The Curator's Warning

"The curator would like to see you."

The librarian's voice was stiff, his face expressionless. Shen Moxin had just returned the last manuscript to its place, and she paused at his words.

She nodded without asking any questions.

The corridor was long and dim. Her footsteps echoed dully through the empty space. Shen Moxin held her leather notebook against her chest, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of its cover.

Her heart was beating a little fast.

It wasn't fear. It was that familiar, stifling sensation of an invisible rope tightening around her.

The wooden door was heavy and dark brown. She raised her hand and knocked three times.

"Come in."

She pushed the door open and entered. The room was spacious, but packed full. Bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, and papers and ancient books lay in little mountains on a broad wooden desk. The air smelled of old paper, ink, and aged medicinal herbs.

Ning Zhishou sat behind the desk.

He was looking down at a manuscript, thick crystal glasses perched on his nose. Hearing her enter, he didn't look up immediately. His bony fingers pushed his glasses up, and he read a few more lines before leisurely turning his gaze toward her.

"Teaching assistant Shen," he said evenly. "Sit."

Shen Moxin sat down on the hardwood chair, her back straight. She set the notebook on her lap and rested her hands over it, one atop the other.

Ning Zhishou took off his glasses and wiped them with his cuff, his movements unhurried. Only after putting them back on did he raise his eyes and study her for a few seconds. His gaze was like someone inspecting an object for flaws.

"This afternoon," he began slowly, enunciating every word, "you spent nearly an hour in the library's inner section."

"Yes." Shen Moxin's voice was steady. "I was consulting old manuscripts on abnormal fluctuations in low-level Soul Power to prepare lessons for next month."

"Preparing lessons." Ning Zhishou repeated the words, the corners of his mouth turning down. "A perfectly legitimate reason. However..."

He paused and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.

"I've heard some things that don't quite accord with the rules." His gaze sharpened. "Someone said you brought a boy into the inner section who was neither a student of this academy nor even a formally recognized Soul Master. You also allowed him to look through research materials. Is that true?"

Here it comes.

Shen Moxin drew a breath. "It is. But there were reasons for it. The boy showed an extraordinary interest in and basic understanding of Soul Power theory. The supplementary clause to article seven of the Academy Library Management Regulations explicitly states that teaching assistants and staff above that rank may, at their discretion, recommend temporary visitors for consultation purposes when teaching or research requires it, provided each visit lasts no more than half an hour. I did not exceed the time limit."

She spoke at an unhurried pace, laying everything out clearly.

Ning Zhishou's face remained expressionless as he listened. He leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers over his abdomen.

"The regulations. You're very familiar with them," he said slowly. "Then you should know even better that 'recommend at their discretion' refers to visitors with some academic background, or those formally vouched for by a faculty member. Not..." He paused. "A country child of unknown origins, dressed in shabby clothes, who can't even prove he's a Soul Master."

Shen Moxin's fingers tightened. "Curator, a person's background and clothing shouldn't be the standard for judging whether they have the right to seek knowledge."

"Rules are rules." Ning Zhishou's voice grew abruptly heavier, carrying an unquestionable authority. "The Nuoding Academy library is not a charity hall. Many of the books in this collection are the only copies in existence, the fruits of generations of researchers' painstaking work. If they were damaged, who would take responsibility? You?"

He stared at Shen Moxin, his eyes bulging slightly behind his lenses.

"Besides," he continued, his tone softening, though it sounded even more pointed, "teaching assistant Shen, you should know the position you're in. That 'basic Soul Power perception enhancement course' you proposed has caused considerable controversy at the academy. Quite a few people say it's too theoretical, strays from practical combat, and undermines the foundations of traditional teaching. The annual evaluation for your teaching assistant position begins next month."

Shen Moxin's face went slightly pale.

Of course she knew. She had poured two years of effort into that course proposal, only for it to be criticized as utterly worthless at the teaching seminar and shelved outright. Being sent to manage the old records section was itself a sign that she was being pushed to the margins.

Ning Zhishou watched the change in her expression and seemed quite satisfied.

"At a critical moment like this," he continued, his voice returning to its even tone, "you should be all the more careful in what you say and do, and follow every one of the academy's rules and regulations. Rather than... challenging established rules for the sake of some inexplicable child and giving people the impression that you 'disregard rules' and 'trust others too easily.' That will affect the evaluation committee's judgment of you."

The room fell quiet. Only the faint shouts of students training on the distant field drifted in through the window.

Shen Moxin felt a surge of icy anger rise from the bottom of her heart, but it was soon suppressed by an even deeper sense of powerlessness. She wanted to say that the boy was different, that behind the error in the model he had pointed out so casually lay a revolutionary insight...

But she said nothing.

She knew Ning Zhishou too well. In his eyes, "insight" that hadn't been certified by an authority was no different from idle fantasy.

"Curator," she finally said, her voice a little hoarse, "I understand. I didn't give it enough thought this time. I'll be more careful in the future."

Ning Zhishou nodded, an almost kindly expression appearing on his face, though his eyes remained cold. "Good. You're still young. It's good to have drive, but you need to put it to the right use. Spend more of your time organizing the collection and familiarizing yourself with the classics. That's the proper path. As for that child..."

He waved a hand.

"Someone has already gone to ask him to leave. Don't let anything like this happen again."

When Lu Yuan emerged from the library's side door, the afternoon sun was somewhat glaring. He narrowed his eyes and stood in the shade beneath the eaves.

The crumpled sheet of rough paper inside his clothes pressed against his chest.

He headed back the way he had come. The two-variable model was still turning over in his mind.

As he crossed the small square in front of the academy, he noticed two young men in academy uniforms standing near the steps of the library's main entrance. Their cuffs bore duty insignia, and their eyes swept over the people coming and going. One of them glanced in his direction.

Lu Yuan kept walking. He lowered his head, quickened his pace, and turned onto a nearby path leading toward the outer edge of the academy.

The path was quiet, with tall trees on either side. The small hope he had been clinging to slowly sank.

Trouble really has come.

At the end of the path, the academy's outer fence lay just ahead. He was looking for a way out when hurried footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

"Wait!"

It was Shen Moxin's voice.

Lu Yuan stopped and turned around. Shen Moxin strode out of the shade of the trees, her breathing a little hurried and a fine sheen of sweat at her temples. She had evidently jogged all the way after him, and the hem of her plain green robe was dusted with dirt.

She looked around and, after making sure no one was nearby, hurried over to Lu Yuan.

Her eyes were slightly red behind her lenses, but her gaze was bright, dazzlingly so.

"You..." She caught her breath and spoke quickly. "You need to leave the academy grounds at once. From now on... don't come back to the library for the time being."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

Shen Moxin shook her head without responding to that. She pressed her lips together, seeming to reach a decision. Then she quickly pulled a small cloth bundle from inside her robes and drew out a neatly cut slip of paper. She hastily wrote a few lines on it with a charcoal pencil and pushed it into Lu Yuan's hand along with the bundle.

Her movements were swift, carrying a sense of resolve.

"This address is in the old quarter in the west of the city. It's not easy to find, but you should be able to find me there tomorrow afternoon, around one to three." She spoke extremely quickly, her voice very low. "The bundle contains a few notes I copied out by hand about basic Soul Power models and the energy structure of Martial Souls, and... a map. There are some things that aren't in the library. Perhaps... they'll be useful to you."

She looked at Lu Yuan, her gaze complicated. There was guilt and worry in it, but more than anything, there was a resolve like that of someone who had burned their boats.

"This is all I can do," she said. "You'll have to walk the rest of the road yourself."

With that, she gave him a long look, then turned and left without waiting for a reply. Her green-robed figure soon vanished around a bend in the tree-lined path.

Lu Yuan stood where he was, holding the cloth bundle and the slip of paper, both still warm from her touch.

He unfolded the slip. The writing on it was neat and clear, giving a specific street name and house number. On the back was another line in small characters, the ink still fresh: "Do not linger near the academy. Be careful."

He put the slip away and squeezed the small cloth bundle. It wasn't thick, but he could feel the texture of the paper inside.

He looked up. Through gaps in the branches and leaves, he could see the library's towering dome, reflecting a cold, indifferent sheen in the sunlight.

Rules were walls.

But there were always people unwilling to do nothing but stand outside them.

He tightened his grip on the bundle, turned, and walked beyond the academy fence toward the wider, noisier old city. His steps were steady, quicker than they had been on his way in.