The War Bride

17 | In the Library

The library, located in a grand pagoda, exceeded Luwen's expectations in terms of size.

A sweet, earthy scent wafted into her nose. It was a scholar's paradise, housing many collections of aged books and covering every topic imaginable in this world. Demonologies, herbalism, history, philosophies, poetries and many more interesting subjects.

She took her time to skim through the endless and towering shelves, stopping once when she spotted a book that caught her attention—The Book of Ancient Magic.

She stopped in her tracks, taking a quick glance over her shoulder. Biyu trailed closely, uninterested in being in a library.

Luwen debated asking about the unidentified woman, but chose not to because of Biyu's annoyed expression.

She cleared her throat, her fingers brushing along the spines of some books. "May I?"

Biyu lifted a brow. "I would suppose so. The lord gave you his permission."

"Alright." Luwen hesitated, still feeling uncomfortable with the way her guard was keeping a close watch on her. In fact, she didn't want Biyu to spectate her while she was reading. "Would you like to read as well?"

Biyu let out a snort. "No. I'll take five steps backwards so that you can read in peace."

As soon as she stepped away, Luwen pulled several books from the shelf—including the one that drew her interest earlier. She settled herself at one of the study tables by the window where light was pouring in.

She rifled through the pages of The Book of Ancient Magic slowly. The book contained tales of an old and mysterious magic that only a chosen few could perform, such as divination and elemental magic. The book made no reference to dark magic or anything in relation to soul transfer.

She was stuck in this body, helpless, like a puppet pulled by strings. Killing the lord was the only way for her to return to her body as the matriarch desired.

However, Luwen dreaded that thought. She was slowly finding it impossible to imagine herself holding a knife to his throat.

If there was another way out of this, she would choose that.

How does one kill the matriarch instead?

That thought had crossed her mind a million times, but she never found an answer to it.

Engrossed in her books, she waited for Dai Yichen to show up, but two hours went by with no communication from him. He did not send a servant to deliver a message.

Had he already forgotten about her?

He left poor Biyu to watch over Luwen the entire time. She sat on the cold floor and leaned against a pillar, closing her eyes to rest, but Luwen knew she wasn't asleep. If Luwen made a wrong move by sneaking out of her sight, Biyu wouldn't hesitate to put a knife to her throat.

Sensing her stare, the girl's lips twisted into an annoyed purse. "What do you want?"

"Do you know what happened to the lord?"

Her eyes fluttered open. "He's fine. He's attending to urgent family matters," she said, keeping her sharp gaze on her while offering no further explanation. "It's nothing you should concern yourself about."

Her words stung this time, but Luwen knew that a marriage didn't mean they accepted her into the clan. "I can't help but be worried after he left like that."

"Are you genuinely worried, or is this an act of yours?" Biyu leaned closer as she studied Luwen suspiciously. Tapping her forehead with two fingers twice. "We're both women, my lady. You can fool men, but not my intuition. Acting pitiful doesn't get you away every time."