Chapter 3

Since even something as extraordinary as time travel had already happened, having an additional library in his mind wasn’t too strange or hard to accept. However, what puzzled Lucien was that a large part of the books in his mind couldn’t be opened, and their contents couldn’t be seen.

Struggling to maintain his composure so as not to disturb the library in his mind, Lucien flipped through the books one by one, noting which ones could be opened and which ones couldn’t.

"History books, all can be opened."

"Economics books, no problem."

"Art books, can also be opened."

"Math, physics, chemistry, biology, and other books, some can be opened, some can’t."

"Could it be because of the different world rules that they can’t be opened? But when I recall similar knowledge I’ve learned, at least up to the university level, I can still remember it, and it hasn’t been blocked."

The books that could be opened were mainly at the high school level. However, a university’s comprehensive library wouldn’t collect high school textbooks; it would only have scattered teaching materials and research papers of a similar level, for students to reference.

The library had many books, and after flipping through only a small part, Lucien discovered these issues but couldn’t be sure or understand the reasons.

Having just recovered from a serious illness, Lucien’s body was very weak, and his mental state was poor. After flipping through quite a few books, his head was already muddled, and he could no longer sense the library.

Struggling to get back to bed, Lucien fell into a deep sleep, determined to regain his strength and health to face the next day. He wouldn’t forget that he only had one piece of black bread left, and survival always came first.

In a daze, the squeaking and gnawing sounds of rats woke Lucien from his dream of numerous delicacies and a warm, soft bed.

"Rats?"

Still very sleepy, Lucien turned over, intending to continue sleeping, but the gnawing sounds grew louder and more piercing, making it impossible for him to fall back asleep in the quiet of the night.

After a long wait, the gnawing sounds still hadn’t stopped, so Lucien had to pull the blanket over his ears. However, the sounds seemed to penetrate from all directions, making it impossible to sleep in peace.

"What kind of life is this!" Lucien, feeling increasingly irritable, couldn’t help but curse, feeling that he was already experiencing mental fatigue. He was eating the worst-tasting black bread, which seemed to be made from fermented sawdust, wearing the poorest-quality linen clothes that rubbed against his skin, and covering himself with a barely warm blanket of unknown material. Even the sleep that could temporarily forget all troubles couldn’t be peaceful, with the squeaking sounds like thousands of rats.

Lucien clenched his teeth in anger, carefully listening to the direction of the rat sounds. Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he might as well get up, find the rats, and kill a couple to scare the others away, while secretly cursing and vowing:

"I must get out of this life as soon as possible!"

Straining his ears, Lucien tried to determine the direction of the gnawing sounds.

Squeak, squeak, squeak... whimper, whimper, whimper...

Just as Lucien focused, he realized that the sounds weren’t from rats but from a series of eerie, hollow cries.

Whimper, whimper, whimper...

In the quiet of the night, there were no more rat sounds or gnawing, only the sad, resentful cries.

Lucien’s heart raced, his brain flooded with blood, and his senses became exceptionally sharp, as if he could hear the cold night wind blowing through the door crack. The crying sounded like a distant, ethereal song, almost real and almost not.

Jumping out of bed, Lucien instinctively opened the wooden box and took the remaining piece of black bread, using it as a weapon for self-defense. No matter what, its hardness was enough to knock out a thief.

Thump, thump, thump, whimper, whimper, whimper... thump, thump, thump, whimper, whimper, whimper...

Lucien was puzzled by the thumping sounds but quickly realized they were his own heartbeats, which were so loud in his ears.

A cold, eerie wind blew, and Lucien tightly gripped the black bread, feeling a surge of fear: "This is a world with magic and divine powers. Could it really be a vengeful spirit?"

Fortunately, having experienced time travel and witnessing the divine powers and the burning of a living person during the day, Lucien didn’t become paralyzed with fear. His mind was tense, but he forced himself to calm down, slowing his breathing.

Step by step, Lucien moved toward the door, trying to determine the direction of the crying sounds.

The cries were filled with sorrow, so clear in the quiet of the night, but the neighbors seemed to be lost in their dreams, making no sound at all.

"The crying sounds seem to be coming from below the right wall." As Lucien approached the door, the cries became clearer. "Wait, isn’t the house to the right of mine where the witch was burned?"

Lucien was startled: "Wasn’t her house burned by the Church? Could there be a hidden cellar or secret room, containing her vengeful spirit and other things?"

Thinking of the hidden room, Lucien, who had read many novels, immediately thought of "adventures," "treasures," and "magic notes," and a bit of greed began to stir in his heart.

Whimper, whimper, whimper...

The cries seemed to become more intense, making Lucien shiver involuntarily, and his mind became clear: "Even if there are treasures and magic notes, they are guarded by this vengeful spirit."

"I am just a normal person who has just recovered from a serious illness, and I don’t know how powerful the vengeful spirit is or its weaknesses. What can I use to fight it?"

"I might be bewitched, killed, or possessed!"

After regaining his clarity, Lucien analyzed his situation, becoming increasingly afraid. If he let greed cloud his judgment and rushed to search, he would likely meet his end.

"But I can’t just wait here. Who knows if the vengeful spirit will come up." Lucien’s mind raced, thinking of a plan.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Lucien’s mind, and he carefully moved toward the door, afraid that a vengeful spirit might suddenly appear behind or in front of him. The black bread in his hand was soaked with sweat.

Slowly opening the wooden door, Lucien was drenched in cold sweat.

The door was half open, and the night outside was dark and cold.

Lucien stepped out of the room, seeing a distant light.

No vengeful spirits appeared in any direction, and the ghostly cries had become faint. Lucien relaxed a bit, took a deep breath, and then shouted loudly:

"There’s a vengeful spirit! It’s harming people!"

The sound was so loud that even Lucien was startled, not expecting such an effect from his full-throated shout.

"Bark, bark, bark," the stray dogs were scared into a frenzy.

While listening to this, Lucien hurriedly ran to the Adelais Church. The purification of vengeful spirits was a job for professionals!

As a neighbor of the witch, Lucien was likely still under the Church’s watch. If it were the original Lucien, it wouldn’t matter, but he was hiding the secret of his time travel. Any relaxation could expose him. By actively seeking help from the Church regarding the witch, he could clear his name and gain the Church’s trust, no longer worrying about their attention.

Lucien also considered the possibility that the Church might kill him to cover up the witch’s treasures, so he shouted about the vengeful spirit to wake everyone up.

In a hurry, Lucien could only think of these aspects and couldn’t cover every detail.

The Adelais Church was not far away, and soon Lucien saw the building glowing with a faint yellow candlelight.

At the church entrance stood two guards in silver chainmail. Seeing Lucien run over, one extended his hand to stop him, while the other drew his sword, ready for action. The night always felt dangerous.

"What are you doing here at the church?" the guard who extended his hand asked.

Lucien, genuinely nervous, said, "There’s a vengeful spirit. I heard its cries coming from the house where the witch was burned today!"

The guard, hearing this, also appeared somewhat panicked. He didn’t doubt Lucien’s words, as this was something beyond his judgment as a squire. He instructed Lucien to stay put while the other guard watched over him, then turned and entered the church to inform the night watch priest. The sound of armor clinking grew fainter as he walked away.

A few minutes later, a young priest in a white robe emerged from the church with the guards.

He had golden hair, a thin face, and moved with a graceful rhythm: "I am Priest Benjamin. Please tell me about the vengeful spirit again."

In front of Priest Benjamin, the two guards stood quietly, not daring to move, for fear that the sound of their armor would interfere with Benjamin’s questioning.

Lucien recounted in detail how he discovered the vengeful spirit’s cries, how he thought of the Church, and how he handled the situation, with a sincere and respectful attitude.

After listening, Benjamin’s face showed a gentle smile: "Very well, you did a good job. Overcoming your fear to report to the Church shows your devotion to the Lord."

He praised Lucien a few times, then turned to the guards: "Thomson, call out Gary, Paul, and the others. The witch was just a magic apprentice, so there’s no need to disturb the bishop."

"Yes, Sir Benjamin." Thomson didn’t say much, as Sir Benjamin was a formal priest, though only of the first rank. However, he was more than capable of dealing with the magic traps and informal magic left by a magic apprentice. The gap between a formal priest and a high-ranking squire was even greater, similar to the gap between a formal priest and a high-ranking squire.

Benjamin asked Lucien a few more questions, learning his name, until four guards in silver chainmail, with a much stronger presence and more intimidating aura than Thomson, arrived.

Outside the burned-down witch’s house, a crowd had gathered, the candlelight resembling stars, accompanying the silver moon in the sky.

At this moment, Lucien realized that the moon in this world was silver.

The murmurs and unease of the crowd disappeared as soon as Benjamin arrived, giving a sense of reassurance. They gradually gathered around and whispered to each other.

"I didn’t hear any vengeful spirit’s cries."

"Whether or not it exists, it’s good for the priest to perform a purification."

Lucien listened carefully and could still hear faint crying sounds, but why couldn’t the others hear them?

Benjamin showed no surprise and calmly told Lucien, "There is indeed a vengeful spirit."

Clearly, he had heard the crying sounds.

The four guards nodded, indicating they had heard them as well.