The librarian walked up to her, keeping a calm and cool demeanor.
"I thought you had left already but my seniors told me that you would be here", he handed her the wordless book.
"Did the senior librarians discover anything about this?" Ming Yue asked.
"Indeed, which is why my seniors asked me to pass on this letter", he said, holding out a piece of parchment folded in half.
Ming Yue took the letter and read it quietly.
"To specialized student, Ming Yue,
This letter is to inform you about the object in discussion. This book is a personal art book used by Huan Shi Ti, the Savant of a Hundred Flashes. He was a distinguished cultivator several thousand years ago who suffered a bottleneck as he tried to reach the Heaven Realm. During this time, he chose to quietly cultivate and refine himself in order to loosen the bottleneck. One of the byproducts that came from this were a large amount of artwork that he personally created. As a cultivator of thunder and lightning, he would paint storms and try to capture all forms of it in order to further his understanding of the Dao. Ultimately, he did break through to the Heaven Realm but developed a love of painting.
This is one of those collections, its authenticity is proven by the unique aura that each brush stroke released. Because of its identity, we would like to add this to the archive. Furthermore, given that you are the one the have found it, we will award you accordingly.
You will be given ten thousand contribution points and you will also have free access to this book. Should you agree, my student will give you the rewards."
This rugged book was such a thing?!
Ming Yue knew that it was unique but she did not think it would have such value. She looked through the letter to make sure she had not misread. She then faced the young librarian and handed him the book.
"You can add this to the archive", she said.
The young man smiled, "May I have your badge?"
Ming Yue passed it to him, who activated it and added the points along with a symbol underneath the projected numbers. Given back the badge, Ming Yue looked at it with a strange smile. Just this book was equal to hundreds of hours of making medicine, the thought was quite laughable.
She hung the badge on her wrist and gave a polite smile to the librarian.
"Thank you for your help earlier", she gave a small bow before leaving. Although she could spend days if not weeks in this archive, she still wanted to explore the city.
The young librarian looked at her before staring at the damaged book and returning to inform his seniors.
Ming Yue walked outside of the archive's spire and gazed at the Institution. It was like a castle, a cluster of towers tall enough to touch the clouds.* Surrounding it were the many training fields filled with the members of Heaven's Gate.
She breathed in the fresh air and gave a quick whistle before heading towards the main building of the institution. Out of nowhere, Hei Yue, Bai Ying, and Xiao Yin appeared, running towards her. She crouched down and met them with open arms, petting Hei Yue's head.
"Hmm, did something change about you all?" she suddenly asked, feeling that something was amiss about her two pets.
"Hmph, girl, you're always off to do something, leaving these two children alone all the time. Because of that, I have been watching them in your stead. If you haven't noticed, these two have grown quite considerably", Bai Ying snorted at her question before lecturing her.
Ming Yue looked at the two beasts, finding both Hei Yue and Xiao Yin to have grown slightly. Hei Yue's appearance was much sharper than before, with small fangs visible from his closed mouth. Xiao Yin's eyes seemed less child-like, gaining a more wiser feeling. Furthermore, the silver color in her pupils became much darker.
The two looked at her with a little sadness. While they did not want to bother her, it has been quite some time since she had played with them.
Ming Yue looked into their eyes and smiled.
"Don't worry", she said gently, "Once I finish up this last task, we can go explore the city."
As if understanding her words, they seemed quite happy and energetic, pushing Ming Yue's legs to move. She chuckled from their actions and walked to the Contribution Hall together. As busy as ever, she motioned her pets to wait by the side while she stood in line for the Exchange Counter. When she reached the counter, one of the administrator greeted her, this time a middle aged woman.
"Welcome again, Ming Yue. Are you here to exchange more bandages?" she asked.
Mign Yue nodded and took out some left over batches. The woman counted them and calculated the points. As she calculated, Ming Yue told her of the main reason for her coming here.
"I'd like to extend my use of the workroom and my personal quarters for the rest of the year", she spoke bluntly.
"Yes, yes... wait what?" the administrator could not believe what she had heard.
As far as she remembered, Ming Yue was barely scraping by even with the privileges that she had. After all, she only gained points through these exchanges and have yet to go on any missions. What exactly happened to her?
"Yes, I would like to extend my time to the end of the year", Ming Yue repeated herself and handed the ash colored badge.
The administrator left the bandages on the counter and looked into the badge.
"This... she has over ten thousand points?" the administrator thought to herself.
She stammered before fulfilling Ming Yue's request. The number quickly decreased before stopping at around five thousand points. The administrator handed back the badge and explained the transaction.
"Extending the time to the end of the year will cost around five thousand points. That is 140 points per week for 35-36 weeks. Is that all?"
"Yes."
As Ming Yue put back her badge, the administrator couldn't help but get close to her. Her uniform flowed, revealing the character "Song" on her sleeve, most likely her family name
"Say, how did you get so many points?" she asked covertly.
Ming Yue thought nothing of her actions and answered, explaining that the librarians at the Archive of Six Gates rewarded for giving a rare book. The administrator could not believe what she heard but regained her calmness.
"Regardless, it is good to see that you are doing well", she said.
Ming Yue also felt quite good and thanked her before preparing to leave. As she was about to call Hei Yue and the others, she was stopped by a person's voice.
"Stop there!" the sound of a haughty young man had silenced the whole hall.
They turned to see who that person was and who the unlucky victim would be. A handsome youth with long hair flowing down his back pointed at Ming Yue. He wore a red tunic under the white uniform and carried an light beige colored sword in his other hand.
If it wasn't for his arrogant expression, perhaps he would be much more popular with others. However the way he looked at Ming Yue was disrespectful, it was as if he saw her as nothing but a lowlife.
Upon recognizing him, everyone went back to their business, uninterested by this commotion. It seemed that this man has made a name for himself.
"Are you the one that creates those bandages?" he asked.
Ming Yue took one look and knew immediately that this would not end well. She did not have the patience to deal with this and ignored him.
"Come, let's go, quickly!" Ming Yue said, slipping from the man's grasp.
Before he could even say another word, she had already disappeared.
"Wait! I need your help!" his arrogant nature suddenly switched to a meek personality but Ming Yue was long gone.