with the smells of vegetable leaves, fishy odors, and cheap powder and rouge.

The carriage could not enter and had to stop at the alley entrance. Ning Rongrong lifted her skirt, walking past several puddles of dirty water.

She walked very slowly, every step showing disgust that this patch of ground was dirtying her shoes.

Yet she ultimately went into that old bookstore anyway.

As soon as the bookstore owner heard "Aha," he immediately straightened up, his eyes going from half-blind to completely bright.

He groped out a stack of paper from the very bottom of the counter, wrapped it in gray cloth, and pushed it forward. "The last copy. If Miss had come even half a day later, you'd have to wait until tomorrow."

Ning Rongrong lifted her chin. "How much?"

"Two copper soul coins," the owner said.

"Just for this wretched paper?" She frowned.

"Miss shouldn't look at the paper as wretched."

The owner lowered his voice. "This book, if you burned it right now, people would still scramble to catch the ashes."

Ning Rongrong snorted, but still let Xiaomei pay the money.

Back in the carriage, she opened the gray cloth. The paper was very old, the characters very small.

The first line was written:

In the Douluo Calendar, a certain year, the two mountains shared a boat and set sail out to sea.

She leaned against the soft cushions, reading very slowly. Outside the carriage were the rising lights, illuminating the paper pages alternately bright and dim. The further she read, the more her expression began to grow excited.

Tian Yue retreated first; it wasn't that he couldn't compete, but that he mustn't. When he left, it rained for three days over Sea God Island.

She flipped back and forth to read it twice, but in the end there remained only one sentence:

To know what happens next, please see the next chapter.

Ning Rongrong gripped that page of paper, her fingertips pressing heavily on the words next chapter.

"Is that the end?"

She said angrily, "Not even writing an ending, what kind of book is this!"

Xiaomei reminded her softly from the side, "Miss, keep your voice down, people outside can hear."

"Let them hear if they hear."

Ning Rongrong folded the paper up. "I bought it with my money, can't I even talk about it?"

"Find a restaurant, I'm hungry."

Xiaomei immediately agreed. "Shall we go to Duiyue Restaurant? It's right on that street ahead, Miss always used to go there."

"No."

Ning Rongrong said, "Too much trouble, just find any place."

Although she said that, when the carriage stopped in front of a restaurant named "Listening Wind Pavilion," Xiaomei still let out a breath of relief.

Although this place was not as grand as Duiyue Restaurant, it was still along the main street of Heaven Dou City. The storefront was clean, and most of those going in and out were respectable people.

Ning Rongrong got out of the carriage and looked up at the signboard.

The three-story building had lights shining on every floor, and silhouettes flickered by the windows.

She walked straight inside.

The hall was indeed lively. When the waiter saw her enter, he was startled at first, then put on a smile and trotted up to greet her. "How many guests, miss? Please go upstairs, there's still a table by the window."

Ning Rongrong uttered an "en" and was just about to go upstairs when a manager-like person at the stairhead hurried down and spoke a few words in a low voice to the waiter.

The waiter's expression changed slightly. He turned to look at Ning Rongrong, and his smile became somewhat bitter. "Miss, I am truly sorry, upstairs was just booked by a distinguished guest. Right now, there are no empty tables downstairs either..."

Ning Rongrong's footsteps paused.

"No empty tables?" she repeated, sweeping her gaze across the hall.

Sure enough, the dozen or so tables downstairs were completely full.

Right at that moment, she caught sight of a youth.

He was sitting alone by a square table in the corner, with a bowl of noodles and a dish of peanuts set before him.

Ning Rongrong hesitated for a moment, but still walked over.

"Hey."

She stood in front of the table, her chin slightly raised. "There are no seats left. I'll sit here, all right?"

Luo Yan raised his head, not expecting anyone to come over, and even less expecting it to be her.

After being stunned for a split second, he nodded gently. "Please."

Ning Rongrong pulled out a chair and sat down. Xiaomei hurriedly stepped forward to wipe the tabletop in front of Ning Rongrong once more with a handkerchief, then softly called the waiter to order dishes.

Ning Rongrong no longer looked at the person opposite her. She took out those few pages of paper again.

The paper had already been folded somewhat wrinkled by her, yet she couldn't bear to throw it away. She had read this book once, and her heart felt as if it were hooked by something, always wanting to flip through it again.

She unfolded the first page, and by the light of the restaurant, began to read again.

Just as she read that line—Tian Yue retreated first; it wasn't that he couldn't compete, but that he mustn't—the gray-robed youth opposite her suddenly began to cough.

Luo Yan was drinking soup, and a mouthful of soup went down unswallowed, as if he had been choked. He coughed several times before barely managing to put down his bowl.

Ning Rongrong raised her eyes and frowned. "What are you doing?"

Luo Yan covered his mouth and coughed twice more before taking a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth. He looked up at her, his gaze somewhat complicated. "You just read this out in the open like this?"

"What, I can't read it?"

Ning Rongrong flicked the paper up. "My own things, and I still have to hide to read them?"

Luo Yan looked at those few pages of paper in her hand, his gaze sweeping over the lines above. "This book... a lot of people have been reading it lately, but there aren't many like you who sit in a restaurant and use it as a lamp."

"They don't dare, that's their business."

Ning Rongrong slapped the paper onto the table, righteous and confident. "I bought it with two copper soul coins, I'm happy to."

Luo Yan hesitated and did not immediately reply. Instead, he pushed the soup bowl to the side, leaned back, and let his gaze linger on Ning Rongrong's face for a fraction of a second before shifting it away.

"How are these pages written?" he asked, his tone like casual chatting.

"Not bad." Ning Rongrong didn't even think. "The writing style and all that are quite all right."

"Mm," Luo Yan nodded. "And what else?"

"And what?"

Ning Rongrong glanced at him. "You really want to chat about this wretched book?"

"Not really."

Luo Yan smiled. "It's just that I heard people say this thing isn't easy to buy right now, and seeing that Miss has a copy in her hand, you should have some connections."

Ning Rongrong gave a light snort. "What connections could I have, it was just the last copy I snatched from the old bookstore in the southern district."

"The old bookstore in the southern district."

Luo Yan repeated it. "That owner should only have those few pages."

Ning Rongrong's hand paused. "What do you mean?"

Luo Yan raised his eyes to look at her, lowering his voice. "This book—what's being passed around outside is only the shallowest fold. There's more behind it, only no one has it, and no one dares to sell it. It's written with things even less passable."

Ning Rongrong's heart skipped a beat; she could least endure people who spoke halfway and hid the rest.

Yet she was also truly and uncomfortably hooked, like a dish already delivered to her mouth, only to have someone take it away.

"You mean?" She lowered her voice, leaning in slightly.

Luo Yan did not answer immediately.

He first glanced to the left and right, then lowered his voice even further. "Does Miss know where the things passed around outside come from?"

"Didn't Aha write them?" Ning Rongrong raised her eyebrows.

"Aha wrote them, that's right."

Luo Yan said, "But only the first fold was thrown out. The rest is simply not in the bookstore, nor in the hands of those storytelling scholars. Some people happen to get hold of it, but they don't dare make a peep."

Ning Rongrong glanced at him. "Then how do you know it so clearly?"

"Me?"

Luo Yan smiled, his smile holding a bit of helplessness. "I also heard it from someone else. That person owed me money and couldn't pay it back, so they shoved an oil-paper package into my hand, saying it could settle the debt. When I looked, I realized it was the full text of this book."

As he spoke, his finger tapped lightly on the edge of the table, as if mentioning an extremely scalding matter. "I originally wanted to hand it over to people outside, but I heard recently that even people from Spirit Hall and Clear Sky School have begun secret investigations. Would I dare sell this?"

Ning Rongrong frowned, but inside she felt an even greater itch. "You mean that full text is in your own hands right now?"

"Not here."

Luo Yan shook his head. "I've hidden it elsewhere. Who would dare carry such a life-threatening thing around on them?"

"Name your price," she suddenly said.

Luo Yan was startled, pondering for two breaths. "Miss, do you really want it?"

"Otherwise?"

"Five hundred gold soul coins."

"How much? You're selling a book to me for five hundred gold soul coins?" Ning Rongrong almost slapped her teacup onto the table. It wasn't that she couldn't afford to pay.

Yet this person clearly had a timid appearance just a moment ago, and now that he was naming a price, he was opening his mouth like a lion.

Luo Yan was unhurried, leaning forward. "Miss, don't be in such a rush to find it expensive. Just the cover of this book alone is worth this amount."

Ning Rongrong let out a "ha." "A few wretched sheets of paper, a wretched cover, and you tell me it's worth five hundred gold soul coins? Do you take me for someone who just came to Heaven Dou City today?"

"To tell the truth, just your attire and your behavior and actions don't look like an ordinary family. Naturally I wouldn't dare quote a random price. If Miss doesn't believe me, leave an address, and I'll visit tonight so you can see for yourself. It's just..."

Ning Rongrong was puzzled. "What?"

"Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?"

Ning Rongrong sneered. "My name is Ning Rongrong."

The expression on Luo Yan's face paused, and he looked at her carefully once more. "No wonder you're so graceful and poised; so you're the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

Ning Rongrong only felt her earlobes grow hot, and she coughed lightly. "Come to the Seven Treasure Hotel to find me tonight."

"Good."