Translator: CinderTL
"Did you see Gao Yan touch the hourglass with your own eyes?" Jiang Cheng confirmed for the second time.
Shen Mengyun nodded, her voice firm. "Yes, it was him. I saw it clearly. The hourglass was placed quite high, and he had to stretch to reach it."
"And after he moved the hourglass, the Ghost appeared," Jiang Cheng said. "Suddenly, out of nowhere."
"Yes." As if afraid Jiang Cheng didn't believe her, Shen Mengyun's voice grew agitated. "Mr. Jiang, I'm not lying to you. The Ghost... the Ghost really did appear out of nowhere."
She gestured with her hands as she explained. "Because the Ghost had that distinct smell, if it had come from far away, the scent should have gradually drifted over. But this time, it wasn't gradual. It hit me all at once, a sharp, overpowering stench right in my face."
Recalling Shen Mengyun's words, Jiang Cheng reconstructed the scene in his mind.
Gao Yan was a cautious man, even to the point of being overly concerned with his own safety.
He wouldn't have touched the hourglass for no reason.
Unless he had discovered something.
There was another detail: according to Shen Mengyun's account, the Ghost had immediately appeared nearby the moment Gao Yan reached out to take the hourglass.
This suggested an unknown connection between the Ghost and the hourglass. Moving the hourglass carelessly would instantly summon the Ghost.
Thinking this over, Jiang Cheng looked up and began to examine the hourglass on the bookshelf carefully.
Though the details varied, all the hourglasses here seemed to share the same style, suggesting they originated from the same place.
The one before him was exquisitely crafted, with tiny protrusions around its edges that resembled minute thorns. And...
Jiang Cheng frowned.
What was that?
Through the transparent container of the hourglass, he could see that only a small amount of sand remained. But Jiang Cheng thought he caught a glimpse of something else.
At the very bottom of the hourglass, half-buried by the remaining sand, was something... red.
And a hint of black.
To get a clearer look, Jiang Cheng stood on his toes and leaned closer, his face drawing nearer until the object suddenly shifted.
Jiang Cheng was completely unprepared for this sudden turn of events. But in the next moment, he finally saw the true nature of the object.
It was an eyeball.
And not just any eyeball—this one had been burned, leaving it shrunken and covered in ugly black wrinkles. What truly choked Jiang Cheng was that the eyeball was staring directly at him, its pupil reduced to a slit.
Its gaze was filled with boundless resentment.
This eyeball was alive!
Jiang Cheng immediately realized it was the Burnt Ghost's!
But before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his arm. In the next instant, the scene before him fractured.
Then, like a mirror, it shattered with a crash.
Jiang Cheng blinked involuntarily and looked down at his right hand. Where the pain had originated, he saw a round human head.
The head was biting him.
It was... Shen Mengyun.
As if sensing Jiang Cheng's change, Shen Mengyun slowly raised her head, still poised to bite again.
Meeting Jiang Cheng's gaze, a look of surprise flashed across her face. "Mr. Jiang, you're finally reacting!"
"What's this?" Jiang Cheng looked at his right hand, where neat tooth marks remained, revealing the force Shen Mengyun had used.
Shen Mengyun glanced at the hourglass, a flicker of wariness in her eyes. She turned her head and quickly recounted what she had just witnessed: "Mr. Jiang, when you reached for the hourglass, you didn't respond to my calls. I tried to pry your hand away, but it was impossible. You were completely entranced, like you were possessed. I had no choice but to..." She glanced at Jiang Cheng's right hand, her meaning clear.
"Oh, right," Shen Mengyun said, as if remembering something. Her tone shifted. "The way you reached for the hourglass just now reminded me of Gao Yan."
Jiang Cheng stared at the ordinary, perfectly normal hourglass.
It sat there, motionless, as the sand within gradually trickled away, leaving only a small amount. There was no trace of any eyeball inside.
Everything that had just happened felt like an illusion.
But Jiang Cheng knew it wasn't. He had definitely seen a shriveled eyeball hidden within the hourglass.
If Shen Mengyun hadn't been nearby to interrupt him, the same fate that had befallen Gao Yan might have repeated itself with him.
"I know why Gao Yan touched the hourglass," Jiang Cheng said, turning to Shen Mengyun with a thoughtful expression. "He was bewitched by the eyeball inside, compelled to touch it against his will."
He then briefly recounted his own experience to Shen Mengyun.
"So that's what happened," Shen Mengyun said, her fear of the hourglass growing after hearing Jiang Cheng's account. She didn't even dare look at it closely.
"If that's the case, doesn't that mean all the hourglasses scattered throughout the library are actually the Burnt Ghost's eyes?" she asked. "Then what difference does it make where we hide? The Burnt Ghost will see us anyway."
Her voice revealed her deep reluctance to accept this conclusion, tinged with a hint of resignation.
Jiang Cheng pondered for a moment before offering reassurance. "It shouldn't be that bad. From what I saw earlier, the eyeballs in each hourglass seem to be in a dormant state."
"As long as we keep our distance from the hourglass and don't awaken it, we should be fine," Jiang Cheng said, looking at Shen Mengyun.
Even as they spoke, the last grain of sand in the hourglass finally trickled through.
This marked the end of the third-floor mission in the library.
Jiang Cheng sent a message to Fatty Huai Yi and Huai Yi, respectively. Soon after, the previously silent environment began to stir with activity as Fatty and Huai Yi emerged one after the other.
Upon seeing Jiang Cheng supporting Shen Mengyun as they emerged from behind the bookshelves, Fatty's cautious expression transformed into a playful smirk.
Before Fatty could say anything, Jiang Cheng recounted his experiences and offered some analysis.
When they heard that the hourglass contained the Burnt Ghost's eyes and could summon ghosts, Fatty and Huai Yi instinctively scanned their surroundings, avoiding every hourglass they could find.
"Damn," Fatty muttered under his breath. "I wondered why this mission was being so generous, giving us so many timers. Turns out they were all ticking time bombs."
Huai Yi, thinking a bit more deeply, glanced around and whispered, "There are a lot of hourglasses, and some are hidden in hard-to-reach places. Avoiding them all will be difficult."
Thump.
Thump.
Footsteps echoed behind them. They turned to see Wang Qi approaching alone. "It's good to see you all," Wang Qi said, grinning.
Wang Qi had emerged from the spot where Shen Mengyun had fled earlier. It seemed he had hidden well, as the ghost hadn't discovered him.
Of course, this was likely thanks to Gao Yan's efforts.
"By the way," Wang Qi said, pulling out his phone and shaking it, "I texted Gao Yan, but he hasn't replied."
(End of the Chapter)
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