When "God" Decides To Start Over

"That sounds pretty nice, but the book doesn't say that." Li Xiu said with a serious face.

"Cutie, are you trying to make me die of laughter? That book is called 'Vanishing Sunday', and it's a sad love story. If you're reading into it things about bartenders, you must be a genius." The woman laughed as if she was about to keel over.

"So, I got it wrong." Li Xiu got up, returned the book to the shelf, and picked another one, sitting back on the sofa to continue flipping through it.

He flipped through the book quickly, basically skimming through ten lines at a glance, yet he retained all the written symbols in his memory.

"Cutie, stop pretending. That book is 'Innocent Song', a children's fairy tale." The woman teased.

"Then recommend me some books for adults." Li Xiu said while flipping through the book.

"On the bottom row of the shelf, the far-right section, there's a children's book that suits your innocent cuteness." The woman laughed joyously.

Li Xiu didn't get angry; he actually went to the bookshelf and pulled out the book the woman mentioned.

Upon opening it, it was filled with illustrations and only a few written symbols.

Li Xiu returned to the sofa, engrossed in the book. The woman had inadvertently done him a great favor. Though the book contained few words, paired with pictures, it made Li Xiu's framework of the Demon Text more complete.

Li Xiu had already developed a general understanding of the books on the shelf—primarily storybooks, essentially novels.

He didn't know whether the contents were fictitious, but it didn't matter to Li Xiu; he was still very absorbed in reading.

The woman couldn't imagine that a human could, without recognizing a single word, analyze and deduce just from the bits of information and illustrations she shared, gradually learning a language. This was beyond her comprehension.

Although Li Xiu didn't know the pronunciation of these Demon Text characters, he was gradually able to understand some simple sentences, half-guessing, half-assuming, he could just about grasp some content.

Li Xiu kept reading while intermittently chatting with the woman, quickly expanding his knowledge base.

The woman evidently didn't realize the severity of this situation until Li Xiu pulled a book from the bottom of the shelf.

"That book isn't suitable for you. Stick to the books you can understand." The woman said.

"I think this book is quite good." Li Xiu opened the black book with gold-edged cover. It only had a few characters on the cover, no illustrations.

The name of this book, Li Xiu could now understand, was 'Nether Chronicles'. Li Xiu had been intrigued by this book earlier because it looked unlike a storybook. He just hadn't taken it until now.

After spending several hours here, skimming through many books, and acquiring basic reading skills, he finally decided to take out 'Nether Chronicles'.

Opening 'Nether Chronicles', Li Xiu scrutinized its contents and was instantly overjoyed.

It turned out this wasn't an ordinary storybook. It had something to do with this stone tower.

Li Xiu finally discovered that this stone tower was called 'Nether House', and the things written about the Nether House in the book were quite unbelievable.

"Doesn't the Demon Kingdom have a saying about knowledge being power? These demon spirits are clueless about the importance of knowledge." The more Li Xiu read, the more delighted he became.

Having been trapped for so long, he finally saw a glimmer of hope for getting out alive.

This Demon Spirit Wine was not meant for humans but for the demon spirits. There was no record of what happened if humans drank it.

Indeed, the Nether House and what the woman said were the same; any living being entering must drink a bottle of wine, or they'll never leave the Nether House.

The only way to leave without drinking, according to the Unparalleled King's two rules, was:

After entering, do not speak and do not touch anything. Only then can you push open the door of the Nether House when leaving.

Li Xiu broke both these rules, so naturally, he couldn't get out.

However, the book didn't mention the rule about shouting 'bastard' three times at the door of the Nether House after going out. The Unparalleled King surely had another motive for adding this rule.

Li Xiu guessed that the Unparalleled King might have a vendetta with the woman in the Nether House and wanted to vent using Li Xiu's mouth without intending to kill him; otherwise, he wouldn't wait for him to go out before cursing.

"What's so good about those books? Why not come to the second floor, and I'll show you something fun." The woman said.

Li Xiu smiled slightly and ignored her; he knew the woman was afraid he'd understand this book, but, unfortunately, it was too late.

According to the records in the Nether Chronicles, Li Xiu now knew what was up with this woman.

Previously, the woman indeed didn't lie; the Nether House wasn't her home, for she was also trapped within this Nether House.

But, unlike Li Xiu, Li Xiu was still a passer-by to the Nether House, while the woman could be regarded as its soul.

She was trapped here, eternally bound with the Nether House, unable to find release until all the Demon Spirit Wine on the wine rack was consumed.

As for how the woman became trapped and the soul of the Nether House, the book did not record.

When the person who wrote this book came to the Nether House, the woman was already trapped there, and even her identity—whether human or demon spirit—was unknown.

As for what the woman said about the bartender, the book also recorded it, basically similar to the woman's situation. Once becoming a bartender, one would be trapped, immobile, with the Nether House until all Demon Spirit Wine was consumed, then released.

In the Nether Chronicles, Li Xiu learned an important piece of information: each living being could only consume one type of Demon Spirit Wine. Drinking a second type would result in certain death; even demon spirits weren't exempt.

Earlier, the Blood Rose was opened by a demon spirit who originally needed to finish it. He intentionally let Li Xiu drink some with no good intentions.

He surely knew that Demon Spirit Wine couldn't be mixed. His aim was to kill Li Xiu. Since he had murderous intent, even if Li Xiu didn't drink it himself, the demon spirit likely wouldn't have spared him.

Li Xiu carefully read the Nether Chronicles, hoping to find a way to break the trap. Despite knowing Li Xiu couldn't understand, the woman was overly concerned with this book. Perhaps it contained a solution.

Li Xiu read patiently, and when he reached the last few pages, his eyes suddenly lit up.