"Doctor," Fatty said, looking at him, "What are you going to do?"

Although the burnt ghost on the first floor seemed ordinary and didn't display anything special, no one could say for sure if things would change on the second floor.

Besides... Fatty couldn't help but feel that the words written on the wooden board, the words of warning, held some hidden meaning.

It said that upon arriving on the second floor, they would receive the first treasure to be offered to the lord.

They were already on the second floor, but they hadn't seen any treasure, only a ghost.

"Brother Fugui," Huai Yi said, pulling at him, "Brother Jiang is so strong, he'll be fine. If we stay, we won't be able to help at all, and we'll only distract him."

Jiang Cheng took out his phone and quickly sent a message to both Fatty and Huai Yi. Then he looked up and asked, "Can you receive them?"

Huai Yi looked down at his phone and nodded. "Yes."

Fatty did the same.

Fatty knew Huai Yi was right, so after reminding the doctor to be careful, he and Huai Yi ran deeper into the library.

In the meantime, Jiang Cheng had been observing the surroundings.

The area was smaller than the first floor, but there were plenty of places to hide.

But only two places met his requirements.

One was on the left, not far away, a semi-enclosed circular area, like a shopping mall information desk.

He didn't know why there was one of those in a library.

The other was on the right, a few large bookshelves behind a pillar.

The bookshelves were taller than a person, filled with books, which would be enough to conceal him.

Most importantly, there were several rooms behind the bookshelves, two of which had open doors, but he couldn't see inside from where he was standing.

After a quick analysis, Jiang Cheng chose to hide near the bookshelves.

The information desk had good visibility, but if he was discovered, he'd be trapped inside with no room to maneuver.

The area near the bookshelves was much better.

He moved as quickly as possible, making sure his footsteps were light, and managed to hide behind the second bookshelf before the footsteps got too close.

He crouched down slightly, pulled out two books from the top shelf, and could just see the direction the footsteps were coming from through the gap.

Now, he just had to hold his breath and wait for the burnt ghost to appear.

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

...

30 seconds.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Jiang Cheng could already smell the indescribable stench of burning, but he still couldn't see the burnt ghost.

What was going on?

He was sure that the deathly footsteps were no more than 5 meters away, and he could tell the approximate location of the other party based on the sound of the footsteps.

Near the pillar in front of the first bookshelf.

But why...

Jiang Cheng stared intently at that spot. The footsteps had disappeared, but that didn't mean the burnt ghost had left, because the thick, almost tangible stench of burning was still there.

Recalling what happened on the first floor, Jiang Cheng was certain that this burnt ghost was looking for him, that it had sensed someone nearby.

Just like it did with Huai Yi a moment ago.

The next second, Jiang Cheng frowned, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He heard a faint scratching sound.

He saw that on the first bookshelf, only about 3 meters away from his bookshelf, the books in the middle suddenly moved.

Then, without warning, they fell to the ground with a "thud."

As if they had been pulled out by some mysterious force.

Jiang Cheng immediately crouched down and held his breath.

But at that moment, he suddenly realized something terrifying.

The burnt ghost was standing in front of the first bookshelf, pulling out the books to see if anyone was hiding behind it.

That was close...

If he had chosen to hide behind the first bookshelf, he would have been discovered by now.

And there was only one consequence of being discovered by a ghost.

Even more terrifying was that this ghost... Jiang Cheng's eyes paused.

It was invisible...

He couldn't see it with the naked eye!

He could only roughly judge its location by its footsteps, other sounds it made, and the burning stench it carried.

Jiang Cheng didn't dare to move while the other party was still. They were locked in a stalemate for more than ten seconds, and finally, Jiang Cheng heard footsteps behind the first bookshelf.

The footsteps gradually moved away, step by step, disappearing in the direction Fatty and the others had gone.

Without hesitation, Jiang Cheng immediately notified Fatty and Huai Yi of this information.

Then he sent it to Shen Mengyun and Wang Qi.

When it came to Gao Yan, Jiang Cheng hesitated for a moment, but still sent it to him.

The message was concise and clear: be careful, this ghost is invisible, but you can still judge its location by the sound of its footsteps and its smell.

Although the process was thrilling, the result was good.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel fortunate.

If Huai Yi and Fatty had both been hiding here, the consequences would have been...

He didn't choose to look for the others, because honestly, he was worried about running into the burnt ghost, especially since the ghost was now invisible.

If it was standing still, it would be difficult to confirm its location.

If he was unlucky, he might walk right into it without even knowing.

While he had some time, Jiang Cheng began to think about the fable and the sentence written on the wooden board on the first floor, which was both a warning and a hint.

Everyone who comes to the second floor will receive the first treasure offered to the lord.

And in the fable, the function of the first treasure seemed to be to make the hateful slaves disappear from the lord's sight forever.

Sight... disappear forever... treasure...

At that moment, these seemingly unrelated words seemed to be given a soul, and Jiang Cheng's attention was focused on the last few sentences of the prophecy.

After the three offered the treasures to the lord, the lord's son was very happy and kept them as guards, forever guarding the lord's side.

It was clearly the lord who received the treasures, so why was the lord's son so happy?

What about the lord himself?

Also, the next sentence abruptly mentioned that these three would be kept as guards, forever guarding the lord's side.

The word "forever"... Jiang Cheng felt uncomfortable no matter how he heard it, as if they were being taken to be buried alive with the dead.

And most importantly, what exactly were these three treasures?

In Jiang Cheng's opinion, these three treasures were metaphors. In other words, they didn't exist in reality.

Reasoning backward based on this idea, the lord was probably already dead after receiving the "treasures."

This also explained why the lord's son took over.

Slowly, the fable was revealed to Jiang Cheng in a different way.

The fable used irony. The first treasure offered to the tyrannical lord was actually digging out his eyes.

This way, the lord would have no eyes and naturally wouldn't be able to see the slaves.

The second treasure was cutting off the lord's ears.

This way, the lord would have no ears and naturally wouldn't be able to hear the slaves cursing him.

The third treasure was cutting off his nose.

This way, the lord would have no nose and naturally wouldn't be able to smell the slaves.

So... the real meaning of the sentence on the wooden board, that everyone who passes through here will receive the lord's first treasure, is that everyone will lose their eyes!

Jiang Cheng frowned. No, that's not it. It's that... they will no longer be able to see this ghost!