The young man slapped her hand away, glaring at her and shouting, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The Girl in Purple frowned, a murderous intent flashing again across her handsome, smiling face. Remembering something, she forced herself to suppress it, stood up with her arms crossed over her chest, and sneered coldly as if it had nothing to do with her: "Ungrateful brat."

The Old Fisherman's cloudy gaze lingered on her for a moment, then swept past, circling around until it landed on Samuel Carter, who was sitting at the foot of the Buddha statue with two stalks of straw stuck askew in his hair, looking quite ridiculous. He opened his mouth in Samuel Carter's direction.

Everyone followed his gaze to look at Samuel Carter. The Young Lady exclaimed, "Oh! I thought it was some expert who helped me out, but it turns out to be you. I bought you a drink, you fought for me—now we're even."

She said this in a cheeky, playful way, but since she was a pretty girl, Samuel Carter decided not to argue with her. He smiled, walked over to squat beside The Old Fisherman, and said, "Brother, you called me?"

The Old Fisherman struggled to reach into his clothes. The other four people watched intently to see what he would pull out. After a while, The Old Fisherman extended his fist and handed it to Samuel Carter, looking at him with effort. Samuel Carter hesitated, then reached out to take it. A flash of light, and a piece of broken silver lay in his palm.

The Old Fisherman spoke: "I... return the silver to you. You gave me a free ride on your boat, and you... you..."

Before Samuel Carter could hear what he wanted him to do, he couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, about to stand up. Unexpectedly, The Old Fisherman reached out and gripped his wrist tightly: "Help me... take this child to Zhao Family Village at Tai Lake..."

This was no pretty girl, so Samuel Carter sighed and said, "Brother, I must say..."

The Old Fisherman cut him off: "A drop... of kindness... should be... repaid a thousandfold..."

Samuel Carter looked up, gazing gloomily out the door of the desolate, ruined temple at the night that shrouded everything. He wondered if he should change his face—was this sallow, thin face not enough, did he really look like such an easy mark?

Whether it was a final burst of strength or not, The Old Fisherman's grip on his hand grew tighter, his breath shallow as if stuck in his throat, his words trembling: "Just take it as doing a good deed, a good deed! Think of your descendants... Even if you have no children... there's always the next life..."

These words struck Samuel Carter like a bolt of lightning, hitting him hard in the heart. The Seven Apertures Three Autumn Nails in his chest seemed to ache again, as if burrowing into his flesh—there's always the next life. In this life, he had committed so many sins, and in three years he would die and be done with it, but... there's always the next life.

After a long moment, Samuel Carter sighed, gently tossed the piece of silver and caught it again, then slowly put it away in his clothes.

The Old Fisherman's already clouded eyes suddenly brightened, his lips trembled a few times but no sound came out. Then the faint light in his eyes gradually dimmed, his grip on Samuel Carter's hand slackened and fell limply, his mouth still muttering something.

Samuel Carter slowly leaned his ear close to his mouth and heard him say in broken phrases, "If you... if you can't do it... if you... I... even after I die... I'll curse... your ancestors for eighteen generations..."

Samuel Carter straightened up, at a loss for words. Then The Old Fisherman's head lolled to the side—he was gone. The young man burst into earth-shattering sobs.

The old woman, who seemed to be some kind of housekeeper, was also at a loss, wiping her tears helplessly at the side. Samuel Carter automatically stood with The Girl in Purple. The Girl in Purple's big eyes rolled, and she asked softly, "My master says you're impressive, but I haven't seen it yet. Which sect are you from? What's your name?"

Samuel Carter bit his cheek and replied in a scholarly tone, "I am Zhou... Zhou Xu, of no sect or school, just a wandering soul drifting through the martial world. May I ask the young lady's name?"

The Young Lady looked him up and down, then shook her head and said, "If not for your sickly face, the way you talk almost sounds convincing. My name is Grace Miller."

She had never heard of anyone named Zhou Xu in the martial world, and since they were strangers meeting by chance, she knew there was no reason to expect the truth, so she didn't take it seriously. She stepped forward, patted the The Young Man's shoulder, and said, "Hey, the man's dead. You should bury him soon. Are there still people chasing you?"

The Young Man still resented her for her earlier rude words, snorted coldly, and glared at her. With nowhere to vent his grief and anger, and with this unruly girl in front of him, he couldn't help but direct all his frustration at her, as if she were the one who had caused the death.