Those tentacles seemed alive.
Perhaps they had heard the faint slurping sound from somewhere unknown. The next second, they all shrank back into the Wooden Book, leaving Professor Yi—who was cautiously opening it while reciting a Secret Spell—with half an incantation stuck in his throat. He could not get it out for a long while.
He could only cast Black Cat a mildly resentful glance.
"—Rein in your aura a little. Don't scare them all back in," the professor sighed softly.
"—That has nothing to do with me!"
Black Cat was not in the right, but it was still loud and confident. Yet it readily took the advice, shuffling one step away from the professor. After pausing, it could not resist asking curiously, "How do you use this book?"
"It records the names of many Grand Wizards, even incarnations of Half-step Legendary beings. Based on a trace of the soul aura submitted by Beta Town, I'll search for similar auras within the book, recite their names, and see which one reacts."
Professor Yi explained patiently, then added, "...In my opinion, that Naughty Ghost was most likely someone important's leftover mess."
"Like those demons with powerful backers in Journey to the West?" Black Cat pondered.
Professor Yi raised his brows and nodded approvingly. "—A good comparison... Now that you mention it, they really are somewhat alike."
Even so...
Black Cat still felt that the Grand Diviner before it had not told the whole truth.
But that did not matter. As long as it stayed nearby, it would eventually learn how this ended.
So it quietly watched him begin reciting that buzzing, indistinct spell again. It watched the tentacle-like auras in the Wooden Book poke out one by one amid the chanting—like wild grass or bamboo shoots after rain, wriggling with vigorous