Chapter 90: Grimoire
Yu Lianyun listened to He Jia’an’s description of the Book of Sand, her black pupils contracting, “What exactly is the origin of this Book of Sand?”
“Just like humans don’t know where their own origins come from, this book is also impossible to discuss, but there’s a saying circulating internally.” He Jia’an looked at the book coldly and said, “It is actually an incarnation of some abnormal god, and that abnormal god must be an existence infinitely approaching omniscient.”
“Could it be the Lord of All Things?” Yu Lianyun’s gaze suddenly changed.
“I dare not say.” He Jia’an said in a low voice.
“Since it is infinitely approaching omniscient and bears infinite knowledge, can’t it tell us its origin?” Yu Lianyun inquired.
“Do you think no one has thought of that?” He Jia’an put on a serious expression, frowning as he said: “But those who have seen the truth without exception all went mad and died.”
Yu Lianyun showed a puzzled expression: “Isn’t this book giving specific knowledge?”
He Jia’an shook his head: “This book won’t be so kind. Regardless of whether it possesses consciousness, it’s impossible for it to only release a harmless page. Besides, think back carefully to your earlier state. You already showed signs of losing control before even seeing the contents inside. If you really saw the text inside, do you really think you could stay in control?”
Yu Lianyun was speechless, but she still had doubts: “Why did the Book of Sand appear here?”
“As far as is known, the last time the Book of Sand appeared in the eyes of the world was during the White Order Campaign of the World War three hundred years ago. After its last master Douglas died, the Book of Sand’s whereabouts became unknown.” He Jia’an was also puzzled.
“Douglas, the famous undefeated general in the history of the New York region?” Yu Lianyun was somewhat surprised; this was a somewhat familiar name.
He Jia’an nodded lightly, “It’s said that when he obtained this book, he glimpsed the course of every one of his battles, thus winning a hundred battles without defeat. But what happened later doesn’t need to be said much; history records it clearly. In one battle, he went mad, put a grenade in his mouth, and blew himself up.”
“So that’s why he went mad.” Yu Lianyun suddenly understood, “The book also said he suffered from PTSD.”
With that said, Yu Lianyun fell silent for a moment, then stepped forward wanting to flip through the book again.
“What are you trying to do?” He Jia’an stopped Yu Lianyun once more.
“I want to take a gamble. If it is the Book of Sand, it should be able to give us a method to break the situation, right?” Yu Lianyun honestly stated her thoughts, looking at the Forbidden Book on the altar, and said, “Heh, suddenly in that instant, I think I guessed why this book is placed here. Who put it here isn’t important; what’s important is the reason it was placed here.
Someone wants us to open it, to use it!
The series of strange things happening in Cuizhu City this time might have been meticulously designed from the very beginning, with the purpose of drawing out our Mysterious Group, targeting us, wanting us to die in these anomaly events.”
“Since you’ve guessed it, you shouldn’t open this book even more.” He Jia’an said. He gently pushed Yu Lianyun away, stood in front of the Book of Sand himself, his gaze complex, “If it must be seen, I will be the one to see it.”
“Captain He, your existence is more important than mine.” Yu Lianyun grabbed He Jia’an’s hand that was preparing to flip the book, looking at him seriously, her tone carrying a hint of request, “Let me be the one to see it.”
“This is an order.” He Jia’an shook his head, this time pushing Yu Lianyun away more forcefully, then held his breath and focused, reaching for that Forbidden Book that was like flowing sand.
Wonderfully, unlike Yu Lianyun, He Jia’an actually grabbed the Book of Sand that couldn’t be grasped in one go this time.
The moment He Jia’an took the book, Yu Lianyun trying to snatch it back was already futile. The Book of Sand could only be viewed by one person at a time, essentially temporarily recognizing He Jia’an as its master. Until He Jia’an finished reading, no one else could see the contents.
The moment he took the Book of Sand, He Jia’an sensed the secret text hidden on the book’s cover, concealed beneath the indented patterns. If not touched by hand, it was hard to detect what words were written on the book’s cover.
He Jia’an was not a historian, let alone an expert in ancient text research, so he didn’t know what those secret texts resembling cuneiform represented.
He wanted to know what those texts…
He Jia’an’s spirit shook, his whole body trembling. No, this wasn’t what he wanted to see. What he truly wanted to know was the method to defeat the Gluttonous Daughter and the clear path to avoid this almost certain death.
Had his mind already started to be affected right at the beginning?
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He Jia’an, who prided himself on rationality far surpassing ordinary people, seemed so insignificant and worthless before this Book of Sand. He looked at the sand powder constantly dripping from the Book of Sand; those rustling sounds of falling sand were like the book mocking him.
“Calm down.” He Jia’an silently admonished himself and quietly opened the book.
He looked at the text that came into view; his gaze was like being attracted by a black hole, staring fixedly, bulging his eyes as if to pop them out of their sockets, letting his soul merge into that all-encompassing world within the book.
He Jia’an’s increasingly mad expression was seen by Yu Lianyun. From the moment he opened the book, Yu Lianyun had been watching He Jia’an’s actions from the side. If He Jia’an really fell into madness because of the Book of Sand, she would take him down before he could do anything out of line.
Soon, Yu Lianyun noticed He Jia’an’s hand moving. At times he grinned maniacally, at times he pouted in sadness. That half-paralyzed face couldn’t stop his overflowing agitated emotions.
When He Jia’an made the motion to turn the page three times in a row, Yu Lianyun could no longer hold back. She grabbed He Jia’an’s hand, wanting him to put down the book. But her hand had no purchase on the Book of Sand; it would pass through the book, unable to make He Jia’an let go of his grip on it. Yet this didn’t seem to affect He Jia’an’s reading; he continued to read obsessively, even fanatically.
Seeing that this wouldn’t work, Yu Lianyun kicked He Jia’an down.
But even after He Jia’an fell, the book was still tightly held in his hand, never letting go.
At this moment, Yu Lianyun suddenly realized that humans fundamentally couldn’t interrupt someone reading the Book of Sand using conventional methods. She also just became aware of how tenacious the mental will of that war madman General Douglas from three hundred years ago must have been to endure multiple bewitchments where he couldn’t put the book down.
Those conspirators who placed the book here with ill intentions had long guessed this scene would occur, so they boldly and confidently placed the book here.
Another two-in-one big chapter. I’ll try to finish typing it before twelve o’clock.
