The three of them entered the campus and headed straight for the library.
It was a little after 4 PM, and the sun was shining brightly, but the vast library had only a few students scattered about, just as deserted as ever.
The library staff also recognized Bai Lixin, so they let them in without any hindrance.
Xia Chi sighed, “Brother, is X University your home? It’s like you have a free pass.”
Bai Lixin replied, “At least I’ve brushed up on my presence, I didn’t come for nothing.”
Twin Ponytails walked straight to the “Wall of Fame” and stared at it for a while. Then she said, “University libraries usually have a history of the university and biographies of notable figures. Maybe we can find some clues there. Shall we split up?”
Bai Lixin contemplated for two seconds and agreed, “Alright, we’ll go with your plan.”
The library was quite large, and they took advantage of the still-sunny weather to divide and conquer.
As Twin Ponytails and Xia Chi walked away, Bai Lixin turned and approached the library staff.
He wanted to find the old man who had warned them that night from outside the window.
It’s true that a university would have a history of its development and biographies of notable people, but as the producer, the contents inside would undoubtedly be full of positives. Hidden secrets often appeared most frequently in oral histories or unofficial records.
Moreover, an old man who frequently wandered around the library at his age should be relatively easy to find.
Sure enough, when Bai Lixin inquired with the library staff, they immediately knew who he was talking about.
“Oh, I know. You’re talking about Old Lin, right? He used to be a professor at our school, retired and became a librarian. Later, for some reason, he became a bit crazy and often said irrelevant things. He’s quite pitiful. He lost his wife early in life, and his daughter in his later years, so a gray-haired person sent off a black-haired person.”
“If you want to find him, you should try your luck in the grove. He should be wandering around the willow grove at this time.”
Bai Lixin asked, “What happened in his later years that led to losing his daughter?”
The library staff replied, “I also heard it from others. He had a daughter, but unfortunately, she didn’t inherit her father’s intelligence, and her academic performance was always poor. She struggled in university, with less than ideal grades. To ensure her daughter’s success, he pushed her to retake the university entrance exam for three or four years, participating in multiple college entrance exams.”
“As a result, not only did his daughter fail to get into a prestigious university, but her grades also worsened.”
“After the last college entrance exam, his daughter ran away from home. Occasionally, she would send some things to Old Lin, but then she gradually disappeared. Old Lin probably experienced some shock during this time. He became quite eccentric, saying things like ‘she’s not my daughter’ and such. It was about fifteen years ago when Old Lin received his daughter’s belongings and realized that his daughter had passed away. Strangely, he laughed even though his daughter had died, saying ‘it’s good, she’s finally dead.’ Ah, it’s really sad.”
Bai Lixin asked, “Do you know his daughter’s name?”
The library staff replied, “Oh, I don’t know about that. But Old Lin often muttered a name, something like ‘Pan’er.’ I guess his daughter might have been named that.”
With that information, Bai Lixin said, “Thank you very much.”
After bidding farewell to the library staff, Bai Lixin left the library and entered the lush willow grove.
The willow trees here had dense branches and towering trunks, creating a canopy that blocked out the sky.
After walking a distance, Bai Lixin turned and took a look at the library. The more he looked, the more the library seemed like a giant coffin.
The willow grove was quite large, and it took Bai Lixin twenty minutes to finally find the old man by the riverside.
The old man was sitting on a bench, quietly gazing at the slowly flowing river, his expression numb. It was unclear whether he was daydreaming or pondering something.
It wasn’t until Bai Lixin sat down next to him that the old man stiffly turned his neck to glance at him. Then he turned his head back to look at the river.
Bai Lixin said, “Mr. Lin, we met a few days ago. Do you remember me?”
However, the old man seemed as if he hadn’t heard Bai Lixin’s words. He continued to gaze blankly at the river. If it weren’t for his occasional blinking, people would almost think he was a statue sitting on the bench.
Seeing that the old man didn’t respond, Bai Lixin hesitated for a moment and then raised his voice, asking, “Do you know the name ‘Miao Pan’er’?”
The old man, who had been staring at the water’s surface, suddenly moved. He turned his head, and his cloudy eyes locked onto Bai Lixin’s. After a few seconds of silence, Bai Lixin heard the old man’s hoarse voice, “I remember you. You’re the one who entered the library that night.”
“Hehehe, you’ve encountered trouble, haven’t you? I knew it, anyone involved with this library has a bad ending.”
“They deserve it, all of them. We all deserve it.”
The old man’s words were incoherent, and his cloudy eyes had pupils that dilated and contracted irregularly. “I warned you all a long time ago, but you didn’t listen.”
“Why didn’t you listen!” His gaze suddenly became fierce. “I did it all for your own good. Why didn’t you listen to me? How could a father harm his own child? Pan’er, why didn’t you listen to me?”
Bai Lixin asked, “Is Miao Pan’er your daughter?”
“She’s not, that woman isn’t.” The old man’s expression suddenly turned manic. “She’s a demon, a heartless demon who devours people. That thing is not my daughter. She crawled out from the depths of the earth, from beneath the library. She deceived my daughter, took over her body. She killed my daughter. She’s my enemy, not my daughter! She deserves to die, deserves to die.”
The three of them entered the campus and headed straight for the library.
It was a little after 4 PM, and the sun was shining brightly, but the vast library had only a few students scattered about, just as deserted as ever.
The library staff also recognized Bai Lixin, so they let them in without any hindrance.
Xia Chi sighed, “Brother, is X University your home? It’s like you have a free pass.”
Bai Lixin replied, “At least I’ve brushed up on my presence, I didn’t come for nothing.”
Twin Ponytails walked straight to the “Wall of Fame” and stared at it for a while. Then she said, “University libraries usually have a history of the university and biographies of notable figures. Maybe we can find some clues there. Shall we split up?”
Bai Lixin contemplated for two seconds and agreed, “Alright, we’ll go with your plan.”
The library was quite large, and they took advantage of the still-sunny weather to divide and conquer.
As Twin Ponytails and Xia Chi walked away, Bai Lixin turned and approached the library staff.
He wanted to find the old man who had warned them that night from outside the window.
It’s true that a university would have a history of its development and biographies of notable people, but as the producer, the contents inside would undoubtedly be full of positives. Hidden secrets often appeared most frequently in oral histories or unofficial records.
Moreover, an old man who frequently wandered around the library at his age should be relatively easy to find.
Sure enough, when Bai Lixin inquired with the library staff, they immediately knew who he was talking about.
“Oh, I know. You’re talking about Old Lin, right? He used to be a professor at our school, retired and became a librarian. Later, for some reason, he became a bit crazy and often said irrelevant things. He’s quite pitiful. He lost his wife early in life, and his daughter in his later years, so a gray-haired person sent off a black-haired person.”
“If you want to find him, you should try your luck in the grove. He should be wandering around the willow grove at this time.”
Bai Lixin asked, “What happened in his later years that led to losing his daughter?”
The library staff replied, “I also heard it from others. He had a daughter, but unfortunately, she didn’t inherit her father’s intelligence, and her academic performance was always poor. She struggled in university, with less than ideal grades. To ensure her daughter’s success, he pushed her to retake the university entrance exam for three or four years, participating in multiple college entrance exams.”
“As a result, not only did his daughter fail to get into a prestigious university, but her grades also worsened.”
“After the last college entrance exam, his daughter ran away from home. Occasionally, she would send some things to Old Lin, but then she gradually disappeared. Old Lin probably experienced some shock during this time. He became quite eccentric, saying things like ‘she’s not my daughter’ and such. It was about fifteen years ago when Old Lin received his daughter’s belongings and realized that his daughter had passed away. Strangely, he laughed even though his daughter had died, saying ‘it’s good, she’s finally dead.’ Ah, it’s really sad.”
Bai Lixin asked, “Do you know his daughter’s name?”
The library staff replied, “Oh, I don’t know about that. But Old Lin often muttered a name, something like ‘Pan’er.’ I guess his daughter might have been named that.”
With that information, Bai Lixin said, “Thank you very much.”
After bidding farewell to the library staff, Bai Lixin left the library and entered the lush willow grove.
The willow trees here had dense branches and towering trunks, creating a canopy that blocked out the sky.
After walking a distance, Bai Lixin turned and took a look at the library. The more he looked, the more the library seemed like a giant coffin.
The willow grove was quite large, and it took Bai Lixin twenty minutes to finally find the old man by the riverside.
The old man was sitting on a bench, quietly gazing at the slowly flowing river, his expression numb. It was unclear whether he was daydreaming or pondering something.
It wasn’t until Bai Lixin sat down next to him that the old man stiffly turned his neck to glance at him. Then he turned his head back to look at the river.
Bai Lixin said, “Mr. Lin, we met a few days ago. Do you remember me?”
However, the old man seemed as if he hadn’t heard Bai Lixin’s words. He continued to gaze blankly at the river. If it weren’t for his occasional blinking, people would almost think he was a statue sitting on the bench.
Seeing that the old man didn’t respond, Bai Lixin hesitated for a moment and then raised his voice, asking, “Do you know the name ‘Miao Pan’er’?”
The old man, who had been staring at the water’s surface, suddenly moved. He turned his head, and his cloudy eyes locked onto Bai Lixin’s. After a few seconds of silence, Bai Lixin heard the old man’s hoarse voice, “I remember you. You’re the one who entered the library that night.”
“Hehehe, you’ve encountered trouble, haven’t you? I knew it, anyone involved with this library has a bad ending.”
“They deserve it, all of them. We all deserve it.”
The old man’s words were incoherent, and his cloudy eyes had pupils that dilated and contracted irregularly. “I warned you all a long time ago, but you didn’t listen.”
“Why didn’t you listen!” His gaze suddenly became fierce. “I did it all for your own good. Why didn’t you listen to me? How could a father harm his own child? Pan’er, why didn’t you listen to me?”
Bai Lixin asked, “Is Miao Pan’er your daughter?”
“She’s not, that woman isn’t.” The old man’s expression suddenly turned manic. “She’s a demon, a heartless demon who devours people. That thing is not my daughter. She crawled out from the depths of the earth, from beneath the library. She deceived my daughter, took over her body. She killed my daughter. She’s my enemy, not my daughter! She deserves to die, deserves to die.”
