Volume One, Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Interesting

"Haha..." Facing Huo Yufei's teasing, Mo De offered a dry chuckle to hide his awkwardness. Taking another sip of the coffee in his cup, Mo De found that the cup Teacher Huo had handed him was exceptionally delicious.

"This isn't the instant kind from convenience stores; it's hand-ground coffee that I proportioned myself," Huo Yufei said, seemingly noticing Mo De's fondness for the beverage in his cup, her tone brimming with smug explanation.

Glancing at the title of the book in Mo De's hands, Huo Yufei couldn't help but chuckle softly. She extended a slender, graceful finger and gently tapped Mo De's forehead. Smiling, she said, "You're just a high school kid, yet you dive straight into these academic papers meant for writing theses. It'd be a wonder if you could actually understand any of it."

Mo De wanted to dodge Huo Yufei's finger, but his reaction was half a beat too slow, and her fair fingertip poked him right on the forehead.

"Hiss..." Caught solidly by this out-of-nowhere poke, Mo De drew in a sharp breath.

Teacher Huo's martial arts skills were clearly not simple.

That made sense, though. Since she could hold the position of librarian at the Tri-Anomaly Grand Library, Teacher Huo naturally wouldn't be an ordinary person.

"Let's go. I'll take you to get a couple of books better suited for beginners." Huo Yufei beckoned to Mo De, then carried her coffee cup and walked deeper into the library.

Hearing this, Mo De got up and followed. Having Teacher Huo—who knew every nook and cranny of the library's diverse collection—to lead the way was far better than wandering around blindly like a headless fly.

"This stuff really wakes you up, doesn't it?" Walking ahead, Huo Yufei raised the paper cup in her hand, shaking it slightly at Mo De as she spoke.

"It's the best coffee I've ever had," Mo De answered honestly, without a shred of exaggeration in his tone.

"You slick-tongued kid. You must not miss many opportunities to sweet-talk young girls in your daily life." Hearing Mo De's reply, Huo Yufei was immensely pleased.

Led by Huo Yufei, the two navigated several turns and stopped beside a bookshelf in a corner.

Huo Yufei retrieved a small ladder from a hidden partition between two bookshelves, unfolded it, and set it up in the aisle.

"Little Mo, give me a hand holding this." Huo Yufei mounted the ladder and climbed toward the top shelf.

Mo De reached out to steady the ladder, the hem of her soft long skirt brushing against the back of his hand, making it tickle slightly.

"Here it is." Huo Yufei climbed a few more steps, stood at the very top of the ladder, and stood on her tiptoes to feel for the row of books furthest back.

"By the way, Little Mo, you're not allowed to look up right now, okay?" Remembering something suddenly, Huo Yufei turned her head and flashed a mischievous, gentle smile at Mo De, who was holding the ladder with both hands.

"Cough, cough." Mo De naturally understood the principle that what is improper to see should not be looked at, and he hadn't intended to look up in the first place. But hearing Huo Yufei say that only made him feel even more awkward standing down below.

"Found it, found it." Holding a thick, hardbound book, Huo Yufei stepped down the ladder one rung at a time. After folding the ladder and putting it back in its original place, she waved the thick book in her hand and said to Mo De, "Let's go. This book should be just right for someone at your current stage."

Mo De reached out to take the heavy volume and looked at the gold-foiled title on the cover: *An Idiot's Introductory Guide to Metal-Attribute Adepts*.

Looking with some sheepish embarrassment at Huo Yufei, who had picked up her coffee cup again, Mo De couldn't help but wonder if a book with such a quirky name could actually be reliable.

"Don't worry, the book lives up to its name. Even an idiot could understand it." Patting Mo De's shoulder, Huo Yufei indicated that he could rest easy. "It's packed with solid, practical knowledge, too. Trust me."

Escorting Mo De back to his previous seat, Huo Yufei noticed that many students had arrived one after another. She sat in the chair next to Mo De, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "If you don't finish reading it, you can rent a book locker in the front lobby to store it, saving you the trouble of running over here every day to fetch it. Enjoy reading—this is a book strongly recommended by your teacher."

The warm breath fluttered against Mo De's earlobe, and the stray bangs falling across his forehead gave off a faint, refreshing fragrance. Mo De gave a light cough, nodded to show he understood, and then waved goodbye as Huo Yufei stood up and left.

This Teacher Huo really was enthusiastic.

Well, then, let me see what is so magical about this "idiot's guide" strongly recommended by Teacher Huo!

Picking up the heavy book, Mo De first inspected it up and down, finding that despite its comical title, the cover quality and binding specifications were exceptionally high.

There was no author listed, nor were there any frontispieces or introductory chapters. After the table of contents, it dove straight into introducing metal supernatural powers.

Yet the phrasing in the book was extremely straightforward, and the principles explained were easy to understand—it felt as though that old professor from the lecture hall was standing right beside Mo De, patiently explaining the numerous wonders and mysteries of metal abilities to him.

With both body and mind captivated, Mo De eagerly devoured the idiot's guide page by page.

...

Having finished inspecting the ninth floor, Huo Yufei stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the basement level.

The elevator doors closed, descending smoothly. When the indicator light lit up at the third-floor position, Huo Yufei's gaze flickered slightly, and the corners of her lips curved upward.

Passing hastily through the third floor, the elevator stopped at the basement level. Huo Yufei stepped out of the elevator holding an empty disposable paper cup and walked toward her office.

Along the way, she ran into several old colleagues and greeted them with a smile one by one. Stopping in front of her office door, Huo Yufei fished out her key, unlocked the door, stepped inside, and gently closed the door behind her.

Tossing the paper cup into the trash can, Huo Yufei took the exquisite small jar out of her white coat pocket and brewed herself another cup of her secret-recipe coffee.

With a gentle wave of her hand, a heavy book appeared out of thin air, thudding onto the desk with a dull sound.

This was the very book she had spent a long time searching for and taking off the bookshelf while up on the ladder.

As for the one she had handed to little Mo De, it was naturally something she had prepared in advance and kept inside her spatial ring.

Lifting the steaming coffee, Huo Yufei gently blew across the surface of the liquid, closed her eyes, and savored the rich and mellow aroma of the brew.

He really was an interesting little fellow, far more interesting than she had anticipated.

The faint smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by a slightly upturned curve at the corner of her lips.

Through her brief encounter just now, she could already be certain that this child came from *that* place.

After all, apart from the orthodox path of Heaven and Man, the only other branch capable of modifying such a formidable physical body was the collateral faction known as the "Ghost Island."

Yet, within this child named Mo De, there was something even more miraculous.

Huo Yufei had never heard of anyone who had undergone the Ghost Island modification surgery managing to restore their physical body and emotional perception to such a healthy and natural state.

Even so, there seemed to be one aspect of little Mo De that still hadn't returned to normal like a regular person.

That was regarding matters of romance between men and women—this guy remained extraordinarily dense.