Chapter 248: 1.5-29

Row after row of meticulously cared for books neatly lined up with their spines facing outward was the sight that greeted Xinya as he entered the library. It was a beautiful sight to behold, for him anyway, he couldn't speak for anyone else.

But to him, these books were untapped knowledge that was just waiting for someone to absorb it. Just as he said before when he was at the library in Bellport searching for information about Shilvak.

That when he starts to earn passive income from his ventures and is able to relax, that's when he will go all around the world of Haven to explore every library there is.

'With all of the languages I know, I probably could visit each player region without any trouble,' Xinya mused as he stared at the books like they held the secrets to the universe.

He would have probably continued staring at them some more if it wasn't for the sound of Melting Snow, letting out a small gasp, bringing his attention back to the present.

Curious as to what could have caused such a reaction, Xinya took a quick glance at the boy, only to find him gawking straight ahead at something in admiration.

"Gosh, that guy looks like he stepped out one of those ancient kung-fu movies," Melting Snow whispered gleefully while nudging Xinya's side. "Doesn't he?"

The boy couldn't believe how similar the man looked to the actors in the movies his father used to show him. He would bet that if his dad was here, he would get a flip out of it.

Sneakily taking a picture, Melting Snow saved it to his interface. Hopefully, if his dad ever wakes up, he will be able to show it to him.

~

Wondering who Melting Snow was talking about, Xinya turned his gaze towards the direction the boy was looking. That's when he noticed a young-looking man that appeared to be in his late twenties walking towards them inquiringly in a lovely white Qipao with blue accents.

"Hello," the man said once he was near enough to them. "Welcome to Túshū guǎn library; my name is Pan Yingjie. May I be of some assistance?"

"Fitting name."

Xinya heard Melting Snow murmur from beside him, and he couldn't help but agree with the boy; the man did look like a gallant hero that he was named for.

"Yes, I'm researching information on how to repair destroyed soil. Do you have any books pertaining to that?" Xinya politely asked.

"I'm sure that I do, but let me double-check to make sure," Pan Yingjie said as he walked over to some tall mahogany cabinets next to a desk that Xinya just noticed was there.

Xinya watched as the NPC searched vigorously through some small yellow-stained cards for a while before pulling one out and walking back towards them.

"Please follow me," Pan Yingjie began, leading them down a long corridor. "What you are looking for can be found in the west wing of this library."

~

In the span of 20 minutes from when they first arrived, the librarian had escorted them to the west wing, located the books Xinya needed and one for Melting Snow, before settling them down at a hardwood table situated near the back against a window.

"Is there anything else you need before I go?" questioned the NPC as he watched the two boys sit down.

With a slight shake of his head, Xinya replied, "This is all we need; thank you so much for your help."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. librarian," Melting Snow breezily said, excited by the book of exotic animals that the librarian had found for him.

Giving them a small nod, Pan Yingjie walked away from the table and went back to the main hall leaving the two boys alone in the west wing.

~

Before opening up the thick tome, conveniently titled 'Repairing Damaged Soil,' Xinya looked at Melting Snow and asked, "It might take me a while to read this, are you sure you won't get bored?"

"I won't get bored," Melting Snow told him while lifting up the book in his hand. "I have this to read, so take your time."

Still a little worried, Xinya watched Melting Snow for a bit, and only when he saw that the boy was genuinely engrossed in his book did he turn his attention to his own and seriously began to read.

~

After reading through tons of irrelevant information, Xinya finally found what he was looking for within the book. Swiftly, he opened up his interface so he could take notes and began to read:

What can you do to help pasture recovery?

If you had a massive fire to your land, your aim would be to try to return the pasture back to its original density and productivity.

However, your options coincide with the intensity of the burn to the land:

For a cool–moderate burn, the pasture should recover to its original density during the following year, given adequate moisture and the absence of soil nutrient deficiencies.

For a hot burn, manage the recovering pasture to maximize flowering and seed set for subsequent years.

For a scorching burn, almost all plant material will be dead, so the area should be cropped or resown to pasture following the fire.

After reading the passage, Xinya concluded that he would need to dig up the soil's burnt layer and replace it since his farm has a scorching burn. He would also need to uproot the unburnt trees and store them away until he clears out the burnt ones.

While he speculated about how much that would cost him, Xinya continued reading through the several options to use to improve the recovery of the farmland once the soil had been cleared.

~

Forty minutes had passed since Melting Snow had started reading this book on exotic animals, and as Drifting Cloud had said, he became extremely bored with it.

Melting Snow really thought that he wouldn't have since he loves animals so much. But reading about and playing with animals is two different things as he found out.

'I should just go look for something else to read,' he thought while getting up from his seat.

He was going to inform Drifting Cloud that he was leaving but seeing how the man was so immersed with his reading, Melting Snow just silently excused himself from the table where the two of them were sitting.

Walking past the aisles of books, Melting Snow couldn't remember which one was the section for animals, so he decided to go down one randomly.

'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...' He thought playfully while pointing to the third aisle on the right. 'I guess I'm going down that one.'

As he walked down the random aisle, Melting Snow could only hope that he would find something interesting to read.

~

15 minutes later

He didn't know how long he had been looking, but as Melting Snow trailed his fingers along the books' spines, so far, there had been no titles that could interest him. Especially the one he was looking at that very second.

'Who would want to read 'Waiting for Wheat to Grow: Upgrade Your Experience' I might want to help Drifting Cloud farm, but there is no way I am reading that.'

Just as he was about to give up in defeat and just finish reading the animal book that he left behind, there was a glint of light from above that caught his attention.

Peering up at the bookcase, he searches around until he sees it, a thick orange tome emitting a reddish glow from the very top shelf. 'Now isn't that curious. Why is that book glowing?'