This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 164 Mistblade Moon Emperor

Finding the books was exponentially more difficult than locating the section. The latter only required scanning the magical symbols on either side of the aisles, but finding the actual books meant checking each one individually.

Ironically, the most difficult-sounding collection, the 189 volumes of *Moonlight Potions: The Alchemical Key*, turned out to be the easiest to locate due to its sheer size—an entire row of nearly identical titles. Missing it would have been impossible.

However, the other two collections proved far more challenging. *The Most Mysterious Alchemical Material: Moonshine*, which came in three volumes (upper, middle, and lower), and *Moonlight and Time*, with only two volumes, were scattered among tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of books. Finding five specific volumes amidst this massive collection was no small feat.

Additionally, every book in the Moonfox Royal Library was rare and precious, with most having only a single copy. At most, there were no more than three copies of any given title.

Rita began to feel the strain. Thirty bottles of cooldown-reset potions weren't enough. She should've asked Apache for a hundred!

She moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, carefully scanning the spines. Despite having studied alchemy with Apache for over half a year, Rita found that she couldn't even understand most of the book titles here. But that didn't stop her from treating the search as a learning opportunity. After all, a book title often served as a condensed summary of its content.

For Rita, this place had become an alchemy class in and of itself.

She diligently read and memorized the titles while searching for the remaining five volumes. Every time her wrist timer buzzed, she'd drink a potion and reactivate her **Disguise** skill.

By the time she finished searching the first row of shelves, four hours had passed. In total, she had now been in the library for more than five hours. Stretching her neck, Rita made her way to the second row of alchemical bookshelves. As she rounded a corner, she nearly bumped into someone. Explore stories at empire

Instinctively, Rita counted the other Moonfox's tails—six tails, just like her. She nodded at the Moonfox, who nodded back before hurrying away, her footsteps betraying a hint of anxiety.

Rita: *Is she a fellow thief?*

Rita smiled, but her smile quickly froze on her face.

Standing less than three meters away was a Nine-Tailed Moonfox, clad in a black magical robe. The Moonfox stood by a bookshelf, leisurely flipping through a book. Her nine tails, white except for their black tips, floated behind her, swaying gracefully in the air. The tips of her tails extended a meter or more above her head, gently waving as if moved by a nonexistent breeze.

If the other Moonfoxes Rita had encountered in Moonfox City each had their unique beauty, then this one epitomized regal elegance. But it wasn't her appearance that captivated Rita—it was her overwhelming aura. Rita didn't even dare to use her **Insight** skill from the Chávez Watch on her.

She was powerful. So powerful that anyone who saw her would instinctively feel that to comment on her appearance was disrespectful—*Who am I to judge?*

Rita understood now why the other Moonfox had hurried away so quickly.

She walked over and respectfully bowed.

—*"If you meet a Moonfox with more tails than you, particularly royalty, you must bow like this."*

—*"Wait, Teacher, shouldn't I also sniff their ears?"*

—*"Do you have a death wish?"*

—*"I do have a survival skill, though. Why?"*

—*"Then you can use it when you pass away."*

The Nine-Tailed Moon Emperor made a light "hmm" sound in response, acknowledging her.

Rita, making sure to tread lightly, turned and prepared to continue searching for her books. But after only a few steps, a lazy voice sounded from behind her.

"Which clan do you belong to?"

Rita turned back, her voice respectful. "I am from the Frosttail Clan, Your Majesty."

The Moon Emperor's gaze casually swept over her. "I haven't seen you before." A six-tailed Moonfox with a charisma of 10? Quite rare.

Rita played the part of an excited fan meeting her idol for the first time. "This is my first time seeing the legendary Mistblade Moon Emperor in person."

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*Thank you, Apache,* Rita thought, mentally thanking her teacher for being an encyclopedia of Moonfox culture. Apache had briefed her on the who's-who of the Nine-Tailed Moon Emperors, from which clans attended the decade-long Moonfox festivals to which Emperors liked alchemy, celebrations, or skipping their duties.

Rita had been honing her acting skills for years in her past life, using her disguise and role-playing talents. Now, her acting might not be Oscar-worthy, but it was good enough to fool the Moon Emperor, at least temporarily.

The Mistblade Moon Emperor shifted her gaze back to the book. "Go fetch the lower volume of *The Four Seasons of Moon and Alchemy* for me."

Rita replied, "Please bless me with a trail of mist as a guide, Your Majesty."

One of the Mistblade's tails twitched, and a fine mist extended toward a distant section of the library.

Rita immediately followed the misty trail. A few minutes later, she arrived at a tall bookshelf. Looking up at the top shelf, where the book sat, she pondered for a moment.

Using a ladder would be out of the question. While her agility could easily carry her up with a few well-placed steps, that would involve stepping on the shelves and possibly knocking over books. The Mistblade Moon Emperor was still nearby, reading, so that wouldn't be ideal.

But there was a solution.

The Chávez Watch had a special ability called **I'm In a Hurry** that allowed her to teleport short distances. There was no restriction on vertical movement, only distance. She focused on a spot halfway up the bookshelf and used the ability.

*Thwap!* Rita agilely grabbed hold of the shelf's edge, suspending herself in mid-air with ease. Her hands gripped the ledge, and her body dangled gracefully from the bookshelf.

*Perfect! 10/10! Elegant!*

Her six tails swayed happily behind her.

Now, all she had to do was wait for the skill's five-second cooldown to end, and she'd teleport again to reach the top shelf and grab the book.

The Mistblade Moon Emperor, who had been startled by the sound, turned to look at her: "............"

Five seconds later, Rita retrieved the lower volume of *The Four Seasons of Moon and Alchemy*. She grabbed the upper volume while she was at it and gracefully landed on the floor.

Quickly returning to the Mistblade Moon Emperor, Rita handed her the requested book. The Emperor stared at her for a moment before waving her away.

Rita, not daring to linger, swiftly left to continue her search.

Since she and the Mistblade were now in the same section, even if separated by tens of meters, Rita didn't dare to openly drink her potions. For the next several hours, she relied on the potions hidden in her Magician's Fake Tooth.

Luckily, **Disguise** was a fairly subtle skill. Although it emitted a bit of magical energy, it was focused inward, making it less likely to draw attention—even from someone like the Mistblade Moon Emperor. After all, the Moonfoxes had far stranger habits.

Rita didn't even dare to eat, occasionally taking out a book to pretend to read for a few minutes to avoid suspicion from the Moon Emperor. Finally, after ten hours in the library, Rita had found all the books Apache wanted.

But a new problem arose.

The Mistblade Moon Emperor was still there.