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Maria dared not struggle anymore. She knew that if she moved recklessly, she would face real death. The black shadow was not in control of her physical body, but her soul.

"Are you okay, Ms. Maria?" Lin Jie came out from behind the counter and tried to support Maria, who seemed like she was having a sudden epileptic fit.

"Ahhh!!!"

Maria let out a desperate shriek when she saw Lin Jie. Her face was turning purple, and her facial expressions twisted with fear as if she had just seen a ghost. That previously calm, emotionless face of hers seemed completely distorted now.

"Help! H-help me!" Maria was completely seized by fear and shook off Lin Jie\'s hands. Her eyes were widened to their limit, and she could clearly see the black shadow that had just controlled her was now standing behind Lin Jie.

Soundlessly, silently, just staring at her.

"Ah, miss, please calm down." Lin Jie saw Maria gasping for breath and realized that she must have seen something really frightening. He followed her gaze and deduced that the object of her fear was behind him.

Lin Jie suddenly turned around hurriedly, only to see Blackie.

The very same Blackie who helped fix the power, harmless to all humans and animals.

"Blackie," Lin Jie was startled and whispered instinctively.

The black shadow tilted its head, then vanished in an instant, leaving Maria, who had been struggling with it, to fall to the ground like a broken cloth bag.

What Maria had been frightened of... was Blackie that had been standing behind Lin Jie unbeknownst to his knowledge.

Lin Jie had nothing but gratitude toward Blackie—after all, Blackie had been the one that granted him with all of humanity\'s books from Earth, which was a fulfillment of Lin Jie\'s greatest dream.

Moreover, Blackie had always appeared friendly, never once hurting his friends nor customers, including Mu\'en and Joseph. Before, Lin Jie had always regarded Blackie as a friendly spiritual entity like those often seen in anime.

With regards to Blackie\'s purpose and identity, Lin Jie didn\'t care. After all, everyone had their own secrets, and he had never felt any malice from Blackie, who rarely appeared.

But today was different.

Blackie had appeared in sight of others for the first time and seemed to have caused the other person to get quite a fright.

This was the first time Blackie had done something to a customer in the bookstore, although, from a certain perspective, Blackie hadn\'t done anything wrong.

While Lin Jie had been rather friendly, he couldn\'t clearly sense that Maria seemed to be looking for trouble, given the prior situation that occurred with Hood at the bookstore.

Moreover, to a certain extent, Blackie\'s appearance was like an apparition, so it was normal for someone ordinary like Maria to be frightened.

"Miss!" Lin Jie grabbed Maria\'s shoulders firmly, forcing her to calm down, then comforted her, "There\'s nothing here, what happened to you just now?"

Hearing this, Maria regained her composure slightly. She stared blankly at Lin Jie\'s kind, friendly face. The bookstore owner smiled and said, "Look. Our bookstore is very clean, there\'s nothing here."

As he was saying this, a huge black shadow gradually expanded behind him, as if hiding behind his sinister small. Countless black shadows extended from it as if they were the snake-hairs of a medusa.

Lin Jie\'s gentle comforting words turned into a terrifying threat.

"Y-y-y-you..." Maria stuttered fearfully. Before Lin Jie could react, she had already taken several steps back and opened the bookstore\'s door and nearly tumbled out. She bolted regardless of how Lin Jie tried to stop her, as if there was some sort of terrifying presence behind her.

...Do you have to run in this manner? You even dropped your stuff! thought Lin Jie to himself.

With a frown, Lin Jie picked up an old notebook that Maria had dropped on the ground. He shot a fleeting glance at the fleeing Maria and sighed before turning back. When he turned around, Blackie, who had been baring fangs and claws, shrank back into a black shadow of his normal size.

"What\'s wrong with you today? What were you trying to do?" Lin Jie sounded displeased and bewildered as he whispered, "You clearly wanted me to spread my books, so why did you scare her away? Isn\'t that the task you gave me yourself?"

Blackie didn\'t move, staying in his spot and obediently listening to Lin Jie\'s reprimand as if it was a mischievous child that had been caught doing something naughty.

"But, well.... Never mind. You probably want to keep that fragment, right?" Lin Jie returned to the counter and eyed the three stone fragments on the table.

Lin Jie then glanced at Blackie and pointed at the fragments. "Do you want to eat this?"

Blackie didn\'t react at all and just quietly faced Lin Jie.

If Blackie wanted to eat these stone fragments that came from Life, did it mean that Blackie was an enemy of the Witch of Life?

Bringing Lin Jie here might not be a coincidence after all, since Blackie was originally from here.

It understood this place and had a need toward this world.

So, what... role does Blackie play in the history of the Azir Continent?

Lin Jie gazed at the black figure in front of him as he pondered.

After a moment, Lin Jie took a deep breath, slowly raised his hand, and reached out toward the dark shadow.

Lin Jie didn\'t know why he did this. Perhaps he just wanted to touch Blackie? This was the first time he had attempted to do so in the few years since he had met Blackie. What was in that shadow? Was it solid, or was it a cold, watery surface?

Unexpectedly, Lin Jie\'s pupils suddenly dilated as he saw Blackie making the same exact motion!

It seemed to be imitating him, and the two of them extended their hands at the same time, fingertips touching for an instant.

His fingertips felt something unexpected. It was similar to the temperature of his own hand, and Lin Jie was stunned for a moment.

He still wanted to touch Blackie further, but in the next instant, like a flickering TV signal, Blackie suddenly blurred and disappeared.

Lin Jie\'s finger remained suspended in the air, like nothing had been there before.

Lin Jie withdrew his hand and looked at his empty palm. He could still feel the realness of that touch from just now.

Is Blackie... human?

Lin Jie shook his head. Humans couldn\'t have such a form. Perhaps it simply adopted the shape of a human and simulated a body temperature similar to his own.

Also... Blackie probably doesn\'t want to eat the Witch of Life\'s fragments. After all, like the previous incident with the golden apple, if Blackie had wanted to, he would have taken them on the spot.

Lin Jie\'s thoughts shifted from Blackie to the three stone fragments on the table. With brows furrowed, he carefully pieced them together. As Lin Jie had expected, the three fragments fitted perfectly as if they had never been broken.

Lin Jie took out a magnifying glass from the drawer, and the inscriptions on this round stone tablet were now clearly visible, without much damage.

"Life never ends, flames never extinguish...something something?" Lin Jie recited. This ancient text was different from the elven script of the Second Era and appeared to come from an even older variant of writing.

While he could differentiate it, this was like someone who only learned simplified Chinese characters trying to read traditional characters and there were always parts he couldn\'t recognize.

The lighting in the bookstore gradually dimmed, and Lin Jie found out that it was getting dark outside without even realizing it.

Thus, he walked to the door and gazed outside at the desolate 23rd Avenue as he thought about the day\'s events and how scared Maria must have been today. Would the Chairman of the Truth Union call the police?

Calling the police wouldn\'t do any good… The strongest fighting force of the police is right in my store!

Calling for an exorcism wouldn\'t work as well... Lin Jie\'s contributions had been pivotal in the establishment of the current largest faith in Norzin.

Well… There\'s nothing to worry about, then.

He just hoped that Maria, as a fellow academic, could keep a level head.

Rattle...

Lin Jie closed the rolling shutter of the bookstore, and the interior was plunged into darkness. Then, it suddenly lit up. Lin Jie turned around, and to his surprise, saw the stone table on the table emitting a faint red glow.