10 Stealing Books
(Ella's Pov)
I frantically buried my face in Finn's shoulder.
The next second, the knight's disgusted voice rang out: "You two up ahead, if you're going to do that, hurry home."
Another person laughed: "Young people these days really don't care about the setting."
"Let's go, let's go." The footsteps gradually faded until they completely disappeared.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That scared me to death. I didn't expect you to be so clever, able to think of this method."
Finn curved the corner of his mouth: "It wasn't exactly something I suddenly thought of."
"What?" I was genuinely surprised. "This was also part of your plan?"
Finn pouted: "How could I possibly have predicted we'd nearly run into patrol knights!"
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Forget it, you don't know anything."
"Hey!" I poked Finn's cheek. "Clever Finn, hurry up and put me down!"
Finn set me down and tugged at his own shirt.
"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I looked down, wanting to lift his shirt to check if I'd accidentally injured him.
Finn's reaction was a bit strange: "No! You go ahead, you go first."
"Alright." My legs were a bit weak. "We need to hurry."
Finn moved his shoulders: "Okay. Now it's show time—"
I knocked him on the head: "Keep your voice down!"
The werewolf boy looked up at the library tower and broke into a mischievous smile.
But after all that commotion, that tense feeling from earlier had indeed dissipated quite a bit.
Finn quickly led me around to the back of the library.
There was no light here at all. The tall stone walls extended upward, almost impossible to see the top.
"Hold on tight."
"Yes?"
Before I could react, Finn had already directly carried me on his back.
Then I felt subtle changes in the bones beneath me.
The werewolf boy's hands and feet rapidly transformed into beast form. Sharp claws grew from his fingertips, firmly embedding into the wall crevices.
"Hold me tight." Finn leaped with all his might. He was actually climbing upward while carrying me.
"Ah!" I was so scared I immediately hugged his neck tight.
"Ella, you're not afraid of heights, right?" Finn's voice carried laughter. "Falling from here wouldn't be a joke."
"Don't make jokes at a time like this!"
Night wind constantly blew from above. I looked down once and nearly fainted.
When Kyle carried me flying, it was clearly even higher, but I didn't feel afraid at all. It's definitely because this Finn fellow gives me no sense of security.
Finn looked very relaxed. Like a real beast, he rapidly climbed the building's exterior wall.
I had never seen Finn like this before. He had shed his green exterior and revealed a fierce and bold side.
Finn has grown up, I couldn't help but sigh.
Before long, we reached the window on the top floor.
The window was locked. We had anticipated this.
Finn was just about to swing his claws.
"Wait!" I quickly stopped him. "If you make such a loud noise and we get discovered, what do we do?"
Finn raised an eyebrow: "Then how do we open it?"
I pulled out thin wire from my pocket and winked at him: "Trust me, this kind of lock is very simple."
A few minutes later.
Accompanied by a soft "click," the window lock successfully opened.
Finn's eyes were full of admiration: "Wow, Ella, how do you even know how to do this?"
I proudly wiggled my finger: "Practiced it as a child to sneak into the potion warehouse."
"..." He was silent for two seconds. "How did I not know this?"
I opened the window and quietly climbed in: "There are lots of things you don't know about me."
The top floor was completely different from below.
There were no administrators here. The security facilities seemed quite rudimentary, very inconsistent with the restricted area's reputation.
The air was filled with the smell of old books. I couldn't help but pinch my nose and look at the surrounding bookshelves. The books here weren't simply placed on shelves—each book was fixed to the shelf with chains.
It looked quite intimidating.
"I don't understand these things very well. Hurry up and search. I'll keep watch for you." Finn leaned by the window. His protruding pointed ears twitched.
I raised my small lantern and carefully passed through the bookshelves. To avoid leaving traces, I had deliberately worn gloves.
Mustering my spirits, I quickly skimmed row after row of books. Finally, on the innermost shelf, I saw a book that might contain the Veil Potion formula.
This was a book with a black cover. The entire book was very thick. When I picked it up, it even raised a layer of dust. I suppressed a cough and brushed away the dust.
This book was called "100 Special Potions." I think I had seen it before.
For some reason, I felt this book must have the formula I wanted. I excitedly opened the pages.
Unexpectedly, the book in my hand suddenly jumped, then sprouted a large mouth full of sharp teeth and viciously bit my hand.
"Ah!" I quickly threw the book away, screaming softly in fright.
The monster book had no feet, but it moved very fast. It jumped again, pouncing to try and bite my face.
I retreated awkwardly and immediately called for help: "Finn!!"
The werewolf boy instantly rushed over.
Bang!
One punch directly smashed onto the monster book's cover.
The monster book let out a miserable "ow!" and plopped onto the ground.
...It actually fainted just like a living creature.
"What the hell is this thing?" Finn shook his hand and grabbed my wrist to look at it. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you." I immediately crouched down to flip through the book. "I feel the formula must be in this book... Found it!"
I cheered in a low voice and read quickly.
"Grind three Starrift petals and two fresh Hulaweed leaves into a paste, add five drops of Baudelara Berry juice and one portion of Moon-kissed Dew as solvent, stir clockwise until the liquid is transparent."
These ingredients—I couldn't help but frown. I have stock of Baudelara Berry juice and Moon-kissed Dew, but Starrift petals and fresh Hulaweed leaves aren't easy to find. According to the formula, if I want the potion to have light-blocking properties, perhaps I still need to add Moonfruit.
I can ask Finn to help find Moonfruit. As for the other two herbs...
Forget it, time is urgent. First copy down the formula.
I pulled out paper to transcribe. Unexpectedly, the originally unconscious monster book suddenly trembled. I immediately pulled back, calling softly: "Finn—"
But the monster book didn't attack me. Instead, it jumped from my hand to the ground, opened its big mouth and began roaring: "Ahhh!"
The sharp sound instantly echoed throughout the entire top floor.
"Shut up!" Finn pounced trying to pin it down again.
But the monster book's mouth snapped shut. It ran out from between us and began flying wildly around the room, flapping its pages.
"Ahhh!"
"Stop screaming!!"
"It's running that way!"
We didn't dare make too much noise and could only chase after the monster book. But this book was acting completely crazy. After knocking over a pile of books, it even charged directly out of the bookshelf area.
Commotion instantly came from downstairs.
"What's that sound?!"
"There's someone on the top floor!"
"Quick, go check!"
Oh no, people are coming up.