(Reading warning for explorers: When this warning appears, it means that some plots in this chapter may have a mental impact on readers. It is recommended that explorers read it when they are in a good mental state.)
Sean and Professor Duke have reached the original fourth floor. The darkness is getting deeper and deeper, and the light of the flashlight can only illuminate a small area. Duke was still telling the information about the old book cemetery in his somewhat strange tone.
"The second widely circulated rumor is called the 'crying student'.
"Someone saw a wandering student in this old book cemetery, and his behavior was very strange.
"Some people suspect that he is the student who performed the evil ritual. Out of regret, he exiled himself here forever. There are rumors that he wants to change his appearance in order to obtain forgiveness from others..."
Sean, who was walking ahead, suddenly noticed a fire flickering in the distance. He frowned and asked, "Is there anyone else here?"
Duke shrugged: "There are many books in the old site, and there are many explorers and scholars here looking for valuable documents."
Knowing that there were other explorers, Sean's originally nervous mood relaxed a little.
"The third rumor is called 'The Misguided Autodidact'.
“According to the report, on the night when the Evil God came, there was still one person in the library who had not left.
"He was a homeless man who often studied by himself in the library. Because he lived a difficult life and suffered a lot of injustice in the first half of his life, he had some very extreme and extreme ideas in his heart, which led him to have some problems in reading and learning. He misinterprets the original meaning of books and is very obsessed with some evil and taboo knowledge.
"When the subsidence occurred, the autodidact hid in the library because he was too scared. After being affected by the advent ritual, he was affected and went further and further down the wrong path of seeking knowledge...
"The twisted knowledge and the truth that he himself misinterpreted were like toxins that infected his soul, turning him into a twisted existence."
"You couldn't see him by looking directly, but if you looked out of the corner of your eye, you could see the outline of a... body that was twisted and in agony."
“Extreme thoughts are the kindling, distorted knowledge is the firewood, and the misguided autodidacts are burned into a painful pillar of fire, tormented forever in this cemetery of old books.
"His greatest pleasure is to subvert and distort knowledge, leading people astray. Some people go crazy after hearing his whispers..."
Sean stopped again.
Duke accidentally bumped into Sean's back, realized that he was talking too much, and said with a smile: "Maybe my description is too exaggerated...
"These are not eyewitness reports from official channels and cannot be fully believed. Most of the explorers have not encountered strange events here. I am just too concerned about my own safety, so I would rather believe it. Don't be too nervous."
Sean weighed it briefly, and he had a strong feeling: the information about the Judas Ring was at the bottom of this old book cemetery, and he couldn't give up the investigation just because of these rumors.
"The three stories you told..." Sean continued walking forward, "are somewhat similar."
"Yes." Duke nodded, "It's all due to excessive pursuit of knowledge and the curse of knowledge."
"I don't think it's the curse of knowledge."
"Oh?" Duke adjusted his glasses frame, "What do you have in mind?"
"Knowledge is just a tool for us to understand the world. If we regard knowledge as the highest goal and give up everything to satisfy our curiosity and thirst for knowledge, then no matter how smart a person is, he will go astray."
Behind Sean, Duke narrowed his eyes: "Continue."
“Like weapons, knowledge is just a thing, a tool, it’s neither good nor bad.
"It is possible for someone to understand the most evil knowledge for the most holy purposes..."
Catherine's cold face flashed before Sean's eyes.
She opened the "Red Book" not to satisfy her own selfish desires.
"The three people you mentioned were not cursed by knowledge, they were cursed by the desire and obsession to pursue knowledge.
"They are cursed by themselves and should not mistake knowledge."
Professor Duke stopped.
Sean took a few steps only to realize that his companions were not following him, so he turned back with some confusion.
He saw the astonishment on Professor Duke's face.
After a moment, the short scholar adjusted his crystal glasses and said slowly: "I...have been trying to understand the dangers of knowledge...
"What you just said made me feel like I suddenly realized that knowledge is just a tool, and what curses people is their own obsession.
"Mr. Misty..." Duke's eyes flickered, "You have the potential to become a great scholar."
Sean looked indifferent: "Maybe."
Turning around and continuing to walk forward, Sean said: "Let's go, it's really weird here. Let's find the information quickly and leave as soon as possible."
Approaching the stairs going down to the third floor, they saw the place where the fire flickered just now.
There was a lantern placed on a small stack of books, and the light of the lantern illuminated a row of tall bookshelves. Under the bookshelves sat an explorer wearing a mask of "The Apprentice of Tacheng", who seemed to be resting.
Sean and Professor Duke walked next to the explorer. The young explorer raised his head. Through the gaps in his mask, you could see that his face was pale and he had big beads of sweat.
"Is everything okay?" Sean asked.
The young man looked a little frightened: "Just now we were looking for information on the second floor and saw a very strange figure...
"We were spotted by that figure, and the figure started to chase us... We finally ran up to the third floor, but the figure didn't catch up...
"We are too tired, so just sit here and rest for a while."
Sean frowned: "How many of you are together?"
The Tacheng apprentice wiped his sweat and said, "I'm the only one."
Sean glanced at Professor Duke, whose eyes began to show concern and nervousness. Sean shook his head slightly, signaling Duke not to worry.
Sean stepped back inconspicuously and asked, "Can you leave now?"
The Tacheng apprentice moved his hands and feet, and seemed to find that his physical strength had been restored, so he stood up: "I'm almost done with my rest..."
Duke frowned, and he noticed that the shadow behind the young explorer was particularly thick.
After the seeker stood up, Sean heard a faint murmur.
He looked carefully and heard someone whispering: "Please don't turn off the light, so I can't read..."
The voice said over and over again: Please don't turn off the light, so I can't read...
Sean continued to try to communicate: "Then get out of here quickly."
The apprentice from Tacheng nodded and walked to the lantern.
Sean was relatively calm and didn't make any noise. Duke couldn't help but let out a breath of cold air.
The lantern illuminated the young explorer, and a gray figure could be seen standing behind him.
The gray man was so close that his chest was almost touching the young man's back, but the young man didn't seem to notice at all.
The gray man kept walking at the same speed as the young man, sticking very strangely behind him, looking like an inseparable shadow.
The figure was holding an open book, covering his face, and creepy whispers continued to come from behind the book:
Please don't turn off the light so I can't read...
