# Chapter 5: The General's Treasure (V) (Bug Fix)
The sharp scream was extremely loud, indicating that whoever made it had put tremendous effort into it.
Qi An roughly estimated Lin Jiajia's location, then clutched the jewel-encrusted box against his chest. He curved his brows and eyes at the ghost standing nearby in attendance, offering a rare, serene smile.
When Qi An left, the ghost did not stop him. Its bronze-colored skin merely faintly flushed with a hint of red, as if shy.
The corridor ahead remained hauntingly desolate.
Qi An bypassed corridor after corridor, connected to one another, and walked straight to where he needed to go.
Unexpectedly, Lin Jiajia, who had just screamed, was perfectly safe. Other than her bloodless face, her enchanting cheeks remained lovely and radiant. Her brows furrowed sharply—she hadn't expected Qi An to be the first among the other four to find her.
A glint of disdain flickered in her passionate peach-blossom eyes. Lin Jiajia's head tilted away as she waited for the others.
The place where they now stood was an armory. Swords, sabers, bows—every manner of weapon was present. However, the once razor-sharp weapons were now covered in mottled rust.
Besides these, there were suits of armor on display. The style of these armors was identical to those worn by the ghosts they had encountered before. They must have belonged to the same unit.
At that moment, a ghost was slowly wiping nonexistent dust from its armor.
Very tall, and very strong.
With each movement of wiping the armor, the thick arms revealed hard, sturdy muscles with smooth and exaggerated lines. Simply standing there, it exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Zhang Zhaoqi and Jin Huijuan arrived together. When they saw the lively Lin Jiajia, they both froze. Their gazes shifted to the ghost observing them with a faint smile, but they made no comment, their expressions cold as they stood there.
"What's in that box?" Jin Huijuan's eyes immediately caught sight of the exquisite box in Qi An's arms.
"Found it." Qi An replied. He pointed to the lock on top. "But there's no key. Can't open it."
Jin Huijuan nodded in understanding and said nothing more. All four of them fell silent, quietly waiting for the last person to arrive.
"Are you... alright?"
Among the four who had hurried over, Wang Xiangqun was the most disheveled. He tilted his head back and chugged a bottle of water.好不容易缓过气来，却看到林佳佳一脸鄙夷地看他，脑门子一热，忍不住质问。
It was understandable. Lin Jiajia's scream had been so shrill and panicked.
One couldn't help but assume she was facing some life-threatening crisis. Everyone had dropped what they were doing and rushed to find her, only to discover that she was neither missing a limb nor short of one. Instead, she stood there leisurely, without a trace of gratitude.
Lin Jiajia said nothing, her head lowered as she toyed with her painted fingernails, as if disdainful.
"We're all here now." The ghost drifted its gaze over them. "Here's the thing. I've been wanting to stretch my limbs lately, so when your friend wandered into my territory, I wanted to have a spar with her. But she wasn't willing, so on her suggestion, I invited all of you over. I hope you'll send someone out."
As it spoke, the ghost carried malicious intent. It deliberately emphasized the words "on her suggestion."
Lin Jiajia's fingers paused. Feeling the incredulous stares from the others, she snorted but said nothing.
In that situation, who wouldn't want to survive?
"Then who are you preparing to send out?" The ghost took a broadsword from beside it and hoisted it onto its shoulder. The silver gleam reflected in the凝重 gazes of everyone present as it asked, poised to strike.
"May we discuss first?" Jin Huijuan, looking at its burly frame, furrowed her brows and asked, unyielding yet polite.
"Naturally." The ghost's gaze swept over each of them before it nodded.
"Lin Jiajia, you..." Jin Huijuan's eyes turned ice-cold as she looked at Lin Jiajia, causing the latter to feel an instinctive chill in her heart.
But since things had already come to this, Lin Jiajia simply decided to burn her bridges. The livestream had already been cut off anyway—she no longer needed to maintain her youthful, kind persona for the audience. "This is just how I am. What are you going to do about it? Rather than wasting time blaming me now, you'd better think about how to get through this."
Having said that, she turned her attention to Qi An. "If you ask me, let's just have him go."
The color drained from Qi An's pale face, making his crimson lips appear even more delicate and enticing. He looked at everyone with a hint of bewilderment, as if he couldn't understand why he would be involved. Most people, seeing such a helpless expression, would hesitate to let him risk danger.
"With everything so dangerous here, we might as well send someone useless up. Otherwise, even if we escape this time, the next time we encounter a fierce ghost, he'll still die." Lin Jiajia sneered. "If it weren't for sheer luck last time, his body would've gone cold by now."
Wang Xiangqun looked at her disapprovingly, but his heart wavered.
Indeed, Qi An's public image had always been that of someone who couldn't carry anything or do any manual labor—someone who would start panting after just a few steps. If they actually encountered a man-slaying demon, the odds of Qi An being able to escape were extremely low.
And if he raised an objection, would the blame shift to him?
Lin Jiajia was met with a tense,粘稠的 silence.
Though it was merely a sparring match, who knew how brutal the battle might become.
Judging by the ghost's physique, its stamina must be tremendous. Setting aside weapons, a sandbag-sized fist coming at you could easily cripple you. The opponent was a soldier who had been through countless wars, while they were boys and girls raised in peacetime. There was an almost unbridgeable chasm between them.
Who could say what dangers lay ahead?
Jin Huijuan's gaze lingered复杂地 on Qi An. Looking at his pupils, which kept constricting from panic, she had to admit—the man possessed an appearance that common people couldn't compare to, and a personality that required careful cultivation.
This kind of person, in the outside world, could indeed easily win others' affection.
But in a world filled with terror and danger, they were also the most likely to become cannon fodder.
"I agree to let Qi An go."
Jin Huijuan gritted her teeth. After speaking these flat words, she refused to look at Qi An. She was somewhat afraid of seeing the latter's injured gaze.
"I... agree too." Wang Xiangqun hesitated for a moment before saying heavily.
"Hmph." When Lin Jiajia saw this, she let out a mocking snicker.
[An'an, these people are so annoying, especially this Lin Jiajia.]
Qi An lowered his head with a helpless expression. His drooping eyes were cold as ice water flowing down a snowy mountain. When he raised his head again, only injury remained in his eyes—漆黑的瞳孔里带着白雾，像是一个没有灵魂的精美人偶.
[Can't help it. Who told me to be weak?]
[An'an, let's go give them a sound slapping!] The system's voice was righteous with indignation.
[...]
"Have you all decided?" The ghost lifted the broadsword, its copper-bell-like eyes fixing on Qi An. When its gaze met the latter's, an imperceptible flash of confusion crossed its expression.
So strange...
This person...
"I'll go."
Before anyone else could speak, Zhang Zhaoqi had already spoken calmly.
His tone was flat and undisturbed, his expression unchanged. It was completely impossible to tell that he had just volunteered for a match that might cost him his life.
The moment he spoke, Jin Huijuan's expression changed.
Qi An looked surprised, as if stunned. He gazed at the other's沉寂般幽深的眼，对方肤白发黑，见他望过去，也只是微微颔首。
The ghost narrowed its eyes. Seemingly looking at Zhang Zhaoqi, it actually discreetly peered past him at Qi An, pondering to itself.
This extremely disagreeable fellow had just protected the young man.
The ghost swung its broadsword at Zhang Zhaoqi. Zhang Zhaoqi's movements were fluid like clouds and water as he nimbly dodged. His legs用力一蹬 sent him leaping into the air, and several talismans appeared in his hand.
While evading the ghost's attack, he vaulted behind it and pressed a talisman onto its back.
The talisman burst with golden light. Countless transparent golden threads, fine as silk, spread from the talisman in all directions, instantly covering the ghost's body. The ghost's attacking steps faltered—these golden threads acted like a cage, restraining its form.
However, it was only for a moment.
The ghost roared and broke free from the golden threads, which dissipated into nothing. It still swung its broadsword and charged straight at Zhang Zhaoqi. However, compared to before, its pace accelerated significantly. Though Zhang Zhaoqi's dodging appeared light and irregular, he somehow managed to evade precisely every time.
Zhang Zhaoqi produced yet another stack of talismans. Whether it was the lightness skill he used to dodge attacks or the various talismans with wide-ranging uses—these were all things Lin Jiajia and Wang Xiangqun had never seen before.
His various actions had long made people forget that he was a devout materialist. Lin Jiajia's beautiful eyes shimmered as she gazed at Zhang Zhaoqi with thoughtful consideration.
If this person were willing to protect her, she might be able to get out of here alive.
It's just...
She glanced at Qi An, who was supposed to be the one in the arena, and her expression soured.
The battle in the arena was intense, unpredictable.
They fought for a very long time, almost neither side able to overcome the other. However, the prolonged running made Zhang Zhaoqi gradually grow weary. His originally calm,乏善可陈的 breathing began to subtly become ragged.
The ghost seemed to possess boundless energy, constantly maintaining high-speed pursuit and ferocious, powerful chopping attacks. Zhang Zhaoqi's attacks could not deal definite damage to it—he could only temporarily trap it, delaying its movements.
This exhaustion caused Zhang Zhaoqi to begin falling behind. His movements suddenly exhibited a flaw, exposing a gap. The ghost he was fighting also noticed this. Its raised broadsword swept toward Zhang Zhaoqi's fair neck, the blade slicing cleanly through the air.
Qi An furrowed his brows imperceptibly. In his tightly clenched right hand, a pale blue orb of light gradually gathered.
Jin Huijuan held her breath, watching nervously. Just as the blade was about to fall, the ghost's grip stopped.
Mm... considering he's on the young man's side.
"Then let's leave it at that." The broadsword was rested on the ghost's shoulder once more. It continued, "You may go find clues now."
Jin Huijuan let out a long breath of relief. Zhang Zhaoqi's expression remained unchanged—other than slightly hurried breathing, one couldn't tell he had just endured such an intense battle.
"Thank you... for helping me." Qi An walked over and apologized softly, as he normally would. As he spoke, he nervously bit his lower lip.
"Mm." Zhang Zhaoqi looked at him for a few seconds. When Qi An appeared nervous, he nodded flatly.
The space here was vast, but the clues were not difficult to find. Besides the armor and weapons, the only different thing inside was a moon-white robe.
It hung in the very center.
"This should be clothing worn by a scholar, right?" Wang Xiangqun didn't dare reach out and touch it, because the ghost kept its gaze firmly fixed on where they stood. The moment they showed any inclination to touch it, the ghost would feel its hoisted broadsword.
"It should be that treasure's." Jin Huijuan said. "Aunt Zhang told us to find him, a beautiful one... Since 'beautiful' was used to describe him, it means this was a person. And since this garment is kept so preciously here, it should be what that person wore daily."
"But this is clearly a man's garment." Wang Xiangqun exclaimed.
"Do you care if it's male or female?" Jin Huijuan continued. "Then now we have two characteristics: a scholar, and beautiful."
Two characteristics, but five people.
They hadn't found any leads on the clues when they were attracted by Lin Jiajia's shout. From rushing over, waiting for everyone to gather, then enduring the lengthy battle—they had already spent considerable time. The time limit agreed upon with the butler drew increasingly near.
"How is everyone's clue-hunting going?" It was at this moment that the butler appeared. A faint arc curved at the corner of his lips, as if completely unaware of their predicament. "I've come to fulfill the agreement."
"He's beautiful-looking." Before anyone could react, Lin Jiajia blurted out.
"Mm..." The butler touched his forehead. After a pause, "Correct."
Having said this, Lin Jiajia disregarded everyone else's expressions and took out a pack of cookies she had previously found disgusting, eating them elegantly.
Zhang Zhaoqi raised his eyes, then said to Qi An, "You go first."
Qi An blinked in surprise, but the moment Zhang Zhaoqi finished speaking, Jin Huijuan, whose expression was subtly strange, widened her eyes slightly. With complex emotions and an ambiguous tone, she spoke first: "Scholar."
"Correct as well."
"I..." Qi An seemed to hesitate. "Man."
"..." The butler looked at him with an amused half-smile. "That doesn't count. Incorrect."
"Can fight." Zhang Zhaoqi's expression was inexplicable.
"Correct."
" Gentle?" Wang Xiangqun fabricated an answer, nervously shuffling his feet. So many people liked him, and he was a scholar—the personality should be good, right?
"Wrong." The butler's expression didn't change. There was some memory in his eyes. "He wasn't that kind of person... Then two people got it wrong today. There will be punishment. Starting with you."
The butler casually pointed at Wang Xiangqun.
Before Wang Xiangqun could even show his fear, his left arm instantly turned to stone. The others stared in shock. Wang Xiangqun's lips trembled—he could no longer feel any sensation in his left arm at all.
He nearly shook as he reached out his right hand to touch his left arm. The icy touch spread from his palm to the tip of his heart.
His whole body trembled.
"As for you..." The butler seemed to be contemplating. Then he snapped his fingers.
Enticing aromas of food instantly diffused everywhere. Before Qi An, dishes suddenly appeared—three courses and a soup, plus a bowl of gleaming white rice. The food looked exquisite: two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. Someone couldn't help but swallow audibly.
For the exhausted group, this was a virtually irresistible temptation.
The food was hot, wisps of steam still rising from it.
"Help me finish it." The butler, who had just been so malicious, now spoke these words to Qi An. "This is your punishment."