The ground around them was covered in white flour, but Jiang Cheng noticed that some messy footprints had already been left on it.

Without asking, it was obvious that Gao Yan had stepped on it when he ran over.

Jiang Cheng cursed inwardly. That old guy always messed things up.

Of course, there were also a few of his.

He was holding Shen Mengyun and couldn't jump over.

Actually, he could still see a few places where the flour had been patched up, probably by Huai Yi or Fatty, but there wasn't enough time to fix everything.

It was too late to say anything now, and he couldn't think of any remedies. All Jiang Cheng could do was hold his breath and ask Shen Mengyun to do the same.

Sure enough.

The burnt smell gradually became stronger. The Burnt Corpse Ghost was nearby, but they couldn't see it or hear even the slightest sound.

The atmosphere was eerily frightening.

Honestly, Fatty and Huai Yi did a decent job. They used flour to block the path leading here, so if the Burnt Corpse Ghost passed through, it would definitely leave footprints.

The only shortcomings were that there wasn't enough flour to completely cover their location.

And part of it was ruined by that old guy, Gao Yan.

Jiang Cheng had already memorized the positions of the footprints in his mind, so if new footprints appeared, it would definitely be the Burnt Corpse Ghost.

The strong burnt smell kept drilling into Jiang Cheng's nostrils. Holding his breath didn't help. It felt like he was the one being burned.

He felt a little dazed, and all sorts of strange images began to appear in his mind.

Ever since he got on that strange bus, he felt more and more unfamiliar with himself.

It was as if his soul had been taken out and placed in someone else's body.

And... Wu was gone too.

Now, when Jiang Cheng looked down at his shadow, it was just an ordinary shadow.

The indescribable, cold aura had actually disappeared.

But vaguely, Jiang Cheng felt that Wu hadn't left, hadn't abandoned him.

Its obsession with him was deep. The current situation was more like... it was being suppressed by something.

Or rather, it was afraid.

Because it feared something, it chose to lie dormant, minimizing its presence.

Just like in nature, weak creatures often hide and disguise themselves to avoid being hunted by predators.

Mentioning the word "predator," Jiang Cheng suddenly clenched his fingers.

This was a completely unconscious action, startling Shen Mengyun, who was squeezed tightly beside him.

Her eyes looked at him in fear, thinking that Jiang Cheng had discovered something.

Predator... Jiang Cheng recalled Wu's actions. This word seemed very suitable for it.

It was a Guiji (a being beyond a ghost).

An existence above ghosts.

Ghosts were transformed from humans after death, but Guiji were not.

In Jiang Cheng's understanding, it was more like a force of will.

And in the game between two forces of will, the losing side would be devoured by the winning side, thus becoming nourishment for growth.

In the Greystone Town mission, it devoured Yamamoto's ancestor, the giant and bizarre scarecrow, and even set its sights on the girl named Fu Fu.

The purpose was just that.

That girl was also a member of the Scarlet Group, so she must also have a Guiji within her.

Jiang Cheng was well aware of Wu's power. Even after devouring the bizarre scarecrow, it still chose to lie dormant.

What exactly could make it do this?

Looking back at recent events, Wu had even communicated with him in blood writing at the studio, or rather, threatened and enticed him.

It was urging him to deal with Lin Wan'er.

Jiang Cheng hadn't completely ignored Wu's words, but as soon as he closed his eyes, countless images of her flooded his mind.

He rarely trusted others because he hated being deceived.

If everything about Lin Wan'er was really a disguise, especially her feelings for him, and it was all fake, a manipulation with some ulterior motive...

Then he wouldn't mind awakening Wu and personally severing his ties with her.

Dig her out, along with the people behind her. Perhaps when that day really came, he could retrieve the memory he had once lost.

And... the self hidden in that memory.

The transition of thoughts, reflected in reality, was only a brief moment.

The next second, he cleared the messy thoughts from his mind and began to focus on the present.

Everything was still silent, as quiet as death, but Shen Mengyun beside him moved.

First, a twitch, small in amplitude, but very sudden.

Jiang Cheng immediately realized that she must have discovered something.

As Shen Mengyun tugged on his sleeve, he looked through the old bookshelf, following Shen Mengyun's gaze, and saw a row of scattered footprints on the flour.

They were left by Gao Yan in his panicked state.

Jiang Cheng glanced at them. There weren't any new ones.

He wondered if the Burnt Corpse Ghost had also noticed the circle of white flour, so it was hesitating to come over.

But just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, he suddenly noticed that one of the footprints... was clearly larger than the others.

A whole circle larger.

After a moment, Jiang Cheng immediately understood. The Burnt Corpse Ghost had indeed noticed the circle of white flour and knew that walking on it would leave footprints.

So it chose to step on Gao Yan's footprints and then walk over.

But because it was tall, its feet were much larger than Gao Yan's ordinary-sized feet, which was why it left a larger circle of footprints.

It was fortunate that this was the case, otherwise...

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. At first, they thought this ghost was the dull type.

After all, it was slow and had trouble even finding someone.

They subconsciously thought that its intelligence wouldn't be high either.

But now, it seemed that this ghost's brain was much more useful than they had thought.

At the same time, Jiang Cheng noticed that the footprint used by the ghost was located in the middle of Gao Yan's group of footprints.

And according to its height, if it took larger steps, it could probably cross the area sprinkled with flour in about two steps.

After all, Gao Yan wasn't running in a straight line when he was being chased by the ghost.

One step, on Gao Yan's footprint, and another step, just across the range of white flour.

In other words... Jiang Cheng's eyes trembled. Now the Burnt Corpse Ghost had already come over and was standing near them!

And the most terrifying thing was that Huai Yi and Fatty probably didn't know and were still foolishly waiting, staring at the area sprinkled with flour.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng turned his head, wanting to find Fatty's location, but this glance was important. He caught sight of a few strands of hair on top of Shen Mengyun's head, gently floating up.

The movement wasn't large, like a casual sweep of the wind.

But... where was there wind here?!

Ever since they came in, this place was like being completely sealed, and not a trace of wind could blow in.

And what kind of wind blows from the top down?

The next second, Jiang Cheng seemed to realize something suddenly, and slowly and stiffly, raised his head and looked up.