Grace Miller's beautiful brows furrowed. Although her martial arts were strong, she was still quite young and always had a bit of a mischievous air about her. How could she tolerate this youth repeatedly and unjustly venting his anger on her? She raised her hand to strike him, but was caught off guard when Samuel Carter, standing beside her, suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Grace Miller only felt an icy hand gently cling to her wrist. It didn’t hurt, nor did it feel like he was using much strength, yet somehow, she simply couldn’t lower her raised hand or shake him off. She couldn’t help but glance in surprise at this sallow, sickly-looking man, thinking to herself, “This guy—my master thinks highly of him for a reason. He really does have some skill. I can’t see through him at all. If we really fought, I probably wouldn’t get the upper hand.”

She quickly changed her mind, adapting to the situation with remarkable speed. Knowing her own limits, she sensibly withdrew her hand, pursed her lips, and looked at Samuel Carter, saying, “Fine, I’ll give you this favor.”

Then she turned to the youth and scolded, “You little brat, look carefully! I was just passing by and saved you out of pity. Don’t act like I killed your whole family. If you had any backbone, you’d go after your real enemies. Look at you—clinging to a corpse and bawling like a baby. The only reason you get away with this is because I’m patient enough to tolerate you. You think you’re something special?”

This girl was clever, but her words were truly harsh.

Samuel Carter could only sigh helplessly and was about to offer a few words of comfort, but unexpectedly, the youth was stunned for a moment by her words. Suddenly, he turned around, wiped his tears away with force, knelt on the ground, and knocked his head twice to Grace Miller with a loud “thud,” murmuring, “Miss, your lesson is right. I apologize.”

He clenched his jaw so tightly that it gave his youthful face a sharp, angular look. Grace Miller was taken aback, stepping back half a step and blinking her almond-shaped eyes: “I… I didn’t say you had to kowtow to me. You… you’d better get up.”

Samuel Carter bent down slightly and gently helped the youth up. Somehow, the boy found himself standing. Samuel Carter said, “Let’s bury this… Brother Li first. After all, he entrusted you to me, so I’ll see you off for a bit. If you’re not in a hurry to leave, you can stay here for the night and tell me what happened.”

The youth replied softly. Samuel Carter helped him find a spot behind the abandoned temple and buried the old fisherman. Grace Miller watched the whole time. In the end, perhaps moved, she ran out, cut a piece of wood, pulled a dagger from her waist, and quickly carved a simple gravestone. She then asked, “What was this man’s name?”

The youth thought for a moment, then shook his head. “He only said his surname was Li. He was grateful to my father and risked his life to save us. I called him Uncle Li… but I don’t even know his full name.”

Samuel Carter sighed inwardly. In the world of wanderers, isn’t it all about repaying kindness and seeking revenge? Whether a name is left behind or not, what does it matter?

Grace Miller lowered her head and carefully carved the words “Righteous Man Uncle Li” on the small wooden plaque. After finishing, she examined her work, seemed quite satisfied, and handed it to Samuel Carter, saying, “Take a look. Is it good?”

Samuel Carter took it and saw that the character for “Uncle” was missing a stroke at the top. He felt a mix of sorrow and amusement, so he used his finger to fill in the missing stroke and placed the plaque on the simple grave.

The youth knelt down and knocked his head three times, holding back his tears with effort. Then he straightened his back and stood up.

5

5. Chapter Five: Evil Spirits ...

“My surname is Zhang. My name is Charles Brooks.” The youth sat down. His round face was covered in grime of all colors, but even though his clothes were torn to shreds, the brocade fabric underneath was still visible—clearly not something a commoner could afford. “Zhou…”

He paused, unsure how to address this ragged, beggar-like man.

“Just call me Uncle,” Samuel Carter shamelessly said.

Charles Brooks forced a smile, not very successfully, and lowered his head again. As he did, his gaze fell on the dusty, weed-strewn floor of the abandoned temple. He felt utterly lost, for a moment not even knowing what day it was. Too much had happened in one night, and his mind hadn’t caught up with events.

Grace Miller muttered, “Charles Brooks? That sounds familiar.”

Samuel Carter asked, “Is your father the hero Zhang, master of Nanhe Manor?”

Grace Miller was startled and blurted out, “You’re Zhang Yusen’s son?”

Her face showed undisguised disbelief, openly expressing the thought, “How could Zhang Yusen have such a useless son as you?”

Charles Brooks clearly caught her expression and lowered his head even further, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Samuel Carter quickly interrupted Grace Miller’s devastating verbal assault. He had already noticed that this girl had a knack for saying exactly what others didn’t want to hear, so he cleared his throat and said, “I really didn’t realize. My apologies, my apologies.”