Chapter 11: The Golden Pavilion

"A method to earn big bucks from nothing, from scratch?" Ijohen scoffs. "What kind of stupid idea is that?" he laughs.

"I'm not interested in your schemes." he shakes his head.

"If you want big money then come to my house, I've got plenty." he scoffs. "I'll even lend you some of it if you need it."

"It'll take too long. Anyway, there are too many restrictions in your house. It's easier to make money using my way, you know?" Rihan shakes his head.

After listening to Rihan’s words, Ijohen and Sung Li staggered for a moment. They’re unable to imagine where Rihan got his confidence from.

"That's impossible," Ijohen scoffs, "I've heard of people making a living from gambling, but they're all scumbags. I'm sure you're one of them."

"Brother! If you're in need of money, you can just ask me. I may just be a commoner but," Sung Li begins to speak, his hands gesturing widely as he talks, "I'll help you out. I don't care if you're a low-rank noble or not! Don't go gambling, you'll lose your life with your rotten luck!"

Ijohen scoffs, turning his head away from Sung Li. He then glances at Rihan, seeing that his friend was watching Sung Li carefully.

"Don't give me that look," Rihan scolds, "And I'm not from a low-rank noble. I'm from a mediocre-rank noble family." he sighs.

Ijohen sighs as well, rolling his eyes, "You know, you're not fooling anyone."

Rihan chuckles, shaking his head, "Don't underestimate me." he laughs quietly, "I know you don't believe me, but it doesn't matter if you don't trust me; just watch."

Ijohen sighs, crossing his arms. "Fine," he grumbles.

"That's the spirit!" Sung Li cheers.

Being punished and standing together for years has caused them to produce a strong brotherly relationship regardless of their status. They have a lot in common, which makes them easy to understand each other.

Even in his past life, Rihan recalled as they had fought and saved his life many times and now that he’s back, he’ll naturally help them fulfill their dreams too.

But he will also need to keep them safe, especially Sung Li, who's still young and naive.

Rihan takes the lead, walking through the streets, the sound of the rain had just started pattering on the pavement. The air is crisp, and the scent of flowers in bloom fills the area. The Winter Lily Festival is near, and the scent of the winter lilies permeates the street.

Rihan leads the others into the market, passing by the flower street, weapon stalls, and a bookstore as he walks. The store's owner is standing behind a counter, reading a book as he sells books to customers.

His muscular body is covered by the leather armour he wears everywhere, his muscles bulging underneath it as he stands on the wooden floor. As soon as the bell rings, the store's owner looks up from the book, glancing at the four people approaching the shop.

His sharp gaze falls onto Sung Li, making him stop dead in his tracks. He doesn't look like a bookstore owner, instead, he looks more like a seasoned warrior. He has short, black hair, his bangs covering half of his face, and a scar running from his left eye to his chin.

The shop's name, "The Page Age Bookstore", is stitched on the side of his jacket.

A few students can also be seen browsing through the shelves. Rihan approaches him, placing a single coin on the desk and asking for a few specific books.

The young man takes a glance at the piece of paper and grins before taking it. He opens his mouth, revealing his sharp teeth, "You'll be wanting the 'Diary of a Noble's Daughter' series, yes?"

Rihan nods his head, smiling, "Yes."

"And the others including A Beggar F* the Kingdom, The Bitter Truth of the Giant Dick, The Dark Side of the Moon, The Taste of the King, The Scent of the Queen, The Wrath of the Giant T*t and…" the shopkeeper repeated the list, his smile growing wider the more titles that came up.

Ijohen and Sung Li's faces dropped in horror. The titles of these books are vulgar, obscene, erotic, and disgusting! They don't have a chance of getting a hold of them. They'd rather die than read such trash.

The longer the shopkeeper lists the titles, the worse it gets, until he finally stops, "Oh, I almost forgot. I have a new novel, which is just released today. Would you like to check it out?"

Rihan's eyes widen, "Really? Sure, why not." he says.

"Are these all for you?" he asks looking at the small piece of paper.

Rihan's smile widens, nodding his head, "Yes!"

Now Ijohen and Sung Li stared at the little piece of paper like it was cursed. Their hearts are racing as the shopkeeper hands the note to his assistant, "Take this to the back."

The two boys exchange glances, their eyes widening.

The shopkeeper's assistant says, "I'll go get it." before disappearing towards the back of the shop.

"Alright, let's go to the back." the shopkeeper says, leading them to the storage room. Inside were rows upon rows of bookshelves. "This is the place where I sell my rare and valuable items."

He took a key from his pocket and opened a door, revealing a hidden passageway.

"Please follow me," he says, entering the dark tunnel.

"Where is this going to?" Sung Li whispers, glancing around.

"To the underground library!" the shopkeeper answers cheerfully, "We have over 100,000 books in here." he continues, lighting a candle with his flint.

Ijohen's eyes widened, "You have a secret library?"

The shopkeeper nods, "Yes. My family has a history of keeping secrets tomes, and 'special' books." he replies, opening another door, "Come in. Be careful of the rats, they're everywhere," he says, waving his hand.

***
The Secret Library of The Page Age Bookstore.

They enter, finding themselves in an expansive and spacious chamber, with walls covered in books. There are no windows, only candles that provide light, and shadows of rats exploring the underground chambers.

The shopkeeper's voice echoes in the dimly lit space, "Please, feel free to browse."

The shopkeeper goes to the shelf on the side, opens a hidden door, and pulls out a giant box.

"This contains the rarest, most expensive, and best-selling books. Maybe even rat's cultivation books," he says, placing the box beside the entrance, "Could explain how the rat is so rampant down here. Hehe, anyway, feel free to pick one if you wish, or you may leave it untouched."

Sung Li picks up a book and reads its title aloud, "'The Secret of the Dragon's P-" but he stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized what the word meant. His face turned red immediately and threw the book deeper into the abyss.

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"You should be careful what you're picking." the shopkeeper scolds, "Some of those books contain the truth about the royal family. You never know what might happen."

Ijohen scoffs, picking up a book titled 'The Lustful Princess and Her Lovers,' flipping through it, but then drops it down after realizing that there're illustrations inside. "This is so wrong! I shouldn't be here!" he scoffs, backing away from the shelves.

Rihan picked out a couple of books, "I'm not interested in any of these too." he mutters.

"You're not interested in anything?" Ijohen scoffs. "Then why are we here?" he asks, frowning.

"I'll tell you later," Rihan replies, putting the books back seemingly unaffected by their contents.

His demeanour didn't change at all, showing no sign of disgust or repulsion. Walking further into the library, Ijohen saw that there were other rooms too, filled with other boxes containing even more bizarre books.

He quickly closed the door behind them, hoping that nobody else would find their way to the library.

By now, Rihan seems to be the on-duty librarian while Ijohen and Sung Li sat in a corner. He helped the shopkeeper sort out some of his stock when the other two couldn't stand the idea of touching any of them.

As he was browsing around, a book on a table caught his attention, its cover showing a dark-skinned woman strolling through a lush garden. The title was The Rising Pavillion, the first country to discover the art of cultivating Iron Cores. His eyes sparkle, snatching the book from the table.

"I found it!" he exclaims, stashing the book in his bag.

"What's the big deal?" his companion stares at him, strolling through the stacks of books.

"It's nothing," he said while opening his bag to stow the book inside. "Just some boring stuff about how a man stumbles upon a new technique for raising iron cores."

"I see," Ijohen stares at him with an expressionless gaze before continuing strolling in the opposite direction, pausing in front of another stack of books.

Rihan stares at the girl's figure, snatching the book from his bag.

The cover shows a beautiful woman strolling through the garden of the rising pavilion, her long hair flowing gently behind her. The words The Rise of the Golden Pavilion stares at him, "This is it! This is the one!"

He pauses in his stalking, staring at the cover of the book in his hand. A moment later his hand glows white, the energy forming a glowing ball of light in his palm. Chanting softly under his breath, his hands begin moving in unison, his fingers caressing the air.

The book's pages flutter open, revealing the contents.

The story begins with the rise of the Golden Pavilion, the building's construction, the people who lived within it, the history of the building's foundation, and finally the final pages of the Golden Pavilion.

The Golden Pavilion rises from the ashes, its beauty capturing the hearts of many, its splendour becoming the envy of all. The Golden Pavilion is filled with the most beautiful women and men, whose bodies shine bright with the power of cultivation. They live happily ever after, enjoying their time in the Golden Pavilion until the day comes when the Golden Pavilion falls.

The story ends abruptly, but the last page stares at Rihan, the image of the building falling apart, crumbling to the ground, leaving only the empty shell standing tall.

Rihan stares at the last page, watching as it conjures itself, the letters fading in his vision. The building's name stares at him from the top of the paper, written in red ink, The Golden Pavilion.

"It's real," he whispers.

"What's going on over there?" Sung Li stares at the corner of the library.

"Nothing," Rihan replies, snatching the gold paper from the air and stowing it away.

Sung Li stares at the corner of the room, frowning at him suspiciously before turning around to continue strolling.

"It's been a long time since I've come down here," the shopkeeper says, "I haven't met anyone who can handle my collection yet. It's quite impressive, isn't it?"

"Yeah, very much so!" Sung Li cheers, his cheeks flushed. He could hardly believe that they have a whole library of forbidden books that were hidden beneath the public.

"How did you come across these?" he asked, holding a book in his hands and examining it.

"It's a long story," the shopkeeper sighs, "but if you're curious, you can ask my wife. Or the giant rats wondering about."

"Oh? Miss Kahina's your wife?" Rihan asks ignoring the rats.

"Yes." he sighs again, "But she doesn't come down here often, she's afraid of the rats. Especially the one giant rat. She also used to work for me as a maid but then became a book collector herself after we fell in love."

Sung Li blinks, turning his head away from the bookshelf, "I see." he mumbles, his heart pounding. He knew how dangerous it was to have these books in your possession.

If he's caught, they'll have to execute him. He would rather die than be found with these books.

Rihan looks at the other boy, seeing the fear in his expression, "Don't worry, you're safe with us." he reassures.

Ijohen sighs, rubbing his temples, "What's the point of having such knowledge? Don't tell me this is your secret hobby?" he scoffs.

He doesn't want to be involved in something that will put them in danger.

He was scared that someone might recognize that they had these books in their possession. If that happens, then he's sure that they'd end up socially executed for being a pervert.

"No, but I've got plans for these books. Don't worry, everything will go according to plan." Rihan assures, "I'm not planning to do anything bad. I just need to utilize a few of these books to start my capital." he adds.

A madman, they think, shaking their head. In a way, Rihan's calm demeanour while browsing for the books showed his composure, which made them admire him despite their fears and disgust.

"You discover new things every day." Sung Li said with a blank expression.

Rihan nods, "You'll understand once I explain the details to you."

"I hope it's not illegal." Ijohen grumbles.

Rihan glances at the books, "I don't know if it's wise to keep these around you guys though," he warns.

"It's too late for that thought!" Ijohen and Sung Li say at once.

Their voice echoes loudly throughout the spacious chamber carrying the weight of the words that came out of their mouths.

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