Grace Miller was taken aback and first asked, "How did you know he was with me?" Then she nodded, "Right, you heard us talking—when I asked you that question, why did you answer just like my master?"

She curled her lips, clearly disdainful of such cheating behavior.

Samuel Carter smiled and said, "Yes, is your master here too?"

Grace Miller sat on the incense table, her legs dangling and not touching the ground, swinging back and forth, tilting her head, looking very innocent and cute. When asked, her eyelids drooped slightly and she shrugged, "He went to see his old flame."

Samuel Carter assumed that the man in gray kept such a beautiful girl by his side as a concubine or something, so he looked at her in confusion.

Grace Miller wrinkled her nose, glared at him, and scolded, "What are you looking at me for? He went to sleep with a man, do you expect me, a lady, to stand outside the window and listen in?"

Samuel Carter gave a dry cough, a bit embarrassed, rubbing his nose, "A young lady like you..."

Grace Miller bared her teeth at him like a little beast, then suddenly remembered something, and nudged the unconscious, completely out-of-it youth Charles Brooks with her toe: "Do you believe what he said? That the man in black is the Hanging Ghost?"

Samuel Carter hesitated for a moment, "If... he means the Hanging Ghost from Qingzhu Ridge, the Evil Ghosts..."

Grace Miller gave him a slightly mocking look, "You sure know a lot. How many Hanging Ghosts are there in this world?"

Samuel Carter shook his head, just about to speak, but the dull pain in his chest made him pause. He could only put on a thoughtful look, and after a while, he finally recovered and said, "Legend has it that in Fengya Mountain and Qingzhu Ridge, there's a valley called Ghost Valley. In recent years, those in the martial world who have committed heinous crimes, or those seeking refuge with nowhere else to go, would head to Ghost Valley. Once you enter Ghost Valley, you're no longer considered human, and all worldly grudges are left behind. If you can survive in Ghost Valley, it's considered a near-death experience. The legends about Ghost Valley are so terrifying that even enemies stop pursuing. I heard that the Hanging Ghost Frank Harris was once a notorious rapist, with twenty-six lives of young men and women on his hands, including the last disciple of the Emei sect leader. He was hunted by the six major sects and had no choice but to hide in Ghost Valley at Qingzhu Ridge."

Grace Miller blinked, "So, do you think it's that Frank Harris?"

Samuel Carter smiled, "That Frank Harris has been infamous for thirty years, a ruthless villain—how could he be dealt with so easily by a little girl like you?"

Grace Miller was about to get angry, but then thought about it and felt it made sense. She nodded, "True, if the Hanging Ghost could really be killed by me just like that, then my ancestors' graves must be smoking with luck—but I don't have a father or mother, don't even know where my ancestral graves are, maybe I don't even have any, so there definitely wouldn't be any smoke. So he can't be the Hanging Ghost."

Samuel Carter couldn't understand how she connected smoking graves with the Hanging Ghost. Seeing her looking so pleased with herself, as if she'd figured something out, he didn't have the heart to burst her bubble. His body was in a lot of pain, so he stayed silent, leaned against the side, closed his eyes to rest, and endured until dawn.

The Seven Apertures Three Autumn Nails always acted up in the latter half of the night, so he usually went to sleep early, so he could be refreshed by midnight and make it through half the night. But this night he was disturbed, and couldn't sleep again in the second half, so he could only grit his teeth and endure in silence until the eastern sky began to lighten, and only then did the pain slowly subside. Samuel Carter felt his whole body was already a bit numb.

He adjusted his breathing a little, when suddenly, Grace Miller, who had been dozing off with her head drooping against the Buddha altar, suddenly woke up, her almond-shaped eyes darting around, and she said shortly, "Someone's coming."

Samuel Carter frowned, naturally hearing it too, and immediately tried to stand up, but staggered and failed to get up. Turning his head, he saw Grace Miller looking at him in surprise, so he could only slowly steady himself against the incense table and said in a low voice, "My legs went numb from sitting."

That excuse was so lame that Grace Miller's expression became even more surprised.

Samuel Carter was at his weakest around dawn every day, and the brief rest just now hadn't helped him recover. He really didn't want to fight anyone, so he said quietly, "Hide the people, let's lay low."

"Hide? Where to?" Grace Miller stared at him with big, clueless eyes.

Samuel Carter was at a loss.

Before they could do anything, it was already too late—a group of masked men, well-trained, broke in through the door. As soon as they saw the unconscious Charles Brooks, without a word, they charged over aggressively. Samuel Carter was still leaning against the incense table, and watched as one masked man went straight for the youth with his blade. Before anyone could see how he moved, a shadow flashed, and that withered hand, as thin as the human-skin mask on his face, clamped down on the masked man's neck.

The masked man didn't even have time to scream before his whole body convulsed and he was dead.

This ruthless move really had a deterrent effect; all the masked men paused, warily eyeing this sickly-looking man who seemed barely able to stand.

Grace Miller secretly stuck out her tongue, jumped down from the incense table, and stood behind Samuel Carter.