While reading, Edward Morgan didn’t understand James Walker’s thoughts. Only after leaving seclusion and asking about this line did he finally understand James Walker’s pain. The first riddle in the book was finally solved.

“Get up,” Edward Morgan said.

James Walker brushed his right sleeve against his lips before standing up steadily. Edward Morgan grabbed his right arm and caught a faint scent of blood at the cuff.

Forcing him to imagine the Demon Lord’s death had caused James Walker such agony. Even Edward Morgan, who had attained enlightenment through slaughter, couldn’t help but be moved.

At this moment, Edward Morgan had not yet fallen deeply in love with Lily Harris as in the book, and felt there was nothing wrong with James Walker’s actions. Among those of the demonic path, selflessness was rare; if they couldn’t have something, they’d destroy it, and dragging someone to the grave with them was perfectly normal.

Edward Morgan only wanted to say to the James Walker in the book: “Well done!”

And to give the Demon Lord in the book a good beating. Compared to the brainless female lead, Edward Morgan found it even harder to accept that he himself would abandon everything for love—utterly impossible.

Why did he become so deeply entangled, unable to extricate himself? Why did Lily Harris love William Carter to the point of losing herself, staying with him despite countless hurts? And why did the vicious female supporting character in the book frame an innocent woman for William Carter’s sake?

There were too many things Edward Morgan couldn’t understand.

James Walker had answered one of his questions, but even more awaited the Demon Lord.

Edward Morgan placed his palm on James Walker’s chest, channeling a stream of true energy to heal him. James Walker didn’t resist at all, letting Edward Morgan’s domineering energy enter his dantian, helping him suppress the restless vital energy caused by his unstable emotions.

After conveniently treating James Walker, Edward Morgan ordered, “Summon the Right Protector to the council hall.”

James Walker accepted the order, took out the Lord’s command token, and summoned the Right Protector.

The two waited in the council hall for a while before a woman in purple finally arrived, fashionably late. What she wore could barely be called clothing—just a strip of purple gauze wrapped around her body, covering little and instead accentuating her graceful figure, stirring the imagination.

Unfortunately, the two present were both as cold-hearted as iron and blind to such charms. The Right Protector, Grace Cooper, was long used to their reactions. She made a seductive gesture of greeting to the Lord, and after being permitted to rise, she couldn’t wait to ask, “Lord, are we to descend the mountain and attack those sanctimonious hypocrites of the righteous path? I can hardly wait.”

She covered her mouth as she finished, revealing a shy smile.

Edward Morgan knew his subordinate well and said in a deep voice, “Are you eager to punish hypocrites, or eager to harvest their yang to nourish your yin?”

“Aren’t they the same thing?” Grace Cooper winked at Edward Morgan. “Lord, you know me—I follow the path of acting on my desires. Whenever there’s a way to have the best of both worlds, I never miss it.”

Edward Morgan raised his hand slightly. With permission, Grace Cooper walked over and sat on the chair to his right, lazily stretching her long legs, exuding an irresistible feminine allure with every movement.

Edward Morgan ignored the Right Protector’s inadvertent seduction and said slowly, “Do you know the chief disciple of the Shangqing Sect, William Carter?”

“You mean him? Now I’m interested.” Grace Cooper sat with no regard for decorum, slouching in the chair, propping her chin with one hand, and blinking as she spoke. “Three months ago, didn’t you order us to go down the mountain and investigate the righteous sects’ movements? I disguised myself as a pitiful, ordinary songstress in a tavern, pretending to be bullied in front of the young disciples of the Shangqing Sect. It was William Carter who stepped in to help. That man…”

At this, Grace Cooper licked her lips, as if savoring the memory, and after a pause, said, “His yang energy is abundant.”

Edward Morgan knew exactly what she was thinking.

In the book, William Carter’s yang energy was indeed harvested by Grace Cooper. As a result, his cultivation was greatly diminished. Grace Cooper kept him locked in her own abode, nearly draining him dry. In the end, it was Lily Harris who risked her life to save William Carter, and to restore his vitality, she traveled to the distant Ice Plains to find the spiritual herb Snowfire, helping William Carter absorb it and greatly increase his power.

Grace Cooper was the number one vicious female supporting character in the early plot—not because she liked William Carter, but simply craved his yang energy, a true demoness. And precisely because Grace Cooper was a villain who harmed William Carter, Lily Harris forgave William Carter for his involvement with another woman for the first time.

The demonesses of Xuanyuan Sect cultivated seductive arts, and Grace Cooper’s power far surpassed William Carter’s. Whatever she wanted to do, William Carter was powerless to resist—he was the victim.

At that time, Lily Harris didn’t know that where there was a first time, there would be a second, and in the future, William Carter would have countless more “forced” encounters for her to forgive.

“Tell me what happened then,” Edward Morgan said.

According to the word count in the book, the plot should have only progressed seventy or eighty thousand words by now, which was also the only sweet part of the whole story. Lily Harris joined the Shangqing Sect and fell in love with William Carter at first sight. The two trained together in the sect for over ten years, childhood sweethearts in all but name. William Carter took great care of his junior sister. They would sneak out at night to admire flowers under the moon, secretly practice techniques in the back mountain at midnight. Their feelings began with affection and stopped at propriety, but in their interactions, love seeped into their hearts like honey—so sweet it made one’s teeth ache.