In fact, when William Carter first ascended, there really was such a thing. At that time, it was still divided into the Upper Heavenly Court and the Lower Heavenly Court. But later, everyone discovered a problem: when introducing themselves, saying “I am so-and-so from the Lower Heavenly Court” sounded truly unpleasant. With the word “Lower,” it felt especially inferior, even though among them there was no shortage of exceptionally talented and powerful individuals, only a single heavenly tribulation away from becoming true officials—who knew, maybe their time would come any day? So someone suggested changing a character, turning it into “I am so-and-so from the Middle Heavenly Court,” which sounded much better. Although, in reality, it meant the same thing. In any case, after the change, it took William Carter quite a while to get used to it.

Looking at these two young martial officers, William Carter saw that their faces were both growing uglier by the second, not at all looking like they “willingly came to assist.” He couldn’t help but ask, “Edward, I don’t think they’re here to help me, but rather to take my head. You didn’t trick them into coming, did you?”

Unfortunately, it seemed this message didn’t get through, and he couldn’t hear Edward’s voice in his ear anymore. Most likely, he’d been away from the immortal capital for too long and had exhausted his spiritual power. William Carter had no choice but to smile at the two young martial officers and said, “George and Emma, right? Thank you for coming to help.”

Both only nodded slightly, carrying themselves with a certain air, clearly from the retinues of renowned martial gods. William Carter asked the tea master to add two more cups, picked up his tea, skimmed the leaves, and casually asked, “Which lord do you serve under?”

George said, “Nanyang Hall.”

Emma said, “Xuanzhen Hall.”

“……”

That was truly chilling.

William Carter swallowed a mouthful of tea and asked, “Did your generals send you here?”

Both replied, “Our generals don’t know we came.”

William Carter thought for a moment and asked, “Then, do you know who I am?”

If these two young martial officers had been tricked by Edward into coming to help him, only to be scolded by their own generals when they returned, it really wouldn’t be worth it.

George said, “You are His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Emma said, “You are the righteous path of the mortal world, you are the center of the universe.”

William Carter choked for a moment, then uncertainly asked George, “Did he just roll his eyes?”

George said, “Yes. Tell him to get lost.”

Nanyang and Xuanzhen didn’t get along. This was no secret, and when William Carter heard about it, he wasn’t surprised, because Thomas and Alice hadn’t gotten along in the past either. Back then, he was the master and they were the subordinates; when the Crown Prince said, “Don’t quarrel, you should be good friends,” everyone just held back and didn’t fall out. At most, they’d exchange a few barbed words. But now, there was no need to pretend anymore. Even the followers of the two gods in the southeast and southwest didn’t think much of each other, and Nanyang Hall and Xuanzhen Hall had been at odds for years. The two before him were typical examples. Emma sneered, “Edward Zhenjun said anyone who volunteered could come, so why should I get lost?”

The word “volunteer,” coming from him with that expression, was anything but convincing. William Carter said, “Let me confirm. Are you really here of your own will? If you’re unwilling, please don’t force yourselves.”

Both replied, “I volunteered.”

Looking at those two utterly dispirited faces, William Carter thought to himself, what you really want to say is “I want to die,” right?

“In any case—”

William Carter said, “Let’s get down to business. You both know why we’ve come north this time, so I won’t start from the beginning…”

Both replied, “We don’t know.”

“……”

William Carter had no choice but to take out a scroll and said, “Then I’ll start from the beginning for you.”

Many years ago, in the region of Yujun Mountain, a pair of newlyweds were to be married.

The couple was deeply in love. The groom waited for the bridal procession to arrive, but after a long wait, the bride never showed up. Anxious, the groom went to the bride’s family, only to be told by the bride’s parents that she had set out long ago. Both families reported it to the authorities and searched everywhere, but she was never found. Even if she’d been eaten by a wild beast in the mountains, there should have been some remains—an arm or a leg, at least. How could she have vanished without a trace? Naturally, some began to suspect that the bride hadn’t wanted to marry and had run off with the bridal party. But a few years later, when another couple was to be married, the nightmare repeated itself.

The bride disappeared again. But this time, not everything was gone. On a small path, people found a foot that hadn’t been eaten.

Chapter 4: The Three Treasures’ Night Talk at Juyang Hall

From then on, things got out of hand. In the nearly hundred years that followed, a total of seventeen brides disappeared in the Yujun Mountain area. Sometimes, there would be peace for over a decade; other times, two would vanish within a single month. A terrifying rumor quickly spread: there was a ghostly groom living in Yujun Mountain. If he took a liking to a woman, he would abduct her on her wedding journey and devour the bridal procession.