Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

As Jin Shu stepped into the library, he was met with a strange resistance in the air, like an invisible wall pushing back against him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move a single step past the threshold.

With a thought, he pulled out his library pass. The jade token glowed softly in his hand—and just like that, the resistance vanished. His foot crossed the doorway without issue.

Interesting. I wonder what kind of formation that was?

He glanced back, searching for the runes that powered the formation, but they must have been hidden—nothing was visible to the naked eye.

Before he could ponder further, a small weight landed on his shoulder. A tiny, childlike voice whispered directly into his ear.

"Welcome to the Immortal Phoenix Library! I'll be your guide. You may call me… Ji Ji!"

Startled, Jin Shu turned his head to find a plump yellow chick perched on his shoulder. It looked about eighty percent similar to an ordinary baby chicken—if chickens had oversized eyes gleaming with intelligence.

"…What are you?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

"I'm Ji Ji!" the little chick announced proudly, puffing out her chest and patting it with a stubby wing.

"No, I gathered that. I meant, what kind of creature are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"A… chicken?"

Ji Ji's feathers fluffed in outrage. "I'm no chicken! You're the chicken! Your whole family's chickens!" she cursed loud enough for her voice to echo across the entire first floor of the library.

Several disciples turned to stare.

"Sorry, sorry—my mistake," Jin Shu said quickly, trying to placate her. "Of course you're not a chicken. Obviously you're a…?"

"A golden sparrow!" she declared with a huff.

"Right, right. A golden sparrow. How foolish of me to confuse the two."

Ji Ji nodded smugly. "Indeed. Only a stupid man would mistake a glorious golden sparrow for a common chicken. Hmph!"

She turned her head away in a cute, indignant display. Unfortunately, her voice had carried again—especially the part about a stupid man—and now more disciples were staring.

"Shh! Shh!" Jin Shu hurriedly quieted her. "You said you're my guide, right? Why don't you explain what's on each floor of the library?"

He already knew what each of the four floors held, but he needed to redirect her attention—fast.

"Of course I know! I, Ji Ji, am the library's greatest guide!" she declared, swelling with pride—so much that she looked moments away from inflating like a balloon and floating off.

Without waiting, she lifted a stubby wing and began pointing around.

"This is the first floor," she said. "Disciples with iron passes can browse various entry-level techniques and basic materials here."

She gestured higher. "The second floor is for disciples with silver tokens. It contains high-level techniques—powerful stuff."

Jin Shu followed her wingtip upward, taking in the interior of the library for the first time. Each floor was circular, lined with hundreds of shelves stretching along the walls. At the center, a wide circular opening allowed him to see all the way up through each level, connected by a spiral staircase that wound its way through the core like a spine of knowledge.

"The third floor houses peak-level techniques, reserved for those with gold passes," Ji Ji continued, voice turning serious. "Only cultivators at the Spirit Realm or higher are recommended to access that level."

She raised her wing to the highest floor. "Aaaand allll~ the way at the top is the fourth floor. That's where the forbidden techniques are kept. Only the highest-level jade pass holders can enter."

"I see…" Jin Shu nodded along.

"How's that, I'm the best guide ever, aren't I?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of there being a guide in the library before. And I don't see any others around."

"Of course you don't," Ji Ji said smugly. "Because I'm the only guide. And I just took the job."

"Oh really? That's nice," Jin Shu replied absently, clearly uninterested. "Then can you guide me to the sect's founding records?"

"Sure! That's easy!" Ji Ji chirped with confidence. "The sect's records are… umm… uhhh… riiiiight ooooveeerrrr… there?"

She pointed her tiny wing toward a bookshelf labeled Beautification.

"…Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah, definitely," she said, nodding a little too quickly.

"Really? Because that says Beautification—and the one over there says Records."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Oh… well…" Ji Ji paused, feathers ruffling. "That's because I was… um… making sure you could read! Yeah! It'd be really bad if someone came to a library and couldn't read, right?"

She turned her head away like a scolded child, clearly bluffing.

Jin Shu couldn't help but smile. She reminded him of Yin'er, which made it hard to stay annoyed—so instead of calling her out, he decided to play along.

"So it was a test?"

"A test?" she echoed, tilting her head. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh! Yes! Yes, it was a test! Wow, you're really smart to figure that out so fast!"

She nodded enthusiastically—like a chick pecking at rice—and since she looked nearly identical to a real chick, the sight was hilarious. Jin Shu laughed before he could stop himself.

Ji Ji, oblivious to the reason, laughed along with him.

Their shared laughter echoed through the library, drawing more attention. Jin Shu didn't care anymore. He stifled his chuckles and made his way toward the correct shelf, Ji Ji still perched on his shoulder, giggling uncontrollably.

"Jijiji~" Even her laughter sounded like a chicken call.

A few disciples nearby began to whisper.

"Who brought a chicken into the library?" one asked.

"I don't know, but I saw it flying around earlier. Looks like it's riding someone's shoulder now. Maybe it's theirs?"

"Who could bring a chicken into the library?" the first whispered back. "Don't tell me… is that one of the Grand Elder's disciples under that veil…?"

"It must be," the other agreed. "Judging by the height, that has to be Liu Hua. Best not to say anything…"

"I kinda wanna ask why she brought a dirty little chicken into the library," one of the girls whispered. "But you're probably right."

Ji Ji's laughter cut off like a snapped string.

She swiveled her head toward the two whispering disciples, her tiny body tense. Then, with a flash of golden light, she launched off Jin Shu's shoulder and reappeared mid-air in front of them, hovering furiously with the rapid flapping of her wings.

"I was magnimonious, so I ignored the first time you called me a chicken," Ji Ji declared, puffed up with righteous fury. "But how dare you call me a dirty little chicken?!"

"Um… it's pronounced magnanimous—"

"Jii!!" With a shrill cry, Ji Ji dove.

She began pecking furiously at their heads, darting between their hands with speed far beyond what her pudgy form suggested.

The girls shrieked, flailing and trying in vain to swat her away.

"Liu Hua! We're sorry! Please call your chicken off!" one of them cried, glancing desperately toward Jin Shu.

Jin Shu blinked. Liu Hua?

He was about to correct them, then paused—an idea forming.

A little experiment... and a small prank.

He reached inward, touching the lightning element nested in his soul space. It responded instantly. Jin Shu guided its power into his legs and took a step forward.

In a blink, he was standing before the girls.

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the watching disciples.

"It really is Liu Hua!"

"What's she doing here?"

"Why does she have a chicken?"

"More importantly, why is she attacking people with it?"

Jin Shu smirked behind the veil. That would do nicely—a bit of poetic justice. Even though Liu Hua had ultimately sacrificed herself to protect him, he still hadn't completely forgiven her attempted murder. One day he would—but only after he was strong enough to pay her back properly.

He reached out and, with a hand crackling with black-and-white lightning, plucked Ji Ji out of the air.

"Let me go!" she squawked. "They need at least fifty more pecks each!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down," he said mildly. "As the guide, you know there's no fighting allowed in the library, right?"

Ji Ji wilted. "Yeah…"

"Then what would I do if you got kicked out? Who would guide me?"

Her tiny brows furrowed as she considered that.

"But I'm not actually a gui—oh! No, no, you're right!" She caught herself mid-slip, trying to recover—but the damage was done, even if she didn't know it.

"You were looking for records, right?" she chirped brightly. Hopping back onto his shoulder, she pointed. "It's right there."

Jin Shu turned to look. To her credit, she wasn't far off this time—the shelf labeled Non-Fiction was just two away from the correct one.

"Oh, still testing me?" he asked with a chuckle.

"...Yes. That was another test," she said quickly. "And you passed again. Good job."

Shaking his head, Jin Shu made his way toward the shelves. Behind him, disciples were still whispering and speculating, but he paid them no mind. Most of the blame had successfully been redirected toward Liu Hua, and the few girls who might recognize him from earlier were far outnumbered and too uncertain to speak up.

He reached the shelf, selected a scroll, and unrolled it—only to pause in mild surprise at what he found inside.